Siouxman

I truly expected UND to lose this game. They were not really challenged the first three games and got away without hustling, sloppy puck control, and not winning battles along the boards. The first period was a real wakeup call for this team. The surprise to me in all of this was UND managed to step up their game in the last two periods, rather than maybe catching up with tonight's game. A key was the forced change on Bemidji. Early in the game they were packing three and sometimes four players in front of their goalie, prohibiting UND passes and shots from getting to the slot. Credit the coaching staff with calling time out and getting things squared away. After that time out, UND started skating, winning battles along the boards, and thus forcing Bemidji to vacate the slot area a bit in order to try to get the puck. Bemidji had 9 shots in the first period, and then 9 for the rest of the game. I think we owe BSU a huge thank you for showing this team what they have to do to win, especially as they head into the meat of the season (maybe other than the Gophers after last night). I am hopeful and expectant that the team will come out tonight and play like they need to play. Yes, there are obvious things that need to be fixed and now those can be worked on. This is a team dominated by freshmen and sophomores. If they can get up to speed without losing 10 games by Christmas that helps at the end of the season.

Fixed your post.

So all of us UND fans that attend the series in Omaha every year are helping out their budget. Imagine where they would be if we didn't show up! And that isn't even counting the bar tabs in the nearby facilities. We have attended every series in Omaha. Great times at the Sioux gathering before the game and at DJs Dugout after the game.

Oops, yes I meant Northeastern. The eastern media is what it is. There are more important things in life than eastern media hype.

Time to relax. Its a new season. While UND is the reigning champ, it isn't about last year, it is about this year. The media was all agog about of couple of other eastern teams last year (Northwestern and Quinnipiac) and we know how that turned out. The bigger the hype, the greater the fall, if they fail to win it all (that kind of rhymes, maybe I should copyright it) . Championships are won on the ice, not in the media.

Jost was also quite proliferate on the faceoff as well.

Boeser is having trouble controlling his temper. It has cost him a couple of penalties so far, and teams are not going to let up. He is a marked man this year and without Cags and Schmaltz to take the heat off him, they will stack the deck against him. Until his linemates have demonstrated that other teams will pay by putting too much pressure on Boeser, he is going to have to deal with it.

Now cut that out!

Tickets are now on sale for the series in Duluth on Oct. 28-29. Lots of seats are still available. Guess the locals haven't heard they are highly ranked this year. There must be something else going on in Duluth that weekend as the hotel prices seem to be very high, much higher than last season.

He was clearly out of position several times. Manitoba would have had several easy goals if a player had been in the right position.

The program that I purchased last night had him listed as defense.

Several freshmen stood out tonight. Jost has hands, man did he make that clear on his first shift. There are others who are going to be fun to watch. As previously mentioned, Yon looked good. So did Hoff, and a couple others had a few flashes. There were some obvious bad decisions by a few players here and there. Cam Johnson looked good in next. Tomek did not, but it has been a long time since he played in a game. But, it was Manitoba although they are 5-1 this year. Manitoba played good position, but UND just had the speed, especially in the first. In the second period and early third I think that it began to show that Manitoba was in game condition and UND was not. One item of note is that they had Dixon Bowen playing center, for at least part of the game, even though he is a defenseman. This team definitely has possibilities, but it may take some time.

This. is. Good. http://www.inforum.com/news/4118492-iowa-sports-broadcaster-andy-fales-apologizes-north-dakota-kind

Team - hotel We stay at our son's place, and no, you cannot have his address.

The secret to NDSU's success is in their physical conditioning program. Those guys are fit. It was obvious prior to last season's national championship game. While on paper their lines were both big, NDSU's guys were physically fit. Their opponent, those guys were just fat. and some could hardly move. I have a feeling that conditioning continues to play a huge part in their success even though you don't typically see fat guys in FBS.

Now that the jinx is broken I will have to try my luck again.

Well, yes, I do still have an 8-track player and recorder, and 48 8-track tapes, but the MGB has an ultra-modern CD player with a power amp located behind the driver's seat and three big speakers mounted on the front of the trunk wall. I may have more horsepower in the sound system than under the hood. I was listening to a Fargo radio station, if you must know.

I am 0-6. Stayed home from Tampa, so credit me with the win!

It is a sign. Got in the MGB yesterday morning and started it. The first song on the radio was "In the Air Tonight." This morning I got in the MGB and started it. The song playing was "In The Air Tonight." Time to get the season going.

Not even 1 in a billion chance. I don't do fiction.

Some day you be mature enough to be more tolerant toward others. Well, most others anyway.

I am not trying to poke you or cause any flaming here, but if it is possible try to find recordings of interviews with Gopher players and with UND players. I know you are talking about off-ice individuals here, but I believe this is a key difference between the two programs. I have payed very close attention over the past 15 years or so to what players say in interviews and one key difference has really stood out. When Gopher players are interviewed and asked questions about themselves or their performance, they answer with "me" type information. And that is what the interviewer asked for. When UND players are interviewed, any specific questions asked about their performance, the player always turns the response into a "we" type response or provides credit to other players who put them into position to succeed. With respect to fan bases, all will have idiots who make fools of themselves, usually alcohol infused. I have had unpleasant experiences with Gopher fans but I have also developed friendships with some Gopher fans. The worst situation I ever experienced though was with a Mankato fan who harrassed me and actually accosted me in the hallway on the way to the men's room. I had never spoken to him, nor even looked at him but he taunted me from above for over two periods and after challenging me in the concourse the ushers excused him from the game. Can we now get to the hockey games, please?

In my career I worked with a number of tribes, primarily on electricity issues. There are a number of characteristics, unfortunately, that tend to be common among the tribes. First, they operate on what is called IT (Indian Time), which means when meetings and appointments are scheduled they will show up at the time that they consider appropriate. I have driven over 100 miles several times to meet with tribal officials at a designated time, and have them arrive up to 2 hours or more late, or not show up at all. Second, they don't seem to want to participate in the processes, waiting until the process is complete before raising a fuss that they haven't had input. That is the exact case here. None of the tribes participated in the permitting process before the ND PSC or the federal government. The tribal involvement in the Fighting Sioux nickname followed this trend as well. As a native of ND I watch the obituaries in the Bismarck Tribune closely to learn of the passing of classmates and friends, or people I just know. What has really struck me are the obituaries of Native Americans and the ages at which they are dying. It doesn't matter if it is Fort Berthold or Fort Yates or any of the other tribes there are far too many dying in their 20's, 30's. 40's and 50's. It is uncommon to see a Native American obituary for someone 70 or older. If the tribes could get this worked up about reservation living conditions, life styles, education, etc. and go after what is causing all of these premature deaths, they could maybe make some real progress in many lives. I believe that while their status as sovereign nations provides them some benefit, it also greatly hinders them to a much greater degree. You see very little industrial or business development (other than casinos) on the reservations because companies do not want to be subject just to tribal law and councils rather than standard state and federal law. No one wants to risk significant capital that would be at risk of the whims of a tribal council or court. And unfortunately, many tribal elected officials have been corrupt. Even after being convicted and serving jail time, some have returned and won re-election. Finally, I have heard numerous stories about Native American youth wanting to attend college, get an education that will help them earn a decent living, but face pressure and harassment to stay on the reservation. There are two sides to this situation, the effort to better one's self and the effort to maintain the Native American culture and tribe on the reservation. Unless tribal members learn to work toward improving the education and job opportunities of their population, things will continue as is. And no, UND should not get involved in this tribal situation. There is an argument from the past that comes to mind, that UND has more pressing issues to deal with.

It is a nice arena, not very large, but nice. Parking is an issue anywhere near the campus. There is a parking ramp close to the arena and I suggest parking there. Parking after the game in the downtown area is also pretty tight, but it is lively downtown. One word of caution though: Some of the Miami fans don't like loud Sioux fans. There was an issue in front of us with a female Miami fan complaining to the usher about a UND fan. The usher talked to him and then to the lady again. The guy was pretty quiet but she chose to go back and complain to the usher again. They had security there watching the situation and the last time she complained I think they told her to just sit down.

I actually saw my name in the video.