Siouxman

Next time you're in town, if you see a white Toyota pickup with a Fighting Sioux sticker in the rear window and a Fighting Sioux emblem in the receiver hitch, pull me over.

I can leave work at 5 pm on Friday, and be in my seat for the 7:35 start on Friday with a dish of Nachos Supreme in my hand as supper. It is right at a 2 hour drive, without pushing the speed limit. There are others from FF that make the trek as well. Right now the furthest that I know of from Grand Forks that have season tickets are from Sioux Falls, SD. They drive up for every series.

Unfortunately I don't. I have been more involved with the girls' team as my daughter played. I do have some people at work involved with hockey and I do occasionally ask if anyone knows anything about his plans. So far, no info that I can pass along. Believe me, I would like nothing better than to have a scoop to post here. I can tell you that Alyssa Johnson, who signed with the Sioux women, is an excellent skater with speed who is a good offensive threat.

I have been an avid reader of SS.com for a couple of years, but had not signed up. Everyone else in my family had, so I recently did. I have been trying to keep a low profile to build up my posts to avoid the dreaded Skippy Alert, but my daughter (Keikla) has threatened me with a Skippy Alert sign so this is a pre-emptive strike. My wife and I live in Fergus Falls, MN and have season tickets at The Ralph. Here are my qualifications for SS.com: (1) 1978 UND grad in electrical engineering and business administration (2) I was there for the infamous UND-Bucky brawl during the pre-game warmups (3) I did not miss a home hockey game ever while attending UND, including over Thanksgiving and Christmas. (4) My oldest son attended UND (Morley), and directly caused the involvement of 5 Otter Tail County gophers on the ice during a Sioux-Goofer game. (5) Son #2 attends UND (Mory00) (6) My daughter (Keikla) is a diehard fan, but somehow managed to choose to attend the University of Nebraska-Kearney. She hates Cornhusker athletic teams but must like cornhusker guys. (7) I was once kicked out of a UND game at the old Engelstad for bringing in alcohol, but swapped jackets and glasses with someone in line and got back in. (8) My wife (Riles) did not attend UND, but the first game that I took her to there the Sioux trailed Michigan 8-5 with 6 minutes left in the third. Sioux won 9-8 in the first minute of overtime. She has been hooked since. That is about all that I will publicly admit to at this time. There is a college gang photo album that guarantees I will never hold public office. Proud to be a Fighting Sioux Alumni and Fan![/B]

Your exploits clearly put you in the upper echelon of skilled opponent harassment. *bowing to you* Maybe you could put on some training classes!

The students have improved tremendously in the standing controversy. From my perspective, if the profanity can be curtailed, 90% of the complaining will be gone, and the rest of the complainers don't matter. I will date myself here a little. In the Rube Bjorkman days of old Engelstad, we didn't need the graphic profanity. The students were a little bit more creative. Here are a couple of examples: Sandwich Sandwich Double Decker We got the Gophers by the Pecker So pull Sioux, Pull. Down the River and Over the Falls We have the Gophers by the Balls So squeeze Sioux, Squeeze. We also had the Snakepit at the basketball games. No profanity was allowed in the group, which sat behind the visitors bench. For many games, the visiting team had to pull their time-out huddle onto the floor (especially UNO), because of the harrassment. All done without profanity. It can be done. The atmosphere was there, the noise was tremendous, all without the current level of profanity. I have seen outstanding creativity on SS.com among the posters. Maybe we can help the students by developing some creative cheers and signs. We need to keep the student group together and engaged. Without that the REA would degrade into the type of Mariucci atmosphere that Woog the Whiner complained about all the time. Just bring the language back across the line a little bit.

Due to your Bison background, I will type slowly so it doesn't come too fast for you. For tickets, go to www.theralph.com, click on Tickets and then on Ticket Exchange. There is a bulletin board here for people who want to sell their tickets. You may be able to find someone that wants to sell their season tickets. You will simply have to track the progress of the exchange over time to observe the latest postings.

Rick, Thanks for the wonderful insight. It brings out some key considerations about the UND program other than just being on the ice. After reading the Hockey's Future article on Matt, it makes one think that having him back for a second year as captain would be a very positive factor in addition to his play.

Depending on who he is skating with, I am predicting that Fabian will have a mild breakout year next season. He has the size, the energy, and the skill to score 10-15 goals. Furthermore, he now knows that he has the skill and ability to score at this level. While the Sioux should certainly have some excellent scorers as posted above, depth counts and I think Fabian could be a big part of the depth. He will provide a much greater scoring impact next year.

I recall reading an article where Smaby admitted after the game that the second DU goal deflected off his knee after hitting Stastny. From my perspective, on both goals Smaby was trying to do his job, being where he was supposed to be, and the bounces went against him. A defenseman is to clear out the front of the net while tying up the opponents stick. On the Stastny goal Smaby did just that, and as a result the deflection was able to go past Parise. It is pretty tough for a defenseman to be responsible for controlling the a$$ end of the opposing player, clearing the front of the net, tying up the stick, and preventing lucky bounces all at the same time. The Sioux lost this game because Murphy's Law on lucky bounces went against them. Let's be sure that Smaby sees and feels fan support for his play and tremendous improvement this year. He certainly must feel bad enough about those two goals without fans piling on inappropriate blame. That support would be just one more reason for him to stay next year.

I agree with that 100%. I attended the World Juniors and, yes, Kessel is one hell of a one-on-one player. The moves he made in the Sweden game were definitely highlight material. But as for the rest of his game, it needs considerable work. He definitely came up short in two-way play, setting up his linemates, and creating opportunities when it wasn't one-on-one. He even appeared to pull a Vanek and totally disappear in some games. Stafford was the opposite, Yes he did some goal scoring, but he also created opportunities for others and wracked up the assists. That is what this great run by the Sioux demonstrated by many Sioux players. It was pure hockey effort, not by players who won awards and accolades, but by guys who believed in themselves and each other -- playing with unselfishness, heart, and desire. An incredible display of team hockey. And as great as that was to watch, I seriously doubt that any team could have maintained that level of intensity over an entire season without burning out at some point. They did not have a Bochenski or Parise (offensively) that could carry them through the tough spots. In my book, when I look at the entire season, they exceeded my expectations. Congratulations on one hell of a ride.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!! The Good: Great season guys, thanks for the wonderful memories. The heart, drive, and desire displayed by this team is an inspiration to us all. The Bad: No good bounces to bring home #8. Truly not a reflection on this team as the only thing between them and Denver were a few bounces and one heck of a game by Mannino. The UGLY!!: No more Sioux hockey until fall. It will be a long summer. On the bright side, my Frozen Four tickets are already on order. Frozen Four 2006 Go Sioux

It is hard to imagine the WCHA becoming even more competitive, but a look to the future shows incredible potential. There doesn't appear to be any expected drop off from the top five teams from this year. If the other five teams continue to improve as they did this year (in general, not specifically each team) there are some incredible games to look forward to. Not a good sign for the other conferences. Go Sioux, #8 is on the table.

Emailed INCH with my @#$%^&* thoughts on their accuracy and sources. Strong letter to follow>

Grate articull. Peeeuletser perise material. The big day is FINALLY here. Go Sioux.

I have been nervous since Sunday, and can't wait to get this show on the road. I am not nervous about the Sioux, but rather the goofers. Since I believe that this team has shown nothing but class and solid effort since at least the Wisconsin series, if not before, here are my priorities for the Forzen Four. 1. Goofers LOSE!!!! Big time, small margin, OT, whatever; they have to lose 2. Sioux win #8 - I feel very good about their chances, but even if #8 doesn't happen, I will remember this time forever. Given what they have gone through, they have nothing left to prove. While we Sioux fans would surely enjoy #8, getting it would be for this team, including Murray, Bina, and Kaip. 3. DU joins goofers in watching the Sioux get #8 on Saturday night. Fighting Sioux Forever