Siouxman

Was at the games this weekend, and it was in the second period of Friday night when the CBS line had a couple of shifts that showed things coming together. That continued into the third on Friday and all through the game on Saturday. I believe there are still injury issues with C and S, but things seem to be coming back together at the right time. And yes, Poganski was a beast all weekend. When he was around the front of the net they were committing two defensemen to try to move him from the front of the goalie. As a result UND started getting some key shot opportunities right in the slot. And the Luke Johnson line was tasked with the chore of trying to contain the taco line. They did a very good job of it (other than when LJ left the game on Friday night) in containing that line. Both nights the game started out with UNO building their shot total, and then UND stepping it up and outshooting UNO the rest of the game, especially on Saturday. Faceoffs were a huge issue on Friday, less of an issue on Saturday night, but something needs to be done in this area. UND just does not have a key dominant faceoff guy. And we really enjoyed the UND fan celebrations at DJ's Dugout by the Century Link Center both nights. Somewhere there are pictures.

There might even be a discussion of the era of former UND coach Bjork Rubeman!

After the game I saw last night, I believe this team is beginning to turn it around (not like they've been bad) and heading back toward the form they had just before Christmas. If they aren't tired from the defensive effort last night, I predict 5-2 UND tonight.

I also talked with a UND fan from Denver who tried to get tickets to this series online and by telephone and just got the runaround. He wound up calling the NCHC office and complained about these tactics that make it difficult for opposing team fans to get tickets to the game. Within an hour he had a call from the UNO ticket office and they sold him tickets. It sounds like these tactics are becoming a big discussion item at the conference level.

Just talked with someone who bumped into some of the coaches this morning. A discussion after the game with the head of officials last night indicated no supplemental disciplinary action for Luke Johnson. Also, the hit that resulted in the 5 minute major is a tough one to coach. The UNO player bent over and thus put himself in a vulnerable position, and at the speed of the game it is tough to adjust for that. It sounded like the coaches do not place much, if any, blame on LJ.

Observations from the game. 1. Baxter arena is between okay and nice. Like it better than Amsoil, but they definitely cut corners in some spots. It looks bright and shiny now, but there is some cheap sheetrock that is going to start looking old in a hurry. Not enough restrooms, but they are good sized. 2. While Caggiula and Schmaltz are back from their injuries, they clearly have not been at 100%. Last night their were flashes of the old CBS line, especially as the game went on. UND started slow but picked it up as time went on. After being down 7-2 in shots, they outshot UNO the rest of the way and their zone riding time improved. 3. The whole team put together a great defensive effort. So many times UNO was trying to make cross ice passes and a UND stick or player got in the way and deflected or intercepted the pass. 4. The LJ haters are out because of the 5 minute major. Did not get a good look at it because it was at the opposite end of the ice. Prior to that point LJ was a pretty dominant player on the ice. And most of the time he is skating against the other teams top line. 5. Poganski - The guy is simply becoming a very good player. He was on the ice for all first three goals, and while he didn't get an assist on all of them he was a critical part of it. 6. This game had nastiness. A good set of refs could have been sending guys to the sin bin all night. Lots of missed stuff. 7. Rather than joy at winning I came away from the game with a sense of relief. Clearly saw indications of the team getting back to its pre-Christmas mojo. 8. Thank you UMD. Now if UND can take care of business tonight, they will look pretty good.

MN and ND may have reciprocity, but MN students attending ND college cannot receive MN grants which hurts them financially.

It is mind boggling why UMD does not have a better record. They played outstanding defense this weekend. They kept UND out of the good shooting zones in front of the net all weekend, until Boeser's goal. UND simply could not get the shooting positions they usually have. From my perspective, the penalty shot on Friday night was deserved. As soon as Poganski was taken down I said to my wife that this could be a penalty shot.

Mr. and Mrs. Siouxman

Will be at the games. Every year we alternate, going to CC or Denver. This is the Denver year.

A number of fans stay at the Minneapolis Hilton. If you go on the Hilton website they are running specials at times. It is about a 7-8 block walk to the Target Center. We go whether or not UND is there (which they have been every year for quite a while).

As someone who travels to most away hockey series, moving to the B1G would be a killer for UND fans that like to travel with the team (metaphorically speaking, not on the same transportation). Do we want to see UND playing in the conference tournament in Detroit every other year? If UND did join, our travel to away games would pretty much drop to almost nothing for conference games. We hit every place in the WCHA except Anchorage (it was in the plans when the NCHC came) and we have hit every NCHC location. We would not be hitting B1G arenas. So far this year the only road series we have not seen have been Bemidji (we were still in Maine for the Icebreaker), Vermont (We were just getting home from the Icebreaker and couldn't see two trips out east), and CC (we just got home from the Icebreaker). We will be in Denver and hope to hit Omaha if we can find decent price tickets. We would have zero interest in that much travel to Penn St., Ohio St., Michigan, and Michigan St. Minnesota and Wisconsin would still be destinations. I believe the B1G would not be popular with the traveling crowd.

Observations from Kalamazoo. 1. WMU is big. UND defensemen had trouble moving some of those guys from the front of the net. This was old school hockey, a lot of big hits and very physical. There was some WMU attempts at intimidation at times, which could have been called penalties but weren't. 2. They have some fast forwards. It may have been the size of the arena, but the ice sheet seemed small. It didn't leave a lot of room to maneuver. While WMU did show some playmaking they clearly do not have the creativity of a St. Cloud or Omaha's top line. 4. The goal cameras are at a screwy angle. I noticed that during the goal review. From the sound the puck made, I was sure it was a goal. It sounded like the puck hit the metal plate that sits flat on the ice under the padded cover. It did not sound like pipe at all. The WMU crowd was sure it was a goal. After the review was over, the PA guy even commented to the crowd that this one would have to be kept for posterity because it was clearly a goal. I would think the NCHC would have a problem with the PA guy criticism of the refs. 5. UND defense played pretty well, but Cam played even better in net. He had much better focus than against CC. There were a couple of defense penalties that should not have happened. Guys have got to play smarter. 6. It was a game of momentum shifts. UND dominated territorially in the first but it didn't translate into shots on goal. WMU dominated territorially in the second and it did translate into shots on goal. WMU continued territory domination into the third until the goal review. After that delay, WMU came out flatter and UND picked it up. UND dominated until the end. 7. On Boeser's first goal, it was not long after he had hit the crossbar and he was in his prime shooting zone in front of the net. I was certain he would score and he did not disappoint. 8. The coaching staff was changing line combinations, especially in the second period. That may have helped contribute to UND's underwhelming performance as things were getting mixed up. 9. At the end of the second period Berry tried to talk to the ref from about 25 feet away. Berry did it quite nicely without any gesturing, but the ref didn't want any part of it. He told Berry in no uncertain terms that he didn't want to hear any of it and to get the heck off the ice for the period break (they had to walk along the ice to the corner to get to the locker room). 10. Lawson Lunatics - Yes, they do get into the game but I've seen better at Michigan Tech and at Wisconsin back they were a good team. Their cheers consisted of: *Whiney Bitch - whenever a UND player even got close to the officials during a stoppage of play. Then they would stop when the WMU player came over to participate. *Are You Pissed? - They did this during the non-goal review, presumably because they were sure it was a goal. *Ugly Parents - They cheered this after Boeser scored his first goal. It didn't reappear after he scored his second. They also turned their backs during the UND player introductions. The student section, which is one whole side of the ice, was quite full. The rest of the arena, not so much. There were plenty of empty seats available. 11. It was interesting, but I don't know if we will make this trip again. There are some sites to see in Kalamazoo. I just got back from the Air Zoo, an aircraft museum.

Must be time for a new league. We just needed to hit Anchorage when the old WCHA went away and the NCHC formed. I suppose if Notre Dame and ASU get added to the NCHC then we will have to hit those two. Wait - I guess we have to hit UNO's new Baxter Arena yet. Having trouble getting tickets to that one. I don't want to spend $220 a night for tickets off the secondary market.

Heading to the Zoo this weekend. That will complete our tour of NCHC arenas.

Tickets - Check Hotel - Check Time Off - Check (Oh yeah, I'm retired!) Hoggsbreath - Check Mrs. Siouxman - Check

Does anyone know which bench is the visitor bench in Lawsen Arena? We plan to be there this weekend.

Actually, it may have been written in plain English, a language they can't handle.

I lost a lot of respect for Omaha this weekend. If they play like that with eastern refs they will be short handed all game. Their plan against the CBS line was not to play physical, it was to play cheap. There were many punches thrown, sticks to the head, tackling, and other tactics that should have been penalties but did not get called.

I think it is a compliment that the Chinese feel there is enough intelligence in this site to justify hacking it!

I believe the return of St. Clair will add another dimension to the team. One of the early season weaknesses of the team was poor faceoff performance. That has improved, but UND is short of experienced centers. LJ provides that faceoff experience. St. Clair also has that experience and will provide another faceoff option to the team.

I believe that UND is the sixth youngest team in the NCAA. Saying UM is young doesn't cut it.

We have seen every one of these games, but our streak of attendance at Omaha is threatened this year. The too small arena and exorbitant second hand ticket market is making it tough to find reasonable tickets. I would think the downtown merchants cannot be too happy with the move of venue and the reduced size of UND fan attendance. I heard that one of the hotels said this was their best winter weekend every year.

soooooo, did you push?