Siouxman

Don't get too hyped up about them. While they have played better of late, they are only 6-11 on the year. They may have a good second half, or they may revert to early season form. But I will surely root for them over the Gophers.

Not being haughty here. Just pointing out that the "gnashing of teeth" Canadian comments have started after just two games. That in no way implies anything about potential finishes of either US or Canadian teams.

The Canadian meltdown is beginning. http://www.tsn.ca/canada-beats-swiss-in-shootout-clinch-playoff-spot-at-wjc-1.415293

Also credit the Swedish defense. The did a good job of keeping shots to the outside and very few shots in the prime area were uncontested. Also credit some poor shooting by the US. Several times the Swedish goalie was laying on his side on the ice and the US shot it into him instead of lifting the puck over him. And finally, just when you are to the point of pulling your goalie for the extra attacker, two stupid penalties. First, too many men and then a totally undisciplined crosscheck to the head. The guys have to learn that the refs will not allow this to become a macho contest.

Not his fault. All Scandahoovians look alike.

What an unbelievable weekend. Back to back shutouts over Duluth. Great Sioux fan support. The refs let this one get out of control. They didn't call obvious penalties until the teams started mixing it up, and then started calling ticky tack stuff. I will give them credit for talking to the UMD bench. UMD players were going after Johnson every time he made a save and held a puck. Refs finally told the UMD bench to knock it off. It was great to see the team and the coaching staff acknowledge the Sioux fans as they left the ice. Cam Johnson played great, but the team in front of him also did a great job of clearing out so he almost always had a clear view of the puck. Talked with some good UMD fans tonight. Unfortunately, the UMD fan support was lackluster and their fans started abandoning the arena in the third period. Great Weekend Sioux!

I was really surprised by the UMD crowd. Lots of empty seats , they weren't very vocal or into the game and an overall lack of atmosphere. Really a shame for a team that good. UND had a great turnout with lots of green evident in the stands and the bars.

It is a very interesting situation. UMD has been playing the bottom two teams in the NCHC their last two series and UND has been playing much tougher competition. That tells me that UND should have the upper hand on Friday, but UMD might step it up by Saturday night. Looking for the good guys to win on Friday and Saturday could be a toss up.

Will also be there, staying in Canal Park.

One thing that is clear to me are the stick skills of the current team. Their ability to control or steal pucks in traffic is unbelievable. I am used to seeing Denver teams have good stick skills, but UND made them look like rookies this weekend. Whatever exercises they are doing to improve those skills are clearly working. Some of the rest of the difference is player development. While Cags had some highlight reel goals last year, he needed space. This year he is very adept at creating his own space and controlling the puck even when he doesn't have space. There were many plays this weekend when UND did not score, but the demonstrated skill just made you sit back and go "WOW!" Two guys sat next to me who normally do not go to many games. The skill level of the UND defensemen carrying the puck into the zone and deep into the zone, skating around Denver players, amazed them. They couldn't believe these guys were defensemen and not forwards.

Based on what I saw late in the third period last night, I think there is a good chance that Denver may try to play Boeser very physical tonight, hoping to throw the CBS line off balance. They started taking some liberties with Boeser late in the game. That could come back to bite them and it could lead to some, hugging, dancing, and pugilistic events on ice tonight.

Boeser

No happiness on GPL tonight. Even they think the Seeler hit was stupid. And of course, MafiaMan is over there stirring the pot a little bit about 25 year old players.

Not going to happen. With MN being the host at the X and not making the tourney, they will find a way to put UND there for the $$$$.

And that will lead to another B1G sponsored NCAA regulation regarding who you have to play.

And that one is moderated in real time so no personal attacks or ripping into someone.

There are so many other options these days with conference TV broadcasts on the internet.

This is a game that could be tough on goalies, or a game that could be tough on scorers, but it will be tough.

Lindgren is playing well, which means it is going to take traffic in front of the net. He is playing in his home town, so Poganski on Friday. Saturday - Luke Johnson

Two years ago when we went to St. Cloud for the series, on Friday night the ticket guy directed us the long way (wrong way) around the rink. Unknown to me we were only two sections to the right from that spot, but he directed us to walk all the way around the arena. I did learn a lesson. I always make sure to look at a seating chart before I go to make sure I know where to go, and I don't believe anything anyone from SCSU tells me.

Or could be a Gopher imitation team that has most of its core back from the previous year and then underperforms all year.

While not necessarily scoring, Poganski is a joy to watch on the ice, and an absolute beast. Whether in the corners or in front of the net he is really causing the other team fits. A Miami player tried to crush him into the boards last night and was left lying on the ice while Poganski skated away. The Brad Berry era is definitely changing some things about how the team does things and so far I am really enjoying watching this team.

Boeser on Saturday

Just to clarify, a puck on the line is considered to be in the zone that it came from. So coming from center ice, all of the puck needs to be inside of the blue line before Schmaltz or at least at the same time.

Caggula