Siouxman

Manitoba played Alberta both Friday night and Saturday night, losing 5-0 and 4-0. Presumably they drove to Grand Forks this morning. This is their third game in three days, and the evening start gives them a little more time to rest up. Very understandable.

Okay, I understand that. I just thought that it took too long to get the play in.

If that is the case, with the time that it took you could just as well huddle up and make sure everyone hears the play call.

I think the evidence is in, and Mussman is clearly in over his head. 1. Team plays undisciplined and takes absolutely stupid personal foul penalties. 2. On the fake ISU punt I was talking to the TV saying be prepared for the fake punt. It was an obvious time for it. 3. Non-existent clock management. Delay of game penalties are part of that and failure to properly manage the game in the final 6-7 minutes. 4. How many false starts does it take before someone gets a clue? 5. Horrible tackling technique and poor positioning during plays. There were several plays where two Sioux players had the ball carrier cornered, and took each other out while the ball carrier ran down the field. They should know the other player is there and seal off the openings. 6. Defensive lapses allowing receivers to be open by 5 - 10 yards from the nearest defender. 7. Failure by the coaching staff to make proper adjustments at half time. UND dominated play in the first half, got dominated in the second half. 8. UND went into a no huddle offense, and Molberg stood there for 15-20 seconds looking at the sideline for the play. No huddle is a waste if you have to do that. 9. UND won this game only because ISU made more bonehead plays than UND did. UND should have dominated this game and did not. EWU will score 55+ next week and it will be another blowout.

I watched both games against Lindenwood, and yes Lindenwood is a really young program, but the UND women were impressive. Their positioning play, passing, and control of the game was outstanding, very impressive. The breakouts did not consist of one good player grabbing the puck and skating it down the ice, but were good breakout plays to players being in position to get the pass and move it quickly up the ice. It is easy to get sloppy when playing a lesser team and that did not appear to happen in either game. The only slight downside comment I have is that they shot it into the goalie quite a bit, but that can easily improve as the season progresses. A lot of speed and depth on this team. Idalski and his staff deserve a ton of credit. And yes, a number of the newcomers look like they are going to be very good. I will be very happy if the guys look that good against Manitoba in the exhibition game.

That was just embarrassing. No discipline or intelligence on this team. I will be surprised if they win another game. If ISU had been inept just one less play in this game, they would have won. Mussman had better not save his job.

Our experience in the past indicates that for this exhibition game you should be able to easily buy tickets from individuals at the door. In fact, our son frequently had tickets given to him at the door for this first exhibition game. Good Luck.

It would appear that their roster as shown on the University of Manitoba website is incorrect. It does not include Taylor Dicken, who played for the Bison on Friday night in a 0-5 loss to Alberta.

The Manitoba roster shows their youngest player is 22 and their oldest is 27.

I guess the shuttle buses quit running due to the shutdown.

It could be they got the idea from all of the idiots that come walking to the game at -20 degrees with nothing more than a jersey and a t-shirt on. The worst are the ones who have little kids that don't even have a coat on. Maybe that convinced them that shuttle buses are unnecessary. I think discontinuing the shuttle buses is a poor decision. I would have suggested though that the shuttle buses should not be blocking the main walking path in the front of The Ralph after the game. This forces people who are not riding the bus to walk around through the deep snow on the grass, or cut between the buses which is a definite safety hazard. If the end result is that there are simply more buses from bars and restaurants, then nothing has been gained but additional $ somewhere along the line.

I believe that The Ralph is not on campus. It is against state law to have alcohol on campus and they could not sell beer at The Ralph if it was on campus. UND does not own The Ralph.

While UW returns a lot, it seemed much of their success last year was tied to Kerdiles. And he was suspended for the first half of the season. He has yet to go through a full season. Yes, he is a talent but an injury, even a minor one, to Kerdiles seems to have the potential to upset the chemistry. They were one of the worst teams in the country in the first half of the season and they did manage to lose a game to PSU.

I was a bit surprised by that as well, although Wisconsin put on quite a run the second half of the year and UM did not. I think it would be fair to say that Wisconsin exceeded expectations after Christmas, and Minnesota did not meet expectations after Christmas. That has probably carried over into these first rankings.

If a Dean Blais coached UNO team is the bottom of the league, that says a lot for the NCHC.

It also takes balance to ride a moped.

It's not nice to talk about MafiaMan like that. Oh.............maybe you mean externally......

Inquiring minds want to know: "Just how much do you remember from that time period?"

If you want to farm, go to NDSU. If you want to own the farm, go to UND.

That is too early, although one can never tell. I thought the tailgating was for hockey, but after checking the schedule it must be for football. But, you never know. I could be in Grand Forks for football or take another five day trip to Omaha for hockey.

Time and location please. Will be there with my new hat.

There are also people usually selling tickets at the door.

I picked up my four (Siouxman, Morley, southpaw, and keikla) today. Yes, they do look nice. Well done, MafiaMan. Should I thank you now for this wonderful Christmas present, wait until December to thank you, or thank you in person at Hoggsbreath?

I am coming to Fargo tomorrow. I sent you a PM.

Unfortunately, there were too many refreshments to remember it all, but I will give the credit to Fido. I could have added that the graduation ceremony was held in The Old Ralph, but I guess that was lower on my list compared to the hockey highlights. I could graduate without attending graduation, but I couldn't miss a hockey game in those days. There was also a brawl with some team (I can't remember against who) when Craig Ludwig paired off with someone. Ludwig had knocked him out, but was holding him up on his skates. The ref would look their way and see that punches weren't being thrown, and so would watch the other skirmishes. Ludwig would land another punch and then hold him up. When it was finally over, Ludwig simply let him go and he fell to the ice. And, there was the Farce. We had an Electrical Engineering grad student who would wear a long trench coat, sit behind the penalty box, and verbally harass the opposing players in the box. Several tried to climb the glass to get to him. What is funny now is that I see many of the same faces now at the games in the new Ralph, that I saw in the Old Ralph back in the 70's. They are just a bit older now.