Siouxman

Unlike teams from UMN and DU, the Sioux believe that every game counts. If there is any chance at all for the Sioux to get a #1 seed and be the host at The Ralph East, lets do it.

No they didn't. Everyone just below them clinched it for them by losing.

This one was all Kangas. A lob from center ice that he thought he caught chest high and held onto. Only problem was it fell to the ice and he didn't know. Stood there thinking he had the puck and MTU simply skated in and put it home. That one was not on the D!

Boy, you've come a long way Baby!

Anyone who saw the Sioux team reaction when Zajac scored Sunday in OT should feel assured that this team knows what is at stake here. That certainly doesn't guarantee a win, but it does indicate that they have their heads into the game, the season, and what these games mean. I expect a split, or possibly a tie and a win. A sweep could be difficult. As for Eidsness, I believe that he has really elevated his game the past few weeks. He has gone from making the saves that he should in November/December/January to making game changing saves. He has been stopping the breakaways and most of the odd man rushes.

Blood is doing fine. It is to the point where you don't notice when he is out on the ice. That is a good thing. He made some nice outlet passes against CC. As Hakstol said after Lapoint got hurt, the game has slowed down for Blood. Fienhage I would be worried about if he had to fill in. I don't believe that the college game has slowed down for him yet. He whiffs on the puck quite a bit and is uncertain what to do with it. It will come, but he isn't ready yet. It is unfortunate he wasn't able to get more playing time this year, but now is not the time for that to happen. He will get it next year.

I did some digging on team balance in the stats, and with a few exceptions team balance in scoring appears to have a correlation to performance. Here are the number of players with 20 or more points per team. I started with the PWR ratings and then included all of the WCHA teams. BU - 9 ND - 9 Mich - 6 DU-10 Northeastern - 4 Vermont - 5 UND - 8 CC - 4 WI - 7 UMTC - 4 UMD - 6 STC - 5 MSUM - 6 UAA - 3 MTU - 2 Northeastern and Vermont appear to be aberrations in the PWR. They have their scoring concentrated in a few players. It would seem that if you can shut down their top line, you have a good chance at winning. Even Michigan doesn't appear to be as balanced as BU, ND, DU, and UND. UND currently has 8 players at 20+, and Kozek and Trupp are at 19 points each. So it would appear that UND is one of the top balanced teams in the country. CC appears to be an aberration in the WCHA, but we saw that this weekend with their scoring basically coming from a few players. I also appreciated the comments about Hakstol's methods being similar to boot camp, tear the players down and then build them back up. Being a veteran, I can understand that. It is clearly a method to build self-confidence as well as to eliminate bad habits. It is just frustrating for us fans to wait for the build up to take hold. I am optimistic about this team's chances in the NCAA's. It will be hard to shut down this UND team totally, although a hot goalie combined with solid defense can do it. I like the current line combinations, but I am concerned that the loss of Lapoint will hurt the PK.

Just got home from the game. What a rush! The Ralph literally exploded when Zajac scored. It was great seeing fans stay in their seats waiting for the team stick salute. It looks like CC is playing well. They are extremely fast. Sweatt is possibly the fastest in the league. The Sioux came ready to play today and it was great to see. They pressured CC very well, especially in the first period. The Sioux had trouble containing Rau this weekend without a doubt. But the end result is the Sioux pulled through. Now for a tough game at the Kohl Center. And they had some kind of mixup at the Ralph today. The name they called for the Saturn Sky convertible wasn't mine. I don't know how they blew that one!

2-1 DU

MSU 4-3 in OT

You bet. RR blew a great chance 3-1 which became a 1 on none and shot the puck over the net.

You sure? Presto Sports live showed it as 4-2, then changed it back to 3-2 as if the goal was waived off. Now show it as 3-3.

Oh Please! The first things out of the mouth of Gopher fans, Gopher announcers, and TC sports columnists are: 1. The Sioux roster is full of 24 year old Canadians while we have MN kids fresh out of high school. 2. ND doesn't create enough hockey players to field a hockey team while we only have MN players. Imagine the uproar if a Gopher team had 5-8 or more Canadians on it. The MN only or predominantly MN roster is a theme that has been rammed in the face of everyone else since I have followed Sioux hockey beginning in the 70's.

Lucia isn't going anywhere unless his health is much worse than has been said, which I doubt. As for Blais, why would he want to coach at a university where he is restricted to coaching 18-year MN hockey players straight out of high school. tDean has too much class to use that as an excuse.

I do not need Gopher fans in order to have fun. Besides, we sit by a couple of great Gopher fans who know hockey, and they are at all of the games. Even if the Gophers aren't there they will be, so the Gophers will be represented sufficiently.

If MN goes to CC I can see them winning a first round series there. If they go to the DECC, I think it will be a different story. UMD does a very good job of cluttering up the ice. Right now the Gophers have trouble getting space on the big ice, and on the small ice UMD will pound away and we know what happens then. The Sioux will be blamed for the scuffles and wrestling matches that ensue, especially when the Gophers lose the first game.

Can't argue too much with any of those. Some other possibilities might be: Defensive POY - Alex Stalock, although I believe that McBain has the upper hand.

So Denver is a fan of CC this weekend. Big deal, that is what I expected. And I am a fan of JBSU this weekend, so there. We are even.

It would appear that this weekends intrastate rivalry is on. It appears that someone got into the Gopher Puck Live website and changed the name. It now says "Bulldog Puck Live." College hockey is so great.

MN dropped all the way down to 19th in the PWR tonight. What a fall.

CC up 3-2 Kangas lets in a bad angle goal

CC-MN tied at 2

CC 2 MN 1

CC up 2-0

DU ties it with :14 left.