Walsh Hall

Hak's message said x-mas tree, and under the tree (family tree, David younger than Jon?), and excited with first bike (jon) which could imply that this will be the second. I'm sure I'm reading to much into it, but I'm bored.

From the phrasing my guess is little Toews

The Toews goal should not have been allowed. Clearly a kick. Even if it deflects off the goalie it is still not a goal. Similar to a high stick or hand pass that deflects off a goalie or D-man and goes in. Also, I'm not agruing that penalty shot hould have been awarded, just that it was a crappy situation and probably the correct call was made. As to the Minnesota- UMD debacle, Adams should be immediately fired for his handling of the situation. I guess the coaches are now allowed to completely show up the ref and are actually encouraged to do so because apparently swearing at them can get them to change a call. What a joke. I couldn't tell what was the proper call, but Adams has to made a decision and stick to it.

My problem with the Porter call was that it was clearly an intention penalty to prevent a legitimate scoring opportuniy. Apparently that is the smart play. With under 30 seconds left in overtime I'd be sure to tell the players to hack/slash/tackle, do whatever necessary if there is the potential for a scoring chance. If someone is coming down the ice one on one with 20 seconds left in OT the smart play would be to take no chances and take the guy down. That play probably wouldn't have been a PS in the first period, but it was absolutley an intentional tackle to preserve a point. In essence there was no penalty because of the time situation. Both alternatives, 2 minute minor or PS are not equitable for the situation, but if anyone should suffer a negative consequence it should be the team which committed the penalty. They were given a benefit for committing an intentional penalty. I guess that's just a crappy turn of events for the Sioux.

I watch alot of NAHL hockey and there is no question that it is a step below USHL but much better than most high school hockey. (Especially ND HS hockey) Also, since the U17 team plays in the NAHL a large chunk of the college committs and future D-1/NHL players come from that team. I very much enjoy the play in the NAHL, the entertainment value is very good, but there is no question that as a whole the USHL is a superior league and will continue to be so for awhile.

Why don't we go out in the parking lot and decide this matter... As an aside, in the playoffs, when the games are usually more physical and intense there are virtually no fights, and certainly none in critical and/or close games. Also funny that a huge majority of the crowd cheers when there is a scrum, and that Prpich's fight is frequently linked to. I have a couple boys that are in the early stages of hockey. I'm a bit torn over how to address fighting. What do coaches of high school and junior (USHL, NAHL...) teams teach/say about fighting?

Hopefully that beatdown was a wakeup call and Taffe will get his crap together. I seem to remember an ex-sioux that had a similar incident and he seems to have gone on to have a productive career.

In the college game it's hard to "back it up." One fight a year, maybe two. It gives players the opportunity to act tough without having to throw down. It Pprich played for a rival the Sioux faithful would have been appalled by his conduct. I wouldn't compare Pprich to Taffe, two completely different players. It was Pprich's role to be a pest, not so with Taffe. We loved Pprich, but don't kid yourself into thinking you'd respect him if he wore maroon and gold.

I just got confirmation that Midco will be carrying the games in the Bismarck area on channel 39.

I'm in Bismarck and recently switched to Midco from Dishnetwork to get the home games. Anyone have an e-mail or telephone number to harrass Midco to carry the game out here? The local folks are clueless. Thanks

I liked the statements about staying at least 1 more year and that the young guys are coming along. Apparently he isn't a young guy anymore. That guy can handle a question. Toews and Oshie sure make it easy to love this team. Impressive.

I hardly consider Oshie's ranking a diss. All of the forwards on the list are projected to be top 2 line guys and potentially impact players. Many have already played in the NHL. Being top fifty to me is a major accomplishment and certainly a compliment.

How many ex-Sioux have their name on the Stanley Cup? There have been a few lately, but does anyone have a complete list. Thanks.

The no call hook just inside the blueline didn't help either, but Ward has to stop that one.

How often did players try to go wide on Commie or Greene? After the first try it didn't happen again. Murphy played a very physical game despite his size, but forwards don't have second thoughts of going into the corners or going wide against guys that aren't bangers. There have been excellent d-men in college hockey that are big and small, but all things equal, in the defensive end the big guys win. Look a couple years back where the Sioux D-man punished the other teams. They may not have been as skilled on the other end of the ice, but in their own end it was lights out. Nobody was scared of Mike Crowley in his own zone, and although I love the way Bina plays the game, he is not in the same category as the other names mentioned. I'd say Murphy was best two-way short D-man I've seen at UND. He was well above average at both ends of the ice, and the hip-checks were legendary.

If David Toews and Tessier suit up for the SIoux I can't wait to hear the crap from the Gopher fans. They were pretty tough on Bochenski based on his incident, but this one would be interesting.

I'll go with a few that weren't the "star" or the fan favorite (Commodore). (Hrkac is the benchmark for all of college hockey in my book) Adam Calder Brent Bobyck Russ Romaniuk Kallay

Does anyone have a handful of ex-Sioux players that they really didn't like? Guys you thought were overrated or lazy? Despite being a die-hard fan there are a couple that I just didn't like for no particular reason. I would have defended them to my last breath if a rodent fan critizied them, but I really didn't like them. I don't want names, but I was wondering if anyone else has felt this way.

He appears to be having alot of fun with RSP. Also, depending on what his financial status he may be able to put off the money for a year. I would consider waiting a year to cash in if the year was spent as a UND hockey star. He is a frickin' king at this place. That said, you got to be practical and take the money. I'd be shocked if he came back.

I think the football player was Jeremy Bloom from Colorado. Seemed like a stupid rational for the NCAA. I think he is done skiing now and is hoping to play pro football. I appears that an athlete can be employed so long as they aren't getting preferencial treatment based on their athletic endeavors. I'd have to guess that the NCAA would not go for this situation, and as mentioned, Hak would have a fit. But if the players in question are on the way out anyway... Allowing this would allow any college star to sell artwork or whatever and make big bucks. I can image a limited addition Reggie Bush lithograph, signed of course, going for good money.

Snipity concerning the NCAA, this would be an intersting one if challenged in Court. Rules to Remember 1. Representatives of Athletics Interests cannot provide an "extra benefit" or special arrangements to an enrolled student-athlete that is not available to all other students at the University. 2. If a student-athlete accepts any benefit based on his/her athletic ability, that athlete will lose all eligibility for intercollegiate athletic participation. If the student-athlete has completed eligibility, the institution is still responsible and may receive penalties applied to the sport program. Additionally, the booster or representative involved may be told to disassociate from the University's athletics program. As a representative of the University of California's athletic interests, you may not: 1. Provide a student-athlete with extra benefits or services including, but not limited to: --a loan of money --a guarantee of bond --the use of an automobile --signing or co-signing a note with an outside agency to arrange a loan; 2. Make services available to a student-athlete (e.g., movie tickets, dinners, use of a car) from commercial agencies (e.g., movie theaters, restaurants, car dealers) without charge or at reduced rates; 3. Provide a student-athlete with a special discount, payment arrangement or credit on a purchase or service; 4. Provide a student-athlete with professional services without charge or at a reduced cost; 5. Allow a student-athlete to use a telephone or credit card without charge or at a reduced cost; or 6. Serve as a "sponsor" or "family" for enrolled student-athletes. Student-Athlete Employment The University is permitted to arrange employment for prospective student-athletes during the summer prior to their enrollment as freshmen (provided they have signed a National Letter of Intent) and enrolled student-athletes. The Compliance Services Office must keep written records verifying employment of all student-athletes. The following rules are applicable to student- athlete employment: 1. A student-athlete's compensation may not include any payment for value or utility that the student-athlete may have for the employer because of the publicity, reputation, fame or personal following that he or she has obtained because of athletics; 2. The student-athlete is compensated only for work actually performed; 3. the student-athlete is compensated at a rate commensurate with the going rate in that locality for similar services. A student-athlete can receive money from you or your family for teaching or giving lessons in their sport. To do this the following conditions must be met: 1. Institutional facilities cannot be used; 2. To simply "play" against the student-athlete is not permitted (e.g., playing lessons); 3. Documentation of the lessons must be on file with the Compliance Services Office; 4. Compensation for the lessons must be paid by the lesson recipient or family and not anyone else.

I heard we took Jonathon Toews to get the in on his more talented brother.

I think this thread, along with a sampling of RSP tunes should be used as a recruiting tool by the coaches. It just shows that Sioux hockey is king in ND and the players can do no wrong. These jokesters could probably make some decent money selling albums and t-shirts and stuff based 100% on their visibilty as hockey boys.

I looked around the other player rankings for awhile and it looks like the players with more pedigree have higher letter ratings...(Parise, Suter...) I'm not upset, just think that it is a pretty silly category which would be nearly impossible to measure. I agree that Oshie may have a tough transition to the net. I remember hearing that Belfour was a solid forward in practice, so I guess Oshie could be a two way player. They could rotate the players in and out of the net. Might be interesting.

If Oshie is given a D I'd like to see the work ethic of a A or B.