Irish

Should we be worried if we win the toss?

In my opinion a huge screw up. Either the captains got confused or Bubba and staff thought that having the wind first would be a huge advantage even though both teams get exactly the same amount of time with wind at their back. I've seen this choice a few times in high school games with high winds, but never in a DI game. Bubba made other decisions that turned out poorly and in retrospect seemed questionable, but in my mind he gets a pass on those because he was trying to be agressive in a game situation. This choice is just a blunder and if Muss made it people would be howling.

I wonder if USD will lose the toss and end up getting the ball twice.

Very true, but just because wins and losses aren't reflected accurately early in the process doesn't mean that they aren't important when that tally becomes more precise.

With or without the mini-Ditkas

The REA management has to be aware if not complicit in this crap. Instead of thinking of how to make this a better and exciting atmosphere for students it has become how can we catch a few having a drink. We need the student energy and this crap needs to stop. If there is a problem then deal with it. Until then stop pestering people.

I'm a season ticket holder and Sioux Club member and I didn't get an email. Wow, they've been at it a short time and I already feel excluded. Nice work.

Ok, I may have been a little off in my years, but from 1979 (Gino) through 2003 (Blais) UND won 5 championships - more than anyone else by 2 - you can do the math. I think it is a reasonable expectation that we keep on winning them.

No, I got your point - my point is that for the 20 years before Hak, we were winning titles about once every 5 years and were overall the top team in the country during that span - although we weren't tops every year, no one else came close to matching our play overall. We were the BC of the 80's and 90's. You can't tell me that winning championships isn't part of the expectations (not 1-6 in frozen fours). Now we are a top team, but not THE top team - I am not saying Fire Hak, but I am saying that I am disappointed we haven't won one yet. I just don't buy the idea that we hit bad luck in the last 6 frozen fours and that our luck is due to change just because we lost the last 6. We need to get it done.

Because Blais's teams looked more like Friday night - no, not every game, but we attacked with speed, carried the puck in a lot more, and got the puck into scoring position often, and worked the opponents when we cycled. When Haks cycle gets dull it looks more like this: skate up to the blue line - dump the puck into the corner - everyone follow it down there until it gets kicked out and goes the other way or skate up to the blue line and ring it around the boards and have it promptly kicked out of the zone - repeat endlessly. Ok - I admit to exaggerating, but that's the way it feels sometimes. You can't tell me you haven't seen games that felt like this. I'm quite sure my memory is idealizing Blais's team's play, but it sure seemed like a faster game without the endless grinding that sometimes seems to go on now.

Or the bees? - or the hounds with bees in their mouths?

Agree - this is still winable - if we get our act together and get some points now

Any of the "Kangas" games - he looked so pathetic sitting in the goal.

Was it just me, or did the PA and Band both seem out of sync with the crowd - a couple of times during a break the crowd was ready to get loud only to be dampened by what we heard - Usually the band is spot on, so I was a bit surprised.

Was it just me, or did we see a lot less dump, chase, and cycle tonight - with great results. Maybe Hak is evolving

Other than that, how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln

Actually, that's the most I have seen the Sioux look like a Blais team in a long time - relentless, winning the puck battles, and did my eyes deceive me, or did we play very little dump and chase. Without big goal scorers, this is the type of offense we need.

Most of the members of Sioux Sports really really wish you would - this doesn't have to be a Bison troll thread.

Could not agree more -

No guts mods

Hello - any mods here at all - pathetic to let this tool take over our thread.

The idea that Hak is underachieveing at the Frozen 4 (1-6) because Gino and Blais were so good there is complete and utter blather, but emotionally it makes us feel better about our recent failures. You'd be better off going with the "it's so much harder now" argument although I think that is nonsense too. It's thunderdome - 4 teams enter, one team leaves. We just haven't been the one that leaves - certainly not because of Gino or Deano - we just flat out haven't gotten it done. The only year that I feel we were in there with shakey talent was last year. Other than that, we just plain didn't do it.

You must have slept during stats class - Are you familiar with the Gamblers Fallacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler's_fallacy)? Many a fortune has been lost on the Roulette wheel because of it. If red comes up 10 times in a row, what are the odds of the next spin being black? - 50/50. We didn't lose the Frozen 4 because the odds say we were due to. Each time is independent of any other time. If you assume that each team has a 50/50 chance of winning each game in the frozen 4 then Hak has entered the contest 6 times and instead of winning games at a 50% pace he is winning at a 16% pace (1-6). His turns are independent of Gino's or Blais's. Things don't even out towards the expected average until you have a very large sample (the law of large numbers) - this requires many more trials than 20 or so (think thousands). TLDR - your "statistical" reason we aren't winning National Championships are nonsense. You clearly don't understand the "law of averages", the gamblers fallacy, or the law of large numbers.

I've been going to games since the old Barn and suffered through the Bjorkman years. Friday's game is a little fresher in my memory, but I can't remember a Sioux hockey team that stood around more and gave less of an effort than Friday. Part of my heartburn is the belief I have (had) that maybe, just maybe, this would be the year we don't have to sit through crappy play through Christmas and play up to our abilities in the first half of the year.

Wouldn't be the first coaching staff to have a stubborn blind spot.