schmidtdoggydog

Come on, man. With Smaby, Marvin and Foyt back and three freshmen coming in, is there really reason to be concerned about defense next year?! Seriously, from what I hear, there is a good chance Hardwick will wear the green and white, but will it be next year? How will the NHL lockout effect Greene? Will Bina play again? If so, will it be next year and, if so, can he be effective? At this point, I say the fans should cheer UND on to #8 and then worry about next season - win or lose, it is only two and a-half weeks away, for all intents and purposes.

Thanks for taking the time to enlighten us. . . . now I actually have a shot of winning an office pool! Except for sagard, GE, WPoS (on occasion) and a very few others, can a Gopher fan post over here without being insulting? It doesn't appear so.

From Hakstol at the last Fargo Sioux Boosters (no mention of the remainder of the schedule though): UND opens with a home exhibition game against Manitoba and then travels to Dayton, Ohio, for the Lefty McFadden tournament to start the season. While there, they will play Miami of Ohio and Michigan State.

No doubt, a shattered, removed and separately fused vertebra AND four hours of spinal surgery can't really be that serious, can it?

Oops, spoke too soon!

Comments from hockeysfuture.com:

Technically, he has made it to the NHL. He played one game for the Wild during the '02-03 season.

Updated brackets The draw is a bit tougher this morning: Grand Rapids: Bemidji State vs. Colorado College North Dakota vs. Michigan

A thing of beauty. Goal of the year, in my very humble opinion.

Both Friday and Saturday games start at 7:37. cst. The Saturday start time is a change from the original schedule.

International Scouting Services

RW77, I know nothing of Cory Johnson's post-graduate aspirations. If he pursues hockey I would think he could be a decent D1 player and in that situation wouldn't mind watching him in the green and white. As for Fisher, the point I was making when discussing his dream of playing at UND is it wouldn't surprise me if he told the UND coaches he would turn down other offers, assuming he received any, and walk-on at UND. He is a good player and will play D1 somewhere - UND could be that place.

Speed kills, isn't that what it is inscribed above the Sioux lockerroom door? Of late, their lack of speed is one thing hurting the Sioux. They could use a player like Cory Johnson. Although lacking in size, he is athletic, has great wheels, is very good with the puck and has nice vision. I have long thought he would look good in the green and white. He is definitely in the Spiewak/Notermann mold. Also, from what I have been told by the family Drew Fisher is residing with (he transferred to Moorhead the Falls), his dream has always been to play for UND.

Coach Hakstol was present and had the following comments (standard disclaimer applies): He described the WCHA season as "wacky" and said that since the league format went to a 28-game season, this year is the closest the point spread has been between first and last, which shows good balance. He feels that any team can win on any given night. He said that finishing fifth was not the team's goal, but home ice was and now they need to build off of that. He said that the team had two very good weekends against Wisconsin and St. Cloud. The Wisco series was UND's most complete performance of the year over 120 minutes. He described UW as sneaky good. He said they have some very good talent, but play a very structured system. He felt the performance in St. Cloud was good, but not as good as against UW. He said that Friday UND didn't come out with a jump in their step and that may have been because they were on the road, but they recovered nicely and had a good performance after that. He was very happy with Saturday's performance. He mentioned that other than Rylan Kaip being out, UND is at full health throughout the lineup for the first time since mid-October. He said Schneider is still battling the flu, but it has been four days now so he should be good to go and is practicing. He did say that AS fell ill during Friday night's game and left some of his lunch on the bench during the third. He also said that this team will only go as far as the juniors and seniors will take them. He acknowledged that most of the skill is in the first two classes and that the majority of the upperclassmen are role players, but stressed the importance of their performance and how much they all need to step up and play well. He said there is a lot of character in the lockerroom and the older guys have been playing better of late and that needs to continue. He also said that the Massen/Canady/Fabian line has been arguably their best and most productive line over the last three weeks, extending back to the UAA series. He specifically said that Massen and Canady are both playing the best hockey of their careers. DH stated that Parise has been outstanding of late and they will ride him as long as they can. He didn't say that Phil wouldn't play again this season as they might need him if this series goes three or if they make it to the Final Five and win the play in game (also noted that Phil is a very capable goalie and they have a lot of faith in him). But, he stated that Parise is doing everything right. He mentioned that it goes beyond stopping the puck. He noted that JP's been in good position, has been anticipating the play and doing what is expected of him. A question was asked about recruits that have signed. DH said that Lee was a very deserving recipient of MN Mr. Hockey. He mentioned the other two defensive recruits and touched briefly on how the three guys are doing in the BCHL. He said Watkins is one of the best two-way players in the league and noted that the other two have done well scoring goals. He admitted there will be some adjustment next year for the new guys, but said they will get their feet wet fast. UND opens with a home exhibition game against Manitoba and then travels to Dayton, Ohio, for the Lefty McFadden tournament to start the season. While there, they will play Miami of Ohio and Michigan State. The remainder of the schedule hasn't yet been made public. He also mentioned that two more players likely will need to be signed for next season due to the number of seniors UND loses. He said Duluth is playing as well as anybody right now and they are in a precarious spot, nationally, and know they likely have to win the WCHA tourney to get a national berth. So he said they will be ready to go and UND will have to be too. He said it is spring break so tickets will be available. Saturday's game has been moved to 7:37 start to accomodate the women's bb regional at the Betty. If game three is necessary that will be at 7:07. Noted that UND was sitting at a #2 seed currently, on the national scene and that a series win this weekend and a win in St. Paul would go help them lock up what could remain as a #2 seed, but a spot in the national tourney nonetheless. He noted that they weren't looking ahead to St. Paul though and that their entire focus is on UMD.

This is the fifth time since 1985. The other d-men: Paul Martin Mike Crowley Larry Olimb Kris Miller

3-1 Moorhead; played February 5.

From USCHO's weekly WCHA column:

USCHO article

Talk of the Minnesota hockey tourney is relevant with regard to Moorhead games as two Spuds will play for UND!

He is not very big and after his interviewed following the game, the fellas in the broadcast booth laughed at his squeaky, high-pitched voice, but he played a good game yesterday and scored a very nice goal on what was close to an end-to-end play.

I am saddened by the news.