schmidtdoggydog

You know what they say over on POI - win most, lose a few - there is no elitism in that sentiment, is there?

Not regarding a former Sioux player, but an interesting article about Vanek: I can already hear the Gopher fans - "he won a championship," but I doubt many people are surprised to hear about him likely taking shifts off. Article

Taffe is from Hastings!

In my opinion, an edge of the seat player has yet to emerge this season, although Genoway scoring four points on the four goals scored against the Gophers last Friday is what could be expected from an edge of the seat type player. I think both Murray and Stafford have the capabilities. Will it come through on the ice though is another question. Off topic - I know Murray put on 15 pounds this past summer, does he seem a tad slower to any of you? Back to topic. Although I don't think the '02 team really had an edge of the seat player, Bayda could always be counted on to do something - Skarperud did not have me on the edge of my seat and neither did Bo at that point (despite being rookie of the year), but he did show the signs though. I do think your list can be extended back much farther - back to the late 70's from Mark Taylor to Doug Smail to Phil Sykes to Tony Hrkac to Steve Johnson to Greg Johnson to Landon Wilson (not real dynamic, but always interesting) to Jason Blake to most of the guys you mentioned. (The players I named are not an exclusive list btw). I hope that type of player emerges this season, if for no other reason than it makes watching the games a little more exciting.

Did you mean to say you haven't been too impressed with their play? Because if you did, I completely agree. Despite their won/loss record and their solid performance at Maine, I haven't been impressed with much of anything UND's done. Although I expected better play, I won't get too worked up yet especially considering the loss of Blais, Parise and Bo. BUT, after watching their last four games in person, I am surprised by a few things: One, how in the world have they given up roughly 30 shots a game (40 in one) to a team picked eighth in the league (Mankato) and a team laden with freshmen (Minnesota)? Defense was supposed to be UND's strength. The defense certainly is talented and experienced, but giving up that many shots is very unexpected and likely - to Hakstol and fans alike - unacceptable. Second, how have the two teams mentioned above held UND, despite their lack of returning scoring, to approximately 20 shots a game?! Truly, I think that shocks me more than the defensive 'woes.' Three shots in the first period on Saturday against UM? I cannot imagine that even being possible. Does it come down to lack of effort; lack of intensity; struggles with the closely called games; adjustment to the new coach; or all the above? Whatever the reason, it is a bit troubling. Splitting with the Gophs at home is no reason to panic as the two teams typically seem to split games despite the venue, the level of talent, the season ('02 being the exception) etc. But, it is how poorly UND played during the split that is cause for some concern.

That looks like a beaver to me - either way, point taken!

Aren't Kessel and Sioux recruit Zach Jones on the same team this year? Hopefully, they will/have become fast friends. btw, I agree with Dagies and don't think UND has much of a shot, if any, of landing Kessel.

You could be right, but he did skate with Greene on several shifts, most of them penalty kill though.

For those of you at Saturday's game, did you happen to notice how much icetime Andy Schneider logged? No question UND is deep at defense, but AS seemed to be on the ice for most of the second half of the game (at one point he was on the ice for the entire two minute penalty kill in the second period!). He looked like the Schneider of old (2003) and that is a good sign. I don't recall seeing him skate with Jones at any point, but he did skate with each of the other four d at some point during the game. Despite all the special teams play, it appeared to me that he was being double shifted. Other than that, the first two periods of Saturday's game seemed to be a continuation of Friday's. Sluggish and uninspired play. But, in the third, a few guys stepped up. I thought Brady Murray, for one, skated very hard in the third and showed some flashes. Lammy was very solid. Good positioning and he didn't seem rattled. He wasn't really tested, but in part I think that is because he did a good job covering rebounds and getting the whistle. It should be quite a battle to get the start in net this season.

Diggler?? How much did he pay you to post that comment?! Thanks for the recap, PCM. It is always informative and greatly appreciated by those of us living outside the GF area.

There were several members of this website present today so I apologize in advance if multiple recaps are posted. As usual, the typical disclaimer should be reviewed before going any farther, but I am too lazy to cut and paste so read at your own risk. RT and DH both commented about Dean Blais. They had both spoken with him recently and noted that he is doing well despite the difficult times. DB and DH spoke after Saturday's game - DH called him a tremendous family man and said DB is back in Columbus now with his youngest child hoping for an end to the lockout so he can get back to coaching. Some talk about the series in Maine. DH noted that they have a very difficult arena to play in and that Maine is very successful there, but also noted that UND is 3-0-1 in their last four games there going back to '01 season. He said UND played much better Saturday night and that by the third period Saturday Maine simply couldn't keep pace with UND and he attributed that in part to great conditioning by UND's squad. He said that after every game the coaches rate all the players using a 1,2,3 system with 1 being the best rating and 3 the worst. None of the Sioux players received a 3 rating for either game against Maine and he was happy with that. He noted that if a player receives a couple of 3's in a row that chances are good they won't play the next game, but nobody was rated that low last weekend. He didn't talk specifically about many players, but did have nothing but superlatives to offer about Rory McMahon. He said from day 1 this year during dryland RM has been a leader. His leadership is being felt in the lockerroom and on the ice. DH said that RM may not score a lot and didn't get a lot of points against Maine, but does a lot of the little things very well and those are the things that don't appear on the scoreboard, but do make for a good leader. He mentioned that RM has become a very solid and good hockey player. He did say that Spirko is now a household name in Maine and that even the reporters were referring to him as Sparky when asking about him postgame. He made some mention about the defense as a whole. He stated that MG, MJ, AS and MS are all very big and that their size takes a toll on, and after time wears down, the opponent. He said they have all matured nicely on the ice and have become good hockey players. They have good sense and know what they need to do to win games. A question was asked about Radke. DH said he will play at least one game this weekend. The plans were to play him on Saturday against Maine, but he didn't want to upset the balance and said the defense played so well on Friday that it wouldn't send a good message to take one of the six that played out of the lineup on Sat. He said that Radke understood. He also said KR is a very gifted hockey player and will be a big part of UND's success not only in the future, but this season as well. Another question was asked in reference to the new concept of calling penalties by the book. DH said he believes it will favor UND, but did note that some teams will be hurt by it. He feels that UND has a smart team and that the players know what to do and it is just up to the coaches to remind them. He expects the transition won't take more than a couple of weeks and then his players should be good to go. He said he wished refs would have called the games that way the last two seasons and noted that Parise would have been even more fun to watch. That is all I can remember for now. Congrats, GDM, for winning a prize today. I didn't see what it was, but free things are tough to beat.

There are several bars just south of the arena. Buffalo Wild Wings is in the "mall" across the street to the south of the arena (about a minute walk). Pregame it is usually packed with college hockey fans.

I sat in 201 last year along with several Sioux fans. I got tickets in that same section for both games this weekend. The 00, 01 and 02 sections typically seats a lot of Sioux fans. That is also the end of the rink that UND will shoot at twice.

RW77, According to the info given out at Meet the Sioux, Zajac and Radke are the next youngest players and both turned 19 this past May. If the information that was given out is correct, Stafford is the youngest player on the team by five months.

Scoring seven goals against arguably the best goaltender in the country while sweeping the second ranked team in their rink when that hasn't been accomplished by a nonconference opponent in 19 years - WOW! Very nice start.

I would guess he is out recruiting. Edit: Dagies beat me to the punch.

Yeah, who does he think he is - David Lundbohm?!

Comments from Stafford about penalty shot: He's had penalty shots before but not in that type of situation and not at this level. Considering the condition of the ice and with Howard in net he had no thoughts of deking the goalie, just shooting. Other tidbits: Sioux wearing their road green tonight. Radke is other player that made trip, but won't play tonight.

According to the roster on the backside on the team picture given away at Meet the Sioux, Stafford, although a sophomore, is still the youngest player on the team. He will turn 19 toward the end of this month.

Some comments from the pregame: TH said there were not many breakdowns for the Sioux last night, DH didn't necessarily agree and said there were some communication breakdowns defensively. DH said that McMahon and Prpich were just short of tremendous last night on the penalty kill. DH said UND is a good team five and five and that is their strength. He also said that calls went both ways last night. He also said that Jordan had a real good performance last night and that he was solid, made big saves and battled real hard. Tim Whitehead said that Jordan rose to the occasion Maine's breakaway toward the end of the first period and made a great save on a good shot. Brandt in net tonight, otherwise exact same lineup for the Sioux. DH said Brandt coming off a good season and a good week of practice. J. Parise will be first intermission guest.

He has the same number of championships as Pat Micheletti, Corey Millen, Tom Chorske, Paul Broten, Larry Olimb, Robb Stauber, Trent Klatt, Brian Bonin, Mike Crowley, Dave Spehar, Eric Westrum, the Hankinson family, the McAlpine family and the Woog family combined!