schmidtdoggydog

INCH D and Goaltender Rankings #2 Radke -------------- #3 Lammy

And drinks will stay colder longer - it is a win-win!

Easy now - I am a RR grad. Why are you taking out your frustrations on RR alums?

I attended the Fargo Jets/Bismarck Bobcats game in Fargo last night. I realize it is early in the season, but Jacques Lamoureaux looked to be one of the better players on the ice. He has good size, was solid on his skates and scored a goal and assist and had one of two goals in the shootout, which was won by Bismarck. Whether he can improve upon last season's performance and whether UND is even interested remain to be seen, but simply because of his pedigree I felt it worth noting in the recruiting thread.

At Fargo Sioux Boosters today, the Assistant AD said that the technical difficulties have been addressed and the audio will be working during UND's next football game.

I stand corrected. Thanks.

Bubble hockey rules!!! Btw, protective netting on the ends is just the beginning. It won't be long before some fan sitting on the side somewhere gets plucked with a puck and suffers a serious injury and then more netting will be installed (note to the extremely sensitive, I am not making light of injuries or injured fans). Somewhere down the line, hockey will likely be played in a bubble, but instead of a plastic/plexi "dome" there will be netting running from the players' benches around to the penalty boxes. It seems silly, but it is certainly forseeable.

The following is an article from Sunday's Boston Herald: Team USA must rebuild from blue line up By Steve Conroy/ Notebook Sunday, September 12, 2004 TORONTO - When Finland upset Team USA in a World Cup of Hockey semifinal Friday night in St. Paul, Minn., it not only ended the Americans' title defense but also most likely ended the international careers of a few USA Hockey stalwarts. One would think the Brett Hull era is over, considering the winger was a scratch for the last three games. Defenseman Brian Leetch's time could possibly be done, too. But perhaps the player moving on who left the biggest mark on the program is 42-year-old captain Chris Chelios. The blueliner has represented his country in a World Junior Championship, three Olympic Games and five World Cups/Canada Cups. Chelios will certainly be missed. ``That guy's meant everything to us,'' said winger Bill Guerin, who might make a good Team USA captain should NHL players participate in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. ``In the four tournaments I've played with him, he's been the best leader I've ever been associated with. The guy's unbelievable. And he keeps coming back and coming back because he truly loves the game and loves being a part of these things. You learn a lot from people like that.'' Coach Ron Wilson said Chelios epitomized what a captain should be for his team. ``He has been a fantastic ambassador for U.S. hockey and NHL hockey,'' said Wilson. ``He's a class act and he's all-inclusive. He's not an elitist at all. He remembers his roots. That's why guys love him as a teammate. If you played five games in the NHL or if this is your first experience on the national team, you'll leave here knowing the type of person Chris Chelios is. That's rare in a modern day athlete.'' Now with such luminaries either done or past their prime, there's been some hand-wringing over the state of the U.S. game at this level. While Wilson said he's not the best person to ask about the state of the program - ``I just coach the team'' - he believes the future is still bright. He was impressed with some of the young players who participated in the World Cup, players like Devils defenseman Paul Martin and goalie Rick DiPietro. The coach also noted there are more good young players on the way, though the program may need to get over a bit of a hump until prospects like Ryan Suter, Al Montoya, Zack Parise and Bruins draftee Mark Stuart are ready. ``There has obviously been a bit of a gap, but look at what's coming,'' said Wilson. ``Our junior team won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships. . . . There are a lot of great young players that have been drafted very high by respected teams in the NHL. We may have to scratch and claw internationally for a couple of years, but I think the future is bright.''

You are correct, i spose! Puck drops at 7:05 p.m. at the new southwest arena, which is near the southeast corner of I94 and 45th St. South. Beware, because of road construction, I do not believe you can get to the arena off of 45th St, but you can get there off of 42nd St. So.

I have watched many games through the netting at the Final Five, Frozen Four, WJ eval camp and at NHL games. Although I understand the reasoning behind the netting, I don't like enjoy watching the game through it. Some people don't mind, but I do! Some of it depends where you sit. In Buffalo in 2003 I sat two rows from the top of the arena and didn't notice the netting at all even though I had to watch entire games through it. At the X I have sat 10-15 rows up on the end and did not have an easy time adjusting to it. Certainly, the farther away from the netting, the better. My seats at the REA are ten rows up directly behind the net on the north side. Because I am only ten rows up the netting appears to be right in front of my face making it much more difficult to see through. Although the nets are here to stay, I don't see the problem with voicing displeasure. For three years I had a clean, unobstructed view of the entire ice - now I, and many others, have to watch entire games through netting, which from my seat, is an obstructed view of the entire ice and the score board. That is a considerable change to my viewing pleasure. Do I agree with netting, no, I don't! Will I stop attending Sioux games, absolutely not. Will I continue to voice my displeasure, probably. Will I make attempts to move seats in the future, without question.

Was this play named during Rocky's tenure - jailbreak - that would've be appropriate at the time!

The irony in your statement is that may be where he does end up - in the can, so to speak!

I don't disagree with what you said with varying the location of kicks. But, there is no excuse for kickoffs going out of bounds at the college level while playing INSIDE, especially from of a kicker of JG's caliber. Besides with his leg strength it should never be an issue when playing indoors. On the flipside, how can the coverage team work on their coverage if balls are kicked: 1) out of the endzone; or 2) out of bounds? If the coverage team needs to work on adjustments, it would seem logical that the ball must stay in play. No coverage improvements can be made when the ball is blown dead on kickoffs (not that I don't like when Glas blasts them through the endzone ). With games upcoming outdoors against the teams you mention, it would seem imperative, at this point, to keep the kick in play and let the coverage team(s) do their job(s) - or at a minimum at least get a feel for pursuing the kickoff returner.

From today's Fargo Forum: Huskies running strong Eric Peterson, The Forum Published Thursday, September 09, 2004 Gone are Adam Marohl, Matt Hruby and Nathan Ehni, Wahpeton's entire starting backfield from last season. However, you wouldn't know it from talking to Huskies head football coach Mike McCall. "We could legitimately go five deep at running back," McCall said. "We have really been blessed at running back." A solid running attack has sparked Wahpeton to a 2-0 record heading into Eastern Dakota Conference play. The Huskies open their conference season at 7 p.m. Friday at Grand Forks Red River. "We know we have improvement to make," McCall said. However, a balanced running game is likely to key continued success in the EDC. Junior running back Aaron Roland -- the brother of current University of North Dakota standout running back Adam Roland -- rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries last Friday in a 26-20 against rival Breckenridge (Minn.). "He's a fast runner and he has pretty good vision on the field, too," McCall said. "There are some resemblances between him and his brother." Roland had just one carry for zero yards in Wahpeton's season-opener. However, senior Brandon Cook rushed for 112 yards on 22 carries in that game. Cook has 208 yards on the season to go with Roland's 196. "The more we balance out carries, the better off we'll be in the long run," McCall said.

From today's Forum (no mention of UND in the article!): It's sort of like skating backward: Being an NHL draft pick has helped Brian Gifford get into college. Despite scoring 56 points and being a Mr. Hockey finalist, the 2004 Moorhead High graduate received little interest from college hockey coaches. Now, due in part to being taken 85th by the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 27, the forward has what "everyone's working for" -- an NCAA Division I scholarship. Gifford will play for the University of Denver, the reigning national champion, on full scholarship beginning in 2005-06. "They have a really good program," said Gifford, who will skate for the USHL's Indianpolis Ice this winter. "The coaches are nice, good facilities, I like the area, the academics are pretty strong." Still, it wasn't an easy call. After the NHL draft, Gifford was also offered a full ride by Nebraska-Omaha, and was being recruited by Minnesota-Duluth and Maine. But a recent trip to Denver, during which he stayed with Pioneers alternate captain and fellow Moorhead alum Nick Larson sealed the deal -- which may prove to be a good one for Denver. "I don't think Giff has played the best hockey he's going to play," Spuds coach Dave Morinville said.

I agree with this prediction except I would swap 9 and 10. I cannot see Alaska finishing everywhere but last. I agree with jloos' comments - after losing most of their top players and scorers they could have a repeat of their winless season.

hahaha, now that is funny! You do realize that the Bison have been on UND's schedule the "last couple of years?" You will soon have reason to celebrate when your mighty Bison take on the always powerful Montana Tech!

ffbison is just p*ssed because his team got beat by UNC's placekicker!

NDH, I respectfully disagree. Whether TV returns or not seems like an important and relevant topic to WCHA fans. If he returns, I maintain that the Gophers could contend for the league title, without him, they will experience some bumps in the road. Either way, it will likely have an impact on the WCHA and how things will shake out in the standings and possibly with league awards.

Here is the updated roster which includes the numbers the new guys will be wearing. Of note and off topic, the current roster only has two players, McMahon and Kaip, officially listed as centers.

Roenick had a pretty funny comment when talking about Blake after JB's scrum toward the end of tonight's game when he said, "Blakies only 5'5", but he's tough as nails!" Obviously, he isn't quite that short, but it looked like he got a good shot in on DK.

Pat, I appreciate you clearing that up. When I heard that SJ might not have fulfilled the education component required for the job I was confused as to why he would even apply. So thanks for the retraction. It takes bigger you-know-whats to issue a public apology than to bury the truth just to save face.

So what? All that means is Jordan's stats were also much better than the former Hobey winner's, which in a sense furthers the point that Sioux fans make about UND goaltenders - so thanks! But in reality it is an irrelevant point because it is comparing apples and oranges - at this point anyway!

Although the Gophers always seem to find a way they are most certainly not immune to a down season. If Vanek returns I do believe they will be one of the favorites as he is a difference maker. Without him they will battle for home ice, in my opinion. The reason I say this is not just because they lost a lot of scoring, but more importantly, they lost A LOT of leadership - Ballard, Potulny, Koalska, Riddle, et al. Those guys were the undisputed leaders of the team for the last couple of years and good leadership is paramount if a team is going to be successful in the WCHA. Combine that with a very young team (great incoming class, but young nonetheless) and there are bound to be struggles. Of course they have reloaded, but there will bumps along the way this season, in my opinion. There are always comments on this board from Gopher fans about our Kelly Green glasses, but for those to say that the Gophers will be solid just because they are the Gophers is not only arrogant, but possibly a myopic view through Maroon and Gold glasses. It cracks me up because I can already hear the comments regarding UND's 2005-06 season from Gopher fans following the upcoming season - UND lost a lot of leadership and they are going to struggle, UND has a good class of freshmen coming in but freshmen don't usually fair well in this league and they are going to struggle, the NCAA is just taking care of UND by giving them a regional during what could be a down season. Mark my words, POI will be buzzing a year from now with similar comments, but how dare others say those same about the Gophers this season. btw, WPoS, I believe UND's goaltenders set, or nearly set, last season the record for lowest goals against average in the history of the WCHA. That being the case, feel free to bag on the goaltender rotation, but it worked and worked well, and the numbers Brandt and Parise posted were pretty dang good!

And I, like most Sioux fans, don't care about the Bison. If we did we would've gone to NDSU!