.357

Never really understood this intense disliking of the Badgers. It's been over 20 years since the Sioux had any consistently meaningful games with them & fans still carry on like they're evil incarnate. But I suppose it's human nature for avid sports fans from a particular school to focus on a team as "The Bad Guys". Subtract the Gophers & Badgers from our conference & it wouldn't be long before a new "hated" team was chosen. Tis to be expected in a dimension of dualities. I prefer to think of them as just another above-average team that makes us earn any points we may take from them. Don't really agree with that point. To refresh your memory, we live in a PC nation & institutions of higher learning are especially vulnerable to this cultural disease. Schools will usually fall in line with others to show just how Soviet they are. That's the nature of PC, it's a Groupthink mentality that starts with the elites, trickles down to the institutions, is spread non-stop by the media & through public schools, is fostered by large corporations & eventually molds the way individuals think. It's hard to escape it when it's drilled into our heads from the cradle to the grave. And then people act surprised that their school nickname is being challenged: PC has been around for the last 30+ years, is gaining steam & it'll only stop when society as a whole says it won't tolerate these mental restraints any longer. A few thousand concerned administrators & students from UND may be able to save its nickname & logo, but it won't kill the larger beast that is PC. In case anyone didn't know, PC was instituted in the former Soviet Union in the 1920's under Lenin as a way to control his people, to minimize the number of potential free-thinkers. When that didn't work, it was a one-way ticket to the gulags. Now it's here.

Better Friday night than Saturday night; Saturday wasn't exactly good for marketing purposes.

Very informative, esp. the part about "a lot of other guys coming in next season."

Probably as good as he wants to be. Off topic a little....Considering that he's only 17 & this is the age when most young men go through growth spurts, he may upsize another inch....maybe more. Most of his peers are trying out for varsity h.s. squads or trying to get the feel for the USHL, while he's competing in a league with grown men 3, 4 years his senior. He no doubt thought of this challenge before he signed with UND, that it would be the best for his development & would fasttrack his path to the NHL. No sense lighting up the USHL for a year when he can have comparable (but maybe less) success with more mature, refined players. Akin to academics: If you have a bright child, you put him with the other bright kids; not the average ones because there's no challenge & it stunts development.

Caught my first glimpse of the '05-'06 Sioux on the NHPTV Webcast & here are a few of my impressions: + Oshie: Always seemed to be where the action was & opportunistic in that he converted on a nice backhand rebound. Maybe doesn't have a blistering slapshot but compensates for that by working in tight spaces & close to the net. The Dino Ciccarelli (sp) legend lives on in the form of a young man with a unique first name. + Lee: I admire young players like this who perform beyond their years. Poised, good decision-making in pressure situations; skills that usually take years to develop. Was impressed with his shots from the point: on the Oshie goal he appeared to notice a possible good rebound opportunity when he shot low-right on Regan, with Oshie calmly flipping it in. Displayed good anticipation on that goal. + Chorney: I don't think I've ever seen a frosh d-man play with such confidence. Powerful stride & hard slap shot from the point; at times I thought I was watching an all-American junior or senior. + Jones: From reading various posters' previous evaluations of Zach, I thought of him as the weakest link in the d-corps. After watching him Saturday, I still think he has a ways to go but I feel a lot more comfortable with him than before. On one occasion, he moved up nicely from the blueline, took a nice feed from Zajac who was behind the UNH goal & had a quality point-blank shot on net. This could have led to an odd-man rush the other way, but he got to show his offensive side. + Parise: Noticed from a couple NH papers before the weekend & USCHO Hockey East reporters afterward that Parise was being described as a "star" & other nice things. Never before quite thought of him this highly but my opinion of him changed this weekend. No doubt a few of the NHL scouts in attendance saw his great play (esp. Fri. night) & it'll be interesting to see if he gets selected in one of the later rounds of the '06 Entry Draft. + Consistency: I wonder if it's written somewhere or a universal law that young teams are forbidden from playing 60 minutes of intense hockey. I thought we had a good showing in this area Saturday, but from listening to other games Parise won't always be able to bail out his teammates during those times when they have those 20-minute long motivational malfunctions. + Inopportune penalties: A good example of this was when Stafford hacked a UNH forward across the back of the neck during a time when the Sioux were dominating play & cycling very effectively. This essentially nullified that & put UNH back on the offensive. Maybe someone can call in Wednesday night & ask the coach why his players are doing this & if anything is being done to remedy the situation. I know, it's early in the season, but it's something that shouldn't be allowed to continue indefinitely. + This is a very special freshman class. Contrary to preseason polls & expectations, I don't think this is an exceptionally strong year in the WCHA. Denver & Minnesota may create a slight gap at the top come Jan. or Feb., but I think the Sioux will still be within shouting distance. Still TBD is whether the young Sioux legs will still be moving fast in March after 6 months of physical WCHA play. + Dear Bob Norton: Winnipeg is not in Minnesota & Finley is taller than 6'4". + Liked what I saw in the cycling department. Also impressed by their transition game; big difference from last year & it's remarkable how the simple addition of 3 offensive-minded d-men can change the style & overall effectiveness of a team. Sort of reminded me of CC's style of D in recent years & I think this better ability to push the puck up the ice (including outlet passes) will make for more exciting hockey, longer puck possession, better control of the neutral zone &, of course, more point production -- from the D & overall. Seemed like last year's D was preoccupied with hurting opposing players, whereas this year's are focused on putting points on the board. + Hockey East doesn't look to be too strong this year if UND can go into (projected 1st place) UNH & take 3/4 points with mostly underclassmen. Not very impressed with the Wildcats -- suspect D, doesn't appear to be coached in the importance of physical play/checking & mostly a one-line team. These qualities may win HE regular season titles, but not NCAA championships. HE down this year, CCHA up & WCHA as previously mentioned. + Special thanks to sprig for giving me some tips that optimized my PC in preparation for Saturday night's Webcast. Thanks also to NHPTV for the opportunity to watch some quality hockey (even though their server kicked me off with 5 min. remaining in the 3rd period because it got too busy).

Well, to show any others reading this that I don't have any animosity towards you, I thought I would respond in public. When people see someone going through a hard time, I think it's human nature to try & want to understand them better. At least for me it is. I was reading this thread & the one on USCHO & most of the comments were about the end-results, like what it would mean to the team & mostly well-wishes. I thought the same things, but being the inquisitive type, wanted to know the reasons. Why is this happening to him? immediately popped into my head; & from my work experiences thought I would share with others what could possibly be the beginnings of some organic disorder. Some may have seen this as an inappropriate assumption, but I saw it as an opportunity to maybe shed some light on the situation. (the ol' po-ta-to vs. po-TA-to dilemma) I'm not trying to pigeon-hole you here, but I think many people see Serious Mental Illness as a stigma, like alcoholism & cancer, & would prefer to shove it under the carpet then talk about it openly. Basically a cultural no-no. It's acceptable to speculate about physical injuries & why a player is doing poorly in the classroom, but when it comes to the inner workings of the mind most people shy away from it, almost reflexively. I'm probably very wrong about Tyler & I certainly hope it's a fleeting problem. In the end, we'll likely never know what caused him to leave, but I feel it's healthy to discuss the reasons as long as the dialogue is kept respectful & a better understanding is sought. Thanks for the compliment, a hearty ditto & the best to Tyler.

From PCM's link: Sounds like Umile has his team thinking that they're the underdogs up against the big, mighty Sioux. Smart on his part, no doubt wanting his players to be the hungier team.

schmidtdoggydog: I posted in good faith & was listing this as a remote possibility. It was an opinion and nothing more & was not intended to sensationalize this young man's plight. I was listing my experience in this field & mentioned this because family members are usually shocked when their child comes down with this because of the bizarre behaviors exhibited. Next time, I recommend you & all others ask me or any other poster you have problems with for an explanation before jumping to conclusions. It facillitates discussions.

That was a classic post. Thank goodness none of those characteristics define North Dakotans.

Hopefully this medical hardship isn't being taken for early signs of schizophrenia. I work with schizophrenic clients & this mental illness usually starts showing itself in 17-25 year olds. Intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts that, according to the afflicted, come from one or more outside "people". Schizophrenics also have hardcore delusions (false beliefs that have no basis in reality), are usually quite paranoid & some are hyper-religious. I'm working with a 42 y/o male now who thinks he has an implant in his throat that controls the moods & behaviors of those around him. I'm hoping that what Tyler is going through is nothing more than transient personal problems & not anything like schizophrenia which is quite debilitating.

According to some, even the white Powerballs are a racist act; I suppose some are just more at ease seeing black balls on Wednesday & Saturday nights. There's a town called White Settlement (TX?) where the city council is voluntarily changing the name so as not to offend anyone. Another example of castrated white males running around afraid of their own shadows. Anyway.... Gk seems to think his fellow Native Americans are all saints. Technically, Native Americans are distant relatives of the Asian race. Some fine & dandy representatives from that kind & gentile group include Ghengis Khan, Attila the Hun & more recently Mao, Pol Pot. And before the history books were revised some 30 years ago, stories were told of his Aztec cousins to the south engaged in head-severing rituals; while his brothers up north had some pretty vicious battles with other tribes. Many of these people didn't have the technology & mobility of whites to spread their terror internationally, but they sure wreaked a lot of mayhem in their own regions; as far as their horses could take them. Point is, every race has blood on its hands; contrary to what GK, Steven Spielberg & Hollywood tell you.

True. It's refreshing to see a couple of white people here who are tuned into what's happening in our public schools & institutions of higher learning. Brown, black, red & yellow = good & righteous; white = evil & racist haters. GK exploits this decades-old mantra & mentions it as often as possible, probably because he can get away with it & there are no social repercussions for him making blanket statements & gross misrepresentations of the caucasian race. Hardly noble but very politically savvy. It's PC to blame Whitey. On the other hand, whites have been conditioned for, oh, the past 50-60 years that anything resembling white pride is taboo & "hateful". Public education sure has been hijacked by a lot of self-hating whites in high places who have instilled this self-loathing/racial denial in our children. This agenda has sure been successful -- the number of whites who have bought into this propaganda is legion. You repeat something over & over & people begin to believe it, regardless of whether it's true or not: Stalin, Goebbels, Mao & most American politicians know this stratagem. Sioux-cia is rather bold here about her pride in her Mexican ancestry & more power to her; I actually admire people who are proud of their lineage. No race should be made to feel ashamed of their family tree. Now if only white people would have this sense of racial awareness & stand up & be counted; very difficult to achieve when the media & schools are bombarding us 24/7 with images & messages quite the opposite. Wake up, white man, & be proud of yourself & your past, just like the other races. The media is not your friend.

At this point in the season, I don't think any team deserves a #1 ranking. Not Michigan, not the Sioux, not Minnesota, not Cornell, not anybody. If I were in charge of a certain poll, I would leave the #1 spot open for the first few weeks until all the teams have had at least a chance to hit their collective strides and demonstrate that one of them deserves to be on top. Right now it's too early: Too much of teams getting-to-know each other & establishing identities, upsets that would rarely happen in later months, players still trying to reach their peak conditioning & other early-season factors. In fact, for the entire month of October I'd have teams ranked 2 through 15 but not #1. The #1 slot would open after the first weekend in November. I think this would be a refreshing change to the traditional concept of polling.

Are political parodies o.k. or would this be too risky & possibly offend someone's sensibilities? I want to upload a political avatar but I don't want to be too "provocative"; simply want to stay within your nicely packaged, non-offensive parameters. No skin, derogatory language, violence or anything of the sort. Thank you. And if I understand this right, a boss might be offended by a woman in a bikini but he wouldn't be offended by his employee surfing the Internet on company time?

Is the Fargo Forum now a subsidiary of USCHO?

jk, I enjoy reading your ongoing analyses of this team, your historical comparisons to the teams of a few years ago was an insightful way to help Sioux fans better understand this year's squad. Clever indeed. After listening to the games this weekend, .500 by year's end in the toughest league in the nation sounds optimistic, .600 would be unexpected & anything .700 or better would probably earn Hakstol WCHA Coach of the Year honors. Maybe we should throw leadership into the equation as well. I believe upperclass leadership & mentoring from Smaby, Porter, Prpich & the others will be a huge factor this year, especially in the close games. That's if they take the role of the C's & A's on their jerseys seriously. If these guys are of the attitude that their team is too young to make a serious push & are just biding their time until they can make the move to the next level, then chances are that the W-L columns will be tilted more to the L. But I don't get that impression when I listen to Smaby being interviewed. Looking forward to seeing in the coming weeks if they bring a lot of passion & energy on a consistent basis that will rub off on the younger guys. Once this team "clicks" & gets acclimated to WCHA play, they will be a joy to watch. Just a question of "when" & if their young bodies can adequately handle 6 months of intense physical pounding. I predict many a computer monitor to go airborne, a lot of kicked puppies & fists making contact with walls in Siouxville from now until March. Some people around here have coined the term "Notermann-ed" for when a player's shots in any given game have a recurring knack of hitting the pipe instead of the back of the net. I think that's cute & Toews would probably be the recipient of this dubious award the last couple of weeks.

3 goals on 24 shots could be indicative of not just suspect goaltending but also poor defense and inconsistent backchecking. Or, maybe Lucia told the guys to just go out & have fun & was more concerned about line combos than his goalies' GAA. Hard to tell, but if compared with the Sioux/Manitoba game it can cause a Sioux fan to maybe get overly optimistic. My first reaction was that the Gophers may be a one-dimensional team, but we all know exhibitions aren't really good indicators.

No doubt there'll be a few d-men who will be burned by him, get frustrated and want to line him up when they get the chance. Kessel will likely be shifting with a designated enforcer ala Gretzky-McSorley/Parise-Greene to protect the Gophers' investment & title hopes. I don't think they'd risk putting a potential #1 pick on the ice without a brute to back him up. As far as tackling goes, I think other teams won't have a choice & will have to clutch & grab many times each game because of his sheer quickness & speed. This is inevitable, imo. Or, obstruction could be called mostly during Gopher games & forgotten about in others. I guess we'll see if the refs are more susceptible to the Kessel hype than the Parise hype; because we all know that the fanfare preceding Parise's arrival didn't garner him any special attention.

Thanks. I always strive to be in the mold (not the fungus type) of the godfather here, PCM. Your strategy, & obviously that of Hak's also, of going for the gold instead of the silver is probably the right approach. Except, as we can all see, half the WCHA is doing the same thing. I guess it comes down to timing & what team will be loaded & what other teams will only have a few superstars in any given year. This year, Minnesota has the responsibility of following through with their immense talent. Next year, if we don't lose anyone early, will be our turn while the Gophers have a down year of only a couple first-rounders on their roster. So it ebbs & flows with this approach & this year there just happens to be 4 or 5 teams that have a legitimate shot & 1 with a very legitimate shot.

The more blue chippers that are on any given squad narrows the window-of-opportunity, it seems, to win a national championship because of early defections. Whereas the '96-'97 recruiting class didn't have any (I think) first-round picks and eventually won 2 NCAAs because almost all the players stayed the entire 4 years. So there is a price with higher-end talent in that there is more of an urgency to win it all in a shorter time frame. The mentality of guys like Lee, Chorney, Zajac & Toews no doubt want to win at this level & are very competitive, but their main goal (for the most part) was & always will be to turn pro if they're ready for & wanted in the pros; unlike the mentality of guys like DeFauw, Armbrust, the Panzer bros. & Hoogsteen who were pretty much relegated to finishing out their college careers. Just some Tuesday ramblings here. Most college hockey buffs know this stuff but it's been on my mind ever since the Sioux went from Blue-light specials to Blue-chipper phenoms a few years ago.

Matt Watkins or Andrew Kozek? Only SS's intrepid reporter knows for sure. Another poster commented on Brian Lee being the 2nd Coming of Travis Roche. Considering he's fresh out of high school & poised beyond his years, he may even be a notch above Roche in pure ability.The coming month & stiffer competition should tell us if this is so. Had he been born a few more miles to the north customs agents may have not allowed him to enter the States. Don't agree very much with some of the WCHA final standings predictions over at USCHO. 4th & 5th place? The WCHA is a 4 or 5 team top-heavy league this year but if the Sioux can confine their one & only weakness (defense, at least early) to one or two defensive pairings they may be able to finish top 3. From a pressure perspective, it may be easier to start low & climb gradually during the year, rather than starting very high & trying to maintain that intensity for 6 months. Have fun & play the spoiler role for awhile.