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One trait or knack I've noticed with this team is their ability to ramp it up in the 3rd period, to take their game to a higher level. I think this has to do with the quality of their physical training, their mental toughness & the leaders on this team. The coaches can preach this until they're blue in the face, but it's up to the players to adopt it as part of their identity: a team that can finish. All champions finish games strong, whether it's in the regular season or the national tournament. Let's see if the guys are still playing this way in April.

That would be an unequivocal truism of the highest order. Maybe someone who's wasted his money in numerology training can tell us if 8 & 15 are winning combinations (8th championship in the year 2015).

No offense directed at you, but I wonder why UND never partook in goofy rituals like stickers on helmets, decals in locker rooms after victories. I'm guessing it's because winning itself is the most important kind of ritual..

So what's the scoop on LaDue? One of the team's more important players.

I'm assuming you mean the girl's h.s. team, right?

If they convert just half their "just missed" chances, 14-1.

Was following the real-time chat & I lost count of how many times UND shot it "just wide". If I had a shot of vodka for every time I heard that I would've died of alcohol poisoning in the first period. If just half those shots had been on net the final would've been like 12-2. lol .. Maybe they would score bushels of goals every game if they made a concerted effort to shoot wide instead of on net.

Maybe this isn't the right thread, but does anyone else think that T. Poolman is ahead of his time for a college hockey player? He seems to "get" it at such an early start to his collegiate career. Some guys don't blossom until much later, if at all, but the college game seems to come pretty easily for him so early. That's how I'm reading his play so far, but I live in the SW so I don't have as clear a perspective as someone who lives in GF & goes to the games. I'm basing my perspective on his offensive abilities & am wondering if his defensive side is just as good.

How dare you.

Sioux-cia: I'm going to extend an olive branch to you. You're no doubt a very nice lady & I don't get my kicks outta insulting other people. Enjoy your evening & see you in the hockey threads.

I'm kind of a newbie to message boards so I wasn't expecting that kind of a reaction. Some people are really sensitive & crave arguments: Me: "Have a nice day." An innate arguer: "Have a nice day? Is that what you said?! Who made you the final judge on what kind of day it is? What if I don't think it's a particularly nice day, did you ever think of that?! Huh? And you TOLD me to have a nice day instead of ASKING me to have one. How presumptuous & arrogant of you."

Eff me, I should have known better than to enter this thread.

Sioux-cia:I didn't intend to ruffle any feathers here, yours included. Just stating my observations & opinions over the course of almost half a century. What I said may be the furthest thing from a fact, but it is my opinion to which everyone should be granted one. I love all peoples & believe we can all learn from each other. Edit after reading your latest post: Geesh, really? The old "you must be a racist" canard because you don't think like everyone else? I'm married to a beautiful Filipina, btw.

Whatever, just stating an opinion to which everyone is entitled...Try not to get your panties in a bunch.

I was born & raised in Grand Forks, & since leaving in 1990 for the navy have lived in south Phoenix, Arizona. Some of the nicest, most down-to-earth people here are some Mexican & black-American citizens that I know. ((emphasis on long-established citizens & not new immigrants like Fargo is getting)) That being said, predominantly white areas like ND, SD, Maine, MN, etc. are perceived by other new immigrants like big, juicy, ripe fruits to be eaten. They don't move here to s. Phoenix, Detroit, Chicago & all the other big urban centers because our taxes & resources are already maxed out & exhausted. They go to Vanilla-ville because it's ripe for the taking; not implying any animosity here, just stating the obvious. Here in metro Phoenix, many non-whites are long-established citizens and aren't newcomers like those LSS sends to the Dakotas and other white states. However, I have in the course of my job worked with some new Somali immigrants &, well, no comment there. A sidenote for my homies back in NoDak: In my experiences in the navy & in Phoenix, AZ, I have noticed some HUGE differences between the way whites & non-whites think; regardless of how long they have lived here. Whites are ingrained with & accustomed to order, formal procedures, respect of personal property & other distinct European traits. I don't think anyone above 40 would argue with this & except the most hardcore cultural Marxist. A newsflash here, but you don't or won't ever get the same reverence of these traits from other ethnic groups. You can try drilling these concepts into non-whites heads, but they ain't ever gonna think like Lars Johnsson from Hatton, ND. Ever. Period.. People are different & they always will be. You can have all sorts of fantasies in your beatnik liberal arts sciology class or some trendy Starbucks about everyone being the same, but it's just wishful thinking & masturbatory groupthink. Again, I'm glad people are different as there are many things we can learn from each other; I just don't pretend that we share the same values. That being said, I enjoy the diversity of people here in the Valley, but I also am aware that with diversity I am going to be coming across people who won't now or ever think like me. And that it is foolish (& possibly dangerous) for me to pretend that they ever will.

Exactly. A lot of fans deal with defeat by ignoring the reality of the present moment and focusing instead on next season. It makes dealing with defeat today a lot easier. If they lived in the present, and even went back 10+ years, they would realize that the hockey program has underperformed and not lived up to its expectations and the expectations of its fans. And that's not a comfortable feeling, so let's put on some blinders and focus on next season instead, after all, we were young this year and next year we've got some promising recruits coming in ... And some might think that by firing Hakstol you're firing a quality guy with the right intentions. Well, he may be the nicest guy with the purest of intentions in the metropolis that is GF, but that certainly isn't hanging banners at the Ralph now, is it? The one thing I take away from Hakstol's coaching style is that, from what I've read here, he refuses or is unable to make in-game adjustments. If anything, that's one thing a coach needs to do if things aren't going as planned. Sure, if you're winning 5-0, no need to change anything. But if you get into a national tournament game, fall behind a couple goals and lose the game because you didn't want to deviate from the original gameplan, it makes ZERO sense. I can't comprehend that stunted kind of thinking. Not just in games, but in life in general. If any person refuses to make adjustments in their life when it's needed, negative results smack them in the face. Yet Hakstol has demonstrated over his long tenure an inability to grasp this basis life concept. Another species that didn't adapt too well were dinosaurs. Hakstol may be a fine recruiter and may have a good hockey mind, but maybe he's stuck in ego for being unwilling or unable to change strategies on-the-fly: "If we change our gameplan, it means maybe it wasn't the right one we've been working on all week or maybe the other team's original gameplan is better than our's. That would be admitting a deficiency." I dunno why he doesn't change strategies during the course of games, just speculating. And yes, other high-end programs would not tolerate such a long drought. Think the Alabama head coach would last over 10 years without a national championship? No, because they have a culture of winning and their fans EXPECT it. UND fans have become complacent over the years if this is the model they accept. A model of being fine with winning regular seasons but not national championships. Maybe the fluoride level is extraordinarily high in the GF water supply & it's shut down its residents' higher thought processes? And then for those who want Hakstol to remain: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results every time. I know, a little cliche, but appropriate. I will say one thing for Hakstol: he presents a good image for the program. Meaning, he's a sharp-looking guy and he says all the right things about the program and what he expects. In other words, he's a good front man, reminds me of a politician, and maybe this is a (very) small reason he's kept aside from his huge contractual obligation. And if Miami were to get into the tournament after a total crap season just by winning 2 playoff games at the end, while UND does not after scratching and clawing all year and almost winning the regular season title, would not seem fair at all.

Hakstol's teams remind me of the movie 'Groundhog Day" every time March rolls around. Without fail, his teams come up short every year they enter the playoffs. Not just once in awhile, EVERY YEAR. Something's not right considering the blue chip talent this team has. Whether it's not finding the right line-combinations, not preparing the team properly, lack of in-game adjustments, not motivating the team with the right Knute Rockne speech, I dunno, this team just can't deliver when it matters. It can't be the players year after year over 10 years in a row now, nor can "puck luck" be the reason for so many consecutive seasons. Any thoughts?

Then that means I can't criticize the president, the construction team that built my house, the cook who burnt my steak last week, my supervisor, my dr. who charged me over $500 to de-wax my ears, etc., all because I've never held their positions before & can't do their work now. That's what you're implying by logical extension. Judging/discernment is an evolutionary trait that humans have acquired over the past 30-50k years for the sake of survival & bettering themselves; by nature the criticisms will abound when a team flops. Especially here, it's human nature. Being objectively critical of a team's performance is the best thing you can do for a team that wants to improve; saying "that's tough, there's always next year" doesn't inspire change for the better & is glossing over any deficiencies/flaws that will be repeated if not corrected. So, hopefully the coaching staff will evaluate themselves honestly in the off-season, from their types of recruits & conditioning exercises to their pre-game preparations & post-season scouting. Everything. Positive change through honest introspection. That goes for the players also. (not necessarily directed at you-->) Of course no team is going to win the NC every year, but it should be the belief and expectation of everyone on the Sioux hockey team that they will accomplish great things & not settle for anything less than the title year in & year out. It's nonsense for a team & its fans who are accustomed to success to be complacent with runner-ups. That's the fate of the Michigan Techs & Pittsburgh Pirates of this world. "Apologists" & "Sioux hockey" should be mutually exclusive concepts.

A true fan is always loyal, but critical when it's warranted. True, Hakstol doesn't deserve all the blame, but he gets paid the big bucks to bring home championships, so fans have a right to vent after the past 4 seasons. If the Sioux, say, go to the FF two years in a row & play hard-fought games, but lose in OT or have a bad bounce both games, I would probably attribute it to destiny or some other abstract excuse. But when they go 0-4 & don't really challenge in any of those years, I tend to think it's more of a systemic problem with some blame going to the coaching staff. Four consecutive FFs is quite a feat, but the goal of every season is to go all the way & correct any deficiencies when it's not attained. We played them even earlier in the year, & get embarrassed in the semis. Did they become NHL All-Stars over the past 6 months or did they perhaps have a better strategy by scouting our weaknesses more efficiently than we did theirs? Were their players better conditioned? Did they have a better system? Was their emphasis on speed & a quick transition game the keys (of which the coach is responsible for recruiting speedy players)? Were bad line-pairings the reason (putting the big Finley in an offensive-zone face-off, knowing that a quick Gerbe-led transition the other way would make it difficult for him to catch up)? If any of these reasons apply to this game then, yes, part of the blame falls on the coaching staff. These are just kids &, compared to a professional, need the right guidance at the right times for the best results. Sports aren't the only venues in which there are losers. Businesses go under & lose to competition that is more dynamic & forward-thinking. There is no "Oh well, thanks for the memories." CEOs get canned when results aren't achieved. Generals get demoted if they don't prove their cunning on the battlefield. Maybe not the best of examples, but my point stands that Hakstol needs to take some responsibility for the recent failures, like any good leader would. Something is causing the Sioux to perpetually lose year after year in big games, & it ain't all the players' faults. Hopefully Hakstol & his braintrust will isolate a couple of the not-so-glaring aspects & fix them for added championships. Some coaches (Belichick, Bowman, Lombardi to name a few) are destined for greatness because they expect it & instill this winning spirit in their players. Does Hakstol get the most out of his players & EXPECT championships year after year? I have no idea but any great coach would share this mindset, I believe. Maybe it's a generational thing, but a Sioux hockey fan should never accept mediocrity & should demand solutions when goals aren't met year after year. Complacency among the fan base doesn't jive with a winning program. It doesn't matter what York's or Lucia's track-record is, it only matters what Hakstol's is & the benchmark he sets for the Sioux team. Just my .02 from waaay out west in cowboy country....

It's refreshing to know that there are some sane people out there like you. Good post. I'll do you one better, because every one of "the front-runners" are complete & unabashed clowns & total misfits. Endless wars on false pretenses; diminished civil liberties; encroachment on the 2nd Amendment; destruction of the middle class due to outsourcing & an endless welfare/warfare state; the dissolution of the Constitution & U.S. sovereignty....I'm ashamed of our public school system & the idiots it has produced the past 60 years with its dumbed-down curriculum. An educated, rational public would be highly critical of these elitists, not fawning over them to the point of celebrity-worshiping. The matrix is escapable, you know. If N.D. were truly patriotic, it would bar these sovereignty-destroyers from entering the state. Get a load of this stuff: Obama's church founded on radical creed "The church where Sen. Barack Obama has worshipped for two decades publicly declares that its ministry is founded on a 1960s book that espouses "the destruction of the white enemy." Obama's unfunded bailout "Barack Obama's debate performances and his "change" and "hope" speeches have been rightly criticized for lacking substance. But that doesn't mean his policy shop hasn't been working overtime creating seemingly countless new schemes to transfer huge sums of taxpayer money to millions and millions of households through mortgage bailouts and "refundable" tax credits (essentially welfare payments to households whose income-and, in many cases, payroll-tax burdens have already been eliminated)."

More specifically, they are committed globalists who will drive the final nail into the coffin that is the middle class. Essentially they're no different than Insane McCain, other than their dumbed-down rhetoric & jingoistic stump speeches that may lead a gullible person who's easily influenced by mainstream media to think that they're competing paradigms. The corporate elite have chosen these puppets for your consumption. For those of you that have an ounce of common sense remaining, quit swallowing as Truth everything that the boob tube throws at you & think independently. I dare you. Think what kind of future you're leaving for your posterity. But if you desire the morphing of the sovereign entity that is the U.S. into the North American Union, then any of these 3 would be a worthy choice.

That's very nice to hear. Kudos to Hakstol & his top-notch recruiting skills.

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.