Eidsness with 31 saves tonight.
Previously undefeated Tigers lose to the Sioux
other scores:
MN
NH tie
SCSU 4
Robert Morris 0
DU 4
Duluth 1
WI 3
Tech 2
Notre Dame 4
BC 1
Coach Hak:
The guys took each task at hand and got the job done. The three penalties in the third we tough, but we did a very good job keeping shots coming from the outside. Eidsness made good saves. We did a good job battling for rebounds. The Zajac line set the tone with cycling. The first goal of the game was a scissors cycle behind the net with Watkins and Zajac, he made a heck of a play. Davidson and Hextall goals we're just "hungry goals". We missed two empty nets in the game so it was good to get some "greasy goals". Davi made a good play finishing off a good play by Martens. I didn't really see how it went in. We seemed hungrier tonight. I told the guys not to be down, we're not happy with where we're at... but eight of our nine last periods were good enough to beat anyone in the country. Let's build on the two fourty minute periods we played last weekend. This group works hard together. We haven't worked smart in some cases, but we've worked hard together. We're gonna need every bit of a good effort again tomorrow night. They lost something like three games on this ice last season so they're gonna come out tough. We've got a couple issues on the blueline that we need to deal with. Don't know on Chay... there was also another unknown issue in the final minutes... we'll put together our best roster to come back again tomorrow night. Eidsness made a lot of good positional saves. He made two or three big saves, battled hard on a couple of scrambles.
Hextall: (P.S. Doors Players of the Game)
Feels good to get the monkey off the back. We know Bachman is a great goldtender... we talked about getting in his face and banging home rebounds, and that's how we won the game. We did a great job staying composed in the third with the penalties. We talked about trusting each other more. Everyone responded well when they were called upon. I hope Chad Rau and their whole team knows who I am, they'll get to know me a little better tomorrow night. If they're gonna start taking liberties against our top players, we're gonna do it to them. They're not gonna be happy that they did that. To come in here and beat the number one team feels good. They took us off the rankings so we had a bit of a chip on our shoulders tonight.
Davidson:
It's been about eight games, but I'm just happy to get the goal off my back. Marty made a good shot and I was on top of the net and banged one home. I kinda felt like Bachman didn't know where it was so I was just banging away and saw it fall in... was estatic. Bachman is a good goalie, but he's human, you can beat him, just like any other goalie. You might not get as many perfect goals, but a greasy goal counts just as much as a pretty goal. For the first ten minutes of the third it felt like we were on the penalty kill... just try and be lively on the bench, be ready for when your time comes. They took care of rilling us up for tomorrow night. I think we want this more than them and I think that's what it'll come down to.
Genoway was run late in the game, in a situation that will probably carry a little emotion over into tomorrow night, Ben Blood/Derrick LaPoint (trying to remember who didn't play... announcers think it's Blood) (we have later decided that it's Jones) might be the other defensemen that got nicked at the end of this one. Brad Miller had one of the best games of his career tonight, and one of his best shifts late in the game. He was terrific getting the puck out of the zone and played very strong defensively as well.
The coaches will try and channel the emotions tomorrow so that the game doesn't get out of control. For a team with some youth, they survived the beginning of the third period. The key was a great start for the Sioux... the first ten minutes were domination. They Sioux were more into this game than Colorado College. The Sioux may have caught the Tigers a little soft tonight, but that won't happen again tomorrow. If the Sioux could come out of here with the sweep tomorrow that could play big.
Final Stats:
Three Stars:
3. Brad Eidsness - third win of the year, had a little luck on his side as well... 29 saves... did well on the penalty kill... battled all night
2. Brent Davidson - first career goal, played a strong and smart game along the boards, has improved his foot speed from last year
1. Brett Hextall - first career goal, good night in the face of Sweatt, Rau, and Co.
Attendence: 7,311
CC goal was a deflection off of Sweatt's arm.
CC 0-8 on PP
UND 0-4
Eidsness 29 saves
Bachman 26 saves
CC 5-1-3
UND 3-4
Roughneck Performance of the Game (?): Darcy Zajac - led the team in faceoffs wins, and his line set the tempo
Text Question: Is North Dakota the most penalized team in the WCHA/NCAA?
No... North Dakota is 9th in the WCHA - 92 PIM, Mankato the most penalized in the WCHA.
Text Question 2: What is former Sioux James Patrick doing now?
Coaching with the Buffalo Sabres last I heard, this past spring... not sure if he's still there.
