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Wow, who would have thought Payton would run.

and a fake punt that was so predictable as not to be believed that there was nobody on that side of the field. I’m not even sure I put a return person back on that.

How do you not expect a fake punt?

Of course another failed extra point.

Kind of nice to go to different ones to see some different stock items in some stores. I think some just seem a little more out of the way.

There are 10 Costco’s in the Twin Cities area. I have been to 4 or 5 of them, so I looked it up and there were more than I thought.

Yes, we all remember the buzz about Tomek, and he ended up making the rounds.

Also the expectation would probably be that he would be a go to guy, and maybe take away opportunities for growth for guys like Perron, Boisvert, McLaughlin, etc.

Absolute joke. Will he get to sit it against Simon Fraser, or is that an exhibition? They play Providence twice again after that, so he should have to miss both those games at the least.

…and Vancouver started out great with Boudreau too, and sometimes it is only a short term burst. I always have a problem with drastic changes from one game to another because it appears the players weren’t playing with any passion with the old coach, which makes me question their character a bit, especially when there was no time for the new coach to implement any changes.

I would think Ron Francis would wait to give him some weapons to utilize. I think overachieving last year increased expectations, but they don’t have a ton of high end talent, and guys that could be, like Beniers have underachieved compared to last year. Seattle has a ton of talented players that will be in the World Juniors this year, so they have plenty of up and comers if they have patience, which is in short supply in the we want it now world. Teams like New Jersey have been rewarded for having a bit of patience.

No way they get 11000, would bet 1000 would be pushing it.

Because when it is spring and summer here, the last thing people want to do is go indoors to watch a game. Most people are ready to get out golfing or get to the lake.

The sad and frustrating thing for UND fans, is that much like football, the hockey team has a signature comeback win in Denver, then has fallen off sharply. The good news is that the second half of the season is where memories hold more emphasis if you can indeed make the tournament, so everything is still in front of them for the hockey team, they just have to do a better job of taking advantage going forward.

Perron has been quiet lately, but still would like to see if he could get things going 3 on 3.

Would love to know from Schlossman, how Blake can be so perceptive to know he is going against a forward on the 3 on 3 at Boston University, but is so oblivious to not realize he is the last guy back and just can’t throw it backwards for a game winning breakaway. When I think of North Dakota greats, I think of Oshie, Toews, Parise and Zajac, who all had a great offensive presence, but worked just as hard at the other end of the ice.

I don’t see CC making the tourney. It will tell me a lot what they do in Minnesota, but they have done nothing against ranked teams this year except against an unmotivated UND team. My bet is they get swept at Minnesota, but hey, I would love it if they proved me wrong. Don’t know if Minnesota will be missing World Junior guys though, which could come into play.

Yes, and need we say that outworking teams is supposed to be our culture. You can tell a team isn’t focused when they are totally dismantled in the faceoff dot. Haven’t been swept at home from CC in 30 years. Another negative you don’t want on your coaching resume. We’ll see if they can make the necessary adjustments, as some guys like Perron, have not been as noticeable.

Agree, you are betting that their offensive upside outweighs their defensive shortcomings, which is why you see guys like Kaprisov out on 3 x3 for the Wild. 3 on 3 is supposed to be wide open, which is why they instituted it so the action is non stop. Even in the NHL, goalies are hung out to dry, despite how more players are supposed to be defensively sound.

I will say that a bunch of the fans aren’t much better. These guys are college age guys that all of a sudden have confidence in themselves. Sometimes a fine line between confidence and overconfidence. You look at some of the predicted scores on this site, and talk about why we didn’t win by a lot, and it seems overconfidence isn’t only within the player group. You have to respect that Colorado would want to beat the number 1 team and that their goalie has the ability to steal games. Hopefully they aren’t of the thought process that it was a freak thing and couldn’t happen again, and instead have the mindset that they are going to be ready to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

…and the silence you hear…

Personally, in the third when we were getting chances and not scoring, I was thinking it was going to be a situation where they come down on one line rush and the puck finds its way into the net.

Basically, everybody has to show up like the Jamernik line.

A few games removed from an explosion in Denver, I think they are fine. Tonight had everything to do with mindset and will, not line combinations.

It happens. Not happy about it, but hopefully lessons learned. We’ve had a lot of great teams lay eggs from time to time, like the Hrkac Circus losing at home to U.S. International of San Diego. They responded well after a bad second period, but they need to learn that this is the type of situation that can put you out of the tournament. When you leave it until the end, the bounce of the puck can go against you, even if you are the team forcing the issue and not giving up much.