tnt

I think we have 3 defensemen that will see time in the NHL on our current team. Time will tell on that, but I wouldn't trade our defensemen for any other teams as a unit.

I would think his linemate Chris Jensen must have had one at some point.

I believe Nick Naumenko had one, I'm thinking against Anchorage.

Do you watch a lot of their games?

Agree. I think we find out a lot this weekend against Mankato and whoever else they end up playing. If they swarm Mankato this weekend, then I think the turnaround will have begun. If not, they may just sleepwalk for the rest of the season and need to win their conference tournament. Hopefully Mankato will be ready for the gophers, knowing it is now or never for them.

89ers, as in the year of statehood. Sure it can be corrupted, but it seems everything can.

See the rage from know it all fans in the Friday Lake Superior thread for the answer to that. Hakstol can't win even when they are winning, can you imagine this board if they were playing like Minnesota? There are just as many irrational people on this board as GPL, if not more.

Why hasn't Joel J. From Sioux City played since he committed?

Been watching to see how fast he is, but haven't seen anything but floating, especially on the defensive end. Maybe it's because he has to play so much, but I would like to see some Zach Parise type grinding and hunger for the puck.

To me if you want to get someone experience should Zane not be able to play for any reason, why not put him in a situation that at least has a little bit of the pressure he might face should that scenario unfold. Coming in at 6-0 is safe for sure, but what pressure is there, and who knows if the team will still be playing like they should.

Yeah, even though he kept it when they brought in Parise and Suter to effectively not rock the boat, one would think the coach would take this as an opportunity to give the "C" to the person who sets the tone for this team -- which would be Parise, possibly Suter. To have him keep that title is basically a mockery.

Personally, I don't think anything is a must right now because they are going to have to win the WCHA tourney to make the NCAA tourney anyway. It would be nice to have first round at home, but they haven't exactly been world beaters at home either.

Yeah, how can I forget hoping his kid Aaron would choose UND when he was ripping it up with Roseau.

He came in as a defenseman, but played at forward a bit like we have seen with Panzarella. I believe Jay Ness was from Warroad also.

Kind of the same thing that people say about the Sioux the first half of the year almost annually. The Sioux changed that this year, the gophers might end up changing it up this year as well. Post season play is about goaltending and special teams. If Wilcox gets back to form, the gophers do have one of the best powerplays in the country. That would be a dangerous combination if they have a change of desire come playoff time.

True, but I still think they will be a team nobody wants to play if they make the tourney as an automatic berth or through the pairwise, Wilcox isn't as bad as he has been playing, and no matter the reason they aren't performing now, the talent level is there.

Well if that is the case, then they still probably need another forward for next year because like others, I believe they would like to have others get more junior experience so they are more likely to make an impact when they get here.

Oh, but having tourneys in their back yard wasn't any advantage to them.

What do you expect from someone who calls himself Drunk hockey guy like a badge of courage. Isn't he the one that had to cry mea culpa for something completely over the top.

I think they were engaged, so I wouldn't call it a sucker punch. Yes, it was unexpected, but in college, ain't nobody going to drop their gloves, so that is how punches are thrown.

There' plenty of room when you have potential to have guys wait a year, perhaps even two. Nobody usually gets a full ride, and some don't get much at all, so it's a matter of how many guys you think make for an effective roster.

Plenty of time to go on a run, but it definitely hurts with the Big Ten OOC record. The games Minnesota plays in the Challenge Cup are going to be critical for them.

The announcers just said Minnesota didn't stay out for the handshake. Do they do that every game? If so, what about the sanctity of the handshake?

That's why I never get too concerned when the gophers always supposedly have the best recruiting class, because the Sioux always seem to be right there with a mix of talent and competitiveness.

With Chris Wilkie's hat trick last night, he became the leading goal scorer in the USHL. Hopefully Janatuinen can be a good set-up guy in college and can feed either him or Boeser. I know Boeser is still more likely Minnesota bound, but it ain't over until it's over. I like the things I read on how competitive Janatuinen and Keane are.