tnt

They could potentially fill some of the scoring void, but I would imagine they would be giving up a lot at the other end as well, which is the case with a lot of freshmen.

If they lose those players, Minnesota will be like us and need their freshmen like Cammaratta, Kloos and Nanne make some noise, along with getting offense from the blueline. Their competition could actually come from Wisconsin next year, along with Michigan.

Which is why I have no problem with our Non-conference games with Northern Michigan, Vermont, Bemidji State. The critical thing for the NCHC is going to be that the teams need to take care of the non-conference schedules against those other leagues. Sioux, and others from the NCHC can't afford to stumble against the lesser teams from other leagues. With the new league, non-conference games have gone from important to critical.

St. Cloud loses their two big guns as well with LeBlanc and Hanowski, and I would bet there will be a lot of interest in signing Jensen, and who knows about Gravel. Might depend on how St. Cloud finishes out. If they reach the pinnacle, who knows. I would think that Miami and Denver are early favorites, but Shore was ready to leave earlier, so who knows what he decides, and do they lose any recruits to the Gwoz firing. Lot of stuff left to be flushed out for all the teams.

But on the other side of things, there have been numerous other players that you ask, "how did they make the NHL". Sort of the same thing someone else pointed out how Johnny Brodzinski didn't put up great numbers in the USHL, but exploded his first year in college. Don't think many of us know how things are going to translate to the next level, so it will be interesting to see who gets the chance.

The sad part for me, is that it probably wouldn't have made a difference. It would only have meant that the Sioux would be content with a 1-0 lead earlier. You could say that Yale started playing harder then, but I didn't see the fire in the Sioux as much after they took that lead. Need that "blood in the water" mentality.

Wonder if any of their recruits were looking to specifically play for Gwoz. Will be interesting if any recruits bolt for Major Junior or elsewhere if they haven't signed a LOI.

I see on Heisenberg that Bemidji State has 3 new commits all named Fitzgerald. They all played for Victoria, and I assume they are all brothers. Don't ever remember seeing a package deal of 3 brothers all at one time. Maybe they got a deal on the three, because that's an awful lot of scholarship money if not.

Bottom line is they need to get back to outworking their opponent game in and game out, and not for just one period or two. If they do that, I think they have enough talent to do well and hopefully get back to building toward the playoffs next year instead of taking a step forward, then a step back. As we've seen with a young Miami team, that if you can get some scoring from freshmen like they did with Riley Barber and decent scoring elsewhere, you can be a good team, even if you are young. Think Murphy or Tambellini could put up decent numbers if they play with talented forwards. Will also need Rodwell, Pattyn and St. Clair to up their goal totals. Not unheard of, since they didn't put up a lot of goals.

He is right about hockey being the only show in town. In fact it pays all the bills. And if it gets to the point where UND isn't putting out a product that gets fans to show up, I'm sure he will get his wish. But I don't think you jump ship when there is only a minor leak.

All I will say to you on this Easter weekend is he who is perfect, by all means be the first to cast a stone at Hakstol.

Please do, maybe some of that bile that you spew will come up.

Really, you would take that 1 national championship over the Sioux success? Spoken like a true casual fan who never watches the Sioux consistently. So if Hakstol can somehow manage to get that one national championship next year, he can be mediocre for 9 years and you won't be calling for his head?

You point out an example where that is true, but the coach that was fired is doing well in Anaheim, and Washington isn't close to being in playoff contention. Thanks for the example of why they should hang on to Hakstol, because not making the playoffs is a distinct possibility.

If there is one thing that should be paramount from the experiences of the past losses, is that there needs to be more accountability in work ethic and discipline, and that has to be nurtured throughout the year. That means sitting a guy like Jason Blake if he is playing selfishly or without discipline, like Blais did. Don't know if the tourney is a place to start doing it, but sitting guys who take bad penalties is never a bad thing. How many times did Pattyn sit this year after a bad penalty. Rodwell just gets back in the lineup today and takes two penalties, which could be argued, but nonetheless started us on our heels a bit. We had the depth this year to send plenty of messages, game in and game out, and one could argue that Senkbeil had enough of a work ethic to get back in the lineup at some point down the stretch, although he took some bad penalties on occasion. When nobody is above getting benched, it sends a strong message. You would think that with all of this advise coming from everybody, that everyone stayed at the Holiday Inn Express last night.

Maybe we should just blame the cushy arena since we haven't won a Championship since it opened. Get all the NHL draft picks now, compared to the past, and the work ethic at times in the tourney hasn't quite allowed us to win one. The Sioux are not entitled to a National Championship, they have to go out and earn it.

I said something to my buddy last weekend in St. Paul that in retrospect might have jinxed the Sioux. I told him that think how bad it must be for teams like Mankato who make it to the Final Five/ NCAA tournament so infrequently, and then lose in the one game they play. It sucks losing big time, but getting the opportunity to sit back with friends and watch the Sioux constantly in the Final Five and NCAA tournament is something I relish. I get super frustrated at losing, but hope always springs eternal that eventually they will get over the hump and maybe go back to back like Minnesota did after their long slump. So yes, Sandelin 1, Hakstol 0, but who knows what the future holds, and in the meantime I enjoy being relevant every year compared to let's face it, 95 % of college teams. Happy? No! But enjoying the ride in the meantime, short of one frustrating day a year.

True, but a lot of the penalties today were just players not using common sense and basically making selfish plays rather than work for their chances.

So I assume I can look back in the recruiting thread and not see your name praising any recruits coming in?

Funny how Omaha with Johnson and Blais were horrible down the stretch, and not just one really bad game.

So you are also promoting firing somebody based on a 3-game stretch? Bet you wouldn't be so callous if your job was on the line for a few bad days, and keep in mind he ultimately has to depend on someone else to carry out his instruction.

I know that at one point the Sioux were very interested in Jonny Brodzinski, did our interest fade, or did St. Cloud just beat us out for him? Sure could have used his 22 goals as a freshman. Was thinking of that when watching St. Cloud today. Nice player.

So Niagara's assistant should be fired as well, based on a 3-game stretch?

The problem is, that the players are quite adept at "saying" the right thing, but less adept at following through. We've heard the 60 minutes refrain all year, then we heard we need to bring it like that for the rest of the year, referring to the final Michigan Tech game. Then we heard we can't leave it to a bounce. I know this isn't pro hockey, but at some point shouldn't the media point out the inconsistency in getting these pat answers all the time. I think most fans don't mind clichés if you actually believe them and make an effort to follow through on them, otherwise it's just the old Charlie Brown thing -- "Wah, Wah, Wah."Who is going to keep the cliché count starting in fall camp next year?

The Sioux only had to go back one day as motivation on what can happen if you take a team for granted, and they couldn't even manage to do that.