tnt

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.

I think most of us could be o.k. with losing in the regional final last year because of the work ethic exhibited to get us there and the amount of energy expended with a short lineup. I posed the question after that loss, would this year's team sit back and think that with a full lineup they wouldn't need to work as hard. I know that wasn't the case all the time, but it seems there were times when the "let the other guy do it" philosophy appeared. Someone pointed out the lack of production from Rowney, Parks, MacMillan, down the stretch which was completely opposite of last year. The sad part is, who knows if we stay injury free in the future like we did this year. I would love to be on the bench and know exactly what the coaches are telling the players, because I hope on each and every powerplay in the NCAA tournament they tell the players to bear down because it could be the only one in the game and it could be the difference in the game. Would also like to know what was said after the bad penalties, because it should also be pointed out constantly that could be the difference as well.

What is this world coming to, when St. Cloud is carrying the mantel for the WCHA?

The most frustrating part is that the players have a very short memory. Wasn't it just last week that most of them lamented that you can't leave it up to a bounce of the puck, like what happened against CC. You also can't leave it up to a bad penalty. Play hard the whole game, and then fans can live with the results. Play hard, only when your backs are against the wall, and these are the types of responses you are bound to get. I am breaking my rule of posting right after a tough loss, but the frustration has gotten the best of me. Maybe I should have a cooling off period like the NCAA has.

Gotta say that Hakstol has set himself up for this criticism. They won something in the last 8 years, either a WCHA Championship, a Final Five., or a regional, and this year they didn't. He fired Eades, and it didn't improve the team. I thought a timeout was called for in the second period when Yale was all over the Sioux. I think most Sioux fans probably had the same feeling as me, that Yale was going to score at some point, and it would probably be at a time when it would be hard to change momentum. I get frustrated with the lack of killer instinct exhibited on many occasions when they have a one goal lead. I guess now would be a good time to play the first session of Through these doors this season where the players pledged to give everything. I will say right now, they did not give everything in this game, and Mark MacMillan should be forced to watch that episode, because he played selfish both games, taking bad penalties in the NCAA tournament. Dumb penalties, poor intensity, and a poor powerplay cost us in this tournament, and the coaches know that is what the NCAA tournament is all about. You can sometimes tell intensity when you look at the faceoff situation early, and this proved true today. All that talent doesn't amount to much without the work ethic we see from Colton St. Clair. I would like to think that the players left would learn the lesson, but I tend to hope that every time. Rant over.

I know the Sioux had a solid first period, but is it too much to ask that they show the 3rd period type of urgency / intensity in the first period to score first? If you want to win a National Championship, you have to bring that high level of intensity from the start, especially since the first goal is critical against teams that are slight underdogs. Hate to see the Seniors leave with a game where they leave something on the table. That said, however they win doesn't matter to me, as long as they keep moving on. I do cringe on penalties like MacMillan's and the icing when shooting at the empty net, because those things come back to haunt you. Being pushed to the limit sometimes can jog memories on how close to the edge you really are in a one and done tournament though.

Totally agree, which begs the question, why wasn't he the WCHA POY? Just think that the Hobey voters might follow suit even though Kristo is the most dominant offensively of all the Hobey candidates.

True, and Knight has 15, so if people are just looking at stats, then Knight has issues in the voters eyes as well. Obviously LeBlanc impressed WCHA voters enough with those numbers, and outside of a truly dominant player, I think Leblanc, for the reasons I stated and St. Cloud not having a Hobey winner, could be enough to put him over the top in a year that nobody stands out a lot stats wise. Hope I'm wrong and Kristo or Knight get a good look, but as somebody else said, it wouldn't be horrible to see a guy like LeBlanc win either.

Not that I would agree, but I think Drew LeBlanc wins the Hobey. I think some voters will see he was Player of the Year in the WCHA and jump to the conclusion that he is the better player. Not sure many people appreciate everything Knight brings to the table like scouts and Sioux fans do. I suppose that could be said of a lot of players though. LeBlanc also brings the comeback angle to the equation since he had to sit out all of last year with an injury. I'm sure some voters could be swayed by that kind of feel good story.

That might be best for him, but if you are the Kings and think he is a viable prospect with a good future, do you let him finish out his senior season and open up the possibility of him becoming a free agent?

Seriously, it isn't the best of brackets, but it isn't the worst either. When people assume a meeting with Minnesota, it doesn't always play out that way. The Sioux need to take care of their business, and then maybe, just maybe they will have the opportunity to erase the bad tastes in their mouths from last year that they said would be a driving force to change the outcome this year. Hopefully they will get that chance, because if they want to win another National Championship they are going to have to beat some good teams to get there regardless.

I think it would be justice, considering how the Sioux and others have had to try win in St. Paul as a #1 seed.

If Blais leaves, he is done. An assistant coach spends a lot of time on the road recruiting, and I don't think Blais would want to do that anymore, and I think UND would want guys who are young and ambitious out on the road. Don't even know if Blais would entertain the head coaching job at UND if it was open, but who knows.

Will the people with unrealistic expectations please take another look at this list, and be sure to add one to the North Dakota Final Five Streak, and end Duluth and Denver's streaks. So now we have North Dakota at 11, then Minnesota and SCSU at 2. Hmmm!

Don't forget that Tech also throttled St. Cloud when they were fighting to win their first ever WCHA title.

Actually Crosby did make an unofficial visit with Duncan. http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/189974/