tnt

Well, you got your wish with Hakstol, so now you are on notice if we don't make the NCAA tournament.

He's in charge of the defense, and we have had the best defensive crew in the country the last few years.

So who has already signed their letters of intent, and who hasn't. I know Minnesota is in need of a defenseman for next year, and wouldn't hesitate at contacting Shaw if he hasn't already signed.

So some guy on GPL seems 80% sure that Keaton Thompson will leave. Hopefully we don't have a blindside like that coming, but you never know what is going on behind the scenes.

Yeah, it's kind of funny how in the past we would need to put a forward on the point for the power play out of necessity, and now we have an over-abundance of qualified offensive defensemen, to the point that Troy Stecher didn't operate on the powerplay much at all last year. With Ladue, Thompson, Stecher, Poolman, Wolanin and Shaw you have 6 guys that are qualified in that area, and Ausmus has enough offensive ability that he could play there if necessary. Wow, times sure have changed at UND on the back end.

You fail to see the bigger picture. Poolman and Bowen were sent by Hakstol to reel in Jost and Fabbro, and make sure Bast doesn't go to Major Junior.

Really like Badlanders or Sodbusters as names that are unique, and tie to the region. If you think of Cornhuskers, it wouldn't sound great if it didn't have years behind it, but now it would sound strange if Nebraska was called anything else, just like the Sioux. Would love to see them go with something unique that has many possibilities with imagery, I think both these would give us that. Since Rough Riders seems so divisive, these would be next on my list. You could even use imagery of Teddy if you wanted, but someone could come up with a unique logo for Badlanders that would be "bad" in a good sense, and as someone has already pointed out, the Springsteen song is built for it.

...and when things aren't going well we see that Matt Cooke is no better than Steve Ott. Cross checked and slashed Hossa, and once again stuck his leg out on Hjarlmasson. Wonder if they will still look at that hit for a suspension since Hjarlmasson came back to play.

Is Eaves trying to give himself an inside line on Jost and Fabbro? Not questioning Harbinson's abilities, just wondering if he would be on the radar if there weren't two big time recruits in the pipeline.

Did he ever visit here?

But they were picked that high because of the season they had the year before, when they weren't expected to do anything, and kind of flew under the radar. Montana and everyone else had them in their sights this past year.

Big Green, Green Hawks, Green Machine ... Really? The fact that anything like that is even moving on is a joke. Yeah, let's be just like all the other schools that had to change nicknames and pick a bird and the school colors. Why would you not get rid of that right off the bat? Wait, that's it, Green Bats!!

The fact that they had names like Force, Flames and Big Green receive the most votes in the early vetting process kind of makes me nervous. What about Big Green is unique, or tied to the state of North Dakota or a source for pride?

So he wasn't let go to move in a different direction with Brad Berry?

What is interesting is that there is talk that Cary Eades may become head coach/GM of Fargo. Wouldn't think he would have a great relationship with our current coaching staff, but who knows, perhaps you have to let bygones be bygones in order to survive in hockey. Burning bridges can't be good in any business situation.

That would be a decent name and fun to be able to play Garryowen, but the ironic part is, while we can't be proud of Sioux culture, the NCAA wouldn't allow us to be proud of ours either. Such is the pathetic society we live in today.

Yeah, don't know if I like the kind of element growth has meant out west. Don't want more of that making its way to the Eastern part of the state.

I think that can be said of a lot of the restaurant joints people point out. Some people swear by Red Pepper, while others don't get it. I think a lot of the reviews are based on nostalgia.

The guy really needs to get some priorities. With all the rioting and such in other areas of the country, and this is what he is going to make his decision from on where to live. Wow. To me it's just as bad as the people that find a way to be offended by a nickname that has been a source of pride.

.. but both of them made a first round exit too.

... and it also allows the Grand Forks Herald, which has used the Fighting Sioux nickname controversy to continue on with the nonsense you see now, urging people to tell people their love for the nickname. Yes, the organization pushing the evils of the nickname is trying to keep the controversy alive.

Berndsen and Lecavalier have decent numbers with 9 and 7 goals respectively, but the 16 year old Amy Potomak has an incredible 45 goals. Usually numbers don't tell the whole story, but in women's hockey a difference maker like that can put you over the top. Really need to use all the advantages of our facilities and hockey atmosphere to get a few more big time players here. Competing against the bigger name schools is a little different in women's hockey though, as education seems to have the main focus.

http://www.sfmaaahl.com/leagues/stats_1team.cfm?clientID=2908&leagueID=7489&teamID=102788 Remember Kennedy Bobyck? She leads her team in scoring as a 14-year old, with many teammates 3 years older.

Anyone know anything about the two new verbals, Sarah Lecavalier and Breanna Berndsen? I think they both were with the Pursuit of Excellence program. I wish that would help with Amy Potomak, but I believe her sister has already committed to Minnesota.

Same could probably be said of Gaarder, as he was heading for division 3. The fact that he's a captain suggests he could be a Panzarella type player that will do anything for the team. As we've seen, it takes a special player to sit game after game and then be ready to go, as Panzarella did many times. Perhaps that is what this guy offers, when others might be complainers behind the scenes because they came with more credentials and think they deserve time. Who knows, but the coaches seem to have a knack finding those guys who can add to the team chemistry, rather than detract.