tnt

Seriously, you can't just wish someone well who stayed a year after the pros came calling the first time. A goaltender basically has to prove himself anyway, so he probably decided to start down the learning path now. It's not like he needs to stay and gain strength or anything. I say thank you to Dell for helping us make two fun runs the last two years.

With all the graduated players and defections from last year, we still were not a one-line team. Do you not think that the freshman could get better like Brock Nelson did? I expect Grimaldi and O'Donnell to being major contributors next year, so you would have the potential for the second line to remain good or improve a lot with all of the freshmen making a step forward. It kind of surprises me how after the Sioux got as far as they did this year, that people still get excited about one or two defections. If we don't have the injury bug again next year, that is already a step forward. Heck, all of the teams in the upper half of the WCHA are probably going to have defections of high-end talent as well, only they don't have the preseason rookie of the year coming back along with a rookie in O'Donnell who was scoring goals when he was in the lineup.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the demotion. I would be concerned if he wasn't playing well with the U17 team, and I have seen his name in the scoring column while playing for them. Let's remember, it's only a one year age difference, and there are a lot of great players on both teams. Remember, Rocco moved up to play for the U18 team and led the team in scoring, so it might be a matter of bringing up some very talented players. I am interested to know if Jack Rowe with Cedar Rapids is injured though. Haven't seen his name in the lineup for quite sometime now.

The ironic part is that by coming back and helping make the gophers relevant again, he is enabling Lucia to stick around as well. I am sure the current administration understands his impact in the turnaround, but who knows how long Lucia sticks around. He kind of seems like he would be content like Red Berenson to be there until his welcome is worn out. Speaking of Berenson, do you think he will ever wear out his welcome at Michigan, or is he the Joe Paterno of college hockey minus the scandal?

Actually, Ralph wanted it built at 15,000 and the other people talked him out of it, thinking it was too big for Grand Forks.

The Alerus Center cost $80 million, but you might want to ask that question to the people of the $105 million Ralph. The Alerus Center seats 13,500 for the secondary sport at UND, while the Ralph seats 12,000 for the big sport in town. While both should have used foresight, I would say the arena that has typically been subject to sellouts should be a little more culpable for lack of foresight, especially since Division 1 football wasn't in the immediate plans at the time and the Big Sky thus a pipe dream.

I will only say that if this person is looking for a family environment, then be an example of the kind of environment you espouse. I don't think airing dirty laundry on a forum is benefitting the family atmosphere you say is lacking.

Once again, I would call that a convenient excuse. Minnesota made no attempt to schedule UND while Wisconsin had already agreed to a deal. When Minnesota was off scheduling Notre Dame, UND was already in the process of going without the nickname. Like I said before, it is like the NDSU rivalry, if you really want to get it done, you get it done. It's not like Minnesota wouldn't be able to schedule anybody if they waited a couple months, especially when they were in no rush to schedule UND when they weren't using the nickname.

Once again, how can it be the fault of Barry Alvarez when you argue there was nothing Wisconsin or Minnesota could do to prevent it? To me that is just two-sided talk. Whether Alvarez was for it and Lucia was against it shouldn't matter if it was a given once there was a 6th team.

I can see them not caring, but if they didn't know, then that would be a direct indictment on those that purported to want to stay in the WCHA.

My point was that if Minnesota and Wisconsin could do nothing about the league forming, then Barry Alvarez wouldn't have been able to do one thing either- one way or the other. According to those arguing "nothing they could do", Barry Alvarez wouldn't have had a say in the league forming, except if he was the one that paid the money to get Penn State hockey going.

I will only say that we discussed that there was a distinct possibility of a so-called "Super League" should the Big Ten decide to form a hockey conference. In effect, I am sure that the powers that be in the Big Ten knew that this was a probability and what the trickle down would be. Knowing that, they still didn't put any backbone behind preventing it from happening. If you know the consequences, yet still decide to go down that road as a conference -- I would say that you share in a large part of the blame. Now, blame could become kudos if it expands the growth of college hockey and draws more casual fans and T.V. exposure, but for those of us that grew up with the natural rivalries we have now it sure doesn't feel like much good can come of it.

If that is the case, then why are gopher fans mad at Barry Alvarez?

Perhaps not, but great goaltending and a timely goal sure can make players a little more confident or less confident depending on which team is getting those. Let's face it, with the elite teams, the talent is there, it's just a matter of when/if it comes through. Just because BC has had UND's number doesn't necessarily mean Minnesota follows suit. Certain teams have a nemesis, Minnesota's has been Denver lately, and ours has been BC. I would imagine that if BC jumped on them early, it could hurt the confidence of Minnesota, however if Minnesota puts one in early, they could ride Patterson's goaltending. It would have been nice for UND to score the first goal against Minnesota in the rematch to see how they responded, but it didn't happen, so I think it will be interesting in this game as well.

Surely, attendance would be better, even if it is in a smaller arena. Oh, and by the way, it would actually give a team incentive to finish as a #1 seed, instead of like Gwoz was saying is that all you want to do is get in. Let's face it, if Minnesota would have squeaked into the tournament the last 2 or 3 years, they never would have had to make a trip like Duluth did this year in Worcester.

It really shows that you can play the college game and still be clueless about anything but the technical side of the game. Michelletti has so many factual errors every week that you wonder if he is just babbling hoping he spits out some information that has some basis in fact. When he said that he thought the gophers were the reason the Sioux weren't having success in the first two periods, then said the gophers quit playing and it was nothing the Sioux did, it kind of just epitomizes his lack of objectivity.

I would watch the arrogance, I remember when gopher fans were giving North Dakota fans what for after the Blake Wheeler goal that gave them the Final Five and seems to me they had their come uppance a week later when the Sioux ended their season in the regionals. I would doubly watch it since the Sioux may indeed have to play the gophers again at the "X" in a similar type situation, only they would basically have home ice.

Right now we don't have the depth of Minnesota, but the Sioux certainly had the heart in the 3rd period. Maybe the Sioux were doing the rope a dope and saved their energy the first two periods to give an amazing effort in the third.

I think he needs to do it on his timetable not a timetable to appease anxious fans. Really as long as he decides by early summer there shouldn't be a problem for UND, as I don't think they are looking for another recruit to fill that slot as they already have Paul LaDue they can bring in should they want another defenseman. If he comes, it is just icing on the cake.

Would David Toews have been one of our top 4 or 5 scorers last year? Would Josh Reinholz have been the leading scorer at Minnesota this year? Would J.T. Miller have been our leading scorer this year? I think the resounding answer to those questions would be no, which speaks volumes.

Yes, they do lack perspective, so what better environment to go to get some perspective on life than college. Who knows, maybe he meets his wife in the year or two he is here and doesn't have to worry about finding one after he is a millionaire with the groupies and people on the lookout for an easy life lurking. I'm sure Zach Parise was happy he had already met his future wife here before becoming a superstar. I think the college atmosphere is less likely to entail the people that attach themselves to you because of your hockey skills and your name, and more likely to be an atmosphere where you can meet some lifelong friends, even if you only stay a year or two. See Eddie Belfour as a perfect example of that. There is a reason why all those pro guys like to come back to UND whenever they get a chance. If Seth Jones can see that, I would consider him ahead of the game, and he certainly can understand that the money will be there when he is ready to go, but in the meantime he can have life experiences that will put him in good stead the rest of his life.

Are we really back to this argument. You do not win by playing "weak links". I do not think this team comes back after the Bemidji State series if it doesn't have good leadership, and moreso doesn't have an example of someone who is willing to put it out on the line night in and night out with injuries that probably would have kept most out of the lineup for weeks or more. I think Mario's contribution to the Sioux can best be expressed with a sequence earlier in the year at Minnesota, when he was already hurt he stayed on the ice and blocked another shot that most people would have never had the guts to get in front of. I think they scored on that sequence, but most Sioux fans probably remember it, because it epitomizes the kind of effort the Sioux expect out of their team and especially their Captain. You saw that again last weekend when Lamoureux took a slapshot off his head and didn't stay on the ice like most players would. The fact that the players respect Mario for that effort, and I believe they elect the Captain, speaks volumes of the players wanting to follow that kind of leadership. I tend to think for the mostpart Hakstol always has the right mix of grinders and skill players. I think that changed a bit this year due to injury, but I think having guys like Mario who cycle the puck well and can help wear down the oppositions defensemen and know they are going to take a solid hit when they play the puck is an essential part of Sioux hockey.

Yeah, I was wrongly thinking that it was the last time they played them at the "X",

Then Maine only needs a couple more tourney wins there to exact a little revenge.

http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?paged=2 I guess its all relatively speaking, but then you can argue the Sioux aren't hot either since they split at Denver, Duluth, and tied Michigan Tech. Aren't many teams without a few losses here or there down the stretch, but can't argue since Thanksgiving that they have turned it around like the Sioux.