tnt

It hurts to lose players like we have, but lets not forget that the Sioux have gained a few players who have given verbals to other teams like Schmaltz, St. Clair and Gregoire. Didn't see many people hating on Gregoire. The difference obviously would be if the players are using college as leverage, and really only they know if that is the case or not.

If a woman you were going to marry said some of the same things that this kid did, intimating that it is only because they couldn't find something better, would you still get married? In the team concept of sports, you better have someone at the leadership position that isn't going to be a wedge or someone who is constantly complaining. It is kind of like a marriage, you better be able to go through the rough spots, or you are doomed from the start. What would his attitude have been if Bradley played instead of him? Would he have been as good as Bradley was at supporting Goska? Don't know if his offer was pulled because of the North Carolina guy or because of the tweets, or because of a combination therein, but I don't want someone here that isn't sure he wants to be here, because a bad attitude sometimes can become contagious.

Would be great to have Brad Berry as an assistant at UND, but no room right now.

... and I thought the UND Alumni Associations 300 million pledge drive announcement that they reached a certain level was getting people's expectations up!!

So if Matteau isn't coming in next year, then for forwards it is just Koules and Caggiula, and I'm sure an extra year of hockey before college would help Caggiula for making an impact. I would think the Sioux would need at least a few more forwards especially with the depatures of Cichy and Bruneteau last year and the possibility of Kristo, Knight, and possibly Nelson leaving after this year. We had some walk-ons to help deal with a few of the losses, but we still seem to be shorthanded this year. Need to start restocking the cupboard.

I would say that it is now even more critical that they get the indoor practice facility done. Have to show that the football program is going to do everything first class like the hockey program, even if it will always be the #2 sport at UND.

If you choose not to vote for him, I would do so instead on the lack of leadership after the Sioux nickname had the little extension with the legislation. It was believed that because of his standing with the tribe at Standing Rock he would take some leadership in getting them to allow their people to vote on the issue. Instead, he just left it for the board and did nothing with the last chance at getting them to vote.

The Sioux definitely will need Kristo, Nelson, and hopefully Knight to have a better showing than they did in Minneapolis, and hopefully the freshmen have come along enough to give us a little more offense as well. Friday night is obviously going to be huge in keeping the Sioux momentum going forward.

That said, the Sioux really need to beat the gophers twice to split the season series to even up that comparison. Definitely need to get at least one because still have Denver and Duluth on the road where sweeping wouldn't be the norm when everyone is fighting for positioning.

Just curious where you moved from, and if you followed hockey there?

Yes, a chance to get someone else in, but usually you have to get commitments from elite talent when they are 16 or 17, much like we did with him. At least they can recruit for a couple years down the road if this follows through with the path it looks like.

He hasn't exactly been standing out in the USHL after playing a year in college. Don't know if part of that is after effect from an injury or not.

Yes, but you can also make assumptions of who the one and dones will be, but it doesn't always work out like that. Heard some people think that Forbort would be a one and done, and some thought Kristo might be. Others thought Toews might be done after one and Oshie after two. If you can get an extra year out of some of those players, it doesn't guarantee you a championship, but it sure is fun to watch those players.

There are injuries that just require rest to heal and activity in itself can cause it to flare up. Even the casual athlete has incidence where the doctor will tell him to just stay inactive for a period. Plenty of reasons for an athlete to be inactive for a long time, and this is just an odd new one that not many people have heard of before.

Would Chad Johnson be miffed if the Sioux brought in a Tommy Schutt from Lincoln who the Sioux were originally looking at a year or so ago? How about a Jared Hanson with Lincoln who is a 1993 birthdate with good size and 14 goals? Might be a little more miffed with the latter being their 2nd leading scorer. Of course there are educational eligibility questions that would need to be answered, but it does beg the question, do you possibly burn a bridge for a player to help fill out a lineup this year? At least with Chad Johnson they would have someone they know and have a relationship with. Who would have thought with our unbelievable depth last year that we would be going from feast to famine.

Usually you get guys like Brent Davidson who plays a game or two here or there his first year, then gradually gets more playing time each year of his career. It might be totally reverse for some of the walk-ons that came in this year. A lot of them have played most of the games this year. Makes you wonder how playing a lot one year then not getting to play much subsequent years might take its toll. We saw that Mitch MacMillan, a recruited player, left St. Cloud from the drop-off in playing time from one year to the next. Do walk-ons have a different look at losing playing time? One would think that it is inevitable that a few of the guys playing this year won't being playing as much next year. The nice thing is that they certainly will push the guys that are in the lineup down the road, because they've had a taste of bigtime college hockey and certainly will want to stay in the lineup.

Yeah, they already haven't been able to dress a full lineup.

I think in the end we know the coaches have more information than us. From the outside, it would just seem unusual that you didn't recruit a guy the first time around, then when he hasn't proven himself at another school which doesn't have the same history, you decide to bring him in. It seems fair to ask a guy who left a team supposedly because of playing time to earn himself a scholarship. If he walked on it would just be a bonus to have the depth, even if he wasn't an everynight player.

I was just wondering if an event that would probably be just as big, if not bigger than the Final Five because of its novelty might draw 5000 or 6000 Sioux fans coming from Minneapolis, Colorado, ND and such. Maybe that many fans wouldn't actually travel. But if they had 6000 seats to spare one night last year and 10,000 the next, I guess my fears were unwarranted.

Had a friend who went last year and said it was pretty full. Are there two levels to the arena? Maybe she meant the lower bowl was full. If there are plenty of tickets, it would be nice to see the "Sioux" have a bigger crowd than Omaha for both games.

Yes, but you now have time to recruit to fill that position. I would say that he should come in as a walk-on and prove himself like Gaarder to receive scholarship money. If they didn't think the chemistry between the brothers was worth taking the plunge before, why now, if indeed it comes to fruition. If he can't find playing time at St. Cloud, what does that say about our lineup. Maybe there were other issues at St. Cloud where he didn't want to stay, but I would think there are plenty of other recruits to draw on now. If he could play right away, then I can see the J.T. Miller angle, but he wouldn't be able to play until after Christmas next year. Hakstol didn't bring in someone after Christmas this year because I'm sure no one was available that could be a difference maker. If he will fight for playing time here, I have no problem because depth is always a good thing, but I also think the Sioux will have a lot of depth next year and could add some more skill with the scholarship money they have that went unused with departures like Cichy and Bruneteau and the Miller fiasco.

What has changed since they didn't recruit him the first time around? He was frustrated with playing time at St. Cloud, but didn't want to stay and work his way into playing time. I think Motzko is a pretty fair coach and wants to win, so I would have to assume that he thought other players gave them a better chance to win. I would hope and assume that if he did come here, he would be a walk-on, because like I said, if they think the line combo would be good, why didn't they recruit them together the first time around.

On the coaches show Hakstol said the outdoor game against Omaha is in the works, and Hennessey said that Blais thinks it will be a reality. The Sioux would play Friday at the Qwest Center, then play outdoors at the baseball stadium. Hakstol said the people working on getting it done know what they are doing. It would be interesting to see how many Sioux fans would go down knowing that many of them most likely would only be able to get tickets for the outdoor game.

I have 2 tickets for sale for the Friday game versus Wisconsin. Seats are in the upperdeck on the end the Sioux shoot twice. Seats are in 302 Row D seats 1 & 2 on the aisle. $40 each.

These tickets have been sold.