tnt

The Sioux have to come out under the premise that he can and they have to find a way that he can't see or get to pucks.

I think we have talked about this time and again, that it doesn't appear a lot of our teams have had a killer instinct. They seem to play well when they have their backs against the wall, but once they find a little breathing space, they lose, or wait until they are behind the eight ball to start and play. At one point it seemed like a foregone conclusion they would make the NCAA tournament, and now it looks as though they may need to win the NCHC tournament, because all the teams left don't provide a chance to leapfrog teams. It doesn't bode well for the NCAA tournament if they do make it if they wait until half way through the first period to play. No shots on goal through the first seven minutes of both playoff games isn't the way to come out for playoff hockey. When you leave it to chance, you can get bit, and now it looks as though they will have to be fighting against teams that all of a sudden think they have a decent chance at the NCAA tournament in CC, Miami, and Western Michigan.

Liked what the Chyzyk, O'Donnell, and St. Clair line did tonight, but kind of thought that the Gaarder, Rodwell line wasn't quite as effective as it has been the whole second half with Mitch MacMillan on it. Would like to see Keaton Thompson back in the lineup as well. Did Ausmus get hurt, or did they just take him out of the rotation at the end of the game?

... and hopefully fills a need for us as a power forward with some scoring touch that we haven't had in spades since Miller and Matteau bolted. Add Poganski in a few years, and we should have a pretty balanced attack again.

Would love to have him. After all, speed kills. Could use his speed after Grimaldi leaves.

Have you forgotten our loss to New Hampshire in the regionals?

Probably the Connelly brothers.

It might be more about CBS Sports wanting a certain team in Prime time. That said, I agree with Mafia Man, go by seeding to be fair to everyone. I would have hated to have Notre Dame in our league and then be told that they would always get the night game because they are Notre Dame, likewise I think if you are CBS and you chose to hitch your wagon to the NCHC, you should regard any of the teams as worthy candidates for night games.

Yeah, that it where I believe it originated. Think they have a "speed kills" sign in the locker room.

Well, infamous anyway, but then again so was Charles Manson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wymDuRsQsQ4

He was equally as bad when they played in Western Michigan. Perhaps he thinks since he coached NHL teams he can intimidate refs. I would hope that isn't the case, but I would think that type of whining may backfire at some point. A lot of refs with egos like Todd Anderson may not like being called out so blatantly and their egos may cause them to be more confrontational with Murray.

Did one with Tim Hennessey. Where did you hear that?

The Sioux should have a bad taste in their mouths from their last games against Denver, Omaha, St. Cloud and Western Michigan.

I guess time will tell if legacy is the word, as I said "started". It may just be a run of good players, but at no point in the past have they had as much success, winning their first two league titles and a trip to the Frozen Four, along with having a lot of success against the Sioux.

Very frustrating that a chance to add to the legacy of Sioux hockey was missed tonight. We all say how hard it is to win a National Championship, but if you don't win one in any given year, I would like to keep adding to that legacy in some way. On home ice on Senior day battling for the 1st title in a new league against a team that was just playing for pride, and that was the effort put forth? Knew Western Michigan would give us all we could handle, but thought we would have played better. St. Cloud has started a legacy under Motzko lately and seems to be getting the most of their players. Hopefully the Sioux will add to their legacy from this point on in the season. It is nice to see the board so active again tonight, although that seems like it has become the norm --- if the Sioux lose.

But you can't just commit to all of them this early on, or the fans could be asking why we don't have elite talent when they don't all develop as expected. They are all very good players, but don't know that I have heard that they are the top of their age groups across the country. It never hurts to have local talent that knows what Sioux hockey is about and they will go all out for that, but you also have to leave room to recruit the elite of the elite type players. None of these have put up Archibald type high school numbers, but all have the potential to play division 1. There are a lot of guys I have been very impressed with that haven't received offers from us, including Roth, Bethune, Strand, etc. All could develop like some of the EGF players. You just don't know until you see them against another level. Think that Bowen and Poolman definitely look the part though, especially with their work ethic and knowledge of what Sioux hockey is all about. With how much local talent we have on the Sioux team this year and next, it sure would be nice to add more players with talent that will go through the wall to play hockey for the Sioux.

Like Loven's work ethic more than Tweeten's. A lot of time and development still necessary before committing to scholarship money for a lot of these. Remember Danny Mattson and Jack Rowe were impressive at that age as well, and a lot of other talent all over to consider. Like what I saw of Auston Matthews on the NTDP on his call up to the under 18 team.

Guess that is my pet peeve -- people who say how bad we suck and how the team has no talent, then turn around after a winning steak and talk smack, then disappear from sight when its time to pay the piper for the smack talk. Kind of a bit of Karma in those things, as I remember getting blasted by gopher fans after the game when the Sioux lost the Final Five on Wheelers goal, then UND beat them in the regionals. Similarily, a few years ago when the Sioux beat the gophers on that great comeback in the Final Five then got beat the following weekend in the St. Paul regional. I think a lot of people realized there was that possibility to play them again, therefore were cautious about getting to high, but there were those that did the same as the gopher fans did to us. Karma 101.

Guess, I didn't view the Bronco post quite as a flame, just as a reminder that we shouldn't be too overconfident based on the results in two wins on the road.

Agree that the Sioux are looking much better, but the Broncos have a lot on the line as well. I think Andy Murray's teams are hard working and will give us fits. And while you are trying to school a Bronco fan on the history of Hak's teams, you might want to school a lot of UND fans of the same. It has come to the point where when we lose the Fire Hak thread is active, and when we win a bunch in a row, many fans get cocky. That brashness has come back to bite Sioux fans in the past, because when everybody thinks they can't be beaten, inevitably, that is when they lay an egg. It is one thing to be confident, but sometimes it borders on overconfidence.

I'm not counting the chickens before they hatch. I find that many people on this forum are subject to huge fluctuations in their attitude. Some that were saying the Sioux would have to win the NCHC tournament and there wasn't much hope for the team, are the same ones that consider the Sioux a lock for the tournament, and are now pretty brash. I'm convinced that is why many get so mad at Hakstol, because he gets their confidence up, and then hasn't ultimately cashed the check that their mouths write.

Depending on what happens this weekend, we are not a lock to make the tournament, especially if we got swept in the 1st round NCHC.

Yeah, if they have any pride at all, that 9-2 thrashing on Saturday will be first and foremost on their mind. If the Sioux come out lethargic, and Miami high on avenging that loss, a 1st game loss is not out of the question. You lose that first game, the pressure of the second game could leave guys gripping their sticks a bit tight. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

Wonder if Goon or anybody has the video of the Serratore hit on the Penn State player on a delayed penalty. Serratore ended up scoring the game winning goal, but could have and probably should have been booted for that hit. Wasn't directly from behind like the Pauckovich hit on Bina, but he did leave his feet when everyone had let up for the touch on the delayed penalty.