tnt

I am as impressed with Marto as anyone, but as I mentioned he hasn't devoted himself full-time to hockey and therefore isn't as strong or beefed up as some of the players that have spent all summer in the gym and on the ice. There is more to playing college hockey than skating and handling the puck well. At this stage of his development he still isn't able to pin strong high school players to the boards for any period of time, can you imagine trying to stop a bull like Drew Stafford from going to the net. Nothing against Marto, but I don't know many players coming out of high school, especially on the North Dakota side, that could handle that situation on a regular basis. If you can name me one player that came right from North Dakota high school hockey to play major college hockey, I'll cut you some slack on this one, but none comes to mind, nevermind trying to make an actual impact in such a situation. In fact look at the handful of Mr. Hockey winners from North Dakota that went on to play college hockey, and all of them played Junior hockey after high school.

Agreed on Marto. I just hope Coach Hakstol has been paying attention the last few weeks. Two of Marto's goals in the past few weeks have been incredible. But that isn't necessarily what impresses me the most. He makes the simple play most of the time, then when he sees an opening he is gone in a flash. He is a great skater. He also makes nice outlet passes and steps around, rather than shooting right into a defender on a powerplay. Sounds to me like things the Sioux need in their lineup after a year or two of juniors. When Tarek Howard vouches for him by saying he is the best player he has coached (with Panzer and Arneson in that group) I would hope that they are seriously considering him, because I don't think people will cut much slack if they miss out on another local kid by being passive in their recruiting. I have a feeling that someone is going to give him an offer if he plays a year or two of juniors, because the skill is there, he just needs to put on some weight and muscle, especially since his upside is even greater when you consider he hasn't played summer hockey and missed a bit of each of his sophomore and junior seasons at Central. I just hope the Sioux don't miss the boat on him.

I'm not so sure that being on the second line automatically translates into a lot less playing time. An example is the Sioux not breaking up a line that is playing well like Spirko, Stafford and Zajac. You can't tell me that Brady Murray should be put on that line when he is healthy if they keep playing like they are. As for the powerplay, I'm sure Kozek is at least on the second shift. I'm sure their coach is just doing what he feels helps the team best. Does Kozek kill a lot of penalties? Maybe he is more valuable in that role. Without actually seeing him play and witnessing first hand what is happening with his playing time, I'm not going to say his numbers would be a lot higher being put on the first line.

I hate to say it, and I'm ready for the backlash, but I think the UND sports program as a whole is reaping what it is sowing. They are constantly expressing the need for more money and what big business athletics has become. Well, I think fans are expecting more for their buck as well, which means being critical similar to that of pro teams. They can't expect to have their cake and eat it too all of the time. I think right or wrong, in big-business situations, the scrutiny is magnified because there can't afford to be a drop-off for any length of time. It only takes losing a few bluechip recruits to level the playing field for the lower-end teams, especially with how hard they are working now. Any drop-off might chase away a few fair-weather fans, and all of a sudden your income decreases. I would just hope that there is at least a two year grace period the fans have in the transition period, but in big business that isn't always the case.

And Red River better beware of the official that is looking right at the goal against Grafton and points as it being good, then deciding that he didn't see what he saw. Kind of wishy-washy if you ask me. If that would have happened the other way around, Grafton and Fargo people alike would be lamenting the huge conspiracy for Grand Forks schools. Guess what, look at the big-time players from Grand Forks that make significant contributions in college, and you will see why Grand Forks schools are always in the running at the state tournament.

Splitting at Anchorage is no crime this year, however I am concerned at what I am hearing from the coach. He said if we would have come out better on Saturday they might have been able to get Anchorage down a bit. My question is this, when you have lost five WCHA games in a row, how can you not come out ready to play the next night, especially when you are on the NCAA tournament bubble and home ice bubble?" If this was an abberation, I could cut them some slack, but this has become a habit of this team-playing well, or hard one night then coming out soft the next. He also mentioned that Brady Murray probably won't be at full strength for a while yet, and that they hit two posts. Sound like he is enabling his players coming out soft by providing excuses when they lose. Again if this was a one-time thing I could cut some slack, but it is rehashed week after week. I thought only Frank Mazzocco kept track of the number of pipes Minnesota hit. From what Tim Hennessey said, Anchorage was shorthanded for Saturday, but they came out and played hard, despite having the built-in excuse. I hope I don't have to hear it the rest of the year (because it would mean the Sioux are winning), but I would like to hear the Dean Blais-type rant about his players needing to step it up after a loss rather than the number of near-misses, especially when it was initially admitted that the team didn't come out ready to play. It certainly doesn't reflect well on either the coach or the players. Now lets take care of business this weekend and not use Bruckler's great goaltending as an excuse. The Sioux need to clinch home ice and get the pairwise points that this weekend can bring.

I suspect that we will see more traffic on this site from POIers looking for a hockey fix, especially if that other site doesn't pan out. Perhaps it might be a good outlet, because if Hammy isn't allowed to spew his venom, the consequences for the average person on the street is kind of scary. Without that outlet the frustration has got to be released somehow.

I think part of the reason they are struggling is because some players like Andy Moller decided not to play for them due to no conference affiliation or post season play. Probably normal growing pains for any program making the move. I believe I heard someone mention that if UND had decided to move to D1 that Kierah Kimbrough might have changed her mind. Others might want to play D1 just for the status of it, even though the competition may not be any better, at least the lower tier teams.

Agreed, it seems the year a team is supposed to be down, they come out o.k. I think the Sioux won a National Championship the year after they were favored to-- same with Michigan. I don't think Minnesota was expecting to be quite as good after Leopold left either. I supposed it all depends on the learning curve and how freshmen progress. While UND's freshmen will be really young next year, here's to hoping they can put up better numbers than the few goals provided by Fylling, Massen and Canady. The defensive side will be the question, as they will be very young, but hopefully the transition game will improve. I think the Sioux can use a boost of enthusiasm, as it seems it has been most consistent from Spirko and Zajac this year. Usually you are in trouble if your go-to guys are freshmen. Let's just hope the upper classes pick it up down the stretch and supplement what we are getting from those two. I don't want to start looking to next year quite yet.

Gotta say, it is getting hard to keep up the optimism. I remember Hakstol saying the average fan wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the way the Sioux played under Dean and the way they will under him. Gotta tell you I see a change and would bet plenty others would as well. It would be interesting to see the last time a Sioux team scored so few goals per game. I didn't see the Saturday game at CC, but I don't remember a time watching Sioux hockey that they can't sustain any pressure other than a shot here and a shot there. Sioux hockey to me has always been a buzzing brand of hockey with lots of oohs and ahhs from the fans from sustained pressure following a goal etc. It seems when we score a goal to get close or tied now, the other team is the buzzing team. It's like the Denver teams of old have now flip-flopped with us, and we are the ones being caught from behind and giving up the 2 on 1's. Yes the Sioux lost Parise and Bochenski, but they have lost as much, if not more in the past and still created scoring chances. Remember, minus Bochenski, this was a team Dean said would win one, if not 2 national championships. It concerns me that a team that had such high expectations has many of it's fans hoping for a split at home. Even the year the Ralph opened people expected to win and saw exciting hockey, but were let down by poor goaltending. I, for one, will not lower my expectations for Sioux hockey. Being realistic with a young team is one thing, but regardless of what some board members say, I see lack of effort and discipline from more than one player every game. The lack of discipline is killing the Sioux, and yet those same people are out the next shift. Yes, Dean is gone, but his method of discipline worked, and why change a good thing despite the short bench with injuries and such. I would be much more respectful of a loss that lessons were learned, than a loss which only perpetuates future discipline problems. Now for the optimism -- score first, and I believe the Sioux can win any game, if they get back to the defense that only allows about 20 shots a game, because I believe we have good goaltenders, but they need to know that if they give up the first goal, it isn't game over!

Dubay knows about as much about college hockey as he does about nutrition, which is little if nothing.

He's a great HS player and I'm glad to see him knock some people around, but anyone who thinks Lee was anything more than a "homer" pick for WJC is rather naive. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

All I can say is that if the Sioux get outshot badly sometime and win, I don't want to hear naysayers say that they got lucky.

Dagies, If you are saying that signs, etc. can sway a recruit, then message boards could as well. Therefore, I would hope that no negative comments are made about the Sioux on this or any other board, because it would only lead to the potential loss of a good recruit.

[ If recruits based their decision on the quality of posts from message boards like this one, the Gophers would be without a team! <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe Colin Forbes backed out after Gasparini was fired. Not sure if he went to major juniors or where, but has played regularly in the NHL.

Don't get me wrong, the jury is still out, and will be for a while concerning coach Hakstol. I am just saying that we have more tools left at our disposal than Minnesota. No, Minnesota didn't have a coaching change, but then again, Hakstol has been around to see how things worked under Blais for quite a while. I don't see a huge learning curve here. Why mess with 5 WCHA titles in 8 years. Maybe its a matter of the players not responding to Hakstol's threats like they did to Dean's. Responding to him differently as head coach is possible, but he needs to make it a non-factor. Whatever, I am not one to believe things can't and won't be turned around. In fact, if they can win at least one this weekend, things could turn in our favor. I fully expect to win at home from here on out against Denver and Wisconsin and sweeping Anchorage and/or St. Cloud on the road is certainly possible.

The Sioux lost Parise, Minnesota lost Vanek. The Sioux lost Bochenski, Minnesota lost Ballard. The Sioux lost Lunbohm, Minnesota lost Riddle, Koalska, Potulny. If anyone should be underachieving, it should be Minnesota.

What, all of a sudden the Sioux are the Minnesota Vikings and have no shot at winning. Oh yeah, that's right they beat the Packers. How some Sioux fans think the Sioux have no shot is beyond me. The same people with a 6 or 8 game winning streak will be flaming gopher fans about how great the Sioux are and wait till we meet again. How about some middle ground, the Sioux aren't as bad as many of you think they are, and are never as good as some have claimed them to be in the past. A little bit of motivation goes a long way.

Very disappointed is all I can say. It feels even worse with Minnesota getting swept. We could have put ourselves on par with them had we taken care of business. We'll see what this team is made of this weekend against CC. If they can catch CC in their afterglow and win twice, top 3 is still within reach. If they continue to play uninspired hockey and be satisfied with slipping into the last home ice spot, then I don't imagine they will have what it takes to go far in the playoffs. It is all ahead of them if they can get a sweep or two on the road. Splitting at home against CC and Minnesota isn't the end of the world, however when you compound it by playing unemotional hockey and splitting with Anchorage and Mankato and nearly losing the second to St. Cloud when you were coming off a losing spell, well that isn't Sioux hockey and what fans have become accustomed to. I wish I could say that goaltenders have stolen games from us, but it really doesn't feel like that this year. Here's to hoping they start to play like the team that was predicted to finish second.

I believe Markovic played for Slovakia, and he certainly didn't look out of place. With Toews coming in, I'm not sure if they are looking for someone else. I guess it depends on what Oshie is going to do.

I know Lee wasn't at the evaluation camp, but Johnson was, and to tell you the truth I wasn't all that impressed with him in the games I watched him. My friend, who has coached a lot of WCHA players wasn't much impressed with him either. Not saying he isn't a good player, but they got to evaluate him a lot that week. Perhaps they thought that it was worth it to give a very talented player a chance to show his skills at the next level.

I don't think Hammy has much credibility beyond the POI borders because his objectivity is suspect. I agree views are slanted somewhat depending on your favorite team, but he is overboard. Sagard on the other hand has a lot of credibility in my book, he tells it like it is without trying to flame when the facts are positive towards his gophers.

I think Michigan should try to think beyond the smell and try to figure out how to beat Minnesota. Maybe his players shouldn't shower as often, perhaps it is a plot to play on the minds of Michigan players. Obviously Michigan didn't want to check him, thus a free path to the net all night.

I don't know how many people saw James Patrick his first season here, but even some Sioux players were questioning how he was a high draft pick the first half of the year, then the second half he exploded. Not saying Radke will do the same, but it is a bigger adjustment for some players. Doesn't mean they won't turn out to be as good as, if not better than players that are ripping it up early. Give Radke a chance to blend into his surroundings. Seems like that is the philosophy of Hakstol. Hope is a good thing, I'm not so sure the same thing can be said of high expectations.