tnt

Nevermind the fact that the record that T.J. broke was that of Troy Murray. I don't think it is coincidence that all those big names pop up. Game winning goals are meaningful for no other reason than it means that the player was producing when the game could go either way. Meaningless goals are goals tacked on when you are already winning by 4 goals late in the 3rd period, or an empty net goal when you are already up by 2.

Also seems a bit exclusionary to exempt a team from hosting a regional because of their nickname.

It is Aaron Bendickson that is committed to Wisconsin.

Anyone else see the end of the game when they originally put 4.8 seconds back on the clock. Did you also see who was in charge of the instant replay--Greg Sheppard. Not a big surprise to me that they got it wrong with Shep piloting the ship. When is the WCHA going to get wise and get some new blood to look at things with a fresh perspective instead of the good old boys network that Sheppard has created.

While I agree it is fun at the WCHA Final Five, I still like the old system of the playoffs being on home ice of the higher seed. I really believe it makes the WCHA standings mean something. I think now teams are focused on getting down to Minneapolis and having a top three seed. I think #3 would fight a little harder for #2 if they thought it might be the difference between home ice and a road series in the next round. Let's face it momentum is huge heading into the NCAA tourney, and the gophers right now have an edge every year in gaining that momentum. I believe they should do the same with the NCAA tournament like they used to until the Final Four, especially now since the Sioux will basically never have a chance to host regionals again-- advantage gophers. I think we see now how important that is with gopher fans worried that they will have to play at the Ralph. I personally think it is only a matter of time before the gophers pass the Sioux in national championships with the present format. I realize it won't happen, but I think it is a better reward for regular season excellence. I believe winning the league title has lost some of its sheen. To recap, the gophers will have Final Five home crowd advantage every year, regional advantage every 4 or 5 years and Final Four advantage every 7 or 8 years. It worries me a bit, so let's hope we can take care of getting to our regional this year and take advantage of it.

Bottom line for me is that I don't think you can find a UND fan or fan from another team that can say anything bad about Oshie. Early in the year you heard plenty about Kessel from gopher fans, and all of it not good. Oshie has been the most consistent performer for the Sioux, I don't think you can often say that about a freshman, and I doubt the same would be said of Kessel. That said, Kessel will probably win it because of the year the gophers have had. To the victor belong the spoils, and I really don't have a big problem with that as long as a case can be made, and a case can be made either way.

Hakstol was clear that the officials did not cost the Sioux the game on Saturday. He wasn't happy about a few of the calls down the stretch, but he said it is a rare occasion when an official costs a team a game. I'm not so sure I totally agree with that assessment.

Bottom line is that the Sioux defensive core hasn't given up more than 3 goals a game in quite a while now, and most of the time it has been two goals or under. What more can you expect of freshmen defensemen? Oh, yeah -- perfection!

Last I heard Minnesota had a North Dakota clique and they seemed to be doing quite well. Seriously, you can't tell people who they should hang around. In some circumstances it might lead to chemistry problems, but not all.

Favorite player is Troy Murray. Played two years and had 70+ points each year, besides being a great checker, face-off man and basically all-around player. Favorite defenseman is James Patrick. Favorite moment is 1997 national title from a group of hard working, not highly recruited players that weren't expected to do a lot before the year began.

Let's not forget, that the Sioux will likely have another shot at St. Cloud, either here or there. If not St. Cloud, it could likely be Colorado College. Either way, there is likely to be some nice pairwise points in either circumstance. Bottom line is the Sioux need to take care of business.

Exactly, you need to drive to the other end of town to the Bronze Boot. Not many on the south end of town specialize in steak. All I know is when I get done golfing with a vendor at Kingswalk, I end up going to Grizzly's every time or stay at Eagles Crest. It would be nice to have some other choices on the South end. If you know of others on the South end, please share.

How about an Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill and a nice higher end steakhouse than Ponderosa, like Outback, Timberlodge, Stuart Anderson etc.

[ First of all, it pains me to read commentary from those of you who did not actually watch this last series & are just relying on T.H.'s radio broadcast--it's easy to ASSUME, judging from the end scores, that the defense was great & the offense sucked. However, what I saw was NOT a lack of effort on the offense's part, but so many turnovers from our inexperienced defense. Also, If you've got your forwards constantly digging out the puck in our own zone, trying to make plays with 2 SCSU guys wrapped all over you, it's going to be extremely difficult to score! St. Cloud's defense was really unbelievably sound & knew just who to cover this weekend (top scorers). That's when the other players need to step in. Second--many of you need to check the stats section--(check link below) we lead in most of all areas compared to opponents, except Powerplays. This is where we need to make changes most of all, i.m.o. Hakstol changed it up a few times this weekend--had all top forwards with no defensemen at least one time, maybe twice. Though I don't believe it resulted in goals, it did appear to have some life & promise(crowd loved it). Another time he had Stafford out for the whole 2 min.'s. Speaking of him, since when does the top power play unit not have the leading scorer?? What's up with that?? UND hockey stats

When things aren't going well offensively, you need to keep it simple. I know it sounds kind of weird to say they need to shoot more when they had about 37 shots on net Saturday, but in some circumstances they do. Their powerplay just isn't working. St. Cloud was practically giving them the shot from the center of the ice at the blueline, but they kept trying to work it down low. When the way to get to St. Clouds goalie is through screens and rebounds, I don't know why they don't take the shot and crash the net. How much simpler can you get than that. Also, when you are having trouble scoring, why not bring Watkins back to the Fabian, Prpich line and let Brad Miller have a chance with the fourth line. I know he isn't the answer for everything, but it seems to me that the people in the lineup know they will be in the lineup, no pressure to produce. There isn't much depth sitting from games now, but Miller is one choice that would make sense with a struggling offensive team and a struggling Kaip. Splits at CC and Denver and winning at home should get us into the NCAA tourney. Anything less than that, and Ralph Engelstad Arena truly will become Mariucci West, and the Sioux will have nobody to blame but themselves. Games like last weekend are hard to take with the effort they put out, but that is the very reason you can't afford to lose the kinds of games they have with a lack of effort, because you can expect a goaltender to steal a few during the course of the year. Let's go forward from here and put on a run like last year, before it is too late.

Oh, and one other thing, bringing in the likes of some finesse players like Lee, Oshie, Chorney, Duncan, Watkins and Miller should have moved us toward the other end of the spectrum-- hardly brutes. I know Chorney can be very physical, but he has a finesse game as well, Kozek as well, but he seems to mix it up and is very physical.

On the other hand, St. Cloud likes to clutch and grab and play hockey like the old NHL did, and that is a source of great pride for them. Hopefully Motzko is changing that, but hey reputation has given them a stamp as well.

It says that Kyle Turris is 16 years old. He is going to Wisconsin and has 54 points. He could end up being quite the player for Bucky.

Anyone remember what brackets looked like this early last year? It would be interesting to see how much they changed. I would be willing to bet that a lot of things will change by then.

I heard Koberinski on the Coaches show say that they are trying to make this one of the biggest Midget tourneys. He said the field will probably keep growing. What a great recruiting opportunity to get some of the best talent out there to see the facilities and take in some Sioux games at the same time. It certainly can't hurt to expose players to UND at a young age. Something that could stick in the back of their minds as they progress as hockey players.

Then what do you do when the Sioux play them in Grand Forks? Do you lose to them again and lose confidence so you can have the revenge factor? Remember, except for last year, the times the Sioux have done well in the regionals is when they have had them at home. Lose to St. Cloud once and you still have a shot, lose to them twice and you'll be playing them in front of a rowdy crowd itching to see a regional in their home building.

Third Line: Fabian-Kaip-Prpich: Fabian had a really good game. Scoring, throwing his weight around, doing some good defensive work. Kaip... Ugh. Apart from standing up for Jones, I think his game play was forgetable AGAIN. Don't think he'll play tommorrow. (God that makes me sad. I thought so highly of him last year). Prpich: Yapping all game long. He earned every second of that 4 min + 10 at the end of the game. I thought it was a little gratuitous.

Do Frank Serratorre's boys play for the Colorado Thunderbirds? If so, it would be fun to watch them, as I heard that they are supposed to be some good players.

Hopefully he'll be ready to go against Minnesota next weekend. Now that Wisconsin is a virtual lock to win the WCHA, I wouldn't mind them winning all the games against teams that the Sioux are in competition for playoff position with.

One thing the gopher fans better do is to reign in Doug Woog. He is the one saying that most of Kessel's assists come from missed shots. That was a nice pass to Harrington though. I would much rather play the gophers on a small ice sheet with few powerplays. The Sioux powerplay needs to get cranking down the stretch, as that will be the difference down the stretch whether they stay where they are, drop, or make a push for top three. Sioux need to take care of business at home the next few weekends, and if they do that, I wouldn't be surprised to see them tied with the gophers at that point as splits with CC and Wisconsin would do that trick. If not, CC might be taking a bit of a fall.