tnt

Bet losing to NDSU was fun too! Too bad you didn't play for a trophy, then you will have yet one more empty trophy case. At least the Sioux still have the Nickel Trophy.

I guess I haven't heard that he is a bad teammate, so any personality quirks wouldn't be a disqualifier for me. We have had some odd ducks at UND in the personality realm as well, but their team seemed to either like them or put up with them. I know I was glad we had Jason Blake, even though I heard he didn't have the best personality.

I think tickets are very hard to come by, so I don't think they would go without some possibility of having tickets.

I know many gopher fans are calling for Lucia's head, but I have a feeling they will get well against Anchorage this weekend, and once they get their scoring confidence they will turn things around. It would be nice to see Anchorage take them out at least once, but in Minneapolis I think Minnesota gets on track.

That is the sign the defense has problems. Remember when our linebackers were always the leading tacklers? Now our secondary is leading that category. Either the defensive line isn't opening it up for the linebackers to make plays like the defense was set up, or our linebackers just aren't making the plays. I can't remember when the Sioux didn't have a big name defender that they could count on game in and game out. Hopefully those players are waiting in the wings.

I don't think Nick Mattson is eligible to be here this year, as I don't believe he accelerated.

I think the latest shows he is tied for the points lead on Shattuck with 15.

There is no excuse here, but I would hope that it would make fans take a close look at their behavior when it comes to getting into people's faces. I witnessed Sioux fans that were getting in gopher fans faces who were just trying to have a conversation with each other between periods. I was ready to confront those idiots myself. Fans like that make it hard for Sioux fans who make the return trip to Minneapolis, because many fans look at it as a chance to get even. Grow up!

I agree that Kristo needs to be a little more selective, but I think the Sioux need someone who isn't afraid to take a shot from a bad angle. Ryan Duncan and Brandon Bochenski made a living off of bad angle goals. As long as the people down low are ready for it and in position to screen and/or get a rebound, I don't have a big problem with getting shots on net from the point. See two of Genoway's goals and Marto's goal for confirmation of that. Perhaps when he gets that monkey off his back, he will be a little more selective. The only problem I see is if he doesn't get the puck to our playmaker (Gregoire) and our horse (VandeVelde) enough for them to do their thing. I'm sure if Hakstol had a problem with him in that regard, it would be addressed.

So being concerned by undisciplined play is being a front runner?

I will only say that the discipline of this team when the chips were down concerns me very much. The Sioux have always been a "don't beat yourself" team, and Mussman even talked about how Stonybrook beat themselves last week. They say you can find out a lot about a team when there is adversity. I only hope the reflection from this game isn't a recurring theme.

This was very disconcerting to me! How can you expect your team to believe that Sioux Falls is a threat, if you don't. Injecting Sutton before it got out of hand in the first half might have changed the complexion, because the Sioux couldn't even penetrate the line of scrimmage. I was giving the offensive line and defense the benefit of the doubt up until now, thinking that the competition was just consistently better at this level, but after today, I have to say that I haven't seen an offensive line or defense that can't seem to muster anything in the way of a push. To not even get pressure on an NAIA team's quarterback this week, while the same team is harassing your quarterback all day, really leaves me wondering what is going on. It looked like we were playing prevent defense all day, while we couldn't even get a sniff against their defense. I generally don't like to post on the day of a frustrating loss, but I think these issues are undeniable, even after a cooling off period. The problem for me, is I don't think you can chalk this up totally to having a bad day. Kind of ironic that Sioux Falls dons purple uniforms isn't it. Sioux Falls appears to be our Holy Cross. What goes around comes around!

I think his dad played at Michigan State. If he's good enough, why not trade in one green jersey for another.

I think even many gopher fans agree that Minnesota will try to bring a physical presence this year and will try to carry it throughout the weekend. I believe that will include chippiness. When UND responds to that, I believe Woog and Mazzocco's reply will be "Here we go again". I also believe they will be appalled when someone tries to get at Tony Lucia, because goodness knows he isn't an instigator like Hextall.

I will only say that Grand Forks would have far fewer restaurants and retail if it were not for the Alerus. Remember, the Alerus was in the works before the Ralph was a pipedream. Of course it is hard to support two buildings like that in one town, but what do you do now. Maybe the city should tax the heck out of the Ralph. Remember one other thing, the city was subsidizing the Civic Auditorium for about the same amount as the annual shortfalls from the Alerus. Also, I realize that most people here are hockey fans only, but do you honestly believe the UND football team would be able to recruit at the same level without the Alerus? I bet they would have had 3000 people tops last weekend at the game if it were outdoors. You can flame away, but you can't convince me that the Alerus has been bad for Grand Forks all things considered.

Anyone know if any recruits will be in this weekend to watch the rivalry? Didn't we get four commits in short order last year after the gopher series here?

If you can say this in about a week, I will be happy.

Friday: VandeVelde Saturday: Kristo

I would say that the University needs to get involved in this if this is the product they are advertising across the country and trying to sell the University of North Dakota. To sell UND as the most technically advanced, then put out a production that isn't as good as it could be, might reflect on the University itself. Pat and WDAZ should ask for help in this endeavor, and if they have and there is no response, perhaps a benefactor could help out.

They are cheap patches and it makes the jersey look cheap. Why do they not think these things through before proceeding? Do the marketing people lack the pulse of the fans on stuff like that. I would probably have bought the jersey if it wasn't for the cheap arm patches.

Knowing how slow the Sioux usually start out, Sioux fans should hate the getting a point for getting to overtime. You can't gain ground as fast on teams that you are only gaining a point on. I wonder how many games went to O.T. a few years back when the Sioux absolutely had no room for error after the first half of the year. Trupps O.T. goal in Minneapolis might have not been as big a turning point as it was if the gophers would have come out of the game with something. I know there are times when it works against you, but I'm fine with that, because that is what gives those overtime games the tension and on the edge of your seat for every shot toward either net. I hate that feeling at the time, but the exhiliration when the Sioux win those games is higher in my eyes when you deprive the other team of anything.

I absolutely hate the getting one point for a loss. It goes against everything that sports is. I can see giving out a point for losing in a shootout, because that is meant just to get an outcome one way or another. I think if you get a point for just getting to overtime, you would see a lot more of the traps that many fans hate to see halfway through the 3rd period, and even earlier if you are a scoring-challenged team. I don't have the numbers to back it up, but it seems there are so many more NHL games that go to overtime now, and you don't see the style of play open up until the 4 on 4 overtime when the point is secure.

Apparently you should look into self-awareness as well. When you decry the Sioux, then apologize for Trevor Bruess, maybe you have some soul-searching to do.

Remember him ranting about Radke hitting a player when he was already down. Then we see footage of a Denver player doing the same to a gopher player the year before. I agree with the people that say it is hard to take him seriously with his background of classlessness. He is the kind of person that talks behind the backs of people then sucks up to them when he is around them. Remember him mocking "gopher pride" when he is around Sioux coaches and announcers?

I voted, but it won't let me fellow workmates vote.