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In the past I've stated my displeasure with the Athletic Department changing the playing field a couple of years after the transition to the new arena. In other words, I would have taken advantage of being high on the totem pole as far as transition points to get to pick early on, had I known I would have to pay the extra Fighting Sioux Club bucks down the line anyways. If they keep changing the requirements for the clubs, I hope they keep that in mind and don't put additional burden on people not expecting to join the club in the first place. After a few years to reflect on it, it doesn't make that big of impact on the budget, but it still strikes you in a negative way. I know that I just cut out my attendance at other sports, especially those games that I attended in the past solely to support the team when I knew a blowout was in order. I no longer shell out money to attend those games. When it is treated just like a business from the Athletic Department, the fans will follow suit in many cases. I realize the Athletic Department have to do what they have to do, but they should also realize the same of the fans, and that there are only so many entertainment dollars that can go around, especially with the addition of women's hockey, nevermind the time constraints. I will always attend all of the hockey games, but a season ticket looks less appealing with no Minnesota series at home. Wish the Athletic Department could find a way to work with the WCHA to change that. That is the only series that they make money on standing room tickets. I guess the bottom line is that if we don't buy season hockey tickets someone else will. Hopefully that will always be the case, but you can see it wasn't true of men's basketball when they have struggled.

Tim and Swygg are the only station that even talk about Sioux sports with any regularity at all. We have the Coaches show and they talk about Sioux sports quite a bit, as well as having a contest every week during the season and ticket giveaways on a frequent basis. If you want to ruin coverage of Sioux sports, give it to another station and have to deal with a Dan Terhaar as an announcer again. He was certainly an adequate announcer, but nowhere near Hennessey in knowledge of Sioux hockey. I laugh when I see Terhaar doing the Wild games, because that is truly a "who you know" situation.

Actually, I think UND was in much better position to give UNI a game last year than this. Don't get me wrong, I think the Sioux could end up being pretty good, but it will take a while for the defense to come around having lost such veterans as Digger Anderson, Danny Gagner, etc.

Agreed. Just for the record, who is it you would have wanted them to hire?

The smaller players like Glen Klotz, Corey Howe, Curtis Murphy, Russ Parent and Robbie Bina are some of my favorite players. The thing I liked the most about Klotz, Murphy and Parent was that they were well versed in a lost art in college hockey today -- the hip check. I loved seeing the opposition flipping head over heels. It may be a little tougher pinning a guy like Drew Stafford to the glass for a smaller player, but most small players are great positionally, and a lot of times just getting in front of the opposition is half the battle. Add to that the fact that they also make up for size by making great outlet passes in the transition game, and you can see that there is still plenty room in college hockey and in the Sioux lineup for the smaller D-Men. That said, a nice mix on defense of physical players and offensive ability would be ideal, especially if they came in the same package.

He did stay loyal to UND, but sometimes loyal to a fault, can be a fault, I now understand that too!!!! I really wish he would publicly come out and say what happened, from beginning to end, because future coaches, and our fans need to know!!!!!!!

I am a firm believer in what comes around goes around, so while I was happy Holy Cross took Minnesota out, I wouldn't rub it in. I would be the type of person that would wear the Holy Cross T-shirt under my Sioux jersey, then when I hear some obnoxious gopher fan spouting off about Mariucci West or something of the sort, I would give them a means of coming down from their high horse.

I find it interesting that everyone is so sure that they screwed up royaly. How many actually know much about all of these candidates? It is possible they screwed up, but I would be willing to bet that no matter who they pick and who they could have picked that everyone will be saying that they should have picked someone else if the Sioux are losing anyways. Just remember that sentiment was that the powers that be screwed up by choosing Gino Gasparini over Ned Harkness. Gasparini only turned the hockey program into a perennial powerhouse. I hope that whoever they pick will have at least some support and a window to make the changes they deem necessary to make the Sioux contenders in the region and nationally every year -- that is if they stay DII.

I wonder if we are just talking about a player that adds depth, like Alexander and Walski from last year, or a recruit with a scholarship offer.

Maybe he can't. Maybe #1 Hak Fan is Hakstol himself, and would therefore be breaking recruiting rules.

I was just thinking, if I were a coach of one of these traditionally weak teams, I would fill my line-up with older players from each league that have shown scoring ability, but haven't been given a scholarship, ala Les Reaney from last year. With so many players bolting to the pros in college hockey, and the youth of the traditionally top teams, you should at least be able to compete with 24 year old seniors on your team. College basketball has teams like Northern Iowa that are able to compete with the big boys every once in a while because they keep their players all four years while the big schools lose players to the NBA. The Sioux did well when Blais first came here with older USHL players that weren't high draft picks. I just think the way college hockey has gone lately, that teams like Tech and Alaska should at least have a cyclical competitiveness being that other teams are constantly without big senior classes. What would the rest of you do if you were coach of a lower-tier team?

He won't be captain because he won't be on the ice every night. He will split time with Lamoureaux the first half at least. Yes, he will be on the bench, but generally you have a person that interacts with the officials from the ice. He might be an alternate though.

Did you or did you not imply that people expressing the belief against entitlement are racist? I doubt you appreciate being called a racist because you don't think the logo is offensive. How is that any different from the anti-logo people who make that leap? The racist card is played much too liberally in society today simply because that is an easy reaction to someone who disagrees on minority issues. One could say that the person making accusations of racism without actually knowing the person is a form of racism in itself. And no, I'm not calling you a racist.

Seems to me you are doing exactly what the NCAA is doing, making yourself judge and jury as to a person being racist just like the NCAA is doing so considering the University hostile and abusive. You can have the opinion that the past is just that, the past, and we are living in this country as Americans--period. Entitlements only keep us divided. I tend to believe in the phrase "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." I don't recall in that Inaugural speech, "Unless you are a group that has been wronged in the past." Hope this doesn't make me racist.

Maybe if we get a white guy that will dress as a Native American and don war make-up and if we all can do the tomahawk chop in unison, the NCAA will look more favorably upon us. It's worth a try.

Thanks Jim, the phrase "unless the requirements have changed" was a qualifier I was going to add but it slipped my mind by the time I got through with the post.

Move to Division I in all sports and the Sioux won't have to worry about being in the post season for years anyway, and the policy would only affect hockey for the short term. The Sioux would continue to get press on the big stage even if they can't wear the uniforms they want.

Not too sure about the other names, but I would think the Sioux have a great shot at landing Colin Wilson, son of Carey, former Calgary Flame star.

I would hope if they play UNI, that it would be because they are seriously considering making the move to DI and want to start making ties. Otherwise, the line of hurting our chances for the DII playoffs was just that -- a line. I believe that should have been the only reason not to play the Bison, because it would hurt playoff opportunities. If that was not the reason for discontinuing the Bison game, I would be very disappointed.

You can argue about the direction the program should go as many have, but you can't argue with the way Rich represented the University -- a class act all the way around. When you see the egos at the coaching level permeating college athletics, it is nice to have the representatives we have at UND. Remember Rocky Hager? I would like to thank Rich and his wife for their service to the University and community. Hopefully the person that takes Rich's place will represent the University the same way, and fit in with the rest of the classy individuals UND has in leadership roles. Hope to see Rich on TV when March Madness rolls around in the future.

Yes, they were deeper, but when I watched them play the Sioux that year, that was the only line that dominated the Sioux. The other lines were either even, or the Sioux had an advantage. But it kind of goes to show that once all the top talent from various teams went to play for the Olympics, the other teams were very competitive. Minnesota lost to some teams they hadn't lost to with those players and Wisconsin came out from the shadows of Duluth and Minnesota, which to me tells me that a few high-end players along with solid depth can put you on a path towards being a challenger. As women's college hockey grows, that won't always be the case, so you better become a University where people want to play hockey now. As Division II women's college basketball has grown, you see some of the bottom end teams like Mankato a bit more competitive than they were in the past, but the thing that keeps UND near the top is that their top talent can take it to the next level when the games are competitive. Let's hope the women's hockey team can achieve the same level of success and always be in the mix for the top players. Right now they don't appear to be.

What irritates me a bit is that the coach is saying they are basically at square one. You don't necessarily expect great things from a fledgling program, but what you expect is for it to grow year after year. To be back at square one is very disturbing especially with the facilities, the school and the men's tradition that can be used to help lure top-end talent. I can tell you what would happen to a professional expansion team coach that had to start back at square one after so many years. Maybe what bothers me more is the defeatist attitude of being back at square one, which basically means one thing -- very little possibility of getting the Lamoureaux sisters and being an instant contender. If they at least had a surrounding cast that could make them competitive in the league, the Lamoureaux sisters could put you over the top, because Minnesota showed the way with having Wendell, Darwitz and Stephens. Beyond them, Minnesota wasn't much better than the rest of the leauge. Better get some top-end talent in here soon, because last place just isn't going to cut it at UND, no matter what the sport, especially since it is an expensive proposition.

Say what you want about Don Cherry's antics, but he is a major supporter of the USA and the need for Canada as a country to support their neighbors, not only in the sporting venue, but also in the policy realm. He took the Canadian fans to task for cheering for Russia against the U.S. in the World Junior tournament, and has always said that Canada should be supporting their neighbor with troops if necessary in foreign policy. He always points out what the U.S. has done and would do for Canada. Yes, he goes too far on HNIC, but he is paid to be a bit controversial. As far as fighting goes, there are many points that I agree with him, it sure cleans up the stickwork, and you don't see near the checking from behind hits that you see in college.

The gophers have depended on Irmen and Potultny the past two years, almost to a fault. I don't recall many games the second half of the season where I didn't see one of their names heavily on the score sheet. It doesn't come as a big surprise that the gophers were eliminated in the playoffs the last two years when they don't score. That said, maybe they depended too heavily on those two and now that they are gone it will force the others to step it up or be a second tier team. I don't agree with those who think the Sioux will be able to handle the gophers easily next year. It is always a battle no matter who the teams have lost. It really all depends on who is lost the rest of the summer and the mindset of the players coming back. Duluth was picked to win the league a year ago and look where they ended up. I think if there is one thing that we learn on a year to year basis is that talent alone won't get you anywhere (see Jordan Parise's quote to confirm that). Minnesota could do very well, but they need many players to step up and fill the gap from the loss of Potulny and Irmen. Heck, Potulnys second half may be the best second half ever for Minnesota according to Woog, and you just can't pick out one or two names to fill that scoring.

I know I would come a little bit early to a men's hockey game to catch at least the 2nd or 3rd period of the women's game, and I know others would as well. Can you imagine how much better the atmosphere would be for the women if they had even a 1/4 full arena to support them. The dollars lost on admission to the women's game would be made up for in part by more concession dollars. If I'm going to be at an arena for 3-1/2 hours I'm much more likely to buy an extra pop or hot dog. Just a thought!