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I would rather have an average player who would go through the wall for you, than a skilled player who won't push himself to the limit. Of course there are a few exceptions, Thomas Vanek being one. Having said that, I have never seen Les Reaney play, so I can't make a judgement on him, only to the extent that it is odd the leading scorer in a good league hasn't been scooped up.

Let's let Minnesota put all the pressure on Kessel, and we can just sit back and enjoy watching Toews without expectations that may be hard to live up to. I will be willing to bet that once the beginning of next season starts, Minnesota fans will try to downplay their previous expectations so he isn't looked at as an underachiever if he doesn't reach a certain point total. I think Toews will be good, I just am not going to have expectations that he is going to rip up the league as a 17 year old. I think people, including myself expected too much of Kyle Radke. I don't believe that people can be upset that he didn't put up the numbers we expected, because each rookie adjusts differently. We don't know how Toews willl adjust, we can only hope he makes the adjustment as well as Travis Zajac. If he does put up nice numbers, we can then look at it as a bonus rather than an "oh well, that it what he was supposed to put up" type situation like Kessel will inevitably have to deal with.

Based on what I've seen from local talent, I would go with Jake Marto and Jon Ammerman over Hardwick, but that may be a bit biased based on the fact that most impressions of Hardwick came from the few times I saw him live over a year ago. I know he had a great state tournament, but his skating and foot speed concern me a bit for a college defenseman. Of course the other two have questions for the college level as well, so I guess I'll have to trust that the coaches know a lot better anyway. I would think that all three are a year away regardless.

Actually, it was a caller who asked Greene and McMahon to name a gopher who was overrated and underrated. If Harrington has his best game of the year against us, you can thank the caller.

Heard some guy on the Fan from Fargo today lying through his teeth about how UND players thought they had it in the bag and that they thought Potulny and Irmen were overrated. I don't know why a Sioux fan would ask that question on the coaches show to begin with knowing how it would be bulletin board material, but I wouldn't have answered the overrated player, only the underrated. The same person that asked that question is the same one who always asks the coaches about recruits--he just doesn't get it. It is pretty lame however to be a gopher fan in Fargo and make up stuff from the coaches show and pass it off as fact in order to get a rise out of Dubay and get his team pumped up on outright lies. I honestly believe he has become a Bison fan and can't stand playing second fiddle to the Sioux again despite being Division 1.

I think we'll see if Lucia puts his money where his mouth is. Remember how he ripped into Sandelin for playing Hagemo in the World Junior tourney. Well, somehow I don't think you get rid of mental issues in one week. I would expect him to be done for the year if Lucia practices what he preaches.

Actually people who complain about paying high ticket prices can complain about bringing in events like the Elite Eight, because it is going to be us that pay for the losses incurred when 100 fans show up. If you are going to take a loss on an event, why not take it on hockey regionals. I think we should bid on the hockey regionals every year because then we can hear gopher fans saying how we have the home ice advantage every year. Let's face it, a traditional hockey power will be in the NCAA most years, and being able to play at home every year would be a major advantage in getting to the Final Four and the exposure all programs desire. Rather than take a loss on a sport that UND hasn't reached prominence in ages, why not outbid others for hockey regionals that, with UND in it will draw very well. I think Ralph would rather give the hockey team an advantage anyway, and it is a lot less risky than a sport that isn't the cash cow in town.

Question for gopher fans: Why is it that joking about Tyler Hirsch is in bad taste but continually ripping Jake Brandt and Brandon Bochenski isn't? All had problems, and most would consider them all mental to some degree. If anything Bochenski should have more of a pass since he was in high school and obviously was less mature. I'm not saying that Hirsch's problems should be exploited, but I don't think a double standard should be used for what is in good taste as seems to be the case.

Agree with you that things are the way they are and there is no use whining about it except to the people who can change it, but how is this any different than you whining about the Grand Forks bias in high school hockey and your petty hatred of them.

I've got to give props to the Bulldogs. While there might have been a few incidents in the 3rd period, I think other teams in the same situation would have been cheaper. You can't tell me if the shoe were on the other foot and a worse than expected season was coming to an end that there wouldn't have been a few shots thrown. What do you think the gophers or badgers would have done in the same circumstances. With that many seniors I thought there would have been some major shots taken. I thought all in all, the Bulldogs handled it quite well and I appreciate coming out of the series healthy from not having to deal with much of that crap.

I don't know why people get so up in arms about some fans leaving a little early. It isn't a mass exodus like at gopher games. Some of the same people getting so upset live in Minneapolis and could very well be here themselves. I have a friend that drives down for just about every series, but I don't cast stones at those who don't do the same and say they are any less fans. Everyone knows there was plenty of tickets, so you can't use that as an excuse. Let's put it this way, at least they came to an important playoff series, and many of them are from a distance away as well. Maybe they didn't want to get home really late. Just remember, they have reasons for leaving early just like you have reasons for not being here. By the way, I don't leave games until the final buzzer, but I am just saying that jumping on people not knowing their reasons can go both ways.

As excited as I am about last night, I have to temper it a bit by the way the Sioux have come out after nice wins most of this year. Last night's win was not average however. They had the killer instinct we all have been looking for. Hopefully, they will come out with that tonight and don't give the Dog's a sniff, because Dog's like to sniff, just not area's that Duluth fan's would be proud of. (On second thought, maybe they would). They need to get past that initial Duluth desperation tonight, and the bad even-up officiating we know is due from Sheppard and they can get it done. I hope Hakstol is instilling in them how critical it is to get the job done tonight, not only for the sake of not leaving it to a one-game shot, but no team having played that play-in game has won the WCHA Final Five, having to play a Sunday game on top of winning 3 games next week to achieve that would be quite a task! Go Sioux!

They have about 5 games spread through the main concourse of the REA, at least they did the weekend of the ND hockey tourney. They are probably the same ones they had over at the Betty during the WJ's. I think it is cool to be able to play a game or two between periods.

And once again you had the recruiting questions from people that should know better. Interesting though that Tim & Swygg mentioned the possibility of Kelly Roysland transferring from Minnesota in women's basketball, and listening to Roebuck squirm. They should know as well that he can't talk about transfers or recruits. Hope the rumors are true.

How many National Championships have the Bison won since the Sioux have won theirs? The Bison won their Championships when they allowed teams to play on their home court. True the Sioux won one of theirs on their homecourt, but let's face it the women's game has come a long way since the Bison won their NC's. Their were plenty bad women's teams back then.

Personally I would rather keep guys like Duncan in a developmental league for a year because you are trading a potential average first year into a better than average or very good first year. That is why they redshirt in football and basketball. I know it isn't as relevant in hockey, but I don't think Duncan would have helped this year to the point where it will offset what he will do in the future years here with that year of maturity. I agree with Sagard that it doesn't make sense for the likes of Zajac, but for players that will most likely be here four years, if they will agree to play a year or two of juniors, I think it helps the program in the long run.

I don't want to be the typical fan who downplays an opponent's recruit because he didn't play for their team, so I would have to say that comparisons to Spehar are unwarranted. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but when Dubay, after watching him play against Minnesota says he is automatically going to be their best player, I think they are downplaying how good Potulny is. I am not saying he won't be their best player, but to base that on one or two times watching him is typical rube behavior. By saying that, he is saying that Stafford is better than anyone on Minnesota because he was by far the most consistent player on the U.S. squad. I would expect Kessel to get around 60 points or so next year with 25 to 30 goals which is a fantastic rookie season. I just hope that the Sioux have Prpich get under his skin a bit without getting too many penalties, because I can see an intimidation factor for someone that age. But to me, it is hard not to see by watching him how he isn't going to put up good numbers, he just might be a little erratic at times putting up 4 points one night then none for the next, kind of like Parise in his rookie year. Let's just hope he puts up good enough numbers in a non-Championship season to get the heck out of Dodge quickly.

At what point did Phil Kessel become possibly the best American ever. Answer- when Dubay decided he was leaning to Minnesota. I never have heard that before. I have heard he is going to be a great player, but nothing to that level. I was at that Sweden game that Dubay described, and while he made some great moves, I wouldn't classify them as ridiculous. I have seen him play about 10 times, and I have been impressed and alternatively unimpressed at times, which is understandable considering his age. That said, I don't think Minnesota will be losing many games on home ice next year. On a small ice surface however, I think it is possible to get in his face and neutralize him, as some World Junior teams figured out after they saw the Sweden game. After all Drew Stafford led the U.S. team in scoring and he doesn't exactly light up the WCHA. You may gain a Kessel and lose a Potulny if the NHL comes to an agreement, which might be a wash until Kessel gets some WCHA experience.

Here Dave K goes off on Grand Forks for being cocky, but the people he uses as examples are probably 13 year olds who wanted to press someone's buttons. I can only ask Dave K what excuse he has. Let's face it there is rude behavior wherever you look in high school hockey. I saw Fargo South fans throwing sticks at a few Red River fans last night and heard Minot fans during the Red River game saying how the officials will never make a call against Red River. Excuse me, it seems to me that they gave South plenty of chances to get back in the game last night and even to get an early lead. The difference is that Red River fought through it and won. Maybe if Red River had lost they would have used the excuse that the Refs did them in. It all depends on how you look at it. As far as Fargo's future dominance, who knows what will happen, but I will say I have heard that in the past as well. Maybe Fargo will get over the hump, but you have to admit Central's recent run and Red River getting to the semifinals for 13 straight years is impressive. If you look who has gone on to college hockey and made an impact, Fargo hasn't done that well when you consider the size of Fargo. Minot and Bismarck have done equally well. I hope this doesn't come off as cocky, but I am proud of Grand Forks hockey and how well it has done, and I don't shove it in someones face unless it is first shoved at me. Let's face it, some of the same people who are talking about arrogance, get pretty cocky when it comes to Sioux hockey and it's record, looking down on other programs and exalting its championships. Just don't be hypocritical like Dave K.

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.