mikejm

The only question, then, would be will Philly get out the pen Friday before dinner, or afterwards. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Final Five results are meaningless. Gophers are going to be po'd, and if they find their heart, they'll be dangerous. The Sioux have to do a better job controlling, and getting the puck out of their own zone. Man, several times against both UW and St.C the Sioux looked like they were scared to touch the puck! That being said, though, I think the Sioux have the advantage in that: 1. Two months ago people had written them off. They're not supposed to be here, so why not play like hell and continue the run; 2. These kids simply don't know they're too young to win it all; 3. Raw, innate talent. It'll be a fun weekend @ The Ralph, regardless of who punches their ticket for the Frozen Four.

Well, this will be an interesting Final Five championship game: the desperate Huskies needing a win to extend their season vs. the Sioux who probably have nothing to play for. Barring some really strange outcomes in other conference tourneys, I don't think the Sioux can improve on their No. 2 seed. I suppose we could all adopt the UMTC line and call this a "meaningless" game. I took my sister to the X yesterday for the game. She's not seen the Sioux in a couple of years, and she commented time after time about their talent, grit and determination. After going down 2-0, I think a lot of young teams might've rolled up the tents, but this team surprised me again. Is their youth helping them now? They certainly played as if they never had a doubt that they'd come back and beat the BADgers. It was a rush to hear the Sioux nation make their presence known at the end of the national anthem, both before the afternoon game and at last night's tilt. We sat in front of some die-hard Gopher fans who commented that it was pretty cool to hear "...and the home of the SIOUX" even when UND is not playing. I was surprised to see how poor the Sioux's record is in Final Five championship games; time to change that tonight. And regardless of the "home" ice advantage for the Gophers, the WCHA should never

Friday's game was a good indication of a team playing without intensity. I bellyached about the LandCows' second goal, which probably could've been blown dead for icing. Parise (and everyone else on the ice at the time) pulled up, which allowed Morin to blast away unimpeded. Parise bitched to the Stripes after the period about the non-call. The gamewinner was almost identical to a goal IIRC last year against Denver at home. The only difference was that the interference (which was a pretty blatant pick on Prpich) was at the red line, rather than at the blue line where Denver pulled the same tactic. I sit right over Parise's right shoulder, and it was pretty obvious that JPar let up, thinking there would be a whistle on the pick, and he let a fairly weak knuckler past. But, as I said, the Sioux came out of the chute flat, and let the Cows dictate play for 1-1/2 periods. They were weak on the puck, sort of soft in the corners, and being pushed around. Mankato loves to play with an edge, and the Sioux allowed them to set the terms of engagement. Tonight will be an interesting challenge to what remains a young team: Fabian out; Stafford (if he plays) will be one-legged. Leadership can sometimes come from unexpected sources. I expect Prpich will want to extend his college career, and Smaby could well be looking at his last amateur game if they can't manage a win. Or will it be one of the freshmen, Oshie or Towes, perhaps, that picks the team up off the floor and carries them to St. Paul?

No prob redwing. And you are right, to a point.

Bernie is really a pretty good guy; his show sounds exactly like what it is: a bunch of hockey heads reminiscing. Bernie is one of the most connected guys I know in hockey in this part of the country, and that shows in the guests he's able to land for his program. He has forgotten more about hockey than most of us will ever know. Oh yeah, and he's a pal of mine.

Man, I just don't see all this trash-talking. Yes, the Sioux are playing well right now, but just a little over a week ago they piddled one down their legs in Denver. Watching them sweep Tech made for a fun weekend, but this team's work is not by a far stretch done. Mankato will be tough. And the planets really have to be lined up pretty precisely to avoid the Gophers in the Regional Finals. I hope the Sioux continue to play well. If they come out flat or tight like they did both nights last weekend, Mankato could throw a real wrench into everyone's plans for the rest of March. Tech is a tough, scrappy little team, but they are not a good indication of what UND will face from here on out. I'm cautiously optimistic; cautious being the key word.

I think the whole leaving early deal is just the price we pay for getting to enjoy such gifted athletes while they play for the Sioux. I, too, am disappointed when they leave school, but think of all the pro hockey players you've had a chance to watch during their college careers. As long as UND continues to recruit and sign extremely talented young men, we're going to have to get used to seeing them for a year or two.

That was a pretty incredible thing to see. I thought Conner was breaking in solo when he went around Finley, and all of a sudden the big kid put on a burst of speed. Having a ten-foot wingspan probably didn't hurt things either.

Good question. What happens if the Sioux win two, and end up missing the NCAA tourney because the CowBells drop out of TUC status? Ouch! Inquiring minds want to know.

I had a very interesting visit with one of the assistant coaches about a month ago and he said the coaching staff has been very congnizant of not mentioning youth and inexperience while speaking with

So, is this the defining moment for this team? I recall a year ago when many of us were bemoaning the sorry state of affairs on the ice, only to jump on the bandwagon all the way to the final game of the year. The Sioux began to play good hockey late on 04-05, but the catalyst for the late surge seemed to be Robbie Bina's scary check at the WCHA Final Five. Did the team cross a threshhold Saturday? Is this the "I remember when..." incident?

I'll duck as soon as I write this to avoid the certain bricks and other assorted slams coming my way, but the M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A thing has always been one of my favorite things about college hockey. It is maddening, to be certain, but it is also somehow a splendid example of the atmosphere one expects at "non-professional" sporting events. I hate like he77 when I hear it too often when the Sioux are playing the Gophs, but it reminds me that these are just college kids out there, playing their hearts out.

Wow! Nice honor for Jon; but look at the names on the cut list! Chucko, Espo... Toews must've played well to make the team when other obviously-talented players were sent home. Way to go young man.

Okay, I only saw Friday's game (gave my Sat. seats to daughter and son-in-law), but this weekend was the "freshman moment" thing converging on the entire team. They were simply squeezing the sticks too hard, playing too tight all weekend. We've seen some freshman mistakes by one or two of the guys per game, but the phenomenon has been limited to just a few instances. This weekend it was an epidemic, and they simply never shook it. Minnesota has more upper classmen, and two incredible juniors in Potulny and Irmen, both of whom have now played their last games in Grand Forks, BTW. The Gophers were stung from an embarassing sweep at home at the hands of the Badgers, and were up for the game from the opening face off. They were ready to play, and frankly, played a couple games completely out of character for their team. They were physical, which is certainly not something that is usually associated with the team. The Sioux on the other hand, came out tight both nights, got behind early, and never recovered. The fact that they were able to claw themselves back to two one-goal losses says something positive. Saturday could easily have been a 6-0 loss or worse. This remains the most talented team to lace up the skates in Grand Forks for a long, long time. I was very worried this fall that the Sioux would end the calendar year with a horrible record. They're at .500 in the WCHA and 10-7-1 overall. They're outscoring opponents 62-48, and they still have two games in hand against Wisconsin and the Gophers. Go ahead and jump off the bandwagon folks; but beware of the road rash you'll get, because this team will right itself, and I'll be in my seats in Section 112 for the West Regionals (unless my soon-to-be ex-wife gets the tix )

We must be classmates! Jeeze, are you old...

Observations from section 112: Well, that was just horrible. Aside from about ten minutes of the first, the Sioux were bottled up everywhere on the ice. I didn't see that many mistakes, certainly not enough to account for the lopsided score. Denver just flat out schooled the home team tonight. As much as I hate to do it, I must tip my hat to Denver coming out with jump and a heckuva game plan. They looked like the national champs tonight, and the Sioux had trouble moving the puck. Period. Denver's agressive forecheck will serve as a blueprint for every other team the Sioux play this year. They clogged every passing lane, they dogged the puck, they helped Mannino. It seemed like every time the Sioux had the puck in their attack zone there were two Pioneers on the puck. Just no room for the speedsters to move or to make a pass. Dagies and farce poobah did great jobs summarizing the game. I'll simply add that TJ Oshie has showed me in a month why he "suddenly" showed up as a first-round pick: that kid has a set of wheels under him, has great hands, and is tough as nails. I thought Stafford showed a lot of skill with the puck tonight. Lee is incredible with the puck! Lammie didn't play very well, be he didn't get a lot of help on at least two of the goals. I really thought that beautiful pass from Smaby to Porter for the first goal was going to change the game; it certainly did for the next five or six minutes (nice shot and goal for Taylor Chorney), but Gauthier's goal effectively ended the game. That took all the starch out of the Sioux. The end was ugly. Maybe even embarassing. No one knew what the heck was going on. Shep sent Prpich down the tunnel for 10 and the Sioux had four, then five then four again skaters on the ice. Shepherd lost control of things at that point and linesman Nathan Freeman ended up taking Marvin to the ice after he'd warned both him and Helgason to cool it right before the face off. Freeman dropped the puck and immediately turned around and tackled Marvin! Paukovich is a punk, and Paul Stastny didn't endear himself to me with his smack either. The rematch between these team in February in Denver could be a real ugly deal. I was thinking during the game that this was maybe the "freshman moment" we've all be fearing. But on further review, I'd say Denver won this game by playing very tough, very tenacious hockey. The Sioux ended up on the wrong side of the score board, but I wouldn't say they kicked it away. They were out-played, out-hustled and out-checked for about 55 minutes. It'll be an interesting week of practice, and probably a good thing they stay at home as it will give them an extra session on the ice. Oh, I saw Trotter before the game, coming into the Ralph with what must have been his father and maybe a younger brother of something. He's in a cast, on crutches, and still hurting from the look on his face. I hollered my encouragement to him and while his father smiled in acknowledgement, the kid was looking pretty grim.

I was very afraid that this game would get ugly. Lee's hit from behind early (questionable no-call), then Smaby's big hit on Trotter (correct no-call). Couple the big hits with all the trash talk by both teams in the newspapers and I could see this thing turning into a big ole fist fight. Maybe it was seeing how badly Trotter was injured (like JPar said postgame) but the raw emotion ebbed a bit from both teams. I am very disappointed in the Sioux's lack of discipline when they had two separate chances to put Denver away on the 5-minute majors. They took stupid penalties that were correctly called, but clearly unnecessary in the flow of the game. And I am having a hard time believing Gwozdecky is such a classy coach (seems like everyone says the same thing of him) when his team continues to play the clutch, grab and hit-from-behind game. I think Hakstol and Smaby both deserve a great deal of praise for getting the team under control emotionally. Aside from 15 minutes or so of the second period, I felt the Sioux played with a lot of poise. It is becoming more and more difficult to believe that this is such a young team. I was a student when Rube Bjorkman brought in a similarly-big freshman class in 1973; there were four or five Minnesota All-State players, IIRC. A lot of talent on paper that just never jelled on the ice. Clearly Hakstol is a coach more adept at integrating great young talent into a WCHA team. He showed me last night just what a good coach he is. As I noted earlier, Saturday's game will be a very good indicator of how good this team might be: if they can come out and establish their game early again and finish the sweep, we might be on the cusp of something pretty special. Regardless of Denver's losses, this is the two-time defending national champ. This is a team that knows how to win very tough games. Beating Denver is a very big accomplishment. The Sioux's youth, however, makes me wonder if they can find the energy and motivation to seal the deal. I hope the Ralph is rockin' tonight. And I hope the kids show me what they're made of, not just how talented they are. This is easily the most talented team to play in this building.

Observations from section 112: (With apologies to Dickens) It was the best of times, and the worst of times. I witnessed the best period of hockey I've seen in a long, long time tonight; and I saw one of the worst. The Sioux were absolutely on fire in the first, and without a big performance by Glenn Fisher in DU's goal (and a post and a couple missed open nets) the score could've easily been 5-love after 20 minutes. Someone said it before, but the Sioux transition game was in road gear: I don't think they missed a breakout pass the entire period. The usual cast of characters was pretty impressive: Smaby has turned into a very confident Dman, and a real leader on the ice. I remember cringing early last year when he was handling the puck, but now he's simply a rock out there. Brian Lee and Taylor Chorney both are so very strong; Lee is much flashier with the puck (although he boneheaded one in the second that probably could've resulted in a DU goal, but hustled back to break up the play with a poke check). Chorney is a lot better player than I'd expected. Both he and Lee played very good games tonight. And I can't neglect Radke: great goal on what I recall as a rebound off Chris Porter's shot. He put a rocket passed Fisher. Zajac has broken out of his "slump" admirably. He and Stafford and Duncan skated well tonight, really moving the puck well. I watched the second from a suite, and listened to a first-time game watcher talk about how well that line plays. The guy said it was easy to see they've played together for so long !!! (What's it been? Two weeks now!) They should've gotten a goal just on principle for one sequence: the three of them hit tape-to-tape-to-tape passes in the length of maybe ten feet in the slot. It's really too bad they didn't twine it 'cause it would've made a heckuva highlight reel. Chris Porter looks like he's having a ball skating with Oshie and Towes. The freshman have brought out Porter's best. That line could've scored a couple of goals tonight had they not had a puck bounce over a stick. I think Towes hit a post, and the line put a couple shots over the net trying to go shelf on Fisher. Both times they had the keeper beat. I didn't see Fabian's injury happen, but he barely made it back to the bench. I'm ashamed to admit I don't know if he came back on the ice. He was visibly hurting. And Brian Lee got his "welcome to the WCHA"; he just about had his head taken off; his helmut barely stayed on. But he got right up and got back in the play. JPar was huge when he had to be. He made some good solid saves, especially in the second when the Sioux were really out of sorts. In both the first and third DU had pretty good movement deep in the zone, and some screens setting up nicely, but Jordan hung with it and came up with some nice pad saves on low shots through traffic. He showboated a couple of times: a big glove save in the second would've been a foot wide, and the "jump save" he made in the third could've been ugly if he hadn't caught it in the webbing of his glove. That puck could've just as easily deflected down off the glove into the crease, or he could've stuck it in his own net bringing it down the way he did. And his penalty in the second is among the dumbest things he's done since he came to Grand Forks. It was so obvious when he stuck his leg out. I'm sort of surprised he didn't hurt himself. JPar had no chance on Denver's goal: it was a beautiful screen and a whale of a shot by Butler on a nice pass from (dare I say it?) Punkovich. Watkins, Foyt and Kozek were sort of invisible to me tonight. I honestly don't remember seeing them on the ice but a couple of times. The Red Pepper Line of Prpich, Kaip and Fabian worked their grinding role nearly to perfection. I hope Fabian is okay 'cause that line plays a vital role. I am really surprised that Denver resorted to the clutch and grab game. They have some pretty fast skaters who are good with the puck. They shut down the Sioux in the second, and I am frankly surprised (happily) that the hometown boys didn't let the Pios back in the game. The Sioux definitely lost their cool in the second, took some stupid penalties, and maybe are lucky Denver didn't get another goal. 3-2 going into the third might have made this a whole lot different game than it ended up being. The Trotter incident happend just to my left. It was a big check, but clean in my estimation. Trotter got up and his right leg just collapsed under him. He hollered to JPar for help; I think Jordan was signalling for a whistle and a trainer a long time before the refs finally stopped the play. I see several people are saying a laceration. I saw bone folks, and his foot was not where it is supposed to be. If that kid didn't break his tibia, he sure as heck messed up his leg. He was in a lot of pain, and understandibly shook up. I think DShepherd actually kept his calls pretty even, although he didn't do a very good job of officiating (if that makes any sense). A couple calls were pretty ticky-tack and he did let some obvious penalties slide. Brian Lee should send him a thank you card for ignoring his checking from behind about a minute into the game. I'd say the game was about one big hit from turning ugly at a couple different points. As beautifully as the Sioux played the first period, they could've won this thing 5 or 6-1. As ugly and stupid as they played the second, they could've lost 4-3. This was a huge win for both the upperclassmen (a little revenge for the last two years) and the freshmen (proves to themselves they can play in the WCHA). I hope they are not too pleased with the win, though, because Denver is going to come out Saturday with a little extra body on the checks. That's the reigning national champs there folks, and other than about 12 or 13 minutes of the second period, they were really outplayed by a very young team.

Geez.....and here all this time I thought it meant "love 'em and leave 'em". The next thing you'll tell me is the 1883 deal wasn't my class rank!

That's a little harsh.

Who? When? For what? (Sounds like I picked a lousy week to move my office )

Anyone have luck logging on to the webcast lately?

Well then, he ought to be cleaning up on these UNH guys.