mikejm

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.

hence? Diggler, I'm ashamed of you!

I agree with you Dagies, 100%. It actually sounds like a "national" anthem.

Mrs. mikejm isn't too pleased with your picture of her, Uncle Rico. Nice shots though. Please keep it up.

I'm glad you noticed this...I mentioned it to people I was sitting near and they didn't see it. Prpich was sure he was going. You could see it in his eyes.

Observations from Section 112: redwing did a pretty good job of describing what action there was. This was a chunky hockey game, folks. It started off with Zach Jones getting called for a hold less than a minute in and that was sort of the story of the game. Lots of grinding and not a lot of artistry.

Now that just su**s. Man, I hope Sparky heals fast.

Answered it myself (with the able assistance of FightingSioux.com): Parise

I'm not really surprised. Between the Ralph, the Sioux Boosters and the Alumni Assn, my mailbox gets pretty full this time of year. I'm sure a lot of season ticket holders didn't even open the letter than told them they had 3 days to buy their seats for the Regionals. Heck, I almost forgot to phone to get mine!

No, I honestly don't know. Who?

I used to say the same thing, but Jordan is pretty sure-handed when he's out of the crease. I think the team expects him to make a big pass. Prpich's goal last night was a perfect example of how valuable JPar can be when he plays his game. When is the last time a Sioux goaltender got an assist? (Sorry about the hijack)

Doh!

Tardy observations from Section 112:

This simply points out the importance of UND getting out to Devils Lake and meeting with the Spirit Lake tribe ASAP. I don't know if the university is going to have to pay the tribe for its approval or what, but its becoming quite clear that the only thing the NCAA cares about is what the namesake tribes think. Spirit Lake has not responded to the NCAA's requests for input; I'd say they are awaiting visits from Pres. Kupchella and AD Buning (and, perhaps a check) before sending anything to the NCAA. Plenty of

The Herald story points out how imperative it is that UND get with the tribes and work out some sort of agreement...now. I'm going to go back to Jeanotte's statement that there is room here for compromise. I don't see a win in the NCAA appeals without tribal endorsement of the logo/nickname, and the courts would appear to be a brick wall. We've heard here only from the radical fringe (Kracker et al). Surely there are sane people out there who can bring the sides together toward a constructive end to this mess.

Actually, MM, they have registered "Prairie Knights" as a "service mark". That is essentially the same thing as a trademark, allowing them exclusive use of the term Prairie Knights as it refers to "casino services and entertainment in the nature of live musical performances". I suppose UND could attempt to register the term under a different goods and services classification, but I'm guessing the Standing Rock tribe might, ahem, object.