Bear Man

Welcome to the board Sioux Addict. I hope you stay around but you're gonna need some thick skin. I have similar beliefs/feelings as you and from time to time have tryed to express those but have never had anyone back me and have only been shot down as not a real Sioux fan. Understand something - - it is group think here - you must hate anything to do with the Gophers; fans, players, ex-players, coaches, announcers - - you must be convinced there is a conspiracy against our Sioux by the NCAA, the WCHA, the referees, and others. I know there are a lot of us out there who don't believe this, but very few who voice this opinion on this site. In my opinion, we are on the cusp of acting just like SCSU or Duluth who are infatuated with the Gophers and their whole season revolves around the goings on with them. My God - - I thought it was a great game last night and remember thinking at the end of the third period that it would be sad that anyone had to lose this game. I wasn't happy we lost, but I didn't think we played as badly as most want to say. I thought the effort was there. Is it possible Minnesota just outplayed us last night ? NO, it was because of bad calls, luck, etc. Damn - we sure look stupid sometimes with what is said on this site and we think the Gopher fans are arrogant and lacking hockey knowledge.

I'm sure this will get me in trouble with my fellow Sioux fans but .............. I agree with your comments Slappy. It was quite an accomplishment by the Gophers last night - love them or hate them - simply looking at it as a hockey fan it was impressive. But, as you've learned posting on this board over the years, don't expect common sense to dictate responses from some of the rabid Gopher haters on this board. People see and hear what they want when it comes to your team. You get kicked around on this board a lot ( much of it deserved ) but I don't mind you posting here and reading some of your comments.

Truth be told - - If the Goofs win it would be quite a win tonight against the Mavs. Since nothing else is on TV - I am watching the game. The Goofs are short the 5 guys in Sweden, Hirsch was just let go from the team, Kaufman is out for a few weeks with bad knees - that leaves 9 forwards - one of which - Howe - who is playing with a broken thumb tonight. And if I'm right - they are now down to 8 forwards because one of their guys got hurt in the first period - no idea who. ust heard on the TV the guy is out for the game (Tom Pole) My guess is that if the Gophers win it will be a boost to them - if they lose they will consider it a character builder. What the announcers say don't mean squat for any team - what matters is what each team gets out of winning and losing.

Goon -- except for the fact I'm obsessed with FISHING in addition to golfing, hunting, and hockey - you and I could be brothers. I must say, however, that using statistics to justify a belief that the WCHA is corrupt and that the Gophers don't get called for many penalties has some major shortcomings. For example, based on the chart you provided yesterday (copied and pasted below), and using your logic - - I would say that if anyone is getting preferential treatment - it is CC. They are averaging more than 8 minutes less a game than our Sioux (about 50% as much) - while the Gophers are less than 2 minutes per game less than the Sioux or less than 10% as much. You would have a stronger case -albeit still very arguable - if the Gophers were swithced with CC instead of in the middle of the pack in penalties. This chart does not back up your claim that the Gophers "are not called very often for penalties." Moreover, if anything, it confirms that they are about "average" and in the middle of the pack with the rest of the teams. Using the chart, one could also argue that if anyone is getting the shaft, it is DU. Heck, they are almost 2 minutes more than us per game - about the same as the difference between us and the Gophers. They are more than 10 minutes more per game than their arch rivals CC. Is anyone at DU claiming the refs are out to get them ? As for the point that the WCHA wants so bad to have Minnesota and Wisconsin at the final 5 that they are willing to sacrifice fairness, decency, integrity, and professionalism doesn't fly for me. I will continue to be a Sioux fan who doesn't believe in a big conspiracy against us. If the paranoia get's to strong, it becomes a self fullfilling prophecy - we look for it even when it isn't there. This is the stuff that makes people laugh at us. Goon, I hope you have a great hunt to So Dak this weekend. I hope you don't take this personal. Most Penalized 1 Denver 8 155 19.4 2 North Dakota 8 140 17.5 3 Minnesota Duluth 8 139 17.4 4 Minnesota State 8 138 17.2 5 Wisconsin 10 163 16.3 6 Minnesota 8 128 16.0 7 Alaska Anchorage 8 115 14.4 8 St. Cloud State 8 109 13.6 9 Michigan Tech 8 98 12.2 10 Colorado College 6 54 9.

Goon - I don't know you and I'm sure your a good guy - after all you do hunt. And you are without doubt one of our biggest supporters. However, your obsession and hatred of the referees and the Gophers is a little creepy and over the top to me - but it does make for some entertaining reading.

Thanks for having the balls to say what needed to be said Mafia Man. Personally, I'm tired of the non stop bashing of the refs. We act like the only bad calls they make go against our guys. Some of our posters here actually do fit the stereotypes I've seen on other websites that describe us as paranoid and "halos". It is not fair to have our fan base judged by comments by a few. Unfortunately, negative comments about the refs, other teams, other coaches, other players, etc is rampant here. I'd like to think there are more of us out there who don't think like some of the main posters here and on USCHO who write like they speak for all of us. And unlike some people here, I am not filled with anger and hate. I am not obsessed with the Gophers, Kessel, Paukovich, the refs, INCH, polls, etc. I simply like good college hockey. Now I'll just sit back and see how I get ripped by some angry person for not being Green enough.

I live in Minnesota and have been following the Danny Kristo situation and Gopher comments. Like everyone else, I was shocked - but thrilled - that we picked him up. Seems he was a closet Sioux fan. He is a terrific player. No where have I read ( including GPL ) or heard anyone mention that Danny Kristo "will never skate a day in the NCAA." - - implication meaning he isn't good enough. The worst of the responses is people speculating it isn't as bad as losing a Parise or Lee (GPL) or that he may be like a former Gopher recruit Peter Mueller (USCHO.com) and choose to play somewhere else because of his age and experience. It also is worth adding that, it isn't the same people that made these comments. Some were Sioux fans, some Minnesota, and some Badger fans. Those that have complimented Danny Kristo have not backed off of those opinions. People like Hammy - (who has a Gopher blog) was the one who said that Danny Kristo could be the best in his age group -wished Danny well and said he was a good pick up for the Sioux. Just putting things in context.

According to Heisenberg - our new goalie is Anthony Grieco from Wellington of the OPJHL. Tale of the tape - - 6'1", 175 lbs, DOB 11/07/88. Welcome Tony !

You are so right. Unfortunately, some of our fan base are so infatuated with hatred for other teams players that we choose not to find the good in anyone not on our team. I applaud those Sioux fans who are not in this category - more than it seems because not everyone posts. We use stats to prop up our guys but dismiss stats that prop up opposing players. If stats don't look good for our guy we say stats are meaningless (see Toews / Kessel arguments). We're selective in what we think are important stats (see game winning goals). Watch me get ripped by the usual crowd for not knowing anything about hockey or that I'm really not a Sioux fan. Mason Raymond is a deserving player - he's gonna be great - Duluth is lucky to have him. BTW - I think the Dogs are gonna be tough next year. It's just too bad it's so far away.

Some guy on GPL ( I don't have any clue if he's reputable or not) is reporting that Alex Kangas is committing to the Gophers.

For what it's worth - I'm a Sioux fan and don't post here much anymore because of the way non Sioux fans are treated and the obsession/hatred of Kessel, Denver, Paukovitch, etc. The list of hated people/teams is much longer than this but I'll refrain. I have checked out Gopher Puck Live - and you know what - most of the board conversations are MUCH more civilized and at a higher level of discussion, albeit less conversations. BTW - my Ford truck is bigger and better than your Chevy. I hate Chevy's - their worthless pieces of junk. I don't care what anybody says - I saw one at the dealership the other day and it sucked ! I am an expert and Ford should be named truck of the year. Screw all you Chevy lovers - go find a board like Chevy dot com where you are welcome. We don't want you here unless you like Ford and HATE Chevy.

Every fan base has the lunatic fringe - - including us. It is OK to hate Kesshole, the Gophers, Denver, Punkovitch, Gwozdecky, Lucia, Mankato, the badgers, Duluth, etc. The incessant pathological aspect to it though is laughable. I keep saying to myself - self - do some of these people have body parts in their freezer ? All together now ............ kuymbaya lord - kumbaya ......

Kessel has as many power play points in the conference as Oshie does overall. In addition, Kessel has almost double the points as Oshie in the conference on the power play. This is a big deal - since we agree the WCHA is the best conference in the country. If most of Kessels points came from non conference foes we'd all be talking about the "inferior" and "easy" competition that allowed him to get all these points. Kessel has racked up 89% of his goals, 73% of his assists, or 79% of his power play points in the conference. By contrast Oshie is 44% of his goals, 60% of his assists, or 53% of his power play points in the conference. Almost half of Oshie's points are from non conference games. Oshie has been awesome - no one can deny Oshie's importance to our team and power play points aren't everything - but these number comparisons will be hard to overcome. In addition, it is stupid to blame Kessel for the USA's lack of success at the juniors - or for that matter imply that he doesn't play with heart and passion, lacks leadership qualities - How do you know ? BTW - - what true colors has he shown ? Whatdaya say we turn this into another Kessel bashing session ?

If Oshie had been whacked in the eggs by a Denver player intentionally - this board would be full of people calling the Denver player cheap, a thug, a goon, etc. My guess is that we would be whining like young pigs who missed morning breakfast from their mom's pink tit. I wonder how many of you would be saying that it wouldn't be "unusual" and the normal course of a game and it was OK to do this to Oshie because they were just trying to throw him mentally off his game ? Fact of the matter is - it is funny and couldn't have happened to a bigger jerk. But, the last thing this Sioux fan wants is for something like this to be considered OK FOR ANY OPPOSING PLAYER. Some things seem like simple logic to me. But I'm sure I'll set off a tempest on the vigilante justice crowd.

We all take pleasure in what happened to Pauk last night. However, this only gives Denver more motivation for tonights game and puts us closer to accurately being labeled by others as "cheap" and "dirty". Why would we want this as an outcome ? Let others carry the torch for this kind of stuff. I we condone it - we are no better than anyone else we accuse.

I listened to a little of the game on my way to the Toby Keith concert at the X. Yea - they sure are homers all right - no worse than any others I've heard though. Actually, while I was listening, two plays were reviewed during the second period. Both were reviews of possible Gopher goals including the whistle before the goal. Both were called NO goals for the Gophers. I agree with the assessment on Irmen - he is what makes the Gophers as good as they are.

With the resurgence of Denver for the WCHA race, this complicates our situation dramatically. I think Wisco and Minny go 1 - 2 in the standings. I see CC as 3rd - no worse than 4th - no way 5th. They may have lost 4 in a row but against good teams. CC has an experienced club with a lot of talent. CC with a week off will be really motivated to get things back on track. I wouldn't want to be the team to play them next. OH WAIT - we are the next team to play CC - - IMHO - and I hate to say this - I believe we will get swept at CC. That leaves us and Denver for 4th and 5th. While SCSU is playing well - not well enough to dent the top 5. Denver already has us by 5 points. They proved this past weekend that they are playing better hockey and will be tough to beat down the stretch. We play them twice AT DENVER. I don't like this series much either. I say we finish 5th. We make the NCAA tournament as do 4 other WCHA teams. We win the first game at Ralph in the tournament. From that point on my crystal ball gets a little more fuzzy............

We can only hope that EJ goes pro without ever wearing goldy. He is the real deal and will be an impact player if he ends up a Gopher. I'm sure Gopher fans would love to have him at least one year. My instincts tell me he will go to Minn for a least one year. It takes a little longer for a defenseman to step right into the pros at that young age and while dang good - - he still has a lot to learn. Gopher fans may be "dreamers" in expecting 1 or more years - - - but Sioux fans are "wishful thinking" that he turns pro right away.

About time this thread comes to an end ? It appears everyone from both Sioux and Minn camps believe BOTH incidents are wrong and orchestrated by the worst type of fans from both teams. I would be willing to suggest NO ONE active on this message board (Sioux or Minn) fans would ever perpetrate such stupid displays of idiotic behavior nor condone it. Seems like nothing to argue about to me. Time to sing kumbaya !

McKeen's has Michael Forney at #14 of all players available for the 2006 NHL Draft. They have Toews at #5. According to these folks, Frolik and Toews have fallen since the world juniors. It looks like Forney should be a real good recruit - he has both size and skill. I think I like him already ! Here's the top 15 list according to McKeen's. 2006 NHL DRAFT RANKINGS 1 - Phil Kessel C 2 - Erik Johnson D 3 - Jordan Staal C 4 - Nicklas Backstrom C 5 - Jonathan Toews C 6 - Peter Mueller C 7 - Michael Frolik RW 8 - Kyle Okposo RW 9 - Derick Brassard C 10 - Bob Sanguinetti D 11 - Nigel Williams D 12 - Bryan Little C 13 - James Sheppard C 14 - Michael Forney LW 15 - Chris Stewart RW

Lucia's statement looks pretty accurate to me. If the Sioux hadn't "stepped it up a notch" on Saturday - we would have gotten our azzes kicked. As for the rodents dropping a notch - I think they did. It didn't look to me like their passes were any where near as crisp as Friday night and they didn't finish on scoring chances. YES - the Sioux had a lot to do with that , but it is not unreasonable or arrogant to say they (Minnesota)dropped a notch. We should be thrilled we won. The game could have went either way. How bout we start concentrating on the land cows ? I think Lucia is a classy coach despite my being a Sioux fan.

Courtesy of Hubbabubba at GPL: Sioux lines changed up a bit tonight. 1. Spirko - Zajac - Oshie 2. Stafford - Toews - Porter Interesting.

Great post. No one should be arguing it was OK. And know one knows what Phil's intentions were. Time to move on ?

WOW !! I can't believe what I've seen so far. Are Stafford and Oshie playing tonight ? Where the heck are they ? Let's play a strong 3rd period and carry it into tomorrow night.

You are right about that. Thank God Peter Mueller, who committed to the Gophers as a 15 year old and played on the USA Junior team in Canada recently, decided to pass on college this year. He is predicted to be a top 5 draft pick this year too. Had he stayed - the Goofies would have had 3 of the likely top 5 NHL draft picks this year. I see the cheeseheads got Sam Gagner yesterday. Great pickup for them - projected as best 2007 recruit. Looks like the WCHA continues to get the blue chippers. I would like us to pick up Aaron Marvin for 2007. He's one of the better players from Minny and reminds me a little of Michael Forney.