rushmore88

Man, that HAS to be a misprint! I do like your unis, but I'm really hoping the prarie rose (or pink or whatever) Flickertail uniforms make a comeback in the near future....

You guys have already started a thread about the officiating? Interesting point though, as the Sioux have to be one of the more physical teams in the country. I was very surprised by how loosely the games were called in St. Paul. I personally thought there were a lot of penalties in all 5 games that were not called. But, the officiating seemed to be relatively consistent. We'll have to see what happens..

Why do you insist on making a complete clown of yourself every single time you post? I too was suprised by Towes being left off the list. Mason (and his entire team) was invisible during both Dawg games at the U, and after Towes hot finish to the year, I figured he'd earned a spot. Oh well, I'm sure you guys are much happier having Towes than Raymond.

I had no idea Parise racked up 6 shut-outs this season... correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't there threads on here calling for his head (or perhaps they were merely calling for time for Lammy?) earlier this season? Looks like the kid had another terrific season. If his floppy a$$ gets hot during tourney time, opposing teams need to look out.

Misleading stats aside, as college hockey fans we can all agree that Kessel and Oshie are truly great talents. If these kids stick around for a while, WCHA fans will be in for a real treat. Players like the aforementioned, Towes, Skille, Wheeler, Stoa, plus an incoming Gophers class that includes Erik Johnson and Ryan Oksposo (don't know anything about other incoming classes) have the potential to make the next few years beyond special.

Glad to see you guys are familiar with the logistics of hosting a 3rd WCHA playoff game at home... GO MAVERICKS

Glad to see you guys are familiar with the logistics of hosting a 3rd WCHA playoff game at home... GO MAVERICKS

We'll just have to see. I would prefer not to have to face UND on their home ice, especially since they appear to be playing much better right now, but if that's the case, the Gophers will be ready. Would be one helluva hockey game.

Well, at least Vanek was really, really good at it!

He has continually been one of the team's best passers all season long. He's made some fantastic plays on odd man rushes that have lead to goals. Look at Ben Gordon. He's played with Kessel for the majority of the season, and he's performing exceedingly better than any Gopher fan could have envisioned. Gordon is 6th on the team in points with 9-13 = 22. Underclassmen like Gordon and veterans like Potulny, Irmen, Goligoski, and Harrington have all benefited from Phil being on the ice with them. Sure, a lot of his assists are on the power play, but Kessel often brings the puck in and rotates to the top of the umbrella. From here, he has earned assists for a) nice passes down low, b) rotating to the boards and feeding Goli or Harry at the top, eventaully leading to a goal, and c) some rebound goals.

Thanks! After sifting through 10+ pages of absolute crap, I figured I'd do my best to make a somewhat meaningful post.

As a Gopher fan pulling for UND to somehow miss the NCAA's, I have to root for the Cows this weekend. However, with 4 players out and a freshman goalie, that's going to be nearly impossible. I don't care if UND has struggled at home this year: they are playing very well now and they should be able to take care of Mankato by about 9:15 CST Saturday night.

Tech rarely doesn't get zero points in a conference series very often either. If I remember correctly, it had been 11 consecutive series that Tech had earned at least 1 point... that's quite a statistic, especially considering they are one of the bottom-feeders in the best conference in college hockey. I suspect Parise lost the award since SCSU is a better team than MTU, even though St. Cloud's offense is terrible.

For somone who doesn't care about this thread or the WCHA ROY award, you sure do post here a lot. Kessel - Considering the hype, he's had a fine year. He's second in points on the #1 team in the country as a freshman. Also 7th overall in WCHA points - ahead of such great players as M. Sertich, Sterling, Earl, Oshie, Gauthier... that's quite impressive. He passes well, he shoots a lot, he moves the puck into the opponent's zone and sets up the power play incredibly well... and he has improved noticeably in the defensive zone. Oshie - My friends and I were discussing TJ at the Gopher game on Friday.... he's an absolute beast, and one of the primary reasons we don't want to run into UND in the Grand Forks regional. In the 4 Gopher-Sioux games this year, I'd say he was UND's best overall player. For a team loaded with talent, that says an awful lot about his game. Seems very Irmen-like: hard working, chippy at times, great goal scorer, playing at ND instead of U of M - the kind of player the opposing team HATES to face. Toews - I didn't notice him as much this year, but from what I've been reading here and on USCHO, it sounds like he's been playing quite well as of late. Appearantly the pairing with Stafford has done wonders for his game (see Stoa). Stoa - Not a ROY candidate, but he's been playing exceptionally well as late. He's developed in all facets of his game over the course of the season. He's a very physical forward and to this point has 7-14 = 21 on the year. Doesn't exactly hurt that he's played with Irmen and Poltunly the majority of the season, but his development has helped that line turn into one of the best in the nation. There's been a lot of discussion on the Sioux's freshman class, and how well they have performed as a whole. The Gopher's frosh haven't been as productive and integral to the team, but they've had a great year so far. Bostrum - Hard working, gritty 4th liner that has looked absolutely fantastic at times this year. Hasn't been as noticeable lately, but he's a big reason why our 4th line has the potential to every it is on the ice. 7-6 = 13 Wheeler - Honestly, has been a bit of a disappointment thus far. He's hustles ever time he's on the ice; it's amazing to watch his 6'5" frame move that fast up and down the ice. I figured he'd have the potential to dominate games, especially as a 3rd liner, but he's been a steady player who still have tremendous upside. At least Gopher fans know he'll probably be back for at least one more season. 7-8 =15 Anderson - Frightening start to the season; he really looked out of place against all forms of competition. However, RJ has developed nicely and has benefited from being paired with Goligoski every night. Is much more composed with the puck and no longer a liability on the ice - I actually feel confident when he's out on defense. 0-3 = 3 Frazee - Unfortunately, it appears as though young Mr. Frazee has some growing up to do, both on and off the ice. Gopher fans have been disappointed with some of his actions (i.e. his Hauser-like behavior on the ice), but he's shown flashes of brilliance at times. Overall, he's had an average freshman year and is currently riding a two-game shutout streak. I'm looking forward to seeing how much better he'll be next year. 6-2-2 2.23 GAA 2 SH .916 SV%

So, are you saying that the blueliners for the Candian Junior Team are better than those playing in the NHL? I'm confused... Oh, and that "one-move wonder" getting knocked on his tail joke is getting rather old... just admit it, you guys have HUGE KESSEL ENVY!

One of the reasons I truly love going to games at Mariucci! The band really adds to the atmosphere in the arena. On nights when the band is away (Christmas break), there is a NOTICEABLE difference. What peeves me the most is we pipe "The Rouser" in. That's cool, but when the Gophs score a goal, the band plays the verse to "The Rouser" once, runs through the chorus, then the song's done just in time for face-off. When the song is piped in, the crew at Mariucci plays an incredibly slow version with two verses. Thus, the song is usually playing for like 20 seconds after the impending face off. Isn't it illegal to pipe in music during actual game play? Oh, and as for SCSU's music... unbearable. Never had the pleasure of going to the Ralph, but c'mon, if you play music over the PA system at a sports event, you have to play G 'n R!

Yeah, that Burrish comment was pretty lame. As for the whole ordeal, not entirely pleased about it, but it wasn't THAT bad. He said it was spontaneous, and he did take a lot of crap all weekend. Kessel scored from bench side of the ice, cut behind the net, put his hand to his ear, and turned at center ice to go back to the bench. Obviously, not the classiest move ever, but he's a kid and it was a very emotionally charged game. Hopefully we do not see anymore of this over the course of the year. Did anyone here even see the game? It was quite incredible to hear thousands of people flat-out BOO the kid everytime he touched the puck. Give it up already. As we've been discussing over on GPL, tons of Minnesota kids go elsewhere, and we do not boo them when they return. Perhaps there was a little booing for Z Parise's debut (was at the game, but honestly do not recall), but just the other weekend when CC was in town a fair amount of people clapped when Marty Sertich's name was called. I mean, the kid grew up 10 minutes from Mecca, is a great hockey player, won Hobey Baker, and is a class act. There's no reason to friggin' boo him! I like seeing Minnesota kids come back into town, it goes to show how important our state is to the success of college hockey.

UW 40 UMN 37 Denver 35 CC 33 UND 32 SCSU 32 MTech 19 Mankato 19 UMD 18 AA 15 Not sure who the tie-breaker would go to between UND and SCSU... the Huskies have been playing very well as of late are going to cause lots of trouble for the remainder of the season and possibly the WCHA playoffs. I think the Gophers have a legitimate chance to catch UW, but after the initial shock of losing Elliot (2 loses @ home to Denver), I think they'll settle down a little and finish the conference schedule relatively strong. They are definitely not invincible anymore. Colorado College had two tough weekends, but they are VERY GOOD, and are a force to be reckoned with.

Yeah, that's great. What a useless argument. So 10 or so stupid students threw crap on the ice, and now we're all bad fans? Cool, whatever. AS WPoS said, the ol' "f*** the Gophers" chant is pretty classy too. Speaking of which, has St. Cloud patented that cheer yet? They invented it, didn't they? Fans get emotional and irrational, and stupid stuff happens. That's how it has been, and always will be. It is disappointing to see how empty Mariucci is at the beginning and end of games, but I guess that's just how the older Gopher fans are.

My thoughts on Saturday night's game: The Sioux played much better. I believe the final shot total was 43-27 in favor of the Gophs, but it seemed like a lot of the Gophers shots were low-percentage perimeter chances that Lammy saw well. Sioux also did a much better job taking care of business in front of their own net, as the Gophers did not score any rebound goals last night. Oshie is a stud. Didn't see too much from him Friday, but last night he was all over the ice. I saw him be the first player in the offensive zone then the first forward to make a play on the back check several times last night. Wish he would have considered wearing the ol' Maroon and Gold... that guy is going to be giving us headaches for the next couple of years. Lammy played well. Frazee played OK. Regardless of the quality of shots, 43 is a lot to face, and Lammy stepped up the the challenge. Wasn't much of a fan of the third period. It seemed to me like both teams were playing for the tie. The Gophs had a few more chances, but the Sioux pounced on their best opportunity since the first minute or two of the third frame and put the Gophers away. I actually noticed Toews a little last night! Oh yeah, bummer about the d-bag fans who had to throw crap on the ice. Lammy did act pretty classless at the end of the game again (both nights were a little questionable, but Saturday he did play a great game and all he did was hit his stick on the glass a few times... no big deal!), but at no point does messing with the fans a little warrant people to litter the ice. It didn't look like security did much about it, which sucks. They should have been confiscating season tickets from all those clowns. Too bad a great hockey game had to end like that. As I was perusing the board yesterday, I noticed a lot of criticisim of Kessel's point total and all the phantom assists he allegedly gets.... although he played a very average game last night, he did rack up two more points (one was an absolutely amazing pass to Harrington on the doorstep!). Not trying to piss anyone off, I just wanted to point out that the kid is a pretty good playmaker and DOES make his teammates better.

That's really disappointing. Unfortunately, no matter where you go, you are going to have some absolute imbeciles who think a horrifically offensive and inappropriate sign like that is amusing. If I see anything like that tonight, I'll do what I can do get the sign or the fans removed. What a bummer... speaking of which, how is Mr. Bina doing these days?

Nope, it's cool. I understand what you are saying completely.

Point taken. I'll remove it, if it's that offensive to you. My apologies.