farce poobah

One thing I have been wondering about is how effective Fabian would be if paired with more of playmaker types. He has shown a knack for getting the puck in the net, but doesn't get a lot of chances. Combined with Coach Hakstol's comments on the Coaches Show thread (niceely paraphrased by PCM), indicating he wants to see production from all four lines, I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple modest moves this weekend. Also, Mankato's top line with Backes and Morin is as good as anyone's. Predict lower-scoring games, with relatively fewer penalties (the 2 go hand in hand, I guess). As long as it stays 5x5, I don't think Mankato can score much. (I have no opinion on the Wild.)

I think the fulcrum is Stafford and Zajac; they can carry a team when they really want it. But that's probably not what you meant. I think its possible some of our rookies show fatigue, and wouldn't mind seeing some spot-rested players down the stretch. Or, alternatively, a little less icetime against the 3rd tier of WCHA opponents. The best scenario might be to pull a Denver. Clinch a spot in the Dance during the regular season, bag the first round WCHA, get a week of rest, and then kick some aff in the West Regional.

Overall, this is not a surprise to what those of us watching the SS.com PWR for weeks now. http://siouxsports.com/hockey/rankings/pwr.php (Those making picks based on historical success that has nothing to do with this year - cough Cornell - cough Denver - cough Maine - are probably surprised. http://www.uscho.com/news/id,11635/PairWiseSurprise.html ) ======================================= Observations: 1) The numbers still change really rapidly, especially in the big bunch from about #7 to #20. UND could still miss out on the dance. Or we could be a #1 seed. Its up to the guys. Still, if you told me on 10/1/2005 that we would be sitting #10 on January 18, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. (You kidding me? 13 rookies, including 4+ rookies on defense? and we're only going to get better) 2) Love the hypothetical draw with Miami and Ohio State, or, frankly any CCHA team except Michigan. Reason is that those two, and most of the CCHA, play a defense-first, trap, you-make-the-first-mistake kind of hockey. And the only proven way to beat the Sioux this year is to pressure pressure pressure. (Which I don't think will work come March 15, but time will tell.) So I would be thrilled to see Miami and tOSU come to the Ralph. 3) Just win baby.

Anyone in the conference that we play four times (MN, Tech, UMD, SCSU, DU), Nonconference opponents we played 2 games (add Bemidji) or TUC's that we beat (add Miami). It would help us if Michigan State became unTUCed. (not likely).

Last year's team improved a lot after Christmas. (Sioux 4/7/05 - Sioux 1/15/05) This year's team, filled with rookies in key roles, should improve even faster as they get up to speed in the game. With experience, talent will carry the day over more opponents. In other words, get your tickets for ALL the playoffs, cause we are going to be IN. Sorry to be obscure.

Not sure but there's a lot of info here:http://www.collegehockeystats.net/

One last observation from me on the weekend: I enjoyed two things at the end: 1) Potulny and Irmen were on the ice for the last 2 Sioux goals. 2) Harrington got undressed "again" by Spirko for the ENG.

Mathematically speaking, this one is easy: Sioux 4/6/06 = Sioux 1/15/06 + 1.5*(Sioux 4/7/05 - Sioux 1/15/05)

I think a big factor was UMD getting whipped and falling out of the ranks of TUC's. Since MN lost to UMD and UND swept UMD, that moved our numbers pretty significantly. Also, Bemidji fell off the TUC list. IOW, its what happened elsewhere in this case. I think.

Ya, last year it wasn't a big shocker to come out of that East Regional. Maybe by the time March rolls around it won't be a surprise for UND to win the West either. Unless of course Minnesota is in the West. If it were to work out that Minnesota gets BU and probably Michigan, that would be a pretty good draw for them. (Maybe better than playing at the Ralph?)

Oops. Will fix that.

Based on the reliable PWR calculator at SiouxSports.com, http://siouxsports.com/hockey/rankings/pwr_rpibonus.php, and assuming a 3-2-1 bonus, here's how the field would look today: 1 Wisconsin 2 Miami 3 Colorado College 4 Minnesota 5 Michigan 6 St. Lawrence 7 Boston College 8 Ohio State 9 Harvard 10 North Dakota 11 Vermont 12 Michigan State 13 Boston University 14 Nebraska-Omaha 15 CHA lets say Bemidji for fun 16 AHA, say Mercyhurst (Note - 5 CCHA teams (!), 4 WCHA, 3 Hockey East, 2 ECACHL, 1 CHA, 1 AHA. And that Denver doesn't get in... they are around #25 right now. Also, no Maine, and no New Hampshire.) Let's place the #1 seeds, in order, closest to their home (none are hosting): Wisconsin goes to Green Bay Miami goes to Albany (which is, I think, closer than Grand Forks) CC goes to the Ralph Minnesota to Worcester Then dropping the rest of the field straight into a 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, etc (it will need adjustment in a minute): Midwest Wisconsin vs Mercyhurst Ohio State vs Harvard East Miami vs Bemidji BC vs UND (gotta fix that) West CC vs UNO St Lawrence vs Vermont Northeast Minnesota vs Boston U (the host) Michigan vs Michigan State Final Field: We have to move UND to Grand Forks, so let's just swap UND and Vermont. (Alternative would be to bring BC to Grand Forks, but I think they would keep BC out east to sell tickets.) Don't like the Michigan - Michigan State first round game, but there's a CCHA team in each region already. Midwest (1) Wisconsin vs Mercyhurst (8) Ohio State vs Harvard East (2) Miami vs Bemidji (7) BC vs Vermont West (3) CC vs UNO (6) St Lawrence vs UND Northeast (4) Minnesota vs Boston U (the host) (5) Michigan vs Michigan State ============================== Of course, this will probably be nothing like the actual, but it leads to some pretty intriguing matchups: Wisconsin vs Ohio State ... INDOORS this time in Green Bay, just 5 weeks after their game at Lambeau. Minnesota-BU, Michigan-Michigan State ... no problem getting attendance in Worcester this year. Putting UND and CC in the same region guarantees no all-WCHA frozen four. If the top seeds win, you get Minnesota vs Wisconsin in the national semis. (And if UND can spring a couple upsets, Miami vs UND in the other, afternoon semifinal. but enough dreaming for now)

Tonight was much better. And yes, we got some puck luck. But MOST IMPORTANT, we battled. We competed. We showed maturity. This is a good sign. A win to build some momentum on. The 4 WJC guys looked really leg weary. For the USA guys, this is 13 games in 29 days! For Toews, 12 games. Time for some rest. Also, its time to Take Care of Business at home. 4 big home games coming up.

The other thing that hurts our PWR is that UMD fell out of the ranks of TUC's, and without that sweep our record against TUC's is pretty weak. Too early to worry a lot about the volatility, but not too early to be concerned that we will be a bubble team unless we win enough games the rest of the way.

I'm good for a few bucks.

No, watched on TV. Agree with your comments. Just gotta hope for better play tomorrow.

That was awful. The hardest part to watch is that we are not yet playing as a team. We make individual plays, but we're not yet seeing everyone on the ice. Top it all off, the lines were awful, the reffing was awful, and my popcorn was soggy. The only positive is we did compete in the 3rd. Tomorrow will be better. Hopefully.

Oh, kinda like Bill Murray in Stripes?

I still can't believe: ... that UND hired Gino Gasparini, what with Ned Harkness available and all. ... that "one if by land and two if by sea" actually worked. ... that the Persians fell for that Trojan horse thing. ... that people still wonder about Hakstol's ability to coach a winning team.

Norway > Niagara

I hope Toews wins gold; he's the kind of player that makes me proud to be a fan of UND hockey. And ON the ice, Canada has been classy. Go Canada Go.

Team USA plus-minus for defensemen, going into the Bronze Medal Game: Chorney +2 Lee +2 E Johnson +2 Niskanen 0 Mitera 0 J Johnson -2 (Butler, who rung it up against the cupcakes, was +4)

http://www.iihf.com/Hydra/Tournaments_06/o...226_74_1_0.html Russia's second goal was a PPG, and the final goal occurred because JJ lost track of his guy. I thought Chorney and Lee played outstanding D against the best forward lineup top to bottom in the tournament. JJ, on the other hand was brutal. 11-20-21 Porter-Gerbe-Skille for the USA were also -2 each on the night. Bad own-zone coverage. Oshie was terrific, just terrific. ================================ I don't care about Canada's fans. I want Toews to come back to GF with a Gold Medal. GO Give Em He-double-hockey-sticks Jonathan!

Last week, Russia 7, Czech 2. They cleaned 'em out, USA struggled to win. This is going to be difficult, even for the anointed pre-tournament favorites. At this point, rational says Russia, emotion says ....

nearing the halfway mark of the 3rd, 2-2