farce poobah

Good stuff. Thanks for posting.

Why not play Parise every game? History suggests its better to make sure your #1 is fresh for the playoff run in March. See: UND 1998 (Goehring, maybe the best Sioux goalie ever, was noticeably tired, compared to his stellar performances in 2000) See: MN 2004 (Briggs, down the stretch) Also, Phil has been too good for too long, not to come back with a string of good outings soon.

Fargo Forum reporting TRF's Michael Forney coming to UND ... [url="http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=107415

Fridley, Minnesota. (If you go into the schools on Friday of Sioux-Gopher week, you may find my daughter wearing her Sioux jersey "in yo face" of all the rodent kids.)

Well that was awful. The only good part was we clawed back to tie late in the second, but the sustained pressure and energy that I was hoping for never really showed up. A few observations: ** Lines were a shambles tonight. Seemed like there were 3 different guys out there all night long and that messed up the chemistry. (Example: Kozek - Oshie - Stafford at one point, later Marvin - Zajac - Watkins) Even the PP units were affected. The Grinder Line was not nearly as effective tonight without Fabian; I hope he gets back soon. (Any word on his status?) ** Was fatigue and conditioning a factor? Several of our guys looked tired in the 3rd tonight - Chorney made some uncharacteristic plays, Lee looked a bit leg weary, Stafford didn't have the same jump, etc. ** While it would be unfair to blame Phil for the goals, several of which were just plain sick, it is fair to wonder how JPar would have done tonight. DU's 3rd goal came because Phil was down in a situation where JP may have stayed on his feet. ** DU, even with a short bench, is the real deal. Their top guys showed up tonight and pounced on mistakes. They will win a lot of games, and so this is not the same as, say, losing to St Cloud. ** A lot of "teachable moments" tonight. (For example Oshie with 2 puck mistakes on the PP early in the 3rd.) The key is learning from mistakes. I still think we will be a contender come March.

Omaha holding their own in the trenches during the first half. Their QB's are getting time to throw, but the Sioux coverage has been good so far. I can see how Omaha has put up big-time offensive numbers. UND got away with a strategy mistake, IMO, we should have run clock with possession in our own territory and 2 minutes to go to half. Given the extra time, Omaha dang near scored. Fortunately, Sioux held. Sioux offense is definitely setting up for some quick strikes in the second half ... (if the game situation needs it). Dressler has been great so far.

Last night gives us a benchmark about where this team is right now, and they are way ahead of where I thought we'd be this early. (I thought we'd get killed before Christmas and hopefully come around by March...) Several freshmen are clearly able to play at this elevated level already, including Lee and Chorney on D ... their skill level is outstanding. Jones and Finley are a little further away from full-speed just yet, but for most 5x5 situations they can hold their own. Coming into the season, "D" was the big BIG question about this team, and barring some unforseen issue, looks to be answered favorably. I do expect some bumps, and we gave DU the puck a few times last night on unforced turnovers but that should decrease as the team plays together more. Up front, Toews is something really REALLY special too, a phenom. On the goal, he was looking pass, acting pass, then whipped a "no-look" wrister at Fisher who wasn't really ready. Even so, Fisher gave him just a small upper corner to shoot at and Toews hit it. Oshie played another strong game, and both Kozek and Watkins had their chances. I agree with TH's postgame analysis, Chris Porter had an outstanding game last night. He's not only strong enough to keep the puck along the walls, but he seems faster this year, fast enought that he turned DU defense on rushes 3-4 times. I really don't care for most organized swear-chants, but I enjoyed the student section chanting F&%# You Denver after the major penalties. (OK, just this one time...) The pattern of conduct by DU players is becoming increasingly evident, and burying those b@#$%rds is the best way to get even. I was glad to see our guys keep it clean; that too is a good sign of maturity. As to the rematch, we need the intensity of last nights first period. And we need to wear DU down with forechecking. I think DU will come out stronger early tonight, and we may need a comeback to win this one.

As is often said on this board, "The only computer rankings that matter are the computer rankings that you hang your banners on." Or something like that.

NOrtheastern gets a tie from BC. (could that possibly be the same NE team that the Sioux skated circles around?) Every little bit will help the PWR come March.

Seems that Eastern referees still tend to swallow the whistle in the 3rd period. While WCHA refs tend to call penalties the same way for the whole game. Not sure which I like better.... EDIT: why don't I just shut my trap ...

THey have lots of rookies and its impossible to be competitive with lots of rookies on your team.

NH link is up .... looks fine and better yet is free.

Story of my life.

Gotta capitalize on this... I smell a momentum change in our favor.

Found a Mankato Normal School feed: http://www3.mnsu.edu/athletics/

mini me predicted that wed win 3-2 BEFORE THE GAME STARTED!! WHOO GO MINI ME!!

Its very reassuring to hear that Fabian Kaip and Prpich are out ... those guys are great zone hockey players, excellent positioning.

UNH top line is very good .... watch out for Winnik Yandle Mcflicker

Gut check time. If you told me before the puck dropped we'd be tied after 2, I would have taken it. Surviving 40 minutes on the road, at a big rink, with 10 rookies in the lineup, is fine. Now lets close it out. Move the feet, poise with the puck, patience.

I was not aware that New Hampshire's rink was filled with Gopher fans.

have also heard.... Fabian-Prpich-Kaip Oshie-Porter-Toews

or this: http://www.wntk.com/

Northeastern is just plain awful. Slow, weak, and undisciplined. The reason they got so many penalties is they were getting beat to the puck, to the slot, to anything, by UND. In this case, the weak opponent made it tough for this casual fan to assess how good the Sioux will be. A few things stood out on the weekend... 1) The #1 powerplay unit. (Saturday: Toews, Zajac, Stafford, Chorney, Lee.) Crisp passes, tape to tape. Nice rotations, nice plays, excellent puck possession. As they get more time together, and assuming they play together, I think they have the potential to become the best powerplay unit in the WCHA since Wisconsin in the '70's. 1b) Four first-round draft choices skating at the same time. (Toews, Zajac, Stafford, Lee) It took me a while to put 2+2 together, but then I realized that I was watching 4 first-round draft choices ... (assuming Toews goes as expected next year) gotta love it. Certainly a first in UND history, most likely a first in NCAA history. (Gotta get Oshie out with those 4 ...) 2) The Grinder Line, The Red Pepper Line, The Cruiser Bruiser Line. (Kaip, Prpich, Fabian) They simply outmuscled NE all weekend, and kept the puck 200 feet from our goal while creating a fair number of chances themselves. This is a keeper combination. They came out after most powerplays, a critical time in many games. 3) Brian Lee. Has a subtle and brilliant way of making things look easy. So easy, in fact, that I can see why some weren't impressed at the WJC. Magically in the right position a lot ... and making the occasional rookie mistake. 4) Taylor Chorney. Flashier but very effective too. Chased down a potential SH breakaway late Saturday with pure speed. Did some nice dangling on the point. Very VERY agile. Like his dad, who was a Farce favorite, has all-american written all over him. 5) Four rookie forwards - impressed with speed and hands - Duncan, Oshie, Watkins and Kozek... again, hard to say how they will fare against tougher competition. Oshie's style reminded me a bit of Jason Blake, always going full speed, trying to turn the corner on the D at every opportunity, eager to beat the defender to the puck while forechecking and willing to take the hits. Overall, I think this may be the best collection of raw talent I've seen wear the green and white. I do think that pre-New Years will be a struggle, but if we can win enough games to stay in the NCAA top 13 and just get into the tournament, anything can happen. Come March, UND will be a force to reckon with.

Sign me up as one who loves October. To many, October is winter laughing in the distance, its spiteful frostbitten breath only a day away on the north wind. To me, October is Fresh, October is New, October is Grand. Because October brings another season of hockey. Summer has come and passed The innocent can never last Wake me up when September ends You can have your stupid hot summer. You can have your baseball and golf, for even though I like both, my true love is hockey. Like my father's come to pass Twenty years has gone so fast Wake me up when September ends October is a time to remember the greats who