dagies

I think anyone who picked Kaip should still be in the contest.

Got back from the game a while ago. Thanks for the ticket, NorthDakotaHockey. It was good watching the game with you. This game had some good and bad. First period was pretty good for the Sioux even though they seemed to be slightly missing. Had they been "on" they might have scored a couple more. Lots of bouncing pucks or passes that weren't caught cleanly, or were just behind instead of ahead, etc. Second period was pretty ugly. On Saturday in St. Cloud the Sioux won but we thought they needed to clean up some of the bad plays with the puck, especially in the defensive zone. Last week against Tech that seemed to be mostly accomplished. It appeared to come back again tonite. Some lazy or ill-advised passes or chances taken in the defensive zone, or in neutral areas that were dangerous led to many opportunities for Mankato. That has to get cleaned up or tomorrow will hurt. Not much to say about Kaip other than PETA will be after him for beating his rented mule. After watching LaPoint in St. Cloud and again tonite, and Marto 2 games last week I hope to see Marto tomorrow night. LaPoint seems to need a little more time to get comfortable on the ice. Either that or he just looks a little tentative in the way he does things. One or the other. I was impressed that he went to bat for Oshie when Oshie took a NASTY crosscheck about 2 seconds after the whistle blew in the first period. LaPoint mixed it up pretty well with the Mav player. Good for him. I think Malone's injury must have set him back because he doesn't appear to be as much of a factor as he seemed to be early in the season. Finley looked great tonite, I thought. Very confident with the puck and did a good job shutting down scoring opportunities. Genoway was fun to watch as usual. He really does well with the open space on the big sheet. JPL had a great night. Always looked in control and in the right place. Oshie took a nasty slash to the elbow in the first period, and then a few minutes later took the nasty crosscheck in the back after the whistle. I hope Motzko is warning his ladies about the big bad Mavericks and their after-the-whistle stuff because they are as bad or worse than the Sioux. I was surprised to see Trupp moved off the top line after only 2 periods. Miller has had games to play with them. I was hoping by pick for tonite's contest, Kozek, would benefit from this move but he just couldn't quite close the deal. I didn't notice that line was anything special with Trupp on it, but they didn't have much time together, either. Speaking of closing the deal, I could have sworn in the 3rd period LaPoint scored a goal. NDH thought it hit the post and he must be right because I was the only one apparently who thought it was in. I didn't actually see the puck in the net but I did see the netting move and thought the puck must have gone in and out really fast. Anyone else see that? I must have been mistaken. Jutting was purple after one of their goals was waived off. He was riding Thul from the time he made the call until after the faceoff, and then once play started he started riding the linesman stationed in front of his bench. I thought his head might pop off his neck. Wow. Night, all.

My man Kozek missed a golden opportunity! Argh!

Thanks to NorthDakotaHockey I had a ticket for tonite's game. Only SRO left for tomorrow night, however. I was surprised about that, because it's never been full in the past that I can recall. Thanks NDH, I really enjoyed watching the game with you. Especially the "Ole" song after the Sioux scored.

Kozek

So does he play "defense" or "defence".

While unfortunate, there's probably no way anything else could be done. Unless a rule exists to deal with this situation you have to go with the rules as they are. You can't change the rules to accomodate a past situation because then you do lose your integrity. Rules changes will have to come in the off-season and I would guess something will be done to address a situation like this because Bucky got hosed worse than anything I can think of.

Saw that in the paper today. To be honest I was a bit surprised because after seeing the look on Lucia's face, and frankly the horrible performance Frazee had last weekend on top of this struggles, I thought Frazee was done forever. However, I think Lucia has done a good job of taking a deep breath and trying to help Frazee rebuild himself based on what I read.

I agree. If he's solid in his own end, limits or eliminates opponent scoring chances, and can move the puck (either carry or pass) it out of his own zone then that's all you need from your D.

Big defensemen don't have to be physical if they can do one of two things: 1. Keep the opponent from scoring and/or 2. Score LaPoint hasn't been flashy but he seems like he's done a solid job so far. I wouldn't knock him for not being physical. For me, sometimes he looks a little tentative but with experience I imagine that will improve too. Some people are talking about Hextall having big numbers and being a big time player. I think he'll contribute but I wouldn't expect it will be with huge offensive numbers. I think he's going to be more of a PrPich/McMahon/Kaip type player, but that's just my impression.

I'm looking forward to seeing him play in the future myself.

I can't see it. We already have something like 17 forwards available next year not counting those two.

Our team appears to have just turned the corner and is finding their stride. I suspect Hakstol won't be wanting anybody to go out for a DQ right now unless they absolutely have to. There's no reason to try and change the team's fortunes by getting into an indiscriminate scrap aka Kaip last year. This time the team is starting to build momentum. You don't want to mess that up by having one of your key guys getting into a fight. That said, if the Mavs push things too far the Sioux may finish it. But until that point I wouldn't expect to see Sioux players doing any instigating.

That was my point.

hmph My lab begs....

Age-wise you are correct but I believe he is only in his junior year of high school right now.

I believe the Kristos aren't interested in rushing Danny along at this point in his life.

Ahhhh... 6-8 hours afield chasing my dog's tail through the Dakota prairie the rush of a rooster flushing my swing and a miss ( ) a heavy game pouch good hunting buddies tired and hungry but cleaning birds as fast as possible, one hand on a scotch and water ...and Patsy, Merle, Waylon, Willie, Johnny, David Allen, Billy Joe, Buck, and the gang......... Season's over.

Thanks, Jim. That's an interesting perspective.

I watched the Saturday Shattuck game and he was good. Played in all situations. As far as standing out, I thought Jordy Murray did in that game. Toews did some good things but isn't a flashy player. Just kind of quietly goes about what he does.

From today's Strib. This is a travesty if true.

This was my favorite part: Ouch!

I believe RedFrog or someone else posted it on the video thread.