dagies

The gophers just scored 1 goal against a team they put up 7? on last week.

I don't consider this to be a game that was choked away. I think what it points out to fans like me is just how difficult and special it IS to win a national championship. Not only to have a great year, but to overcome the one game trip up that keeps you from even being able to compete for the big trophy.

Thanks Farce Poobah for some perspective. How can anyone blame JPar? I thought he played great. Even Tim H said the only goal was one he didn't even see...

From what I saw on TV I don't think the Sioux were looking past Denver. Seemed to me they were playing pretty well, and getting stronger as the game went on. Berkhoel (sp?) played very well, and unfortunately a few of our guys just couldn't bury the biscuit when they had an opportunity. Prpich is going to have nightmares on that shot he put over the net...... This was just one of those games.....

I hate being the favorites.

Too bad for the other conferences SCSU didn't make the big tourney this year.

I think we might have seen a different effort had this been in front of a crowd in GF or something like that. In this case I think we were playing just well enough not to lose. My friend and I said it may take a HC tying goal to really rev the team up into another gear, but they never needed it. I think they will show differently tonite against a better opponent and with more "atmosphere". What concerns me most is whether our team is suffering an epidemic or if we are getting better today.......................

I don't have a problem with them saying Parise is not a "flashy" player. I think of Lundbohm when I think of a flashy player, a guy who can dangle in a phone booth. I don't think of Zach when I think of these kinds of skills. However, you DO notice Zach on the ice though, because you see a guy who is SO good at getting body position, and coming up with the puck and quickly getting a pass off to an open teammate. I've never thought Parise was a flashy player, just awfully damn good.

In GF JPar did a great job, and saved our bacon on Saturday night. He has nights where he's better and worse, but considering how he played against AA in the FF and against HC yesterday my friend and I thought it might be tough not to play him again tonite.

That would be me

I didn't not read your post because you are a gopher fan, I didn't read it because it didn't have any paragraphs and my attention span isn't that long!

I could see if Blais has looked at them but I doubt he would show the team. Woog recounted a story on the radio the other day how they went into a regional years ago with a dominant MN team and lost to a pansy. The pansy (LSSU??) played on Friday night and Woog took the team there to watch. He said it was a colossal coaching mistake. That game was the worst game he'd ever seen between 2 bad teams. His team sat in the stands and figured if they showed up on the ice the game was over. MN got beat by several goals. Woog said he should have kept the team in the hotel, and came later that night telling them this was the best team he'd seen all season. I think Blais wants the guys to be thinking about how this is the first game of the NCAA tournament, and not that this is going to be a game against a team of junior level players.

Yikes, that goalie is playing well as of late. Hopefully we can give him a barrage like he's not seen before. You can tell he won't be scared of the challenge. We better be ready to go tonite.

huh? you woke me up.........

How sad. I'm sorry.

2004 BCHL Interior Division MVP: Travis Zajac 2004 AJHL Outstanding Defenseman: Kyle Radke

I'm one who loved the "speed kills" Sioux teams and died a little bit when they got beat in the regionals. Blais decided he needed bigger more physical teams to compete and made me a believer. This Final Five was an example of that to me. Watching the skilled, but smaller UMD get beat by MN proved how important a larger, yet skilled team can be. The next night UND played much more physically against MN and basically played them even. That said, I'm glad to find a few smaller, great skating, skilled forwards ala Murray, etc. As long as we can balance them out with some big physical players like Stafford, Zajac and others we should have a good mix.

You never know what will happen. Theoretically I can see HC winning this game but I can't actually see that happen. But that's why we play the game. In the INCH article it mentions that HC gives up 30 shots a game. They play in the AHA? conference? Talk about Who's He He Sucks. I think we could easily double those shots on goal if we are really flying as jloos pointed out. However, I don't believe HC will be too nervous. In fact I believe they'll be right ready to go. They know they're not expected to win. They're happy to be there. They'll come out with one thing in mind, let's see how long we can make this a game. With that attitude they won't get too tight if they get down by a goal or 2, and will keep playing hard. I also predict their goalie plays well. I hope so too, because I don't want our guys to get too many easy goals. Sioux win 5-2. Shots 55 - 14. Score after 1: 1-0 Sioux.

naturally!

And it is true. A few years ago there were more insufferable Sioux fans.

Please don't take my comments to be criticism of how this board is run because that was unintended. I think you have addressed my largest concerns and maybe I was even making too big of an issue of it. I did wonder if some of the fan experiences at this point were getting into "one-upmanship" but who am I to judge. I had my own post in there early on. I just didn't want people to go spewing a bunch of crap on someone else's board just because they thought we were getting it here. It just would make things worse here in the end, I feared. As for new users, I have no issue with how that is being handled. I think it is great we've not had an influx of brand new flamers.

WCHA better win. We're getting a lot of love there. The Sioux are unanimous pick to win their region. Otherwise only one expert chose someone other than Maine, MN and BC to win their regions.

I'm hardly trying to play thread police here. I'm as guilty as the next guy of carrying on an argument too long just for the sake of arguing, or trying to get in the last word. I'd just like to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, isn't it? Some of these threads need to fade away. The arguments are so beaten to death they're dusty. The reason I made this post was because I saw someone who now wants to go log on to POI and post some of the same crap we feel we're getting from some gopher fans on this board. What, really, will be accomplished? These boards, SS and POI, are enjoyable to read and interact on. But the depth of the crap you have to wade through the last few days is really taking the enjoyment out of it. I speak for myself but will guess others agree with me. The points still being debated will NEVER be resolved any more than they are already. Let's spend more time focusing on what's coming up, less on what has happened. Let's NOT go post a bunch of crap on someone else's board because we think we got that from some of their fans. Other than one, maybe 2 posters on that "other" board we've been rather well behaved. In the words of the immortal Dennis Green, let's keep to the high road. If some of them want to have a tea party and gossip about us they can do that. Let's not invite ourselves into it. (steps off soapbox)

The nice thing is us fans have the luxury of looking forward while the players don't. That said, jk brings some good perspective to Friday's game.