dagies

I see MN, UND, CC and AA trending up coming into the tournament and UMD trending down. For that reason I think MN takes the Friday night game though my support is behind UMD. CC beats AA. Sioux beat CC. I'm a toss-up between the Sioux and UM for the Final. But my heart says Sioux. UMD takes 3rd.

Whether finalists are "announced" at the Thursday game or not I don't know. They DO always have a little highlight video of all the finalists between periods of FF games however, so we'll know shortly who they are.

Some of those picks seem kind of interesting. For instance, I know Gopher fans think very highly of Justin Bostrom as a recruit yet he's also only listed as honorable mention as well.

Duly noted (You too NodakVindy). But give me a break, I've never heard of these guys. Sorry.

I think you are thinking of Gorowsky from Centennial. His dad was "on the roster" at UND and an uncle played at WI. According to the article in the Trib his family was pulling for him to go to WI which he did.

I was one of those that made comments about Oshie's skating. Of course, I'm a seasoned hockey talent scout. That was just my opinion from watching him on tv. I will say he didn't look very fast, but again, that can all be relative. Anyway, hope no one took my comments as criticism because I certainly didn't mean them that way.

I like that he scores on 20% of his shots. Best percentage of the scoring leaders on the USHL stats page. Also, his +/- is very respectable relative to his peers.

I also will be at the games. I addressed my comments to Fox Sports Midwest. Hope that is right. There is no Fox Sports North option given....

Do the extra 3 hours of rest really mean that much?

I'm ticked that WI got kicked by AA. This gives MN an easier path to the Final Five championship, etc. Plus, screws up Friday for me as stated above. All that stuff. But as ticked as I am about the turn of events, that one thing comes to the surface. To be the best, you gotta beat the best. Don't worry about how the circumstances play out. Beat whoever they put on the ice, whenever they put them there.

Here's why I don't like the "MN Rule" this year. I take work off in the afternoon to watch all the games too, so missing a game isn't an issue for me. If the Sioux were playing the night game I could enjoy the afternoon game while the anticipation of the night game builds. The day builds to a peak for the night game. Now the day peaks in the afternoon. Should the Sioux lose on Friday afternoon, watching the Saturday evening game is ok but kind of a bummer. So for me, the whole complexion of the day is changed, only due to a rule. Naturally, had the Sioux finished as a #2 or 3 seed this would have happened, but then it would be because of seeding, nothing else. O well. Just win, baby.

Smaby has hardly been a disappointment, especially as well as he's played down the stretch. Where did Blais say Kaip was better than Prpich?

WAY TO GO SIOUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It may be tough to play the same team 6 times and beat them the first 5 times by 4 goals. I don't blame the team if they have a down game once. The important thing is they came back and won the game. They know anyone can beat them. Now is the time to prove they cannot be beaten. GO Sioux. We're proud of you.

If CC beats Denver then MN will be the #4 seed as long as UND, UMD, and WI win their series. Then MN will play CC on Thurs night. UND will play on Friday night becuase they will either be the #1 seed or because they will be playing MN. MN always gets the friday night game regardless of their seed because of $$. The only way we WON'T play on Friday night is if MN moves up to a #3 or #2 seed. That means either UMD or WI loses their playoff series. Otherwise we are guarenteed to be playing Friday night.

This was rumored not long ago. Great news. Spirko was tearing up the league not long ago, but as was pointed out to me by someone else maybe the WJC tournament took it's toll on him and he's tired. I'm not too concerned about him. Should be a good pick-up. Welcome Ratislov!!!!!!!!!

Of course, this one might get taken the wrong way, but after Prpich works Peluso, I'd say we play "Sweet Child of Mine" by G&R

Black Betty by Ram Jam

There's a song I've been hearing on the radio but haven't caught the name yet or the band, and haven't been able to locate the lyrics on the net. But the refrain goes "It's a pretty good day, I'm looking forward to tomorrow". It would be a great send-out song after a win and the fans are filing out of the arena.

I personally hope there won't be any upsets. I think the Final Five will be the most fun with the current top 5 teams in it. Too bad SCSU couldn't replace Denver. But if they want to win the next 2 in Mpls, that'd be ok too.

When I read that I agreed that was an outstanding sign.

I think the USHL year would be a benefit to Lee but won't criticize any kid that would prefer to stay home and play with his friends during high school. Would love for him to be as ready as possible when he comes but he needs to do what will make him happiest. In the end, that'll make him the best hockey player.

me too

I thought Lee looked good last night too. Good skater, looked confident with the puck. I wouldn't put him in the Roche category as far as puck skills but he could handle the puck, get off quick accurate passes without much space, and had a great hard quick wrist shot from the point on the PP that tied the score in the 3rd. Lou Nanne couldn't stop gushing about him in the 3rd period at one point saying "we're going to be paying to watch him play for a lot of years to come". As a forward, Becker was very impressive to me too. And that little #12 was fun to watch too.