dagies

me

Dig the hat.

Maybe they'll have gotten their jitters out but like you I don't have high expectations for them. I do think Motzko will take them much farther than Dahl ever did, so if not this year, soon they will get their first win.

I'd settle for Miller from Oshie, Miller from Duncan, etc....

That guy's there every year. He's in row 12, and about 5 seats to my right. He's a dork but the interesting thing was he was the worst of the gopher fans around us. In past years there have been worse (IMO) around us, but this year it was all pretty good. The guy who sat right behind us was really cool, and we had a blast with his 2 young kids on Saturday afternoon. I missed the Saturday night game this year for the first time ever but the guy behind us said he asked that guy to tone it down while his kids were there on Saturday. Red sweartshirt guy wasn't there in the afternoon so I don't know if he complied or not.

Dave, there's a guy who wears a #18 Hoogsteen jersey who sits down low in the first couple rows of 104 each year. I'm in row 11. Or is that you?

Gasboy tries to get me to dance but I'm just getting too old.

BTW, during the CC/MN game, anyone know what made Vlassopoulos skate over after his goal and stare down a gopher fan sitting in the front row right off the face-off dots? Anyone sitting close enough to know what that was about? We were in 104, so that guy would have been sitting in 105 or 106, right on the glass off the dot.

Note this letter was written by Steve Fool Bear, not Archie.

I do not agree Kangas will be rattled this weekend. Give me one example of a time this year that would indicate this will be the case?

I've got almost the same results, except the Sioux win out. That means you probably are right!

With posts like this I sure hope you stick around. That's a good first effort. Though I don't agree the Sioux got screwed. Personally, I'm happy the Sioux don't have to play at altitude with so many guys recovering from the flu. I would say the first team to score 2. Didn't MN score first against Denver, but Denver got the next 2? MN is a very dangerous team and my bracket has them advancing to the Frozen Four where I had to select my beloved Sioux to beat them. However, I'm a big believer in how dangerous MN is. I believe they are dangerous because they believe. They know that Kangas will probably only give up 1 goal, so all they have to do is play hard for 60 minutes, keep it simple, and don't make mistakes. Any team that plays hard for a whole game will get at least 1 goal, maybe 2, and with Kangas you're going to win more often than not. Yes, one and done will get you but this is a recipe that gave the gophers a 4 game winning streak against Mankato, SCSU and CC. They lost to Denver only 2-1. After watching the Final Five, I have to wonder how WCHA teams are going to fare against other conferences. Are WCHA teams SO tough that they just can't score on each other due to defense, goaltending, and overall team play? Or are WCHA teams just offensively challenged? Will WCHA offenses break out against teams from other conferences who aren't familiar with them? Or will WCHA teams be exposed for being mostly above average but not special? I don't know, but my gut feel is the rest of college hockey beware because here comes the WCHA. The other question is will the magic stay with MN? They did have a great run, some great emotional victories against Mankato, and they carried that play into the Final Five. The fact that they played SO many periods of hockey in such a short period of time and didn't get dominated because of fatigue is special. I think the team fed off Kangas' performance. Every save he made they died for him until he made the next one, and then they'd do it again. Now that they've been beaten, can they keep that edge? Obviously I'm high on the gophers (ugh) so I'm not predicting a fall, but I think that's where the opportunity for the opponent lies. If the mental edge that enabled that amazing run is dulled just a bit BC may be able to exploit that. We'll see. I have MN winning that region.

Is this really that big of a deal? I mean, I've often thought of buying a cheap gopher hockey t-shirt, laying it on the ground, and then running over it with my car and just leaving it there with the tire tracks on it. I think that would be kind of funny. I don't see gopher fans buring a Sioux t-shirt to be anything but humorous, ESPECIALLY if they can't even get it to light.

Best Final Five for the gopher fans around us as well. A couple of pretty decent guys right behind us, and on Saturday one of them had his gal and his 2 young kids with them. They were a blast! Got a couple of seconds of "I'm Not Hostile Or Abusive" on the big screen. Been waiting a couple of years for that opportunity.

Did you hear him say that Brad Berry is coaching the Sioux still? I think Jim Rich also said "Rylan Kelp".

Not that I'm a Mankato fan, but I would rather see them make the tourney than Bucky. After watching MN the last few games I have a lot more respect for how good Mankato is. I think they are better than Bucky.

If what I've heard about Finley having the flu is true, he played fairly well considering.

I think GH was arguing against the INCH position......

For as squeaky clean as gopher fans think their team is especially when calling the Sioux hacks and goons, the gophers have sure gotten away with a lot of crosschecking, punching and other assorted after-the-whistle stuff in this tournament. Interesting how easy it is to do that when you're not scared of getting your ass kicked. No effing class indeed.

Just heard Lucia on the pregame say that they are calling it tighter during the Final Five. My assumption would be that is to try and condition the WCHA teams to what they'll face in the NCAA's. Fine time to try to be consistent. There were a lot more penalties called on all teams it seems.

I heard yesterday that Finley has the flu. He did look like he got crossed up on Maiani's rush and never quite got back in position.

I agree. I couldn't believe how stupid SCSU was a few times with the penalties they took. We did enjoy yelling "it's not OVERTIME!" at gopher players and fans who complained about their calls.

Yep, that's the one. Good work. I especially enjoyed the boos the gopher fans around us gave it. That was pretty entertaining until some of their more enlightened brethren cleared it up for them.

I agree. SCSU did not deserve to win this game even though I wanted them too. MN had a ton of jump and played with confidence. They were a very good team tonite. They have solid talent, confidence and an excellent goalie. This means they can win any game. SCSU needs to learn how to get the puck out of their zone, and how to break out of their zone. Those things killed them. I love the goofers. Gophers and their fans rip on the Sioux for being cheap and being goons. I love the punch after the whistle and the slash Flynn put on the skates of the same player. I forget who issued the punch, but nice. I thought gophers didn't engage in that kind of stuff...