burd

Sports fans can be the most insecure, needy people on the planet, I think. Ever read a Blackhawks game thread on HF Boards?

Wisconsin fans would definitely differ with you on that. Minnesota hasn't had a football team in forever. Michigan would be the best example of a football school (and Bball) that is consistently good at hockey.

They have been a fail then, if they have been on the board that long.

Historically? How long have they been D1?

Has anyone seen Ohio State play? It's starting to look like they might have a team. They've been respectable against UNO and Providence and beaten BC and Cornell. As repugnant as the idea is, it is only a matter of time before one of these newbie football schools puts together a serious hockey team. And it is probably good for the game in the long run. It would be fun to see the Hawks go down to Columbus and teach them how to play D1 hockey.

If it's a grain elevator and a water tower, it will be impossible to know.

My daughter attended Columbia, which doesn't have a team. I was so disappointed in her.

I think Luke adds to the lineup, as long as he avoids the dumb penalty. He plays with energy and can shoot the puck. We know what his ceiling is, but that's true of a fair number of players on any team. That said, he's one who should sit for a while when he commits a stupid penalty, just to keep him focused. Avoiding unnecessary penalties becomes so important in tournament play.

I thought Gornall brought some game last night. LJ is what he is, and I've grown OK with that--more positive than negative as long as he doesn't commit any dumb penalties--something Caggiula tried to do last night but didn't get caught. Not very characteristic of him--the goalie must have done something. The one I'm waiting for to bust loose is Gersich.

The two most pleasing "surprises" for me this year are H's performance and the defensive play of Schmaltz and Boeser. We knew our Dmen would perform at a high level, and we knew Cagguila and Schmaltz would put up points and that Boeser would contribute, but I didn't expect the CBS line to be so excellent on D. It has been a big factor in the way they maintain possession during their shifts. The fact that our elite offensive players work so hard on defense goes a long way to establish a culture for the entire team. And the team has also shown great discipline when it comes to needless penalties, something that becomes important in the NCAAs when special teams play is a big factor and they start seeing refs from the east.

I saw both games in Madison that year, and the game that made me feel that team had a good chance to win it all was their win over Wisconsin in the Final Five. I don't even remember if it was the semi or the final or what the score was, but they were playing at a very high level.

I thought the criticism of Hakstol was the opposite: chip along the boards, dump and chase, don't let the talent open things up and be "creative."

I think Rube was kind of like Jeff Sauer but more so. He was a very good coach at one time, but he stayed too long. Sauer's teams never got as bad as Rube's later teams, but he faded too.

You're right. I remember watching Dennis play for those teams. Not good years for Rube. Funny thing is, they had a JV team in the early 70s and Gino coached them, I think. I knew some players who did not think much of Gino. They may have been recruited by Rube but pushed by Gino at a time when he was aspiring for more than the team was delivering--I don't know. Rube had been a hell of a coach, and Gino obviously turned out to be one. Big difference between the drought of those years and the last 10 -15 years, though. The Sioux have consistently been one of the top programs in the country. In those days, they just got beat a lot.

There was little or no chance Schmaltz would leave last year--he just wasn't ready to deal with the physicality of the pro game. He has come a long way and, IMO, it depends on how hard Chicago goes after him. All these guys think of injury when the NHL comes to the door with flowers and chocolates. It would be unreal to see Boeser and Schmaltz around next year with Jost, but I'm actually more concerned about the D corps leaving in numbers. CBS has been a rare treat to witness, but that D corps has been the story, IMO.

Mini NHL . . . Ha! This is big time, baby. Does the NHL even have the traditional circle of sticks? Professional hockey is where Sioux players go for a quieter, more peaceful time in their lives.

log on and say he won't play D or go into corners and doesn't brush his teeth.

Be interesting if anyone using this board has seen Providence play. They must have a good one again this year. Gone are the days when we could just shrug off eastern teams other that BC, BU and Maine as having weak schedules. Parity is a good thing, IMO, and I don't think it's just the result of watered down talent. More kids are being developed, and more programs are able to take advantage of that. I don't know what the numbers say about development programs, but it seems that way to the ignorant yours truly. The more high-end college hockey talent we get to see, the better.

Very interesting that the article mentioned his tendency to let in a softie. That was an odd issue with Zane, as good as he was.

His silly/weird statements aside, there is something real about Hammer's enthusiasm and apparent lack of arrogance that I find very refreshing. He gave us TCoS and "one-timer" for every shot taken. There are a lot of PXP guys who will be better at hockey, but I will miss the guy. TH would be fantastic, but who would do radio like he does?

That's a good point, Cratter. They let Duluth control play in the zone much of the night, but that D corps really understands how to plug up prime shooting lanes and the garbage zone in front. Cam's positioning was extremely good all weekend, but it's partly because he knew where the pucks would be coming from. Maybe because it's a momentum-driven, energy game, hockey is oversimplified by us fans--me at least. Good D depends a lot on forwards playing good D, something that is easy to appreciate with the best offensive line on this team. Good offensive production depends a lot on good transition, which starts with the Dmen. Whether the coaching can be described as good, of course, depends on whether he has won a natty or not.

And the first part of our schedule was very soft.

It would be interesting to compare overall amount of scoring across the NCAA in the years those lines played. With those numbers, you could add a multiplier of some sort to adjust for changes in the game. I think we all believe college hockey was a different game when the Circus played, but it's just a notion, at least in my case. I'd love to do it, but I have to take out the garbage and clean the garage . . .

UW showed some promise against us and occasionally against other teams; hey could give UMich a run in their tournament. The Gophs are always a one-game threat, of course, but it would nice to see UMich come out of there alone.

And that would be just fine. Prepare them for one-and-done time.