burd

Gatorade is so full of sugar, some players should probably be sure it's right for them, for a number of reasons. Nobody ever told me that when I was playing sports and drinking it.

I probably would have been. Was. Well, I'd have done both.

Put it this way: I'm glad this team is not a one-trick pony like a certain poster we know who seems to have no real interest in the game itself and takes his pride from something over which he has absolutely no influence or control. Now, the team (the reason we are here). If we were Daloot fans, we would be saying we beat them soundly but ran into a hot goalie--and with some justification. We feel great with that shutout, but the Dogs looked quicker and gave our D fits much of the time. They forced some turnovers like we have not seen this year. That team definitely has potential. In some ways they look like Sioux teams in recent years who could do everything but finish. It will be a very interesting game tonight. My biggest takeaway from that game was how calm and in-position Cam looked. A lot of those great saves were position saves, not quick gloves or sliding pads; he was just where he had to be and looked completely calm. At least that is what I think I saw. For this team, that's the most important thing we need to see at this point, IMO, even more than scoring from the lower lines. They have the D, and they have finishers. They can skate up and down the lineup, and the players appear to have bought into their roles. But we know that to go far they will need a goalie who can win a game in a hostile environment where he has to stop a lot of pucks AND NOT LET IN A SOFTIE. No goalie will do that every night or possibly even most nights, but Cam has shown he can do it with good technique and good positioning, without relying on mother luck, acrobatic saves, and pipes. Maybe the Dogs will hang 5 on us tonight--they have the potential. But Cam has shown he has the potential to stay calm and keep the score low. It's a long way from March and April, but that's exactly what we will need when that time comes.

Hopefully that's not a curse. Blais' last year was a failure.

A lot of high quality shots for the dogs. Cam makes the difference. UND outplayed otherwise. UMD has great quickness.

Wow. My screen doesn't have magnification adjustment. The play is a mile away

Thank Parise a Hawk doesn't eat shytt and defecate only where its leash will allow it.

Although I'm anxious to see Tomek on the ice, I wonder if his injury will not prove to be a good thing for the Hawks. There was a lot of concern about Cam and H's ability to play at this level, and I think those concerns have been eased by their solid play. You need two good goalies. If Tomek is what we hope he is, we now know we have guys behind him who can step up. And we also know our team can win a LOT without riding a lights-out goalie. Confidence builder for everyone involved, at a really opportune time. Yeah, nice quote, burd. Does scpa always just say nothing?

For the regular season anyway, they could also alternate benches Fri/Sat if the setup is not fair. Wouldn't help in any single game, but it would be easy to implement for series.

You're right that it doesn't hurt, brian. I don't know, but I think BC and others like BU, Mich, and UMinn usually get shipped only when their seeding is lower. UMinn gets a similar sweetheart deal, though obviously not as sweet due to the dearth of options close to Mpls. But it always sticks in my craw a little so see them playing in town so often. But it's a marketplace reality we have to deal with, since the FF is not coming to GF anytime soon. And we can, because we're good enough.

BC hasn't been winning tournaments because of home ice advantage.

As to the teams from the east, I wasn't implying that we are not as good as them, just that we don't know how the personnel and styles of play match up. One thing I think Denver's D will remember from this series is not to give the shooter so much room on the odd man rushes if the shooter is Boeser or Caggiula. They really let them into prime scoring position several times, letting the goalie take the shooter. That said, there really is no good alternative with those three, is there?

Whatever the cause of this play is, it sure is a privilege to watch. Until we play the top teams from the east we will not know for certain how they match up, but I like our chances. If the boys do win a banner this year, the most obvious and indisputable change has been the name. Quite sure that is the difference maker. Ducks down for incoming . . .

And still couldn't win a natty. How does a guy explain that underperformance? Simple question.

This makes a lot of sense to me.

No way of knowing, but Hak did have some teams that got me excited in a similar way. All I care about is that it is a privilege to watch this team, and I intend to enjoy it while it lasts, banner or no banner.

I think they still dump and chase, and they still keep the puck to the perimeter in the D zone and first pass out. But they seem to be forechecking in a different way, though I obviously don't have an informed explanation of how. Interested in hearing what those on here with substantial coaching experience have to say.

In what way, exactly, AZ?

We shoulda been Hawks earlier.

Be nice if we could play Providence or BC in a holiday tournament or nc game just where we are at. Damn good, but how damn good.

Somebody posted before the game that Denver would probably be coming at Boeser harder in this game. Look for teams to start hitting CBS as much as possible.

good call.

While we are pouring praise on this team, another thing I like about them is their ability to keep cool heads. LJ sometimes takes bad penalties, but we don't have guys you know are going to get the gate once or twice a game by being boneheads. I know guys like Prpich were big crowd favorites, but I really like the culture of this team.

When is the last time UND has had a class with four defensemen like Ausmus, Stecher, LaDue, and Thompson?

Exactly. Elite talent on display in the O zone, but much much more. Great back checking by all forwards, shutdown D, and goose egg in goal. Chicago takes defensive responsibility very seriously, and you can tell Schmaltz is focusing on that.