burd

After the boys get #8 and are invited to go on tour, maybe he can suit up. The folks in the twin cities would probably pay to see some championship hockey.

Wow. I know it's a highlight reel, but the kid can control the puck. Haven't seen him play yet, Hope I'm disappointed.

Best slapper I've seen by a Sioux. Hard to compare the velocity of modern shots against the old woodies, though.

It's called confirmation bias, and it is something we all have to be careful to avoid. Tavris and Aronson wrote an excellent book on it called "Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)," which is an excellent read for everyone. If my school has a coach who has lost control of his players or is consistently performing poorly, like missing the tournament consistently, I would probably conclude that he needs to go and that it will not be very difficult to replace him with a person who will do better. If I have a coach who ranks in the top three coaches nationwide in win percentage, frozen four appearances, etc, but I can identify a coaching flaw that leads me to conclude that coach will probably never win a banner, I will strongly consider firing him, but I would be very careful about it and would have to be convinced that the replacement is likely to be better, all things considered. That is a tougher call the better the current coach is performing. I think it is amusing when posters here complain that they cannot criticize Hakstol. I don't think I'm alone in saying people should be able to freely criticize him, but if that criticism is limited to personal frustration that we haven't won a banner, then be prepared for others to expect you to identify the basis in terms more helpful than "he hasn't won one yet." To say that people are being shouted down so they cannot criticize Hak is creating a strawman. I have stated that I think he is a great program coach, perhaps the best we have ever had, but I'm not convinced he has reached the point where his game coaching has reached that level. He has certainly done both jobs well this year. Up to this point, he should be in the running for coach of the year. But we will see how we do in Boston. If we win two games, that will be all some people need. If we lose, I will want to know what the better-informed hockey people identify as the reason. Either way, I really like this bunch and what the coaching staff has done with them.

Not much to chew on there, but I'll give it a shot. In a divorce, one person makes a decision on his or her own future (although it may involve kids). It is a one-step process--no immediate replacement is necessary and, in most states replacement within 6 months results in an invalid marriage. You may wish to divorce yourself from Sioux hockey, and that is your choice. But if the AD or athletic board "divorces" a coach, they will have to replace him or her soon afterward unless they want the players to coach themselves. So if you hope to avoid your previous mistake or even making things much worse, you better have given serious thought to who that replacement will be and why he is likely to make things better and not worse. I've been critical of Hak myself, and I have no problem with fans getting on his case. But just wanting him gone because he has not won a title and nothing more is not criticism, it's whining.

Let's face it: the "no banner" argument, though understandable, is an emotional one, not an analytical one.

I get what you are saying, fighting, and many of us share the frustration, but there is not one word of actual coaching analysis in that post. There has been very little criticism of Hak's coaching on this forum--just frustration about not winning #8.

Nothing wrong with criticism. Anyone who accepts a head coaching job of a top program and all the money and prestige that comes with it must expect to be criticized. But what exactly about his on-ice or off-ice coaching to you think has been below par? We can all count to one (banner), but understanding the game well enough to identify what will work better is more difficult. I'm sure there are a lot of people who know the game well who don't like Hak's coaching, but all I ever hear on here is the banner shortfall. That might be the result of inferior coaching, but it is not the cause of it.

I agree. You have to adjust if you want to succeed.

Bucks. Shoot from anywhere, anytime, anyhow.

I gotta hear what a "PC-oriented player" is.

That first goal should be a lesson to kids why they dig their azz to the net when the Dman is about to shoot the puck. JT dishes to the D, then immediately fights to get to the goal before the puck is even shot. He hustles just a little less and there's no goal.

You have to remember, though, that these guys have been playing the step-up game since they were in pee wees. They've had to leave teams and schoolmates many times to further their dream to play for money--sometimes against the odds--and their moves have all been successful up to this point. I'm sure they all love their life at the Ralph playing the game and hanging out with teammates, but for some of them the school side of it is probably something they would rather do without. And we can't expect them to be as old and wise as we all are. But boy, what a great bunch of young men this team has. Win, lose, or draw, it's been such a pleasure this year.

You snort a line with Deano you are in for some fun times, let me tell you.

Longest post I've ever seen gfhockey get out of anyone.

gfhockey is taking night classes at UND to improve his writing

If you don't want a nattie for UND, that's on you.

Pretty hard for college programs to complain about the pros preying on college age kids when colleges are recruiting kids who are still teething. That said, I agree a lot of kids are making a mistake by leaving early.

I just wish Minnesota had wanted him.

If they do meet, I hope Hak and the team aren't as weak-kneed about Blais as you are.

This team strikes me as very mature, exemplified by Pattyn. They are all talented at that level but our team does have a bunch of guys who need to understand their roles and work very hard in order to succeed. That' partly why it's been interesting to see how N & J S jell with the team. They sometimes seem a little aloof, but they just appear to be quiet kids. I'm sure you guys closer to home know about the team dynamics.

I enjoy hearing folks give Rau sh!t, but you know, I'd have liked to have that guy on my college team.

It's true; we were struggling to win faceoffs, especially on the pk. They've obviously been working on it.

There you go.

I know we all want to win the final game for once, but 7 FFs in 11 years? Amazing. This year is no different in that it will take some breaks to win out. But this team has one quality that increases the chances, IMO--they are a hard team to beat. There's a stubbornness about them. They haven't been mowing the opposition down this year, but they are just hard to put away. A dam fine quality in any line of work.