burd

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.

And add this: Sioux women keep the number one team in the country off the board through 6 periods. One 3-0 shutout. What a weekend for UND goaltending!

Duluth can fly. Has to be a very frustrating result for them to have actually played very well both nights and not even get a goal, much less a win.

Man, who would have thought they'd go up to Duluth and get two shutouts.

Yeah, I was wondering why Berry isn't working him into the offence a little more.

In the past, teams have been able to get us to commit dumb penalties, but this teem is pretty cool headed

UMD is a faster team than UND this weekend.

thx

Thanks, AZ. I wonder how CBS ranks with other top lines on plus minus.

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.