burd

Trupp certainly gave us some memories. I'd have to include that brilliant diving back-check against Manitoba his freshman year. I knew we had something special in him when I saw that.

I have not seen very many games at the new Ralph, but I was travelling to north central North Dakota with my daughter during Thanksgiving break in 2002, and we stopped in GF to catch Friday's game. It was against Mankato, and there was a copy of Virg Foss' book "Fight on Sioux" on each seat, courtesy of Sioux Hockey. I think it was the first game after Ralph died. In fact, I think he died only a day or two before. The book was not a tribute, but it is full of pics and memories and was especially appropriate.

I actually had that thought too, farce. When I started typing that post, I didn't know what the total would have been in 1982 and thought I'd just state that there were far fewer in 1982 but then thought I had some obligation to at least try. I just went to a site listing the current 59 teams and the dates those programs became D1. 19 had come aboard since 1982. Some of those that existed in 1982 might have fallen off, I suppose. 40 still seems high to me as well, but it would take more digging. The overall point is that there is much more hockey being played now, and there are more teams competing for the prize. Which is good IMO. Union, which came aboard in '91, is good evidence of that. That was a dam good team that clobbered UM.

I count 19 teams added to D1 hockey since we won in 1982. I think that's a 50% increase in teams (40 to 59). Don't ask me how that helps this conversation.

Incoming: Boeser Gersich Wilkie Janatuinen Gardner Wolanin Chartrand Shaw Tomek Hammy Departing: JS Mac gfhockey

Lo and behold: we're sounding like GPL

Meh--really didn't fit into the Sioux's plans with what we've got coming in and the way he dresses and all . . .

Boy it's nice being in this conference, with all these quality teams. We all miss the WCHA, but this field is great.

gf is that child kicking and screaming on the floor in front of the candy display. It's hard to tell if he wants the candy or the attention. Of course, his parents should ignore him Maybe he will be an early departure to Omaha or Duluth when he gets less and less playing time here.

I don't think JS is physically ready yet either--he'll get manhandled by players who are just as good on their skates, stronger and much more intense. But I realize he probably wouldn't benefit much from another year at UND, and the goal is to get into the system and learn the pro game in the minors before taking a shot at the NHL.

You still in Memphis? Or long gone from there?

Great group of young men. It's been a real pleasure.

Not a single player or coach on this team has anything to apologize for. Fans of this team should be proud of the way they have played and the way they handled themselves this year. I would go all in that they have outperformed the way their loudest critics perform their own day jobs.

Hard to tell if PC is that good or Blais is just that bad.

It gotta go with 6 if he gets a faceoff in the Ozone.

If this two-goal lead continues, what's the over/under on how many minutes left before Dean pulls Massa?

I wonder if gfhockey is going to pull Deano aside between periods and ask him a simple quesiton

Good luck today, boys. ' And I hope all of us fans can overcome the anxiety enough to appreciate how lucky we are to have a program like this to root for.

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.