burd

First Sparky, now Wilbur. Seriously, enjoy your family, Wilbur. There is no better way to spend your time.

What he's doing with the Cup in Winnipeg is pure class. As a Sioux fan, it gives me more pride to see him doing that than parading it around the Ralph so we can have a jacked up fan experience.

I doubt it's even close, even excluding Cornell's undefeated season. Dryden won 76 of 81 games he started at Cornell, which is hard to believe. A close friend of mine, who grew up on upstate NY and attended Cornell, wasn't even much of a hockey fan but got to see all of Dryden's career at Cornell. When I asked him whatg it was like to be there for that historic run, he said that everybody just assumed they would win every game they played.

I agree. I had a great time and education at UND, but I can see why any 18 - 20 year old kid would be attracted to Madison. The hockey is at the top of the list for everyone at this level, but it's not the only thing, and if a player feels the program is about to turn around, that campus would be hard to say no to after a visit. For some kids. Not all, of course.

Dang, that would be a tough one for Wilbur. The chance he's waited for so long, but having to become our hated enemy to get it? He'd hold his own on the ice, but can he party with those kids anymore?

Tomek brings with him the Slovakian spirit of SPARKY! Wooohoooo! Tomek time indeed!

I heard the Lumberjacks might let the Gophers play two at the Lumberdome if Minnie comes up with the right kind of money.

Caps are crazy if they don't play that big hit TJ put on the CC guy up on their big screen to start the season. Caps fans will grow to love him anyway, but that will speed up the process. And DC folks have learned to appreciate big surprise hits from what they witness on the Hill on a regular basis.

Was Kate Upton involved in this trade?

I liked Murphy--too bad.

And there's the rumor going around that he woke up with a horse head in his bead with a note from gfhockey and his boys

We all have to cut gf a little slack. The only thing he ever really understood was that Hak had not won a natty. That is the extent of his hockey knowledge, so expecting him to contribute beyond that is just unfair. To his defense, he never actually claimed to understand or even enjoy the game. To stay relevant, he'll probably move to Philly, join the Flyers HFBoards site, and claim to be a playah in the coal mines in the western part of the state.

If there is a Ward in the mix, I wonder if his treammate, Greg Johnson, has sired any hockey players. We talk a lot about Parise, Oshie, and Toews, but those two had some serious offensive talent.

Berry has an advantage over Hakstol in one respect. Hakstol ran a great program and compiled a record that will be hard for Berry to beat, but Berry really has less to lose. If he runs a more wide open game and it doesn't win him a banner, many people will credit him for trying something different. Berry has been a big part of the team's successes and failures at UND, and he almost certainly believes in the program Hak followed. But he has more room to wiggle, and I wouldn't be surprised if his offense was a little more up-and-down, especially if all the talent comes to campus this fall and he finds he can count on his goalie to stop the inevitable odd man rush that comes with playing a more wide open game. If he does head this way, it won't happen right away--he saw how successful Hak was in season-long team development, but I can see that being his goal, and I woujldn't be shocked to see a more Blais-like offense after the Christmas break. But then, I didn't think Parise or Toews would make the team either.

A) He's not going to stay for a degree B) He's ready C) With the risk of injury, however limited, anyone advising him to stay would be irresponsible.

Not true. Even if he goes WHL, he's fooling me.

Valid points. Asking a bunch of high end talents (and even the grinders are high end at this level) to accept a role that is different from how it has been for them in the past is difficult in any situation but something UND coaches have excelled at IMO. But father/son would probably increase the level of difficulty at least somewhat. But if they do hire Shaw, I'm sure they will have considered all the personality and character factors involved.

The man could score

Andy Johnson?

I don't know what kind of NCAA experience gfhockey has, but he wants a Natty real bad.

"The stars" are kids we were fortunate to have wear Sioux colors. Some of them stayed for one or two more years than they could have despite having people in their ear telling them that their life-long dream would could true if they would leave for the next level. And how many Gaarders and Generals left high school and the buddies they grew up playing with so they could play at the next level instead of helping their home high school win a championship? And why would it matter if "the stars" leave early, when we will replace them with the grinders you want to fill the roster with anyway?

A team with Gaarders & Generals is surely a good thing, but it is a whole he!! of a lot different than a team of Gaarders and Generals.

JS and NS worked well together when they shared the ice, but this might actually help Nick come into his own.

One thing we know: you can have a brain the size of a pea and know virtually nothing about the game of hockey and still complain endlessly that we have not won a title in X-number of years (or that we may not win one in the future). Understanding what exactly makes a coach effective at any level is more difficult, and I suppose how you analyze that depends on what you want from the game. Everyone involved seems to think Berry is a good coach. How he can manage a major D1 program is still an open question, but the players, at least, have certainly shown their confidence in him. You have to credit Hakstol for taking on a very difficult challenge that might leave him without a job 12 months from now. He's in a completely different game now--one that is very impatient with a short memory. And those who wanted him gone are in a good place too. Next year looks like it may be a very entertaining year. Can't wait.

Thank Parise you didn't ask, "Who do I send the invoice to?" We would have been right back in the wilderness.