burd
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Posts posted by burd
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Let's do the following:
Change the English Coulee to "The Jonathan Toews Coulee" and University Park to "Zach Parise Park"...maybe add a Travis Zajac pond and a TJ Oshie river walk while we're at it...then we will ensure the cup should one of those players win it.
A booth at Judy's?
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I'm sure Toews will bring the Cup to the Ralph someday, and I'm sure Nick Leddy will get some real playing time in a Cup final series someday.
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Wouldn't be suprised if Grimaldi leaves early even though I don't think he should.
I'm really looking forward to watching Grimaldi this year, but I don't think he was anywhere near ready to take the next step at the end of last year. It's a pretty good time to be a small guy in the NHL with the new rules, but they'd eat him up, IMO. He's got quickness, vision, and hands, but he's taken off the puck too easily at this point.
One thing going for him, he's used up four years worth of posts and crossbars already.
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He's a hell of a college hockey coach, much as he pisses us Sioux fans off. He should be behind the bench somewhere.
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It would be very interesting to see what Gwoz would do with UAH. There are a lot of good hockey players out there who are not going to BC UMinn or UND.
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Great! Thank you!!
Here's the picture of the seats in my dad's backyard:
Very cool. Only problem is the urge that comes over you when you're sitting out on your seats on a nice summer evening to shout: "Who's he, he sucks sh*t."
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I work part-time by choice. I don't have to work full time. Guess who already has a nice tan from hanging out by the pool? Oh that would be me and not you.
Bragging about a poolside tan? Double ouch.
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Surprisingly, Kristo is one of the best boards players on the team, and his effort the last two years has been outstanding. He has a legitimate shot in the NHL. He has been far more than just a goal scorer at UND.
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I agree with Wodon's projections on CHN, except I see them keeping UND/Denver in the 8/9 match-up in Providence (as opposed to swapping Denver with Niagara). The rules allow them to keep a first-round conference match-up if the conference has 5 teams in the tournament, and this year we have 6. That being said, I think this is what we'll find out at 8:00 pm tonight:
Providence: 1. Quinnipiac vs. 16. Canisius / 8. North Dakota vs. 9. Denver
Grand Rapids: 2. Minnesota vs. 15. Yale / 6. Boston College vs. 11. Minnesota State
Manchester: 3. Mass.-Lowell vs. 14. Wisconsin / 7. New Hampshire vs. 10. Niagara
Toledo: 4. Notre Dame vs. 13. St. Cloud State / 5. Miami vs. 12. Union
That bracket is as good as any. And Providence has been good to UND--three of last 5 Natties were won there.
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I know the players have to play every game to win, but I frankly cared very little how the FFive came out this year. Except for goaltending, where you want the goalies to go into the NCAAs with confidence, I don't think winning one or two in Mpls would have made a bit of difference next week. Even seeding. If this team is going to win, they will have to make good on their chances, no matter who they play. I hope the boys get good and rested and hungry watching others get trophies and banners.
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Pearson's no dummy, though, showing there's still something to fight for is what his players need to see being down 5.
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Almost all of the people here are here year in and out. Not only when they are winning. They do not use the hockey games as a social event like so many do. These are not bandwagon fans that are on and off like many others. Just wearing UND stuff does not make you a real fan. People here are in for the long haul.
Not me. If they lose tonight, I'm a gopher fan forever.
Ordering my panties now.
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I'll try to give some perspective as a Gopher fan without being biased or troll-like. Championships are constantly determined by a couple of factors:
1) Great goal-tending.
2) Solid Defense
3) Getting hot at the right time.
4) Depth
It's not hard to see...that at least at this moment...UND is not firing on all four of these factors. There's no clear number #1 goalie that is playing well, the D has had a lot of let down moments, their energy/effort is not as good as it has been at other points, and they are getting most of their production from about 3 guys. I don't see 1 or 4 changing anytime soon; unless of course a goalie just gets hot...it can happen. When you're still debating line combos and who should dress that suggests there's not great depth. Saying the role players suck or can't help is going too far. All the players on a team like MN or UND are talented...but not all are high-end game changers. Regarding #2; the defense has some talent but hasn't seemed to gel. I always remember a Sioux D-core having big, tough guys to play against...not sure that edge is there this year...IDK though because I obviously don't follow it that closely. I know from our perspective we expect a hard hitting (cheap vs tough-nosed depending on your bias) effort from the Sioux and this years series there were hardly many scrums or penalties...they were way more tame than I remember them. Hell UMD played us with way more physicality. Seems there's a lot of concern they fired the wrong assistant. MN certainly did this with Hill and Guentzel and the squad went from very mediocre to very good pretty quickly once it was rectified.
I'd say the Sioux's best shot a a run lies with #3. They have historically been a team that plays very well at crunch time and they certainly can play with a lot of heart and pride; even if it's not happening right now. For this years squad to win...I think they need to get hot, play with passion, and probably get some good fortune to overcome some atypical shortcomings that they wouldn't normally have to worry about. I wouldn't bet on them because when your wondering if you'll even make the tourney that doesn't usually bode well for your chances. That said, I'd rather not face them and they will certainly be a tough out if they do get in...which I think they will.
Serious question...what point in the season would you cite that would give you faith that this team had the winning formula? In other words, what is their high mark you want them to get back to? With MN I could certainly point to efforts against BC, Notre Dame, UND Friday night, even a blowout against a lesser Mich St. What is the Sioux top end effort and, if they could get there, would that be good enough to consistently beat the best in the nation? Time will tell I guess. I'd wish you luck but I'd be lying.
Good post.
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After last night does it???
Good point.
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is it just me or have the last few weeks seemed like how we played early in the season-getting outshot, outplayed and getting by with a win? if that is the case instead improving we are regressing.
Depends on where we are allowing the shots to come from.
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Gotta admit though, he has a pretty quick jab.
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Tech definitely lost it in the third after the Kristo goal, but I think it is unfair to say they were playing a dirty, clutching and grabbing game before that. They were getting a lot of shots on net and beating the Sioux to the puck much of the time. They played well until . . .
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If the officials are not going to allow physical hockey plays, they are ruining the game. That hit was not a penalty. I would've been irritated with 2 minutes, I am infuriated about 5 and the gate. To make a 5 minute major call the official should have to actually see the penalty. Since replay shows clearly it was shoulder to shoulder, I don't know what they saw or think they saw. Also, a hit that powerful- if it had been to the head, Johnstone would've been lights out- he was not.
A great (by NHL standards) hockey play results in UND essentially playing 4 d with any regular ice time, takes away our captain, takes away our physical presence in our own end, and takes away a key 5x5 and penalty killing player. It changed the tone of the game...that was an absolutely terrible call.
I do hope that Johnstone is feeling okay and will recover quickly. Bad things sometimes happen in a game like hockey, it doesn't mean they are penalties.
I agree. Especially on the part about the official needing to see the penalty instead of applying a presumption when there is possible injury.
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Just rewatched the McWilliam hit, cean hard hit, so what we can learn from this is if player gets hit hard and falls and stays on the ground rather he's hurt or not its going to be a penalty. I just hope the Sioux never start laying on the ground just to draw a penalty
That's not at all what you learned from that penalty. You learned that a violent hit will usually draw a penalty, even if it's clean. Johnstone got smoked by a good hit and he was hurt. Not many players would have gotten right up after that bomb.
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I thought Tech played very well for two periods then just kind of fell apart with the kristo goal. they actually had the Sioux on the run much of the time in the second.
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Oh my bad, don't know what I was thinking.
It's OK. I think we all want this to be the year.
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The sioux have to win the ncaa this year, sense the first time they won it they havnt gone more then 13 years sense wining it!
1963 - 1980 = ?
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This is what I mean when I point out that national titles don't seem as important to our fan base as they used to. I should bookmark this post so I can point it out every time I get told that "no Sioux fan would ever say national titles aren't important", because that is what this post is saying. I don't think every season without a national title is a failure (I don't think I have ever said that), but when you have the talent we have had over the past 13 years and have ZERO national titles during that time, it is fair to ask what variable is missing from the equation. And you simply cannot explain it all away to bad luck, hot goalies and all that other stuff.
I think part of the problem is that we don't have enough 3-4 year players in our program anymore. We had those from 1997-2000 and, not coincidentally, that was one of the most successful periods in the history of the program in terms of both wins and championships. It is good to have a few 1st round draft picks on the team to add that extra level of firepower, but if your team is dominated by them, you run the risk of starting over with a new team every year. That is tough to overcome.
If we get back to having a core of players that are talented and skilled, but not loved by the NHL scouts, I think we'll have more success in March and April. And I will close by saying this: I will gladly give up the "UND in the NHL" status we have had since the new REA opened in 2001 if it means hanging more NCAA title banners in that beautiful arena. Agree or disagree, but that is my position on the subject.
Thoughtful post. I have a question that I'm not putting out there for a rhetorical purpose.
Would you give up watching the DOT line their last year for bounce or two against Michigan a couple of years ago and a banner (assume we win the final)?
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Haha...hockey has changed since then old timer....more and more American kids play the game now and more top end talent is playing college hockey than defecting (even including the past 1-3 years). You can't compare todays college hockey to the early 80's/90's.
Also, you noted it took them 10 years to win after the Circus.....it's been over a decade since we've won one and look who has came through our program. I do appreciate the talented hockey players I was able to watch however.
True statements. It has changed big time. No player will score as many points in a season as Hrkac did or as many points in a career as Johnson did. More kids are playing, and they are playing all year round, finishing high school away from home in order to become better players. It seems like that should make it more difficult to be in the hunt for the big prize on a consistent basis, but I'm not sure how that works, to be honest.
I just know we are lucky to be able to watch such good hockey year in and year out.
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Your best Old Ralph moment
in Men's Hockey
Posted
When I was a freshman I remember Larry Drader, who played for the Sioux along with his younger brother Daryl (no, not the other brother Daryl) taking me over to the site while the old Ralph was under construction. We sat up high looking down on the area where the ice would be, and Larry talked about how he could visualize it all. I just saw a hole in the ground, but I was blind. He and Daryl were fine people.
Jeff Sauer brought CC in for the first regular season game in the building, I believe, and most of us felt the new rink was nice but too quiet. The old barn was a raucous experience--cold and raw. I think Alan Hangsleben played out his second year at the Ralph and went pro, but the teams in those years were not as successful as they were later. The fans still were charged up about it, though.
After a dozen or so years in warm weather, hockey deprived parts of the country (and no web to keep track of things), I returned for grad school in 1989 and my wife and I go to the first home game. First thing I hear at introductions is "Who's he, he sucks shat"!! The place was rocking from the start, a great change from the early days when it first opened. I often think back on that first look at the place with Larry and his comments how he could visualize it all before it was finished and those first experiences in 1989 when the place was jumping, the students down on the glass, Badgers and gophers going on the ice, and the intensity that was lacking when it was first built. I don't think he visualized that. So, when fans first started expressing regret at the nicer but quieter new Ralph, I put it in that personal context.