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Was it Pattyn who completely missed both the hit and an opportunity to get the puck in the O zone?

You smarter hockey guys help me here. It s e e m s like our Saturday nights are more difficult partly because we have a pretty conservative transition game (hit the winger on the wall or go cross ice to the other D, not often passing up the middle) and they adjust the second night to be all over our wingers. The result is a chip-it-up-the-boards scrum just inside our own blue line and no real flow. If the other team is high energy working hard, we play uphill. BUT I really don't trust my own observation there. It doesn't explain the improvement we always show as the season progresses, for one thing, unless Hak expands the breakout schemes as the guys become more disciplined with the basics. Hak will always stress two way responsibility, so he (like most coaches) will prefer using the perimeter in the D zone, and it works. But it would also be a scheme that a team like AA last night can disrupt if they have enough quikness and work hard enough. How lost am I here?

The Sioux lost most of the puck battles along the boards against UAF last weekend, and they lost a lot of them tonight, though they weren't dogging it. UAA just played a very intense game. I love the speed and quickness of this Sioux team, but one thing they will have to improve on is winning the scrums, particularly in the o zone. Interesting to see how they play on big ice.

I don't think Hammer knows what a one-timer is.

Wolves all over the Sioux winger getting the first outlet pass on the boards.

Wolves taking something out of Fairbanks' game plan and doing it well.

If Gothberg catches fire at UND, I wonder if a group of students will start dressing Goth for the games.

Couple of things from last night. Throughout the first and most of the second, the team passed and skated better than a Sioux team has in a while. I think when this team was coming together, many of us thought it had the potential to be like some of the recent BC teams with their speed, skill, and quickness. Last night we got a glimpse of that. (I know, its AA, not UMinn, but still) Grimaldi can really dish the puck quickly (and accurately)--he knows where people are. He can wait, like he did with the goal he set up, or he can move it without hesitation. This is impressive, with how little time he has had with linemates or real game conditions. He will be extremely disruptive, not only with his scoring ability but with his ability to set others up. A quarterback who can pass and run both.

This team seems to pass better than pevious teams at this stage of the season.

Simpson and Forbort both clearly playing at a higher level this year. Mattson and Gleason both look strong too. Schmaltz looks better than any of them did as freshmen IMO.

God I like the speed and quickness this team plays with.

Let us not forget how fortunate we are to have memories of guys like Bochenski, Parise, Toews, Trupp, SPIRKO!, Hrkac, Hangsleben, Purpur, Iwabuchi, and on and on. Dead gohpers, dead badgers, and guys on bicycles on the ice. Dirty.

Great memories from long ago are so cool that way. The Red Pepper is just a sandwich joint, but it has been such a tradition and figured into so many great memories for me when I was often strunk or just stoned that I can't be totally sure of a good share of the details. The essence though . . .

Timely post!

From what I saw, he didn't have a Kozek type lazer, but he could get it off almost immediately and on net. If it was on his stick it was going to the net. But I could be wrong--it came close to happening once before.

Some who excel at a particular phase of the game get that way by keeping things simple. Brandon Bochinski did not have a wicked shot or top-end speed, but he always got the puck on net if he was between the dots (and often outside). Always. Not a lot of head fakes or dangling--he just fired away. Too bad his all around play was not good enough to keep him in the NHL.

Nobody has mentioned Frenchy's, which was obligatory before and after the game and where the overaged Canadian players went. Guess those folks old enough to remember have all died off or haven't quite learned how to use the internet yet.

We can't be sure. With the video coverage they have, he could have been playing but never seen.

When the gophers play this way, we say they are talented but soft. I'm sure Hak will get them playing like they should, but it is difficult to see them lose so many puck battles.

Slap is evil--but a fun kind of evil.

I like seeing the gophs lose too, but that team is not a paper tiger. They already showed last year how good they were, and this is much the same team. Lucia is healthy, Hill is gone, and they are loaded. This isn't three years ago.

But I think it is also important that Grimaldi not get caught trying to do too much in the Ozone, like Kristo tended to do at first. He can be a force and dish the puck a lot.

I think it's not so much what they can do as what they can be counted on to do. We know they will play extremely well at least one game per series, but there is a lack of focus or discipline or something intangible that is holding them back more than lack of talent or exerience.

I kind of like the idea of role players once again having to take the oar, as long as it's for a weekend. Builds team strength. I'd also like to see a goalie stand on his head and steal a game.

Very early to tell, but he has really begun to show what we expected. This USA team will give some good teams fits. They can skate and pass the puck.