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It has been a pleasant surprise how good our young forwards have been at retaining possession on the boards in the o zone. Toews, Malone, and Parise were extremely good at this, and this current group certainly isn't at that level, but they've been pretty good. If they can develop chemistry that will lead to goals off those possessions and get Rocco in the mix, there's a pretty good upside ahead. Getting the forwards to contribute more on defense is another matter.

In fairness, it's a slightly different situation. Nearly all kids go the junior route because their primary dream is to play pro hockey some day. That's true of an increasing number of kids who go the NCAA route also, but many still go to college primarily to get a degree and enjoy the life. A fairer question would be to ask how many ex-junior players would say they're glad they went that route rather than college hockey.

Just back from the game. Disappointing to lose a game when you outshoot the bad guys so badly, but a lot of those shots were long range or perimeter. A bunch of loose rebounds we couldn't put in. Most of their goals were right in front of me, and the several of them were like shooting fish in a barrel--not Dell's fault, though he'll have to be able to steal a few with the glove, which neither he nor Eidsness did this weekend. People keep criticizing the defense, but the forwards aren't playing defense like they should yet. Actually, I like the potential in this team. They hustled tonight and controlled the puck in the ozone very well. They also transitioned pretty well. They aren't afraid of the boards. Kristo is really intense this year, and it shows. After the horn he slammed his stick on the ice in disgust, and you have to like that kind of desire. Mattson, Parks and MacM have a lot of promise. The first goal was a great effort by Gleason. Get a few forwards healthy, gain some experience, and they have a pretty good upside. They need to learn to cover bodies in the slot--that much is obvious. Forbort was better tonight, but gave one up. Knight took a stupid penalty with time expired at the end of the second that cost them 2 min of powerplay to start the third. They need someone to take Trupp's place on the forecheck, although Kristo was working it pretty hard. Sioux fan kicked arse in the intermission shootout.

With the inexperience on both sides of the ice, this is going to be an uncharacteristic but very interesting Sioux/Badger matchup.

I agree. There is a difference between good hard-hitting hockey and playing instigator or just being too undisciplined to resist a slash or high stick.

A couple of comments after 4 games. Parks, MacMillen, and Mattson have really shown they can play. With Grimaldi (and St Claire), this class could prove to be a real bumper crop. I know Hextall and Prpich were fan favorites, but it's nice to see there isn't anyone on this roster (yet) who can be counted on to make repeated and unnecessary trips to the box. With the shortage of experience at forward, this team can't afford to be on the PK all the time, making it even harder to roll enough good lines to have some rhythm and stay fresh. Impressed with Blood that way. Maybe seeing Diamond's idiocy was a good illustration of how you can hurt your team sitting in the box.

Nope. I think you're right. It's too dam bad, but UND needs to move on. Besides, we can beat the gophers with any nickname.

Hak is an extremely good coach. He develops players well, inspires their loyalty, and gets them to buy into his system His teams don't collapse like UMinn does, despite its talent. But it is pretty evident that he is not the game coach that Jerry York is. Not many are. He's been around a while and learned a few things.

I remember thinking we would surely win a NC in 98 and 99 with the talent we had.

You can't overlook how important forwards are to good defense. It's no coincidence that our defense is suffering with all the new forwards on the ice.

Frattin playing well-getting time on the pp.

If that's true, then why do I have to rake leaves on Saturday instead of golfing? And why do I get in trouble if I pee off the deck?

New programs, new conferences--it's all good. But one thing I hope I never see: FSU getting a hockey program and having to watch their uniforms circle the ice at one end of the ice during warmup while the University of North Dakota ??? circle the ice at the other.

They will be exciting, but you can't overlook Knight and Decker at UW--though I'm not sure they will skate together. The UW game early will be interesting this year.

Question. My daughter grew up in Wisconsin but is a big Sioux hockey fan. She's now a college student in NOLA and is already asking how she can watch the Sioux/Badger series in October. I will get her a subscription for this year's Sioux broadcasts at FightingSioux.com, but that won't help her with the Badger series. Her dorm won't have a cable subscription that will get her access. I doubt New Orleans has a lot of bars that show WCHA hockey on Friday and Saturday nights, though I'm sure whe would never go in a bar anyway. Is there a solution to this (outside four game tickets and one round trip airfare, as she has so kindly suggested)?

Na. They'd be the only club team in the conference.

I have a friend who ownes a car dealership that sponsors a hole-in-one-win-a-car at a yearly fund raiser. He told me that nobody ever won, so one year he didn't insure against it. Of course, a guy holed one.

It will never happen, of course, for many reasons, including location. But Maine would be a great program to have in a super conference.

But having very good defensive forwards is also key, especially in the game Hak coaches. The Sioux will lose a lot of defense by virtue of the forwards they lost.

Actual studies have shown that NoDaks who drive the middle of the fairway usually hit last and have more time to drink beer while NoDaks who hit in the woods look for their balls. But those studies also show that NoDaks who hit in the woods spend much of the time drinking when they should be looking for their balls. So I guess you're good no matter where you hit it. Good study, but I'll be damned if I can remember where I saw it. Might have been cited on the wall of a stall at Frenchy's back in the day. Old but good law.

Flatten the take-back a little and keep your weight on you rear foot a little more. Do that and Eids will be back to his old self. (And you will have yourself a draw, which is a deal with the devil, but what do we care as long as Eidsness is stopping pucks)

I'm pumped to see Grimaldi play. One memory of Trupp stands out--when he was a freshman (against Manitoba, I think) when he raced back on the back check, went airborne, and lifted the stick of a guy on a near breakaway preventing him from getting a shot off. That told you something about the guy, right there. Hope 1) Gregoire stays, and 2) October comes in a couple of weeks.

I don't think Grimaldi will replace Trupp's ability to forecheck and PK for a while. The team will sorely miss Trupp's all around play.

I initially was very surprised at Hextall's offensive upside, but I frankly don't think his early departure will cause the Sioux to drop a spot in the standings. Experience is very important, and he has that. But he also tends to make decisions you would expect from a very inexperienced/immature player. Losing Gregoire would be different story.

What happened to CC last night illustrates just how important it is that the Sioux stay out of the box. UMich only scored one PPG, but CC's rhythm was completely messed up, partly from all the specialty team involvement. With the way Renss came out with the physical play yesterday , I was afraid the Sioux would start taking stupid penalties. They did not, and that took discipline--and some smarts. Maybe even Hextall has figured this out. If they establish some flow today and roll all their lines, they will win, IMO. Good luck, boys. Put the d-dancer out on the golf course where he belongs. I'll bet he talks when others putt. And fudges his lie. And adds his score wrong. Grrrr. They're worse than gophers. Go get 'em.