burd

Question now is whether UND will keep their feet moving 20 more minutes or whether they will go into prevent mode.

Almost like you're trying to get the last word against yourself. Since this is a hockey board, are you cycling?

It's nice, but I thought last weekend that the wording is a little too small to work well. (I watched on TV, so in-person might be better)

Sandy has the matchup advantage this weekend, and that is significant with these two teams.

Bjugstad is a horse. He will succeed at the next level. Unless his years at UMTC turn him into a complete weenie.

The gophers have had a ton of high draft picks on the roster the last three years and still fell flat. Even gopher fans were disgusted. No comparison.

Have we any idea what they will be like? Anything like what the women wore against BS?

Yup. For comparison, you only need to read Badger fans' threads this year or UMinn's last three years. He's had a huge turnover, injuries on top of that, and he still has this team looking like a threat. I don't think he's an elite game coach yet, but is there a better program coach out there?

Hak and his staff have done a wonderful job this year under very difficult circumstances.

How difficult are the greens, compared to "regular" courses you play on? Watching some of those tournaments on TV, it looks like they're putting on linoleum.

I may have sounded more critical of the D than I intended to sound. They had to hold the team together while the young forwards got their feet under them. In fact, early in the year, I was not one of those criticizing the D when things weren't going well, saying that the forwards had as much ownership of the sloppy D than our Dmen did. Before the season started, I think we had unrealistic expectations of how tight our defense would be this year because some didn't take into account how important last year's forwards were to team defense. Blood has been amazing this year, not only D but in taking the puck up ice when he would have held back in prior years. It's almost as if he is taking on a little of what his former linemate used to do. Forbort is back to being solid but not much more than that. All that said, I don't think the Sioux Defensemen themselves are what will make this team (which I have always really liked, even with its lunchpail character) a risk for other teams if they make the tourney. They have some nice speed among the young forwards and those guys are starting to use it in all areas of the ice, which has been an important part of the turnaround. We still do not transition very quickly coming out of the zone. I understand that is a matter of doing what you can do with what you have. The D hang onto the puck quite a while before making the first pass out of the zone, often to the point where passing lanes fill up. Again, I realize that is part of strategy. It is conservative, meant to keep the dangerous turnovers to a minimum and keep the play on the perimeter. And it's working. We can't judge defensive progress by the Wisconsin series. The Badgers are just not very good this year. The best test is coming up in Duluth.

It's true the Sioux could be a dangerous match, but I don't think the defense, even with those three playing, is making other teams too nervous.

Ran into Mike Eaves at a charity golf outing a couple of years ago, and he was well aware of the Bottineau 'Jacks program.

Seems like a nice kid.

Better not see any more penalties by the Captain tonight.

BE always seems to be good for one lack of concentration goal, even when he is playing well. This is a critical game, so hopefully he stays sharp. Keeping our skaters out of the box would help.

All of which is no surprise to anyone coming into this year, even before all the injuries. Given their current position, I don't know how anyone can say they have performed below their abilities, except to say that goaltending has, at times, not been what we might have expected. (And I'm not saying Dell has been a disappointment, either.)

Why should a penalty be called just because he is hurt after being checked into the boards?

Well, it was an honor and a pleasure, North Dakota Fighting Sioux. And it will continue to be.

Merry Christmas to all in Siouxville.

They sure looked young

I hope it's not like a Rorschach test, because I see naked women all over the place.

I'll bet a good study would show a lot of enlarged prostate problems in GF. It's that potato chip factory.

Yes it does bother me. Those boneheads are usually alone or with females or newbies they feel the need to impress.

Yes, I've been noticing his play too, though I only see him through TV, and that doesn't give the whole picture. What is his story? Good win, Grasshopper.