burd

Those are good observations, but things have changed since UND got the northern Minn kids who were comfortable with the small town venue and UM got the Edina kids. These kids now have to do so much to attain that level of skill that they are dreaming of the next step up and taking the necessary sacrifices from the time they are12. They travel constantly when they are in their early teens, live away from home in midsize towns like Lincoln or Green Bay when they are 17 and graduate from high school without their childhood friends. Many of them will pick the college team that best suits their dream of playing at the next level. I think collged D1 hockey is a dream, but it is not the last or biggest one. It evolves into the next level soon after they discover they can make the college cut. Parise did not come to UND for the culture--he came to be NHL ready as soon as possible. Parises are rare, but others who are good enough to have choices between D1 programs want to be on an NHL roster some day and the right college program might make a difference in whether they get there at all. Enough of them know the stories of guys like Dustin Penner to think it can happen to them. Ehh, maybe that's a crock.

Playing at the Kohl Center would be a good test for Dell. I've had to watch the Sioux fall to comebacks there a number of times--that crowd can really be a momentum factor. Since it's a home football weekend, the place will be a little drunker and rowdier, I would guess. Can't wait.

Frustrates me every year when our D have trouble on the first break-out pass under a decent forecheck. I know it is part of Hak's scheme to keep the puck on the perimeter inside the zone, but that winger halfway up along the boards usually always has company, and there's often someone in the passing lane in front of him. In the end, it wins games, that's been proven well enough, but it's still frustrating not to see a quick transition game, given the talent the Sioux have. We play a lot of games on NHL ice, and that affects the amount of space on the breakout, but still . . . .

I usually strip naked and pray on things like this

UMinn definitely has better team speed, but the Sioux goaltending has been great.

So why go to Sensers when you can go to Siouxfansincebirth's house, see the game, and eat for free?

I cannot get the video no matter how many times I go round the circle. When I try to subscribe (after giving password info) it won't get past the screen where I select the package. jeez, am I that dumb?

Who knows--maybe dad will be inspired to add some lawnmower throwing to the next SAW movie.

If Penn State adds hockey, they gotta let JoPa coach at least a game, just to get the atmosphere right. With those glasses of his, it would look like a Hanson brother in their box. Good ol Pennsylvania hockey . . .

Yeah, and now maybe he can fill the hole in my Sioux heart that was created when Spirko left. And then some.

Anybody seen Harrison Aide from Bottineau play? He will be playing for the 15 Selects in NY next week, I think. His dad and three sisters were/are all superb athletes, and I know hockey is a passion for him.

I realize MacKinnon's name is spelled "Mac" in the article, but is he any relation to Manitoba native Kevin McKinnon, who played for the Sioux in '89-'90?

Hanging banners is nice, but owning the gophers cures impotence.

Not out of the question. I see a trade sending Blais to UMinn for a half-dozen overrated Minnesota-born quitters and a blood-oath to end UND's season just once in the next five years.

I know of this Lunsetter through a friend. Canadian roots. His second cousin (I don't remember his name) was from central Saskatchewan. North Battleford, I think. After high school, he decided to attend UND and try out for the hockey team. Apparently, he got cut pretty quickly, while some other Canadian players his age or older made the team. I think he tried out two years in a row, failed both times, and then left school. Pretty bitter about it. Since he didn't get a degree either, he ended up working as a cashier at a 7-eleven in St. Paul, where he stayed and started a family. He had a couple of kids, including a boy, who would sign up for summer hockey camps at UND--I guess trying to reclaim his father's honor. I heard that the kid was sent home from camp because his skills were just not there and the staff thought he might get hurt. Kind of lost track of the kid until he started showing up on USCHO a lot. Lonetree! That's his name. Happy Lonetree. Nice enough people, but I guess they never quite got over that UND rejection. At least that's what I recall.

It's really nice to see LaPoint getting positive press. He still makes me nervous in the corners and along the Defensive endboards, but he's starting to look more like the player who was contributing so much offense in Green Bay.

The gophers need open the Red Pepper menu and pick up a bunch of grinders.

I hope this controversy and suspension doesn't take Frattin off his game. He's been on fire. And by "off his game," I don't mean head hunting. That is not his game--scoring and playing with intensity is. The real prize starts with regionals. Anybody else have mixed feelings about this team coming off a three-game weekend and then playing three more at the FF followed by another short rest before the biggest weekend of the year? Or am I just another pussy?

Gophs have loads of talent and they are desperate. Only way for them to avoid a total failure of a season is to come out of this series alive. Don't expect the usual favors (of lack of urgency) from them this time. If the Sioux pass as poorly getting out of the zone and on the PP next weekend as they did this weekend, the results will not be good.

I'm in.

When the feet stop the penalties start. We can't spend much time in the box against this team.

Dammit, Goon, tie your shoes, would you? And when's the last time you took a comb through your hair?

Heading out tomorrow morning for an 8-hour drive each way to see them kick the !@$! out of the pios. Easily worth it.

Is Chay even able to skate much (much less scrimmage) while he is recovering? If not, it seems like it will take him a while to be game-ready anyway.

It's hard to get around superior speed in this game, and the other side had it. I thought the Sioux did pretty well , though, considering. Powerplay was dismal, as has been noted, and there were some pretty strange second passes in transition. But still, nothing for them to hang their heads about.