burd

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.

First of all, keep in mind we lost by a goal to what is arguably the best team in the courtry right now. These folks in Wisconsin are pumped about this team, which has very good defense and goaltending to go along with an offense that has been missing from their teams for a long, long time. This year, I think their players are buying into the scheme in ways that has not happened in Madison for a while. That said, I agree with the comment about chippiness at the end of games/periods. If you have some goal tender issues, stay the hell away from the Penalty box. Save your "edge" for beating people to the puck. What I would rather not see again is having to put on a strong finish just to make the tourney. All that really matters is that they are peaking when the NCAAs come around, but if the transition game is still lacking and the goalie does not look like he can steal a game for you, they are probably looking at an early exit. I still like this team, though--a lot.

This is a very good Badger team and getting better. I was at a golf fundraiser this summer with Eaves, and he was really pumped about the talent and chemistry on this team. More than the usual sales pitch. Sweeping this weekend will be very tough, but it would sure be sweet. Sweeping might get some Mojo back too.

To locals, it will always be just "The Forestry." The story of how Penner got to the Forestry and ended up skating with the Cup is an inspiration to under-the-radar kids everywhere.

Spot on. Totally different skating game--lateral and backwards v. forward. Though Miller did quite well. I would be a little less worried about the time it is taking skilled players like Kristo and/or Marto to eliminate gaffes on the blue line. None were better than Roche at playing possession on the blue line during PP, but but I'm sure he turned over his share in his first couple of years. Maybe not--I can't remember to be honest. He!! to be old enough to remember a lot of hockey but also old enough to forget all of it.

Never really thought of hockey as being nuanced.

Frankly, it makes me a little proud, though not surprised, that a fair number of Sioux fans might think it rude to stand during a breakaway. Illustrates that sense of civility and respect midwesterners are know for. But then we hockey fans are animals, so I guess that little observation goes nowhere . . .

Rmember the context. Big Sioux asked if it is rude to stand for a breakaway. There are maybe 3 of those a game, hardly enough to ruin the value of someone's season ticket purchase. We're not talking about bonehead fans at many sports who just stand continually without giving thought to those behind them. I'm a real stickler about being considerate of others, but when there are moments like a breakaway or the closing seconds of a tight game when the other team has pulled its goalie, I will stand unless I know it is a problem for those directly behind me.

Just thinking of yourself, are you?

Stand up on a breakaway, then sit down--that's not rude. In church, maybe, but not at the rink. Now, to stand up, howl at the moon and urinate over as many rows below you as your stream can reach is just outside the range of acceptable hockey behavior.

Very serious stuff. Hope Chay comes out of it healthy. Losing Genoway even for a short time hurts--last night was pretty good evidence of that. But if the Sioux can keep winning enough to stay in the NCAA pool, having him out for a time might force others on the blue line and PP to grow their game in ways they might not have otherwise.

Members of the LWW (Librarians Without Work) will be applying in record numbers for rink security positions. They'll have the upper hand in getting those jobs too, since they can pick up a loud voice from a block away and understand what Order is. It will be a boon to guys like Sheppard too, because they will probably be asked to referee fan infractions from their booth in the sky. It might ultimately be good for the atmosphere too, since fans will be booing the refs for penalizing fans for booing the refs for penalizing a Sioux player. Domino-effect booing that will cause the librarian security guards to blow a circuit and abandon their positions for a warm cup of tea at home with their cats and small dogs. Then we can stand, stomp, curse, and defile like good hockey fans were meant to.