burd

We have to be careful not to impose too many limitations on Gopher hatred. If you hated a gopher when he was playing for UM but like him now that he plays for an NHL team you like, that makes sense to me, because he isn't a gopher anymore. If you hated him then and still hate him, even if he plays for an NHL team you like, that makes sense too because he used to be a gopher and that will never change. As long as you hate gophers, it all works. I can speak from personal experience when I say gohper hatred has been good for me. I've always known it didn't make much sense, and that used to bother me to the point where I sought treatment. But I have learned to embrace this hatred, and boy what a difference! I no longer kick the dog. I don't threaten my wife with divorce quite as often, and I don't tell my kids they'll have to go to college in Minnesota. I quit chewing my nails. Even if I like Garrison Keillor or the Vikes, I know I am doing my little bit to maintain the natural balance of things by hating the gophs. I don't like the Badgers, but I feel no sacred duty to hate them, so I don't. If I were Jay Potulny, could I hate the gophs while my sons were playing there? Sure. I would hate hate hate them as gophers, call them names, write them nasty anonymous letters, impune their morals and reputation and still love them as my children. Makes perfect sense. Hate away. It's OK.

I'm glad jk brought that up. Dean is a great coach, and colorful, in his way, but people tend to have amnesia when they imagine what he would have done with Hak's teams. Those 98 and 99 teams were powerful and disappointed in the tourney. Virg Foss once said he thought Dean was better at winning a championship with a team that was not expected to win but that Gino was more likely to win with the favorite. Not that Virg's word is gospel, Parise knows. But I would like to see Hak wear Dean's green jacket.

Plus a little bit of "go-for-the-balls" edge of . . . now what was that guy's name . . . .

I don't want to bring Happy out of his end-of-the-slide hibernation, but what were the combined ages of the Hrkac line compared to Toews, Oshie and Duncan? DOT was awfully young. Greg Johnson was on some lines in 90-91, including Dixon Ward, that could play with the big boys. But they did not have the defensive side that DOT did.

You never know--he might see himself as a regular on Brad Miller Time.

They're vermin. Can't escape your DNA.

True, but I'm fine with that. They might as well think it's the championship game from the get-go.

When is the last time Minnesota, Wisconsin, and BC all missed the NCAAs?

Couple of comments. One thing that has plagued them all year, especially before Finley returned, was their inability to own the boards in their own end. A couple of things contribute to that. First of all, guys like Genoway and Miller are just ill fitted to win the board scums. I love what Miller has done for this team, and he tries his best, but when it comes to controlling possession of the puck along the defensive boards, he is being asked to do something he just is not very equipped to do. He doesn't have Bina's bull strength or Chorney's skill level. Not a knock on Miller--that's just who he is. What bothers me more in some games, including the second two periods today (and a lot of the first, actually) is their tendency to STROLL to the puck in the defensive zone and then make the outlet pass (if they got possession) only after the passing lane has closed. Their only choice then is to either chip it up high on the glass or to have a Dman rush it up ice. I like this team a lot. Frankly, I'd rather have them lose two like this than win and think they can get by not skating hard to every puck. Still fired up for first round of the main event. Maybe Hak needs to pull a Bo Ryan and tell his guys to hustly their arses off but to put a smile on their facesand have some fun out there. They were a little tight this weekend.

Conference tournaments are great fun for both players and fans, but most elite programs probably consider "playoffs" as beginning with the first game of the NCAAs. Teams would view the conf tourney as very important, if, for instance, they absolutely had to make a strong showing to even get in the "playoffs." What's really a shame is when an otherwise strong team has inconsistent goaltending during the regular season and never even gets to show off their playoff goaltender. Kangas is very good--no doubt, and he did play in the playoffs last year, if I remember right. In his last game, he either wasn't such a playoff goaltender or his opponent was just a clearly superior team. I can't remember which.

Lou's slide started with that failed trip to Faribault to talk ZPar out of his commitment to UND.

But that '00 team had really peaked. We've recently discussed the '00 series in Madison when the Badgers took two exciting overtime games from the Sioux. In the first of those games, I believe, the Sioux had come back to tie. We did not outplay UW in either of those games. When those teams met in the final 5 two months later, UND just plain outplayed the Badgers. That team was ready for playoff hockey at the end. Hak has this team playing extremely well since Xmas, but they haven't shown in recent weeks that they can clearly outplay a strong opponent for close to 60 minutes. They might win it all and, as you say, they are a band of brothers, so it would be particularly nice for it to happen to this team.

Definitely possible, but not too likely. That said, this is my favorite team in several years, and seeing them win the 8th would be special, given the makeup of the team and the fact that they are the "regulars" who stayed back after the superstars decided to take their shot a the big show. (not a criticism of Oshie, Toews, Chorney, et al). If these guys win # 8, it will because a lot of different people played big in their final four games--something that would add extra meaning to winning it all.

Any relation to Kip?

Duncan is the best, in my book, but I'm not sure he can be a tough enough SOB to his own players that he would have to be sometimes to succeed as a head coach at this level. Assistant is another story.

These young former Sioux forwards all have great plus/minus scores. I wonder if that's just because they and their linemates have been scoring well, or if can be attributed to a program that produces good defensive forwards.

Got absolutely owned on the boards first period--at both ends.

signal now

Yup. Just getting the Jump TV banner.

I would like to see the cup return tonight, too, but I would really like to be there to see the crowd give Ryan Duncan his last home cheer. I know that this team is not made up of individuals and that they succeed because of their overall strength, but he's been special, and I think the crowd will let him know it.

He was a second team west all american the next year as a junior (98), but he wasn't a Heatley, Toews or Parise in his second year. I don't believe he was better as a sophomore than Duncan is as a senior.

I wondered if anybody would mention '97. This team Reminds me of them in some ways. Michigan was heavily favored then as BU is now, and I don't think very many saw the Sioux winning it. A lot of very good hockey players but not a superstar among them. I really like this team, but it would take some real breaks to win it all. It will be real interesting to see how they fare in game 2 of the regionals, if they make it that far.

I agree about Bucky, but you understand that wanting the Gophers to lose early is obligatory for fans everywhere. Still, when the Badgers are playing their best, only their own fans could want to watch that stifling brand of hockey. I'd much rather see a UND/Gopher barnburner, as long as there are no toothy grins afterward.

Just got back from the game. Looked to me like UW definitely outplayed the Sioux. They were consistently beating us to pucks. All that talent they have on the blue line shows at times--pretty tight. The Sioux were not passing particularly well. They didn't look like they were less intense, but UW had more jump, and they had the edge in physical play as well. I think Duncan felt he should have buried the one shot he had all alone from his office space. If the Sioux meet these guys in the FF, they can make up for this one.

It's not a question of whether the player played his position, much less whether he played it better than a teammate. The question is whether he played his role. I think Joe has played his very well. The layoff hurt him, but he can interrupt the flow along the boards and behind the net in ways that look unspectacular but are critical to this team. There were times earlier this year when our D simply could not gain control along the boards in order to start the transition. That has improved, and Joe has played a big part in it, IMO.