burd

Pinto is that puck possession player we haven't had in three years.

This is completely unfair, 100, but you giving the gophers even a little break makes me hate you too. That's just the way gopher hate rolls.

I'm hoping the team culture is better this year. I swear to Parise I thought to myself last year that they didn't really celebrate much when they scored (not a measure of how often they didn't score). The celebration is as much about team unity and congratulating teammates as it is self congratulations. I mean, it's always good to act like you've done it before, but there seems to be more spontaneity with this group. This might be a figment of my imagination--like the way Kate Upton wants to ditch Verlander for me.

My gopher hate goes back way too far and too deep to take second fiddle to UMD. I remember Bill Butters fighting with fans after being ejected at the old barn.

I can't get on

That's true, and this year's team seems to have speed, but in recent years we haven't been as fast as the top teams. I think. It's hard to tell without data, and the eyeball test can be deceiving. A team that has a lot of skill and flow will always seem fast, and when you are reacting you always seem slower. (burd is so full of sh t)

Wilbur is wavering again. He does this every year.

That's about as objective as you can be.

We all probably feel like it should go that way. But that is part of the problem. We get into the trap of assuming those should all be victories, primarily because we are North Dakota and they are . . . lesser hockey schools. God help us if the players think this way, because it aint so. I'm not dissing your thinking, AJS. Like I said, we all probably look at it that way.

What exactly do we know about BSU this year. They tied SCSU twice.

So, you're 90 and have had season tickets all your life?

Yeah. After 120 minutes of hockey on their ice, they were one goal worse than the second best team in the country. Hard not to believe you are a legitimate contender after that. Now they have to learn how to win those games. I don't know what you call IIQ (ice intelligence quotient), but maybe this team has a good one.

It's pretty illogical to think the team played well last weekend in our own rink against one of the weakest teams in the country and that they played poorly this weekend against the #2 team in their rink. But a lot of people just start with outcome and work backward based purely on emotion.

new test. Can they play from behind against a good team in their barn.

anybody having trouble getting hennessy on Insider?

problems getting Hennessy on Insider?

How many of us can the hot tub hold?

gf is trolling but he forgot to put on a spoon--just dragging a leader out there. It's early.

I thought about that too, tnt, and you could be right. I guess a person would have to know the personality of the team pretty well to make an educated guess. Certainly better than I do. Like you say, maybe we will be wondering if kicking cow azz both nights will give them too much confidence.

It would be nice to win one in Mankato, but for this team to get handled by a team with their skill and experience would not be the worst thing that could happen this early in the year. A lesson like that would certainly be worth more long term than two wins against Canisius. Other than the PW risk last weekend, of course.

Katie expressly stated Saturday night that Berry told her holding some players out Saturday was not a reflection on their play but only an effort to get players some ice time early in the season. That may be just an effort to dodge the question, but if he was keeping any players out to send a message, he probably would not have made that comment (assuming he did, in fact, state that to Katie, which I have no reason to doubt).

Not seeing pucks well this year in beer league, Wilbur? Aren't you too old to be bending over looking for incoming slappers? Or have you just taken too many on the forehead?

You guys can get all pumped up about these results, but they didn't play a full 120 minutes of hockey this weekend. And the passing wasn't quite crisp. They did play one shift at a time, though; I'll give them that. Four neg reps on this. You guys recognize a little fun with overused cliche's, right? I thought it was a very encouraging weekend, even if they didn't always stay focused.

Blood wasn't gushing, at least. Almost looked lie a scrape.

John and Dave K are very needy guys, hanging around saying things designed to draw attention.