ScottM

In the background, over a nice, quiet meadow comes the ever-piercing ... "Ha! Ha!" --Nelson Munce Good win for the team, I hope they keep grinding out the wins.

Yeah, yeah. We all know the gophers "choked" and handed us the game tonight. (Insert B.S. look here )What a bunch of bullsh!t. Sure the gophers SHOULD have won, but our guys gritted it out and worked to win. This is a nice win. Nice effort across the board, reminded me teams of past, especially in the third. Good win for Siembida, love those pads.

I think the overall talent pool coming into the WCHA is pretty strong so far. It has been strong over the years, but for some reason it seems to be concentrating in a few schools, Minnesota, UND, SCSU, DU and CC. Wisco is suffering from Sauer-itis and would have a hard time capitalizing on Gretzky. Glad to have Murray and Parise on board. I think with the experience our frosh are getting this year (school of hard knocks) we have a pretty bright future. Now, if we can just get this season going ...

I would expect Zach to put on some weight and strength at UND just to keep up with the pace of the competition. Given his size I would also expect to see him around for 4 years, much like the Panzers. That said, I can't wait to see him in a Sioux unifomr next season.

I'm frankly quite glad that Minnesota fans and media are expecting

Sicatoka, if we hung ALL those banners, there wouldn't be any light reaching the ice. I hope the team really plays tough this weekend, nothing I like more than ruining "another Minnesota sweep" at Mariccui.

I'd be happy just taking one point this weekend. "Minnesota is the better team, and it's time for them to show it." Blah, blah, and it's still January. The good thing is that Hauser will probably start at least Saturday. He's been "solved" in the past, and he's shown how he does in "big games." If he gets shelled early, he's done. Send him back for relaxation tapes and aromatherapy. Our biggest issue is to play with intensity the entire game. We're big underdogs going in, so we have nothing to lose in taking some chances. Everybody has to step up and work the gophers hard for 60 minutes both nights. Beat 'em a little ahead of their Denver series.

I "loved" this morning's lone sports story in the Hurl, detailing a traffic death in Minnesota. Pathetic.

That's the key. The team has to learn to keep playing a full sixty-minute game, and not get lazy when/if they get a decent lead. The younger players seem to getting that idea, slowly but surely. If we can get/maintain the third period intensity of past teams, we should have better results over the long-term.

Interesting, but not surprising, that a SCSU fan would come onto another team's board to tout their own lone success. Enjoy the banner. Now, do you have any lucid comments about the upcoming Minnesota series?

Well since nobody else has done it, I thought I would start the ball rolling. While the GLI wins are nice to have, they don't mean anything when the puck drops at Mariucci next weekend. I see alot of improvement in the younger guys, Boshenski, Massen, etc. However, the team's inexperience shows as they move into the third period with a lead, only to blow it. I think the GLI was a good "gut check" for the team and think it will pay off in the future. Minnesota played exceptionally well Saturday, albeit against a mid-level Providence team. They nearly lost Friday to a mediocre Ferris State squad. They are streaky in some games, and nearly flawless in others. Truth be told, I've seen more gopher games than I can count since I've lived here. I think the key to beating them or at least putting them on their heels is to pepper Hauser early and often. History shows that if he lets in some early goals, he tends to unravel. (Witness the HoF game.) Weber is young, but pretty solid. He may be easy to rattle in the same vein, presuming he starts either night. If the Sioux play a full sixty minutes, offensive-oriented game they should be able to keep up with Minnesota. I'm not predicting any wins, but I think it is important for the team to make Minnesota "earn" any points with bumps, bruises and shattered egos. (If Lucia's squad is half as cocky as most Minnesota fans right now, they may not take the Sioux too seriously.) A tough, physical game is a good way to slow them down and keep the momentum. Minnesota's transition game seems to have some cracks, especially in the neutral zone and their own. So it may be that the Sioux can pick off the puck and hopefully convert once in a while. This series is important, IMHO, not only because we need the points and confidence, but it's Minnesota. We're not that far out 4th and 5th place in the league, so this series is important to establish momentum and intensity for future games. It's time for everybody on the team to play Sioux hockey!!!

Clayton there are a number of free programs that kill pop-ups. I started using "Pop up Stopper" when Yahoo! started those $@#& X-10 pop-unders. Go to CNET.com and browse around in the Internet utilities section. Or go to panicware.com for the program I use, it's a free, quick download. Kuhnica is right about "the Hurl" having a site at all. I am frankly amazed they would even invest in the technology.

The GF Herald online edition is the most worthless piece of crap on the Internet, which says a lot. I was surprised to even find sports in the sports section this morning, but not surprised to find a MSU/GLI recap lacking. Nice to see they finally got rid of the Maine boxscore from LAST season. At least the Strib carried a nice AP article of last night's game, and even a color picture. BTW: Where in the he!! did Siembida get those "rainbow" gloves?

I agree to a point, Dagies. I don't really see it as a matter of speed or size, but more a matter of inexperience and a lack of on-ice leadership. These guys get lazy and play it safe in the third, waiting for the clock to run down. The other team gets one goal which creates a snowball of monetum going the other way. They still haven't played a full sixty-minute game IMHO. If they really grind it out and play their offensive game all three periods, I suspect the third period naps will go away, but they have dig deep and keep the pressure up throughout the ENTIRE game. The lack of experience translates into the "killer instinct" of a field mouse ... It needs to improve or we are not going to finish in the top-five in the conference.

Good win for the team tonight ... although these third period collapses have got to stop. Grrr. Sounds like a decent effort for about 3/4ths of the game though, but they really need to play a full sixty minutes coming up. I've heard Lundbohm MIGHT be back for Minnesota ... not sure how effective he would be or how many shifts he would play. I hope the Sioux have a good, hard week of practice this week, as the gophers were in top form tonight and Ballard will be back. Be nice to get one point out of this next series.

I think one of the big problems on defense this season, which others have alluded to, is that the team gets too comfortable with a one or two point lead, especially going into the third where the other coaches have had time to adjust to the Sioux lines/plays. If they keep up the pressure throughout the game they have a better chance of winning the close ones rather than getting lazy and looking up at the clock.

Nice win for the Sioux, albeit it gave ulcers when I heard they p!ssed away another lead going into the third. Hopefully, they learn from the lessons tonight and it gives them some needed confidence going forward. I honestly can't remember the last time we actually beat Michigan. Did we lose to them at the Icebreaker last season?

I had the same problem. I just upgraded to cable-internet from dial-up. Was told some firewalls have difficulty with lower-end streaming media like most radio stations use. Will try to tweak it later, otherwise I'm SOL except for play-by-play on USHCO or intermittent updates on CNNSI

I hope this new defensive "style" is more an emphasis on the fundamentals rather than some scheme designed to keep the guys sitting on the blue line for 55 minutes. I would suspect that Blais still expects a solid offensive/PP effort, but is more concerned about getting the team to tighten up in our zone and during transitions.

Michigan is also missing 4-5 players to the World Juniors too. So that should help if the Sioux actually want to win and play like it.

I tend to agree with you Heidi, regarding Andy's past contributions to the program.

PhillyBoy, Whitey's is always a good bet for eating and drinking, as well as meeting other Sioux fans. Frenchy's, a real hockey bar, passed into oblivion, (moment of silence) ... and I've heard the Westward Ho has gone/will go the same way (another moment of silence). Around Minneapolis, there will be a Sioux alumni/friends gathering that Saturday(?) at Grandma's near Mariucci before the game. Welcome aboard.

I've noted the same thing on a few different threads. So far, those with the "C" and the "As" seem to lack any on-ice leadership ability IMO. I think there is more potential for leadership with the younger guys, and I hope Blais and the team recognize this soon. Nothing personal against the current captains, but they don't really seem to get the team functioning on the ice. I think Bayda could have a great year if he were teamed with linemates even half the caliber of Panzer and Lundbohm. I think the team lacks a lot of the on-ice chemistry that was so common on previous teams, perhaps due to so much youth and the missing intangibles Roche, etc would have brought to the team. If the on-ice "fire" was still there, it would probably help cover up for the often dismal goaltending we've witnessed and the often missing defense, unlike in the past when one strong suite would help smooth over the weaknesses, e.g. special teams, defense, offense, etc. Now, I think we are fully exposed and other teams are beating us across the boards. Getting the team motivated to work a full sixty minutes and play closer to to their potential could go a long way to alleviating a so-far sorry season.

We should have a chance against Michigan if we actually show up to play a full game. I'd like to think that the SLU series would give the boys some confidence to go against Michigan full-bore. However, if they play like they did against Mankato, St. Cloud, etc., it could get pretty ugly.