skateshattrick

The Sioux already did, in 1997 when they beat the Gophers in the Final 5 WCHA championship. How easily you forget Peter Armbrust's OT winner. The Sioux have also won the Final 5 tournament against other teams. My thought is "so what?" It means nothing. Denver won it this year, but lost to Wisconsin in the regional. Do you think Denver will remember this season based on winning the Final 5 tourney? Not likely. However, when they won it all in 2003, DU did not even make it to the Final 5. Do you think DU cares? The Sioux beat Wisconsin a few years ago, the same year that Wisconsin beat BC in the championship. I don't think the Sioux have any bragging rights over Wisconsin for 2006. I have been to the Final 5 on several occasions, and it is just okay. In fact, I was there this year. With the partisan and obnoxious Gophers crowd, it feels like a Gopher holiday tournament, but it does not have the intensity of a regional game where the loser is done. I really don't care about the Final 5 WCHA tournament unless it means the difference between making the NCAA tournament. The fact that the Gophers won last year really didn't bother me, especially since the Sioux beat them a week later in a regional game that counted for something. Denver's win over the Sioux this year really didn't bother me that much either because I knew the Sioux would be playing the next weekend. On the other hand, when the Sioux season was ended in regional games in Colorado Springs, Ann Arbor and Madison, it stung for awhile. That is why a regional game is WAY more significant than any game in the Final 5, win or lose. Just my 2 cents. You will never convince me that the WCHA Final 5 is meaningful unless it is for momentum for the NCAA tourney. Only SCSU would hang a banner for winning the Final 5.

Mine are similar, but I would put an NCAA tournament berth above the Broadmoor, and probably above the McNaughton Cup. The first 2 are easy. A Frozen 4 berth is way ahead of a WCHA title or a Final 5 tournament championship. The years that the Sioux lost in regionals in Ann Arbor, Madison and Colorado Springs (I was at all 3) made the season seem wasted even if they won the league title or the Broadmoor. I don't like losing in the Frozen 4, but getting there is way better than league titles. The Broadmoor Cup is meaningless unless you are fighting for a spot in the NCAA tournament. It is primarily for money and means very little unless you are a bubble team. The goal of the entire year is to make the tournament, and then make it to the Frozen 4 and win it. I would rank them in this order: 1. NCAA Title 2. Frozen 4 berth 3. NCAA tournament berth 4. McNaugton Cup 5. Winning the season series with the Gophers 6. Winning the season series with Wisconsin, etc. 10? Broadmoor Cup.

Slapshot and Cardinal, Can we PLEASE stop debating whether Lucia is a good coach? Several UND fans on this board, including me, have agreed completely that he's a great coach. There are several who disagree. So what? Do you really need to convince every Sioux fan? In other words, can we talk about something other than Lucia and the Gophers? I know that you want this to be a Gophers/Lucia lovefest, but that is really not a reasonable expectation considering where you are posting.

I have to agree with Bucksieve. I'm not a huge Lucia fan, but to diminish his accomplishments by saying anyone could have won when he did is not fair. He's at least a great recruiter, if not a great coach. He proved it at CC before he came to UM. He won with a perennial loser at CC and took over a UM program that was reeling a bit in Woog's last years and turned it around quickly. I happen to believe Hak is a good coach also, but he did have great talent in 2006 and 2007. It is not easy to win NCAA titles, even with great talent.

The coaching staff does not think that Eidsness is overhyped at all. In fact, Mike Lee from Roseau wanted to go to UND, but instead will be attending St. Cloud after spending a year of juniors this year, his senior year. Mike Lee is very good, but the Sioux coaching staff did not recruit Mike Lee because they feel that they have their goalie for the next 4 years in Brad Eidsness. My source is a former Roseau goalie who coaches goaltenders in Grand Forks.

I agree completely with the GENERAL STATEMENT. He's still a young man, and I'm sure that he and his family are going through tough times right now. I am friends with his dad, who is a very good guy, and I know that this is very difficult. If you would not add your true name to a comment about Bobby Stroup, please don't do so anonymously.

Go to www.pointstreak.com and go to NAHL. Then, click on USNTDP on the side. He did not do much against NAHL competition. I understand that he's a very skilled player, and I'm not saying he won't be ready after another year, but he's not ready for the WCHA if he's not an impact player against NAHL competition. He's also very young. I know that Jon Toews, Joe Finley and now Aaron Ness accelerated their education to enroll in college early, but it takes a special player like Jon Toews to play at the level as a 17 year old. I frankly think Aaron Ness will struggle his 1st year.

He's not ready. He had 4 goals and 4 assists in 14 games while playing for the US Under 18 team that competes in the NAHL. He's skilled, but if he did not dominate on that team or that league, he is not going to make a significant impact yet in the WCHA. Give him another year.

Unlike some on this board who keep throwing Joe Finley under the bus, I view that as very encouraging. Joe did not play his best the last few weeks of the year, but he was solid throughout the year. He would be a great leader next year and would be one of the better returning defensemen in the league.

It was called a goal by Todd Anderson. Sheppard was the replay official that reversed Anderson's call and disallowed the goal.

Dean is a Gopher troll. Probably a Bison fan with penis envy, so he roots agains the Sioux and for the Gophers.

Roper, Can kids go to Hooligan's? I also intend to bring a couple.

You're right, that is just you. I couldn't give a damn whether the Sioux win a Final 5--if they need to win that tournament to play on, they don't deserve to make the NCAA tournament. Regardless of how they do in the Final 5, the Sioux generaly live to play on in the NCAA tournament which is the ultimate goal for EVERY program. While it is humorous that SCSU hangs up participation banners, SCSU making the NCAA tournament is a lot bigger deal than winning the WCHA Final 5 tournament. To me, the Final 5 is like winning a holiday tournament--it's nice, but means absolutely nothing. It's a revenue producer. Only Rodent fans like you can make the incredulous argument that it actually means something. If you want to make a case for winning the Broadmoor for winning the regular season title, I'll listen, but no rational person believes that winning the Final 5 is that big of a deal. I don't care how Michigan did in the CCHA tournament, how BC did in the HE tournament, etc. If they eliminated it tomorrow I wouldn't miss it at all.

You are quickly losing whatever credibility you once had. Let's look at this objectively, shall we? If you look at the Final 5 program, every single captain of every other team except Peltier (who voted for Duncan) rated Oshie as the best offensive player. Not one mentioned Wheeler. Kaip, who can't vote for his own teammate, voted for Rhakshani of Denver. Oshie made 1st team all-WCHA, Wheeler made 3rd team. Oshie is a Hobey Baker finalist, Wheeler is not. Seriously, don't make stupid arguments. Wheeler is not in the same class. As far as Frozen 4's, they are not "participation". That is for making the tournament (e.g, SCSU). Making the Frozen 4 is a big deal, much bigger than winning the Final 5 which is a meaningless tournament that is strictly there for revenue. I would rather make it to the Frozen 4 any day than win a WCHA title (which is a big deal) and would rather make the NCAA tournament than have a Final 5 title. It's meaningless. In order: (1) NCAA championship --overwhelmingly (2) Frozen 4 appearance (3) WCHA title. Frankly, I could care less about the Final 5.

I'll take your comments with a grain of salt considering you are a Wisconsin fan and are not exactly objective since Finley plays ahead of your Wisconsin boy who can do no wrong in your eyes, Derrick Lapoint. Yes, Finley had a tough game against Denver, but he has been very steady this year. He's smart with the puck, skates very well for a big man and is good at breaking the puck out. He's easily a top 4 defenseman on the Sioux along with Chorey, Genoway and Bina.

I hope that you are right and are not Bob Norton in disguise. I think this will be the Sioux's last chance at the title for a couple of years, so they need to get it done. Next year, the WCHA is going to be loaded with Denver, UM, Wisconsin and SCSU having very young teams and great recruits coming in. The Sioux will lose a lot after this year with Oshie Duncan, Finley, Chorney, Kaip, Bina, etc. They have a few very good recruiting classes coming in, but next year they will be very young. I'm thinking 2009-10 as the year.

I don't know about robbed, but I probably would have given him the edge over Bachman, particularly since he's a senior and Bachman is a freshman. The Sioux did very well, but you could make a case for Joe Finley and even Vandy.

There is a person posting on USCHO under the same name. It is under the thread for WCHA Final Five Predictions. If you say it is not you, then my apologies. I was frankly surprised because you have always been reasonable on this board, but I understandably did not like someone making the blanket statement that "ND fans suck."

Other than to demonstrate that Gopher fans all wear halos, why are you posting here? After all, you are the same person that said on USCHO that "ND fans suck." If you don't like us, do us a favor and go away.

There is no conspiracy. There is also no doubt that Shep is an awful ref. However, he is probably a lesser of evils. If you request a change, you have to be careful what you wish for because you might end up with Campion (remember the previous incident with MSUM and UM? By the way, does he wear his Gophers jersey when he refs?), Don Adam (there is a picture of him next to the word "incompetent" in the dictionary) or Todd Anderson (old school NHL style ref--if there is no blood, there is no penalty). Interestingly, everyone rips on Randy Schmidt for how bad he is, and he is no worse than middle of the pack in the WCHA.

If you have ever met Dave Hakstol, you would also know it is sincere. He's a great guy. He's passionate about the game, but he understands what it is all about. He has tremendous respect for the game and the players. He may be a fierce rival of the Gophers, but he has an enormous amount of respect for the program and all of the young men that don the jersey or the jersey of any college hockey team. Please continue to give us updates on Tom Pohl. If anyone knows where cards or letters can be sent to his family, please post it. I can speak for many Sioux fans and say that we are very concerned about Tom Pohl. These type of incidents put everything into perspective, whether it is Travis Roy, Robbie Bina or Tom Pohl.

Great post. I could not agree more. These are very young men that we are talking about, and my thoughts and prayers go out to Tom Pohl and his family. As a parent of several hockey players, this is the worst nightmare.

Or maybe, as has been rumored, he just really didn't like school that well. D1 sports are a huge commitment because you still have to go to school full-time.

There is a vast difference. No one ever doubted Jordan Parise's talent. His numbers in the USHL, which is a far superior league, were very good. He was only recruited by UND and MSUM, but he was also older. Keep in mind that he was added as a recruit AFTER Zach Parise had already committed to UND.