skateshattrick

Shanley has no more conference games remaining. North has only South this afternoon at 4:30. Difficult time to play South with the emotional loss of Tony Deichert. Thus, the pairings look like this: South v. Jamestown or Wahpeton (probably Jamestown, although Nick Spenningsby is injured) Red River v. Shanley Grafton v. North West Fargo v. Central. The last match-up is very interesting. Central is playing very well based upon recent wins over Grafton and Warroad. They have also beaten East Grand Forks and Minot this year. However, West Fargo beat them twice this year. West Fargo plays a very sound defensive game and are very physical, so I would not count them out, particularly with Tim Capouch on the bench (West Fargo assistant coach), who is one of the better coaches in the state. It is also interesting that some of our posters who have constantly stated how "terrible" ND hockey is this year, particularly in the east other than South, Red River and Grafton, may not be entirely accurate. That is based upon the fact that South and Red River have had some lopsided scores against the other teams in the state. The other teams, although not great, have some good players and are capable of beating some good teams. A case in point: West Fargo beat Central twice and Fergus Falls North beat Devils Lake on its own rink. They were not embarassed by Blake and Breck Shanley beat Central and Hazen Central beat Minot, EGF, Warroad and Grafton Jamestown beat Grafton and Lake of the Woods The fact of the matter is, South and Red River are just very good. South beat Moorhead (which was no fluke), and Moorhead continues to beat some of the top teams in Minnesota (Centennial, White Bear Lake, Roseau, etc.). South also beat Hastings, Rochester and Stillwater, and pummeled Crookston (the score was only 4-1, but it was very one-sided). South could play with any team in Minnesota this year. The senior group has been beating the top teams from Minnesota since squirts, so the success this year is not at all surprising. South has the two best players in the state, who would excel anywhere--Weisgarber and Galt. If anyone does not believe that, look at the Elite 1 stats for this year. Weisgarber was the leading scorer on a team that was loaded with the best players from Section 8 in Minnesota, including Jordy Christian, McMillan from Roseau, Aaron Marvin from Warroad, etc. Red River is also capable of beating anyone with a strong defense (Delisle, Galbraeth, LaDoucer) and goaltender and a few very good senior forwards (Mihulka, Spies, Brown). Grafton has several elite players with the Campbell cousins, Peterson, Zach Miller, Tanner Anderson and Tanner Hills. There are elite players from North (Klenow, Klein, Fischer), Shanley (Harrie), Jamestown (Welding, Spenningsby), Central (Slominski, Simonson). The problem that the other teams have is lack of depth, but they have good players. Minot lost Willert and a few other players, or they would be competing for a state title. I don't think that ND hockey is "down", it is just that a few programs are way up this year. Best of luck to all of the teams and their players.

Favorite players: Zach Parise, Tony Hrkac, Karl Goehring, Russ Romaniuk, Curtis Murphy, David Hoogsteen, Earl Anderson Best player in any given year Tony Hrkac Most talented player Zach Parise, Troy Murray Favorite defenseman Curtis Murphy Favorite goalie Karl Goehring Best team 1986-87 Favorite team 1996-97 Best Moment Very difficult choice because there are many, but it has to be the championship game in 1997 in Milwaukee. The atmosphere was electric. Favorite Current Player Jonathan Toews Favorite tough guy Scott Dub

No. His response shows he has class. I am telling you that both Tyler Klein and Nick Klenow are good hockey players. Ask any high school coach in the State of North Dakota.

I think that it is sad that this message board has sunk to this level because some people need to rip on players that are still kids. I had previously requested that people be civil, and reminded posters that players and their parents and coaches may be reading this message board. The message from the Fargo North player confirms my concerns and I think it took a great deal of courage for him to not only reply, but to take the high road. His response shows that he has class and he is a very good hockey player. No, he does not play for Fargo South or Red River, but that does not make him or Nick Klenow bad hockey players. In fact, they are very good hockey players that could play for any team in the state--Yes, even South or Red River. Please try to take the high road when posting on this message board. It really is informative at times and I would hate to see it shut down because some posters refuse to be civil.

[ ] I don't see all four of the West Region teams getting beat out in the 1st round this year. There's just too big of a drop-off after South, Red River, and Grafton. Whoever ends up getting the 4th seed in the East (probably Central or West Fargo) is likely to go down on the opening day of the State Tournament.

Yes. However, I am not sure it is more of a function of the style that Hakstol and Berry want to play or if it because the Sioux are not recruiting defensemen with offensive abilities. I tend to think that it is the former since both Hakstol and Berry were "stay at home" defensemen and Chorney and Radke (and even Lee) were touted as defensemen with good offensive abilities. Historically, the Sioux have always had at least one defenseman with offensive abilities--Hangslaben, Kidd, Murphy, Naumenko, Williamson, Roche. It seems that Denver and UM have had a lot of these type of defensemen in recent years (Denver with Caldwell, Skinner and Carle. UM with Ballard, Goligoski and others). I hope that the lack of offensive production is youth, but I doubt it. I agree that it is good to have physical, stay at home defenseman, but it is important to have at least one defenseman with offensive abilities for the powerplay and to carry the puck out of the defensive zone.

www.gfparks.org/ndaha

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That may be the biggest problem. The Sioux are very talented, but also very young. The Gophers under Woog used to recruit a lot of high school aged kids (blue chippers) that struggled against older teams. It's a real fine line. On the one hand, a program wants to get the top talent, regardless of age. Most of those blue chippers want to go to college without playing juniors, so they commit early (Jordy Christian is one of a long line). On the other hand, that young talent is going to have difficulty matching up against kids who have had a year or two in the USHL or the Canadian junior leagues. The answer may be that you need a mix. You need some older, veteran players who have more physical and mental maturity. The Sioux have very few. Prpich and Marvin and Porter are about it. Even some of the junior leaders are very young---Smaby and Stafford were only 20 to start the year. The other problem is that many of the blue chip players leave early. Lucia-pet has tried to balance that by also recruiting some older kids from the USHL. Grant Potulny was a good example. Even Ryan Potulny and Danny Irmen, although they are young, did spend 2 years in the USHL. I don't think that the problem is coaching. It is more a function of inconsistency and leadership due to the youth of this team. It should, however, serve as a wake-up call when a not very talented St. Cloud team not only beats you, but sweeps you at home. I cannot ever recall St. Cloud sweeping in Grand Forks, and this is one of the least talented St. Cloud teams that I have ever seen. Give them credit--they work extremely hard, play patient defensive hockey, and have excellent goaltending. However, getting swept at home by St. Cloud is just inexcusable. The coaches may have to reevaluate recruiting to make sure that there are Adam Calder type players. Mark Fabian is in that mold, but he's one of the few.

Great post! I could not have said it better myself!

I'm pleased with the result. No disrespect to Joe Finley, but one of our top forwards is more important than a 5th defenseman. Yes, I understand that Radke is also gone which leaves the Sioux defense short, but a rotation of Smaby, Chorney, Jones, Lee, Marvin and Alexander is not bad, particularly for one night.

1. Wisconsin--44 points. They play UM at home (2-4 points), @UMD (4 points), @ MTU (4 points), @MSUM (2 points) and SCSU (2-4 points) 2. Denver--38 points. They play @ AAU (4 points), MSUM (4 points), @ UM (2 points), UND (2 points) and CC (2 points). 2. Minnesota---38 points. They play @ UW (0-2 points), @ MTU (4 points), DU (2 points), @ AAU (4 points) and UMD (2-4 points) 4. UND--34 points. They play St. Cloud (4 points), @ CC (2 points), UMD (4 points), @ DU (0-2 points), MTU (4 points). 5. CC--33 points. They play UND (2 points), @ SCSU (2 points), AAU (4 points), @ UMD (4 points), DU (2 points).

Good post, but you missed on one. Taylor Chorney was the best defenseman on the ice for the Sioux (yes, even better than Smaby). He had the long, breakout pass to Toews that led to Stafford's second goal. He also constantly covered for Brian Lee, who had an average to below average night. He made good decisions and never got beat. I have been critical of him for not playing physical, but he looked great last night. Watkins and Kozek, although they did not score, played very well. Watkins drew a great penalty, and they gave up nothing defensively. Kaip was horrible. He got walked on several faceoffs that lead to great scoring chances, contributed nothing offensively, and took two stupid penalties, one of which led to a goal. I would rather see anyone--Marvin, Miller. He's just not getting it done and is holding back Fabian and Prpich who played very well. Drew Stafford should also get credit, not just for scoring goals, but playing very, very well. He gets criticized for his inconsistent play, but he came out on fire last night, moving his feet and creating opportunities. When Drew plays like that, he is one of the elite players in the league. Overall, a good effort, but Kaip is not getting it done. Finley is getting better, but still makes me nervous. Radke also got beat a few too many times and got bailed out by Phil Lamoreaux.

I echo ND Pride's sentiments. There is no reason to rip high school players who also read this board. If you have something positive to say about a player, great. Otherwise, please keep it to yourself.

pretty close id say G-Eli Rosendahl D-Jarret Gahlbreath D-Erik Galt F-Marc Mihulka F-Paul Weisgarber F-Thomas Campbell

You are indeed speculating and you are incorrect. They are not a JV team. Shattuck has 3 teams: (1) the prep team; (2) the AAA Midget team (3) the Varsity. The prep team generally is a step above the top high school teams in Minnesota. This is the team that has produced many D1 players, including the Parise brothers, the Eaves brothers, Chris Porter, Matt Smaby, Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, Taylor Chorney, Ryan Duncan and many more. The last 2 years, Holy Angels made much of the fact that they played them tough but lost, and Holy Angels is a Minnesota high school power. The AAA Midget team is better than most teams in ND, but is made up of primarily sophomores and juniors. It is the team that plays in the Elite II league in the fall, so there is talent. About 1/2 of its current roster will make the prep team next year. The rest will be relegated to the Varsity which is the weakest team. The varsity team is basically a JV team or an average high school team.

Erick Galt could have gone to the USHL this year and continues to have the opportunity to play after this season. He likes golf and is an excellent golfer, but I think that he will play next year in the USHL. Paul Weisgarber has also had interest since before the season, but it really peaked after the Moorhead game and he received a few more contacts. Paul will definitely play in the USHL given the opportunity. There are a few other Fargo players who are on the radar screen according to area coaches, but it is not appropriate to comment until something definitive happens.

Did you even see the game? I saw it live and have it on tape. It was a clear penalty shot situation. He then beat Eli Rosendahl like a rented mule. Rosendahl is very good and there is nothing to be ashamed of--Marc Harrie is also very good.

Thank you troll. What is "ludacrist?" Is that a form of Rodent meat soaked in lye, similar to lutefisk? If you are going to use "big" words to try to convince us that you have credibility, please at least learn how to spell them. The word that you are seemingly looking for is ludicrous. I will not try to explain what it means because it is beyond the ability of anyone who uses the name "Gopher Domination." Please report back to the daycare because it is time for the nice ladies to change your diaper.

Excellent post. As a person from Fargo with a child who attended Fargo South, I think that I have some objectivity on this issue. First, despite what DaveK believes, Fargo South does not necessarily deserve respect until it does win a number of state titles. They clearly are the favorites this year, but nothing is guaranteed. The senior class is probably the best class ever through Fargo South. However, they have not won yet. They lost in the championship to the Grand Forks Wheatkings at PeeWees, and lost to the Grand Forks Wheatkings at Bantams and took 3rd. Grand Forks may still be the favorites if Mario and PJ Lamoureaux had stuck around. Second, until the last 2 years, South had missed state for 3 years. Thus, Grand Forks really has been stronger. Third, although I agree that the Flyers have gotten much stronger, they do not dominate, at least not until you get to the 1st year PeeWees and Squirt As. The junior class at South won Bantam A state, but had not had much success before that. Ian Powers, Danny Wurden (a couple of Grand Forks kids) and a few other new kids helped. The sophomore class at South is good, but lost to Grand Forks at Bantam State last year, even with Galbraeth who played at Red River as a 9th grader. They also lost to Grafton most of the time until last year. This year's Bantam A and PeeWee A team are not favorites to win. I suspect Grand Forks is the favorite based upon early success. The bottom line is that South has improved tremendously and should be one of the top 3-4 teams in the state for awhile. They also should win state this year as they are very talented. However, to say that they have replaced Grand Forks without having similar success is simply a Fargo South fan lacking in objectivity.

Who knows? Erick Galt is getting plenty of interest from the USHL, but Paul Weisgarber has not had as much interest. Hopefully, he will get more exposure after the Moorhead game. I would never count either of them out as they are talented and extremely hard-working, but the USHL is a tough league and even success in the USHL does not assure success in D1 college hockey, particularly at a top program like UND. I suspect both would need at least 1 if not 2 years in the USHL before anyone could predict whether they can play at that level. I believe they both can play D1 hockey based upon their success in the Elite league.

He is a senior and is playing in Chicago.

Yes. The saves were 46-19, so Grothman apparently played well. Amazingly, Jamestown's best player, Zach Welding, did not even have a goal.

jloos, I have to beg to differ with you on this one. You are one of the best posters, and I usually agree with you. However, I have real concerns about Jordan Willert being another James Massen. He's a big kid and can really shoot the puck, but he has many weaknesses in his game. He's scoring, but he's also playing with the top scorer with Tri-City. I don't think he's nearly as good as Paul Weisgarber from South or Jordy Christian from Moorhead. The only reason that Paul is not getting looks is his size, and conversely, the only reason that Willert gets so many opportunities is because he is huge. I hope that I'm wrong and that your assessment is correct, but I don't see Willert as a top prospect, at least not yet.