skateshattrick

I didn't say I was turning in my season tickets. I have loyally followed the Sioux for all of my life. I went in the early 90's when you could throw a rock in any direction and not worry about hitting anyone. It was that bad. They were lucky to get 1500-2000 fans per game. They finally dumped Gino (which was not very popular) and re-energized the program with Dean Blais, but they waited too long. The fact that I have been there, and don't want it to happen again, gives me more than the right to complain. Do not confuse my frustration and anger with apathy. However, I also know from experience that many fans will turn in their tickets and stop going. Don't worry---there will be plenty of tickets available if this garbage continues. If you want tickets for any home game this year, email me. We didn't use 3 of our 6 tickets last night. Like most families, we have conflicts with our own kids playing hockey, but the interest level in buying the tickets is already starting to wane, particularly for crap teams like AAU and MTU that we can't even beat at home.

I agree completely. Frankly, I am tired of being told that I am not being a good fan or I'm too negative if I disagree or criticize the players or coaches. For those of you that constantly do, get your rose-colored glasses off and start seeing things for what they are. 1. The Sioux got swept in the same year for the FIRST TIME EVER by perennially weak sisters Michigan Tech and AAU. This would have been unforgiveable in the old rink, but now that we supposedly have a major recruiting advantage over these schools because of the Taj Mahal, what is the excuse?? No one would doubt that AAU and MTU get the leftovers after UM, UND, UW, DU and CC. They know that as well. That is also why they have had very little success against the rest of the league. Don't believe me? Look it up---- 2. AAU was swept @ MTU, split at MSUM, was swept at home by DU, was swept on the road by SCSU, split with a depleted UW squad at home, split @ MSUM, and split on the road with CC. They have exactly 2 sweeps this year--Alaska Fairbanks and UND. 3. MTU swept AAU at home, was swept at CC, lost and tied @ DU, was swept by UM, was swept by UM, and was swept at UMD. Basically, they swept AAU at home and swept UND on the road. 4. I'm so tired of hearing how we lost all these great players. Guess what? So did everyone else. UM lost its top 4 scorers in Potulny, Kessel, Irmen and Harrington. Denver lost 3 of its top 4 scorers with Matt Carle (the best player in the country last year), Gabe Gauthier, and Paul Stastny. UW lost its top 5 scorers with Pavelski, Earl, Burish, Gilbert and MacMurchy. CC lost Joey Grubb and its 2 Hobey candidates, Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling. Other than SCSU, UND arguably had the most returning. Yes, UND lost Stafford, Zajac, Spirko and Smaby, but they returned their 3, 4 and 5 scorers in Oshie, Toews and Duncan. 5. We have almost no contribution from our freshmen class. UM has Barriball (26 points), Okposo (24), E. Johnson (15), Flynn (9), Carman (9), Lucia (8), O'Brien (6) and Schack (6). Denver has Brock Trotter (26), Rakhshani (24), Ruegsegger (22)and Gifford (10). CC has Connelly (14) and Sweatt (12). SCSU's leading scorers are freshmen. What does UND have? Other than Chay Genoway's respectable 13 points, we have Zajac with 4, Forney with 2 and Vande Velde with 1. That is pathetic. 6. If Toews (who cannot score because he gets keyed on and has no help) leaves as expected, and TJ leaves as well, what do we have left?? The sophomore class other than Toews, Oshie, Duncan and Chorney has been a major disappointment, and this freshman class looks weak. We better have a great incoming freshmen class next year, or the Sioux are going to find themselves in the lower half of the league. 7. Let's take the kids gloves off and quit blowing smoke up everyone's collective asses, shall we? It is unacceptable for the Sioux not to be in the top 1/2 of the WCHA every year, making the NCAA tournament and competing for a national championship. We have the facilities, the tradition and success, and what every recruit wants--a proven track record of winning and of players making it to the next level. 8. So tell me, what excuse is there EVER for losing to AAU and MTU in the same year and getting swept at home by MTU??? The answer is none. We still have more talent than AAU and MTU combined. They would kill to have Jonathan Toews, let alone TJ Oshie, Ryan Duncan and Taylor Chorney. Name a player on either team (with the possible exception of Justin Bourne) who would even skate on the first line?? The answer is none. 9. What is the problem? Well, as politically incorrect and blasphemous as it is to say this, the bucks stops the chief or head coach. They underachieved last year for most of the year with the most talented team in the country, and this year is pathetic. I'm not saying that he needs to be fired, but that situation needs to be closely monitored. There is no way on earth that Duke in BB, Ohio State or USC in football or Michigan or Minnesota in hockey would put up with this garbage. It's bad enough getting swept by UW and Maine at home, but MTU is a new low. I'm sure that I will get ripped for this rant. Bring it on. I'm tired of the Barney "group hugs" and the excuses. I don't pay thousands for season tickets to watch this garbage. I would rather watch the FM Jets, Moorhead or South HS, or any youth hockey than to watch a team that I have had season tickets for over 20 years put this product on the ice. It is unacceptable to me. I can't believe that more people don't feel this way. Dave Hakstol is a great guy. I like him and wish him success. However, when you take a high profile job, it is "just win baby!" If not, you look elsewhere. If he does not turn this around and fast, he won't have to worry. Once the butts in the seats start disappearing, even his father-in-law won't be able to save him. I'm pulling for him and I'm still cautiously optimistic. However, time is running out.

I don't think that's fair. He's very talented and will be a top player for RR next year. His brother Morgan was also very good and played at Lincoln of the USHL before a concussion cut his career short. Many believe he is more talented than Morgan. He's also a nice kid and his parents are good people. Please try not to rip kids on here--they read these messages also. If you don't believe he's talented, you should look at the WCHA prospects blog. He was one of the few ND players listed.

There were not tryouts for the 2005 team Great Plains Elite 1 team. ND got 11 nominations to the team, and the selection criteria was as follows: 1. National Festival participants 2. Dakota Selects participants 3. League scouting reports 4. HS coaches recommendations. Thus, it is not based on tryouts, but upon past performance and who you know. I have an email that confirms how the team was selected. I assume that the same criteria was used this last year when Jake McDougall tried out.

I'm not sure that success in the Elite league is necessarily a fair reflection of ability. There are typically no tryouts for the team, and players are often placed upon the team based upon reputation of past selection on Select teams. There were a few Elite 1 players that did not make the Team North Dakota for Chicago, and a few more that did not make Junior A teams. In other words, they no longer made the team based upon past performance or reputation. There were also several players from Minnesota who played Elite 1 who were outperformed on Junior A teams by players that were not as fortunate to be selected. Furthermore, success on an Elite 1 team is often directly proportionate to who that person is playing with and the amount of playing time. Jordy Christian and Aaron Marvin are great players, but they also logged more than their fair share of playing time. I'm not saying that is necessarily the case with Jake McDougall, but I would not measure his ability by whether he made Elite 1 or how well he performed (e.g. points scored).

Will Aide of Bismarck and Alex Olson of Devils Lake.

Kozek has a great shot, but almost always shoots high, meaning he either shoots over the net, hits the crossbar, or every once in a blue moon, picks the upper corner. He also has very good speed, but he does not seem to have very good hands. He has trouble catching passes and often loses the puck on rushes. His stats in the BCHL are somewhat typical for that league--it has the reputation as a scoring league.

Great posts by UNDhockey22 and right on the mark! I don't doubt that Chad Johnson wants a few local players on his roster, but I doubt that he would take many, if any, "token" players as SportsDoc implies. That implication is not only rank speculation, but it is not logical. First, Chad Johnson wants to move on to the next level just like the players. That means winning first. Second, if he was just putting local players on the team to put "butts" in the stands, why would he have not taken more local players who tried out? There were many local players who tried out that were on Elite 1 leagues in both ND and Minnesota that did not make the team. I can give you names, but I really don't think that is necessary. Finally, the Jets are the top team in the league. That is a testament to the quality of the players that Chad Johnson gets, local or otherwise. The fact is that the quality of hockey in this area has improved greatly, so it is possible to have a number of local players and still succeed. Ironically, Dane Litke, who coaches Bismarck, only took 2 local players, and 1 does not play. Yet, the FM Jets have done much better than Bismarck both head-to-head and in the league.

Let's clear a few things up. First, there is no question that the East is better than the West in hockey. The East will likely sweep again this year, and the winner of State will almost certainly be South, Red River or Grafton. Second, although the West TEAMS are not as good--primarily because of depth--there are unquestionably players from the West who are as good as any from the East. We learned that last year with Tyler Jundt. He was a legitimate candidate for Mr. Hockey, and demonstrated that by his showing at the Chicago Showcase and now in the USHL. That has been true in the past as well with players from Minot (Quinn Fylling, Danny Hansen and others) and Bismarck (Mike Peluso, Mitch Vig, Layne Sedevie, James Massen). Although Grand Forks has obviously had the most players who have excelled in the pros and college, Minot and Bismarck have probably had as many or more players than Grafton and Fargo. I have not seen the Bottineau player that is being discussed, but I don't discount his talent simply because he is from the west or a bad team. Generally, AAU and Michigan Tech are bottom dwellers, but they have had a number of talented players, some of whom have played in the pros after being on poor teams.

To answer your question, the 4 Mr. Hockey finalists last year were: 1. Paul Weisgarber, Fargo South--currently playing at Waterloo of USHL 2. Erick Galt, Fargo South---currently playing at North Iowa of NAHL 3. Paul Campbell, Grafton--attending UND. Tried out for FM Jets of NAHL and did not make the team 4. Tyler Jundt, Williston--playing at Green Bay of USHL. The only other USHL player from last year's class is Andy Dittus of Minot, who is also playing at Green Bay. Mario Lamoureux of Grand Forks and Jordan Willert did not play high school hockey last year, opting to play in the USHL for Tri City. Both have scholarships (Lamoureux to Northern Michigan and Willert to UNO). The only others that I am aware of that are playing Junior A hockey are Marc Mihulka and Marc Harrie with the FM Jets of the NAHL and Alex Olson from Devils Lake with Bismarck of the NAHL. Grant Larson of Fargo South was playing for the FM Jets, but recently left to attend school at St. Thomas in Minnesota. Adam Campbell of South is playing for Condordia College in Moorhead, Mn.

I don't believe that I'm ready to go that far, but I agree that there are some legitimate questions and concerns. Yes, he got to 2 Frozen Fours, but they were players that were brought in for the most part by Blais. I think we need to see how the season plays out.

I was wondering the same thing. Did anyone see the game that has some perspective on this?

If you believe that point totals tell you who is a better player, than you really don't know much about hockey. Point totals don't tell you the style of play of the team, the talent surrounding that player, the caliber of competition played against, whether that player is good defensively, how good that player is along the boards or on faceoffs, if the team rolls 4 lines, if that player gets most of his goals on the power play, etc. A case in point is Jon Toews for the Sioux. There are many players in the league that have more points this year, and virtually anyone with any hockey knowledge would not say that those players are better because they have more points. Look at his performance in the World Juniors. He simply doesn't have enough help around him at UND. I am not ripping Eric Meland, who is a very talented player, but point totals tell only a small part of the story. It is clearly a matter of opinion, but I would take Zach Miller over him any day. If Klein was on South or RR, he would probably put up similar numbers. With all due respect to his teammates, Tyler Klein doesn't have enough help and it is easier for a good team to key on and shut down 1 or 2 players. Wurden is a defenseman, so its a little like comparing apples and oranges, but he appears to have a very bright future beyond high school. I'm really not sure that Eric Meland is as good or any better than Powers or McDougall from South or Tanner Hills and Tanner Anderson from Grafton.

I disagree. Galbreath and LaDoucer are probably top 5, and I really like Meland, but you are overstating his talent. Danny Wurden of South, Zach Miller of Grafton and Tyler Klein of North deserve consideration before Meland. You could also make a case for Tanner Hills, Zach Welding, Ian Powers, Sean Deichert, Tyler Swanson and a few players from the west.

Great post by one of the most reasonable posters! I agree completely.

You can't hang that on Jon Toews. Maybe the coaching staff, the other players, etc., but not him. This kid is special and you will miss him when he's not here. In my opinion, he's the most talented player in the WCHA. He just doesn't have enough players around him this year. That will be apparent next year when you see what he does in the NHL.

It's funny how selective your memory is. In 2004-2005, the Rodents were SWEPT at home by Michigan Tech, SWEPT at home by CC, and lost and tied AAU at home. They still made the tournament, only to get embarassed by the Sioux in Columbus. OH YEAH, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT!!

I'm not sure that I understand your post. The reality is that the Sioux don't really have an identity. They are not like the Blais teams of the late 90's and earlier this decade which were built upon speed, passing, quick transition and an up tempo type of game. The Sioux have a few of those guys (very few), but too many role players that are big and slow and are not suited to an up tempo game like UM plays. The defense is neither physical nor very talented offensively. Honestly, I'm worried about this team. Other than Toews, Oshie, Duncan, Chorney and maybe Lee, I don't see a lot out of the younger guys. I see a lot of 3rd and 4th line guys from this year's class and even last year's class. I would like to see even more faster skaters like Panzer, Blake, Hoogsteen, etc. On defense, if we are not going to have guys with offensive skills like Goligoski and Ballard, why not get the bigger, punishing defense like Greene, Commodore, Matt Jones, etc.? Finley is big, but doesn't use his size and doesn't have quick enough feet to keep up with faster forwards. Jones and Bina try to be physical at times, but get walked way too often. I like Chorney, but he has no physical compliment on D. Lee has talent, but does play physical enough. It's as if he can't decide whether he's a finesse player or a physical player. Radke has speed and plays physical, but gets himself out of position too much.

The paper said it was 4-2 and that North scored the 4th goal with 21 seconds to go in the game. The shots were also even.

First, no, you can never be too fast. The best Sioux teams were built on speed. See Blake, Hoogsteen, Parise, Smail, etc. Second, that is particularly true with Olympic sized ice and the stricter enforcement of the rules. Finally, this team is not very fast. Fabian, Forney, Lee, Vandevelde and many others do not have good speed. Kozek has good speed, but poor hands and no instincts. Porter is fast. Toews is smooth and above average speed. The lack of speed is one of the problems. Jordy Christian would have been an excellent fit.

Good post. I agree, especially with 2 and 3. I really do think Toews and Oshie are doing their part, but they have been playing through injuries and are carrying too much of the load.

Great post! I agree 100%. However, as Hakstol said also, occasionally we need a goalie to make a great save, not just the routine ones that he is supposed to make. I only saw one of those on Saturday and none on Friday. I saw Elliot make 3 in the first period on Friday alone. In the current funk the Sioux are in, they really need that. Plus, the tying goal on Friday was absolutely deflating. The game winner on Saturday can be looked at two ways: If Finley ties up his man, there is never a shot. On the other hand, there was no reason to kick out that big rebound, so the converse is also true. I really do believe that the Sioux will turn it around, but it is critical that the goaltending be better AND that the defense starts playing better. The Sioux have to start winning some 2-1 games or 3-2 games if they expect to be a legitimate contender in the WCHA.

I think that I understand what he/she is saying. The Sioux (much like the Gophers and Wisconsin) recruit 2 types of players. First, they recruit top line players (blue chip players) that are very likely only to stay 1-2 years (Parise, Toews, Oshie) or if they are lucky, 3 years (Smaby, Stafford, Bochenski). The Gophers have done the same (Kessel, Ballard, Eric Johnson, Okposo). However, you also need players expected to play 4 years. That may be because they are perceived to be too small (Duncan, Hoogsteen) or they are not expected to play in the NHL. If I follow the reasoning of Stickboy, it is that this year's class did not include any bluechip players like Toews, Oshie or Parise in contrast to past years or in comparison to UM's class which seemingly has many. That means that if we lose Toews and Oshie, there is pressure to bring in more blue chip players that will make an immediate impact. Otherwise, the Sioux become like MSUM, MTU and AAU and finish in the bottom 1/2 of the league. That is not UND's goal, nor should it be. With UND's tradition and facilities, there is an expectation that we will get our share of the top recruits and compete with Minnesota, Michigan, BC and others at the top. If we are only recruiting role players that stay 4 years, and you are not getting the blue chip recruits, you will soon find that the Sioux will not be able to compete for a national title, which is the goal and expectation of this program. With all due respect to UMD, MTU, AAU, and even SCSU in the recent past, we do not want to be in that position. That is precisely why Ralph gifted the REA, to make sure that the Sioux were always a top flight program. We want to be like Michigan and Ohio State in football, not Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota, etc.

I agree with you about Oshie, but in fairness, he's been playing with a hand injury all year. Toews has also been banged up but, in my opinion, has been great all year. Zajac unfairly took criticism last year for not scoring. Stats are only part of the equation. One of my pet peeves is people who get hung up on stats. Look at all the little things that Toews does--he's great defensively, great in the corners and makes everyone around him better. Unfortunately, he's been keyed on all year, and deserves many more assists. He has set up so many opportunities that did not find the back of the net that it's almost unfair. If I have one criticism of Toews, it is that he does not shoot enough. He's a great player. There is not a better forward in the WCHA. Much like Zach Parise, enjoy him while you can because he is most likely gone after this year.

I have read a number of posts, and want to offer my two cents. I agree with HockeyMom that it is ridiculous to call for Hakstol's job and that we should support our team. However, I am concerned about this team this year for the following reasons: 1. The goaltending has been atrocious. The 2nd goal on Friday night would have been a weak goal in a Squirt or PeeWee game. It was also a back breaker. The 3rd goal was not all his fault because Genoway got caught up ice, it was a poor line change, and it was a 3 on 1. However, if Lamoureux stays on his feet, that goal cannot go in from that angle. More disturbing is that our goalies seldom make a huge save. Even when they stop most or all of the ones that they should stop, they seldom make a very difficult save. I did see Lamoureux make one save like that in the 3rd, but they are too few and far between. Brian Elliot made at least 3 in the first period and many throughout the weekend. The goaltenders really need to step up or this will be a very long season. 2. The defense has not been much better. Finley made a critical mistake at a critical point of the game last night. Taylor Chorney (who is the best and most reliable defenseman) made a critical mistake on the 3rd goal. Lee made a number of bad plays throughout the weekend, the worst of which was when he skated by the crease on the 4th goal on Friday. Genoway similarly did not tie up his man on that goal. Jones got walked all weekend, resulting in penalties. Even worse, the defense has troubling getting the puck out of the zone, meaning that the forwards have to come back and help. That means no transition game, and it means the forwards are worn out. 3. The Sioux have not been scoring goals, but they scored plenty this weekend to sweep against a top end goaltender. They also generated many chances (at least the top 2 lines). The forwards also have to spend too much time in their own defensive zone helping out the defense, and Toews, Oshie and Duncan are getting worn out from killing penalties. The top 2 lines are playing well, but the the 3rd and 4th line are not contributing much. Fabian, Kaip and Kozek need to start contributing. The freshmen class has not had much of an impact as of yet. 4. Worst of all, I really do not want to travel from Fargo anymore to go to these games because of the frustration, primarily with the goaltending. I have been a season ticket holder for over 20 years, and a Sioux fan all of my life. I have gone to games over the years no matter how the team was doing. During Gino's last years, there were very few fans in the seats and you could throw a grenade into the stands and probably not risk hurting anyone. We always made the trip regardless. This year is different. The frustration level with this year's team is so high because (1) expectations were high with Toews, Oshie and all but one defenseman returning and (2) times have changed. With the new arena, it is expected that the Sioux will at least be a contender, not ever get swept by AAU anywhere, and not get swept at home. I am concerned about the fact that there is no sense of urgency with many of the players (obviously Toews, Oshie, Duncan, Watkins and Porter are excluded), there is no atmosphere in the REA for most of the game, and the goaltending is simply the worst I have seen since Andy Kohler. If they don't turn this around soon, the Sioux are going to be playing in front of some much smaller than expected crowds. I for one am getting tired of this year's product. The ONLY reason that I go anymore is to see Toews, Oshie and Duncan.