skateshattrick

I don't disagree with you about Moreland's potential future with the Sioux, but you struck a nerve with your comments about the NAHL being an inferior league. My apologies for being defensive, but you are wrong about Phil Fox not being able to cut it in the USHL. He was out on the ice whenever his USHL team needed a big goal, particularly on the power play. He was clearly good enough to play at that level, but the USHL has turned into a league for high school age kids and for kids who are already committed to colleges. He got caught in a situation where he was not playing enough because they had made commitments to those kids so he came back. The gap between the USHL and the NAHL is narrowing. Jacque Lamoureux said that his team at Bismarck would have beaten his brother Mario's team at Tri-City. That may or may not be true, but it certainly is arguable. Moreland would not only play, but do very well, with ANY USHL team. He had an opportunity to go to the USHL but chose not to. Robbie Phillip made the Indiana Ice, and was told he would be on the top 2 lines, but chose not to go for personal reasons. Austin Lee already has a scholarship to MSUM. You are entitled to your opinions, but think about what you say first. There are a lot of high school and Junior A players and coaches that read these message boards, and I think you will strike more nerves than just mine with those comments.

You may be right, but he is clearly good enough to play D1 college hockey. I think his intentions are to go back to UND as an invited walk on, but that could change if he keeps lighting it up and gets interest from other schools. You really should go see him. He is very talented and could play WCHA hockey. He may not get a chance to play for the big boys, but he can play. Robbie Phillip is reportedly getting interest from UND, and at least at this point (keeping in mind that Matt Moreland is older), Moreland is a better player.

Read Brad Schlossman's blog. He quotes Eades as saying that Toews and Oshie will be on different lines.

That was this year's class. Last year's class was upset by Grand Forks. This year's class got hot at the end.

Great post. It is nice to hear from a parent's perspective. Good luck to your son (or daughter) no matter what he or she decides.

I like the Miller-Anderson-Hills line. I think that will be the top line in the State. However, South's top line will also be good. RR will have the best defensive pair with Galbreath and Ladoucer, but South's D corps will be huge---Wurden, Metz, Anderson, Wagner and Dawson are all very big. Tanner McLean may also be in the mix. South probably has the best depth in the State, but Grafton and RR may have more top players. RR and South are also well coached teams.

I agree with you, but I can assure you that his parents are not happy because they felt that he could have gone to UM and played the last 2 years (whether that is rational or not is not the issue). He came very close to going to UM and playing with Potulny and Irmen. It really doesn't matter anymore.

It is my understanding that John Erickson accepted the head coaching job at Shanley. John Erickson is a long time coach that runs the International Hockey Schools in Detroit Lakes. Mark Pivetz has also offered his assistance.

According to Dale Lennon at Sioux Boosters today, Reed Manke is ready to play and will play against UNO.

You are missing Chris Vande Velde. I would say either he or Bishop will surprise people the most.

I'm sure that they were, but they may be more interested in Jeff Foss of Moorhead, who is one of the top defensemen in Minnesota. He made Tri-City, but decided to return for his senior year of high school. I'm pretty sure that the Sioux have been talking with him.

They would have put any high school top line to shame? If that were the case, how come none of them went on to play juniors or college? Junior gold is typically for kids not good enough to play varsity hockey. There are some kids who fall through the cracks, and others who would rather play for fun than the structure of high school hockey, but it generally is not very good hockey.

Very well put--it expresses my sentiments exactly. The persons on this board have put this into proper perspective and understand that despite our loyalty to our team, this is a game for young men and I hate to see him go out this way. On the other hand, the U of M honoring his scholarship is very classy and Don Lucia should be commended.

Yes. The Sioux will finish higher in the WCHA than UM or UW and will do better in the postseason despite the fact that UW is ranked 1 and UM 3. The Sioux will be in St. Louis. UW will not. UM may, depending on if the youngsters mature. UM, however, lost more scoring punch than the Sioux with Potulny, Irmen and Kessel. How's that?

I don't disagree with anything that you say, but the last gratuitous comment is misleading and appears intended solely to jab at UND fans. What you conveniently fail to mention, or choose to ignore, is that UND has the best track record over the past 10 years, and despite not winning a national championship since 2000, has been as consistently good as anyone. The Sioux have had 1 losing season since 1996-97. By contrast, UM has had 2, UW has had 4, and Denver has had 2. The Sioux were an OT loss in 2001 from also having back-to-back titles, and have been in the last 2 Frozen Fours, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively. In 2003-04, they were the consensus No. 1 all year, only to be upset by the eventual champs, Denver, 1-0 in the western regional. UM did not fare any better, losing to UMD in the regional. UM has only been back to the Frozen 4 once since it's championships, losing to UND in 2004-05. UND has as many titles as UM and DU over the past 10 years, and the most Frozen Four appearances in the last 10 years and 5 years. UND also has more WCHA titles than UW, UM and DU over that time span. The point is that I agree with you that UND generally is very well-respected nationally, and that preseason polls are meaningless. However, if your intent is to come on a UND message board and pick fights, at least provide a complete and honest assessment to back up your comments. If you cannot do that, then please do not post here.

Don't put too much stock in INCH. They don't know anymore than the average poster on this site. I suspect that Darcy Zajac and Chris Vandevelde are flying under the radar.

Send me a private email and I will tell you exactly who said it, as long as you agree not to post it. You will soon find out that it is more than town gossip. If you don't believe it, that is your choice.

The rumor mill is that his parents, Pierre and Linda, are not very happy with the amount of playing time that Phillip has received and do not want Mario to go to UND. I have heard this from several reliable hockey sources from Grand Forks that know them well, but I do not know if it has any validity.

At Sioux Boosters this week, Dave Hakstol said that he is healthy and is expecting big things from him on and off of the ice.

I hope that I'm wrong and that he's a late bloomer like his dad, but I honestly do not think he's very good. He was at the Jets final tryout camp and was one of the 3 goalies initially kept, but most of the other players and people that watched him were surprised that the Jets kept him. I saw him in 4 games, and I did not think that he was as good as Beau Christian or the goalie from Holy Angels, Keaton Smith, who was not kept. In one game, he gave up 5 goals on about 12 shots. He certainly does not have UND potential at this time, but he is young.

That is true. As of now, the Jets goalies are Austin Lee of Bloomington, Elliot Okland of Fargo and Beau Christian of Moorhead.

If you don't think some of the hits were cheap, look at the video again. The hit on Paul Kariya was a classic cheapshot. Kariya had already gotten rid of the pick a good 2-3 seconds before and was skating up ice. The hit was not only interference, but no one expects to get blown up like that when they don't have the puck. I agree that if you have the puck and are skating with your head down, you can expect to get rocked, but that is the classic cheapshot. It is like a sucker punch. Also, look at the hit on Lindros--as is typical of many of Stevens' hits, his elbows and/or hands are always high. If he uses his shoulder, that's legal, but not your elbow. Stevens was a great player, and often made very clean, hard checks, but he also had many cheap shots as well.

This D corps will be a blend of the physical and finesse. Taylor Chorney, who is a great skater, has put on about 20 lbs, so he will be able to handle the physical play. Brian Lee has also bulked up quite a bit and can play physical. Jones is an animal just like his brother. He's not as big, but he's just as physical. With a year under him, Finley will be physical. Count on it. Radke is also built like a brick *house, but can also skate.