skateshattrick

I'm not sure who you are referring to as B players. Graalum, Blahovsky and Harrie were all A team players with the Flyers, Pete Fylling is from Minot, and Elliott Hitt is from SD, but played on Select Teams. I guess I don't know the background of Gary Stensgaard, but I think that he was at West Fargo last year. 2 of the defensemen are 9th graders, Kris Graalum and Trevor Anderson, but were Bantam A players with the Flyers and West Fargo. There are B team players on the 3rd and 4th lines, but not on the top 2 lines. The top 2 lines would play varsity, especially on North. There are JV kids at South that would be playing varsity at North. Shanley would have beaten North unless Elliott Oklund stood on his head again. North has scoring from its forwards since your nephew went to Moorhead. I agree with you about South. With all of South's talent, they should make State. The sophomore class is very talented and very deep, and Dean Wilson should win a state title with that group, especially in 2 years.

Thanks for the kind words! Frank and Rick Burggraf and Tim Graveline did a great job. The Grafton game was in double OT with Shanley playing shorthanded most of the 3rd. If Shanley was fresh, there is no doubt in my mind that they would have beaten Grafton. Grafton played the earlier game, and got to play Wahpeton in the 2nd round while Shanley got South. South had to come back to win, getting a powerplay goal with about 4 minutes left to tie and another in OT to win on 2 very questionable calls. The boys battled hard despite the adversity. Don't read too much into the wins and losses. Shanley only played each East Region team once, and most on the road. They lost to RR in OT, Grafton on a late goal after leading in the 3rd, and played without Pete Fylling for 1/2 of the year. Shanley played EGF a week before EDC and lost 4-3. EGF beat and tied Central and beat RR. Shanley also played Warroad, Baudette/LOW, Coleraine, Totino-Grace and Osseo, so they played a tough non-conference schedule. They also beat Minneapolis SW and Brooklyn Center. I hope that at least people got to see Kyle Graalum. He is the best player in the State not playing for GF Central. Only Moreland and McIntyre are arguably better.

Thanks for your unsolicited opinion. I personally would like to see someone do that to you for much the same reason.

Has not been playing well? Can you give an example? He was fantastic against Minnesota in the Friday night win, and has had only 1 start since, the Friday night game against Wisconsin. He made one bad mistake in that game, the 2nd goal, that probably cost the game. However, he has not even had 1 bad outing this year unless you count the Wisconsin game. Parise, on the other hand, played poorly on Saturday night in Wisconsin and played poorly against CC this last Saturday, both losses. He also gave up 3 goals in the 1st 5 minutes against St. Cloud in St. Cloud. I was never sold on Brandt until this year. However, he clearly has played better this year.

Not to any great degree. I was told this by a current Sioux player's parent whose name will remain confidential. He basically told me that Craig Perry was brought in to work with the goalies, primarily Siembeda. When Dean Blais turned on Siembeda, apparently Perry became frustrated because he was not being allowed to do his job and had a disagreement with Coach Blais. As great of a coach that Dean Blais is, he is tough on goalies. I was also told that for whatever reason, he does not have confidence in Jake Brandt. I don't get it, because I think Brandt is clearly the better of the 2 goalies, notwithstanding the bad mistake he made in Wisconsin. This same parent expressed the same sentiment that others have expressed on this board: UND is one of the elite programs in the country and should be able to afford a goalie coach. He used Bill Howard of Wisconsin as an example. Wisconsin always seems to have good goaltenders, and some feel it is not just recruiting.

He left after a disagreement with Dean Blais over Siembeda.

Please! This one is not even close and borders on absurd. Jordan is an above average goalie on a great team. He's not even the best goaltender on the team, Brandt is, there are several goalies in the league that are better, including Bruckler, Reichmuth and Berkhoel, and he's not even in the same class as Montoya or Ayers. Without Jordan, this team would still be at the top of the WHCA. Zach is one of the best players in the country, a legitimate Hobey Baker candidate, and one of the best to wear a Sioux uniform. Without Zach, this team would not be at the top of the league.

I like your optimism, but I'm not sure that I agree. I think that there are 6 teams with a legitimate shot at the Frozen 4: UND, UM, UMD, BC, Maine and Michigan. Apparently, Miami is also playing well, so they may have an outside chance. Wisconsin is a good young team and has good goaltending, but I think that they are a year away. You can never count out New Hampshire either because they are well coached and have very good goaltending.

Thank you. It is posters like you, Greyeagle, Sagard and WPoS who make hockey boards fun rather than a forum to trash talk.

Yes.

He is a very smooth skater, tall and lanky (he will fill out) and very solid defensively. He very seldom makes mistakes and does not panic. He is not very offensive-minded, but does not need to on the current Moorhead team that is loaded and may have 5 kids who will play D1 at major programs. I am surprised but very pleased he chose UND because he always wears a Gophers hat when he helps with the defensemen camps in Moorhead run by Chip Ammerman.

You are wrong. As a privately-run facility, REA can regulate conduct and speech. It is not "state action" because it is not the government. Even if you could argue that it is "state action" because it involves UND, which is a state run institution, even the government can regulate speech under the 1st Amendment. It is called "time, place and manner" restrictions which are permissible. In other words, the state can regulate speech in certain places, facilities and events, particularly for speech that is entitled to little or no protection. Speech, including swearing, that falls into the category of non-protected speech such as "fighting words" "obscenity" and the like can be regulated without regard to time, place and manner. Disorderly conduct is an example of a nebulous and very vaguely defined term. However, the ND Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of disorderly conduct statutes on several occasions.

Yes. Kyle Hardwick is only a junior, and is considered by many to be the top defensemen for his age in Minnesota. He not only is good defensively but has good offensive skills. Brian Lee and Jon Ammerman of Moorhead (also juniors) have also visited UM and UND (they can have only 2 visits as underclassmen), but both are Gopher fans if that makes any difference. I heard from some very reliable sources that if the Sioux do not land Kyle Hardwick, he will probably end up at Minnesota.

He is a junior forward with Warroad High School. He is very talented.

You may be right. At least he has to be considered along with Brady Murray, Briggs, Backes, Likens and Suter.

No one else recognizes it as it is akin to a club title. However, in pulling up the past champions, you may find this interesting: Of the past 34 NCAA titles (1970-2003), the WCHA has won 17, the CCHA 7, HE 6 and the ECHA 3. In that period, UND, UM and UW have 5. BU has 4, LSSU 3, and Maine and Michigan 2. In the past 25 years, UND has 5, UM and UW 3, Michigan and Maine have 2 each. In the past 10 years, UND, UM, and Michigan have 2, with Maine, BU, BC and LSSU 1 each. In the 70's, the WCHA won 6 titles, HE 3 and ECHA 1. In the 80's, the WCHA won 5, CCHA 3, HE 1 and ECHA 1. In the 90's, the WCHA won 3, CCHA 4, HE 3. In 2000, the WCHA 3 and HE 1. Based on this, it does appear that the WCHA is the dominant conference. Also, if you base this upon championships, UND, UM and UW are the top programs with BU, Michigan, Maine and and LSSU on the heels.

Who cares if they are related to any of the teams in the tourney? There are 64 B teams and 32 A teams from all over the US and Canada that spend an awful lot of money at hotels, restaurants, etc. The economic impact is much higher than the National Fastpitch Softball tournament. Besides, you are comparing apples and oranges. Hockey does not compete with fastpitch softball. In terms of participation and economic impact, hockey is bigger than basketball in Fargo and much bigger than wrestling (although the National Wrestling tournament has also done well for Fargo).

Brady Murray played in the Fargo Flyers Squirt tournament while living in Winnipeg. Patrick Roy's sons played here, and Patrick Roy and one of his teammates from the Avalanche signed autographs. Ray Borque's son played here a few years ago for Littleton. Peter Mueller, who is the "youngster" who committed to the Gophers in 2006 played here for Bloomington Jefferson. These are just a few examples. This is a really great tournament, probably the best squirt tournament in the US, if not North America.

I agree Sprig, and it will probably come down to the Pairwise Rankings. The last time that I looked, UMD was 3rd and Minnesota 4th. I have a feeling that the Sioux will have to face one or the other in Colorado Springs should the Sioux win the league as expected. In a way, I would like to see the Gophers stay hot so they get the No. 2 seed and get sent to Michigan. UMD will also be tough, but at least they don't play on an Olympic-sized rink like Minnesota.

If that is the reason, it is short-sighted. Most people that move into Fargo, particularly those with money, have kids. Kids participate in soccer, baseball, hockey, golf and other sports. If you go to Minneapolis, the sports complexes for soccer, hockey and baseball are unbelievable. Wayzata, Eden Prairie, Blaine, Apple Valley, etc. have far superior facilities to Fargo in all of those sports, even though these suburbs are smaller in population. If you are a young professional (doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc.) and you are thinking of relocating, do you think that might not be a factor? Particularly when the rate of pay is higher in the Twin Cities and the cost of living lower? Furthermore, if you do decide to locate to this area, why not go to Moorhead where they have far better hockey facilities and program? You can always golf in Fargo or the lakes.