skateshattrick

Aaron Marvin is Mike Marvin's son, and yes, is related to Lee (all the Marvin's in Warroad are related and they own Marvin Windows, the Patch, etc.). Aaron is a sophomore. He's a good but not great player. The Warroad bantam team that he played on last year was mediocre. The Fargo Flyers went up and won their tournament last year. The Hasbargen's are also related. They also have an Olimb on the team who plays defense and is good. The best on the team are Kyle Hardwick and Oshie. Hardwick has an older brother that plays for UMD, but Kyle appears to be much more talented.

Time to revive this thread. These were my preseason predictions. I had UMD too low, as they look like a top 4 team, perhaps 2 or 3. Wisconsin is also low, although I expected them to be better, just not this fast.

A name to watch for is Kyle Hardwick of Warroad. He is a junior and reportedly, the Sioux and Gophers are very interested. He probably will come straight out of high school without playing juniors.

Why do you say that? The first year that Omaha started its hockey program, it was $1M in the black. It ended up supporting fledgling football and basketball programs. If a team can draw even 4-5,000 for 20 home games, the attendance is 80-100,000. It take 5 home football games of 16-20,000 attendance to rival that. Our myopic friends at NDSU could not recognize that because, like South Dakota, felt it would hurt its other programs when in fact it supports them.

Spin it however you like. The Sioux have 7 titles, the Gophers 5. They also have 5 since 1980. The Gophers have 3. If you want to compare even since 1997, which is about the past 6 years, the Sioux and the Gophers each have 2 titles. However, the Sioux have 4 WCHA titles and 2 WCHA tournament titles, the Gophers 1 WCHA title and 1 WCHA tournament title. How about head to head? 1996-97--The Sioux win 3-2 1997-98--The Sioux win 3-1 1998-99--The Sioux win 4-0-1 1999-00--The Sioux win 2-1-1 2000-01--The Sioux win 2-1-1 2001-02--The Gophers win 6-1 2002-03--The teams split 1-1 2003-04--The Sioux lead 2-0 The "many" Gopher fans who truly believe that the Gophers are "superior" are in denial and do not let the facts get in the way of their unsubstantiated beliefs. The Sioux had their down year in 2001, mostly because the pros decimated their team. This year is more reflective of the Sioux. By the way, which team has turned out more NHL players, now and over the past 20 years?

I suppose it does. The Sioux were also in back to back championship games in 2000 and 2001 and an OT away from back to back. Plus, the Sioux won it in 1997, 1987, 1982 and 1980, not to mention league titles in 98 and 99. Meanwhile, the Rodents didn't win since 1979. Time must have crawled for you then, huh?. Time must REALLY crawl this year when you are 4-7-1 in the WCHA, 7-8-1 overall and you know in your heart that your hated rival is back in front after a mere 2 year hiatus. The truth hurts, doesn't it? Whether you live in the past or the present, the Sioux beat the Rodents. Meanwhile, the Rodents truly are: BACK TO BACK TO BAD.

You can only take care of business by beating the teams that are on your schedule. Wisconsin is obviously better than expected. Minnesota, CC and Denver may have struggled, but they are all very good teams. Michigan and Michigan State are also very good. Give Wisconsin credit--they are in the hunt for the Final 5 of the WCHA.

That was the same year that you had your frontal lobotomy.

THAT is lame. What were there, 4 or 5 club teams? I agree with you that there are other ways to measure success other than national championships and you could make the argument that Minnesota has been as successful as UND based on NCAA appearances and other measures, but to argue that Minnesota has as many championships is disingenuous and a very weak argument. You are a smart guy WPoS, I would think that you could make a better argument. I do not consider Michigan as having a better program than the Sioux just because they have 9 championships and the Sioux have 7. Michigan earned most of their titles before were as many D1 programs, and the Sioux have won 5 since 1979.

I much prefer college hockey, and there are many reasons: 1. There is less clutching, holding and interference, which means the game is faster, despite the fact that the skill level is not as high 2. There is very little fighting in college because the consequences are so severe. I understand that fighting is to protect the stars, but it is unnecessary and stupid to the extent it occurs in the NHL, and there are ways to eliminate cheap shots without resorting to fighting. 3. Checking from behind, spearing and kneeing, are very rare in college hockey, and if it does occur, usually results in a major penalty and even an ejection rather than a 2 minute minor for "boarding" or "tripping". 4. The worst rule at any level is the NHL rule prohibiting 2 line passes. College allows 2 line passes which means more wide open play and odd man rushes. 5. There are no Olympic sized rinks in the pros, which also opens up the passing and skating game. This is a matter of preference, but I prefer the European style over the old Broad Street Bullies style of hockey. I also disagree that the NHL is a faster game. The skill level is obviously higher, but there is more room for the big lumbering slow skaters than in college hockey. The fastest players in college are often the fastest in the pros. Doug Smail and Jason Blake are prime examples. On the other hand, Murray Baron was an average college hockey player with slow feet. He wasn't even in the same class as his defensive partner at UND, Russ Parent. Russ Parent was too small for the pros, however, and Baron is still playing because he is big and physical. The NHL is more about size than it is about speed. Another example is Jay Caufield, the ex UND football player who was not good enough for college hockey, but because he was 6'5" 230 lbs, he survived for several years in the NHL as an enforcer. I would rather watch a Sioux hockey game against any college team than a pro game. The pro game is boring, and will continue to be boring, until they learn to open up the game by eliminating the 2 line pass rule, clean up the fighting and interference, and emphasize speed and passing ala the Edmonton Oilers of the Gretzky era. It has gotten better because of the European influence, but where would the game be without Naslund, Federov, Jagr, Lidstrom and Forsberg?

Kyle is normally a center, but they have him play both. He is playing mostly D now because 3 kids are out until Dec 23. When Pete Fylling gets back, he will probably play center. To answer someone else's question, Mario is a 9th grader, but is older. He is an 88 like Paul Weisgarber and skipped only his 2nd year of Bantams last year. In other words, he played against South's current group of sophomores all the way up from Squirts through his first year of Bantams.

Trust me, Kyle is as good as he looks. He would be the best player on Red River, South, North, Grafton and anyplace other than arguably Central. Frank Burggraf thinks he's the best player in the state. You must be confusing Pete Fylling with someone else. Pete Fylling did not play against Central or Red River. He is out until December 23 and has not played yet this year. You are dead on about Paul Weisgarber. Paul is as good as any sophomore in the State, including Mario Lamoreaux. Mario is bigger and stronger, but when Paul gets bigger and stronger, he will be scary. He has great hands. Watch out for South in 2 years. The sophomore class is very talented.

Agreed. Pete is kind of a diamond in the rough. He's big and is a sniper, but needs to improve his mobility. The Burggrafs and Tim Graveline have done a great job improving his skating, but he will probably have to play a year or two of juniors to make it at the next level.

Lee and Ammerman from Moorhead are both juniors, but are being looked at very hard by D1 schools. They both visited UND and Minnesota. Minnesota is very interested in Ammerman. Kyle Graalum is a senior at Shanley, and along with Moreland and McIntyre, may be one of the top 3 players in the State.

Phillipe Lamoreaux is coming next year. I spoke with his mom last night.

Thanks. It is posted by UMDBulldogs#1 in the USCHO threat entitled UMD v. UND. I was suspicious since there was no source, but the post made it seem like it was old news and Caig was off to the AHL. Thanks for clarifying!

I saw on the USCHO site that Caig is rumored to have left or is leaving Duluth for juniors. Is there any truth to this rumor?

It means exactly what it implies. Andy was there until the last day, and was the last person to be cut. The Forum reported that he made the team, but it turned out he did not. You may recall a few years ago when Pat O'Leary was the last cut after he had been on the roster for 2 years. John Noah was an All-American for the Sioux, and played on the silver medal winning Olympic team in 1960.

No. Andy was the last cut in 1986. Paul played for Brown.

I agree that the 97-98 and 98-99 teams were the most talented teams, but they did not win a national championship, so the 86-87 team is better. I had the pleasure of being at the 1987 NCAA championship in Detroit, the 97 championship in Milwaukee, and the 2000 championship in Providence (our family is 3 for 3!). I was also at the disappointing Regionals in Ann Arbor in 98 and the Regionals in Madison in 99, both Sioux losses (my wife did not go, so she's the good luck charm). The 86-87 team did not have the depth of those 2 teams that lost, but dominated from start to finish and boasted the best player in the country, and in my opinion, the best COLLEGE player that I have ever seen, Tony Hrkac. Tony has had a solid but unspectacular pro career, but he was unbelievable in college.

I agree if you are talking about Randy Schmidt. He at least keeps up with the play and is usually in good position. Mike Schmitt from Minot is marginal. Campion is good, but Anderson and Adams are brutal. They will call the ticky tack stuff that does not affect the play, but will let go the interference, clutch and hold and mugging, even though many times it is in the offensive zone and has an effect on scoring chances.

I could not have said it better! Your observations about Lundbohm, using 2 D and the fans' lack of patience are right on. You don't want to take a shot when the goalie has a clean look from the point because he will make that save 99.9% of the time. The idea is to get him moving so he cannot adjust to the shot, or get a screen in front. I like the 3 forwards that the Sioux use (Parise, Bochenski and Murray), but I could see putting Massen or Stafford in front of the net, at least on the 2nd unit. They both are big and strong, but have very good hands and can shoot the puck. I have often wondered why the Sioux don't use Massen like the Gophers use Potulny. Neither are great skaters, but both have big bodies and excellent hands.

I'm not sure, but I could ask Randy Schmidt. He works out at the Y in Fargo, and is a really good guy. I can only assume that they have to be certified and reviewed every year since the league has strict requirements as to when you can be an official. It is my understanding that you cannot be a referee until you are 33 or 34, which means that many of these guys have difficulty keeping up with the very fast and young college players. That is another reason that they should have two officials. I don't see that as a problem for Randy Schmidt as he is in extremely good physical condition, but it is an issue for some of the referees in the league.

I don't disagree with you about the quality of the officiating in the WCHA, but some of it may have to do with the one referee and two linesmen system. I was very critical of Mike Schmitt after the Gopher series, but after talking with a buddy who refs alot of high school hockey games, he offered a different perspective. Many of Schmitt's tripping calls were because he was unable to keep up with the play and he was making calls from beyond the blue line when the alleged infractions occurred toward the goal. However, college hockey is so fast, and the puck is constantly changing direction, making it very difficult for a ref to keep up with the play. He correctly noted that many leagues use a two referee system with one linesman. That at least allows the refs to be in position to make the correct call. Just a thought, but it seems to have some merit.

Well put. This guy needs to live in the real world.