skateshattrick

Michigan and BC followed closely by BU, Maine, Michigan State and New Hampshire. These are the perennial powers in NCAA hockey along with UND, Minnesota, Wisconsin (except the last 3 years) and CC. I would rather see any team from Hockey East or the CCHA over the ECHA, with the possible exception of Harvard. Occasionally, RPI, Clarkson and Cornell are good, but generally, the ECHA is like Division 1AA in football.

I agree that NDSU and the Fargo Park District are absolutely no help, but I disagree that Fargo is not a good hockey town. We have tremendous youth participation with approximately 26 teams between Squirt and Bantam (10 Squirt, 7 or 8 Pee Wee, and 7 or 8 bantam teams), great parent support, and success at our youth programs. The Flyer (southside) squirt, peewee and bantam A teams all split with Moorhead last year, and have done very well against Grand Forks and Minnesota. Fargo has the interest, it just does not have the ice because we (the Flyers and Raiders are 100% privately owned and funded) get no help from the Park District. Having said that, I do not think that the Jets will do well because most of us would rather watch UND or our own kids than a junior team, particularly when they play in a horse**** facility like the Coliseum.

There is a huge following in Fargo. Jeff Bowen and Rob Bollinger told me that roughly 1/3 of the season ticket holders are from the Fargo-Moorhead area. The USHL teams folded because: (1) we have no quality rinks in Fargo (2) it conflicts with the Sioux games (3) too much competition for Friday and Saturday night, including high school hockey and youth hockey which involves games every weekend. There are many UND graduates in Fargo, and even more Sioux hockey fans who may root for the Bison in football and basketball.

With all due respect, we do not have to cut slack to anyone who is trolling on a Sioux message board with no purpose other than to: (1) tell us how great their team is and (2) tell us they think the Sioux suck. IMO, there is always open season on trolls on a Sioux message board. I won't start the smack talk, but remember the adage "don't get into a pissing contest with a skunk" if you want to troll and talk smack. I also disagree that Dultuh got "boned." Granted Duluth was playing well at the end of last season, but the Pairwise is based upon an entire season. Recall that Duluth lost to Bemidji State and Notre Dame, and got tied by Alaska. Perhaps St. Cloud did not deserve a berth either, but UMD did not earn the right to play in the NCAA tournament.

I can certainly see why a UMD fan is so cocky, coming off a 22-15-5 record, 5th place in the WCHA and no NCAA tournament appearance. While the Sioux consider last year a disappointment, Dogs fans now think they will win the league. Based upon history (4 total NCAA appearances, no NCAA championships, and losing records from 1998-2002), that is certainly a reasonable assumption that they will beat the Sioux next year IF you are delusional. Rather than being cocky about winning a couple of 1 goal games last year and tying once in which your team was badly outshot and outplayed, perhaps you should act like you have been there before. Whoops, I forgot! Duluth really never has been there before. Now please go lay by your dish.

You never know because he was born and raised in Hastings, which is just south of the Cities. However, his mom is from Grand Forks (Lynn Powers) and she is friend and former classmate, so I will work on her.

Very good post. I also wish him luck, but I agree that the Gophers did not lose a whole lot. The Gophers won the last 2 years with pretty average goaltending, which is really a compliment to the amount of talent and depth they have had the past 2 years. Losing Paul Martin is a much bigger loss.

Brady Murray will be huge. Although he is young, he played in the BCHL and should be ready to step in right away. I suspect that he will skate with Parise and Bochenski. Stafford should also be good, but is more of an unknown because he is stepping right out of SSM and may not get as much special team play or the opportunity to skate with Parise and Bochenski.

C-Hale A-Parise A-Bochenski Hale is a senior and a very hard-working person. I see him as a leader even though he is not one of the most talented players. Parise is the best natural leader on the team with his work ethic and play on both ends of the rink. I like naming Bochenski to send him a message how important he is to the team and to keep him inspired. I think that would pay dividends.

Although Minnesota is the odds-on favorite, keep in mind that they finished 3rd in the WCHA the last 2 years. Minnesota still seems strong, and finishes very strong, but I really feel that this is the Sioux's year. Predictions: 1. UND 2. Minnesota 3. Denver 4. UMD 5. CC 6. Mankato 7. Wisconsin 8. St. Cloud 9. MTU 10. AAU Minnesota and UND will compete for a national championship. CC is always strong, but lost a lot. If they hope to compete for a WCHA title and a national championship, the freshman and sophomore classes need to grow up in a hurry. The only thing predictable about Denver is that they are totally unpredictable. Denver has a lot of talent, but it seems like they always do. I am picking them 3rd because they seem to be very good every other year. UMD will be good, perhaps as high as 3rd in the WCHA, but will not sneak up on anyone this year. Those should be the top 5, although Mankato surprises every year and are a bit like Denver. Losing Stevenson, however, is huge. Wisconsin has a great freshman class and should be improved. St. Cloud loses too much to attrition (at least 1 one to major juniors) and graduation and I believe will struggle more than last year. Tech and Alaska should round out the bottom.

That is very interesting, but not surprising. Parise has the potential to be the best to ever put on a Sioux uniform. Unlike Murray, Hrkac, and others, he was only 18 when he came to the Sioux. It remains to be seen if he will ever have a year like Hrkac had in 86-87, but I have never seen any freshman for the Sioux has as big of an impact as Parise did last year. Even when he was not scoring, he was very often the best player on the ice last year. Without him, I think that they would have been average or below like the previous year. He plays both ends of the rink, has incredible hockey sense, is a leader, and has a scoring touch. He also had comparable numbers to Vanek (Vanek had 62 points, 33 in the WCHA and Parise 61, 32 in the WCHA). Minnesota fans will disagree, but I think he is better than Vanek. Vanek just had a better supporting cast. He will now be a year older, and should have better players around him this season.

I agree with you about Duluth. Scott Sandelin knows how to recruit, particularly from Western Canada (even though he's from the Iron Range). Who is Jonathan Sigalet and where did he end up?

It is a difficult comparison because goaltenders, forwards and defense have different values. I would rate the top goaltender as Karl Goehring (I did see Belfour, and although he is so far a better pro, he was only here 1 year and was not as dominant as Karl), followed by Casey and Belfour. The best forward was hands down Tony Hrkac. Troy Murray, Mark Taylor, Kevin Maxwell, Jeff Panzer and Jason Blake were all great, but Hrkac is the best college player that I have ever seen. He may have had an average pro career, but he dominated college hockey. The best defenseman is James Patrick. Curtis Murphy, Ian Kidd, Travis Roche and Russ Parent are some of the top contenders. Overall, Hrkac is an easy choice for me.

Taz, I could not agree more! I was about 10 rows up in the corner of that game right in front of David Hoogsteen. That was the most exciting hockey game that I have ever seen. I remember looking at my then 9 year old son after the 1st period, and he was slumped in his chair with a a very sad face. I remember telling him (not sure if I believed it) that there was a lot of game left and that the Sioux would come back. The 2nd period was absolutely wild and my favorite player, David Hoogsteen, was the best player on the ice. The drive home from Milwaukee was the best ever.

This is great news. The Sioux want to play the best, and Maine is one of the elite. Hockey East is pretty close to the WCHA in terms of strength top to bottom. Outside of the Minnesota series, the best series I can remember was against BU in 1996 (the same year that the Sioux beat BU in the National Championship). The crowd was on its feet most of the 3rd period in the game that the Sioux came back from 3 goals to win.

What a group hug! If you are one of the fans who indeed gloats, brags about your team or taunts, or finds that behavior acceptable, please recognize that you are in the distinct minority and have probably never coached youth sports. Most prefer the Barry Sanders approach (humble, let actions do the talking and act like you have been there before) to the Deion Sanders, Isiah Rider approach (cocky, in-your-face, no respect for opponents). By the way, how do you distinguish between "classless" and "disrespectful"? Does not being disrespectful show a lack of class?

Well put. I know Schmidtdoggydog personally and he is a great guy and a responsible poster.

I agree. I'm tired of political correctness, particularly on a Sioux message board. However, where I differ is that my dislike for the Gophers is not due to respect or ignorance, it is due 100% to fans of the Gophers. I respect the Gophers players and program, I just cannot stand about 95% of Gopher fans. They are truly unrivaled.

I would cheer for the Badgers or the Bison over the Gophers hockey team anyday. My 2nd favorite team will always be whoever is playing the Gophers. If you want to know why, just read posts by Happy and others on USCHO, or listen to Sid Hartman, Mike Max, Dark Starr and others on Midwest Sports Channel/Fox, or remember the game against Ferris State where 90% of the Gophers fans cheered for Ferris State. By contrast, when Wisconsin wins (and they do have a history) they don't flood USCHO and the Sioux message board reminding everyone how great they are and why others suck, and Wisconsin fans have always cheered for other WCHA teams at Regionals and NCAA's. I say this with all due respect to some of the respectful posters like Greyeagle, Sagard and Handyman (most of the time). If everyone acted like you did, there may not be as much animosity. I also realize that there are Sioux fans that are also bad, but Gopher fans and Boston College fans seem to be the worst.

Thanks for the posts on the US camps JK!

I have 3 kids attending UND camp this week. My oldest has been there 5 or 6 years now. Dean is usually not on the ice, but he is very visible watching the kids, and interacting with kids and parents outside of the locker rooms. Dean is very intense, but anyone who knows him would tell you that he is a great guy and is very interested in the kids. If you show loyalty to him, he will show loyalty to you forever. The instructors include many current and former players, including David Hoogsteen, Aaron Schneekloth, Karl Goehring, Brandon Bochenski, Scott Koberinski, David Lundbohm, Rory McMahon, Brian Canady, Tyler Palmiscino, and many, many others. Steve Johnson (coach of Lincoln Stars) is also there, and his 8 year old son Luke is participating in the camps. I think that is a testament to what most of his former players think of him. They come back every year to golf outings, UND sponsored events, etc. Jason Blake, Dave Tippet (Dallas Stars coach) and many current and former pros show up every year.

I'm actually not surprised that Vanek may be staying at Minnesota. I received an email today from a friend who knows Wally Shaver, and that is the word in Minneapolis. Surprisingly, however, Paul Martin is leaning towards signing a pro contract. Paul Martin is an excellent player, and will probably make a good pro, but I think Vanek is more ready.

Finally you concede what I've been saying all along-- the Sioux have had"average goaltending" since Karl graduated. It is very difficult to win in the WCHA with average goaltending, unless the team in front of you is exceptional like the Gophers 2 years ago. The Sioux will score this year, and will have great defense. To really do something (especially when the offense has trouble scoring, which happens to all teams), the Sioux must have better than average goaltending. I think Brandt could be that guy IF he plays like he did at the end of the year and is consistent, but that is still the critical issue with this team. Hopefully, Ziegelmann and Parise will also at least be steady and consistent. If the Sioux can get solid and consistent goaltending (not necessarily spectacular), they will make it to the Frozen Four.

You are making my case for me. The Sioux lost to Mankato 5-4 in a game where they outshot them 52-21, and Hennessy called the goaltending by Ranfranz awful. I was at both UMD games the following weekend, and the Sioux got tied 3-3 the first night despite outplaying them badly and outshooting the Dogs 38-20. The next night, they battled back to tie it late (outshooting the Dogs 37-24), but Siembeda gave up one of the worst goals ever when he came way out of the net where Stapleton had no angle, and basically gave him an empty net goal. Blais and Hennessy were very critical in the post-game comments. By the way, the goal was scored when a defenseman fell down, not a forward. The Sioux also outshot Denver the following weekend, only to lose and tie. It seems like we always lose to a so-called "hot" goaltender when the Sioux outshoot/outplay the opponent. How many times did the Sioux steal a game last year when we were badly outshot or outplayed because of our goaltending?? Never?? We have come to expect mediocrity from our goaltending, when we should be winning some 2-1, 3-2 games. You have to win some of the close games in the league, even when you only score 2 or 3 goals. If goaltending had come through, we should have beat MSU-Mankato on the road, swept the Dogs and taken at least 2 points from Denver.

You said it all when you said by Karl's standards. His "off" year in 2000-01 resulted in a 16-6-6 record with a 2.38 GAA, 3 shutouts and a save % of .918. Brandt's freshman year, he was 4-4 with a 3.23 GAA and a save % of .902. Last year, he was 11-4-4 with a 2.40 GAA and a .895 save %. You also said it when you said defense was not the problem, with the Sioux seldom giving up over 25 shots per night. Brandt's best is not as good as Karl's worst, particularly save percentage. Karl also played big in big games. I don't agree that lack of offense was the problem last year, and neither did the coaching staff. I guess I will side with them and blame it on inconsistent goaltending.