skateshattrick

Well put DMB. I agree completely. I also hope that Dean Blais stays and if and when he leaves, he does so on his own terms. If he does decide to leave at some point, it will be a loss, but you are right that there are several good candidates that have been mentioned.

I sincerely hope that Hakstol is not in the running. He is the person that did not recruit Danny Irmen until AFTER he accepted a scholarship offer from the Gophers, 2 years ago said that Ballard was not in the same class as Roche and Leopold (2 championships isn't bad) and still has not recruited a player with Ballard's skills that can rush the puck (with all due respect to Andy Schneider), and has ticked off some recruits with his arrogance. If you have ever met the guy or had kids in UND camps, I believe you would know where I am coming from. I am not a fan of Hakstol, and I personally think that Hakstol is a huge drop-off from Osiecki and Sandelin. It was Blais that got Parise and Murray to come to UND. They landed these major recruits despite Hakstol. The only thing Hakstol has going for him is that he dates Tim O'Keefe's daughter. Steve Johnson is a Grand Forks kid and former Sioux great, a consistent winner at Lincoln, and very well-liked by his players. I heard from Potulny's uncle that if Steve Johnson were the coach, Ryan would have come to UND even though his brother was at Minnesota.

It is premature to believe that Dean Blais is going anywhere. He is the coach as long as he wants to coach. For anyone who questions his effectiveness, remember that he turned around a program in 1994-1995 that had 3 straight losing seasons under Gino. Gino has consecutive records of 17-21-1, 12-25-1, and 11-23-4. More importantly, the fans were no longer coming despite having one of the best players in the country in Greg Johnson. You could throw a rock in any direction and stand a very good chance of not hitting anyone. Blais won a national championship in his 3rd year, 1996-7, and made the NCAA tournament 5 straight years from 1996-2001. He won WCHA titles in 1996-7, 1997-8, 1998-9 and 2000-01. He also won 2 national championships and took 2nd in 2000-01. They strugged with a young team in 2001-02 that went 16-19-2 (of lot of which was due to goaltending) but returned to the NCAA tournament last year with a 26-12-5 record. That is very good by any program's standards. For DMB to imply that the situation is comparable to Gino is not accurate. Gino had 3 straight losing seasons where they were horrible. Plus, he had been there 15 years. Blais is still winning despite losing top assistants like Mark Osiecki, Scott Sandelin and Lee Davidson. He and John Marks were also a big reason for Gino's success. Blais will leave on his own terms when he is ready to go. IF and when Dean Blais decides it is time to go, Steve Johnson is the clear frontrunner.

Redwing 77--What is your source that Lamoreaux is not coming? I would be very surprised. Have you talked with his parents, Pierre or Linda? I know both very well, and I would be surprised that he would not come next year. If he's not coming here, where is he going?

As a Red Wings fan, it pains me to say this, but Patrick Roy because of his longevity and consistency. Consideration should also be given to Ken Dryden, Bernie Parent and Dominic Hasek. I agree that Giguere does not belong on the list. Jacque Plante, Ed Belfour, and many others deserve consideration long before a goalie who has played 1/2 season.

Amn5hol--I have also seen Danny since he was a squirt, and watched him in Frank Burgraff's "dirty dozen." I have always thought that he was special. Last summer at one of Frank's camps, Steve Johnson told a friend that of all the kids at Lincoln, Danny has the best chance of playing hockey for a living. Of all of the ND kids that got away, this one bothers me the most. It would have been nice if the Sioux had at least recruited him before he committed to the Gophers.

Handyman--I totally agree and your message was very well put. If you read my original message, I specifically noted that only Lucia knows. Lucia may have taken him regardless, but you are correct that Ryan was discussed at the time. I remember talking to a number of hockey people in Grand Forks who were very frustrated that Grant was not recruited because he was a local kid and because everyone knew that would mean Ryan would probably follow his brother to Minnesota. I also agree that Grant has been a great find for Minnesota and a team leader. It is hard not to feel good for him even though he plays for our hated rival. I have this awful feeling that you are also going to like Ryan and Danny Irmen and that they will be even better.

Sagard, please spare your sarcasm. Did you ever see Grant Potulny play growing up? Did you see him play at Red River High School or in the USHL? This would not have been the 1st time that Lucia has recruited an older brother to get another. Remember Ian Petersen and Toby Petersen from Bloomington Jefferson? Ian was okay with the F-M Sharks in the USHL, but was hardly recruited. His younger brother Toby, on the other hand, was always very good and was heavily recruited. Lucia took both while at CC as a package. As I said, Grant has turned out to be a very good player, but has also been a pleasant surprise because no one would have predicted that he would have done this well if they had seen him in high school or the USHL. Most Sioux fans will tell you that they are disappointed Grant was not recruited based upon hindsight and because everyone knew about Ryan and how much potential he has.

Where does the article about Jordan Parise appear on USCHO? I looked for it and could not find it.

Greene--He reminds me of Commodore, except that he is bigger, stronger and a better skater than Commodore was at this stage of his college career. They both had a penchant for taking stupid and untimely penalties as freshmen, but I expect that to improve as he matures. If he can stay under control, he will be an impact player. Hopefully, it will come this year and not his junior year.

redwing77--That is a new one to me. Ryan and Grant Potulny's father, Jay, grew up in North Dakota in a small town near Grafton. Their uncle, Dan Gaustad from Grafton, told me the reason Grant went to Minnesota is because he was not recruited by UND. Grant was set to go to UMD until Wisconsin and Minnesota showed up in the picture later. That is not to say that he would not have gone to Minnesota anyway, but UND made his decision pretty easy. Even after he was recruited by U of M, Jay Potulny went back to Blais and was very interested in playing for the Sioux. The Sioux had finished their recruiting and offered him no money. His dad was very upset about Grant not being recruited. As a result, even though Ryan was recruited hard by UND, he and his dad never gave it real serious consideration. If you want the straight scoop, talk with Dan Gaustad, an attorney in Grafton. Although Grant has had a great career, there has been a lot of speculation that Lucia wanted Grant to get Ryan who was much better as a youth hockey player. Only Lucia knows, but Ryan has been talked about as a top prospect since Bantams. Grant has been a surprise.

The Wild are done. As great as Giguere has played, he is not the only reason that the Ducks are beating the Wild. They have outplayed the Wild the last 2 games and these teams are pretty evenly matched. Giguere is unbelievable, but Minnesota certainly has less to complain about than Detroit and even Dallas. I watched every game of Anaheim v. Detroit, and Detroit outplayed the Ducks badly 3 of the 4 games, and outshot them badly in all 4 games. Giguere had 63 saves in the 1st game, and Anaheim seldom had the puck in the Detroit zone. Anaheim played more competitively against Dallas, but were also outplayed and outshot most of the series. Anaheim reminds me of Carolina last year, Buffalo a few years ago when Hasek stood on his head, and even Washington when Kolzig was playing extremely well. The Ducks are playing well defensively, getting unbelievable goaltending, and are getting all of the bounces. I have a feeling that they will crash and burn when they play New Jersey or Ottawa in the finals.

Did I miss something? Did somebody ask Slapshot to post the Central Scouting rankings of the rodents? Slapshot, why don't you weave in something about your grades or something also--in other words, something that NONE OF US CARE ABOUT. The term for that type of person is called a "bore."

Nobody knows except for Dean Blais whether he is signing another contract, but someone well connected to Sioux hockey (former player/announcer) said that Blais told the families of Zach Parise and Brady Murray that he would be around as long as they were. That is one reason that they are at UND rather than Minnesota or elsewhere. I have also heard that Roger Thomas has met with Dean already to discuss signing another contract.

I believe that several posters are minimizing the problem of students standing. It was not 10-20 students, but many times, was an entire section. I know several families from Fargo who commute to the game, and it was a major, major problem. The students are important, but how do you think it looks for the university that is trying to fill an 11,500 seat arena when boosters who pay thousands for tickets and "donations", many of whom travel for the game, complain loudly about not being able to see games because students refuse to sit even after being asked? This is to give you a little different insight and perspective into the problem. I agree with Ryan Bakken. I was a student at UND also, and it is extremely important to have students, even rowdy students. However, lack of civility and refusal to follow rules are not tolerable.

I agree with JK. Our defense will be better if for no other reason, the Sioux played much of last year without Hale. Jones will have a breakout year, Schneider and Fuher are a year older and better, Greene will start to mature and play more disciplined (like Commodore, only Greene is more talented), and Smaby is coming in. The rest are unknowns, but you only need 6 solid defensemen. The goaltending will be better. Brandt was better, and Zieglemann will push him. Sedevie (is he still coming?) is very good when healthy. If Sedevie is not coming, look for the Sioux to get another goalie. Forwards will be much better IF Bochenski and Parise return. They will be one year older and much better. Massen and Lundbohm should be as good or better, and I expect more scoring from Prpich and McMahon. Murray is the real deal, and I hear that Stafford is very good. I also get the feeling that this team is not complete. I would not be surprised to see the Sioux bring in another forward or defenseman from Western Canada. I am very excited about next year. I will be extremely disappointed if the Sioux do not compete for a WCHA title and a national championship.

There is a post on USCHO by a Sioux fan using the name "MyPowerPlay" entitled "Scholarship Pulled???" Does anyone know who or what they are referring to?

Pivetz was Canadian. Mitch Vig is from Bismarck. So was Theel (Notre Dame) and Peluso (Duluth). There were a few other Bismarck kids that played out east. Jacob Hipp is playing for Shattuck and is very good. Hopefully, he will go to UND.

I'm not sure that you can claim Dan Irmen. He played his sophomore year at Red River, but he's a Fargo kid. He played all the way through the Fargo Raiders. He played one year at RR because his dad lost his job and was invited to stay with the Potulny's.

Nate Metcalf, EGF, Mankato.

I think Sioux 7 is absolutely correct that the success of the programs has to do with facilities and ice sheets. Fargo has poor facilities, even though the talent is good. The Fargo Flyers beat Moorhead at Squirt A, Pee Wee A and Bantam A earlier in the year, but lost later in the year at Pee Wee and Bantam, albeit close games. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Moorhead has more ice sheets and the Bantams get on the ice every day for 1 and 1/2 hours, as opposed to Fargo where they get 1 and 3/4 hours per week practice time for each team. The other factor is competition--Moorhead plays Minneapolis competition regularly. It is a myth that Fargo is not a good hockey town--success is tied to facilities and competition. Fargo has the interest and talent, just not enough ice time.

Sioux 7--where did you get your information that Moorhead patterned its program after Grand Forks? I have been saying for a long time that Grand Forks combined is as good as Moorhead, but the systems are not at all similar. Moorhead's program was started by Terry Shercliffe, who brought in Terry Cullen from International Falls. Moorhead's teams play the same style of position, support and passing, whether it is a Squirt Orange (B2) or a Bantam A. The only difference is the skill level, but the system remains the same. Moorhead also has only 1 youth program, which is privately run by the Moorhead Youth Hockey Association (MYHA). They have dryland and Blue Line camps for all of the kids in one system. By contrast, Grand Forks has a blend of private and public. The dominant teams at Mites, Squirts and 1st year PeeWee are the Supras and Blues, private organizations. When they get to 2nd year PeeWee (primarily PeeWee A), it goes back to the park board, where they play for the Wheatkings or Sugarkings at A level, or the Spartans, Jets, etc. at B level. There are also private teams like the Blackhawks that played Bantam A. The systems, however, are not similar. You may find one Grand Forks team that plays passing and position, another that plays dump-and-chase. Although the skill levels are good, they do not have 1 system like Moorhead and it is not privately run.

The Ducks sweep of a clearly superior Red Wings team emphasizes the importance of goaltending in hockey. The Sioux should be very good next year, but they clearly need better and more consistent goaltending to make it to the Frozen 4. It is rare for a team to win with mediocre goaltending, although Hauser comes to mind. That tells how talented the Gophers were in 2002-03 when they won it all despite Hauser.

Slapshot is right that Minnesota got the right man for the job in Lucia and that it makes little difference where the kids are from or if they are older. The goal is to win, and to make the kids better people and better hockey players. I disagree that Minnesota could not win with the best Minnesota talent. There were many years where the Gophers appeared to be the most talented team but fell off at the end or lost in the NCAA tournament. I attribute that more to Woog. Although Woog knows the game, I don't believe that he was the best coach. I have heard from parents of kids who played for Woog who wished they had gone elsewhere because of the mind games that he played. If you cannot get the kids to play for you, you will not be successful. Lucia could win with Minnesota talent, but why should he have to feel that type of pressure? He should be able to recruit what he thinks is best for his team and what gives him the best chance of winning. He is an excellent coach, and proved that by turning around a CC program that was the doormat of the WCHA for many years before he took over. He also has excellent assistant coaches, and that is also important. The Sioux losing Sandelin was a big loss because he is an excellent recruiter and the kids like him and want to play for him. Having said that, I hope that the rest of the league underrates UND next year. Minnesota will be the favorite, but UND will challenge them next year. Dean Blais is an excellent coach and extremely competitive. He will not hesitate to address weaknesses and has a good group coming in next year.

Nice post JWG. Although there is a mutual dislike (hatred?) by many Sioux fans of the Gophers and vice versa, most Sioux fans would concede that the Sioux-Gopher rivalry is one of the best in college hockey and we look forward to playing the Gophers. The games are intense, nerve-wracking and fun. There is also a great deal of respect for the Gophers program because they have a long and great tradition, and they are generally one of the better skating and passing teams in the country, much like Dean Blais coached teams, without the clutch-and-hold style. One of the reasons that Ralph had REA built was so that the Sioux could continue to compete with the big boys like Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, BC, BU, Maine and Michigan State. Finally, as much as I hate seeing the Potulny's and Dan Irmen go to Minnesota, and even local kids like Ryan Kraft of Moorhead, I always wish the local players success when they are not playing the Sioux. I have watched Danny Irmen since he was a squirt, and you will not be disappointed in him.