skateshattrick

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.

I heard Nanne, but I must have turned it off before he talked about this. I never saw what happened to Ryan Potulny, but the Potulnys were in a friend's suite and were complaining about what they felt were cheap shots against Ryan Potulny. I did not see those, but I thought Ryan was pretty chippy. I saw Ryan Potulny throw a pretty vicious elbow to Brady Murray's head and Brady was on the ice for a few seconds. Zach got even by pulling Ryan's skates out from under him in front of the Gophers bench. I would be surprised if it were Prpich because he was pretty busy shadowing Vanek. Did anyone else see what happened?

Isn't your last post interesting after this post and many others like it on this board? Please get psychological counseling because you are obviously very disturbed. Please also go away from our message board.

Because it is based on college, not what they did in their pro career. Belfour was very good when he was at UND, but never dominated like Karl. Look at the record books, particularly shutouts and GAA. Karl is easily the best goalie to ever play for UND. I would rank Casey ahead of Belfour for college. Aaron Schweitzer had a freshman year comparable to Belfour's.

Isn't it interesting that Pawlenty says that UND's best players come from Minnesota when arguably Minnesota's best players, or at least most valuable players, the past 2 years are from Austria and North Dakota? That is not a slam because UND's best players may well come from Minnesota with Parise and Bochenski, but the Sioux have had and continue to have many of the "best" players from other places as well, including North Dakota (Panzer brothers, Schneider, etc), Illinois (Jones, Spiewak, Duberman), Colorado (David Hale), Michigan (Greene) and Canada (Brady Murray, Roche, etc.).

Isn't it ironic that Yellowsnow would throw in his 2 cents criticizing fans for what he regards as a waste of time while he is trolling a Sioux message board!! Yellowsnow, if you had stopped before "remember people...", your point would have been well taken. However, you then go into a delusional rant that exposes you for the simpleton that you really are. It is no wonder that you are continuously ripped on USCHO even by fellow Gopher fans. What color is the sky in your world? It must be such a comfort knowing that if you have kids, you can skip the PKU test because you already know they will turn out like you. Please go away or we will request that the Administrator of this Board politely asks you to leave permanently.

In fairness to the Potulnys, Grant was not recruited by UND so he really did not have a choice. I actually respect Grant for how well he has done with all of the pressure put on him being the first out-of-state recruit for a long time. I also like our freshman, Murray and Stafford, better than Ryan Potulny and Danny Irmen. Time will tell.

Agreed. They don't any more about football than they do about hockey, and are equally obnoxious. They probably do not seem as obnoxious when talking about football to Vikings fans. The only difference is that PA's passion is football, and Dubay's is college hockey, and Dubay is probably more obnoxious and even less knowledgeable than PA.

What an arrogant statement. I'm sure that he said the same thing about CC being UND's only rival in the mid to late 90's when UND and CC were on top (and he was of course the coach) and UM was down. UM is a great rivalry, but not the only one. When Wisconsin was good, that was the best rivalry. CC has also been a great rivalry the past 10 years.

I did know that. However, that doesn't mean I would want either. It makes you wonder if they were paying anything for the job or the hiring criteria.

Agreed. I never listen to them because they are SO lame. Dubay is just an over the top Gopher hockey fan, and PA knows nothing about hockey. PA is also BRUTAL as a football announcer, exceeding only the Chicago White Sox announcers in the homerism scale. Dan Roe was way better. I have also heard that they got the job by default. The only thing that bothers me is that the fan (1280) in Fargo does not broadcast the Dan Patrick Show anymore, and only has Mike & Mike before 6:00 am and these 2 clowns fill our airspace. It was bad enough having Rush's program on a sports station, but these 2 clowns are not worth listening to. I can take the Superstar Mike Morris because he does not take himself too seriously and can be funny, but Dubay is just another Sid Hartman with a squeaky voice. That is not a compliment for you Gopher fans on this board. Sid can tell you everything he knows about hockey in under 30 seconds talking slow. Dubay is his equal, only more obnoxious.

I am hoping for a sweep, but would be satisfied with a split. The Gophers are very dangerous, especially with their backs against the wall. They are not unlike the Packers in that they will probably play with some desperation. Plus, they are very talented and lost 2 games to UMD in which they outplayed the Dogs for long stretches (much like our loss and tie to UMD last year). I also hope that Andy Schneider plays, but if he has a high ankle sprain, I would say its not likely. Foyt played very well and should see some ice time. Brandt should start both games. I was not a big fan his first 1 and 1/2 years, but he started to make a believer out of me at the end of last season. So far this year, he has looked very sharp. He is seeing the puck extremely well, moving very well in the crease and playing great position. He looks extremely confident, and the team will play more confident with Brandt in net. Should be a great weekend!!

Gee, and that would be unlike you and your analysis of Gaborik, a topic not even germane to UND hockey?? If you don't want to read about it, skip over.

You may be right, but I recall that Fuher was playing most of the time on the 1st unit against BC. In fact, the shorthanded goal on Saturday happened when Fuher was back alone on D because Lundbohm went off of the ice. I would personally like to see Schneider and either Fuher or Jones. Schneider does the best job of getting the puck off quickly and on net, plus is fast enough to get back. Fuher has a cannon, and Jones is also good about getting the shot off. I really question using Lundbohm when you have some defensemen with pretty good offensive skills. If you have to use a forward on the point, it would seem that Zach would be better on the point because he's faster and can get back. In any event, something has to be changed and I would be curious what the coaches have in mind.

Thanks for the update PCM. Did Dean say anything about moving Andy Schneider back on to the power play and/or moving Lundbohm off?

Agreed. This is a Sioux message board. Pro sports is different, and many of us follow other teams that were in existence long before the Wild. I'm a Red Wings fan and they are certainly better than the Wild, but I'm sure most of you would not care to hear about them on this board. There must be a Wild board somewhere.

Lee and Ammerman are very good, but I would not get too excited about the visit. UND is not allowed to contact either since they are juniors, so the coach picked 2 schools that they could visit. Jon's dad, Chip, knows that a letter of intent before the senior year is worthless and not legally binding. The visit was simply an opportunity to see a game for free. I would love to see either or both of these 2 at UND, but I would not hold my breath. Although Chip is a UND fan (having grown up in Roseau), both Jon Ammerman and John Lee wear Gopher hats when they help Chip teach his defensemen camp in August at the Moorhead Youth Hockey arena.

Brandt hands down. I have been critical of our goaltending the past 2 years, but Jake Brandt played very well at the end of last year and was outstanding against BC on Saturday. He is the reason that the score was as close as it was. He appears focused and very sharp.

Yes. In fact, I saw him favoring one leg all weekend, and putting no weight on the one side. I felt his effort was very gutsy, particularly the 3rd period of Friday night's game, but he clearly is still hurting. I was with Tom Dunlap from Minnetonka, who has a son that is playing for Boston U, and he talked with J.P. Parise in between periods on Friday. Tom mentioned to J.P. that it looked like Zach's knee was really hurting, and J.P. did not make any comment but just shrugged his shoulders. I hope he is okay and, if necessary, rests for the Yale series so that he can be ready for Minnesota.