skateshattrick

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.

Ageed! I have wondered for a very long time why Lundbohm is on the point, especially when you have Schneider, Fuher and Jones who will at least shoot from the point. Lundbohm had many chances to shoot, but too often attempts to stickhandle around defenders or force it down low when there is nothing. Lundbohm also does not hold the puck in very well at the point and does not have the speed to catch up if a pass is intercepted. To me, that is the major problem with the powerplay. You have 2 of the best defensemen in the league in Schneider and Jones and neither is one the 1st powerplay unit. Perplexing.

SFIP- Porter was one of the few players that stood out the first 2 periods. Others were Marvin, Fylling and Stafford. These players in particular did a good job cycling down low and playing the body against a very quick BC team, particularly the 1st 2 lines of BC. The Sioux 1st line was not very effective for about a period and 1/2. Parise looked to be favoring his knee until the 3rd, Murray was getting manhandled by the BC defense (particularly No. 2), and Bochenski was invisible for the first 1/2 of the game. They also gave up the 3rd goal early in the 2nd, which was a combination of Greene not moving his feet and allowing Voce to make a great pass, and the forward not picking up Eaves in front of the net. In defense of the 1st line, however, the Sioux took some stupid penalties. For those of you who defend Canady, it was his penalty that led to the the 1st goal. For a person who does not contribute much offensively and gets less ice time, that cannot happen. It is very typical, and I would not expect to see him in the lineup tonight. Hale also took a couple of costly penalties as he has a tendency to get his stick up high. In the 3rd, Zach was not favoring his one leg as much and started to take over. The 2nd line with Stafford looked great. I thought that the defense looked pretty good 5 on 5, but the penalties were about 2-1 against the Sioux. I thought that Jones, Fuher, Schneider, Greene and Smaby all played well, although Smaby does make some freshman mistakes. I would expect to see Porter in the lineup again, but would be surprised to see Canady.

I'm sure the coaches are well aware of any potential risks, and if they had any doubts, they would consult you.

I talked with Dean in the hall after Sioux Boosters yesterday, and he said that Zach Parise had a strained MCL, not a tear, and that Zach really wanted to play. Dean then said that he may let him play, but it depends on how Zach's knee feels on Thursday or Friday.

Danny Irmen is a Fargo kid. He played one year in Grand Forks at Red River, but played through 9th grade in Fargo.

Hennessy is definitely a homer, but a very good play-by-play man. I realize Woog is a homer, and I did not like him as a coach, but I actually like him as a color commentator. He's better than Mazzoco, who is far less objective, or the ultimate homer with absolutely no objectivity or credibility, Paul Allen for the Vikings.

I agree with Scott. I personally think that Woog's assessment is pretty accurate. I hope and believe that we addressed the goaltending issue, but time will tell. However, I think he's right on with respect to a puck-carrying defenseman. I like Schneider, and he scores a lot of points, but I do not believe that he has the offensive skills of Ballard, let alone persons that they have had in the past like James Patrick, Curtis Murphy, Travis Roche, Ian Kidd, Russ Parent or Brad Williamson.

My observations from the game: 1. The Sioux had the better scoring opportunities, but failed to capitalize. Rory McMahon missed a wide open net from the top of the goal crease, Zach Parise hit a crossbar after faking Reichmuth out of his jock, and Zach missed another open net. 2. UMD is a good hockey team. UMD is a classic clutch-and-hold team, constantly holding sticks, jerseys, etc. However, the league allows it, and Duluth plays very tough defensively. They do not give up the middle of the ice very often, and are physical. 3. The Sioux have many more skill players. UMD has Stapleton (who looked very good and dangerous), Caig (who was a non-factor, mostly because he was so busy sparring with Prpich much of the night) and Geisler, who is very solid. 4. Duluth will win many games if they hold opponents under 4 goals. However, they will not win many shootouts. They just do not have the offensive skills. 5. Prpich won the fight. It was down in front of us, and Prpich landed more shots and the better shots. Also, Peluso deserved it. Caig took a shot at Prpich at the blue line, and Prpich retaliated. Peluso was the 3rd man in, and then took off his face mask and gloves.

I agree. I would much rather see BC, Michigan, etc., even with the risk of losing, than play teams like Canisius, Brown and Bemidji State. One of the reasons that Ralph built the REA was to enable the Sioux to draw the top teams and to compete with the top teams. Why avoid them to have a better record? The holiday tournament has been an absolute joke and fans will eventually find other things to do if the Sioux do not start scheduling some quality opponents. The Sioux football team is now playing teams like UM-Crookston, Moorhead State, etc. I have absolutely no interest in going to those games. Bring in some top teams and the place will be packed. The Gophers football team does the same thing, and nobody takes them very seriously because their record is inflated from playing inferior competition.

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.