skateshattrick

Correction--"mid major" basketball. D1AA football. Nobody still cares.

WYOBISONMAN--Then what are you doing on this board other than stirring up trouble? I consider Division 1AA football and BB akin to Arena football. Not quite good enough for the big time, and nobody cares about it. NDSU aka "the high school with ashtrays" would not know about D1 sports because it has never competed at the level. The Sioux really thought that NDSU would move to D3 since it could not compete at D2 even when it was recruiting criminals. Many UND football players considered playing at NDSU but were ineligible because they had no criminal records and they had too high of grades. I'm sure that your degree from NDSU served you well---what pizza chain do you deliver pizzas for? Next time, please do not take the whole bottle of stupid pills before posting.

I don't think that there is any question that UND will be better next year because they don't lose much to graduation IF no one leaves early, or only David Hale goes. Spiewak and Noterman will be missed, but the impact should be less than Bayda and Skarperud, and Parise and Bochenski will be a year older and much better. Murray is apparently very fast and plays like Jeff Panzer. He can't be too shabby if he is the 3rd leader scorer in the BCHL, made 1st team all BCHL, and received MVP votes. He did this as a 17 year old, so his upside is huge and the excitement should be similar to Parise's arrival. The difference is that teams can no longer key on just Parise anymore. I have also heard from a Minneapolis parent who has a kid playing for BU that Stafford and Smaby from Shattuck are very good and will make an impact. The only question is whether they will be as good as the Gophers, which I think that they can be. The rest of the league should be chasing these 2, but as everyone correctly pointed out, you never know. That is what makes the WCHA so much fun.

That is a very good and legitimate question. I think that the Gophers will be very good next year, but there are so many intangibles. I truly expect Vanek to leave if he is drafted in the top 10, which it appears that he will. The Gophers have adequate, but not great goaltending. The Sioux should be very good, but also have many question marks, including goaltending. Mankato will be good, but I don't expect them to contend for a WCHA title or a national championship. Duluth is on the rise, but I don't see a lot of stars other than Caig and Stapleton. Denver was surprisingly average this year, but they have a lot of good returning talent. CC will lose a lot, but they have good freshmen (Mark Stuart) and some good recruits coming in. One of the reasons it is difficult to predict is because teams rise and fall that are not expected to do well. Last year (2001-02), Denver was picked 5th. Yet, most objective fans will tell you that they were the best team in the WCHA last year and perhaps the country. They won the WCHA, the WCHA playoffs, and the season series with Minnesota. They got sent to Michigan and lost on Michigan's home ice. The same thing happened to Minnesota in 97, UND in 98 (maybe UND's best team during the run from 97-2001), and CC this year. CC was not picked to win it this year after finishing 5th in 2001-02. Yet, for most of the year, they were the best team. Mankato was picked 8th, and tied the Gophers for second. They also played them tough. It took the Gophers OT to win the season series. The Gophers look very good on paper, but many things can happen. Believe it or not, the Sioux should be very good. Before this year, Blais said his goal was to finish in the top 5 of the league to get home ice, make it to the WHCA Final 5, and hopefully, make it to the NCAA tournament. He did not expect to compete for a championship this year, but said many times "watch out in 2003-04". He fully expects to compete for a national championship. The main reason is that Parise would be a year older, and reunited with Brady Murray, who had almost as many points as a junior at Shattuck. I cannot imagine a scarier line in college hockey than Parise-Murray-Bochenski if Parise and Bochenski both return as expected. I would give the Gophers depth an edge, but it will depend upon the impact of incoming freshman. However, the Sioux may have the best top line. [remember that the Sioux almost won in 2001 with 1 great line] I would also give the Gophers defense the edge if Hale does not return, but not by much. Martin, Ballard and Harrington are very good, but Jones, Schneider, Greene and Fuher are not bad either. I expect that Smaby will also be very good, and from what I hear, can skate and carry the puck. The bottom line: The Gophers should be the favorites, but not by much. I really think the Sioux will be very good, much better than this year and should challenge UM the whole year. UMD, CC, Denver and Mankato should also be good, but UMD is still another year away from competing for a WCHA crown and NCAA Frozen 4. Wisconsin HAS to be better because they have too much tradition. Outside of the league, Michigan is young and talented, but typically loses a lot of young players early. BC is very young and talented, as are Maine and BU. That is my objective take on next year. Remember that everyone thought the Sioux would win in 1998 after winning it in 1997 and with all of their returning talent. They rolled through the WCHA and were No. 1 for most of the year. However, they went to Michigan and went home disappointed. Anything can happen, and usually does.

Nice picture of your girlfriend WYOBISONMAV. She really is one of the prettier NDSU cheerleaders that I have seen.

The article is really not worthy of a response. Look at the guy. He probably knows as much about hockey as Sid Hartman. He's just stirring the pot because he has nothing to write about after the Bison were the doormats of the NCC in football.

TheFlop---There are 6 Lamoreaux kids. The oldest, Phillipe, is coming in 2004. He is a goalie with Lincoln. Jacque just finished 10th grade at Grand Forks Central. He is rumored to be heading to Lincoln, but his coach was not sure if that was true. PJ is a 9th grader, and was injured most of the year for GF Central. He was actually a 2nd year bantam playing high school, and will be back in High School. Mario was an 8th grader, and would have been a 2nd year bantam, but played for GF Central last year. He will also be back. There are rumors about him going to Shattuck, but his dad says they are not true. The girls are 7th graders (Monique and Jocelyn), and are also rumored to be going to Shattuck, but it is unsubstantiated.

The 2 loudmouthed Gopher fans are amazingly quiet. They either have to ask their moms what some of the big words mean, or they are late for their jobs at Burger King.

ND Gopher, I think YOU need to get your facts straight. Vanek's date of birth is 1/17/84, and Parise's is 7/28/94. Not only is 6 months significant at this age, that also means that Vanek always played 1 level up. For example, when Zach was a 1st year Bantam, Vanek would have been a 2nd year bantam. When Zach was a senior in high school at Shattuck, Vanek was playing juniors. Zach is a true freshman, Vanek is not. Only the USA Hockey Development teams and select teams play a calendar year, but Minnesota PeeWees, Bantams and High School play a school year. Thus, Vanek has an extra year even though he's only 6 months older. I realize that Vanek is European, so the rules may be different, but he's a calendar year older in any country. Please don't spout off unless you have some clue what you are talking about. As for the criticism of not playing both ends, it is a common criticism of Vanek from former players and coaches. I have heard it frequently from former Sioux players and coaches who have coached in the USHL. Anybody who watches the games on the Gopher Sports Channel who does not see things through maroon and gold glasses would see the same thing. Vanek is more like Bochenski, who is also very strong, has excellent hands, and has a better shot than Vanek. However, Bochenski does not skate as well as Parise either, does not always play both ends of the rink, nor does he have as complete of a game. Yet, Bochenski scored more than Vanek on a team without nearly as much depth. By your analysis, that apparently makes Bochenski better than Vanek?

As great of a scorer as Vanek is, I would take Parise any day. He is a much better skater, sees the ice better, and plays both ends of the rink. Vanek has incredible hands and is a scoring threat every time he is on the ice, but his overall game is not as good, particularly his defense. Keep in mind that he is also younger. Parise will be a better pro, but be patient--he is only 18.

JK--Well put. We can agree to disagree. I think you are underrating Murphy's strength. If Schneider can get to his level, he will go down as one of the all-time great UND defenseman. Murphy would be in the NHL now if he were bigger. The Wild have brought him up a few times, but keep sending him down.

JK --You cannot be serious when you say that Schneider is better defensively than Murphy and Williamson! He's not even in their league, particularly Murphy. Murphy played the body better, held the zone better, was much better in transition and yes, was much better defensively. Additionally, Schneider is not close offensively. If he was so good, he would play the point on the power play rather than a forward like Lundbohm or Fylling. I think Schneider has potential, but he constantly takes slap shots that are blocked by defenders rather than stepping around or just getting a wrister on net, and mishandles passes at the point and fails to hold the zone. I know Schneider is a local boy, and we love to hate Ballard, but I saw Ballard score huge goals against Ferris State and CC down the stretch because he is such a good skater and puckhandler and moves to the middle of the ice. I would be interested to see how Schneider did against the top WCHA competition like UM, CC, Mankato, Duluth and St. Cloud, and see how many of his points were against subpar competition like Canisius, AAU, Wisconsin, Brown, Bemidji State, etc. There is no bigger Sioux hockey fan than me, but I am also objective. The Sioux still lack the offensive defensiveman that they need for the transition game and power play.

You are right about Fargo not producing many D1 hockey players, although Danny Irmen is from Fargo and is very good. Additionally, Brandon Askew could have played, but got recruited by the top golf programs in the country, so chose golf over playing 1 or 2 years of USHL hockey. The obvious reason for the lack of D1 talent from Fargo is lack of ice and ice time. Fargo is over 100,000, yet has only 4 ice sheets that are used. The park district supplies only 2 of them, the others are from private clubs. The Moorhead Bantam A's practice every day from 3:45 to 5:15. By contrast, the Fargo Flyers and Raiders Bantam A's get 1 and 3/4 hours per week of ice time, and typically practice at 6:00 am or after 9:00 pm at night. The PeeWees and Squirts from both the Flyers and Raiders get the same ice time. Earlier in the year, the Flyers A teams beat Moorhead at Squirts, PeeWees and Bantams. Later, all 3 of our teams lost to Moorhead, albeit in close games. That is partly due to lack of ice, and partly due to competition (Moorhead goes to the Twin Cities several times per year and plays the best competition). Fargo is adding 2 ice sheets this fall, which will help, but is still not nearly enough. Fargo has the worst facilities and the least amount of ice of any city in North Dakota. That is the main reason why there are so few kids from Fargo who play D1.

There is a whole post on this, "Last game reviews . . ." The bottom line: The Sioux were good, but not nearly as good as it appeared the 1st half. There is no depth at forward, goaltending is mediocre, there is no offensive-minded defensemen, and the Sioux specialty teams are not good. They need to get away from dump and chase hockey and get back to speed, passing and quick transition hockey. On the positive side, they are close. If they can replace a few players who have not produced, get a few more scorers (Murray should be an impact player), get a Ballard-type defenseman, and get a good goaltender (Sedevie?), they can compete for a national championship.

Yes. I was at that game at Joe Louis. A puck bounced off of the boards behind the net and came right out in front for an easy tap-in goal. I'm not sure the Gophers would have won, but it sure killed any chance to win.

Greyeagle, its nice to hear that you were cheering for the WCHA. I would like to think that there are many more Minnesota fans like you out there. However, I was at Mariucci this weekend and the majority were cheering for Ferris State. An even more vocal majority cheered when it was announced that St. Cloud lost. I know people can cheer for whoever they want to, but I have always cheered for the WCHA when it comes to tournament time. If Sioux fans did that at our rink, I would be embarassed. My 15 year old son, who has played hockey since he was 5, could not believe it, and simply stated in frustration "I hate the Gophers." I really can't blame him, because we felt the same way in 1995 at a playoff game between the Red Wings and Jets when the Winnipeg crowd booed the US national anthem. They also had that right, but to me, it lacked class. Several of the posters have questioned how Sioux fans can cheer for teams other than UM because they are a WCHA team. Perhaps this will give those persons some perspective and insight. The Gophers have a great team, and are one the top programs in the country along with UND, Michigan, Michigan State, BU, BC, Wisconsin and Maine. It is some fans, including those who cheer when a WCHA team loses, or come on this message board to talk trash, that diminishes that great program in the eyes of many Sioux fans. The rivalry with Wisconsin has always been very intense, probably close to the UM/UND rivalry. Wisconsin fans put away the rivalry and gave us the home ice advantage at the NCAA Regionals in 2000 by cheering on the Sioux. The Sioux fans also cheered loudly for Wisconsin when it was playing BC. Why? Because it was the WCHA. At least some Gopher fans like yourself recognize that and it is much appreciated.

I'm not sure that this is a Sioux team that simply ran out of gas. Frankly, they are not a great team even though they have some great players. These are my objective thoughts: 1. The Sioux have 1 great line, and only 2 lines capable of scoring. Parise and Bochenski are great. Spiewak and Noterman had good years, but are not great scorers. Still, they are among the top 6 on the team. Add in Lundbohm (when he passes the puck and does not try to stickhandle around the other team like a squirt player), Massen (who is very inconsistent) and Prpich. Other teams figured that out about 1/2 way through the season, and were able to shut down or minimize Parise and Bochenski. I was told that by a former UMD alum at Christmas when the Sioux were No. 1 in the country, and his words were prophetic. 2. The Sioux sophomore class of forwards has been disappointing. Bochenski is the only true star player. Massen and McMahon have talent, but are inconsistent and would be fortunate to skate 3rd or 4th line for the Gophers. Canady and Connelly have been disappointing with 1 goal between them and would not dress for the Gophers. One left the team and is back home in Alaska. 3. There are several other forwards who have not contributed. Palmiscino is not very good. I know that he is a local boy, but his success in the USHL was due primarily to playing with Fedotenko, who went directly to the pros. Ryan Hale scored only 2 goals, which just does not cut it for a 2nd or 3rd line forward. 4. The Sioux defense has some talent with Hale, Jones, Schneider, Fuher and Greene, but does not have a puck-carrying offensive defenseman like Ballard, Preissing, McKenzie, Paul Martin, Skinner, etc. The Sioux have always had this type of defenseman in successful years, from Ian Kidd, Russ Parent, James Patrick, Curtis Murphy, Brad Williamson to Travis Roche. This has hurt the power play tremendously. The Sioux should not have to resort to using forwards like Lundbohm and Fylling. It also hurts the transition game, which affects the scoring. If Hale leaves as expected, he will be difficult to replace. The Sioux badly need a Keith Ballard type player. 5. The Sioux breakouts are horrible. For the past 2 years, the Sioux breakout has consisted of either banging the puck off of the boards or the high glass and dumping the puck in. I do not believe that this is a coincidence, as it happened after Sandelin left. If this is Hakstol and Berry's system, please get rid of it. Since Dean Blais took over, the Sioux have been a great passing and skating team. The last 2 years have not resembled that style. 6. The Sioux cycle the puck, but no one goes to the net or gets in front like Potulny. Massen needs to get stronger because he should be that type of player. As a result, the Sioux do not score from the point very often on the power play or while set up in their offensive zone. 7. Goaltending is still a major issue. Brandt played well at the end, but I don't think that he is a Goehring, Casey, Schweitzer, or even among the top 4 or 5 in the WCHA. Siembeda is not the answer. Hopefully, Sedevie is the guy. 8. We need to get back to recruiting Western Canada. Mankato found Stevenson and Joseph, Duluth found Caig, and Denver and CC recruit heavily from Western Canada. The best Sioux teams were a mix of ND, Minnesota, Canada, Illinois, etc. I am not trying to be negative, only realistic and objective. This team should be better next year with Murray and Smaby, and should contend for a title next year, but they need (1) more depth in scoring (2) a playmaking defenseman and (3) championship caliber goaltending. If they do not get that, we may be disappointed next year.

I was at the Regional in Minneapolis this weekend, and it reinforced why many Sioux fans hate the Gopher fans. Most of the Gopher fans cheered for Ferris State. Additionally, when the St. Cloud score was announced, the Gopher fans cheered the fact that St. Cloud was losing. I have not seen that from fans of other WCHA teams. I have been to 3 national championships and 4 regional NCAA tournaments. [For you Gopher fans, the Sioux won all 3 in 1987, 1997 and 2000---The Gophers won none from 1979 until last year]. The vast majority of fans from Wisconsin, Colorado College and other WCHA schools cheer for the other teams from the WCHA. The one exception has always been the Gopher fans. It is pathetic. It is also pathetic when a bunch of Gopher fans inundate the Sioux message board to talk trash and spew the same nonsense and spin that idiots like Sid Hartman have always advanced and is now being advanced by people like Jeff Dubay and Happy and some of the posters on this board who apparently have time off from their pizza delivery jobs. For those of you who continue to believe that the Gophers did not win in the past because they had 18 year olds and the Sioux had game-experienced 21 year olds, please look at the old programs. Dan Woog and Steve DeBus were the 2 oldest players in the WCHA. By contrast, the Sioux had 18 year olds on their roster such as Brad DeFauw, Peter Armbrust, Jeff Ulmer, Jason Ulmer and Trevor Hammer. Please do not let the facts get in the way of your opinions based solely on pride and arrogance. That is why my 2nd favorite team is whoever is playing the Gophers and I hope that any team from any conference beats them, even if it means that Michigan gets Number 10. The Gophers will not catch up with the Sioux in National Titles in my lifetime or any of yours, only in excuses for why they have less titles.

I cannot fathom why Palmiscino would play ahead of Genoway. Genoway and the 4th line have not produced, but Palmiscino is a marginal D1 prospect. He cannot score, does not play physical, and plays no defense. I'm not sure that he would stand out for Concordia.

StarzUND--Who did you hear this from? I also heard this from one of the Sioux announcers who knows Steve Johnson well. He did acknowledge that it was just a rumor, and questioned whether it was true given the salary that Steve Johnson makes as a coach and general manager. In that same conversation, I was told that Dean Blais is not leaving because he assured the parents of Zach Parise and Brady Murray that he was not going anywhere while their kids attended UND.

I'm not sure that I understand why everyone is jumping down Sioux_11's throat, other than political correctness. I suspect that a great deal of Sioux fans feel the same way, as do Gopher fans about the Sioux. That is why it is called a RIVALRY. Second, it IS a Sioux message board, so I think that he has every right to vent and express his feelings. His statements are pretty tame compared to the flames on the POI board or the USCHO board, or any talk show hosted by the clueless duo of Sid Hartman and Dark Starr, PA and equally clueless Dubay, or anything hosted by Midwest Sports Channel. We have had to put up with excuses about 25 year old Canadians, to relaxed academic standards, to how North Dakota could not field its own team, to the incredible statement by Sid Hartman that it is easier to recruit at a Division II school because we can concentrate on only 1 sport. I respect the Gophers success, but the arrogance and excuses do get old. If the Gopher fans that visit our board do not like it, go back to POI or USCHO and continue your flamefest there like Happy and Yellowdog and some of the other Gopher fans. I have yet to see any of you jump on those 2 morons for the threads like "The Real Reason North Dakota has Won so Many Championships." Read that thread, and you will know where Sioux_11 is coming from. Until you start jumping on those posters for not representing the views of Gopher fans in general, your comments really have no credibility.

Derek Shepperd is brutal, as is most of the officiating in the WCHA. Don Adam is the worst and Shepperd is a close second. Unfortunately, even Mike Schmitt, Robin Anderson and Mason allow too much interference and obstruction. Over the past few years, the league officials have allowed the clutch-and-hold, hooking and mugging without calling penalties. In Friday night's game, the shots were 17-15. That is not all team defense, its obstruction and interference. Wisconsin, Denver, St. Cloud and Duluth have played this way for years because they do not have the skill or team speed and they can get away with it. Frankly, its worse now in the WCHA than in the NHL which is quite an indictment. The NHL is far from perfect, and that style of play is what caused Mario Lemieux to retire once. The problem is that it allows the less-skilled teams to neutralize the skill players and gain an unfair advantage. It also means that the bigger, slower player will have a greater impact than a smaller, quicker player with more skills. It will ruin the college game if they allow the teams to play that way, and ultimately, it will trickle down to younger players. If you heard the interview with J.P. Parise, he also mentioned that he was shocked by the amount of interference and obstruction that occurs in the college game, particularly the WCHA. If it continues, why would a prospect like Zach Parise choose college over major juniors or the minors? Zach is constantly getting held to the point that it looks like he's wearing the other teams' jersey or needs a saddle. I mentioned this to Randy Schmidt, and he did not disagree. He said that the meetings after the year would be "interesting."

Prpich reminds me more of an Adam Calder type. Tough, gritty, plays good defense, not exceptionally fast or a great skater, but has a good shot and will score 12-15 goals.

Amn5hol--Thanks for the analysis. How is Jordan Parise? Are there other good goalies in the USHL that are not committed to a college?

Flatspin7--With all due respect to Mike Commodore, he was not the reason for the success of the team. Its nice to have a Commodore, but the Sioux have several who are very similar. Greene is almost a clone with more upside. He's a better skater and has a better shot. He also had Commodore's penchant for stupid penalties. Hopefully, he will learn like Commodore did as he matures. If you look at the successful UND teams over the years, the common denominator [other than great goaltending] is a highly skilled defenseman who can carry the puck, generate offense and ignite the transition game. That was true of Ian Kidd (1986-87), Russ Parent, Curtis Murphy, Brad Williamson and Travis Roche. Those are the players who logged the critical minutes and typically engineered the power play, and often were the penalty killers as well. Blais and Hakstol recognize how vital these guys are, as they have mentioned it several times at Sioux Boosters, but claim that there are very few available. Preissing chose CC, and they recruited Ballard hard, it looked like he was coming, and then he decided to go to the Gophers. The same is true of Skinner from DU. That type of defenseman and a shut-down goalie are the two main things this team needs.