skateshattrick

PCM--I agree that scoring has also been an issue, but the loss of Hale also has a lot to do with the lack of scoring. The Sioux have been conceding the blue line, which affects the transition game, and has led to penalties caused by Leinweber, Greene, etc. allowing the forwards to skate around untouched. You may recall the CC game in which they led 3-0 and the 1st CC goal was created because Leinweber was chasing the CC player around like a ballerina. This type of defense has led to more penalties which means the better players are spending too much time killing penalites which also affects the offense. This may not be the only reason for the swoon, but when you are playing good teams like CC and Denver, the impact is huge. The impact would be less if the Sioux had depth at defense.

First, to the poster who says that the absence of David Hale is not the cause of the current swoon, I respectfully disagree. The Sioux defense is not deep, and taking Hale out of the lineup forces the coaches to play Leinweber and Marvin regularly, which is scary. The Sioux have 2 excellent defensemen [Hale and Jones], two good defensemen who are now forced to log too many minutes and play specialty teams [schneider and Fuher], 1 that is very talented but has the same affliction as Commodore did his freshman year and that DiMarchi still has [bonehead Greene] and 2 that should seldom see the ice at crunch time, if at all. Additionally, Hales\'s physical presence is missed as is his ability to not concede the blue line. Second, there seems to be widespread skepticism about the Sioux. If they split with Mankato [which they should], the Sioux will still take 2nd or 3rd. Recall that they have 2 games in hand with Mankato and Mankato has to go out to CC. If they can hold serve with Mankato this weekend, Mankato will only be 3 points ahead. The Sioux can take 3 of 4 from Duluth and Wisconsin and still finish ahead of Mankato. Minnesota is the wildcard and may finish 2nd. However, they still have Denver at home, Duluth on the road and St. Cloud for a home and away. The Sioux will get home ice, and probably finish in the top 3 of the WCHA. Put it in the bank!

It is not clear why the Sioux have not recruited Nate Ziegelmann. It may be because they have a glut of goalies, or it may be because they have Lamoreaux coming in the next year. He has been in contact with Duluth and CC, and he will have to choose fairly soon. Schmidtdoggydog can shed more light on this subject because of some inside information, but it is my understanding that he REALLY would like to play for the Sioux but the Sioux coaching staff has not contacted him even once. It is awful hard to second guess Dean Blais and his coaches after the success they have had, but it would be nice to see local talent if they are top notch. I can tell you that the same situation occurred with both Dan Irmen and Grant Potulny in that neither were recruited. Grant may have been somewhat of a question, but Danny Irmen is not. I have seen Danny play since he has been a squirt, and he is the real deal. He will be a stud with the Gophers.

Sprig--As I stated before, you can vote for whoever you want to, but don't complain that Sioux players don't get respect. Sioux fans have no one to blame but themselves if they do not vote for the one legitimate candidate and vote for someone like Spiewak that will be perceived as not a legitimate candidate by anyone who is not affiliated with UND. It is baffling that UND fans as a whole have repeatedly come to the defense of Parise when fans of other teams try to minimize his accomplishments and talents, and now certain fans that have a chance to push him to the top of the fan vote refuse to do so when given the opportunity. Please do not cry now or in future years when the rest of the country does not take Sioux fans seriously.

This has to be one of the silliest threads I have ever seen. If who a person votes for is meaningless because "no Sioux player is going to win it anyway" and a person can vote for whoever they want, then what it is the purpose of the fan vote or this thread? I agree that you can vote for whoever you want, but an objective person cannot vote for Spiewak over Parise under any criteria other than that you like him better or because its popular to favor the underdog. I like Spiewak as well and he is one of my favorite players. However, to compare him to Parise in ability or value to the team is laughable and lacks credibility. Voting for Spiewak over Parise is similar to voting for Brad Defauw over Jeff Panzer, Adam Calder over Jason Blake, Justin Duberman over Greg Johnson or Mark Pivetz over Curtis Murphy. If you don't agree and want an objective view, post on any board of any other WCHA team and see if Spiewak gets mentioned among the top 10 players in the league, and do the same with Parise. Or, ask Hennessy or Bredahl, people who seem them every week. Parise is a legitimate Hobey Baker candidate, and may be the only Sioux who will make the final list [bochenski is a possibility]. He may not have a great chance because of Sejna and because he's a freshman, but he's in the conversation at least. It appears to be politically correct to find fault in Parise's game or to minimize his achievements, but this is the best freshman I have ever seen in a Sioux uniform in over 30 years of watching Sioux hockey. Enjoy him while you can!

There a number of posts about the goaltenders, and a lot of posts now directed at Dean Blais for his lack of patience with the goaltenders. Although there may be some validity to this argument, perhaps it is because Blais lacks confidence in the goalies and that his lack of confidence is justified. Consider: 1. UND signed Brandt before he went to the USHL after a good career at Roseau. However, he struggled in the USHL and was even traded by Steve Johnson because he was the 3rd goaltender at Lincoln. Moorhead coaches used to tell the kids to shoot a lot because he was good for one soft goal a game. His problems with consistency have continued at UND. [Remember St. Cloud?] 2. Siembeda was the most heavily recruited goalie in the country last year. However, he was only 18 and had only played 1/2 year in the USHL. Thus, he may have been a bit overrated. He still has ability, but has a tendency to go down too quickly, has a huge 5-hole and leaves rebounds. I suspect that his problems are confidence, but we all know that Dean will play the goaltenders if they are consistent [e.g., Karl Goehring, Aaron Schweitzer]. Thus, you cannot pin the lack of confidence all on Dean Blais. 3. UND is one of the top programs in the country. Ask yourselves if Minnesota, BC, Michigan, Maine and CC would play goaltenders who lack consistency. The answer is obvious. The head coach cannot afford to be too patient at this level. 4. It is not acceptable that most of the other teams in the league, particularly schools with less recruiting advantages, have better goaltenders. Personally, I would like to see Coach Blais bring in a high profile goaltender. Next year's team has a chance to be special, but will only go as far as the goaltending. I simply do not have confidence in any of the current goaltenders to think they can do what Belfour, Goehring, Casey or Schweitzer did. Dean may not be patient with his goalies, and I hope he continues to strive for the best and not settle for mediocrity or below. Nobody shed a tear when Yurecko or Possin left because they didn't produce. Why the double standard with goaltenders?

I have to wade in here because I know Jeff well and he is a friend. Its one thing to rip him because you do not think he is a good announcer. That is fair criticism. Jeff is very knowledgeable about the game but does not have the flair of Tim Hennessy. However, to rip him because he is too negative about the Sioux is off the mark. Jeff bleeds green, but Pat Sweeney constantly reminds him that they need to be "neutral", not homers like Ed Schultz or the Gophers announcers. As a result, Jeff tries to call the game objectively.

I absolutely agree that Nate Ziegelman would be better than what they have, especially since he wants to come to UND. He just turned down a 3/4 ride from Scott Sandelin and UMD, and CC is also looking at him. He is one of the better goalies in the USHL and has always been solid. Unfortunately, UND has not recruited him. I suspect that UND is not interested because of the glut of goalies and because Philipe Lamoreaux is coming in the next year. Pierre Lamoreaux (his dad) would probably not be happy if UND brought in another goalie. If not Nate Ziegelman, UND should bring in Lamoreaux a year early since he graduates this spring. Next year looks to be a potentially great year for UND. It would be a shame to see them fall short because of goaltending or lack thereof.

Is this a trick question? How about "none of the above?" As good as the Sioux are, this is the Achille's heel. By process of elimination, it has to be Brandt.

Do not overlook Denver and expect a sweep or even 3 points. Denver has had some injuries and some close losses, but they are one of the more talented teams in the league and have very good goaltending. I think it is more realistic to expect a split with Denver and Mankato, and sweeps of Tech, Duluth and Wisconsin. The other wild card is that Wisconsin always plays the Sioux tough, particularly in Madison.

I second Stack's comments. Remember that last year St. Cloud looked unbeatable the first half of the season, and Denver looked unstoppable the second half, winning the league title and the WCHA Final 5. The Gophers took 3rd in the league, did not win the Final 5, yet ended up winning with a mediocre goaltender, so do not write off the Sioux just yet. When the Sioux won it all in 2000, Wisconsin had Heatley and Reichprecht, won the league, and was the clear favorite going into the tournament. If the Sioux get a top 3 finish, which seems likely, they are in a good position to make it to the NCAA tournament, perhaps as a #2 seed. CC looks better at this point, but not that much better. Finally, if the Sioux make the NCAA tournament, isn't that a great year considering that most had them picked for 5th?

Greyeagle--Thank you for the comments. Your objectivity is refreshing. Although my 2nd favorite team is whoever is playing the Gophers, I really enjoy your posts because you try to be fair and objective. If Sid Hartman, PA and Dubay and others acted like you, we might even cheer for the Gophers once in awhile.

Dagies--Good analysis. However, I think you missed one honorable mention. You could make a case that Matt Jones is the best defenseman on the team, or at least very close to David Hale. He is big, fast, smart, physical, does not take many stupid penalties, is very steady and has some offensive ability as well. Another way to look at the team MVP is to look at who will be potential all-WCHA picks. Zach Parise is a sure 1st teamer, Brandon Bochenski is a 1st or 2nd teamer, and Hale, Jones and Schneider will all be in contention for the 1st 3 teams. It is very difficult to have more than 2 on the 1st team and 5 overall because there are many good players in the league. CC has Senja and Clarke, Minnesota has Vanek, Paul Martin and Ballard, Mankato has its top line of forwards (Joseph, Abel and Stevenson), St. Cloud has Malone, and Denver has a number of skill players.

Zach Parise, hands down. He not only has put up the numbers, but makes everyone around him a better player with his work ethic, attitude, skills, etc. He has been everything he was billed to be and more. The impact he has had on the team is comparable to what Dany Heatley did for Wisconsin.

1. Minnesota 2. CC 3. Wisconsin 4. Denver 5. St. Cloud In the old days, Wisconsin would be #1 or 2, but their program has slipped. CC has become a power the last 10 years and they play like the Sioux and Gophers--more skating, less clutch and hold. Duluth used to be there also in the 70's and 80's, but they have slipped. Hopefully, Scott Sandelin will get them back to prominence. St. Cloud is getting easy to dislike, so they slip in ahead of Duluth.

Diggler---Which Shattuck team are the 85 Dakota Selects playing? I believe that Shattuck has 4 different levels. In the past few years, the Dakota Select teams have not fared very well against the Canadian AAA teams like Notre Dame out of Saskatchewan. Even the group that included Irmen and Potulny lost 6-0 to Notre Dame a couple of years ago in Minot. The other teams (86, 87 and 88) did even worse against Notre Dame and the top Minnesota Select teams.

Fighting Sioux Fan--Well intended idea, but not very realistic. Shattuck is an elite AAA high school team that plays about 60 games per year. They play and even beat some of the USHL teams and some of the smaller college teams. Shattuck would probably not have much trouble with high school all star teams from North Dakota or even Minnesota. As good as Red River and Central are in many years, they would not be able to compete. That is why many Shattuck kids get college scholarships right out of high school and do not have to go the usual route of juniors like the USHL.

JBB--If you are going to post, please learn how to spell. "Route" is a traveled way. "Rout" is the term for beating a team badly. It is also "whiskey" not "whisky". You really reveal your ignorance a.k.a. school affiliation with your spelling. You have no credibility or objectivity to begin with because of your NDSU bias, but your grammar only magnifies your ignorance. Please go lay by your dish---nobody cares about your opinions.

JBB--You are welcome for the spelling corrections. It is the least that I can do for the academically/developmentally challenged friends who have no choice but to attend the high school with ashtrays. What was your major---cows? tractors? You were wrong, however, about one thing. Although I attended UND, I am one of the many UND fans living in Fargo. The fact that you interrupted the UND message board confirms that: (1) NDSU is irrelevant, particularly in athletics [is women's volleyball still the major sport?]; and (2) that you have too much time on your hands, which is not surprising since a degree from NDSU means you are probably unemployed or working the night shift for Burger King.

JBB does make a few valid points, mainly that the Clear Channel contract is valuable to UND because it has coverage throughout North Dakota and much of Western Minnesota. Schultz also has his value for UND football, but should have nothing to do with hockey. However, JBB should at least learn how to spell "impetuous" and "blame" before using them in a sentence. I suppose that is above average spelling for someone who graduated from NDSU aka The High School with Ashtrays. Many of the UND football recruits cannot get into NDSU because they either have too high of grades or no criminal record.

Connelly did not turn the puck over on the 3rd goal. It was right in front of me. Leinweber came around the net and cleared it up the middle. The CC defensemen picked it off, took a quick shot, and it was tipped. It was ugly, but put the blame on the person who did it. Connelly had a very solid night. Leinweber was brutal. He did the same thing shortly before the 3rd goal, which fortunately did not result in a goal. Even though Brandt made some nice saves, the 4th goal was all him. It was a harmless slapshot and he kicked out a huge rebound. Schneider had a chance to clear, but fanned. Cullen came right up the middle untouched and had an easy goal.

Phil Lamoreaux is not coming in until 2004. They need a goalie either now or at the beginning of next year to compete for a national championship. This team is not too far away right now, and they are expected to be better next year. One of the posters indicated that the goalies are not bad, just inconsistent. Other than the 2002 Gophers, tell me a team that has won a national championship with an inconsistent goalie? Also, consider in 1997 that the Sioux were sputtering with Toby until they went with Aaron Schweitzer. Toby was not a bad goalie, but horribly inconsistent. The same could be said of most of the goalies when the Sioux were down in the 90's and last year [Chris Dixon, Andy Kollar]. In St. Cloud, our goaltenders game up 7 goals on 25 shots on Friday night. That is a pretty high percentage to score on breakaways. This weekend was more of the same. Jake Brandt struggled in the USHL, which is why he was traded by Lincoln. Siembeda has obvious talent, but has not shown that he can consistently play to the level of a No. 1. Its a little ironic that Ziegelmann was never given the credit he deserved because he played in front of a good team. The excuse was that his GAA and save percentage were inflated because he did not face many shots. Now, some persons excuse the low save % and GAA of our current goalies because its tough when the defense is doing such a great job and the goalies are not facing many shots. You can't have it both ways. If that is true, then Ziegelmann must have really been good. I think he's showing that in the USHL this year where he is the No. 1 in Lincoln and continues to have impressive numbers. As for the comment that he would have been recruited if he was so good, the answer is that he is being recruited. Please also consider that Grant Potulny was not recruited by UND and Danny Irmen had scholarship offers from Minnesota and CC. I realize its tough to get all of the local kids, and UND's record speaks for itself, but it may be a mistake to let Ziegelmann go elsewhere. I recognize and respect the argument that it may be disruptive to bring in another goalie at the break. I'm sure that the coaches have to weigh that against whether they think the Sioux can go very far this year if they brought in another goalie. Its obviously a tough call. However, they do need to address this for next year's team. I hope that Josh Siembeda steps up and plays like he's capable, but until he does, the Sioux need to find a top goaltender. Whether that is Nate Ziegelmann or someone else, it has to be a major concern.

I have heard (from a former Sioux player and USHL coach) that Minnesota is also very interested in Nate Ziegelmann and that there are unsubstantiated rumors that they may bring him in after Christmas. If that is the case, I hope that UND does whatever is necessary to bring him in. Nate is very talented, and I would hate to lose another local kid to the Gophers. Several weeks ago at Sioux Boosters in Fargo, Dave Hakstol was asked if they were going to bring in a goalie at Christmas. He denied that that was even a consideration, claimed that they were happy with the goaltending and said that the No. 1 goalie was Josh Siembeda. However, after saying that Josh was No. 1, the Sioux did not play or even dress Josh Siembeda for 5 games until last Saturday, which is odd, and seems to fuel rumors that the Sioux are not happy with the goaltending. The Sioux have obvious problems with goaltending. The only question is whether it needs to be addressed this year or at the beginning of next season. It depends on whether one believes that they are good enough to compete for a national championship this year with a good goalie. I do not believe they can win with average to below average goaltending, which is clearly the situation now. Virtually every WCHA team has better goaltending (CC, Wisconsin, AAU, Duluth, Denver, St. Cloud, and maybe even MSU). The one obvious exception is Minnesota, and they are looking.