skateshattrick

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.