forecheck

I remember hearing about Andy Murray getting in a car accident, but I don't remember where. Maybe it was on the radio? He was on his way to see Brady play, and hit a patch of ice. When the "Zach Attack" comes out on the ice, they'll have to play the song "Friends Forever" by Zach Attack over the sound system. I wouldn't be able to quit laughing if they did. It's not exactly your typical hockey game song.

Ryan Connelly played in almost every game this year up until his shoulder injury.

Yeah, it was in the MN series that I remember seeing Faul, not the Tech series. He was on the ice when Schneider scored on Saturday night. I got them mixed up. Sorry jk! I just remember him being good at faceoffs and doing pretty well on a line with Canady and Palmiscino. I did like Fornier against Tech, too. Heck, I liked 'em all!

jk, Faul played on a line with Palmiscino and Canady last weekend. I think he wins almost every single faceoff he takes, which is a good sign. I remember one specific play where he tapped the ice with the blade of his stick, the puck dropped, and he ever-so-calmly and gently tapped it back for Palmiscino to come in and rip it on net. Goalie held on to the save (don't remember which night or which goalie), resulting in another faceoff. I really do hope we see more of him. And good call about Leinweber, Dagies. I thought he has improved, too. I remember during the Alaska series cheering for him a few times and thinking to myself, boy, he doesn't suck so bad tonight. Good for him. I just hope his injury wasn't too bad. I watched the replay on tv, and they showed him laying there, then suddenly his body went limp and I think he went unconscious. It looked scary since Poolman was laying down next to him massaging his neck. Hope he gets better soon!

Well, the speed thing shouldn't be a problem for us. It's the staying out of the sin bin that seems to be a problem for us. It should be a good couple of games!

I agree that Bochenski and Massen could benefit from some power skating lessons.

I was in Duluth for the series last year, and for the most part I thought their fans were decent. I ended up getting tickets a week before the series and going with some friends who already had tickets, so I had to sit amongst some Duluth fans for the first few minutes of Friday night's game until I realized there was an empty seat right behind them. They were nice and didn't mind it when I screamed and whistled for UND. The only time I was annoyed was when some Duluth students came by us during the second intermission at the Sat. night game when Duluth was up 3-1. They walked by and were rubbing it in our faces, yelling 3-1, but hey, it was to be expected. We had the last laugh. I think (hope) these guys know not to take this weekend lightly. A lot of the older guys still remember when Sandelin was the assistant coach, and have too much respect for him to expect an easy series. Their goaltending and powerplay are going to be a major factor, I think. What we need is solid goaltending (like usual) and to play a clean, solid, full 60 minutes of fast, hard hitting hockey. I would almost like to see Kollar in net at least one of the nights, as I remember Goerhing getting pulled halfway through one of the games last year and Kollar coming in and playing phenomenal. He obviously knows what he needs to work on, and I think Friday night he got rid of those "I haven't played in 2 1/2 months" jitters. Go Sioux and (gulp) go Gophers!

Ditto jk. Thanks Scott! With a free place to stay in Minneapolis, I can't pass up the chance.

Goon, you were talking about tough practice if they lose this weekend against Tech, but does anyone know if they were given a bit of a rest this past week? It seems almost like they would need it if they want to keep everyone healthy! Within a span of a week, starting with the Alaska series, we've heard of D. Hale, Kollar, Schneider, and Spiewak getting hit with the flu, not to mention Fornier earlier this season, although that doesn't really help the point here. Maybe they should have just worked on mentally picturing themselves sweeping this weekend, instead of regular practice. They definitely have the potential to steal a few, and I can't wait to see if they pull off an upset going into the playoffs, assuming we are out of the running for home ice. I also hope that Brandt and Siembida split the series this weekend. Brandt played extremely well against CC, and I think he's proven that he shouldn't be benched any longer. Keep giving them both experience.

At least the Devils don't expect to get Hale until he graduates! Thanks for the link dagies!

That was a pretty complimentary profile. They made it sound like Roche was expected to crack the lineup this season and make an impact. Hopefully that means we'll be watching him next season!

I also would be interested, if you can get the tickets and if jk doesn't want them.

I've mentioned this on USCHO, but I went to the Sunday game in Crookston to watch SSM, and Parise is everything you can ask for in a player. He's very quick, made some good hits, and scored one SHG (almost two, except he was interfered with from behind) and 4 assist in the one game. SSM won 6-2 and he scored on 5 of the 6 goals, and was alos on the ice for the 6th goal. Murray was also very good, scoring 2 goals and 1 assist. Tyler Hirsch, on the other hand, had a bad game. Many many mistakes leading to breakaways, which led to the first 2 Crookston goals, and after the 2nd goal, he got a 10 minute misconduct for breaking his stick on the net. Also, Dave Hakstol and Brad Berry were there, so we were wondering if they were looking at possible future recruits. There were some other talented, big players that would look good in green and white.

Wow, that's really special! I wouldn't have thought that first year professional athletes donate to charities very often, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Way to go Travis!

SiouxperFan, thanks for the info on Spiewak. I heard Hennesey say that Poolman was taking him to the SLU locker room to see the doctor, but he didn't know why at the time.

YaneA, I taped both the semifinal and championship games. You can certainly borrow my tape if you like and record them. I haven't gotten a chance to watch them yet, but it sounds like ESPN missed the first part of the championship game due to a basketball game. Let me know if you want to borrow the tape.

I sent you an e-mail. Way to get into the Christmas spirit! Every hockey fan should have something like that hanging on their tree! Thanks a lot!

Well, on the coaches show tonight Blais said that he was 'looking' at the goalie from Minot State, and watching former player Hasbargen and Ranfrantz play. He mentioned that the Minot goalie would be eligible starting next semester, but he almost sounded like he wasn't bringing a new goalie in for sure. Also, he said that Kollar is going to have an eye checkup, and that they turned all the lights on in the arena this week and had some guys flip pucks into the air. He said there is a bit of a glare from the lights so that you lose sight of the puck. Interesting bit of information. He wasn't blaming the lights on the fluke goal Saturday night, but it could have been a factor.