Kuhninca

Do the Sioux have the talent to beat the Pioneers? Yes. CAN THEY? No. Why? Because THIS Sioux team only knows how to P1SS away games in the last ten seconds, give up weak goals, etc. Blais: Better think about recruiting ANOTHER goaltender...FAST! Congrats on a fabulous 8TH PLACE FINISH.

Well, I wish I could say it was a surprise, but the Sioux beat themselves with 0:08 left in overtime.

Now WHOM could you possibly be referring to when you request that no one use these stats to predict points in the offseason? As for the freshmen comparrison, I'd have to agree that all of our current class is capable of scoring a good amount of points as they progress. Blais is unhappy with the ethic or attitude of some players, however, and I think they have been undisciplined at times. Also, don't forget that there ARE freshmen who truly stand out and step up in their first seasons (Jeff Panzer = 37?; Bayda = 40). Some of the players with less than ten points have played almost every game, which might be enough for Blais to judge that they have not improved enough during the season. In any case, I agree that next season will be much better. But for now....Beat the Pioneers!

He didn't say who would not return. I sent a follow up email to see if he knew anything more specific. If names are given, I'll post them.

Heard a rumor from a pretty reliable source today that 2 or 3 of the underclassmen will NOT be returning next year due to Blais being unhappy with their performance. I'm intensely curious to find out if that is true, since my "source" is usually correct about unpublished pending issues.

Well, DU is missing a few players and UND is finally healthy. That has to give a little more confidence to the home team this coming weekend. My hope is that David Lundbohm has his best weekend of the season and that Skarperud-Bocheski-Bayda do not come up short. If we can get a few other guys to contribute, like Massen, Canady, R. Hale, Spiewak, or Notermann, we just might pull off a win or two vs this injured Denver team. Here's to being optimistic! Maybe, just maybe, this team is finally ready to step it up for a big series AT HOME.

UND's hallmark under Blais has been the ability to produce more offensive chances than the opponent. I remember the 2000 championship game - even when they were down 1-2 they led the shot charts about 28-20 or something like that. Eventually, in the third period, it paid off for them. This year, the crew is too green to bury the black in the back of the net. Blais should have realized this before he cut O'leary and Hasbargen and Murphy. If you're going to field role-players they may as well be veterans (instead of R.Connelly and D.Faul and R. MacMahon). My stance is - if you can't get 10+ points as as frosh, you won't see much ice with this program. Anyway, this season is pretty much toast. All we can hope for is that the boys train their Arses off over the Summer. We seem to be stuck with a group that has big question marks regarding their success at the D1 level. Thank God we got Parise! Word is he is the real deal. Also, I am anxious to see how good Genoway can be. And, of course, we bring back Fylling, who should be a rocket out there on the ice. Here's to next season - may it be infinitely better!

Of course we are spoiled here as fans of UND. Most programs never acheive the level of success we have enjoyed for nearly 25 years (plus those years in the 60's). Then again, we have one of the most profitable programs and we definitely have the best facilities in the nation. I wonder if ANY other program offers a coach a cool MILLION to finish his contract? We at UND are very demanding (me especially = huge brat), but that is what we SHOULD be expecting as fans if we want this program to lead the nation in championships. Nothing less will do!

It is in the best interest of UND to be "compassionately ruthless" with the scholarship thing. If a player is on-the-bubble as an incoming recruit (ex: a 40-50 pt scorer in the USHL) and does not give his absolute best every second on the ice, he should know that he will be replaced. This program is about success. We want to lead the nation in championships. In order to do that, you can't babysit guys who don't perform. It's not the 70's anymore.

Blais was REALLY hoping that Denver would win the MacNaughton outright this weekend so that they would come into ND flat. Unfortunately, that will not be the case. Sorry, folks, but this team has not proven to be the type that will upset Denver on their biggest weekend of the season. If it happens, I'll eat my words (and you can all call me on that), but the chances of us beating them next week are slim and none. At least we can look forward to next season. That is...with a few new forwards who don't suck.

UND gets a come-from-behind win tonight. However, without the brilliant play of one single freshman (Bochenski), the weekend would have been a total loss. The point is...UND will get is arse handed to them next weekend by Denver. Final analysis for the season = suck donkey d1ck! Can't wait for next season, when Parise, Fylling, & Genoway will raise the bar on what an underclassmen is "Supposed" to do for the team.

I don't think B. Connelly has the option of going anywhere else. He would have to sit out for awhile as a transfer and that would cause him Skarperud syndrom - running out of eligibility in years before running out of seasons. As a guess, I'd have to say Fylling, Parise & Genoway will all get significant time next season, with Faul & both Connelly's getting less games. It's a good problem to have - too many capable forwards. Next season should be much better than this one has been. It can't get too much worse!

Wow! Those boys had a little pent-up frustration, wouldn't you say? GREAT to see Massen get a hat-trick. We desperately need another forward who can cause some damage up front. I surely hope this gives Massen the confidence to crash the net hard more often. As for Kollar, he plays pretty well in-close, but again tonight a long-bomber got through his legs and nearly into the net. Luckily for him, it hit the post. He's a good guy, but he seems to have lost his edge from a couple seasons ago. This is one of those games that makes you wonder what will happen tomorrow? Will the Sioux revel in their single-game blow-out and blow another game at home? Will they come back with the same fire, realizing their home record this year still stinks? We shall see.... Go Sioux.

Okay, I'm the first to admit that I am a huge brat this season. I've been totally spoiled with 20 years of excellent Sioux hockey. Never in that span has there been a year this poor at home, and it kills me, since I'm forever a fan. You're probably right about negativity not helping anything, except myself. Just want to get those frustrations out. It was an incredibly stressful week and I was in need of a Sioux win. On the other side of the coin, Canady deserved to get ripped because he took a 5 min. major that wore the team out. He speared a guy in the neck and got called for it. Dumb! Then he took ANOTHER penalty. He should be benched for a game at least. Sheppard really blew the non-call with 10 seconds to go, because it resulted in the GWG. Blais had the good judgement not to lash out in public. Maybe he should post here on the boards! Finally, there is something to be said for the "Tech factor." By that, I mean that often a team that is down stays down and never develops the winning edge. All the comments about a lack of leadership and not knowing how to pull out wins has real validity. We don't want to become a program where 0-fer-6 in a row at home is ACCEPTABLE. Forget that.

Nice game, Canady.

Sad fact is:

Okay, as I originally expected to post, UND again lost at home. So, they are now 0-4-1 in the last 5 games at home. Way to go Sioux. I don't give a rat's ass about how many freshmen are in the lineup. That argument is OLD AS CAN BE after 25+ games. Fact is, we have the worst home record in the WCHA and we are becoming the laughing stock of the league. WE WERE THE TEAM that UM used to break their Friday night jinx. AAAAAAGGGH!

This game was CRAZY! Did we win? What the #### happened?

Palmiscno will certainly play for Fournier. My guess is that Dean will play B. Connelly in place of Ryan. In fact, I've been surprised this season that he hasn't seen more ice. The kid had 26 pts as a Sophmore in the CHA two seasons ago before transfering to UND. Go Sioux!

UND absolutely NEEDED a two week period to get ready for UM.

I remember, during the HOF game weekend, one of the Gopher players commented "The ice is BAD" when asked. I've been wondering ever since whether they fixed the conditions or not. Anybody get more updates on the problem?

Keys to beating the Gophs: 1. Stay the #@*! out of the penalty box! 2. Skate hard, forecheck & shoot the puck when the opportunity arises. These might sound obvious, but if we give Minnie the powerplay, they are going to score. Also, if we go into a defensive shell, they are going to pepper our goaltender with shots. Basically, UND needs to disrupt UM's puck movement with a strong checking game and keep the shots on goal more even than last time they met. Also, we'll need excellent goaltending if we want to pull out a W or two. Go Sioux

While this has undoubtedly been Blais' toughest coaching job since taking the helm, I don't think you can call this his best coaching season UNLESS they DO run the table, which is highly unlikely. That or win the Final Five and make the regional playoffs. Something they are not expected to do. Otherwise, this season will be remembered as little more than a painful rebuilding year where teams like 'Kato and UAA kicked our butts at home! Anyway, the time for assessing Dean's coaching this season will be in two months. First, let's take care of those rodents! Go Sioux. Crush the varmints!

During Blais' postgame comments last night, he made an on-air appeal for Palmiscno to "get home and answer the phone." Apparently, they want to play him tonight. If a player gets injured, is it allowed that an extra player can make the trip? Go Sioux P.S. Great article in today's Herald: http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/2546361.htm

The REST of the season: Blais STILL thinks his team can finish 5th. Can you believe it? You gotta love the will to win! UND has an agreeable stretch to close out the regular season. If they can ride the Bayda - Skarperud - Bochenski combo to their potential, things will happen Skarperud has really busted out as of late. He's playing like the Senior he wishes he wasn't in his Junior year. Go Sioux.