Shawn-O

MUST.....STAY....POSITIVE....!!!

It's called: "Git er' done!!" Props to the brown and yellow. I must shower now.

Sal is sandwiched between Betsy and June, and is otherwise detained.

Apologies ahead of time..... is the fightingsioux.com audio link working for anybody? Just set up a new PC. Thanks!

Sorry if this is redundant. Is the Sioux radio internet broadcast down?

I don't know if "exceeds expectations" is the right way to put it, but this year's freshman are definitely holding up their end of the bargain. Zajac and Spirko have been terrific, Kaip is a workhorse of the McMahon mold, and Phil is our best guy in the pipes by a long shot. Radke will be a good one here before he's done, too. Just needs more playing time. The freshman forwards have been the most pleasant surprise to me.

The only outcome that would be a surprise here would be a Sioux sweep, IMHO. A split is most likely, but getting swept is definitely within the realm of possibility. I wouldn't push the panic button just yet even if the Sioux come out of the Springs with no points. UND is still well positioned to make the field of 16, barring acomplete meltdown. Just make the tournament. That's the takeaway from Denver's run last spring.

Picked this up from the Tri-City board:

Someone here posted an article from the Heraldo where Spirko was going to stay in GF and hang with his Slovakian buds. So you're probably right.

Seems as though Spirko played for Slovakia at the WJC again this year, too.

Another Sioux PP comes and goes.

Well, that sucked. Plenty of diving, flopping, taunting, and yapping by the Russians. I hope Canada absolutely dismantles them.

I have seen the WCHA refs call the trip and the dive in that instance. Unbelievable.

The phrases "worn by Josh Siembida" and "shows nice game wear with puck marks" make me doubt the authenticity as well. Ba-dump-ching!

My two pennies: UMDDogz and RWTD, I have ZERO problem with the UMD updates. Just keep on keepin' on! That is all.

YaneA, you are truly the queen of the double-entendre. Great stuff!

Does anybody know if the Sundby kid from Cavalier will figure into the picture?

You have to admit, Lucia has a pretty good little formula going here. Build the foundation of the team, the heart and soul, the kids that "carry the water" so to speak, from places like Europe, Canada, Colorado, North Dakota, etc. Recruit the in-state kids for supporting cast roles and VOILA!!...Minnesota's Price On Ice!

Thanks for posting, schmidtdog. Honestly, I thought Commodore was a better college defenseman than Greene, and he's had his share of difficulty sticking in the "big show". So I extrapolated from there. Then again, these scouts on Hockey's Future have forgotten more hockey than I'll ever know. I hope that their assessment is right, and Matt has a bright future in the NHL...if there's any NHL left. Major junior would have been a better route for Matt, in retrospect. I wonder how many 6-4, 225 lb. type of d-men we will see committing to NCAA D-I over the next few years. Not many, I'd guess.

The Stafford-Zajac-Murray line was all over the ice both nights, Friday in particular. I don't think we can ask for much more. As for the forwards as a whole, if we're banking on 4-5 goals per game to win, we've got serious issues. Grinding it out to the tune of 2-1, 3-2 is the way I see this team making noise in March. Giving up 40 shots won't get 'er done. My expectations are higher for a d-unit with three seniors and a junior captain than they are for a forward group losing Parise, Bo, and Lundbohm. There's no right or wrong answer, it's just my opinion. The McNaughton is probably by the boards, but bigger things are still very much possible.

Can't believe we're already at the half-way point of the regular season. Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic if for no other reason than systemically, the Sioux simply need to get to the 16, and roll the dice from there. DU proved that last year. Between the pipes, Phil has been terrific, the best we've seen since Karl. Parise has proven to be capable once again, but I'd like to see us settle in with Phil for the long haul. Overall, I think the freshman class has met expectations, with the exception of Radke. In his case, hopefully it's just a matter of learning to play defense at this level. It's been so long since we've had an offensive defenseman, that some of us are getting antsy, and maybe the expectations regarding Kyle were out of whack. On the positive side, number 5 in the PWR at this point ain't too shabby. We're well positioned for a run at the NCAA tourney, although the McNaughton has probably slipped out of reach. The negative: The power play just continues to be difficult to watch. It's not a coincidence that we've had no punch on the man advantage since Roche's departure. Let's face it, the naysayers that have said the Sioux lack skill on the blueline were dead on. Hey, I was in denial too, but four years of the same problems can't be ignored. I'll lob this one out there, too: The '01 recruiting class just hasn't panned out. Out of the fourth year guys, McMahon's the only one that has steadily progressed each season, IMO. With all that said, we still have a legitimate shot at Columbus. Staying out of the West Regional would probably be a good idea, however. 3rd Place WCHA, regional final would be my guess at this point, but who really knows.