kvinbe

Truly pathetic play by the Sioux. On their heels to start the period and they pay for it right away. How can you play that way coming out of the locker room?

Well, if you're Derek Jeter, you definitely congratulate him.

This weekend was obviously a lot bigger deal to Maine than it was to the Sioux...or so it appears at this point. We need to pull this one out of our ars for pairwise rankings.

Say what you want to about the officiating, but the Sioux are just a half-step slow compared to Maine. I'm watching the webcast and Maine definitely appears to be the quicker team out there. If the Sioux aren't allowed to even things up with physical play, it could be a frustrating third period to watch.

Indeed!! Indeed!!

I read in the Strib that not only are the Mavs fast, but they're also big...real big. No wonder the Gophs are losing. They always roll over when the opposing team plays physical. Sooooooooft they are. Sooooooooft.

It's the only out in Blais' contract, so actually it very well could. And the out wouldn't be in the contract if Blais hadn't already considered it.

That series down at UNO in a month is shaping up to be huge. Just keep winning Sioux and it will be all the better.

The Blaiser sure can coach 'em up, can't he? Lucia has got to be thinking, "Man, I thought I'd finally gotten away from him." Well, don't look now Don, but soon he'll have taken your job.

Tragically, you can always dig yourself a deeper hole when it comes to substance dependence. Many don't stop until they end up in prisons, psych units, and morgues. The problem makes no sense because it can't be figured out. It just has to be surrendered to an accepted. Sometimes it's hard for us sports guys to accept when we've been beaten by a foe. Dubay definitely has had his butt whooped by drugs. Maybe some day he'll accept it and start along the long road back.

And by the way, what business does Reusse have pointing out Lucia's incredibly huge ego. Isn't that a prototypical case of "the pot calling the kettle black."

I really liked the way the article highlighted how Lucia's huge ego is now getting in the way of his team's development. I've noticed for years how Lucia's comments in the paper always show an attempt to distance himself from anything that is going wrong with his team. He takes an "us versus them" approach even within his own program. Instead of talking about "we" when things start to go wrong, he talks about "they." His ego is so incredibly large that he's constantly having to distance himself from his team's failures. No doubt this starts to wear on the players, and eventually somebody else (like an assistant coach) has to try to smooth things over for the players. I for one would much rather play for a coach like Dave Hakstol who is right in there with his players and taking full responsibility for his fair share of whatever might be going wrong. Hakstol hasn't been perfect, but he's always been a stand-up guy who stands behind his players. He calls players out, but not in the media so as to deflect possible damage to a huge ego.

It's getting more and more difficult to deny that a disturbing pattern has developed for Mr. Oshie. Alcohol has consistently been at the center of his brushes with the law. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't see T.J. being the type of person who would have problems with the law apart from alcohol consumption. Out of concern for T.J., I hope he has some people around him who are challenging him to be honest with himself about his drinking. He has so much to lose. He wouldn't be the first person to throw away unbelieveable talent and golden opportunities on alcohol. Maybe there's nothing to this at all. Maybe it's all just a coincidence. But it's getting harder and harder to believe that it is. It's way too easy to say that this is just normal college student behavior. For T.J.'s sake, I hope he doesn't ignore some developing warning signs of a problem. I realize that this opinion will not be popular, but then again it never is. All I care is that T.J., his friends, and his family take a close and concerned look at whatever is at the root of these problems. Like I said, T.J. has way too much to lose...way, way, way, way, way too much to lose.

I couldn't disagree more. You've got to give up a quality chance or two if you're going to play a more offensive game that results in more goals. The Sioux have done much better this year when scoring more goals. In these higher scoring games, the Sioux have often given up more goals as well, but they've almost always come out on top in the higher scoring games. In contrast, when playing a more defensive game and trying to protect a lead they've been more likely to lose. This Sioux team needs to keep pressing offensively and then rely on JPL for the rare breakdown. All you have to do is compare Friday's game with Saturday's. The higher scoring and more free-wheeling game resulted in a win, while the lower scoring and more defensive resulted in a loss. Let's forecheck our way to #8!! We've got more depth and skill. Let's make full use of it.

I've been out of the loop for a couple of days. Can someone tell be the status on Oshie's injury? Thanks!

If it's really the Sioux who are the problem, and if the officials are even coming close to calling the game properly, then the Sioux will be appropriately penalized and other teams will have the clear advantage. But, since other teams have not gained a clear advantage, it seems highly likely that both teams are equal combatants. It then follows that those that are complaining about the Sioux are doing so more on the basis of "sour grapes" than on some factual basis. I love being a Sioux fan!! And it's great to know that others are getting so upset because our team is the team coming out on top. I love this team. We're getting under the skin of others and that can only help our chances as we go forward. Rattling the opposition generally doesn't lead to better play by the opposition.

So, in essence, Radke was penalized for the fact that the refs failed to make the right call in the first place. If they throw out the players in the first place as they should have, there isn't even the possibility of the second fight and the second game of suspension. Bravo WCHA!! Bravo!! Shouldn't we be waiting for yet another public apology from the WCHA. Funny thing is, Gwoz didn't seem to mind when a WCHA screw-up resulted in his team winning a game. At that time, there were no newspaper articles detailing his "disappointment" with Wisconsin.

To me, the bottom line in all of this is that the WCHA has to get control of all of the chippy stuff that takes place before the whistle blows. If I'm the Sioux coaches, and my skill guys are getting hacked, hooked, poked and mauled the entire game without a call, I'm going to tell my other team member to back them up. If you want to call that intimidation, go ahead, but to me it's the best alternative available if my best players are getting beat up behind the play and out of the view of the officials. Clean up the game before the whistle and there is no reason to retaliate. There is a reason that NHL teams have goons -- to put that doubt in the back of the minds of opposing players who are going to take cheap shots and think they're going to get away with it. It goes both ways, and you have to be prepared to bring it if you think you're going to get away with the dirty stuff during play.

After checking out Radke's fight, I checked out his stats on the UND site. He's a big boy. 6 feet, 212 lbs. Very solid. Can't say that I'd want to get anywhere close to tangling with him. This is just a guess, but something tells me DU leaves him feeling a little cranky.

Now that I like. Eades: "Yeah, he might even be good enough to play in the NHL some day." "Oh, and did I mention, we have this Hrkac guy coming back from the Olympic team. I'm told he's improved a lot. Who knows, maybe we could make some noise next year."

Okay, it's time for my Cary Eades story. Way back in the day (Summer of 1987 to be exact), I'm working as a Camp Assistant (glorified babysitter) for UND and it's summer hockey camp time at UND. Kids move into the dorms and stay there while they attend the camp. Everyone is told upfront that if they do something like drink alcohol they'll be immediately removed from the dorms. Of course, it's the coaches that get the call if one of their campers screws up. So, as is predictable with high school kids, a few decide to test the rules and do a little drinking. Well, a little would be an understatement actually. A couple of them get so drunk that they're making a scene and puking all over the place. And you guessed it, who gets the call to come and pick up the little drunks? -- none other than Cary Eades. He was pissed. He pulls up in his vehicle, reads his campers the riot act, orders them into his car and speeds off -- presumably to his home and family where the house had some unexpected extra guests that evening. It really was quite amusing. When the kids are from Canada, there was no other place to exhile the campers to except to a coach's house. Apparently Gino Gasporini wasn't aswering his phone that night. So, now that Cary Eades has a couple of Sioux victories under his belt, I can now say that I've had a brush with greatness.

I forgot to add, "thank you Captain Obvious."

Somebody has probably said it already, but the development of Kozek with the top line is huge this time of year. We've needed a third guy who can consistently score when the opportunity presents itself so that teams can't focus too heavily on Duncan and Oshie (or pay if they do). Let's just hope that it's a lot more than a one weekend affair. I for one think he's here to stay.

Thanks bro!!

If you can get the other goals on anytime soon it would be greatly appreciated. I didn't have web or TV access tonight. Thanks for all the time and effort putting this stuff together.