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roper1313

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Posts posted by roper1313

  1. Blais has said publicly and privately that he didn't enjoy coaching at the NHL level. He enjoys developing players and there's not much of that going on in the NHL. That being said it would be great to see him get a shot at the Wild job.

  2. For many of these players it is their goal to make the NHL, and if Forbort thinks that playing for the NTDP 18U team can be a stepping stone to get to that level, the coaches, players, and people in his community should respect that. Those players don't owe anything to their high schools and community but to themselves in trying to become the best player and person that they can be. Whether it is through the high school, juniors, or NTDP level the players are going to try and accomplish that and no one should be bitter about it.

    Fist off after living in Duluth for 4 years and knowing quite a few people who have played for Randolph and it sounds like he is a first rate d-bag. He was forced out in the mid 90's and somehow managed to get back into the coaching job.

    Forbort is going to see NHL scouts at just about every USHL game he plays in, there are not many scouts heading up to watch East play Two Harbors on a Tuesday night in January. I've been watching the U18 games in Fargo, how does Forbort's game compare to any current USA d-men? Fowler seems to be their best one.

  3. I believe Lee is too old to play in this tourney - he will be the top goalie on the next USA WJC team.

    Thanks stickboy. I just assumed since he was going to be a HS Senior that he'd be eligible for the U18 team.

  4. went and watched the US lose 6-5 to russia last night. they had shots at 50-22 in favor of the US, but i think it was high for both teams. the US was the better team except their goaltender, who was brutal. mattson does not play much 5 on 5, but played on the second pp unit and played on the pk some. he is a good skater and is bigger than i expected, but he needs another year of seasoning imho. morin had two goals and is definately a gamer, i think i land on the side of we would take him if he goes the college route. jerry york sat up behind us, not sure who he was watching? does bc have a recruit or two on the team? anyways, tough loss to take, goalie had an off night and would like all but maybe one of the goals back.

    Totally agree with your post. Mattson must be on the 3rd unit. He showed some slick moves in the third when he stickhandled through the Russian team, unfortunatly Bourque was whistled for a trip behind the plan.

    The US goalie was not good. Too bad the best high school goalie in the country was watching the game (fargo's Lee) and not playing in it. Maybe USA's goalie can slip on a Banana peal and they can more Lee in. Probably not even allowed, but I was thinking it during the third period.

    Go USA!!

  5. Finley fought Paul Bissonette(sp) and got his azz handed to him

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAF1z-uAPFw

    Joe's got a lot to learn when it comes to fighting. Don't forget it's been at least four years since he's been it one. He's got to use that reach to protect himself. Even Lee has that figured out. He did get one thing right. He did take off his helmet (half shield) I'm sure Bissonette appreciated that. As a big rookie d-man Finley was going to get challenged and it appeared that Bissonette is a bonafide tough guy. I loved how Bissonette blew on his knuckles on the way into the box. Kinda like a old west gunsliner blowing the smoke of his gun.

  6. after watching USA's two games IMO, Bourque is the most dynamic player on the US roster. Morin seems to have the hype, but Bourque seems to be the guy that you always notice. He's quick, can dangle, pass and really plays a physical game. For a "little" guy he's one of the more physical players out there. UNH lost a dandy when he decommitted. For those of you looking to take in a non USA game is sounds like the CAN-SWE game tomorrow afternoon is going to be a good one. Tomorrow's going to be a great day. CAN-SWE with my boys at 4pm and USA-RUS with my dad at 7:30.

    UND content- Kristo looked great last night against the Force. Although his team lost he and Albrecht (?), a harvard recruit were Omaha's best payers. Listening to the post game on the radio they mentioned that Kristo has been dominant in Fargo. Hopefully that means he likes playing in ND and will be a star for UND!

  7. Man, one of the best Final 5 line ups in year and I'm going to be stuck in Mexico! :lol: I guess it could be worse. :sad:

    Quite the sports weekend for all of North Dakota! Hopefully I can find a sports bar so I can watch the games. With UND and NDSU down North Dakotans will be doing their best to revive the twin cities economy.

  8. I would like to think that if it wern't for a certain freshman goalie, this team would be nowhere near the top of the league. JMO

    Very true. Eidness has become a rock. Freshman goalies have faired well for us in the NCAA's.

  9. As they were being separated at the end, Greene patted Commie, like, OK thanks for going, I had to stand up for my guy.

    I noticed that, at about 39 seconds he give him a pat on the side as they are being seperated. I'm sure they'll have some laughs over that for years to come.

  10. I'd speculate that the big reason that Blais left is that he was virtually guarantees a year off (NHL Lockout) with the pay of a head coach. It allowed him to spend a lot of time with his ailing wife. Blais was hired by Columbus as an associate head coach and was initially given a lot of assurances that he was going to be the next head coach in Columbus and was also paid as a head coach. When the new GM came into Columbus he cleaned house and was stuck with a scout (blais) making upwards of $300,000.

    I know for a fact that the part of coaching that Blais enjoys is player development and he didn't get to do much of that at the NHL level. From what I've heard, he really likes working with young, kids who want to learn. He's very loves the fact that he is getting to build a team from scratch, and if you haven't been paying attention, he has a expansion team battling for home ice. He's also getting paid like a top end Div 1 coach so it's not going to be a money issue.

    He's also expressed his interest in developing Fargo into a hockey first town. Now I'll admit he's got a long way to go, but if anyone can do it is Blais. He's also really trying to have an impact on the development of youth hockey in Fargo. He's become the face of Fargo hockey in a short period of time. The kids really think it is cool if Blais, or any of his Force players are around the rink (indoor or out). It has a way to go, but having Blais and the Force is going to positively impact hockey in Fargo.

  11. Not really new news on a former player, but while driving home last night I was listening to the Dean Blais Coaches Show and the USHL did a little focus on a former player. They talked about the 1993-1994 season the Blake had in the USHL. Pretty rediculous numbers: 48 games 50 goals 50 assists! He's the last USHL player to eclips 100 points and they play a lot more than 48 games now. Just thought I share.

  12. Thanks Dave. Safe travels to anyone heading up to GF today. Sounds like travel is not advised west of Fargo and just looking out of my office in south Fargo it looks to be nasty. I was thinking of taking my two boys up to watch the night games, but if this continues I don't think I will.

    I'm interested to see the Bismarck-GPR matchup. Bismarck has to be the favorite, but GPR always seems to turn it on come state.

  13. Philly was one of the rejected applicants in the last round, right? (When D.C., Ford Field, Mpls, and Tampa were awarded).

    While Pittsburgh is drivable for me, it's much less accessible to the East Coast at large than Philly would have been. I'm not sure if the added convenience to the Eastern Midwest is enough to offset that, but I would still guess it an easy sellout and an amusing place to visit. Good luck to them!

    I'd love to see it in Omaha. If four years my boys would be 11 and 7, perfect age for their first Frozen Four!! Plus Omaha's my old stomping gound (spent a couple of years at Creighton), and the weather can be very nice in april. It can also be crappy, but you should be able to get a couple of rounds of golf in April!!

    Go Omaha, Go!!

  14. If somehow junior teams would have territorial rights to local high schools, that would increase interest.

    From what I understand the USHL doesn't do territorial rights anymore.

    What's going to keep the force afloat is the suite revenue at the UP Center. IMO, there are a lot of Suite holders at the ralph that are also suite holders at the UP Center. After watching hockey at The Ralph for the past 6+ years who's going to want to watch jr. hockey in the Alerus? Yuck!

  15. No details, but from EDC South beat Central 4-1 to lock up the #1 seed from the east, while both RR and GPR advanced in surprisingly close games. RR beat North by one (can't remember the score) and GPR beat West Fargo in double overtime. Was anyone at the games and can give us a summary. Sounded very exciting.

    I think Bismarck beat Minot out west for the #1 while Williston is the #3 and Bismarck Century #4.

    Thursday's matchups are

    Bismarck vs. GPR(?)

    Central vs. Williston

    South vs. Bismarck Century

    Red River vs. Minot(?)

    I might have RR and GPR flip flopped.

  16. I never met him, but my mother worked in teh business office in the early 70s and when I was born he gave me my first stuffed animal. Sock monkey (george) My kids still have it.

    From what my mom has said, he was a great guy.

  17. I decided to do the math. As of right now 2/3/09 here are the EDC Standings top 4 only:

    Team Pts. Games

    Red River 25 13

    South 24 10

    Central 18 10

    GraftonPR 17 11

    I made some assumpitons that these team will beat all the EDC teams below them in the standings and that the h2h games are won by the home team:

    Team Pts.

    South 32

    Red River 27

    Central 24

    GraftonPR 23

    It looks like South will have to stumble badly to stay in 2nd. With games against Devils Lake, West Fargo and North you can almost lock in 6 guaranteed points. The battle for 2nd and 3rd is really between the two grand forks teams. RR only has one conference game left and that is agains GPR. If they win that they are almost a lock for 2nd, although if GFC can run the table, with games at RR and at South then they can get to 2nd.

    Hopefully all these teams can stay healthy and we should see a great EDC tournament.

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