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Everything posted by PCM
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Don't make me break out the dog!
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Did I call it or what? Way back in October, radio sportcaster Bruce Ciske of Duluth asked me to write a pre-season analysis of the Sioux for his blog (scroll way down to the Oct. 7 postings). Here's what Bruce asked about where UND would finish in the WCHA and what I predicted: As it turned out, UND did finish fourth and third place wasn't that far off for the Sioux. Who would've guessed that both Minnesota and SCSU would sweep UND at home or that the Sioux would lose to UAA? Plus, the Sioux had third-period leads on the road at SCSU, CC and DU in games they lost. Had they come away with two wins and a tie in any of those games, they'd be tied with DU and Wisconsin. So I was right by the skin of my teeth, and I'll take that. As far as the upcoming series with MSU-Mankato goes, I have to agree with Dave Hakstol who said after the game Saturday that you can't compare last year's Sioux team with this year's because they're so different. However, it is interesting to review where the Sioux were at this time last season. They had just come off a 2-0 win and a tie against SCSU, a team that finished 8-19-0 in the WCHA. UM-Duluth came to Grand Forks for the playoffs at 11-13-4 in the WCHA, was 4-1-1 in its last six games and had just beaten and tied Wisconsin. Their one loss was by a single goal to DU. Many prognisticators thought the Bulldogs were playing better than the Sioux and picked UMD to knock UND out of the Final Five. UND swept UMD in two games by scores of 8-2 and 6-1, setting the tone for the Sioux playoff run. This weekend we have the red-hot Mavericks coming to town and many are saying the Sioux are ripe for the picking. Maybe they are, but I think that the Sioux are playing better now than they were at the end of last season. I like the way Jordan Parise is playing. The chemistry of the Duncan-Toews-Stafford line is amazing. The third and fourth liners are chipping in goals. The defensive corps is chipping in goals and is playing far more physical than it was a few months ago. The one thing I'd like to see improve that would make the Sioux a truly formidable playoff team is for Spirko and Zajac to contribute some goal scoring. Otherwise, it looks to me as if Hakstol has the boys peaking again at just the right time of year. We could be in for another great ride.
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We understand that your priorities are all screwed up.
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My comment is based on the assumption that UND prevails in the name issue either in court or out of court. If that happens, one way or the other, the NCAA can't continue to deny awarding regional playoffs to UND based on the name issue or by pretending it's some other reason.
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The box score at FightingSioux.com also shows it as Lee's goal. If the scoring had changed, my guess is that it would have showed up there.
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Diggler, buddy. Think anti-trust. Think tripled damages. If UND can prove in court that it's being treated differently than other NCAA members and being put at a competitive disadvantage, the NCAA better be prepared to write some big checks.
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My thanks, once more, to those who have made contributions, provided words of support or both. I'm really, truly overwhelmed at the response of the hockey community. The last report I received is that Jeri Wilcox remains in intensive care. There were hopes last week that she could be moved out of ICU, but that didn't happen. The hockey mom is still fighting for her life. One of my classmates who help set up the fund for the Wilcox family wrote the following: Thanks again to those who have offered support in whatever way they can.
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If they were smart, they wouldn't. The two key words are "if" and "smart."
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I could've sworn that I saw an A on his jersey. Wishful thinking, I guess.
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DOH! You're right. Porter and Prpich are the assistant captains. I'll e-mail a correction to USCHO.
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The kid can flat-out shoot the puck. What a wrister he has!
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Here's the USCHO recap of Saturday's game.
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What the heck was the deal with Scott punching Prp several times behind MTU's net, Scott being put into the penalty box and then being let out for no Sioux power play? I couldn't believe that. Or has Greg Shepherd put in a new rule that anything done to Mike is now legal?
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I want to visit iceburg's "war room" sometime. Do you have to have to be bald to get in?
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Which "Man" are you talking about? Obviously, the NCAA is interested in protecting players because it made checking from behind a point of emphasis. I don't believe that McLeod is totally oblivious to the safety of players. I just don't think he's taking it as seriously as he should. To me, it's a question of fixing the system to protect the players by holding the leadership of the WCHA accountable. Coaches can help do that. Players and their families can help do that. The media can help do that. And we, as fans, can help do it, too. Throwing open the doors of vigilante justice isn't going to make the game safer for anyone.
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I agree. I wasn't so much responding to you as agreeing with you and trying to head off the same criticism.
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I've tried not to frame this as a "UND is getting screwed by the officiating" issue. Heck, if I wanted to do that, I'd think McLeod's desire to return to the status quo would be great because of all the CFB penalties called on the Sioux this season. I wouldn't even have brought it up here. When I hear McLeod say that the WCHA has gone from 9 to 90 CFB penalties in one season, my reaction is not that the penalty is being called too often. My reaction is that the WCHA has a major problem with CFB, probably because it hasn't been called nearly as often as it should. What happened to Bina at last year's Final Five and the two-minute minor assessed by Adam should have been a "Here's your sign!" moment for Greg Shepherd and McLeod. As much as I hate to admit it, the NCAA got the message and the WCHA didn't. If I had faith that giving officials more latitude would solve the problem, I'd be all for it. But before that happens, I'd like to see some evidence that coaches are teaching players how to avoid CFB penalities, players are engaging in it far less often and the on-ice officials have a better understanding of when the major penalty should apply and when it shouldn't. It's going to take more than one season to convince me that all those things are happening and that the danger to players has been significantly reduced.
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Smaby had three in a row and hasn't taken one since Nov. 12, so it seems that he's learned something from the experience. The one that stands out in my mind as being a particularly bad call was the one on Stafford in Duluth. Hakstol agreed that the call on Finley Saturday in Denver was legit. I don't think he was too happy with the Friday call on Fabian, however. At any rate, I'm more concerned with McLeod's apparent desire to return to the pre-Bina WCHA business-as-usual standard. Given the fact that in less than a week there have been three uncalled instances of checking from behind that I know about, it seems that the league is headed in that direction already.
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Here's the checking from behind penalties that have been called on UND this season. (I think I got them all.) I count 10 in WCHA games and two in non-conference games. There were some minor penalties assessed for checking from behind. I'm not sure whether McLeod was counting only major penalties or all checks from behind in the 90 he mentioned. October 8, 2005 North Dakota vs Miami 3rd Period - 16:11 Matt Smaby (5-Checking from Behind) November 5, 2005 Wisconsin at North Dakota 1st Period - 9:49 NDK-2 Matt Smaby (5-Checking from Behind) November 12, 2005 North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth 1st Period - 5:37 Matt Smaby (5-Checking from Behind) 2nd Period - 00:20 Drew Stafford (5-Checking from Behind) November 18, 2005 North Dakota at St. Cloud State 3rd Period - 14:45 T.J. Oshie (5-Checking from Behind) December 17, 2005 Bemidji State at North Dakota 1st Period - 16:47 Mike Prpich (5-Checking from Behind) January 6, 2006 North Dakota at Alaska Anchorage 1st Period
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I think there's a three-step process that has to go on before the checking from behind problem is significantly reduced. McLeod's haste to return to to the status quo doesn't cut it for me. 1. Coaches have to emphasize the importance of avoiding this penalty and teach players how to avoid getting called for it (and not how to take advantage of it). 2. Players must understand that if they check from behind, it will be called. 3. On-ice officials must distinguish between when it's appropriate to assess a 5-minute major and when it's not. This will probably require more time and training. The NCAA put out a video before the season started providing examples of when the major penalty should be called and when it shouldn't. I thought Drew Stafford's hit in Duluth was a classic example of when the penalty shouldn't be called because he held up and used his arms to keep the Bulldog player from hitting the boards. That should have been only a 2-minute boarding if the ref had seen the NCAA video, but he called it a 5-minute major. In short, I don't think it's wise to crack down on this for one season, call it an overrecation and then go back to business as usual.
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Count me among those who are overwhelmed by your amazing show of self-restraint.
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I-AA West: University of North Dakota, It's Time to Move Up
PCM replied to ralphputer's topic in NCAA News
Is it safe to assume that you don't spend much time at bisonville.com? -
It's mostly because that particular loss was so hard for even an old guy like me to forget.
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Except that when referees had the option of going for the 2-minute minor or the 5-minute major before this season, they very seldom gave the major, and that was a huge problem. Even the hit Paukovich put on Bina was assessed as a two-minute minor. It does no good to have the 5-minute major and 10-minute misconduct penalty in the book if it's rarely used.
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Actually, the last time UND lost to MTU at home was Feb. 8, 2003. I remember that game well because Dean Blais was truly pissed and Kevin Spiewak nearly broke down in tears while addressing the media afterward.