PCM

Correction:

From today's Grand Forks Herald: VIEWPOINT: With tribal leaders, UND tries to turn 'them,' 'us' to 'we' There's also a news story by David Dodds in today's Herald: UND seeks solidarity with tribes Kupchella says more dialogue could help end name opposition

I already know that answer to that question, which is why I didn't ask it. How about answering the questions I asked instead of ones I didn't?

That was great game.

Wasn't he with Matt Henderson and Jason Ulmer?

True. But I don't like tossing out Skippy bait if I don't have to.

Well, I don't know the answer, so there goes that theory. I was hoping that someone with insider knowledge would explain it to me.

Gaspirini took over a team that was 15-22-1 in 77-78. The Sioux went 30-11-1 in 78-79 and played for the national championship. They then went 31-8-1 in 79-80 and won the national championship. Not too bad, eh?

Not to dismiss Blais, but I have vague memories of another UND coach with three national championships. Anyone remember that guy's name?

Don't feel for Sparky. He's a one-man clique.

My guess is that it doesn't sit well with Dave Hakstol, Brad Berry, Cary Eades and members of the team, either. Get in line. But did they all play on the same team? Did they all play in the WCHA? No? Talent alone doesn't make a team. As Hakstol said on last night's UND coaches' show, building a team takes time. Team chemistry and cohesion just don't happen overnight. Maybe the Sioux will come together as a team at the right time this season and maybe they won't. If they don't, it won't be because nobody recognized the importance of team building. Matt Smaby is big, he hits hard and he wears the C on his jersey. How do you not notice him? I'd say that he leads by example pretty well. Perhaps you don't remember last season, but Matt Greene's leadership was questioned by many about this time a year ago. Now everyone recognizes him as a great captain. Strange what playing for a national championship will do for your reputation as a team leader. I heard about a Canadian clique, too. Should we be concerned? But how does bette feel?

Note that Dan Benson's "a long time ago" is relative to his "long before I began working here." As I recall, Benson began working at UND around 2001. What seems like "a long time ago" to him might not seem that long ago to many Sioux hockey fans.

Here are some questions for "informant." 1. How does moving up to DI-AA automatically return NDSU to the glory days of being a college football dynasty? Or is having NDSU listed on the ESPN sports ticker just as meaningful as winning national championships? 2. If NDSU couldn't compete for championships in football at the "watered down" DII level, why should anyone believe that it will soon become a DI-AA powerhouse? 3. For every Gonzaga in the college basketball world, how many other universities are facing financial difficulties because they moved to DI with stars in their eyes and promises of untold riches? 4. If NDSU didn't make the move to DI with the idea that its men's basketball team would become the university's marquee sport, why should we believe that the Bison victory over Wisconsin is anything more than a brief moment of fleeting success? 5. If the rivalry was so important to both schools, why did NDSU ruin it?

It's not a verbatim transcript. If I feel a comment doesn't really add anything to the discussion, I don't include it.

Pivetz did have a crushing check during the game, but it was DeFauw's hit that caused the ESPN sportscaster to say, "DeFauw, carumba! What a hit!"

From the Green Mill, Tim Hennessy is the host with Sioux hockey coach Dave Hakstol. TH: The Sioux have the weekend off and a weekend away from the WCHA. You said it was a good thing to have this week off, but I was surprised when you said that you didn

Favorite goal scorer - Lee (Scorin') Goren closely followed by Brandon (Money) Bochesnki. Favorite tough guy - Mike Commodore. The hair. The attitude. The quotes. The fists. He had it all. Favorite set up guy - Jeff Panzer. The cure for the hot goalie. Favorite goalie - Karl Goehring (a.k.a. Mr. Consistent). Favorite team - 1996-97 Sioux. They were the first UND team I saw play live. I've been hooked on Fighting Sioux hockey ever since. Favorite two-way player - Adam Calder. The guy never quit working on either end of the ice. Favorite Sioux game ever attended - 2000 Frozen Four championship game in Providence. Seeing all those BC fans rise en masse and head for the exits the instant Goren scored his empty netter was priceless.

Wait'll I tell your mother what you said, sonny!

6-4

I know the Sioux pride themselves on having defensemen who play defense first and offense second. Personally, I prefer that approach. However, the lack of scoring production from UND's D-corps is getting disconcerting. It seems to me that this is one trend that needs to change if the Sioux are going to have success down the stretch and into the post-seasoon. After the defense scored 9 goals in the first 18 games of the season, only 1 goal has been scored by a Sioux defenseman in the last 14 games. That was on Dec. 30 when Matt Smaby scored against Harvard. This lack of scoring surprises me because the Sioux have more mobility and offensive capability on defense than they've had since the late 90s. I also know that we're young at that position, which might have something to do with it. In the series at Minnesota, the Gophers D-corps outshot the Sioux D-corps 26-8. Against St. Cloud, the Huskies D-corps outshot the Sioux D-corps 17-9. Against Colorado College, the Tigers D-corps outshot the Sioux D-corps 21-8. It seems to me that by not having our defensemen more involved in the offense, we're making it much easier for the opposition to defend against our forwards. Anyone else bothered by this trend?

Maybe a split would be best for UND so that neither team gets too far ahead.

I'm disappointed that we lost after leading for two periods. This year's Sioux team just isn't as good as last year's team when it comes to playing with the lead. However, I think the best thing we could realistically hope for this weekend was a split. We got it in a building where some very good Sioux teams have been unable to win. And we did it against a very good team. So it's not the end of the season and the Sioux certainly haven't packed it in. The best part about getting the win at CC is that is should give the Sioux some confidence when they head to Denver to face another team they've had trouble beating on the road. If we'd been swept by CC or played poorly tonight, I wouldn't like our chances against the Pioneers.

Hakstol's comments: Good start through first five minutes of third. Didn't get puck deep for line change. Led to penalty and power play. Two-minute span cost us the game. On their third goal they were cheating for offense and made the play behind the net. We did it well all weekend, but we didn't do it in that instance and they made the play. Losing Jones put us back on our heels and the five D-men spent a lot of time killing penalties. We weathered it well. Started third period well, but little things will beat you this time of year. Coming in here, we knew we had to get one game. It's a tough place to play and they're a good team. They played well. We got the one win we had to get. We played well. Disappointed that we didn't get a win or a third point. Need to use the week off to help get some guys healthy. Took some ice time away from Porter because he wasn't sharp in the first period. We spent too much time killing penalties. Travis really had to work hard on killing penalties. It brings the energy level down with 5-on-5 play. We'll know where we need to be at after next weekend when everyone will have six games to go down the stretch.

The good news is that the Tigers might have woke up just in time to take on SCSU.

I still don't understand why our defensemen don't seem to be involved offensively. It'll be interesting to see how many shots on goal they had. I recall hearing very few.