PCM

Great! I don't drink Coors!

If Wisconsin's D is so bad, what's that say about UND's offense?

Wisconsin's slide has been caused by its inability to score goals, not by lack of defense. You're entitled to your opinion, but I don't agree with it.

Wow!

Me too! I was holding my breath waiting for Woog's pronounciation, but he wouldn't even try to say it. I listened to Hennessy for most of the game. Did Frank really say "Minnesota," or was that a typo by you?

Okay, let me say it this way. I think either of them could have been on the WCHA all-rookie team. If Spirko would have been selected over Zajac, it wouldn't have bothered me one bit. They both deserved the honor, but only one of them could get it. I'm not saying that Zajac deserved it more than Spirko. I am saying that between Zajac being pickd as the pre-season WCHA rookie of the year and his status as a No. 1 NHL draft pick, he probably had greater name recognition. And in the mind of those voting, that was enough to give him an edge over Spirko in the voting.

Tim Hennessy made the same comment. It seemed like the safe thing to do, but maybe the players have so much confidence in Parise that Fuher thought he'd make the stop. Does everyone realize that this was the first short-handed goal the Sioux have given up all season?

You're right. In Woog's world, the only "real D-men" are "O/D-men" with easy to pronounce names.

A "real D"? Wisconsin has the top defense in the WCHA, allowing 2.29 goals per game and is 7th nationally at 2.17. Denver is fifth in the league at 2.89 and 22nd nationally at 2.73. The second best "real D" in the tournament is Colorado College.

Not exactly. I said that Joe Pavelski and Paul Stastny clearly belonged on the WCHA all-rookie team, which meant that only Spirko or Zajac could make it. I said that Spirko has been more consistent offensively while Zajac has been the better two-way player. Zajac probably got the honor because of greater name recognition. I like Genoway a lot. Right now, he's playing with great fire and determination. But the awards are based on the entire season, not the end of the season. Genoway had a pretty good season, and now he's stepped it up a level. Unfortunately, the awards aren't retroactive. Again, there are 16 forwards in the WCHA with more points than Genoway, even when his stats from Thursday night are included. While he might be your sentimental favorite, I don't know how you can justify him leapfrogging over 10 other players to make the All-WCHA team. I doubt that a player being a senior has much to do with it. Plus, there are only two seniors among the nine forwards seleted. Which one of them would you pull off and replace with Genoway?

Great photos, John! Thanks so much for posting them.

Goehring was on the All-WCHA first team his junior season (1999-2000). He was the WCHA student athlete of the year in 2000-2001.

I almost forgot to mention the comedic moment of the night. Doug Woog had to say Rastislav Spirko's name in the pre-game show and drew a complete blank. Frank had to jump in and rescue him.

That's rather difficult to do from Grand Forks. Hennessy said that it appeared to be a shoulder injury. Apparently Prpich was dinged going into the game.

You are wise beyond your years.

That was a little closer than I would have liked, but I'll take a win any way I can get it. What an outstanding job by Jordan Parise. Great play, once again, by the fourth line. And Colby Genoway continues to be UND's MVP on the power play. One down and two to go for my prediction. Let's go Sioux!

That's exactly what I was thinking, which is good. Otherwise, I would suspect you of having independent thoughts, which is bad. Now go track down The Sicatoka and make sure that he's assimilated before game time. We can't have him sneaking a swig of Leinie and jeopoardizing the outcome of tonight's game.

I think Paul Stastny and Joe Pavelski both belong on the WCHA all-rookie team. Stastny led all league freshmen in points per game with 1.14 (15-26-41 in 36 games) and Pavelski was right behind him with 1.13 (16-28-44 in 39 games). Spirko was third among WCHA rookies with .89 points per game (15-19-34 in 38 games) and Zajac was fourth with .84 (15-17-32 in 38 games). In my mind, Spirko was a bit more consistent offensively than Zajac, especially down the stretch when the team really needed scoring. But Zajac is an all-around better player. When it came time to choose between the two, Zajac's pre-season hype and status as a number-one NHL draft pick probably gave him the edge with voters.

I know. That's why I was so impressed.

Just as Ryan Bayda did as a freshman when he blasted Wisconsin's Jeff Dessner into the boards behind the net early in the 2000 Final Five Championship. What a monster hit! Having Jeff Panzer score a goal 1:35 into the first period didn't hurt, either.

Hey! She's not that kind of girl! Oh, wait. You mean the Sioux should forecheck Earl. Sorry.

As the ever-wise Sicatoka pointed out to me, it's all about the Woog fetish with offensive-defensemen. That's the only way to explain Mark Stuart being named defensive player of the year while not making first team All-WCHA.

Nobody said that.

Good luck tomorrow night, but only so my bold prediction can come true.