PCM

I'll do Colorado College. It's Jan. 4, 2003. The Sioux are rated No. 1 in the nation and playing the hard-charging Tigers. UND was without Zach Parise, Matt Jones and Matte Greene, who were playing in the World Junior Championships. CC was without Mark Stuart and Brett Sterling for the same reason. After the Friday game ended in a 4-4 tie, the Tigers, led by future Hobey Baker winner Peter Sejna, were hoping to take over the top spot in the nation with a win on UND's home ice. And with under two minutes to go in the game and a 4-2 lead, it looked as if they would do just that. After Josh Siembida gave up 3 goals on 12 shots, he was replaced by Marc Ranfranz in the second period. The Tigers got a power play goal at 15:14 of the second period to go up by two goals. But Ranfranz was spectacular the rest of the way, stopping 17 of 18 shots. And here's why I'll never forget this game. The sportswriter covering the Tigers for the Colorado Springs newspaper (he's no longer there) was yapping all through both games. He complained about the officiating and openly celebrated whenever CC scored. I'd never seen a reporter act like that in the press box where we're instructed by the NCAA to remain neutral at all times. Late in the third with CC up by two, the sportswriter took out his cell phone and carried on a loud conversation with a his editor back in Colorado Springs. He told the editor to get ready to run a story saying that the Tigers were going to defeat the Sioux and take over as the No. 1 team in the nation. But, as Yogi Berra said, it ain't over 'til it's over. I'm guessing that Yogi never met the goalie-pulling Dean Blais. The Sioux went on the power play with just over two minutes left. Seconds after Blais pulled Ranfranz, Brandon Bochenski scored at 18:13 to make it a 4-3 game. Taking advantage of a faceoff deep in CC's zone, Blais pulled Ranfranz again in the game's final minute. David Hale fired a wrist shot through traffic that beat Curtis McElhinney with 11 seconds left. The puck went in after bouncing off two CC players. The game ended 4-4 in overtime, and the Sioux retained their top ranking.

siouxtatoo42, that's how I figured it. I tossed out the tie games because they can't be counted as wins or losses. But I'm not a math guy. When someone tells me my math is off, I assume that they're right. EDIT: By the way, if anyone's using the 2004-05 Sioux hockey media guide to check the wins, losses and ties at the new REA, there's a mistake in it. The guide shows the Sioux sweeping Maine Oct. 19-20. However, UND lost the second game 5-1.

Which, again, misses the point. But...oh well.

It was Berkhoel.

Close enough for gubmint work! (Where's Editor Bob when I need him?)

I don't know what the Sioux record was in the old REA, but in the new building, they're 49-19-7, according to my calculations. I wonder how many other college teams win 72 percent of their home games?

You still don't get it, Goon. All those great Sioux players of the past are gone. What they brought to their respective teams in years past went with them. This team -- this season -- needs someone to step up and fill the role of an offensive leader. Maybe it's Stafford, and maybe it isn't. Maybe it will be Rory McMahon or Colby Genoway. The point is, we all know that someone needs to do it -- and soon. Tearing down Stafford because he isn't Panzer accomplishes nothing. I could just as easily point out that Jeff Panzer was no Tony Hrkac or Jim Archibald. So what? How does that help this team right now? And just because no one on the team has assumed the role of offensive leader, does that mean that nobody can? I sincerely hope not. Otherwise, we might just as well pull the plug on the season right now. Nobody on the team is doing what guys like Panzer and Goren did. If the team had someone filling the offensive leadership role, then Berry wouldn't be on the radio saying that it's something the team needs.

Three goals against the monks with the puking goalie? Yeah, I remember being at tad concerned about that. Great post, jk!

That's not the point. Leadership isn't about who has the best career stats. Stafford will probably never top Panzer at UND in that regard. What I believe Berry meant is that Panzer's leadership abilities were just as important to UND's success as a team than his play on the ice. Clearly, Dean Blais saw something he liked about Stafford when he recruited him. Mike Eaves saw something he liked about Stafford when he moved him up on the line chart for the WJC championship game against Canada in Helskini. The Buffalo Sabres saw something they liked when they made Stafford their No. 1 draft choice. And Scott Sandelin saw something he liked when he put Stafford in an offensive leadership role on this year's WJC team. If you look at the roster of the Sioux and you know that the team needs an offensive leader, Stafford appears to be an obvious choice. Can he do it? Will he do it? Who knows. But somebody needs to. And until somebody does, the prospects for this season don't look good.

One of the greatest examples of team leadership I ever witnessed came when I was playing high school football. Our team ran the option offense and our running backs were getting stuffed by a team we should have been easily beating. Our quarterback, a small guy who also played linebacker, stopped handing off the ball or pitching it to a back. He kept the ball and ran it many times in a row. He picked up several first downs, mostly through sheer grit and determination. When the opposing defense finally figured out that our QB wasn't going to do anything but run the ball himself, they simply keyed on him and gang-tackled him until we were forced to punt. When the offense came to the sidelines, the players surrounded the QB and asked him what he thought he was doing. He ripped off his helmet, slammed it to the ground in disgust and yelled at them, "If I can pick up yards, you can too! You're not running hard! You're not playing hard! I'll keep the ball every play and run it myself until you show up!" The message sunk in and we went on to win the game. That's what leadership is about.

I thought the most interesting part of the coaches' show was when Berry twice brought up that the team didn't have an offensive leader in the locker room. He talked about players like Lee Goren and Jeff Panzer taking past Sioux teams on their backs and leading them to victory through the examples they set. It seems strange that a lack of offensive leadership would be a problem this late in the season, but it does help explain the anemic scoring. I can't see the Sioux finishing strong in the WCHA or going far in the playoffs unless this changes. I got the feeling that Berry knows it, too.

I assume that Berry meant that Kaip was ready to play again, although he didn't specificallly mention him. Murray's injury was the only one that Berry and Hennessy discussed.

Some people just can't keep their minds out of the gutter. In any case, it's WPoS's fault. He's started the weenie talk.

And another one!

I didn't know canned hair was available. Where do you buy it?

From Suite 49 sports grill near beautiful Ralph Engelstad Arena, Tim Hennessy and Scott Swygman are the hosts with Sioux associate hockey coach Brad Berry. TH: Dave Hakstol is in Cedar Rapids scouting, but we can

Or flashback to Toby Kvalevog, Goon's all-time favorite Sioux goalie.

It's always good to go with your strength.

I always find it interesting that people's perception of how good a team was defensively tends to relate directly to how good it was offensively. Let's look at the Sioux during Goehring's four years (team goals for average and goals against average): 97-98 - GFA = 4.80, GAA = 2.90 98-99 - GFA = 4.98, GAA = 2.55 99-00 - GFA = 4.36, GAA = 2.20 00-01 - GFA = 3.98, GAA = 2.63 And for comparison's sake: 01-02 - GFA = 3.62, GAA = 3.68 02-03 - GFA = 4.00, GAA = 2.79 03-04 - GFA = 4.44, GAA = 2.20 04-05 - GFA = 2.77, GAA = 2.31 (26 games to date) This season's Sioux team, which literally has a sick offense, is giving up fewer goals per game than any team Goehring had in front of him except for the 1999-2000 national champions. The problem isn't defense, it's offense. Dean Blais' formula for success was quite simple: 1. Limit opponents to an average of 25 shots on goal or less 2. Have a goalie with a save percentage of .900 or better 3. Average four goals per game This season's Sioux team is accomplishing the first two, but falling far short of the third. With UND's current defense and goaltending, the Sioux would be a very tough team to beat if they were averaging anywhere near 4 goals per game.

No, Bob, I don't have a good editor. Maybe you could tooter me.

You'd be amazed at the power and influence that we sudo-reporters wield.

As I remember Hennessy describing it, Fuher slashed a CC player who gave him an elbow to the head right as the game ended.

Having watched Friday's game on TV and listened to the Saturday game on the radio, I wouldn't exactly call UND's effort "total domination" of CC. I agree with Hakstol that the first period of Friday's game was even and that the Sioux dominated the second period. I have a difficult time calling the third period "even" when the Sioux got themselves into penalty trouble at a time when they needed to stay 5-on-5 to tie up the game On Saturday, the first period did seem fairly even. After that, however, it did sound like total Sioux domination. The stats seem to back that up as well. What this season will come down to is the Sioux losing points late in games. The Sioux led MSU in the first game at Mankato, but gave up the tying goal late in the third period. The Sioux led against CC late in the first game at home, but gave up the game-tying goal and an OT goal. The Sioux took a 1-0 lead in the third period against UAA, but almost immediately gave up two goals to give the Seawolves the lead and the win. The Sioux tied UMD late in the third period at Duluth, but then gave up a goal in the last minute to take the loss. The Sioux tied MSU late in the third period in the second game at home, but then gave up a goal in the closing seconds to take the loss. There was also the non-conference game against Northeastern in which the Sioux dominated the first two periods, but then gave up two goals in the third to come away with a tie. That doesn't affect WCHA standings, but it will affect UND's pairwise ranking. Hakstol said on last week's coaches' show that this team needs to develop the killer instinct to put teams away. It hasn't done that. Nor has it learned how to protect a lead or a tie to assure that UND comes out of a game with points. I agree with Scott Owens that the Sioux aren't far away from being a good team, one that could potentially go somewhere in the playoffs. But some of the problems that dogged the Sioux early in the season remain. For example, the power play is better, but far from deadly. The penalties have gone down, but still come back to haunt UND at the worst possible times. Scoring, as we all know, continues to be a significant problem. If the Sioux were averaging four goals a game, some of the other problems wouldn't seem as significant as they do now. Until Hakstol, his staff and the players figure out what they need to do to score more goals, Sioux playoff prospects look dim, at best. I'm not trying to be critical, just realistic.

Dave Hakstol was on the radio Monday morning on Tim Hennessy's and Scott Swygman's radio show. Here, paraphrased, are some of this comments about the series at Colorado College: Hakstol: It was a tough outcome. The final shot attempts Saturday were 70 for UND to 25 for CC. Holding the Tigers to 25 shot attempts and 14 shots on goal was very good. I thought our performance for 120 minutes was very good. To come away with nothing made the plane trip back difficult. Swygman: Isn't it unreasonable to expect a goalie to give up no goals? Hakstol: We don't even think of it that way. It was a great performance by Lamoureux and good team defensive effort. Friday night, we had a great second period. I tought the first and third periods were fairly even. We can

Damn that Iraqi oil embargo!