PCM

DO YOU THINK THAT WE'RE ALL HARD OF HEARING? In other words, please turn off the Caps Lock, sioumann. Thank you.

Scott is. His wife isn't.

I have nothing against Hakstol, but I think the process should be opened to outside applicants. The job is too important to hire the person who happens to be the most the convenient at the moment.

'Dem be some pretty big holes!

Ever since Blais won his first national championship, I've heard stories about him not being happy with one problem or another caused by UND's personalities and policies. Some of those stories came from people very close to Blais, so I know that they're true. While it's not difficult for me to believe that there was friction between Blais and REA management, it is difficult for me to believe that these problems drove him to take the NHL coaching job.

Be serious. We can't be wasting tar when there are so many potholes to be repaired in Grand Forks.

Why? Every word I posted was true and accurate.

My guess is that they're referring to this.

As coach of the US World Junior team, according to USCHO.

Does this mean that the Sioux will have a great offensive-defenseman for 4 years? If so, I can live with that.

I have no inside information, either, but I do know one thing from watching the first round of the NHL draft on Saturday. Blais and UND's hockey program were mentioned several times by the ESPN sportscasters during the course of the show. If UMD was mentioned at all, I don't remember hearing it. If you're a college coach and your goal is to coach in the NHL, which program provides the best opportunity to make the leap?

I'm guessing that Brandon knows what it's really called and the reporter doesn't. It's nice to hear that Bochenski and Stafford say that they'll both be back next season.

USCHO and the Grand Forks Herald are reporting that Blais will be named the new associate head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Beating Montana doesn't mean as much as it used to.

Crookston got screwed.

I was surprised that Kleinsasser wasn't mentioned in another thread where people were listing their favorite Sioux players. Could this one play be the reason?

I made that ride in my younger days. I remember waving at Lewis and Clark, who admired the onion I wore on my belt. Everyone meet at James Massen's house and bring your bicycles.

I'll try to do the steak and shake part of the plan, but I can't promise anything beyond that.

World peace is a good ideal. A Sioux hockey chat room may or may not be a good idea. Having this feature would enable us to: A) Participate in real-time flamefests with Gopher fans B) Watch students flirt with each other. C) See students make plans about where to party after the game. I'll pass.

The 00-01 Sioux played 11 games that went into OT that season, winning one at CC, losing two and tying nine. The two they lost were the WCHA Final Five championship against SCSU and the national championship against BC. I remember thinking during the regular season that it would be great if UND won some of those OT games because the experience might be valuable during the playoffs.

I'm sure you didn't mean that the way it came out. I never got to see any of the great Gasparini teams, but the stats indicate that they were very offense-oriented. Who needs great defense when your team averages around 5 goals a game or better? I was somewhat surprised by the stats for the 96-97 Sioux. They weren't as potent offensively as I remembered. But that could have something to do with the fact that they scored 6 goals in each of their last three games that season. The team's goals against average was also higher than I expected. The '98 team was very good and the '99 team was even better. Either of those teams could have won it all. The 99-00 team was an unexpected surprise in a rebuilding year. They were a great combination of size and speed that excelled on offense and defense. The freshman class of Bayda, Roche, Spiewak, Notermann, Skarperud, Ryan Hale and Leinweber all contributed. That the 00-01 Sioux made it back to the Frozen Four was a testament to those players' grit and determination. Panzer, Roche, Goehring, Bayda and Bryan Lundbohm practically carried that team on their backs. I'll always remember them as the team that wouldn't quit.

One team did it with offense. The other team did it with defense.

Ask and you shall receive. The first chart has been updated to include stats for the 78-79 Sioux team, which was an offensive juggernaut, but not a good defensive team. The team names on the second chart have now been color coded. Talk about customer service...

Their goalies were below average. Fortunately, they had good D-men and backchekcing forwards.