PCM

I see what you mean. However, the strongest selling point for UND under Blais is the emphasis on developing young players for the NHL. Brandon Bochenski told me that's why he came here. He thought that Blais' system and the facilities at UND would be best for his development. He is happy with the choice he made. Blais has said that the reason the new Ralph has an NHL-sized rink rather than an Olympic-sized rink is because UND develops players for the NHL, not the Olympics. What is most likely to attract a top recruit: The potential of an NCAA championship or the potential of a multi-million dollar NHL contract?

I agree. By why should Zach risk having his career ended in the WCHA before he ever made it to the pros?

You think, but you don't know. He had two potentially career-ending hits on him during the Final Five, plus all the other mugging that many of us witnessed throughout the season. I'm not saying that it was the factor or even a major factor. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if it played a role in his decision.

Yes, but you don't get paid millions of dollars to put up with it in the WCHA. After Zach was ridden into the boards headfirst by a UAA player and received a cheap cross-check to the neck from Vanek at the Final Five, I'm guessing that Zach's decision to turn pro was much easier.

While I agree that I like to see players stay with the Sioux for all four years, I don't agree with your thinking on Parise. The amount of attention and publicity he generated and will continue to generate for UND's hockey program is invaluable. If you want the Sioux to land high-quality recruits, then you have to be able to accept the possibility that some of them will leave early. Parise's decision to attend UND will pay off for years to come, especially if he does well in the NHL.

Hennessy said he thought there was a good chance Greene would leave because Edmonton really likes him. He also said that with Bochenski being a low draft pick, there really wasn't any incentive for him to leave early.

I thought that last season, the Sioux probably would have been better off missing the Final Five tournament. Having to play three games against a tough Denver team -- two of them in overtime -- just to make the tournament seemed to drain too much energy from the team.

It would be interesting to know how much getting beat up in the WCHA had to do with his decision to leave.

I just heard Dean Blais on the radio say that he expects Zach to leave for New Jersey. Tim Hennessy thinks that Matt Greene will also be leaving because Edmonton is so high on him. Hennessy said that with Parise, the deal is on the table and it's up to Zach to stay at UND or head for the pros. Blais and Hennessy talked as if it's a foregone conclusion that he'll go.

Ditto

Yep. I remember Farkas from Boston College going right to Toronto and scoring a goal in the playoffs immediately after the 2000 season ended.

Ben Eaves comes back after being injured to score the game winner in overtime. It's BC 3, Michigan 2.

I don't disagree that having a Travis Roche or Keith Ballard at the blue line might have helped. My point was that in the defensive end on the big ice, the Sioux defensemen didn't hurt UND. They played good defense, which is their primary responsiblity. Against Minnesota in the Final Five, the Sioux D-corps deserved some criticisim for their play. They played well enough against DU to get the win.

Holy Cross tried to beat the Sioux with a slow, deliberate, defensive style of hockey. It didn

I'll probably go back and look at the tape, but on the replay they showed from behind the net between periods, it looked like the puck hit the crossbar and deflected upward.

Give Denver credit. They had a great game plan and it worked. Berkhoel had a little luck and made some great saves. That was the difference. You can't say the Sioux didn't have their chances because they did.

What I thought was funny about this game was the number of times the announcers mentioned Briggs being named MVP of the WCHA Final Five. Apparently nobody clued them in that it was a joke.

Interesting goalie stats. In three starts against Denver, Jordan Parise has allowed 4 goals (1.33 GAA) on 84 shots (.953 save percentage) and is 2-0-1. In three starts against UND, Adam Berkhoel has allowed 12 goals (4.00 GAA) on 75 shots (.840 save percentage) and is 0-2-1. Of course, everyone knows that Berkhoel is the superior goalie.

Based on the USCHO recap, it sounds like Berkhoel had one heck of a game against Ohio-Miami. Let's hope that he used up a lot of those great saves against them. Denver thinks the big ice will work to their advantage. USCHO also noted this: Berkhoel vs. Jordan Parise might seem like an advantage for Denver, but nobody should forget what happened the last time these two goalies dueled. UND's record is 4-3-1 on Olympic-sized ice. Did the two losses to Wisconsin and one loss to Minnesota have much to do with the big ice? Two of the three losses were by one goal, so I don't think so. We'll find out tonight if the combination of Olympic ice and high altitude are tough on the Sioux. Finally, the dead atmosphere of last night will probably be replaced with a home game atmosphere for DU. The Sioux will have to play with a lot more enthusiasm and desire than they did last night.

I guess it was good that I had Tim Hennessy and Tim O'Keefe on the radio while I watched the game on TV.

If you've watched Zach play enough games, you know how ridiculous that comment is. They were probably basing their comments on that one game, which is always a mistake.

He was sick and didn't play.

At the end of regulation, it's Wisconsin 0, Ohio State 0. They're headed into OT. And people thought the UND-HC game was boring.

Remember UND's game against Niagara in the 2000 NCAA playoffs? Everyone expected the Sioux to win a blowout. It was a 2-1 game headed into the third period and UND won 4-1. Shots on goal were 43 UND, 27 Niagara. And we all know how that season turned out.

It's still 0-0 with 3:31 left. Up until a little bit ago, there were three shots on goal combined for the period.