PCM

I don't know that, either. But perhaps Wong's comment gave some of those in the WCHA casting votes an excuse to vote against Panzer. As I said, the worst part about it was that with a few minutes of research, the statement could easily be disproven.

I didn't intend to turn this into a Woog bashing fest. I generally like the guy and he does make some good observations. He'll poke fun at himself and he's sometimes so goofy when he doesn't mean to be that it's funny. And I have heard him criticize the Gophers. Yes, he is a homer, but so are a lot of us who cover the Sioux hockey team. I don't hold that against him. However, I do expect someone in his position to have a better understanding of the rules. If he did, he'd know that his comment about rigged scoring in Grand Forks is way off base. For it to be true, he'd have to accuse the WCHA officials of participating in it, and I doubt that he'd want to do that.

In the case of Jeff Panzer, it was absolutely wrong. Anyone who took time to research Panzer's assists during the 2000-2001 season would see that there was nothing to the claim. It all goes back to the old adage that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe that it's true. So what happens in Grand Forks that doesn't happen in the rest of the league? Are the WCHA officials bribed to give give extra assists Sioux players?

No you wouldn't. Trust me.

I wondered where that went.

I posted a link to photos of the BC-UND pictures that were displayed on the Inside College Hockey Web site. I am not taking photos this season.

If it's happened, I've never seen or heard it.

All the goals aren't reviewed. I believe they are reviewed only if someone raises a question about about the scoring or if the officials are uncertain about how a goal is scored. If nobody questions it, then it stands as the referee called it and the official scorer lists it. Sometimes it's a player on the ice who questions the referee's version of the scoring. In the Dec. 27, 2002, game against Brown last season, Brandon Bochenski was seen talking to the ref immediately after David Lundbohm appeared to score a goal. Bochenski told the ref that he thought Lundbohm's shot deflected off his stick just before it went in the net. That didn't seem possible, but a review of the tape showed that, in fact, the goal was scored the way Bochenski said it was. The scoring was changed to give Bochenski the goal and Lundbohm the first assist. If Brandon hadn't said anything, the goal would have been Lundbohm's.

Shame on Doug Woog. I suspect that his comment was based on a column by Greg Wong of the St. Paul Pioneer Press back in 2001 when Jeff Panzer was up for the Hobey Baker Award. Wong wrote in his college hockey column that Panzer received "phantom assists" when playing at home and thus his nation-leading point total was artificially inflated. I clearly remember this because some Hockey East fans seized upon it. They claimed that Brian Gionta was more deserving of the Hobey than Panzer because he had a few more goals, but not nearly as many assists. I went through the exercise of breaking down the assists Panzer received at home and away. He'd actually picked up more assists on the road than he did at home. So much for "home cooking" theories. It would have been nice if Wong had done a bit of research before saying that Panzer was the beneficiary of biased stats keeping. Who knows how much that false statement hurt Panzer's chance of winning the Hobey. Apparently Woog is following in Wong's footsteps. If he'd spend a little time reading the 2004 NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules and Interpetations, he'd know there are specific procedures in place for assuring that players are properly credited for goals and assists. I'm not saying that this system always gets the scoring right, but it does make it extremely difficult for anyone to "cook the books" and inflate a player's points, regardless of whether a team is playing at home or away. Here's what the rules say: As anyone who has attended a few games knows, sometimes changes are made in scoring during the course of a game. That usually happens when it was unclear who last touched the puck before it went in the net or who should receive first and second assists. At the REA, if there is a question about scoring, the hockey sports information directors from each team review the taped replay between periods. If they determine that the scoring is incorrect, they can request that the referee and official scorer make the necessary change. Both SIDs must agree on the change, as stated by the NCAA rules.

In the US Army, this is a BMP. Due to recent events, the Iraqis don't have nearly as many as they used to.

I'm pretty sure that Virg isn't fond of that name.

I heard Lennon on the radio this morning. He said the Sioux have some injuries, but he didn't say specifically who was injured. Based on what I heard, it sounds like he expects to have everyone available for the first playoff game. I assume that means that there were no serious injuries at USD.

Having attempted to play hockey with that particular injury, I can tell you that it's a bad one. Worse, it takes a long time to heal and is easily aggravated.

On every line chart given to the media before every game, there's a pronounciation guide of players' names. Of course, that doesn't mean the Wooger reads it...

Do they know any more about football than they do about hockey? I recall them saying that it made no difference whether San Diego started Flutie or Breez against the Vikings on Sunday. So what happens? The BC midget shreds the Vikes through the air and runs for two touchdowns.

7 > 0

A sign with Craig Dahl and Jerry Springer pictures on it would be good. I still think they're twins separated at birth.

Until this changes, I think some people need to deal with reality. USD is not moving to D-IAA any time soon.

Weigh in with your impression of the atmosphere at the new Ralph Engelstad Arena during the Gopher series..

No matter what happens from here on, it was a terrific rebound season for the Sioux. It's also been one hell of a season that will always be remembered by the fans for sheer excitement. Congratulations to Coach Lennon, his staff and all the Sioux players. Well done!

He's partly right. But a team can only dig the hole so deep before it has to start worrying about missing the playoffs, and the Gophers haven't shown any signs that they're done digging.

Parise told me that Bochenski is a lot faster than most people think he is -- and he would know.

I like the Money Line, too, but maybe Bucks wouldn't like it.

Legion of Zoom. I kinda like that.

And their last AD was a D-I hockey guy. He left after 5 years. Did you see the comments the new AD made about going D-IAA? He didn't make it sound like it would happen any time soon.