PCM

How can any Sioux fan argue with that sentiment? I hope to meet some Gopher fans at the Final Five.

Hard to say. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing the Sioux get another shot at Duluth. Maybe SCSU would be a little easier because the Sioux have beat them three of four times this season. If UND can beat Denver tonight, especially if they do it convincingly, I like their chances against either Duluth or St. Cloud.

So why are you comparing DII football recruiting to DI hockey recuriting? There is no comparison. That was my point.

Although, as Blais pointed out after the game, when the Sioux twice had 5-on-3 power plays in their zone, they lost those faceoffs and didn't really generate any quality scoring chances as a result. But overall, he was very pleased with how well the Sioux have been doing on faceoffs over the past month and a half. He's said that's been one of the few bright spots for the team.

I boldly predict that it will either UM-Duluth or St. Cloud.

I've added some photos from Saturday's game to the photo gallery. click here to view the latest pictures.

No fakery was necessary because Zach was in the Sioux zone at the time.

Good work, guys.

How many of them are producing top-level Division I players?

I got a few photos from Friday night's game that you can view by clicking here. I'll keep taking photos at home as long as the Sioux are playing.

Right. That's what I meant.

Goon, you are right that there was far more tackling and holding going on than ever should have been allowed. But I can't help noticing that there's been a fundamental change in the team since the loss to Michigan Tech. Last night, I expected to see the Sioux play like they knew it was a new season, like they knew Denver was not going to beat them in their own building, like they knew they were a better team than they've been lately. From the drop of the puck, I didn't see that. I saw a team that looked as if it wanted the season to be over. I didn't see any fire or desire. Worse, I saw a lot of frustration in the form of dumb penalties. Coming from two goals down on Denver should not be a huge obstable, bad ice or not. The teams that are contending for a shot at the Frozen Four have done it. The Sioux I saw Friday night didn't look like one of those teams. I expected the Sioux to prove me wrong in the third period. I wanted to see them come out and play with the heart and determination that brought them so much success in the first half of the season. But I didn't see that. Down by one goal, they looked as flat and lifeless as they did in the first period. Something has changed. I don't know what it is, but we're not seeing the same team any more.

I remember noticing at one point when the Sioux had a 3-on-1 rush going, a Denver player very conveniently came off the bench just ahead of the play to help break up the rush. I didn't think to count how many players the Pioneers had on the ice at that point.

I'm not using the ice as an excuse because, obviously, both teams had to play on it. The difference was that Denver got two soft early goals and after that, the ice worked in favor of the defense and against the offense. In that respect, I think Gwozdecky was correct. If the Sioux can get a two-goal lead tonight, it should work in their favor.

The ice was horrible. Ryan Hale and George Gwozdecky commented about it after the game. Gwozdecky went so far as to say that when Denver went ahead, the bad ice worked to their advantage. I think he's right. Also, the Sioux noramlly do use one defenseman on the power play. Schneider usually plays on the first unit and Fuher normally plays on the second unit. My comment: What's happened to this team in the third period? I thought that after the Sioux played a good, hard second period, they'd come out with even more intensity in the third. But I saw little fire or desire to win. That was something this team had in spades the first half of the season.

I thought there were some holds and tackles that could have been called on Denver, but I didn't think it was the difference in the game. The Sioux power play went 0-4 and didn't look good at all.

After what I witnessed tonight, I'm not sure that will even help. The worst part is, I have to write a recap of this game for USCHO and everything I type comes out looking like siouxrock wrote it.

I could go for that. Otherwise, I can't go to church all day on Sunday like I usually do.

You're finally beginning to recognize the brilliance of siouxrock's writing. It can be interpreted in so many different ways.

And how about when Spiewak and Notermann scored short-handed goals 12 seconds apart to tie Niagara? How about when David Hale scored his goal in the closing seconds to tie Colorado College? Was the old Ralph ever as loud? All season long, I've heard Blais and the Sioux players say what a difference it makes to play at home and have the crowd behind them. I've heard opposing players and coaches say that the crowd at The Ralph helped change the momentum of some games. When there is reason for the crowd to cheer and be involved in the game, it's every bit as intimidating and effective as it was in the old building.

Thanks for sharing.

The next time we see him, he'll have a bleached mullet, be wearing a Red River hockey jersey and calling everyone "dude."

Exactly.

Who said Dahlen played at Denver?

You might want to rephrase that.