PCM

I agree with you. If you are in the minority, at least you're not by yourself.

Unfortunately, yes. I was surprised that Blais stuck with Ranfranz in the third period.

It's over. Bochenski appears to score at the buzzer. It's waved off. UND loses 5-4. Sioux outshoot the Mavs 52-24.

Now 1:32 left in the period. Blais takes a timeout. Ranfranz goes to the bench. Gerlach misses empty net for Mavs. 17 seconds left.

2:47 left in the third period. UND 4, Mankato 5 Jensen robs Bochenski. Sioux outshooting Mavs 51-21.

Sioux get some great chances on the power play, but can't convert. They're literally peppering Jensen with shots. He's all that's keeping them in the game. About 7 minutes left in the game. Sioux outshooting Mavs 48-21.

Sioux get another goal. Lee Marvin from the point! It's 5-4! Jensen couldn't see the puck because Parise was hauled down right in front of him. No call, of course. Mavs take a timeout. Sioux continue putting on great pressure. Sioux go back on the power play at 10:05. UND is 3-5 on the power play.

Third period is under way. Ranfranz is still in goal. Gets his stick broken 13 seconds into the period. Stevenson scores on the power play to make it 5-2. Notermann had two great chances shorthanded and was robbed by Jensen. It's starting to get ugly. I wouldn't be surprised if someone dropped the gloves before this one is over. Wow. Bochenski scores on the power play to make it 5-3. I don't even know how we came out of that on the power play. Jones dings a shot off the pipe. Just when it looks like the Sioux are gaining momentum, Connelly takes a tripping penalty.

There's still a period left. Remember, they came back from three down at The Ralph to tie Mankato. Unfortunatley, the Sioux are getting scoring chances, they just can't bury them. To make matters worse, their goaltending has left them.

End of 2nd Period Mankato 4, UND 2 Mavs will start the final period on the power play. Sioux are outshooting the Mavs 30-17.

Now Schneider takes a high-sticking penalty. Mavs on a 5-on-3 power play. Hennessy says the penalty was unintentional. Parise gets a breakway while the Sioux are down two men, deeks Jensen and misses the net. Zach draws a penalty for his efforts.

Abel fires it from the blue line to beat Ranfranz. It's now 4-2. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brandt in for the last period. McMahon takes a high-sticking penalty.

Almost worked there, too.

The second period is under way. The Sioux started the period on the power play, but couldn't get anything. Parise is called for hooking. MSU's Abel scores on a rebound on the power play to put the Mavs up 3-1. Sioux getting very sloppy defensively. Mavs are getting some good odd-man rushes. Forgot to mention that Green is back on the bench. Parise gets hit with a high stick as he's going to the bench. Mav player assessed a 5-minute major. Sioux on the power play. Zach's okay and back in the game. Palmiscno scores on the rebound to make it 3-2. Sioux still have 2:52 left on the major. Tyler gets his first goal of the season.

End of 1st Period Mankato 2, UND1 What a weird first period. The Sioux scored first on a power play goal by Notermann take their first lead since the first Michigan Tech game. Less than two minutes later, the Mavs Nate Metcalf scored his first goal of the season with a shot right off the faceoff. The Mavs then caught the Sioux on a line change and Grant Stevenson sniped Ranfranz on a breakaway. Matt Green took a penalty early in the period and went straight for the locker room as instructed by Blais. But Green had to serve the penalty, so he was called back.

Regarding the St. Cloud game, there are questions about what really happened there and who started it. As U2Bad1 pointed out, at last night's game, Tim Hennessy said he had a clear view of events and that Canady didn't do anything that warranted a game DQ. As for the other stats, Canady hasn't played in many games and has been injured for much of the season. Despite all he's been through, Blais has been putting him out on the ice. Therefore, I have to assume that the coach likes something he sees. On another matter, I thought J.P. Parise's between-period comments about officiating in the WCHA were interesting. He said that in all the years he's been involved in hockey, he's never seen anything like it at any level. He made it clear that he wasn't saying this because of his bias toward Zach and the Sioux. He said the officiating was wildly inconsistent and that the officials were trying to involved themselves in the game's outcome.

Anyone else think that maybe Parise and Bochenski should be on different lines?

And I don't want to hear about how much we miss David Hale or how our goaltending is lousy.

And once again, the Sioux get outplayed in the third period. They can't buy a goal. Given the number of penalties, I'd say the frustration level must be running quite high. Now that we have a goalie with a great save percentage, we have a team with no offense.

Sounds like the voice of experience to me.

Apparently you were the only one who got it.

It's sink or swim time. I think this series will determine which team has success in the playoffs and which has an early end to its season. The Sioux need more than a split to get back on track. One point or no points will indicate that the team probably isn't likely to pull out of its nose dive. I hope that Blais' talk with Bruce McLeod means that the Mavs won't be able to use Parise, Bochenski and others as tackling dummies. If the officials crack down on obstruction, the Sioux power play must convert on its opportunities. If the clutch and grab continues, other players are going to have to step up. I doubt that the Mavs will get away with tackling every Sioux player on the ice -- if that's how they choose to play it. The Sioux must also stay disciplined. What nearly killed them when Mankato visited The Ralph was penalties. They'll need to be on their best behavior.

That's right. The Sioux have gotten losing out of their system. It's time for the rest of the WCHA to step up to the plate.

mksioux, I think your speculation is probably correct. I don't, however, believe that anyone can safely assume that Parise told Blais that he'll be returning next season.