PCM

Anyone see a pattern here? First Two Seasons Curtis Murphy: 12 goals, 22 assists Brad Williamson: 5 goals, 18 assists Nick Fuher: 10 goals, 19 assists Robbie Bina: 1 goal, 16 assists Brian Lee: 6 goals, 47 assists Junior Season Curtis Murphy: 12 goals, 30 assists Brad Williamson: 7 goals, 22 assists Nick Fuher: 10 goals, 15 assists Robbie Bina: 10 goals, 22 assists Senior Season Curtis Murphy: 8 goals, 34 assists Brad Williamson: 10 goals, 37 assists Nick Fuher: 7 goals, 22 assists As for Travis Roche, let's not forget that he was a 21-year-old freshman who practiced for a year at UND before ever playing a game for the Sioux. For that reason, I don't think that it's fair to compare his first two seasons to Lee's first two seasons.

I have no idea. I just think it's absurd that anyone would want Lee to leave, especially given the fact that so many Sioux defenseman have really stepped up their games as juniors and seniors.

You forgot about Shea Hamilton at forward. He had to sit out this season after transferring from UAA.

Question: Which of the Hakstol-coached Sioux teams came closest to winning a national championship? Answer: The 04-05 team that was stacked with junior and senior defensemen. Is it a mere coincidence that the team with least amount of offensive firepower made it all the way to the 2005 Frozen Four championship game? I don't think so. Anyone who believes UND would be better off without Lee next season needs to understand that you can't replace maturity and experience at defense. If there's one thing we should have learned from out last two trips to the Frozen Four, that's it. It's absurd to think that after investing two years to develop a defenseman, you'd cut him loose for some inexperienced, untested, unproven freshman.

I watched the replay several times. Porter was just rushing back into the Sioux zone when the goal was scored. He never had a chance to be a factor on the play. That's why losing the faceoff was so critical.

I wouldn't class that as quitting.

Honestly, I only remember him getting thrown out for a couple of faceoffs near the end. It was probably more than that, but those are the only ones I clearly remember.

Great column, but this paragraph has me scratching my head: This sounds like the play Genoway made that eventually led to Porter's first goal. I don't think it's a coincidence that Filangieri wears No. 5 (Genoway's number) and Lombardi wears 24 (Porter's number).

I'm not so sure anyone quit on that particular play. If you watch Hakstol's post-game comments, you'll see that he was quite adamant about that not being the case when some in the media implied that it was. When I watch the replay, it appears that there might have been some confusion on the bench about who was supposed to be on the ice. I'd be interested in hearing a more detailed explanation from Hakstol about what actually happened.

They mentioned that on ESPN in the pre-game segments. Knowing this, you have to really admire Lerg's performance during the Frozen Four.

The Frozen Four All-Tournament team.

Hakstol talked about the possibility of some players going pro, but didn't say anything specific (which is to be expected). He said they will visit with the players individually and as a group. He felt that some players have some big steps to take in their development before turning pro.

I agree with this statement. Bad penalties. Blown defensive coverages. Lost faceoffs. Yes, the Sioux made plenty of mistakes that cost them the game. Sorry, but I can't agree with this statement. The team could have quit when they were down 5-3, but they didn't. Who is "Haskal"? As head coach, Dave Hakstol has always taken responsibility for his role in developing and preparing the team. However, he's not the one on the ice playing defense and taking penalties. If you don't know the answer to this question, then I question how much of a Sioux fan you really are. You don't get to the Frozen Four three years in a row without winning big games.

Hakstol was on the radio this morning. He said it became obvious as the game progressed that a penalty would be called on almost every big hit. While he disagreed with the call on Finley, the team had discussed the officiating between periods and the players knew they had to be careful heading into the third period. It was the worst time of year to learn an important lesson.

Toews took 28 faceoffs, far more than any other Sioux player. He won only nine of them. The stats are here. The biggest one he lost was the faceoff immediately after Finley's penalty.

Speaking of that, check out the picture right at the top of the NCAA's Double-A Zone blog.

Off the top of my head, when Bochenski was a freshman in 01-02, he was mostly with Bayda and Skarperud. When Parise was a freshman in 02-03, he played a lot with Bochenski on the right wing with Notermann and Spiewak alternating much of the time on the left wing. EDIT: Looking back at Parise's 02-03 season here, he played quite a few games on a line with Bochenski and Fylling.

Stafford and Murray were freshmen the same year. Murray, Parise and Bochenski started 23 of UND's 41 games together as a line. Stafford, Parise and Bochesnski started one game together as a line. Check it out here.

You're saying that a line with players who started one game together is UND's best all-time line? Or did you forget to put a smilely at the end of that sentence?

Not every UND student can follow your example.

I think Marc Chorney says it best:

Some news on Oshie from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

I agree. The CCHA ref seemed determined not to let either team play physically in Thursday night's game.

Ironically, BC's winning streak is snapped at 13.

Probably. I guess I didn't see your response.