DAR

Hmmmmm.....seems like a lot different palyer than we saw here in the first half. We can only hope that this kind of fire in his play translates to the second half of the season like it did last year.

We need more production from lines 2-4. They just are not chipping in enough goals to take any pressure off the top line. The goaltending also must get a lot better if this team has any post season aspirations. The defenseman have been average at best. Lee has got to be the most finesse defenseman I have ever seen where a Sioux uniform. He is nowhere near ready to play in the NHL at this point in my opinion. To sum it up, there is room for a lot of improvement in all areas of the game and it needs to start this weekend before it is too late.

Exactly.......aren't their jerseys just nasty!

The point is there is a lack of balanced scoring. The 3rd and 4th lines are not chipping in any goals whicj is needed to take some of the pressure off of the top players. I disagree that VandeVelde can play with anybody. He had an average year at Lincoln last year and has not adjusted to the WCHA as of yet. Unfortunately, there is no question who has the best freshman class in the country this year. They wear colors that all of us Sioux fans despise.

The freshman class has just not produced much this year. I expected more out of VandeVelde than a goose egg at this point in the season. Forney is very raw and obviously should be in the USHL this year. Zajac has not done much either except for at the beginning of the season. The best freshman has been Genoway. Bishop has hardly played. Then throw in Kaip and Fabian who both have goose eggs in the goal department you can see why teams can put all their focus on Toews and Oshie. There just is not enough depth in the scoring department to take the pressure off the top guys. Add to that subpar goaltending and often poor defensive play and you get a team that is below .500. That is my observation. It is going to be much more difficult to dig out of the whole this year because the depth and talent level at forward is not there this year like it was last year. The only person on the D corps who seems to know how to throw a check is Bina. Obviously a lot of improvement is in order if we are going to see any post season play this year.

For those who have DiSH network...according to the guide tonights game will be on FSN Altenative channel. I believe it is channel 449

This is a very pivotal series and could set the direction for both of these teams the rest of the year. If the Sioux do not come with their A game they will be lucky to get a split. Elliot is tough to score on and our goaltending has been suspect so far. We can not let in soft goals and turn the puck over in our own end.

I still think Lee needs a lot of work to be ready for the NHL. He has had a decent year so far, nothing spectacular.

Yes they should, especially when you look at the age and maturity factor. We shall see though. The Sioux need to use this as a tune-up for Wisconsin. We really need at least 3 points out of that series.

At least he saw the light.......good for him.

There is no question about that. You replace those three with Forney, little Zajac, and VandeVelde....and while you get the picture. Two of the three have yet to score a goal and none has been what I would call an impact freshman. Now, these players have time still to develop and adjust to the WCHA. It just is going to take more time than some of the high impact freshman forwards we have seen in the past.

I thought it was about which Sioux freshman could have used a year or another year of juniors.

I agree 100%....but you never know what goes through the minds of these kids.

We need to see results though. Two points at this point in the season is not much of an impact. Hopefully he can get it going.

Last year Toews could kind of fly under the radar. That is not the case this year with all the early departures. He and Oshie are going to have to deal with being the focal point of the opponents all season long. We need balanced scoring throughout the line up the help counter the pressure that these two will be under all year. There are a number of guys who need to step it up a couple notches if this team is going to be successful in March and hopefully April. I think most of us can figure out who they are without naming names.

This simply is not a physical d corps. Lee is not a physical defenseman at all and neither is Chorney. Jones is feisty but does not throw many checks. Finley for his size does not use it well at all. Bina is probably the only defenseman we have right now that can throw a body check.....plain and simple.

No doubt, pretty hard to move on to the next level when you have yet to even prove yourself at this level. Which neither has done.

Thanks PCM....gotta sweep the Seawolves

and that would not have made a big difference on this year's team?

Pretty impressive that Zajac made the Devils as a rookie like that. I doubt he will see the minors anytime soon. Man what he would have done for this year's Sioux team.

Sure you will, I have been to quite a few games there. Lots of Sioux fans the times I have been there.

I don't think people are bashing Vande Velde, just calling it as they see it. He is a step slow and needs to work on his skating. That is my observation. Needless to say I am no expert but that is what this forum is all about....calling it as we see it as fans. Hopefully he will continue to improve nad score some goals by the end of the year. Maybe some of us have too high expectations for some of the frosh this year. The good news is all of them will quite likely be 4 year players.

TJ has that center of gravity thing down pat. Most of the time when someone is lining up to put a hit on him the opposing player gets the worst of it. Pretty amazing!

LaPoint should be solid. Not sure how physical he is but that may come in time. As for Brian Lee, I think he can raise his game a couple of notches. He needs to be the anchor of the d corps.

IMO Martens deserves to play over Vande Velde, Bishop, and Miller at this point based on the games I have seen. Maybe playing with Oshie will give Watkins and Kozek some more scoring chances. It is not exactly like playing with Zajac and Spirko last year so TJ's numbers might suffer some this year.....but hey you gotta play the hand you are dealt.