Big A HG

I don't know what you all are griping about. It was a pretty obvious "Skating past opponent who falls into the boards" major. Itquay ouryay itchinbay.

I think USA wins because of Kristo alone...it'll be a close game though. USA 4 (Kristo with 2) Sioux 3 (Trupper, Gregoire, and Malone)

He is a -5, worst on the team. But LaPoint is a beaten horse. Everyone knows he isn't the most skilled guy on the ice. He's not incompetent though. A guy who has been a dud all season and has been getting too much credit is Vande Velde. Senior? My ass...he plays like a freshman and has the second worst +/- on the team at -4. If he didn't win a decent percentage of faceoffs, the guy wouldn't be worth much. Where is the spark with this guy? If it's because he's hurt, don't play. If it's a mental thing, sit his ass. If it's a skill thing, I can understand...but we've seen how good he can be, but he's NEVER been consistent. The Sioux (without Chay) are being carried by the young guns...Kristo, Gregoire, Blood, MacWilliam, and Hextall. Trupper, Marto, and Malone have been rock solid also for the most part. There's a lot of time to get this thing figured out, but I hate playing Bubblicious come February/March.

OK, I got jipped with my Gregoire pick....he deserved one. Does that count?!

Why is Bitchy Badger in that pic? He won't be there...

He would also still be of junior status. It still erks me that this had to happen in the first place, but if he has learned a lot from it and has changed his life for the better, I'd welcome him back. This might create a little chaos with roster spots though.

Here are some vids to get amped up for the game. Faison & Co. should bring earmuffs for this weekend.

Gregoire (Friday) Kristo (Saturday)

Haven't seen much live action of the Badgers this year despite being in the Sconnie Nation, but Eids is going to have to stand on his head. I think this is a great test-run of playoff conditions for everyone.

This isn't a great team [yet]. Split.

Where are those pics MM?!

Had to work again tonight...and what a nice way to finish a terrible night of work... I said it before, I'll say it again... This team has swept Merrimack and Michigan Tech. No one else. Championship teams know how to sweep. I don't care where the game is, who the opponent is, etc. When it comes down to the tournament, you need two sweeps. "Splits" in the tournament won't win you anything.

BC's Conte Forum also pits the competitors on opposite sides. I wasted my money going to the "Fog Game" in fall of 2007 to see the Sioux. There's another I've seen (not in person) as well, but can't think of it...

Yep, Jonny is starting to get it rolling a bit. He has a 3-game goal streak and 8 pts in his last 7 games (5-3--8). Let's hope he keeps it going.

Dear Mr. David K., Just because you think something doesn't make it so. G'day

No one knows for sure how Thanksgiving came to be, but either way, there is a general concept of Thanksgiving, and that being a good one, which is why we celebrate and why I thought it would have been a good idea.

I can't remember much in the way of details, other than there were supposed conflicts between Dylan and the Sioux coaches shortly before he made his commitment. Dylan didn't like that and picked a different school. That's the very abbreviated version.

This weekend feels like a split. A tough opponent, on the road, in a tough arena to play in. I wish I could watch because it will be interesting to see if MacWilliam has any words for Dylan Olson. Olson was MacWilliam's teammate in the AJHL and Dylan almost committed to UND...in fact there are some conspiracies about some behind-the-scenes actions on the matter.

OK...here's what was striking to me. Ballard attempts to break his stick on the post, but hits Vokoun. Vokoun goes down immediately, but Ballard finishes the job of breaking his stick, AFTER already hitting Vokoun, and THEN skates away like nothing happened. THEN, when they were getting him on the stretcher, there were 5 Thrashers and 2 Panther players (Vokoun being a Panther) giving well-wishes to Vokoun, with Ballard nowhere in sight. So, how bad did he really feel? He's the one that did the damage yet showed no concern anytime after the accident. F'in idiot

All these new retros look 100 times better in person even, no lie.

Most of which aren't real hockey fans (even though some may claim to be). Everyone loves a good, fast, intense game, especially when it gets chippy. I don't care for fighting unless it is deserved and necessary. Fighting just to fight or overreacting to a situation resulting in a fight is dumb and slows down the game.

The Ralph gets loud in big situations, such as the one you mention. But, it's the other times, where the pace of the game may not be that great and the scoring is low. It can be like a library in there then.

This is one thing I brought up last year. It seems like everyone's seniors are dramatically better than when they were freshmen, whereas ours don't seem to improve much over the years.

I wonder what Hak is going to do when Genoway comes back. There isn't one defenseman that has underformed more than maybe one or two nights. Fienhage has looked great considering his circumstance, and was a +3 last night. If Fienhage can continue to grow and get better, how can you take a guy like that out of the lineup, even with Chay back, considering his size. If our offense can gain some consistency, this is going to be one darn good team. The top line has been underperforming, and the wings keep changing, not the center. I think Hak should try Malone as the center on the top line with Gregoire and Toews as the wingers. Just an idea...

If you get FCS Atlantic, you'll get the game.