Big A HG

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.

Brad is updating scores on his blog. It's 1-1 late in the 2nd right now. areavoices.com/undhockey

JUST WIN BABY! I don't want to wait for AZ to start this thing, I gotta work tonight and I'm pumped. I'll get to watch at like 2am or so. TV & Radio Info

The comments about or our offense and PP seems to be one thing to me. It's very robotic. I don't know if this is Hak's doing or what, but it seems like everyone is just worried about "running the offense" like in basketball. Everyone just looks for the next guy in the play to pass the puck to instead of worrying about scoring. We especially do this when we cycle a lot. It seems like a lot of times the guys just keep cycling and cycling and everyone ends up out of position or the puck gets taken away.

A couple years ago I would have agreed with that statement. They have a pretty darn good TEAM. They don't have the most talented players, but the ones they do have are well-coached and play well together. I'll let the season determine who's overrated and who isn't.

Is it just me, or has Trupp been the next best thing to being jinxed when it comes to scoring goals this year...?

Stand up and cheer Stand up and cheer for North Dakota Pledge your loyalty For she's your Alma Mater true. Our team is fighting And we will help them see it thru We've got the team We've got the steam So North Dakota here's to you

Yay, goal good guys: Zajac from Fienhage and Bruneteau

This team should still be able to score without Chay. They have too much talent and Chay would only be on the ice for 1/3 of the game. The team just isn't putting it in the net, and Chay would help, but there is more to it than just Chay I think. Time to have a kickass 2nd period.

That's a good question...I noticed how well he played last year also. It must be an injury thing, I see no other reason he wouldn't be seeing ice time other than an off-ice incident, but I won't make any assumptions on that, nor would think he would have been out for that many games for anything either.

....if the Sioux nickname issue was resolved on Thanksgiving day and the school and tribes agreed to honor each other by allowing the use of the logo and nickname. The history behind Thanksgiving is widely debated, but it's generally accepted that the pilgrims in Massachusetts were so thankful to have survived their winter that they threw a feast for themselves and their Native American neighbors. The story would have been epic, and it would give so much more meaning to the holiday than there already is for us with ties to the Sioux tradition. No matter what happens, I'll always be grateful to the fact that I went to the University of North Dakota as a Fighting Sioux, and graduated as such. My blood runs no Sioux blood, but I'll always have respect and honor for the members of their tribes no matter what happens. Thank you to all the members of the tribes who have come before us, and also the ones who continue to understand the full meaning of a local university who willingly takes their name in love and respect.

He'll be in our prayers.

Hey AZ...I have highspeed internet and it still takes awhile for the pics to load because they are so big. Maybe try resizing before posting...just a heads up.

Vande Velde (Friday) Kristo (Saturday)

I know it's too late I'm sure...but for future reference, Can UND hire whomever they please for non-league games, such as this Subway Classic this weekend? If they can, I wouldn't mind seeing them hire some more respectable NCAA refs for the weekend to stick it to the WCHA regulars.

Yeah, congrats Hrkac! It should have ended Friday night though seeing how well Cichy played and how many good opportunities he had to score.