yababy8

It is complicated though. Its complicated when you start to contemplate what kind of team psychology, ie attitude/dogma/perspective/disposition best facilitates a team's ability to play at the level we witness most years in the tournament. To me it's not a simple question and maybe it has motrethan one solution? Is it the "lunch pail/business trip" attitude. Where you play a discipline game and focus on mistake minimization OR Is it the attack/attack/attack you ain't got noth'in to lose mentality that keeps you from gripping it to tight and allows a team to maximize potential through freedom of expression so to speak? I tend to think the best attitude/strategy is more of the latter and I think Hak's inclination is more toward the former. Sometimes I think the loss to Denver in Colorado Springs really hurt us in more ways than one. Denver not only beat one of our best teams ever but also won it all by playing a style like the the former above. It is like we have al been trying to convince ourselves to adopt that style ever since. Isn't that a style for a lesser skilled team to compete. IE Michigan two years ago? Shouldn't the more skilled team play like BC in '07 & '08 or Yale did this year. Just never stop attacking in a high flying style?

I worked there for about 6 months back in 90. Not only did I not eat there once but I never even saw the inside/dining area. I worked in the kitchen. The youngest son-owner was s cool guy, his brother was an ass. The dad only new swear words in English and he used them..lol.

Can someone send me an instant message when this thread gets past the fasion discussion? In this hollow and lonely post-season time I'm Jones'n for something to read that can pass for interesting like putting ice on a burn and every time I open this thread its like reaching into the wet napkin only to find the last tiny chunk of ice melt the moment it touches my fingertips!

Thanks Ray77. It was kind of a gimmy for me. As I've mentioned on this forum before, my buddy and I watch all of the games on Tivo and there are a few things that always result in the rewind-pause-slow play-pause event. Of course there is the sweet play thing and then you always have to hit the remote when the camera man pans to the hot babes in the crowd (FightingSiouxNetwork was always better at that one). But there was none more fun than when the camera was on good ol Gwauzz! Man we could watch those segments about 15 times without pause in laughter. He was awesome. A completely in every way self-promoting hockey guy. But he was/is a hockey guy(unlike Lucia who I would not be nice to if I ever saw him in public).

No one is more into themselves than Gwoz. My favorite thing that he did was when he realized the camera was pointed at him he would pucker up, adjust his collar and lift his chin. After he got all fixed up he would check for the camera again by doing his most patented move, looking out of the corner of his eye. I absolutely loved that one! Gwoz was a total dink but I loved him! He was an awesome antagonist for Sioux hockey. Plus he publicly stated that it was wrong that we had to change our name. For that he and his antics will forever have my respect. BTW his ice walk was a simple fωck-up. He, out of habit, was leaving by crossing the ice. How he played it off with the ref once he realized it was absolute classic Gwoz. He will be missed! Dink!

Starting Bono/Gerbak in playoffs over Gannon after Gannon did nothing but win games in two 13-3 seasons should have been the clue that Marty was untenable as acoach. Now while putting O'Donnell on the top scoring line might not be on par with Schottenheimer's foolishness, it has made me question how much Hak weighs the offensive component of the game vs puck responsability and physical play. Of course I should add that I'm not even sure how I feel about that?

Great post I love the insertion of perspective through good ol objective data. I think Rocco will dial it in next year for sure..

Great description of Rocco. Every time Rocco gets to that spinning out of control point I start singing Simon and Garfunkel, "slow down your moving to fast, gotta make the moment last"

Posting suggestions to the coach in any league in any sport is most often and correctly perceived by most as anywhere from silly to delusional. Yet while I have an appreciation for this axiom I am feeling quite compelled to do just that right now. My experience watching most Sioux games is a bit different than most. By the time many Sioux fans have drifted into that dreamy sleep where they either have dreams of lifting a beer with their fellow Sioux fans at some cozy celebration pub not far from the Frozen Four venue where the Sioux just captured #8 or conversely have very unsettling dreams of clocks that say .02 on them as well as a bigger number next to the other team. These dreams, at least for me, are oft dictated by not so much a win or a loss but by how the team plays on a given evening. I watch most games as I have for about a decade after the kids are in bed, the house is quiet, my buddy arrives and we have a smoke or two in the garage. Only then after a discussion about what we hope to see and expect to see in the game we are about to watch do we finally fire it up. Usually about an hour past my wife’s most yielding concession. Then as we watch the game we take several breaks to go have a smoke where we get into discussions about what we are seeing. Things like line combination evaluation, player evaluation, and team dynamics are some of the topics as well as attempting to define the disposition of the team. Sometimes these conversations last a bit longer that the normal 20 min period break would if we were to watch it live like most. Many times in the course of the evening we spend a good bit of time rewinding and watching plays over again, sometimes for something as silly as to catch the look on a player’s face. Maybe to try to guess if a goalie is cracking under the pressure or perhaps see if a player has that anger that is often a precursor to a fight. Like most fans, part of our standard game breakdown is critical in nature and from time to time it becomes focused on coaching. But that is not the usual. We both really like Coach Hakstol. I have a ton of respect for him. I would go as far as to say I look up to him. I genuinely think he is a superior member of our society and a great asset to the Sioux hockey tradition. But having said that I do think he has weaknesses-like we all do. One of his weaknesses is in my opinion stubbornness. It is in reference to this vein that I write this silly and maybe delusional post... So to get to the point, the issue at hand is in regard to line combinations, Specifically who is on the top line with Night and Kristo and who is Grimaldi with on his line. The issue is the loss of possession and scoring opportunity when other non-qualified players are paired up with these three offensive playmakers. I think I understand what Hakstol is attempting to do by splitting them up. Maybe creating two scoring lines for the one-two punch or perhaps attempting to add some extra(maybe physical) element to both lines? But the bottom line is it is not working and I don’t understand how he is not seeing that? After the C.C. game last Thursday my friend made a statement regarding having Grimaldi with Rowney and O’Donnell with Kristo and Knight. He said it was wrong “in so many ways on so many levels”. I thought that was a really appropriate way to put it. So I ask my fellow Sioux fans who like to break things down and think about the game analytically, I know just about everyone I read posting on here feels the same way regarding the Knight line, What do you think? How strong do you feel about it? I will throw out what my list is of the “levels” of wrong I see with the current(most recent) lines. Kristo and Knight are both possession players who accomplish this via creating space to either find a shot or locate a good receiver to pass to. If they have a line mate who is not adept at receiving crafty passes and then making similar things happen the play/possession most often breaks down at that point. This not only costs us a scoring opportunity but also puts our top offensive threat in the defensive zone wasting their 90 sec shift. Grimaldi with Rowney. Pretty much the same argument as #1. Rowney is a great player and has some mad skills but catching Grimaldi’s passes is not one of them. Grimaldi is being wasted on a line with Rowney. I don’t understand why Hakstol switches the lines to have Grimaldi up with the scorers when we are playing poorly and behind, then after we play well and get ahead by a goal he switches them back? Is this some twisted derivation of the prevent defense? Mitch Mac is a question mark. I hate to single out a guy but I’m not sure where he fits. Parks and Mark are suffering from the same challenges as #1 above. This is a tough one to explain but I’ll try: Let’s say that Hak sees something the rest of us don’t and this is why he has stayed the course and my assertion of stubbornness is way off base. In this case I would say to Hak, “Can you guarantee victory with the lines you have been playing? If not then think of the frustration you will impart on the masses of Sioux fans. Fans who in the eye of defeat are left to wish they had been afforded the opportunity to let the game be played with the line-up we not only felt was best but almost everyone felt could be down-right dominant. I know that seems ridiculously fan-centric but come game time if we are down by a goal or two with 10min to go in the third period and we see Grimaldi feed a sweet pass into the slot where a wide open Rowney misses it or even more probable we see Knight feed a pass to O’Donnell only to have it taken away by some punk Gopher, its going to be very hard to deal with. Conversely if Grimaldi feeds Knight who feeds Kristo and Kristo should happen to miss the shot, then it is just what it is and there are no fans, tens of thousands of them, saying WHY!?!?!. I have read several posts over the last two months where fans have questioned the players “showing up or not” on a given night. I disagree with this. I think what we are seeing is a result of players not being put into positions that fit their talents. See #1 above again. Is O’Donnell not “showing up” when he fails to capitalize on a Kristo feed? Is Rowney not “showing up” when he fails to score on a sweet Grimaldi pass? Especially when he killed a penalty moments before in a dominant fasion? That’s my thinking. Common Coach, put um together for us, your beloved fans!

No Kristo doesn't have that in his game for sure but he could get traded to the Av's and skate with Malone. Then he would just move over when it is i'mgonnablowaguyuplikeamacktruckhittingagrossofwatercoolerjugsinthemiddleoftheinterstate..ness time.

Your post was followed by my 7 4 0th post. It's in the air I can feel it! Sioux skate for 8! yababy!!

This^^ This is something Toews didn't do, Parise didn't do, and Oshie didn't do. The Gopher fan can go home just like his team next weekend because Sioux fans, being the aware and perceptive bunch we are, have the utmost honor and respect for Danny Kristo and his commitment to the program we love. I have fully enjoyed his four years with our team and am very thankful he has had the rare passion which drives one to make the tough choice to say 'later' to becoming rich and dedicate his talent, drive and passion to SIOUX hockey. Danny, your the man!! Thank you! ...I see him having an NHL career very similar to Oshie's.

This is one of the most ignorant posts I have ever seen on this site.

because we bowed down. The weak always get victimized. The only way you don't get screwed in this word is if you stay the course and don't give in. They have and WILL CONTINUE to marginalize SIOUX hockey.

Sorry about that. Here is some medicine to clear your head. https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=AeG_gxmKztk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAeG_gxmKztk

Baaam!... Baduuujaa!! 50% percent of the "badness" of this team can be described and understood as two many guys on this team who do just that!

Don't really know about bison fans as I haven't lived in the area for 20 years and the bison aren't a nationally recognized team in any sport so I would have no way of knowing how their fans do business... For the record I did not say Simpson was a "spectacular" skater. I did say he was a high end skater and clarified I saw him this way because of his ability to skate to open space and find time. I stand by that.

Three things to do to get this team back to midseason level: 1. Attack the puck carrier. Especially on power play!!! What did the sitting back and allowing the puck carrier time and space give us last night or than extended periods getting stuck with tired players in the defensive zone for massive chunks of time? 2. Get Mitch Mac out of the line-up. Sorry he is to slow and two sloppy. He has a good shot but I have seen him be the reason for way to many turnovers and missed opportunities. And someone tell me what his brothers numbers have been since they have been together compared to before? The McMillan brother combo we all hoped and wished for has not come to fruition. Stop the insanity Hak!! 3. Get Rowney where he belongs, off of a scoring line-onto a checking line. He is probably our top penalty killing forward but when he is on a scoring line he tries to get pretty and causes turnovers(see game winning goal last night). I have seen this ALL YEAR) why hasn't Hak? Maybe because Hak LOVES big physical forwards?? IDK?? Do those three things and I would bet big money on the Sioux beating anyone in the country. Don't do all three and who the Heck knows what we will see?? My take on what the forward lines should look like 21 Rocco Grimaldi –10 Corban Knight–7 Danny Kristo 19 Brendan O’Donnell–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks 11 Derek Rodwell –27 Carter Rowney –9 Drake Caggiula 8 Senkbiel–28 Stephane Pattyn–17 Colten St. Clair

I listed Gleason. Forbort is not as good as Simpson in the offensive zone. Mattson is in his range but does not make the same illusive moves as Simpson does to find space. This is probably more of a factor of thinking smart and seeing what the play is but it still translates into accomplishing open space which once again is the goal.

oh and BTW it wasn't a run on sentence. Maybe a poorly constructed sentence but not a run on. Unless having a dependent clause inside of another dependent clause which is the object of a preposition is grounds for run on status? l lol The main point of my post was to say that Forbort has been playing poorly. Mitch Mack should not be in the lineup and Rowney should not be on a scoring line. Does anyone have a thought about one or more of those prepositions?

oops fixed it, wasn't pertinent to my point but wrong non the less.. Didn't he play on Hextalls old BCHL team?

He is not world class like Genoway but it high end fits. The skating skill I see is with respect to his ability to allude a defender keeping the puck and moving to find space to get his eyes up and make a smart play. Please give me a list of players on this team that do that as good or better than him? here is my list: Kristo Knight Grimaldi MacMillan Parks Maybe St.Clair, Gleason, and O'Donnell. As far as skating to find open space I think I would put Simpson right about MacMillan spot at 4 or 5 on the team and I sure hope this Fighting Sioux team can call a half dozen of its players "high end" skaters... I don't care if he looks awkward doing it skating to get time and space is just about the only thing that matters with regard to skating well in hockey.

Sorry brain fart, I meant Nick Naumenko, I always incorrectly switch Naumenko's name for Hale. Hale was the player who got the immune sickness who was from Colorado Springs. He was very good but didn't do all he could because of his medical problems. As far as Genoway goes, if I hadn't watched Greg Johnson play for the Sioux I might argue that Genoway was the best skater I have ever seen in a Sioux uniform but overall I had some pretty strong criticisms of Genoway play. I was at the game against B.C. at the Pepsi center in 08 and would sit down with anyone and watch that game and invite them to tell me he was anything other than a liability in that game. He got schooled all of the time in the defensive zone. He would fit well on this team the way they are currently playing defense. I really liked Genoway as a "Sioux" as did many others so I don't like speaking bad of his play so I will say no more about

Yzerman I usually agree with most of what you say and for the most part I think your observations here are spot on except for line two above. Simpson is the third best player on the team: 1. Kristo 2. Knight 3. Simpson. He has been very consistent over the second half. He is an awesome outlet passer, a top notch offensive zone passer, a high end skater who finds space, a very intelligent decision maker, great at jumping in on the play in the offensive zone. A smart and accurate shooter. He is "decent against the puck carrier defensively. He is becoming our best offensive defensemen since Hale(with honorable mention to Chorney). Forbort has been very disappointing in my eyes. He had a very good second half his freshmen year, a decent second half last year but this year he has been very sub par. If I was the coach I would strongly consider benching him after last night. He refused to engage the puck carrier. He had at least three passes directly to the stick of a Tech player. He isn't making smart decisions with the puck. Here is an example that most people would miss; at one point in the game he carried the puck into the zone with speed and had forwards breaking with him. He made the decision to shoot it which I liked but he further decided to crank the crap out of it and pretty much whiffed it. Now I just don't understand why he would try a full power shot at high speed when all you need to do is throw the puck at the net and hope for the rebound to be where the forwards are going to be at that moment. Heck, had he gotten all of the shot and the goalie given up the rebound it most likely would have bounced all the way back to the blue line. This is a little thing I guess and by no means the bulk of the criticism I had toward him last night but it is an example of poor decision making and thinking during play. While alternatively I am usually very impressed with Simpsons decisions. Now I really want to go off about Mitch Mac and Rowney. Mich Mac should not be playing and Rowney needs to be on a checking line. And the common between these two mistakes is that they are as a combination seriously costing Knight, Kristo, Grimaldi and Mark Mac in procutivily. While Rowney is one of our better players in some areas having him center Parks and Mark Mac is simply taking away opportunity after opportunity for these time and space players to get offensive chances. Mich should not be in the lineup. He is taking a spot from Sinkbiel, Caggiula and Chysyk all three of which are as or more productive and are faster or have better decision making or vision. The only thing more frustrating to me than thinking about the sillyness of the "Parks-Rowney-MacMillan line of last year" arguments as to why we should have Rowney up with Parks is the MacMillan brothers productivity in the BCHL. But I guess it is St. Patty's weekend and we should embrace rainbow chasing.. Also Gaarder has been to quiet to keep in the line up so here it is: 21 Rocco Grimaldi –10 Corban Knight–7 Danny Kristo 19 Brendan O’Donnell–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks 11 Derek Rodwell –27 Carter Rowney –9 Drake Caggiula 8 Senkbiel–28 Stephane Pattyn–17 Colten St. Clair The only one I'm not sure on is O'donnell. In a situation like this when I get to the point of writing a post like this it is only after I have seen something many times and in a sense validated my theory so to speak. O'Donnell is a player that I don't have a good feel for yet. So I will leave that alone with Chyzyk in mind as well.

My two cents on lines: 21 Brendan O’Donnell–10 Corban Knight–7 Danny Kristo 19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Carter Rowney–15 Michael Parks 25 Mitch MacMillan–16 Mark MacMillan–13 Connor Gaarder 11 Derek Rodwell–28 Stephane Pattyn–17 Colten St. Clair If I wanted more scoring I would do them this way 21 Brendan O’Donnell–10 Corban Knight–7 Danny Kristo 19 Rocco Grimaldi–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks Bryn Chysyk–27 Carter Rowney–13 Connor Gaarder 11 Derek Rodwell–28 Stephane Pattyn–17 Colten St. Clair I just think mark mac would be much more dynamic with Rocco and Parks and I am not hi on Mitch Mac but I will give him this weekend before I get crazy with the anti-St.Clown scratched player. I am very patient but he has had all the chances in the world starting on the top line. It takes more than a heavy shot to impress me. Doing smart things with the puck that don't lose offensive zone possession is what I obsess about.