MafiaMan

Indeed I do LOL. You're familiar with the SiouxSports.com-sponsored Bloomington Kennedy Hockey Mites team from a few years ago? I practically wave at Doug Woog on a daily basis here.

Probably none of the above, unfortunately. I likely won't see a Sioux North Dakota game until the WCHA Final Five.

BINGO! And I'd bet that's the same reason others here are in an uproar about Phil Housley...because their favorite player on their favorite college team got scolded like a naughty 5th grader and benched because of it. Nobody here has any idea what transpired on the bench or in the locker room during this tournament that caused Housley to make the decision he did. I have no doubt he did what he felt was in the best interest of Team USA and not any particular college or individual.

Really? Because everything I read going into this WJT said USA would be lucky to medal at all.

Amen. I know several high school coaches who themselves didn't make it past Bantams as players. That doesn't make them bad coaches.

Has Tyler been an assistant in two previous World Junior Tournaments? It seems to me the issue for some folks here is apparently the result of a supposed anti-North Dakota conspiracy on the part of USA Hockey. Is that it?

And to be fair, I'm glad that someone at USA Hockey didn't judge Dean Blais on the 1994 team's effort in the WJT and gave him another chance at it.

The only way to get experience is to get experience. I commend a guy going to the powers-that-be in USA Hockey and saying "I want this job and here's why...". Hmnnn...sounds a lot like Herb Brooks in 1979, eh? I haven't nominated Phil Housley to the coaching Hall of Fame just yet and I'm not hitting anybody over the head with the results of this tournament. However, if you'd like to hit me over the head, I'll gladly let you know where I sit at the Final Five and I'll see ya there.

The Scotty Bowman comment? Feel free to take pot shots at me, I'm an easy target. Did I say anything about Phil Housley being perfect? What's your deal, dude? Seriously. Maybe you would have preferred a guy with a personality like John Tortorella as team USA's head coach? I get it...you hate Phil Housley.

I didn't rub comments in people's faces at all. You want to take pot shots at a guy who has done nothing but represent the USA with class and gamesmanship his entire career, you go right ahead. I'm glad people with common sense didn't push the panic button after one-goal losses to Russia and Canada.

I wasn't trying to call in particular out. Like I've said several times, I just don't quite get the venom against a coach who is seeking to improve on last year's 3-3 World Junior finish.

So along with the Canadian-born coaches listed earlier in this thread who may or may not have had any interest in coaching the American kids in this particular tournament, who would have been on your list of candidates?

Stillwater plays in the same section as Hill-Murray. I guess I just don't understand the venom being spewed at Phil Housley. Someone felt he should be given a chance to coach this team (and being an assistant coach in '07 and '11 certainly showed he has interest in coaching at this level) and he's done a good job with a team not expected to medal at all. I seem to recall lots of Sioux fans going nuts over 'high school coach' Dean Blais being picked to coach North Dakota back in the day. That worked out pretty well...

So now the requirements have to include coaching schools you have heard of? Wow. Stillwater recently handed #2-ranked Minnetonka its first loss of the season. Perhaps you've heard of that school.

No affinity for Phil Housley at all and no "inside scoop" either. He can't win either way with some of you posters. Lose a preliminary game or two and you want him fired...get the team to the gold medal game and you give all of the credit to the players.

I'm picking up your sarcasm. Did Phil Housley run over your dog and drive off without stopping to see if it was ok or something? You sure have an aversion to a person who has represented the USA many times in his playing and coaching career...and done an outstanding job of being a fine representative for USA hockey.

So after one season of being an assistant coach at Minnesota and four years of being the head coach at Minot High School, was Dean Blais qualified enough to become an assistant coach for the University of North Dakota? We could debate qualifications all day long.

LOL...yep, the true measure of coaching genius is how your team plays in the preliminary rounds. And certainly, one-goal losses to Russia and Canada call for Housley and staff to be publicly flogged as punishment. Sheesh...tough crowd. Win or lose tomorrow, this tournament was a success for Team USA.

Good stuff! Maybe this Phil Housley character isn't such a bad coach after all.

Frankly, son, I'm at a loss for words here...

It's not the CCHA that's not good this year...it's specifically Michigan State and Michigan.

That might be a stretch...but I would LOVE to see that storied program get back on its feet again.

Then I'll get you up to speed this morning...Kim Kardashian is pregnant and Lebron James had Cheerios for breakfast. Oh, and Piers Morgan still hates gun owners.

I watched the two Gopher/Tech games on TV a few weeks ago and was impressed with the Huskie performance in the split. Both games were very close. Tech will be a tough out for someone in the WCHA playoffs this season.

I bet Phil's tactics work just fine and Rocco gets the message in the next game and plays quite well.