MafiaMan

And when you play with better players, you become a better player. And when you become a better player, you become a better team. And when you're a better team, well, that's just better than not being a better team. 84:16

You beat me to the punch. Cue the Naked Gun skit...I've got a 50/50 chance...although there's only a 33% chance of that!

I've mulled that option already. Still mulling...a lot depends on what time we're back in Fargo Sunday night. I'm now going to post odds of me making the trip on each post I type. 12:01 pm Friday afternoon's odds: 75/25 for going.

I've been in touch with Al but might have a sticking point: It appears the return trip is NOT thru Deadwood, north to Belfield, and west to Fargo. My guess is the return buses will head east to Omaha and find I-29 and head north from there.

One of the great moments of NCAA hockey history was Justin's goal with less than 20 seconds left to win the NCAA title... 2:20 mark of this video... Sparty On!

So how do you clarify something when you're a voter by saying "yea, but MSU plays a trap-style defense so even though Miller faces over 1,000 shots, they weren't real quality shots?". Couldn't you also say that Tony Hrkac's offensive numbers were overly-inflated due to North Dakota's going-like-gangbusters-offense under Gino in the 1980's? I basically agreed with you on the fact that I think JPL was a far better choice than Jones. I'm not sure what the criteria is exactly but I'm guessing that the committee doesn't necessarily want winners from the same team two years in a row. Then again, Peter Sejna won it in 2003 and Marty Sertich won it in 2005, so honestly, I have no clue what the selection committee thinks.

I think had Panzer had 30 goal and 51 assists, his numbers would have been too much to ignore. You're right about Miller. Those 31 wins and that .950 save percentage are unbelievable.

I thought I had the wrong year but am at work and trying to compute other numbers as well on vacation and not thinking straight. I went ahead and fixed my original post to show the correct numbers, which obviously help Ryan out a little bit, although his 01-02 season was very good too. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. My biggest point is we can't argue that JPL deserves the Hobey and say that Ryan Miller didn't deserve his. Jeff Panzer should have won it in 2001 and if it were up to me, Ryan Jones would not be a finalist for the award this season and JPL would be. Just my two cents.

Yet another comparison: Jeff Panzer 46 games, 26 goals, 55 assists, 81 points - no Hobey Baker Ryan Duncan 43 games, 31 goals, 26 assists, 57 points - Hobey Baker It's certainly not an exact science. Honestly, I have no idea how the selection is made after viewing the last three posts.

Just for the fun of it, I wanted to post Jeff Panzer's stats next to those of this year's Hobey finalists. Ryan Jones 42 games, 31 goals, 18 assists, 49 points Kevin Porter 42 games, 33 goals, 29 assists, 62 points Nathan Gerbe 41 games, 30 goals, 30 assists, 60 points Jeff Panzer 46 games, 26 goals, 55 assists, 81 points OK, obviously Jeff played 4 or 5 more games than those three, but in terms of PPG average, it's still an overwhelming disparity: Ryan Jones .74 goals per game, .43 assists per game, 1.17 points per game Kevin Porter .79 goals per game, .69 assists per game, 1.48 points per game Nathan Gerbe .73 goals per game, .73 assists per game, 1.46 points per game Jeff Panzer .57 goals per game, 1.20 assists per game, 1.76 points per game Like I said earlier, I don't think JPL not making the final cut is as big a travesty as Jeff Panzer not winning the award in 2001.

I am an obviously biased Sioux fan and also feel that Jeff Panzer deserved the Hobey Baker award in 2001, however, stats don't lie. Let's compare: Games played: Ryan Miller 40 JPL 41 (and counting) Record: Ryan Miller 31-5-4 JPL 27-10-4 (and counting) Saves: Ryan Miller 1,024 JPL 983 (and counting) GAA: Ryan Miller 1.32 JPL 1.64 Those statistics are very similar. However, in 2001, we're screaming that Jeff Panzer got robbed. Now, in 2008, we're saying a goalie with similar stats to the goalie who won the Hobey in 2001 got robbed. We can't have it both ways. By the way, I bolded the number of saves to refute a comment made by the previous poster.

Not even close to the best of the best, Upper Deck! And, although he was well-known for his huge 'fro underneath his teeny hat, Oscar Gamble had quite the 'stache himself!

Dude, is that Ron Jeremy...or Stan Van Gundy?

I'm actually mulling over the idea of taking the train to Williston, having my dad pick me up there, then meet you all in Belfield when Al's bus rolls thru. That might be a photo finish though, especially if there's any trouble with Amtrak that might cause a delay. By my estimation, you'll be in Belfield at 12 noon Wednesday, which is actually 11 am local time thanks to the time change by New Salem. Just in time for lunch at Trapper's Kettle. Deadwood's another 3-4 hours south of Belfield.

Ugh...I'm still jumping thru hoops trying to put this all together. I swear, right now, it looks like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Part II! Drive to Fargo, park my car, and board the Sioux bus there? Take the train to Williston, then get to Belfield and board the bus there? No tickets? That's a big sticking point.

I agree totally, AZSIOUX. There is NO WAY Phoenix lets Wheeler get away.

Choke collar for Miami? What game were you watching? Miami dominated that game in OT and it took an exceptional play from BC to win it. Outside of defining 'class,' 'choke' is the most over-used term in sports today.

You're not way too optimistic...have you checked out th uscho.com Frozen Four shop yet? The items for sale there have the Sioux logo on them, not the ND. They also have the drunken Fighting Irishman logo too. Frozen Four T-Shirts! Frozen Four Hood Sweatshirt

My all-time favorite sign was held up by a UND law student immediately after the horn sounded in the 1997 title game victory over BU. Priceless. I JUST PEED MY PANTS!

I personally think Duncan's goal was the better of the two. I mean, Duncan made an incredible play that only a player like Duncan could make. What an unreal goal by Ryan Duncan. Oh, wait, we may have called that wrong. It was Andrew Kozek. Nice work, ESPNU dolts.

There's another tribute to you on the wall of the men's room too. No reply back yet from my dad regarding hopping on the bus in Belfield...

You mean Trapper's Kettle?

You do realize that Belfield is my hometown, right? Sad, but true. Highway 85 runs from the Canadian border all the way south to the Black Hills. I've been on that route many times. Anyways, I am asking because the return-trip is most important. I'm trying to talk my dad into going on the trip with me - I'd have to drive to Fargo to catch the bus and he would board in Belfield. If the return-trip is different, that causes some issues.

I was waiting for this post, YaneA. I believe the bus is heading west on I-94 and then taking the Belfield exit and Highway 85 south, correct? Is the return trip following the exact same route?

GeauxSioux, I'm guessing Teeder is a reference to former Fighting Sioux player Teeder Wynne. Teeder's Bio on HockeyDB.com