MafiaMan

WPoS - Rivalry is always in good fun. What fun would life be without it (cue the ESPN commercial of the guy in the Ohio State t-shirt kissing the girl in the Michigan t-shirt)?

You thought that? I didn't think so. I've always had a pretty good time down there, even after last year's games. On the plus side, at least they had some decent-looking "talent" this year. Last year, we got to witness a six months pregnant stripper. Some things are just meant to be covered up.

With all due respect, LetsGoSioux, if you were sitting in that section of Sioux fans, you may have thought the whole MWCC was rocking. I was on the other end of the arena and trust me, the loudest noise I heard all night was Mankato's fans cheering after their first goal which made it 4-1. I think I've pointed out already on other posts that I like the road games more than the home games. I was that way when old Engelstad still existed. It's just fun to be a part of the minority of fans celebrating. The only thing missing Saturday was a stick-salute to the Sioux fans in attendance at the MWCC.

Wreckincrew, You were at Mettler's TOO? A 10-1 hockey victory followed by pizza and girls dancing. Cue the "It doesn't get any better than this" commercial.

WPoS, Who does that 1997 MacNaughton Cup "co-championship" taint more, the Sioux or your beloved Gophers? UND and Minnesota tied in the regular season and then the Sioux defeated the Gophers 4-3 in OT at the old St Paul Civic Center in front of a full-house of Gopher fans and about 250 Sioux fans. I'd say the Sioux title isn't marked with an asterisk for a reason. For the same reasons, perhaps your recent success should be ear-marked with "Gopher Hockey - it's not just for Minnesota kids anymore."

PCM, Get your sorry butt down here for the Final Five. And you call yourself a fan. I'll even guarantee you a free parking space to help cut costs. I'm debating a trip to GF just to see the Saturday Michigan Tech game if UND does well this weekend. Not that I won't get into huge trouble for it...

I agree with the comments for the most-part according to reports of what happened last weekend, but in defense of the hockey team, there are going to be nights (yes, at home, folks, it happens) where the team looks like they spent the night before out on the town with the University of Colorado football players. And there's not going to be much for the home fans to cheer about. It happens. For every five or six games where the place is rockin', there's bound to be a night where the team just doesn't have it. Is she more upset with the place being a church service or because she can't swear like a sailor's parrot in the building? Back in 1996, UND hosted a first-round WCHA playoff game for the first time since (if memory serves me right here) 1990. My roommate at the time and I drove from Minneapolis to Grand Forks to see a 2/3 full old Engelstad Arena. Seems students still didn't get the notion that the WCHA makes money off of the playoffs (and it still only cost them $5 or $10 to see them play), but hardly any students turned out that weekend. UND lost a heartbreaker series to Wisconsin, losing in OT on Friday night and losing on Saturday on a last-second (and I mean last second...it was scored with .01 left) goal. My roommate and I were so ticked off, rather than stay in Grand Forks as planned, we left at midnight and drove all the way back to Minneapolis. What a shame to see the Sioux host a playoff series for the first time in six years and see the place not packed to the hilt. I don't think the writer in the DS would have found that enjoyable either. I truly hope the writer didn't mean she was a "puck bunny" at four years old. I'm not sure what kind of meaning that moniker carries around Grand Forks, but it's not exactly a compliment to a college-aged female hockey fan if you catch my drift. Also, I beg to differ with the "estimate" of 1000 of the 4500 fans in Mankato in attendance being Sioux fans. Yes, there were plenty of Sioux jerseys at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center (presented to you by Arby's, Holiday Inn, and Mettler's...sheesh...speaking of corporate), but I wouldn't say every 1 in 4.5 fans was pulling for the Sioux. One section contained about 90% of the Sioux fans in attendance...it was probably more like 300-500 fans TOPS. If (and it's a big IF) UND pulls off a sweep at Duluth this weekend, I bet next weekend's series against Michigan Tech will make her forget all about the 4-1 game against CC.

I was just gonna say...I was there in person watching the Sioux skate around with the MacNaughton Cup, saw them win the Final Five and get the Broadmoor Cup, and then win the NCAA title in 1997. Of course it CAN be done...the only question is, WILL it? MafiaMan

Oh, hell, I'm with Sicatoka. Who am I kidding? If someone offered me one million dollars to quit my job, never play co-rec softball again, and move to Vancouver and start my life under the Canadian witness protection program, I'd pack up everything I owned and be on the road by 4:00 pm today.

Trust me, Marty, I was definitely disappointed he left and I thought he was a fool for doing so. Now that I'm older and wiser, I can honestly say I don't know which way I would choose had the same offer been made to me as a 20 year old kid. It's a tough decision, that's for sure. I'm with you in hoping Zach Parise and any other underclassmen (why weren't you listending Landon Wilson, Ryan Bayda, Travis Roche, etc...?) stick around for all four years, but I'm afraid NCAA hockey is becoming more and more like NCAA basketball....enjoy the 1-3 years the players are around because then they're gone.

Marty, I'll tell you how it could happen. Back in the fall of 1989, UND had the pre-season #1 team in the country. Granted, that was pre-season, but it says a lot about the talent that UND had on that team. Brent Bobyck, Dave Hakstol, Russ Romaniuk, Jason Herter, Justin Duberman, just to name a few of the players. The day before the poll was released, Herter signed a contract with Vancouver and Romaniuk signed a deal with his home-town Winnipeg Jets. I had a business class with Jason Herter on the day of the poll release and the entire class was devastated that he would be leaving shortly. He fielded many questions about how he could give up a possible NCAA title run but his answer made a lot of sense. He had a guaranteed lump sum of money just for signing. If he did NOTHING else in his hockey career, he still had a million dollars in the bank and paid tuition to finish out college once his playing career was finished. Break a leg in the season opener for UND and all that potential and cash goes right out the window. He asked that question to people in the class...what would YOU do? You must know the rest of the story already because if you didn't follow UND hockey until 1990, you probably don't even know who Jason Herter is since he didn't become the next Gretzy or Lemieux. Smart guy, even though I didn't think so at the time since I was one of the thousands of fans disappointed by a UND early exit from the WCHA playoffs that year, no post-season selection, and a lot of "oh what could have been" thoughts about the team that wasn't.

Cratter, "Corporate atmosphere" like Xcel? As opposed to the college-style marble floors and leather seats like the classic barns of old? Puhlease! Like it or not, REA is about as "corporate" as it gets. It's far closer to being a replica of the Xcel Energy Center than it is Mariucci Arena. "Welcome to the Jungle" isn't just a new fad at REA. As soon as that song came out in about 1988 or 1989, it was being played constantly at the old arena as well. These things can be effective in getting the fans stirred up. How about St Louis and the "bell" after each goal the Blues score? "One...two...three." That's one of the best NHL traditions going. Or what about Trevor Hoffman taking the mound for the San Diego Padres with "Hell's Bells" playing over the loudspeakers? It can help set the tone and start deflating opponents once the crowd gets behind it. I like some of the ideas just presented and I don't think the casual fan will mind the occasional "suck" in a chant. When f-bombs come out, though, it's a different story. Back in 1998 at the UND/Michigan regional in Yost, a phone high up in the press box could be heard across the entire arena when it rang during quiet times on the ice and TV time-outs. I don't know what the heck the phone was for, but it rang about every 3-4 minutes that night. And every time it rang, the entire arena would go thru this schpeel: "Phhhhhhoooooooooooooooooooooooone!" "Hey Schweitzer (UND's goalie) it's for you...it's your mom and she says..." "YOU SUCK!" The first eight times I heard it, I laughed. The next twenty, I wanted to strangle everyone in the student section. But it worked. Trust me, they were in Aaron Schweitzer's head the entire third period. I bet he still has nightmares about those fans. Another funny story...during last year's University of Cincinnati visit to cross-town rival Xavier (college basketball), things got so out-of-hand that Bob Huggins, the Cincy coach, said if it wasn't such a big thing for the city, he'd cancel the series with Xavier permanently because of the harsh treatment of Cincy players by Xavier fans. Before the Cincy visit this season, the Xavier President and Coach had pleaded with fans to restrain themselves this time around. The first sign that greeted the Cincy players when they walked onto the Xavier court was held up by a fan in the student section. It said: WELCOME FELLOW SCHOLARS! Considering Cincy's 0% graduation rate of basketball players over the past four-five years, I found this hilarious. Pretty witty kid.

Coteau, A clip I haven't seen played but one I like is from Gladiator where Maximux slays about fifty bad guys, then mocks the crowd with his "are you not entertained?" bit.

Thanks, iceberg. I'm in Richfield, myself. Senser's in Bloomington is right down the 494 strip for me.

Saw those already...a good yes or no answer in any of them would have been great. I guess I'll find out when I stop in there this weekend.

I'm tellin' ya, the jumbo-tron is the key. Having seen more Wild games at Xcel Energy Center than Sioux games at REA (at least in the past three years), I can honestly say they put up some pretty funny stuff to get the crowd riled up at the X. Usually, it's movie highlights but sometimes it's simple stuff like flashing "Let's Go Wild". Here are some of the better examples of movie clips shown to inspire the crowd to stand up and cheer: #1: "Happy Gilmore" (Adam Sandler) just about to tee off when he turns to the crowd and says "C'mon, let's make some noise!" #2: The scene from "Braveheart" where the Scottish clans are all lined up to face the English in battle. Mel Gibson and his horse run through the group firing them up until they are all screaming loudly. #3: Scene from early 1980's movie "War Games" where the kid (can't remember his name) is typing into the computer the objective and computer responds back "TO WIN THE GAME." There are plenty of others that they show, but these are the only three I can think of at the moment. #1 and #2 spearhead the crowd into a frenzy every time they are shown. I can't imagine something similar would be tough to do at REA.

I'm sorry, did someone actually just say that they had trouble HEARING Katie O'Keefe? I guess I'm too busy cleaning up my drool to actually notice she's talking into a microphone. While we're re-hashing the good old days of old REA, can we please bring back turkey bowling?

Does anyone know? Joe Senser's? It would be nice to watch the games on TV somewhere this weekend. Thanks for any info. MafiaMan

Makes no difference to me what color his jersey was, whether it was white, green, or black. The fact that he was a total jerkweed to those in most of the section was bad enough, but by wearing ANY Sioux jersey, he portrayed himself to be a Sioux fan (obviously). For those ready to beat to death 21 year old college students tipping a few, the guy was 35-40 years old.

Make it four. And what were those guys gonna do with 'em? Hang them in their den? Correct on the geometric logo. I'm guessing 1959 and 1963 were just to make them all look nice and uniform...oh wait...kinda like the new arena! LOL. I don't know. They could be worse...like the plastic "banners" at Mariucci. Old logo, new logo, I guess all that would be nice is an EIGHTH one being hung at REA next fall. Big hug, Sicatoka! MafiaMan

Just a thought on Travis Roche...he's been a career minor-leaguer to this point. What a shame to see him sign a pro contract after the 2001 Frozen Four loss to BC. It would have been nice to see Roche (and Bayda, for that matter) stick around their four years.

Sicatoka, Three waffle cones, please. I have walked around the entire arena and there are large areas reminiscent of the old arena. My biggest beef is with the banners...and I have friends in the alumni department who did let me know that when they took down the "old" banners, the assumption was they would be raised in the new arena, not completely tossed in place of new-logo banners. I'm not the only one who noticed.

I most likely won't be up there again this season. I normally sell the late-season home games since I always to go the final five and drop more than a few $$$$ there. Starting with the Red Baron Final Five, it's gonna be a fun year of hockey...March 2004 Final Five, September 2004 World Cup of Hockey, December 2004/Jan 2005 World Juniors. Ka-ching! I might have to get back into the porn business to fund my hockey addiction.

Pretty funny stuff...let me address a few issues. 1) No, that is not Ron Jeremy in my avatar. That is me. Oh to be confused with him all the time...bring on the hot porno girls, starting with Traci Lords. Yee haw! B) PCM - you're right, you still do owe me. You comin' down this year? Buy me a waffle cone and we'll call it even. I see some of your points, PCM, but I still think you need to honor the past as well as point towards the future. Like I said, don't get me wrong because I almost cried when I saw my logo-less Sioux in 1994-1995, thought the geometric head jerseys were ok from about 1996 thru a couple of seasons ago, and practically jumped for joy when the new Indian-head logo jerseys came out. Change can be good. Despite being a season ticket holder, I am obviously limited in the number of 7+ hour round-trip drives I want to make a season. Perhaps I've just been unlucky with quality opponents (Findlay, for example) playing on the weekends when I've been able to make the trip. Or maybe there's just something fun about being one of several hundred fans on the road watching the Sioux beat the home team. Who knows. See you all at the final five. I'll be there with my guest, Jenna Jameson.

PCM, I stand corrected on the legislature issue. I've been researching to back up my point, but I think you win that round. Onto Ralph Engelstad himself, I think you should realize that I'm on the same team as you. I think his gift to the school and to the state was extraordinary in its intent and purpose and I'm proud to be a Sioux hockey fan. Funny you should mention the World Junior Tournament next season as I will be driving from Minneapolis/St Paul to see it. It's also very exciting to host a future NCAA hockey regional where hopefully UND can benefit from home crowds the way Michigan and Minnesota have in recent years. Am I griping for a move back to the old building? No. I understand the recruiting advantage that the arena gives kids who would otherwise look elsewhere. Look around you...the great Dane is gone, so is old Mariucci (which I even liked due to its imposing atmosphere), CC, Denver, etc. all have new arenas. It's called progress and it happens. However, I long for a return to the "atmosphere" created in the old building. There were many games I recall where the Sioux fans willed their team to a goal. I've brought this up before and I'll do it again...sometime in my four years at UND (88-92), they played Northern Michigan and were down 5-0 in the third period. Some guy stands up and starts chanting "Let's Go Sioux." Half the arena had left already but the 3000 or so fans left weren't going to give up. Five goals later, the game went into OT and it ended a 5-5 tie. The NMU players left the ice like they had lost the game and the UND players gave a stick salute to the fans in appreciation for what they had done to rally the troops. The only time in my life I can say that I went home happy with a tie. THAT'S what I want to see in the new arena. Plenty of Gopher fans here in Minneapolis chide me about the Nazi story with Ralph Engelstad and I am quick to point out some of the things he did in life other than his $100 million gift...the meals and haircuts for the homeless around holidays in Las Vegas, the wheelchair donation, etc...all things that people who despised the man never cared to take the time to look at and those who didn't know him at all except for the "Nazi story". My main gripe is that so much is made of "the gift," though, that the focus is taken off of the Sioux team and put onto Ralph himself. Take for example other things...what did the new Sioux logo (which I very much like) have to do with past NCAA Sioux champions? Answer? Nothing. So why change every single logo in the new building? To have snazzy matching banners? Big deal. Leave the geometric Indian or Blackhawk logo alone. Those logos were part of the history of UND. Let's not re-write the books. REA might be the arena that the Sioux play in, but as far as I'm concerned, the University of North Dakota is the home of the Sioux. Now, let me point out some positives over the past 15 years or so. When I was in high school (Belfield, ND, about 40 minutes from the Montana border on I-94), NO ONE and I mean NO ONE west of Fargo knew anything about Sioux hockey. When Dean Blais named Mitch Vig of Bismarck the captain of the team (1998 season, if memory serves me right), I drove back to Belfield for Christmas and 90 year old grannies at the nursing homes were talking Sioux hockey. Last year, I wondered if I would see scores on the local news out of Dickinson...turned out that the Sioux were the #1 sports story of the evening, which included highlights of the game. High schools like Williston, Dickinson, and Hazen-Beulah now have hockey programs. I wish like hell those had existed when I was a kid, but those are the breaks. Dean Blais' state-wide promotion of the Sioux, getting some in-state kids on the team, and Ralph Engelstad's donation have played a major factor in getting the Sioux recognized around a greater portion of the state of North Dakota and the US. And next winter, the stage gets even bigger. As far as the size of Engelstad, no one's touched that topic yet. Is it too big? Anybody now think serving alcohol is a BAD idea? Yost Ice Arena seats just over 8,000 fans. And since I've been there personally several times (1998 western regional and 2001 Michigan/Ferris State), I can honestly say it's second-to-none in terms of being a hostile atmosphere. It's all about the HOCKEY, folks, not the beer, sight-seeing, hey-everyone-look-at-me-I'm-at-a-hockey-game-and-I'm-a-corporate-big-shot attitude like you see at Mariucci Arena and Xcel Energy Center. People have griped about the home fans in Mankato where coincidentally, they serve alcohol. Two seats in front of me stood one of the few Sioux fans in the section. The drunken idiot made a complete a$$ out of himself and the school he was representing by wearing a white Sioux jersey. He taunted Maverick fans around him the whole night. If the issue was hosting regionals, UND could have done that easily with 9,000 seats. Like I said before, if UND couldn't draw 3,000 fans into the old building with a sub .500 team, how will 3,000 fans sound in the new building with a similar team? Just my thought that alcohol either makes fans sit down and fall asleep or turns them into drunken swearing idiots and that REA might be a bit too big for its britches. That all being said, GO SIOUX!