Siouxtimestwo

What is the reason the Sioux have had so many games like this the past couple years? I'm not ready to pin it all on Hakstol, but as season after season rolls by with the same results and different players, it's hard not to start looking at him more and more. Why can't we play in October, November, or December? We have a lot of turnover on our roster, but so do other top teams. Why can't the Sioux beat inferior teams at home? Why have the Sioux ran into so many "hot goaltenders" over the years? For all these questions, one also has to ask how is the team able to turn it around and get to the Frozen Four year after year? I think that has a lot to do with Hakstol as well.

I've been saying it for 2 years now on this board and have been blasted for "not being a true fan", but one of these years, the Sioux are going to come out flat to start the season, expect the flip to magically flip on come January and it's just not going to happen. We're not there yet with this team, but it might not matter. Even if they make their second half run, they might have already dug themselves too deep a hole, especially considering the WCHA isn't going to send 6-7 teams to the tournament anymore after Wisconsin's sub .500 bid last year. This season looks an awful lot like 2001-2002 to me. Face it folks, the definition of Sioux hockey has changed in 21st century. We've seen more than enough Sioux teams to call it a mindset compared to a fluke. Home ice means absolutely nothing. Whomever coined the phrase, "sweep at home, split on the road" obviously has never seen the Sioux play. I think it's time to ban the phrase on these boards. WCHA games mean absolutely nothing anymore. Any games in October, November, or December don't mean anything anymore. I'd like to think pride in the program still means something, but sometimes I have to wonder. Who ever thought we'd reach the point where Anchorage's backup goalie shuts us down for 57 minutes in the Ralph? Hrkac and Joyce aren't even dead yet and they're turning over in their graves. As Sioux fans we've gotten spoiled by all the talent we've had, so our expectations have been high. Maybe they were too high and that's the reason for all the disappointment. I never expect the Sioux to win the NC every year. It takes a lot of luck on top of talent to achieve that. I do expect them to compete for a WCHA crown when they've had the kind of talent they've had. I mentioned the 2001-2002 season for a reason. I would be willing to deal with an occasional season in which the Sioux just don't have the talent and end up 6th in the WCHA, as long as the other seasons in which the Sioux did have the talent, they played up to it and gave us a whole season's worth of effort. Even when they didn't win the NC, it sure was nice going to the old Ralph knowing exactly what you were going to get from the Sioux. In years in which the Sioux did have it, if a visiting team was going to steal a win, it was because they played their best game of the year, not just because the Sioux decided to not show up. That is the most disheartening thing. With all the talent we've had and do have, teams don't even have to play well to beat us anymore.

I agree we need to get healthy on D. I wasn't able to listen or follow the games at all, but it sure sounded like the boys played some great hockey last weekend. It's nice to see that this early in the season, especially on the road. They're back home facing a perennial cellar dweller, so a sweep should be on the way, even with the injuries. Let's start a nice, long home winning streak. I think that 17 game unbeaten streak at the new Ralph in 2002-2003 is ripe to be broken.

Buddy, I believe you have no idea what a joke is.

Wow. I guess Eidsness isn't quite a future Vezina winner yet.

Nice.

It sure was nice to be able to see the game on NHL Network. I thought Duncan had some great passes that just missed connecting for sure goals. It was nice to see us put so many quality shots on net, as opposed to not shooting at all or just peppering the net with low percentage shots. Genoway still scares the heck out of me though. At least twice every single game I'm able to see the guy just flat falls on his butt and gives up a rush the other way. I'm also not the biggest fan of Marto being on the powerplay, but I couldn't tell you who should take his place. Eidsness played OK, IMO. He didn't have to make any great saves, but didn't give up any horrible goals either. I thought the D played well in front of him. I would like to see him in net tonight, but I understand if Hak throws Walski out there. I'm guessing the result would have been the same last night with him in net. The Sioux certainly took the play to the Badgers and controlled the puck most of the game. Another effort like that and we should get our sweep.

Great news about the game being televised on the NHL network! Thanks, AZ. As far as the weekend goes, I think the Sioux will go as far as their powerplay takes them. It seems, at least so far, the league is going to stick to the rulebook rather than their imaginations for calling penalties. Specialty teams will be huge, so hopefully we turned the corner last weekend. The Badgers are cornered and wounded, which makes them dangerous if they come out strong Friday night, but I see VV getting the first goal and setting the tone for the rest of the weekend. The Ralph = 4 points all year long.

What do you the Sioux have to do with anything? Neither redwing nor myself mentioned them in our posts, so I don't see how people "jumping off the Sioux bandwagon" is relevant at all. This is a thread for non-Sioux hockey. Of course, the Sioux will still come up frequently, but no one has made any jumping off the bandwagon comments in this thread lately. The only thing even remotely close posted today would be luapsided claiming that the Sioux will get their diapers handed to them if they don't play physical this weekend. Now, if that makes luapsided a terrible Sioux fan, then things are a lot worse than I thought. We might have to get "The Rug" to come to SS.com and teach a class on objectivity. As to the second part of your post, concerning UMD and UAA, I doubt many would argue with your point. The fact still remains that it's not March 10, it's Oct. 26, so it's only natural for people to talk about what happened this weekend, rather than ignoring hockey completely until March 10. Being surprised that UAA split with Duluth and wondering if maybe UAA is better than expected is hardly jumping off the ledge. I don't think anyone handed the McNaughton Cup to Anchorage with that comment. Again I ask, are you going to suspend your blog until March 10 since nothing that happens before then matters?

I don't think redwing sounded too out of control. He was merely making observations. It didn't seem he penciled in any teams to the Frozen Four to me. I don't mean to jump on your post, but a guy watches some college hockey games, posts his thoughts on what he's seen, and is told to come down off the ledge? Are you now the only one allowed to have thoughts on college hockey? If the games are so meaningless in October to the point that people shouldn't be posting on what they've seen, does that mean you are going to shut down your blog until January? About the bolded part of your post, if it's unfair to infer anything from watching a team play, how else are you supposed to form an opinion on a team? Are we supposed to be in the locker room? At practice? In their dorms? Sheesh. Again, Goon, I have nothing against you personally, but the amount of arrogance on this board concerning who is a true fan and who is unqualified to post their thoughts is unbelievable.

That warm feeling is the Sioux pissing this game down their leg. At least the D has made some plays in the second half.

Great post. I agree with some of what Gopherguy said concerning we should also be pointing out the good things people do, but I don't think Dubay deserves any of our sympathy. People with cancer or who just lost a loved one deserve sympathy, not drug users. Why don't we praise the people who simply don't do !@#$ like cocaine instead of constantly plead for the rights and feelings of users and losers? The most disadvantaged people in our society are the people who don't mess up, but rather do things the right way in life, because no one cares about them. They're too worried that an arrogant asshole who ran down our state, not just our hockey team, every chance he could. FRIENDS do give each other a hard time, but Puffy was never a friend of mine, and he sure as hell didn't seem to be making all the comments he's made through the years in a friendly, joking tone. If some of you on here have met Dubay and formed a different opinion than the one I have, I'm not going to tell you that you can't feel sorry for him, so don't tell me I have to. The only way I know him is the arrogant jerk he chose to portray himself as on air, and you can now add drug user as to that. It sounds like he has a family, so for the sake of his family I hope he is able to realize what a moronic decision he is making with not only his life, but also the effect it most likely will have on his children. It disgusts me that he is more worried about the ramifications his drug use is going to have on his career than the terrible example he's setting for his own children that need more love and caring from Jeff Dubay the Dad, not more smartass comments from Jeff Dubay the Radio Host. The worse thing a parent can do is put your needs before those of your kids. Last I checked, cocaine isn't something kids need, but maybe I'm in the minority in that opinion. If anyone wants to rip me for taking this stance, go right ahead. I'll gladly be ripped for being an adult against drugs and selfishness rather than be defended as a selfish, drug abusing asshole.

Well, we got our split in this series, which is what we probably should have expected when looking at the schedule before the season starts. Wisconsin sounds like they're having some defensive issues, so let's keep piling on the goals and get 4 points next weekend.

1. Well, then don't come here anymore. 2. I've been a fan for a long time and I've never enjoyed bad hockey. I've learned you can't win every game or be successful every season, but I've never gotten excited and celebrated a Sioux loss. 3. You're right, complaining and put downs won't matter, but neither will being positive and heaping praise. This is a fan message board. Nothing we say or do here will have any impact on how the players perform on the ice. 4. Again, I agree with you. It is OK for everyone to have an opinion, including a negative one. Some fans find it therapeutic to come and vent their frustrations. If you don't want to read it, ignore it. Sometimes I am one of the most negative fans, sometimes I see a reason to be positive even in a loss. It all depends on what each individual sees and expects on the ice.

At the rate the Sioux are scoring goals, the rest of us might not get another chance to play all year long.

Come on now, don't be ridiculous, pylons don't fall over on their own. I'm looking at you Jake Marto.

I said it earlier in the thread, but I'll repeat it again since I'm sure many logging on today or late last night didn't read it: Michigan got shut out last night by Northern Michigan and Michigan State got shut out Thursday night by UMass-Lowell. It is still too early in the season to make rash decisions. If this team is still playing like this 2 weeks from now, then it's time to start to worry and wonder who belongs in this program and who doesn't. Look, I have been one of the biggest complainers about our constant slow starts each year under Hakstol, especially when posters claimed it takes a half season for our all world talent to get acclimated with each other. That said, I think 0-3 (0-1 WCHA) is not an insurmountable hole to climb out of. The way we are playing is not good, but did anyone really expect us to come storming out of the gate? We have 2 unproven goalies, less talented skaters both offensively and defensively, and we haven't played a game at home yet. The only terrible loss was to UMass, but as you can see, we aren't alone in that category. I know some of you don't believe any team outside of the WCHA can actually produce a decent hockey team, but Boston isn't exactly a slouch in the college hockey world. When it comes to Mankato, we should have expected a split this weekend. The Sioux have played like garbage thus far, but if they come out and get the split tonight, then we're right where we should have expected to be in the WCHA after the first weekend. Trust me, I have my beefs with some of the things Hakstol has done to this hockey program, but it's not time to right him or this team off yet. I know it can be therapeutic to vent, and I usually am in the venters crowd, but I say give them until after tonight to get their act together. If they score less than 3 goals tonight and lose, then we can have a massive, warranted bitchfest tonight.

Genoway's skill as a defenseman depends entirely on his offensive production. He's solid on D, but takes a lot of chances and has been getting burned at a higher rate going back to the end of last year. I like the way Genoway plays, but with Finley out, Jones being indistinguishable from some guy in street clothes, and the young guys not playing up to their recruitment hype, he had either camp his butt back on that blue line and protect the net, or else he had better find the back of the net.

Look on the bright side, at least our D kept Gerbe off the board tonight!

I haven't been able to watch a game yet this year, but I'm more worried about our offense than anything. We knew coming into the season that goaltending and defense was going to be inconsistent from game to game. I at least figured we'd be able to score enough to keep us in most games, however. A split tomorrow will definitely make these problems a lot easier to stomach.

Since there's really nothing positive to say about the Sioux tonight, I'll just point out that Michigan State lost to UMass-Lowell at home yesterday and Michigan lost to Northern Michigan tonight. We might be playing like garbage, but at least we're not alone.

Wow, has this game been painful to listen to tonight. Does anyone else cringe when the Sioux go on the powerplay? Is there anyway we can decline the penalty, ala football, from now on?

I think for as us fans, we need to look at this series in Mankato without taking into account what happened at the Icebreaker. If the Sioux split these games, but play well enough, that is what we should expect on the road in the WCHA against a tough Mankato team. We shouldn't focus on the 1-3 record, but rather focus on the fact the boys played hard and earned a split in the conference. The players on other hand, had better damn well realize they played like garbage last weekend and play with a high level of energy and urgency. They need to have the mindframe of winning all 6 periods, not just the 2 games. No more of this attitude that we can turn it on whenever we want and it will be enough. I think the past 4 years have proven that strategy will only work for so long and never work when it matters most. That said, I'll predict a split 2-1 Sioux, 3-2 (ot) Mankato.

Excellent point about the PP. If this team takes advantage of its PP opportunities, then it should come away with two victories. If it has another 1-13 performance like last weekend, we're looking at 2 losses.

How has anyone jumped off the bus by criticizing a team that went 0-2 to start the season, including a loss to a bottom feeding UMass team that UND should have been motivated to destroy after the poor showing Friday? You must be a Bush supporter if your standards are that low.