rochsioux

The nchc standings show Duluth with 26 points when they should have 28 (nchc site shows 28)

This years team is extremely offensively challenged and it doesn't look promising for the rest of the season. If they can't score they need to play sound defensively and get great goaltending...not even close right now on either of these items. Can't remember a UND team in the last 15-20 years that had such little offensive skill in the forward lines. If they want to get an auto berth into the NC$$ they can't afford to lose too many games in the second half. Given that the NCHC is pretty weak their best bet is to win the NCHC tourney. In the other seasons when they started slow you could at least have hope in the second half based on the talent that was on the team...this years team does not have that type of talent (or haven't shown it).

Each year mussman remains the coach puts us another year out in having a contending team.

It sure would be nice if the Sioux could start the season with the intensity level they have once their season is in trouble from the terrible starts they have under Hakstol. I believe a major reason they have not been able to win a championship under Hakstol is the fact that they usually have little margin for error in the second half. By the time the NC$$ tourny begins the team is playing with a lot of injuries and they are exhausted physically and emotionally, not a good recipe for winning 4 straight road/nuetral games against tough competition. On the goal review tonight, Pattyn's shot clearly crossed the line, there is no doubt when you watch the overhead in slow motion. The announcers comment that the puck went straight up and if it had crossed the line it would have hit the cage is just not true. The puck did not go straight up it was deflected out at an angle. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it was a goal. The only conclusion I can come to is that Adam/Walsh have no integrity and are trying to screw UND or they are incompetent. Take your pick, I think a case can me made for either one. Can't wait for the NCHC. Let's see, so far we lost our national TV contract and Adam will be the head of the officials. Can't wait to see what else is in store.

Wow, that may be the worst tackling team I have ever seen, just pathetic. The defense is not up to this level of play, would not even be good enough for D2. Either they recruited poorly or the coaches are doing a poor job or both. No matter the end result still points to the coaching staff. Something has to change with the coaching staff. My opinion is that Mussman is not up to coaching at this level. He certainly cannot manage a game properly. Given the defense he has to work with there is no way he should have punted in the 4Q when it was tied and they had a fourth and one on the NAU 39. You have to go for it. Do you want to put the outcome of the game in the hands of the offense or defense ? It was a no brainer. By punting there he was basically saying he trusted the defense to stop NAU more than he trusted the offense to gain 1 yard. I don't see UND ever contending for a championship with Mussman as the coach. The longer Faison waits to make a change the longer it will be until we contend and can fill the Alerus on a consistant basis.

He was also the ref when Genoway got his concussion. Didn't even make a call until the next whistle, then gave a 5-min major to the wrong guy. This is the best they can do ? Not impressed at all with the decisions made by the NCHC since it was formed.

DeathEaters

One overlooked benefit of playing with only 17 skaters is that we can doubleshift some of our better forwards on the fourth line. Nelson's goal that tied the MN game at 3-3 I believe occured when he was skating on the fourth line. With all the TV timeouts in the playoffs the fourth line should not be needed as much and when it is we can add a pretty good player to the mix.

IMO, the Sioux need to play better and play for the complete 60 min if they want to get to the Frozen Four. I was not very impressed with our play against St.Cloud and for the better part of two periods we were getting worked pretty good by MN. Hard to evaluate the Denver game as they had no gas left and were playing with 4 defenseman for most of the game. They should feel good they won the WCHA playoff title but they shouldn't feel too good, they need to step up their play and consistency if they want to be playing after this weekend.

I like that idea.

The Sioux could lose tonight and still get a #1 seed. For that to happen we would need these outcomes: Hockey East Championship game: Boston College defeats Maine. ECAC Championship game: Harvard defeats Union. ECAC Consolation game: Cornell defeats Colgate. CCHA Championship game: Western Michigan defeats Michigan. CCHA Consolation game: Miami defeats Bowling Green. Atlantic Hockey Championship game: Air Force defeats RIT. Denver would be 3 and UND 4. If UND wins tonight with the results the same in the other conferences then UND would be 3 and Denver would fall all the way to 11. Crazy year.

11:55 left 44-39 Sioux

Strange year, the Sioux could finish as high as #2 overall in the pwr or could end up missing the tourny.

That's what I understand. Sioux vs St.Cloud on Thur night.

Denver wins 3-2

heading to ot

4:19 left still 2-2

Denver ties it 2-2 with 17:59 left in the 3rd.

2-1 Wisconsin after 2.

Badgers take the lead 2-1, 7:28 left in 2nd.

DU just tied it 1-1.

wisconsin with a shorty, lead 1-0 with 12:20 left 2nd.

If Wisconsin wins we will be 10th, if Denver wins we will be tied with them for 11th, depends on how the tie is broken. DU wins the comparision with us but we have a higher RPI. The only other game still going is Air Force and UConn. A UConn win will drop Air Force from TUC status, won't make a difference right now but who know down the line (we are 1-0 against AF).

Looks like we will drop to anywhere from 10th to 12th in the pairwise after the games today if the current scores hold up. If Denver wins then 12th is likely.

My best guess: A split will not help us, it will still leave us on the bubble. Losing two will really hurt our chances, making it critical to sweep Mankato and sweep the first round of the WCHA playoffs, and probably win the first game at the xcel. A sweep should put us in good position for the NC$$ tourny. My fear with this years team is that we dug such a hole early that we have not had much room for error. Combined with injuries and a short bench I have a feeling that the team may just run out of gas. It is difficult in any sport playing catch-up all the time, combine that with a depleted roster and it is very difficult to overcome. Right now I would gladly settle for two point this w/e (as much as I hate Denver) and no more injuries.