WCHA-FAN

You are correct. You may not change skating lane or speed to intentionally imped a players ability to go for the puck. In a foot race you must maintain your foot speed and skating lane.

How is it piss poor for WCHA officials to have numbers instead of nameplates? That was your point, so please explain.

My only thought to that is that they treat them as two different entities. To relate it to pro sports, the NBA and WNBA using different looking balls. I know they are different size but why different colors?

So is it piss poor in the NHL cause they don't wear their names on the back of their sweaters? HEA doesn't wear nameplates.

As an official (no not WCHA Official) I don't think that Brian Hill nor Steve McInchak or any other official for that matter would have threatened a 5-min. major for physical play. There were only 4 more penalties called after the 1st period. I think their concern was that guys were "finishing" checks after the puck was long gone. That to me is probably more what that conversation was about. After the 1st I thought the physical play was still there but the "finishing" of checks was contained more to those hits that were just after or as the player was getting rid of the puck. The thing that people have to remember is that the WCHA is the most physical conference and the officials allow a lot more physical play which when the NCAA's come around isn't allowed because they get non-WCHA officals that tend to call a tighter game. Thats what this game was a tightly called game for the first period and adjustment in the 2nd and 3rd. Part of the what I think was maybe some of the percived less physical of the game was the fact that UND had to change their game because Yale was hitting all their passes and out skating UND.

Are you then insinuating that the officials are the cause of the loss? I think the only reason the officials had that convo with the captains was because of the incident at the 11:10 mark. The Yale player was refraining from touching the puck as long as possible to kill of some PK time and then you had 17 for UND hit him with the cross check. Then the coincidental unsportsmanlike penalties. I doubt that any "manipulation" of the game happened, just a simple knock off the after the whistle or we will take both guys. The officials will never try to take away from the physical aspect of the game as it pertains to the play between the whistles. After all hockey is a contact sport. As for the 5-minute majors idea, that's completely ludacris.

I am not saying that if Alaksa-Anchorage had a 18,000 seat arena they would have the highest attendance. All that I merely said was that its easier to have the highest attendance when you have a bigger arena. Thats just simple logic. If Mariucci was bigger, who knows maybe the Gophers would have a higher attendance then the Sioux. I stated above that the Kohl Center was 5,000+ bigger than Mariucci. My only question with the Kohl Center that I had was do they sell tickets for EVERY SEAT for the games. My example was the Sioux Women's team who sells General Admission tickets and only allows people in the lower bowl.

I know this has been stated before in this post. The Kohl Center and The Ralph are probably the two biggest arenas in college hockey for seating so it shouldn't be a surprise. Minnesota's arena holds 10,000 people which is 1,406 less than The Ralph and 5,000+ less then the Kohl Center. So common logic should hold that they have higher attendance numbers than most. One thing that I wonder, since I've never ventured to the Kohl Center is do they sell tickets for all those seats for hockey games. I've been to watch some of the women's games at The Ralph and they only sell for the lower bowl I believe, I don't pay that close attention cause I mainly get in and go sit down low towards the glass. I'm not trying to diminish what the Sioux did for attendance. But look at comparative sizes of arenas around the league and D-I Hockey. Still a great accomplishment by The Ralph in being tops in attendance.

thinking some people are Uninformed about the order of the alphabet

October is not only a beautiful month but marks the precious yet fleeting overlap of hockey, baseball, basketball, and football. ~Jason Love Quote

I know most people know that but it looked to me as if there was some confusion as to which Shepherd was doing what. Thats all I was clarifying.

GREG (PAPA Shep) Shepherd was the Video Replay Official that made the ruling. Derek and Brad are the sons that ref. Todd Anderson was the On-Ice Official who made the initial call and then was over-ruled by Greg. Tim Swiader and Butch Mousseaux were the AR's for that game. Also Greg Shepherd is the WCHA Head of Officiating.

Actually they won't have to find 4 good refs. In all technicality this reduces the numbers of refs on the ice. Now instead of 1 ref and 2 asst. refs.....you've changed to 2 refs and 2 linesman. With this change instead of 3 guys being able to call the game now you're down to 2. AR's could call penalties and also were doing lines and icing. Now you look at and you have 2 with the ability to call the game and two that for the most part get to sit back and watch the game, making offsides and icing calls. Jon Campion, Todd Anderson, Derek and Brad Shepherd, Bill Mason, Marco Hunt, CJ Beaurline, Brian Thul, etc. are all good officials. Does that mean that they don't have some games that there officiating isn't questionable? NO. They have all reffed great games and some not so great games. AR's are there to help you, not make the calls for you. With two guys being refs on the ice you have two views to make the call. I think this will help call-making in the WCHA because instead of one ref hustling around the rink trying to see and call everything now you have two refs. This change will not only help refs in making penalty calls, but it will help making goal calls on odd-man rushes. All around I think the 2 Ref, 2 linesman change will help the WCHA.

JUNE 11 MOORHEAD 11:00 AM

Great game and great series. Congrats to the Detroit Red Wings. Had the Pens won it all I think Fluery would have been the Con Smythe winner. I think its great for those guys that worked so hard for so many years in the NHL to finally win one. Hope to see the Minnesota Wild there next year.

Jerry York had to use it......definately in thorn in UND's side, and a heck of a coach.

I have to agree with this for the most part. You are exactly right about playing the full 60 minutes. Detroit forgot to play the last 30 or 40 seconds. Hudler I would think will play Game 6. Coach needs to sit him down and make sure he understands that you can't be careless ESPECIALLY in OT. Towards the end of the game and OT thats the penalties you have to call. Let the little crap go, unless its extremly intentional, taking a scoring opp. away, or drawing blood, but until then let it go. You have to let the players decide the game. That first Goalie Interference penalty was a horrifically bad call. Where was he supposed to go, the Pens guy and the Wings guy were neck and neck, he broke for the net, Pens guy did what he was supposed to. Not only was it a bad call but especially in OT, let it go. Also that call was not made by the Official standing there, it was made by the other Ref who was near the vicinity of the blue line. As for the second Goalie Interference, not to start rumblings of acting by Fleury, but I think it was a little embelished. In Fluery's defense though, they had called it once why not try to get it called again. I think it will go 7 games. That and I would rather see Detroit win it back at Joe Louis Arena.

Greg Shepherd

Just a question but from the few articles i read. I don't see anything about if he had a helmet on or not. Did that ever come out? Not that it probably would have changed things, cause a semi v. motorcycle, the semi wins every time.

Minnesota hasn't been able to get a National Championships either. Not one since 2003, so to hire Hastings might help to recruit players from different parts of the state where he is known, or even more in to the USHL where he just got done coaching

Lucia and Hastings are good friends, Hastings had applied for an Asst. Coach job at CC when Lucia was out there. Not to mention the players that Hastings has had at Omaha that have been in the Gopher Program. So Lucia and Hastings have a good relationship, and heck Lucia's son did go to Omaha to play in the USHL. I don't think that this hire will hurt recruiting infact it may help recruiting knowing that you have Lucia who is a proven coach and Hastings who is also a proven coach. I think that Hastings may recruit more in his home area which is Crookston, MN. So he may look at a lot of Section 8 and 7 hockey guys. That obviously is yet to be seen, but hey give him a chance. "M" guy or not, Lucia is going to try to get the best guy to fill the spot. I think he did so with this hire.

The numbers are a big thing for teams. Yea Duncan is short, listed at 5'6" and just under 160lbs. But Nathan Gerbe is 5'5" and about 165lbs. The difference between those two is speed. Gerbe is a very quick player where as Duncan isn't the fastest guy out there and thats something that Duncan if he improved there would help him if he were to pursue an NHL deal next year. As it sets up right now the Sioux are better with him because he will be a leader and most likely wearing the "C" next year. However, he won't have Oshie anymore, and his numbers did suffer without Toews last year. For the Sioux's sake I hope he has a good year next year. He was an asset to the Sioux, like you said, he did do a lot of time on the PK. Like I said in an earlier post, this season coming up will be a telling sign of how good Duncan is. I think a lot of NHL critics and even in the WCHA are going to look to him this year to put up numbers for this team. I said before that Duncan may have been the benefactor of having Oshie and Toews with him. This will be Duncan's "prove it" year. No Toews, No Oshie, lets see how he does. I don't think he will have a problem being a leader on the team, most likely wearing the "C" next year. Oshie and Toews proved how good they were, now its Duncan's turn.

His numbers won't be anywhere near his soph. season this coming year. Jr. maybe but someone has to get him the puck. You could argue that maybe some Hobey winners were the beneficiaries of the people around them. I would count Duncan as one of them. Toews, atleast stats wise was better than Duncan their sophmore year. 1.35PPG for Toews, 1.33 for Duncan, and just to keep DOT stats together, Oshie was a 1.21. To find Duncan in APG you have to go all the way down to 70th to see him at .60. Toews and Oshie were 9 and 11 respectively with .82 and .81 APG. Toews left, and Duncan suffered for not having Toews to help feed pucks, and next year with Oshie gone, Hak has to either hope that Duncan picks it up or find someone to feed pucks to Duncan. I think the Sioux are happy to have Ryan back but like i have said before i never considered him a risk to leave after this last season. I think NHL teams were a little skeptical of him and what happened to his numbers after Toews left and will keep close tabs on his numbers to see what he does with Oshie gone as well. If Duncan wants to go to the NHL I think he either has to pick up those numbers or talk to his teammates into feeding him pucks.

True, you never specifically said him but saying it how you did: Comments like that do very often get taken as such. In situations like this when making comments what and how you say it makes a huge difference. Not that I think you were trying to get peoples panties in a tiff. As for a discussion about players contracts and clauses such as no motorcycles, etc. I think that should be saved for another thread on this board. Sympathy goes out to the family of Luc Bourdon and also to the Manitoba Moose and Vancouver Canucks for the loss of their son and teammate.