NorthDakotaHockey

At least you are offering more than the usual two cents worth that are often offered by many on these pages.

$02500 / You can put the all important decimal point any place that you wish.

Damned straight we will.

I can put a game worn #29 Cookowski on the block if anyone is interested . . . .

Cripes almighty!! A solid win tonight is important, especially with the road ahead. I suspect that we will see the boys flying, not unlike they were on January 14 after their last loss.

That was a lousy call. Replays show no sight of the puck, in or out of the net. Can't see puck? Blow whistle. No goal. Now watch the St. Cloud shell. That's ok. Sioux score three in third.

We oughta be in the arena. Next best thing? We are waiting for the new satellite feed to start. Brand new hook. Let's go Sioux!!

Thanks Uncle. Some cool and solid work. Some hard work with much rewards. I love looking at Sioux hockey photos.

'Tis a hilarious photo. An even better set-up Dagies. Just as I remembered it. I don't like Irmen, other than for the fact that he is just another of a growing number of Lucia's out-state recruits that have finally put that program - long mired in misery trying to win with all Minnesota boys - back on a winning track. And those alternate home deep yellow jerseys? What'a they thinking?

Hey. You were there. Looks to me like that is what they pretty much did. At least until the third period. That, and the next night, and last weekend, are the springboard to Milwaukee. Git yer West Regional tickets now.

I am figuring that both Foyt and Marvin will be dressed on Friday. I like both guys. They have been around a few years, have put in their time, and are veterans on a team that can use, at times, all of the leadership that it can muster. Sure, Foyt made a bonehead check on January 9. Did it change the outcome of that game? I really doubt it. Althought the score went from 2-1 to 4-1 during that penalty, the way that the team was skating that night the Foyt penalty had little play at the end of the day. Remember, teams coming off a road trip to Anchorage lose 89% of the time the next time that they step on the ice. Foyt stepped up huge last year. He goes hard every shift. I am sure that he will be much more aware of his play around the boards. I think that he well deserves another chance, and I think that Hakstol will give it to him this Friday night. So much for what I think. I never much thought clearly anyway.

I totally agree. I thought Oshie would take the boot, because he kept going after the joker with whom he was engaged. Even after the linesman pulled them apart. Only problem there is, Oshie has family in from out of town too!! The new exception to the rule. DQ's for fighting, unless a player can show paid plane fare and hotel receipts from kin within two bloodlines and who live more than 1000 miles away.

Interesting. A good lesson in the old adage that one should never say never. It is the right and fair correction of the record. I'd wager that if Spirko's family had not made a 6,000 mile trip at their expense to see, perhaps for the only time, their son play at The Ralph, Shepherd would have never done it. Shows me the guy has a bit of sense. Unfortunately, the reversal hurts the Sioux more as a team what with being down two d-men against the dreaded Huskies.

If I were still a bettin' man, and I thank the Good Lord everyday that I am not, I would bet most anything on the likely fact that the Sioux and the Gophers will be playing in The Ralph on March 25 for the right to go to Milwaukee. That is why it is crucial for fence sitters to buy their tickets to the West Regional now. Sagard, good choice on buying now. More people should be doing it. /s/ The Ralph Ticket Office.

So, I hope that Spirko gets to play. Hak was chomping at the bit to talk to Zelkin after the game. Especially what with Momma and Poppa here from across the Atlantic. Maybe that is what is driving any reconsideration that may be going on, aside from the fact that it was a lousy and botched call. Switching the game DQ from Spirko to Finley would not be a "DECREASE of any penalties assessed" during the game, but would instead be simply a REALLOCATION of those penalties based on the NOTE that the PDA has a responsibility to identify the proper penalized player. This said, having both Radke and Finley sit out Friday could make for a world of hurt.

You'se and your buddy Dave's lucky wrassling wasn't the game of choice for the evening. Besides, I'm gittin' better.

That DQ for Spirko is a travesty. All they were doing was wrestling. If that. I was expecting Oshie to take a DQ over Sparky, but Oshie was too strong on his skates to go to the ice. Spirko is strong on his skates as well, but after the cheap hit that he took, he couldn't help but go to the ice. The really sad thing about the whole thing is that, at least as far as I can tell, Spirko has relatives in town from the Old Country to watch a couple of Sioux games. If they are planning to stay through next weekend, they will miss seeing their boy sport his wares on Friday night. All because Zelkin is a bonehead.

Of course one of the reasons why teams might feel "comfortable" at The Ralph is because we, as fans, perhaps, are not sometimes rabid enough. Nothing beats a building full of loud loud fans. No profanity. No sexism. No racism. No left wing stuff. Just good, solid, fun cheering and heckling at warp speed and maximum volume. That's college hockey, and that is what makes college hockey so fun. Aside, of course, from the sheer skill, determination, and outright athleticism being played out on the ice. I have seen many athletes. Hockey players, I have come to believe, are the best athletes of them all. Can't wait to get to The Ralph. Sioux rule. Mavs drool.

I did see WPoS, and he was around well after the band had packed and left. I can, and will, vouch for his character. He is as big as a Gopher fan as I have met, as big as I am a Sioux fan. Our common ground is the respect for the game and the league. Of course, I suspect that he would rather see anyone win the NC but the Sioux, as I would rather see anyone win the NC but the Gophers. WPoS is a knowledgeable and a solid fan. He may not drive an American SUV, but that is about it for the extent of his flawed character. He is proof why there are life jackets and rafts on every sinking ship full of boneheads and idiots. I would throw WPoS a life jacket, or let him get in my raft, any day. This I would not say for many of the Gopher fans who were barking at us in The John over the weekend. We will likely see WPoS in person at The Ralph come March 24. Look for the beat up foreign car in the parking lot. Or the guy wearing the home electronic monitoring device on his ankle.

Well all is right with the world and the WCHA. Two top teams duking it out, with a weekend split. Funny, I ain't getting the phone calls this morning from my Goophie brethren as I was yesterday morning. Sioux looked damned strong in most phases. Right from the get go, when they came out in their black road jerseys, you could hear a number of sphincters in the building slamming shut. From the get go, one could sense that this was not going to be another Friday night fiasco. The entire third period was played without a penalty called. As long as we can keep out of the box against top competition, we can skate with anyone. The young D-corps did a particularly solid job, backing Lammy and holding the Goofs to two goals. It was doubly priceless to take that win in The John, especially with the trash talking we heard during and after the game last night, and before the game tonight. There was full cause for raucous celebration after the Zajac goal, and especially after the Spirko empty netter. We really enjoyed ourselves down that stretch. While these teams may not see each other in St. Paul, I remain rather firmly convinced that there will be one more match this year, and it will be played in Grand Forks on March 25. Maybe it would be a good time for the Sioux to break from tradition and wear the blacks at home. As they all are, next week will be a big and very important series to establish a winning, even dominating, attitude on the home ice.

10-4 Raynman. I figured it was an outburst, and a justified one at that. You are a lucky fan to have been to so many games for so many years. Nothing beats following the Fighting Sioux, both at home and, especially, on the road.

Apparently not hockey fans either. At least not true and knowledgeable hockey fans. Go plan your trip to Madison, that is if you have any allowance coming from momma.

Raynman03 . . . . Take two powders, lie down, and take a nap. Things are not as bad as you make them out to be. They will seem better when you wake up. It is the WCHA, where every team is solid, and where the best college hockey in the world is played. Things happen. If you have great seats to the West, I will buy them from you right now. You will, of course, be making a big mistake if you take me up on my offer.

Wow. Was that a whipping. Always fun being in The John jawing with Goophie fans. What I like most about them, perhaps, is their keen ability to see the lines better than the linesmen, and their rather quick tendency to turn on their boys. Right before the Sioux's only goal, the Gophers were standing around, for really the one and only time, on their major powerplay. The fans start crying about it. Next thing, the Gophers score and all is well. If they ain't crying about something, then they're flying over something. Manic almost. This said, those Gopher fans had every right to enjoy their night last night. Lammy was a stud in net. Score coulda easlily been 9-2. The Gophers were fired up and ready to play. The Sioux simply were not. On paper, the Gophers are no better. On the ice, at least right now, the Gophers are far better. For us, the best thing about the night was before the game, during warm-ups, when Marvin and Kaip, in their suits, calmly walked into the Gopher student section and took a sign that was poking fun at Bina, a classless sign, from two idiots. Hardly a word of protest came from the Gopher clowns, or from the folks around them. So, the Sioux's best play of the night came from two of their guys in street clothes. I have heard that the winning percentage for all WCHA teams on their first game back from a trip to Alaska is 11%. So much for the scheduling gods. No excuse, but it must be hard to make that trip and keep the energy level up. These boys struggled last night. They are too good to keep struggling. Last night was a big bump, and hopefully a major wake-up. Tonight will be a better game, and hopefully a different outcome. There are still ten league points left in the month, and here is saying that we get at least eight of them. The Sioux will be hosting the West Regional in March, and they will be doing so from the ice, not the bleachers. We'll be back in the arena tonight. Loud and proud. Right until the final buzzer. As for that, the Gopher student section starts the big Beat the Traffic chant with about eight minutes to go. Funny thing, they were chanting it at their own legions of devoted and knowledgeable fans who apparently do not know that it is simply bad form, and a stupid thing, to leave any hockey game before the final buzzer.

Cool. What say the Blue Line Club Luncheon tomorrow?