NorthDakotaHockey

From where we sit, this team is on a roll. They got the coffee too. What ever happened to Jim Adelson anyway? He around The Ralph much? Anyway, Sioux are gonna crush BU. I got a feeling. A feeling deep inside. Gonna crush 'em. The Saturday clash with Mercyhurst will be a nailbiter, but Sioux win that one with a shutout. Maybe 2-0. Holy Cross like. Hopefully, Prpich will be back. I didn't see how the Red Pepper line got its name. Maybe someone could tell me. I did note in the Final Five Souvenir Program that Captain Matt Greene's favorite "vacation destination" is the Italian Moon. I think that Genoway and Jones are gonna be taking turns driving The Bus this weekend. The Bus to Columbus. Great time of year. Not gonna get too high. Not gonna get too low. All things in moderation, except when the NCAA Hockey Tourney is in play.

I am confident that those listings will change for you GBpakqwrzz.

So here is our Final Five story. Went to all five games, greatest tournament on earth. Jawed with fans, had some chow, watched the Sioux three straight nights. Near priceless. Friday afternoon spirits were dampened, in a huge way, what with watching Robbie take the cheap hit and being strapped to a stretcher. The OT loss was meaningless. No wonder it ended less than a minute in. Thank God for that. Saturday, my girl, a huge fan, and her best buddy, a recently converted huge fan, paint their faces and make a sign. "Get Well Soon, Robbie." They wear the hats made by and given to them by YaneA, who oughta go into the business. They stand stoicly by the the boards during warmups, and proudly fly the colors, wear the hats, show the sign, along with an extra " 2h8 Go4rs" sign just because we have the pleasure of a Sioux-Gophers tilt on hand. Thanks for that one as well YaneA. We watch, with overwhelming pride and joy, the Sioux undress the Gophers 4-2 in a huge game. For everyone. Don Lucia can go fist himself if he seriously claims that it was meaningless. Cornell was still on the bubble, and his Goofies needed a win. We saw him on the street later, and he gave us the head nod, knowing that he had just been handed his lunch by the men in green. All we could do was laugh, and know that being a Sioux fan is one of the biggest blessings of all time, surpassed by but a few things, including being a Sioux player. Anyway, after the game, the girls see Scott Foyt in the hall, and ask him to give their sign to Bina. He graciously agrees. I joke with the girls that he will promptly stuff it in the nearest trash, although I know in my mind and heart that Foyt would never do such a thing. We hang around the arena, and watch Denver rag out a 1-0 win over CC for the Broadmoor. Just as we hung around to see Hirsch's post-game show from the night before, we stay to ride Gwoz and the PUnks from PU. For only a few good reasons. Next day, Sunday, the girls make and deliver a card to Bina at Regions. Next day, Monday, Virg Foss reports on Bina's condition, and mentions that Bina is hardly forgotten, what with the handwritten sign in his locker that reads "Get Well Soon Robbie." Thank God Robbie appears to be on the mend. He is a tough kid. He is a smart kid. He is a funny kid. He has a heart bigger than the whole damned State of North Dakota. He will be missed. He will never be forgotten. He damned well may return to the line-up. Damned straight. The Sioux are on a mission. BU. BC. Cornell. PU. Number Eight. Be there, or be square. Sioux Rule. BU/BC drool. Don't look at me like you know me . . . . .

More appropriately named The John. Ralph Engelstad . . . . The Ralph. John Mariucci . . . . The John. Fits nicely.

That's a BIG 10-4. Just some of the many reasons why the Sioux have the greatest tradition, and fan support, in all of college hockey. Same can be said for the fans. Game over. little to no running of the mouth. Not the case with some, but not all, fans from around the league. Hakstol and his staff are world class guys. As are the men who play for them. Four more!!

I will defer to the knowledgeable Hab-it. I recall it now. Laatch. The Pioneers had about eight what I assume were players in street clothes on the ice. Are there any restrictions on the number of roster players a team can have? The Sioux are down to bare bones. Thank God those bones are some of the best in the Country. Let the Selections begin.

I have one more opinion that really isn't worth jack. I think that the NCAA will be certain that one region does NOT have a WCHA team in it. That way, the NCAA can avoid the strong liklihood of an all-WCHA Frozen Four. The best tournament, other than the hardware, just ended tonight in St. Paul.

Because Cornell won its tournament, because Minny has them by a whisker, and mostly because ESPN wants it that way, and the NCAA likes to do whatever ESPN wants, especially in college hockey. Besides, that's what people smarter than me (CC folks) were telling me tonight.

Makes sense to me. I was thinking that he wanted to prove to himself that HE is capable of hitting the net, and crashing the net.

Gauthier. Fulgham. Sterling. Spirko. Fuhrer. McElhinney. That's it, as best I recall. I was a bit busy giving Gwod a short lesson in civility.

My guess is that DU goes to The John, and CC goes to Grand Rapids. Cornell and BC are the #1 seeds in the East. From there, I don't know jack, other than the Gophers will be at home and Michigan will be in Grand Rapids. Bummer. There goes my plan of inviting all my buddies to jump on my West Regional tickets to see the Sioux drill the Gophers on Easter Sunday in The John. So much for my wild imagination and tough talk. Here is hoping that the Sioux stayed focused, regroup through the apparent season ending injuries to Murray and Prpich, and win the Whole Shebang for themselves, and for Bina.

Maybe it has been posted elsewhere, but a guy claiming to be in the know from the Minnesota camp said that Hirsch was admitted to a special unit last night, as much perhaps out of precaution and concern than out of need. After that display on ice, it would have been careless to send him off into the night alone. Hopefully, he will get things taken care of and be back for the action this coming weekend.

It was amazing. And stupid. I was surprised that he didn't miss the net, like he and his teammates were doing all night long. I have always maintained that Hirsch is an idiot and a crybaby, both on and off the ice. Last night, when he should have been with his teammates in the locker room, he pretty much proved me right.

Damned straight there Old Barn Guy. Thanks for speaking for me on this one. Is this OK, PCM?

What was up with that?!? We hung around after the game, and there stood this idiot Hirsch at center ice with a puck and his stick. The Zamboni doors were opened. We yelled at him to get off the ice. He waves the Zamboni off. They close the doors, but do not lock them. The idiot skates in on an empty net, and drills a shot hard, probably trying to prove to himself that he can hit an empty net. He falls into the net, knocks it off its posts, and the net falls back and opens the doors. He is lucky he did not hurt himself. He gets up, to mostly jeers, and lays his stick at center ice and leaves the rink. Bizarre. If Lucia had any balls, he'd suspend him for today's game. The Gophers are riled, for no good reason because they got taken to the cleaners, again, by a superior team. Here is hoping that Donnie will tell his boys to play what many always claim is "MInnesota Hockey" instead of gooning it up for no good reason.

The snow is picking up on a Friday afternoon as people make their way to the Ex for the greatest of all college tournaments. We are lucky enough to again be loading a car for a trip downtown and hanging with large rafts of solid fans . . . . Yes, from all the teams, especially the Worthless One, WPoS. You are a great fan, although I am wildly disappointed to hear you say that you are cheering for Denver. You must be confident that your squad, shakey as it may be these days, will be taking the Tigers tonight. This means that you would rather see a Gopher-Denver game Saturday night than you would a potential classic rematch of last year's game. This makes no sense to me. Why would you not want to see your team play one of its most feared rivals in front of 18,000? Why would you possibly want to see them play the Pioneers instead? This is solid proof that you not only wildly respect the Sioux, but that you also fear the Sioux, and that, in your deepest corner, you envy the Sioux. And our great fans. I suppose that if we all were honest with ourselves, we all would love to see either BOTH the Sioux and the Gophers to win today, or BOTH the Sioux and the Gophers to lose today. Right PCM? Set up the big clash tomorrow, even though it is for nothing other than momentary barking rights, and maybe The Trophy. Sioux-Gophers. Doesn't get much better. WPoS, I will have youngsters under 13 in tow so I will not be able to do the Beerdarts tailgate, although I agree, today will be a great day at the Magic Store. Besides, I worry that you guys want to beat me up, and I would hate to have you folks bear the humiliation of finding that you had failed miserably in your efforts. Everyone have fun today and tonight. As PCM speaks for me, I believe him when he says that this is going to be a special weekend. Already is. Nothing can change that now. Sioux-Gophers tomorrow afternoon. Or tomorrow night. This said, if the Sioux win this afternoon, there is still no way that my crowd will ever cheer the Gophers. Not tonight. Not ever. Go Sioux. Genoway driving the Bus.

Thanks a bunch Dunker. Real cool. Post another batch when you can. Big Sioux Legion last night, as always.

That's a big 10-4. Anyone see the Bus warming up down the street?

Thanks a million Captain Dahl. Some more fine photos. Who is the copy writer? That shot of Becky "worshipping" Parise is a classic. Would have liked to have it in hand for some boor in 110 last night. Keep 'em comin'.

Great game. Great effort. Great fans. Great win. The Final Five is the premier college hockey event in the country. Sure, the Frozen Four must be cool. Ain't ever had the pleasure of being there in person. The Final Five has gotta be right there. Sure, everyone is looking to the NCAAs. Wins and losses aren't generally be all and end alls, unless you play and root for Wisconsin. Maybe. It's the mix of fans from all the schools. Barking at each other like dogs in the yard. Great fun. Jawing at some Gopher fans in their ugly arse gravy-stained jerseys. This mix of boors gave the same old tired lines about Ralph, Canadians, and their back-to-backs. Of course, we were right back at them with all of the easy trashin' that can be done of most Gopher fans. Fun city. BTW, thanks to YaneA for the cool hats for my girls. Sioux are rolling. Hope Prpich is ok. I sure would like to see Jake in the nets tomorrow, but that's wishful thinking I suppose.

Damned Straight PCM. Damned straight. You are at the helm of the Bandwagon. Only let the true believers on board. Funny thing, I bought a big load of VHS tapes at Best Buy last night for the exact same reason, along with the new Kathleen Edwards cd. A drunken Canadien broad who rocks with the best. Has a tune called "Hockey Skates." It's karma. It's focus. It's tradition. Sioux sk828.

For those who are lucky enough to watch this team live on a regular basis, it has become clear to us that one of the principal reasons why the Sioux appear to be rounding into shape, other than the obvious (boatloads of talent, healthy with the exception of Kaip, fourth-line play elevating play of everyone, coaching systems taking hold, mental block on goal scoring becoming dust to the wind), is the fact that Colby Genoway has stepped up and established himself as the leader of the boys, both on and off the ice. He goes hard every shift. He commands the power play with focus and skill. He is always barking encouragement on the bench, and keeping some of the whiners in check. He knows that, as a Senior, this is his swan song and he is playing like he wants it to last through to the last possible moment, the NC game in Columbus. While I have no beef with the boys wearing the C and the A's on their jerseys, Genoway is the leader of this team right now. While everyone appears to be stepping up right now, especially the seniors, Genoway is stepping higher, and with a greater sense of urgency. Brandt has moved out of the driver's seat. Colby is the one who is driving the Bus to Columbus. Just watch him closely tonight, tomorrow, Saturday, and at The John on Easter Sunday. Can't wait for the puck drop tonight. Judging from the sometimes drivel on this board, to which I too often contribute myself, we's ready for the Sioux to take the ice. We's ready for Colby to lead us all to Columbus. Sioux fans rule. Gopher fans drool.

Thanks for the tip. Did not know that that was an option. See you at The John on Easter Sunday.