NorthDakotaHockey

Friday night post game pizzas, beers, and parties?? A lack of conditioning? Neither is likely. I would say general tightening and fatigue. And just random chance. Mostly random chance.

You are THE man Airmail! It takes a big man to apologize. Of course you did not mean any offense. By the way, that is a great Avatar. See you in the Excel, if not in Mankato, if not in Duluth, if not at The Ralph, if not in the Springs, and of course, with a little luck and the Grace of the Big Man, in Beantown.

Sorry on this one boys and girls. Folks cheering for the UMD trouncing of UM at the game are not hockey illiterates. Did I know that the sweep would put the Sioux behind a mild eight ball? Sure. Did I know that the sweep would be UMD's first ever season sweep of the Goophs? You bet. Did I know that the Gophers loss, and the CC win, would further increase the liklihood of those two clubs meeting in the first round? Yup. Did I prefer that the Feb. 27-28 series be a potential showdown for the McNaugton Cup, with the Sioux still having a final home series in hand while the Dogs had another dogfight ahead of them? Absolutely. Not hockey illiterate by any means. Just a die hard Sioux fan first, and a solid WCHA and college hockey fan. So what if the Sioux have their mettle tested a bit down the stretch? It will be good for them come playoff time. Sorry Airmail. No hockey illiterates were cheering for the Bulldog sweep. Quite to the contrary I would say. This "real fans" groaning stuff is fluff. What can be better than facing it off with the Dogs for the title, while the Gophers find themselves with some desparate Tigers by the tail?

Here is my thirty cents, in part cut from another thread . . . . Students should absolutely get to stand. They oughta have the entire side, from red line to red line. The season holders, if solid college hockey fans, should move upstairs. They are great sight lines. Most would probably like them better. To be fair to all the season types, do a new draw for the lower bowl, based either on seniority or blind draw. Damn, if only this had come up while Ralph was around. Would he have seen it differently? Does The Ralph really need to worry about maximizing every dollar it can to the potential detriment to the college experience? Heck no! Actually, why not just make the ENTIRE lower bowl stand. No different than a concert. It's really not that long a period of time. We can sit down BETWEEN periods. Folks who don't like it can be the ones who are asked to LEAVE! Those there to chat, climb social ladders, or to talk business can remain seated. As for the swearing and the atmosphere in general, I have this to say . . . . Although I have a bad habit of swearing myself (what self-respecting native does not?) I also believe that vulgarity is the lazy man's English. Surely we can come up with plenty of things that will both inspire and intimidate at The Ralph. I have long advocated for the entire crowd belting the National Anthem with the guest singer. Notice how the guy on Saturday invited the "entire Red River Valley" to join him? By God, quite of few folks, maybe 1/4 us, did. By double damned God, you could hear us if you listened. Dimly. You could hear us enought to where the CC team stood frozen at attention for well past the end of the anthem, and even well past the Color Guard retiring. They was mesmerized, but fortunately for them we had Parise in the nets that night. Imagine how cool it would be if 10,000 (granted, there are a number of folks who just plain cain't sing) fans sang our National Anthem! Mass participation. See Kohl Center. Students show the old folks their voices. Old folks show the students their voices. Pretty soon, we'll all be singing, chanting, and cheering together, and Dr. Kencake will get to both have his and eat it too. Winners all the way around. National Anthem. Why not start there? 'Specially in these times. We'd probably get national press. In fact, I guarantee it. I just might be a big shooter in the national press. Now someone give me a hand as I get down from the box. I'm gonna go enjoy the rest of the season, because the season is the reason . . . NDH ps. By the way, I think the " . . . . home of the SIOUX!!!" chant at the end of the anthem is demeaning to the brave, and just downright corny and stupid sounding. Hardly clever either.

Hey there Scott M . . . . Just a public thanks for the fine hockey art. "Jesus Saves." Classic. Timely. True. We oughta start a thread for hockey art and photos. I got one of that young Carolina Hurricanes fan letting Kupchella know what he thinks. No words. Just a symbol . Are those probably going to be banned as well? Same with signs? Are they gone as well Dr. Ken? Actually, I agree with most all of the posters on this thread. Although I have a bad habit of swearing myself (what self-respecting native does not?) I also believe that vulgarity is the lazy man's English. Surely we can come up with plenty of things that will both inspire and intimidate at The Ralph. I have long advocated for the entire crowd belting the National Anthem with the guest singer. Notice how the guy on Saturday invited the "entire Red River Valley" to join him? By God, quite of few folks, maybe 1/4 us, did. By double damned God, you could hear us if you listened. Dimly. You could hear us enought to where the CC team stood frozen at attention for well past the end of the anthem, and even well past the Color Guard retiring. They was mesmerized, but fortunately for them we had Parise in the nets that night. Imagine how cool it would be if 10,000 (granted, there are a number of folks who just plain cain't sing) fans sang our National Anthem! Mass participation. See Kohl Center. Students show the old folks their voices. Old folks show the students their voices. Pretty soon, we'll all be singing, chanting, and cheering together, and Dr. Kencake will get to both have his and eat it too. Winners all the way around. National Anthem. Why not start there? 'Specially in these times. We'd probably get national press. In fact, I guarantee it. I just might be a big shooter in the national press. Now someone give me a hand as I get down from the box. NDH ps. By the way, I think the " . . . . home of the SIOUX!!!" chant at the end of the anthem is demeaning to the brave, and just downright corny and stupid sounding. Hardly clever either.

Any chance that Billy "Five-Hole" Stankoven, or Dave "Limp Stick-Side" Murphy might be out there looking for work? A goalie coach would be huge. If not on technique, certainly on psychology. I did not know that The Dean figures he is a goalie coach.

GreyEagle . . . . Of course I would hate to see the Gophers stumble out of the Final Five, although I do wish to see CC make their own regional. I also have a strong need to see the Sioux in Colorado the end of March, as it is there where we bought our tickets. That said, a Sioux-Gophers Final Five match-up would be near priceless. The only thing better would be a meet in the Springs, or, better yet, in Bean Town. Sure, the Dogs are good, but what the heck were Lucia and the boys thinking. Getting swept!! It does, perhaps, show a chronic lack of heart or, more likely, conditioning.

Of course I voted for the DogZ. Any self-respecting hockey fan, other than the rodent faithful, would. The Dogz season sweep of the Gophers will work wonders for their program, will strengthen the truth about the strength of the WCHA, and will have the Gopher team, and their faithful, looking for knives and backs. I just hope the Sioux split with CC doesn't have our collection of fans looking for the blades and the cold water treatment on the wrists. The Dogs sweep, among other things, does the following: 1. Increases the liklihood of the McNaughton Cup being on the line at the DECC in two weeks. Shame on those who did not buy their tickets when they could. 2. Increases the liklihood of a Gopher-CC first round play-off matchup. While I would hate to see the Gophers miss the Final Five, I would get over it. Same with the dance, although they should take a seed there barring a complete collapse. 3. Increases the possibility of the Gophers going on the road first round. Something their faithful used to crow, and may still crow, would never happen. Blais has it right. We are in the driver's seat for the Cup. Just have to take care of business and hope, of course, that the Dogz stumble at least a shade.

It will be a great series. Most any WCHA series in mid-February always is. CC does have their backs pinned to the wall. They are a fine skating club. They will be ready. The Springs crowd has to be sick over the increasing possibility of missing out on hosting the West Regional. A sweep, or split, with the Sioux will really help them on that front. This may not be the place to ask, but which is it . . . . Does the regular season champ, or the Final Five champ, get an automatic bid into the Big Skate?

Thanks for the reports and links everybody. Here's looking forward to turning The Ralph upside down tonight and tomorrow. For anyone interested, the women are in town and play at 2 pm on Saturday. NDH

Hate to bother y'all here, but there is probably a fair handful of faithful taking I-94 West tomorrow. What, if anything, is the read on the weather and the roads up in the NW quadrant of Minnesota, and of course, the GREAT state of North Dakota? Thanks.

Who? His brother? Surely he lost a couple when they were kids. Schneider? Prpich? Who was it Sik?

Hey Baxter. . . . If you've really got the fever, and a really good computer, you can catch the Sioux this weekend on the Internet TV. A fee is involved. About $8.00. Some nights it works better than others. You can watch the game several times over. Check it out at The Ralph site Ralph Engelstad Arena or, I think, here. Sioux Web TV Others here are very knowledgeable. I just hop in now and then to feel like I have some friends, or people who might be interested in what I have to say. Your story is very cool. Come to town sometime and we'll let you ride the Zamboni between periods.

Hale. Palmo and Lundbohm are great guys, and fine players. However, it was Hale who was willing to face off with John Scott of Michigan Tech last month. That stand sent a solid message to his teammates, and to any other goons in the league. Any guy who is willing to take major stitches for his teammates is the mvp of the senior class in my book. Besides, we can only speculate as to his senior leadership, as captain, off the ice. I have seen, only tangentially, the team while together as a team on the road. They are a class act. That class comes from the senior leadership on down. Hale is captain and class of that show. Hale. By a stretch.

We were in Houghton. Got to the arena early. All the chairs in the student section had newspapers draped over the back. Stupid me, couldn't figure it out at first. It's a good gimmick. I like the post suggesting the Give A Dog a Bone song for Duluth, and the cupcake chant for the Gophies. Cake eaters. Gophers. Just look at how big Vanek is getting. And I do not necessarily mean his reputation, although I do not intend to start a Vanek debate here. We had our way with chants with Sir Thomas the Tank and his teammates in November. Next year, something much more clever and clean, and therefore ultimately more sinister, will be in order.

Here is another lame idea from an otherwise bright light . . . . Since the students have been accused, somewhat, of acting childish, why not chant child-like. COL-O-RAD-O can be morphed into COW-ER-BAD-O Get the whole arena chanting how bad they are could prove a shade entertaining, and intimidating. No?

Tim Mischler, I believe an EGF product, may have also given it a go. I'll get off this thread, as most of you probably were hardly even born that far back in time, eh?

You are right Scotty Boy. 10-4.

Dishman . . . . Go elsewhere to try and dish it out. Or should I say, get in the kitchen and go lay by your dish, you dirty dog you! Gopher fans are always amusing. Some are more knowledgeable than others. First, I have always thought that the Minnesota jerseys, and colors, were brown and yellow, not maroon and gold. What are they? Second, I have always thought that the Minnesota jerseys are rather boring, if not downright ugly. Third, these things said, your boys are playing pretty well right now. Why you feel the need to come up with such child-like behaviour? It does not speak well of your fan base. I know that you, and many others, were pulling for the Sioux to beat Wisconsin. Sorry we did not get it done for you. You will need to earn home ice, avoid the first round upset to a Colorado school, or even Alaska, and steer clear of the Thursday night play-in game on your own. Now, git on outta here. I hear your momma calling.

No poll judging the looks of players, past, present, or fictitious, should be allowed, or would ever be complete, if it does not include the knarly old legend of yesteryear, Tommy Cookowski. Or his tougher cousin, Tony Cookonovich. Re-order the poll. The legends live. Let's talk hockey, eh?

Hey now dere everybody . . . . Let's remember that it 'tis Valentine's Week and all, and that it is a time for us to show our love and affections for each other. Because there is no I in TEAM, I always look at the Sioux as an entity, not as individuals. I love da Sioux!! The tradition. The excellence. The commitment. The way of life. Happy Valentine's Week to da Sioux.

with a BIG LOGO of course . . . .

Here is a weak one for the CSTV game . . . . . Champion Sioux Timeless Victors!

Hey Fed . . . . Good read. Thanks. Just a couple of questions. 1. You said it was noisy, a bit, Friday night? Couldn't have been the players hooting and hollering after a tough loss, was it? 2. Any speeding tickets across I-94 through Wisconsin? 3. What do you mean by there still being alot of empty seats in the BB arena? Don't the Badger hockey and roundballers share the same arena space? 4. Were the Sioux fans in attendance shocked into keeping their traps shut? Could we not have been a shade more encouraging for the old team? 5. Did the boys, especially the younger ones, look a bit rattled playing before a packed, hostile crowd? 6. Do you think that, all things considered, the weekend experiences for the team were not entirely bad ones?

Scott Marvin, a Warroad boy also, might have given it a shot. Out of courtesy to the Marvin family if nothing else. He was probably graduated by try-out time. No, wait. Mike Burgraff. Roseau Rams. I'll bet that he gave it a go as well. Burgraff was a solid player for the Sioux in the late 70's.