NorthDakotaHockey

So what was the dispostion Soothsayer?

The Roseau County District Court is not going to hand Brandt his head. He is a local boy, playing with the Sioux. Everyone takes pride in that. I know nothing of these claimed earlier charges, but I suspect that Judge Dixon, or whomever else disposes of Brandt's case, will cut him a further, and possibly a final, chance. Here is what is likely to happen, assuming that he is guilty, perhaps a big assumption. 1. He pleads guilty to the misdemeanor theft. 2. The judge accepts his plea, but stays imposition or execution of sentence and puts him on probation, likely unsupervised. 3. He make full restitution to the victim, i.e. repay whatever he stole. 4. He pays some amount, likely a couple hundred bucks, in court costs. 5. He maybe do some community service time. Nothing major. 5. He keep his nose clean, i.e. no further criminal charges, especially theft, for the next year. 6. If any further charges in the year, the judge imposes, or executes sentence on this one. He would also face potential consequences from the new charge. 7. If no new charges, the matter is dismissed, and he will not have any conviction of record. It's called a Section 609.135 stay of imposition/execution. Alot of people who slip and fall once, maybe even twice, get them. This is how his case will be resolved. Judge Dixon will figure that Blais will punish him, likely at practice through lines, much more severely. He will also take a strong dose of medicine from fans around the League. I am particularly interested in what the St. Cloud fans will come up with, ala the Bochenske Bucks from two years past. Enough said? Bottom line is that Brandt is, perhaps, not good enough to lose any sleep over whether he stays on the team or not. Not that there are any other real options, now that Siembida is history.

WPos: That is "Sioux," not Sue. As in tradition, championships, dedication, work ethic, focus, and commitment. Funny how the Gopher fans couldn't fill their own building with fans just a couple of years ago, when they was still thinking they could win with all Minnesota boys. Then, Blais started taking the cream of Minnesota talent, the Gophers had to let Woog go, and Haircut was smart enough to recruit North Dakotans and foreigners to take his crew over the top. Sioux. Not Sue. You are the greatest. Why not cross on over from the dark side?

10-4 Dagies. What was I thinking. Herbie was 66, Blais 52. They both just look(ed) older than they are (were) because of all the grey hair and facial lines that working with hockey pucks can bring. Both great guys.

Herb Brooks kicked! I mean this in a good, and fond recollectin' way. Herbie kicked ass. He learned alot of his knowledge and skills going back years, from Dean-o. Mr. Blais I mean. Back when they was teammates on some of the old Gophie teams. No doubt Dean has learned alot from Herb too. In '78, I cheered for the Gophers a couple of years while there in school, after ND and my folks kinda run me out of town. I'll spend several hundred thousand years in Purgatory for pulling for the Gophers back then, but this is not my point now. We stood on the ice, in the corner of the old Mariucci Arena. Got to watch Herb work all game long from up close. I'll never forget it. OK, maybe I will. Herb kicked. Shoulda been wearing his damned belt, especially driving in the State Where Nothing Is Allowed.

While it may be a bit late, it may not be. Just take a Gophers' shirt of some sort, get your self a can of spray paint, and spray the work "suck" onto the shirt. Did the same once to a Chicago Bears shirt that met with great success. Some Bear fans, who are just a notch or two above most, but not all, Gopher fans on the evolution scale, went absolutely nuts over the sight of the shirts in their house. Hopefully, it will be a great game tonight. New Hampshire's coach is just about the best and nicest guy to never win a championship, other than Rube Bjorkman of course. Remember the days when Rube was replaced. John Gasparini was hired. Local fans went nuts because some putzy legend from out east was passed over. Remember him? Ned Harkness. Anyone know what the dreaded Ned is doing now?

Yellowdog . . . . Take your yellow and brown gravy-stained "M" jersey and move across town to the Pride on Ice board. Sadly, there you can ruminate as you wish. However, there you may not be able to learn the elementary rules of capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and etiquette. All of which you are sadly in need. There are many decent Gopher fans with both focus and purpose. Where did you go wrong my friend?

A fine tribute to three fine lads, PCM. Good idea.

The feared UConn Huskies are not even on the list?!? Maybe we ought to take that automatic MAAC bid off the board for a few more years? Or, why not open the post-season up to everyone?

8,000 whole Gopher fans. Wow. In an area of what, three million? Don't get me wrong. The Gopher hockey team has some very loyal fans. Just not that many of them, when push comes to shove. Let's see. The couch. Chips and dip on the trailer trash couch, with the fold down tray. Gophers on the TV. Naw, I won't go down to the arena. Too much work. Too much money. Rather stay home and just tell people later that I was there . . . . How many Gopher fans claimed they were at the Frozen Four last year when they were not? How many will this year? C'est la vie. C'est le gere.

One week ago, my kids and I had just finished the Anthem, were settling into our seats at Mariucci, and were watching the puck drop. I was then so convinced that the Sioux would be going on a four game run to Championship that I was rife with excitement. We all were. So, here I sit, listening to any Gopher fan who wants to spout. That is fine. Let them spout. Wait 'til next year. I am still amazed that Gopher fans, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, could not, and did not, come out in droves to watch their beloved team, defending National Champs, play their last game of the season on home ice. How do I know this? I, and other fans, were left with a handful of ducats to sell, at bargain prices, to any Gopher fan willing to make the trip. There were few takers. This is one of the many distinctions between Sioux and Gopher fans. Two years from now, at the West Regional in Englestad, the rafters will be bursting with Sioux fans, regardless of who we are playing. No fair weather-ites in Sioux Country. No sir. Not yesterday. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

Lever hockey is an old fashioned board game, perhaps still sold, where hockey is played with a plastic puck on a sheet of "ice." Each player, on two teams, is controlled by a rod and handle that one pushes, pulls, and spins to control the players skating around the "ice," and either shooting, or passing, the puck. The goalie slides from side to side, making spectacular kick saves on a good night, frustrated to the chants of "sieve" on others. Lever hockey is, essentially, the old fashioned, and poor man's - er, I mean poor person's - version of the bar game of Olympic Hockey, played under the big plastic bubble. Lever hockey is fun. It is exciting. It is addicting. Unlike other sporting board games, it takes at least two people to play. It could be played to any score one wished, or more realistically, to an egg timer to mark the periods. On good nights, momma would bring the hot chocolate after a hard fought game. Every family ought to have a lever hockey game. Ours was taken by the Flood of '97. The waters will never wash the memories away. Ahlzeimer's might. The waters will not. Lever hockey beats Playstation Hockey anyday. Get one while you still can.

As I recall, Neal Broten was hotly recruited between both North Dakota and Minnesota. Full rides each place. The guy was only about the best hockey player to come out of Minnesota high school ranks in the last 30 years. Neal looked to the Big City lights. Saw two recent titles. Saw what was then, arguably, a bigger tradition. Wanted to cut the apron strings and head south to be a Gopher, as most all kids wanted to do back then. What did Rube have to offer? Not much, other than the opportunity to have the pressure to be a savior of a flagging program, versus the opportunity to be an integral component of an already successful program in Minneapolis. Neal chose Minnesota. I was so bummed, I transferred to the UM just to watch him play. 1978 and 1979 were great years to watch the Gophers, and all of the WCHA.

That's a big 10-4. Alan Hangsleben. Don Swartz. Bill "the Hammer" Himmelright. and, of course, Mark Taylor, who did get to taste some glory.

I am thinking that I will be winning, and successfully defending, several championship trophies on the links this year. Same is true in lever hockey. Anyone ever play lever hockey?

Thanks for the read on the Lamoureaux family tree Sprig. The old man played in 30 2/3 games, had a GAA of 3.40, and a SV % of .897. Let's hope the kid has had better training, more ice time, and better coaching than his Pa. Not knocking the Pa, just that if kids climb greater heights than their parents, which we all wish as parents, maybe Phillip will join his Pa as an NDU letter winner. Roger a nice guy? He was sure fun to watch.

Does anyone know whether this Phillip Lamoureaux is Roger's kid? '73-'77. 48-85-133. A stud center and winger from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. If I was still a betting gal, I'd probably say 'tis.

I am with you girl, hockeygrl. Brandt was playing reasonably well, and was certainly a stronger play than Josh. The goal Josh let it, a relatively soft one, was a back breaker.

In the final analysis, seasons come, and seasons go. Some are better than others. Some yield banners, some do not. The best thing about the Fighting Sioux is their history, and the ability to bring folks together to forget, if only for a while, the price of wheat, the whine of liberals, the ravages of high water, and the cost of love. Players come. Players go. Same with coaches. Same with logos, and jersey styles. The only constant is the pride. The tradition. The excellence. The name. Fighting Sioux. Everything else is dust. Always has been. Always will be. This being said, how can Billy Mills, and legions of those who think that they know better, rabble rouse for a change of name? Long live the Fighting Sioux. Zach Attack. You are dead on. Teach your children, and your children's children.

'Twas a great quote Gregeagle. For the younger fans on this post, and for that young grasshopper, siouxrock, 'specially, Christian was a Sioux center from Warroad, played '77--'79 (30-40-70) before going on to the Miracle on Ice in 1980, and then to a storied career in the NHL, first off with the Winnipeg Jets. Christian, from the Christian Brothers stick empire family, was referring to Herbie's Olympic win, and, of course, to the Gophers win little more than a year previous over the Sioux in Detroit, perhaps the greatest hockey championship game ever played, save for Bowling Green's 4OT win over UMD in, I recall, 1984 or thereabouts. By the way, how the heck did LSSU Lakers win three titles between 1988-1994? Back to Judge Hatchett . . . .

Three on three. Old time hockey. Greg Sheppard. What was Medo's name? I think he was a hip pocket guy for the Sioux so I've little problem with him. Back to work here too. Gotta monitor Judge Hatchett on the tube.

Thanks Greyeagle . . . . That's right. Northern Michigan. It did prevent a rematch of the Sioux-Gophers in 1980 Frozen Four. Sioux beat NMU in the title game, 5-2. Avenged two Sioux losses to the Wildcats earlier in the year in Marquette, Michigan. Who were the Gopher fans rooting for in that game? The league representative and the hated foe, NDU, or the lucky bums who unfairly knocked the Gophers off of the ball, NMU? In fairness to NMU, they did go into the FF 33-5-1 that season. Northern Michigan was in the WCHA for a handful of years, along with Notre Dame and, going way back, Michigan and Michigan State. NMU was the CCHA Champ in 1980 regular season. Thanks for helping me further recollect the game, and the circumstances. It is moments like those that meld the hearts of die hard college hockey fans. ps. By the way, you heard the announcers state, ad naseum, how this is Cornell's first trip back to the FF in 23 years. 1980 was their last trip. They entered with a record of 16-13, and got beat by Northern Michigan in the semis, 5-4. Geez, the shear power and speed of an Aaron Broten slapshot that some, but not all, saw rip the back of the net prevented a rematch of the collossal 1979 Final between the Sioux and the Gophers.

WPos: You are both a scholar and a gentleman. Geez, some people have the thin skins. I am a life-long Sioux fan, went to both UND and UM, and love WCHA hockey. am teaching my kids to be solid team, and league fans. I transferred from ND to Minnesota in '78 just so I could follow Neal Broten. Had he gone to UND, which he almost did, I would have stayed up north and would probably be Governor by now, or at least UND President. I even rooted for the Gophers during the couple of years I was at the U of M. Great games between the Sioux and Gophers in the late 70's. Of course. Remember the 4-3 Gopher win in 1979, Detroit? Just weeks after the Sioux won a 4-2 battle in Mariucci for the League Crown? You, and most others, may, perhaps, be too young for such history. Back in the days before face masks, and one game suspensions for fighting. Remember when the Gophers got aced out of an early round NCAA game when Aaron Broten ripped the net so hard on a goal that was clearly in, but not seen by either the goal judge or the referee. It was in the old Mariucci, a great place. Game stopped for twenty minutes while the refs tried to find a hole in the net. Didn't. Play resumed, and the Gophers lost, as I recall, in OT, to some non-descript school that I can no longer recall. That was a championship year that got away from the Gophers on a freak play. How about Tim "the Rocket" Harrer. Could that guy take a slapshot, ala Brandon Bochenski 25 years later. Anyway, I cheered for the Gophers for two years, much to the dismay of my pappy. I will likely do 200-300,000 thousand years in Purgatory for doing so. C'est la vie. Now, I am a die hard Sioux fan, and will try to save as many souls as I can through my preaching. Save yourself while you still can my boy. You seem learned and bright. Come on over to the Green and White. What, pray tell, is your first recollection of the Fighting Sioux as a young lad?

Gophers had their final hurdle cleared by an average Michigan team playing at home today. Cornell has no offense. New Hampshire is New Hampshire. Gophers 4 Cornell 0 Shots ON Goal: Minnesota 52 Cornell 16 Tough medicine to swallow, but I will swallow it. The medicine that is . . . .

7>4 Now that is funny. You got it right. Great game right now between Cornell and BC. CC-Wolves next. These cauldrons, unlike the Gophers' cakewalks over the weekend, will serve the Gophers' next opponents well. Long live Engelstad, his legacy, his largesse, his love, his classy arena, and his legend. 'Nuf said. Gophers. Go wash the yellow and brown from your souls.