redwing77

You are correct, for the most part, but the league was turning into more of a defensive league (hence the talks about changing the game rules to open it up more). Players like brett Hull, who has never been known for defensive abilities, started taking tries at defensive play. The more attractive players are those who can score and play defense. That's why Sergei Federov is considered one of the premier forwards in the game. It's also one of the glowing points of strength for Zach Parise. I don't forsee Zach leading the league in scoring. He may not even lead the Devils in scoring, but he will contribute offensively and will be a strength on the ice regardless of what part of the game he finds himself in. Vanek could very well gain the defensive motivation needed to play. After all, whether he deserved it or not, he WAS drafted 5th overall. That means he's got talent. Maybe he'll figure things out after a while in the AHL and turn into a good player. Or maybe he can progress enough to warrant a try and then bring up Drew Stafford to help him with his defensive miscues. Who knows?

Lammy was great in net tonight. The post game show gave Lammy the first star, Stafford the second, and Schneider the third. Although I agree that Schneider had a great game defensively, I disagreed with their star choices. Lammy still would be at my first star selection, but I would have Genoway as second star and Stafford as third star. Yes, Drew did get the GWG (his 3rd GWG of the season), but Genoway set up BOTH goals tonight. When you set up 100 percent of your team's scoring, you have to get recognition. I also agree that Lammy should get the nod Friday at UW, but I also semi-agree with Goon in that it shouldn't be Brandt on Saturday. See how Lammy does Friday and make the decision. If things don't go Lammy's way, I'd try to get JPar back into shape. JPar did have a bad game on Friday, I'll concede to that, but I don't think he's a poor goaltender and I do still have faith in him.

sagard, with all due respect, regardless of his weight over or not, he has a lot of growing up to do. In my opinion, there is no question that he has the goods offensively, but he lacks the heart, commitment, and defensive motivation to play at the NHL level. In my mind, Vanek was the Blake Wheeler of his draft year. (EDIT: Meaning he was drafted far too high in the first round. He's still first round talent, but looking back now, I would have taken him late in the first round instead of top 5)

I agree that Parise was off last night. However, saying that Parise should not play anymore is just plain stupid. Parise flat out was the reason we split with the Gophers. Last night was the first time I got to watch the Sioux on TV and I thought they looked good and outplayed CC. They will be fine this year. Parise is a solid goalie and should stay part of the rotation. He will win a lot of games yet this year. However, I can't understand what the deal with Brandt is. The kid just goes out and wins games. I fully expect to see him in the net tonight and come up big for the Sioux. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is the first game that I can honestly say that the Sioux dominated. Yes, one unlucky rebound cost them the game in OT, but blaming JPar is far from realistic. It was an unlucky bounce off his pads as he was moving across the crease. And, no, there were no weak goals in this game. Defensive collapses, yes, but weak goals? Not really. Is JPar not the answer? Uh, if the defense leaves him out to dry too much, Lammy won't be either. Folks, let's put it this way: If Curtis McElhinney wasn't playing as well as he did tonight, we would have won like 5-2 in regulation. He literally kept the Tigers in the game. As for our passing, we started out very slow, but our passing got better entering the 2nd period. One thing is for certain: We stayed out of the box for the most part. A VERY well played game in that regard. This game was disappointing because tommorrow is now a must win situation to maintain some respectability early on. I didn't think much of the Sioux during the Saturday Gopher collapse or during parts of our weekend out east, but I think if we can just keep maintaining the pressure we did today, I think we could pull it out. And I thought Bina's scoring chance was amazing. I really wish it would have gone in. And the unbelieveable call of the game was the noncall on Petiot (#5) when he cross checked Genoway into the crossbar. It looked like a penalty to me. Other than that, there were noncalls on both sides, but Zelkin seemed a lot better than what we usually get.

GOOD GRIEF! I HATE it when they do that!!!!!! Add that to the list!

Yes, quite a really good thread. However, it is wordy

Not that we've gotten screwed on penalties all year, most of the calls were good, but with this guy calling the game, at least the prospect of bias will not be part of it. He may have been hired by Greg Sheperd, but he doesn't know him that well yet. Edit: And I agree with Forecheck. Sorry Lammy lovers, but I really think JPar hasn't done too badly. REMEMBER: Going from a rotation to a most every night starting job, especially on a whim (aka Gopher series) is TOUGH. JPar did have a rocky game on that Saturday and against BC, but that's what happens when the defense leaves you out to dry. Hey, remember why we beat Denver so much last year? I remember the first series in Denver. We scored, what, 14 goals that weekend? 90 percent of them was because their defense was busy picking their noses or humping Zach's leg to position themselves to play. You leave goalies out to dry and, I'll guarantee you, sooner or later the puck's gonna hit the twine. JPar is a legitamite (sp?) every Friday night starter barring injury, IMO. So: Fridays -- JPar Saturdays -- Lammy/Brandt Just my opinion.

Wow, a whole thread devoted to why we hate the Gophers. I hate them because they are pests and eat up my mom's garden. I also hate the Gophers because they tore up that golf course in Caddyshack. I also hate Gophers because they could be carriers of rabies. Oh yeah, they are arrogant, pig headed, snobbish, and they smell funny. I also think that stating why we hate the Gophers is a meaningless topic. We hate the Gophers, the Gophers hate us. Wow. that was hard. Folks, let's focus on our team and let's lay the series that ended two weeks ago to rest?

The bad news about Foyt is that he didn't have much affect either way on the game. The good news on Foyt is that he didn't do anything stupid either. I think Foyt is still an option as a 4th line center. He didn't do poorly.

Slightly off topic, but: Today is November 2nd. The REAL polls are open until 8pm. I suggest you take part in the ultimate poll. VOTE!

What makes you think it isn't just a knee sprain or a high ankle sprain? Both, I hear, are quite painful and lingers on over time.

Uh, you may be reading too far into Brandt's not making the trip... unless the rumor of his leg injury is false. Brandt's performance against UM was worse than JPar's, but I'm not sure things are this cut and dry. I really think, with how we've been playing, the "Whoever plays better in practice/;ast game" process will be further strengthened. Brandt isn't out of it yet unless he lets more by like the 2nd of the 3 he let in against UM.

This is exactly the case. I thought it stands for Eastern Sports Promotion Network. It's actually just basketball (especially college) with alternative programming wrapped around it. They would show more hockey if it didn't take away from such quality programming as "I'd Do Anything," "Dream Job," and the blockbuster "sport" "World Series of Poker." ESPN is just like every other network out there: Out for the ratings. Why is Shaq still in the news? Why is the Yankees getting as much or more press than the Red Sox? Why is there more commercials for Poker than there are for ANY sport combined? Ratings. It's all ratings. More population density in the area where they are from: New England (Bristol, Connecticut to be exact). Therefore, more viewership. It doesn't matter who is #1 as long as the viewership is large. That's why ESPN was at a loss a few years back when St. Louis went to the Super Bowl against the Titans. Neither team had a large market area. It was therefore some of the best sportscasting I've seen. Same thing when Oklahoma came out of nowhere a few years back to win the DIA Football title. That's what made our NC in 2000 so great. When ESPN is faced with acknowledging a superior team in a low market area, they do so only begrudgingly. Therefore, victory for those areas are 100 times sweeter. ESPN sucks. It's life, but at least we saw some highlights of hockey.

I'm inclined to agree. If you want to find fault with the officiating in the WCHA, sure you can blame the refs (which I urge everyone to do if they find adequate fault in it) but also, you should look at leadership. Why expect greatness from the refs when they are led by the one person who has needed termination for the past 5 years? If you want to get rid of the problem, get rid of the source. Fire Greg Sheppard.

Lots of pressure, nothing but flat hockey until the OT. 1 point weekend. WOW. We looked awful. I'm not sure what's going to pull this team together, I thought losing to Minny would be, but I don't see it. The Sioux have now lost 3 straight, even if today was a tie. We are, overall, 3-4 now. Does a team who is that decent deserving any kind of prestige at all? I mean, Maine must just suck because even Northeastern is keeping up with us.

We're going to tie.

OT. Do or die. If we tie or lose, no way we'll be in the top 10. The way things are going, we'll be lucky to be ranked even in January. We have NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. It doesn't look good for Hakstol. We need offensively minded coaching folks. We also need to get aggressive. Let's just get back to basic hockey. I mean BASIC hockey. No flashy or finesse crap. Just keep it simple.

All Northeastern now. Make something happen boys, or there's no way we'll win. We can't afford to tie.

Collapse complete. 3-3

Murray is done for the night. Being HELPED off to the locker room. Left leg injury.

Stafford already has an assist tonight on McMahon's goal.

Murray might be hurt Tending to the shin area. High ankle sprain? Hopefully just a minor twisted ankle...