redwing77

Sometimes I wonder if it would be nicer if Ticketbastard would run the REA box office. Sure, you'll pay a lot more for those tickets, but at least you won't be standing in lines for over an hour while only half of the windows are open to serve the 50+ people waiting. I've remembered going to a WOMEN'S hockey game, waiting in line for tickets. Yeah, I got there an hour before the game started and, thanks to my earliness, I only missed the first half of the player intros by the time I got into the arena. The best part of it was that I was in line to get one of those free tickets because I was a student. I don't know if they still do this at the womens games, but the one I went to I believe was the home opener against UConn last year.

I agree! For once they've taken off the blinders and started screwing everyone and not just the students.

Actually, I doubt he'd come back to St. Cloud. His charges were in Cali right? If so, he'd probably spend time in the penal system there. Then he can work on his auto mechanic degree through Cali Crappie Tech and go screw off somewhere.

Hey! The good news is that there's this former St Lous Blue player who can cell up with him. It will be like hockey camp in prison! Talk about throwing it all away. Looks like Dahl made a good move. Seriously now, hopefully Conboy gets help then goes back to college to get a degree, because it's now highly unlikely that he'll make any NHL team now.

Yes, Bristol, CT in fact. However, I value a channel that values all sports, giving equal time to all teams with the distinction of being #1. They gave the 'Canes time, OK time, whomever was basketball's #1 time, Lakers way too much time, Yanks and BoSox time.... yet they don't have the time for the #1 DI hockey team, whomever it is, provided the team isn't located in New England. That's why I will wait and see with this ESPNU if it is anything more than another vehicle for Eastern Sports Promotion and even more basketball.

Actually, UW also lost McMurchy... at least temporarily due to legal issues. Maybe he pulled a Brand Winchester (Brad allegedly punched a police officer in a bar brawl, IIRC). Anyways, They are a young resourceful team with a great coaching staff. They will contend, but perhaps Suter's departure may have put the NCAA berth off for a year. That's not good for Bruckler. Let's hope their goaltender that takes over for Bernd is as good.

Tough loss for UW. It's going to be interesting how this affects their team defense. I doubt it will make things better for them, Suter doesn't have the history that Vanek has or even Bo or Parise. However, looking at Nashville, I wonder why. It wasn't like this was his only shot to crack the Nashville lineup. I mean, they stink! He could stay four years and he'd still have a slot waiting for him. In any case, $$$$ strikes again. T-minus 7 days until the season ends unofficially. PS. What's wrong with loving BMWs? I wish I could afford one.

Absolutely! You'll get to see more DI and add in DII and DIII basketball. PLUS, get this, big time prep hisgh school basketball!!! There will be the occasional bone thrown out to the lesser DIA and DIAA football games and perhaps DI baseball, but I expect DI hockey to be kept at a relatively uncommon occurrance outside of the playoffs or HEA on this network. Remember, ESPN stands for Eastern Sports Promotion Network.

I agree. UW is young. REALLY young, but exceptionally talented. Earl is a great player but he isn't a Vanek or Parise. Suter is probably the best young defenseman in the WCHA, possibly the NCAA. However, they are still too young. Bernd is a great goaltender when he gets in the zone in the net. If you rock him early, he's done. He had a great season last year, I won't deny him that, but his previous years were nothing to write home about. The big question is which Bruckler shows up this season. If last season's Bruckler shows up, they will be close to UND for #1. If not, they will be contending for the #3 spot behind UMD or UMinn

2. UW 3. Minny 4. UMD 5. CC 6. Denver 7. SCSU 8. Da Tech 9. MSUM 10. UAA I agree with a lot of what jloos says, but I don't see it happening quite that way for Tech. Unlike UAA, Tech was able to retain some of their star players, but MSUM and UAA lost a lot this off season. SCSU still doesn't have it down the stretch, but I'd expect them to start strong. UMD does a LOT with relatively little up front, so I think they could give Minny a run for their money for the #3 spot. I believe the top five slots are going to be tight this year. Tighter than last year. UW is #2 by their potential. Bruckler had a great year last year but the year before wasn't so good. If he can keep up his numbers, he'll give the Badgers a chance to make a strong run against the Sioux. Denver has simply lost too much to truly contend, but even so, Gauther and Statsny (who could walk away with WCHA ROTY honors) should keep them afloat. Remember that Berkhoel stunk the first half of the season last year and they won the NC. The sorry loser goes to UAA. I don't know how Hill is going to keep his job after this season, but I hope he does. UAA coaching is like coaching the Bengals or the Devil Rays. There really is no great way to win with this team. Yes, Hill did recruit these guys, but junior performance doesn't always equate to NCAA production. Plus, the location of the school has a detrimental effect on recruiting.

PCM?

SOme spark? They could use a defibulator on offense! Esche can only stop so many shots. I will say this right now: Without Esche, the US wouldn't even have a chance. He is by FAR the best player on the roster.

Yup. exactly. It's one thing to address issues, it's another entirely to have it come to fruition. I don't believe that 90 percent of the WCHA officials are competant enough to integrate this fully. The refs need consistancy and the ability to actually control the game without calling 20 penalties a game. I do not see this as attainable in the short run. It is hardly forseeable with the current set of refs even in the long run.

Travis Zajac (F) - Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)- Selected #20 overall in the 1st round of the 2004 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils. He plays on the wing. I believe he was among the leading scorers from the BCHL and one of the finalists for BCHL MVP. Rylan Kaip (F) - Notre Dame (SJHL) - This player is touted to be much like Rory McMahon. He was a 9th round draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers (or one of the other expansion teams). Ratislov Spirko (F) - Tri City (USHL) - This short, but skilled winger is one of the fastest in the USHL this past year and has been on two World Junior CHampionship teams for his country (either Czech or Slovakian, I can't remember). He's been a USHL All star at least once. Kyle Radke (D) - Grande Prairie (AJHL) - Offensive defenseman was surprisingly passed over in the 2004 NHL draft after being projected as a 5th or 6th rounder in some scouting reports. This AJHL Defensive player of the year has a highly touted shot from the point and is very good defensively. Phillippe Lamareaux (sp?) (G) - Lincoln (USHL): Short, aggressive, and skilled, this goaltender is the ranking USHL Goaltender of the Year. That's most of what I know. I'm sure what I missed will be be added and what I've gotten incorrect will be corrected.

I hate being critical of the US WOrld Cup team, but where's the offense? I saw for certain that there are probably no finer teams in the World Cup besides Canada and the US in the field of defensive ability, but Canada has offense. I'd hate to think that the US won't compete for first or second place, but if they don't find a way to score, I'm not sure if the US can place. That being said, where the hell did Esche come from? Before last season, I thought he was just another overrated goaltender on the Coyotes. He gets traded to Philadelphia and does no better, then this past season, wham-o, among the top. Sorry to be critical again, but without Esche, I doubt the US would have a win in the world cup, exhibitions included.

I don't think the Gophers will be cellar dwellers unless several things happen: 1. Briggs gets injured in such a manner that he would miss a substantial part of the season. There is no depth in the nets in Gopherville. 2. A good portion of their 'veteran' players do not perform to previous levels of play, or are plagued by injury. I argue that, though it isn't as bad as their goaltender situation, the Gophers have very little in depth at forward and almost no depth at defense. 3. Fate. Every now and then a good team gets faced with bad luck. I'm not much to believe in fate or bad luck, but it's hard to explain how a talented team can lose a game against inferior opponents. Briggs isn't as bad as everyone claims he is. I will say that again and again. I just think that the pressure will be much greater than what was placed on Siembida when he arrived in Grand Forks. I mean, if you had someone backing you up who performed as "well" as JJ did last season, would you feel stress free if you got injured or tried just that much harder or took a hit? Gophers beware: If Briggs gets hit (intentionally or otherwise), pray he doesn't get injured. Your playoff lives may depend on it.

I believe the US had more shots, but I can't remember what the number was. I hate to say it, but Canada was, by far, the better team on the ice. It's a testiment to the US's goaltender (Esche) and their defense that the game ended 2-1. The US's offensive were nothing more than dump it into the Canadian zone for the Canadians to pick up and clear, it seemed. There were a few shots on goal, but most were weak and easily saved. Looking at this game, even if it was an early game, I suspect Canada will win the tourny. Brodeur is stellar in the nets and their offensive talent was far superior to US.

Let them make fun of the MIll burning down. It shows how much class they have. And that much class is all we expect of them. However, what we CAN do is mock them for their first game. After all, they mocked us for bringing in Crookston and they brought in Valpo, a team who is nearly as worthless in DIAA as UMC is in DII. We brought in a (formerly) nationally ranked team in Delta State. Shows like we wanted to start off with a challenge, not an easy coaster akin to whomever plays against the 49ers

I agree. I think only two drives the entire game featured runs for less than 3 yards. Roland finished with 180 alone! However, I will question a lot of things on the field, but I will not question Lennon's coaching style. The man is 'the man.' Especially now that Blais is gone, he's the man all around. Hakstol is a good guy, but only Blais could compete in the name recognition bracket with Lennon. I met the Coach and I can say that the guy is one Grade AAA class act. Real nice guy. I was serving as a tour guide for a bunch of prospective football players (don't know exactly who they were or whether or not they were being recruited or were actually freshmen), but I was definitely being paid to be a fly on the wall until told to do my job. Instead, he stood outside the door with me and the other two tour guides and talked with us. Quality guy.

My perspective is that it came down to 5 plays. First play was the incomplete that was ruled a completion in the first quarter. If the linesman had been awake, he would have realized the error and made the right call. Delta Stat 3-0. The second was Bowencamp's first INT. On this INT, I didn't even see his intended reciever. It's almost as if he was trying to throw the ball away and simply made a completion to the opposing player. That being said, I'm sure there was a reciever somewhere around, but I missed him. The third was probably the worst call I've ever witnessed in a football setting. The punted ball bounced off of the helmet of the Delta State player and it was not ruled dead. I admit not knowing the rules as well as I should, but shouldn't that be the end of the play? Needless to say the Sioux were penalized on the play. The fourth play was the pass interference call that eventually (I think it was the next play) resulted in the second Delta State TD. I didn't see a penalty at all. I don't think there was one to call. Officials really did a poor job today. The final play was Bowencamp's second INT. The only difference between this one and his first one is that I actually saw his intended reciever. This INT was a poor decision on Bowenkamp that resulted in an opportunistic INT for Delta State. Overall, the first half was good, the second half was awful. Digger and #4 were the reasons why we didn't lose the game. Yes, I think Delta could have won it. What should come of this game? Well, John needs to work on decision making under pressure (not sure how he can work on this) and Lennon needs to file a complaint with the NCC for the head official's conduct during the game. Last but not least a few general comments: Alerus opened up its arms in grand style sending a clear message to returning students: You want the seats, you maintain them. The seats around us as well as our seats at the game (Row H or so at the 50 yard line) were covered in dust and dirt. I am unsure if this was what it was like all over the student section and if this also included the general public's section. Any bets that the public's side wasn't dirty at all? Another comment is that they either need to look into the ref's mic or they need to train their sound man. The ref could hardly be heard and when he was, only the second half of his call was audible. As for the band, thank god they didn't play Soak in the Sun... the problem is, they played the Blues Brothers. Oh yeah, as for the 5th quarter concert: It's not worth it. It's basically a replay of the halftime show. All 10 of us who stayed to listen to it were dissapointed.

Thanks Diggler!

Wow, did this backfire. Sorry all.

Ok, I know this is a year away but it is never too soon to think of goaltenders to recruit to replace Ziggy's spot. There are two options: 1. Take a walk on. Next year, JPar will be a junior and Lammy a sophomore. That's a young staff all things considered. 2. Recruit a goaltender for his sophomore year above his freshman year. That being said, I think, if Hakstol opts for #2, he should look at Jimmy Spratt of Sioux City. If UND were to recruit and land Spratt, he will be the first goaltender since Kvalovog to be drafted in the NHL. He would be an older recruit (like Lammy is this year), but he could turn into a quality goalie, or he could go the way of Toby. Here is Spratt's writeup in Hockeysfuture.com I could see both options being considered.

I have a lot of questions regarding this. I have no problem getting in a group, but I do work from 8am to 3:30pm on Friday, so I couldn't possibly get in line until then. Does that make me ineligible to be in that group? Are these four people all the people that you are getting tickets for? Clarification: Last year we could get a ticket for a friend. Does this friend constitute a spot on the team? Does everyone have to be present on Friday, September 3rd to pick up the card or can you send a proxy with your info to fill out the card? Does the order in which you get the card on the 3rd determine where you are in line?

This whole goaltender debate is an interesting and perplexing argument to me. The goaltender that got most of our ire is gone (Siembida). This year we had a disappointing Final Five game and a heartbreaker in Colorado, but otherwise we did well. Why did we do so well? Because we had goaltending, defensive, and offensive depth on top of talent. Brandt and JPar constantly fought for starting time and, at the same time, provided an excellent back up plan if things go south. This isn't going to change. In fact, it's an advantage only few teams in the WCHA have (CC, UMD, and UW are the only ones in the top tier who can boast this besides us). Most notably, the Gophers do NOT have this as an advantage. We all saw what JJ can do between the pipes . End point is: Let's worry about the clutch offense and the special teams and stop worrying about our defense. Our defense hasn't changed, it's only gotten better this season. Let's put this debate to bed.