redwing77

Well, I have never made a prediction before, but I'm going to try. Once again, the WCHA will dominate all the conferences in overall W-L record, standings, and quality of players. I think the teams to watch next season are: Minnesota, Duluth, North Dakota, and Colorado College as far as leadership in the conference and national standings are concerned. For most improved team, I'd watch the Badgers. However, I am still curious about their goaltending situation... Life without the problem child (Leavitt) and the dumb<expletive> criminal (Winchester) plus the addition of Suter and such will make them jump up to, I predict, the middle of the pack. I'd say watch out in 2004-2005. UAA will improve, but, with the quality of everyone else in the WCHA being so high, I doubt it will show in the rankings at all. St. Cloud will be the least improved, in fact, they will fail to rank at all this season. My WCHA Standings prediction next year are: #1 Minnesota #2 North Dakota (optimist) #3 Duluth #4T Colorado College #4T Mankato #5 Denver #6 Wisconsin #7T St. Cloud #7T Michigan Tech #8 Alaska - Anchorage Note: Michigan Tech could pass St Cloud if they figure out a way to add ANYTHING to Elsworth. So far, Cam's the only player on that team that is worth anything. Duluth could end up in a Tie with UND if UND doesn't get their goaltending situation resolved. Reichmuth is possibly the best underclassman goaltender in the WCHA. Definitely one of the best, perhaps second only to Montoya in the NCAA. One thing is for certain, my prediction is that there is going to nearly no daylight between #1 and #4. It's going to be tight, folks. Since I'm so new to predictions, I am not going to try to predict national rankings other than to say that the top 3 or 4 teams in the WCHA will all be represented in the top 10 nationally.

Sorry, I should clarify a few items. First, the Lammy thing. I MEANT to say that Lammy will not be coming in 2003. He will come in 2004. There is a Herald article that infers this. Second, the Sedevie thing. If I had access to the Sedevies or his girlfriend, I'd suppose my report would be a whole lot more accurate. Unfortunately, I'm not all that connected with him, so I apologize if I'm sadly mistaken, which it appears as though I am. Blais works in mysterious ways and sometimes people, such as Sedevie I'd surmise, get burned. I don't know what else to say. I can't justify Blais' actions. I can only half-a$$ attempt to guesstimate what is going on with things from an outsider's viewpoint.

First, the Lammy thing. Lammy won't be coming. If he did, Blais would not have pursued Jordan, Parise or not. If you recall, Jordan came into the picture AFTER the rumors of Lammy coming early were quashed. Second, Sedevie is an entire subthread on a thread already. Quite possibly this one. Sedevie's neck injury wasn't the only one. I heard that Sedevie turned the scholarship down upon the advice of his parents and his doctor. I don't rule out Sedevie altogether. He may walk on in 2004, you never know. All in all, after this neck injury, an injury that many said would end his career, I think his decision was prudent and wise. He recently got traded to the Lincoln Stars so we'll be sure the see what happens with him. Third, Fuhr. I'm not sure Fuhr was or is a crack addict. All I know is that he was considered to be a hall of fame goaltender. I also believe he lives somewhere in Minnesota. I know he got involved in some sort of Hockey tournement in the Twin Cities recently that commemorates the first black hockey player, though I forget his name. (Sad, no?) Fourth, Kollar. I wasn't around for the Kollar meltdown or Siembida's arrival although I had my sources of information at the time. However, Blais is not one to sit back and allow previous years' performances to rule the ice. If that was so, then Kollar's meltdown would have gone largely ignored by Blais. Also, if this were the case, Siembida would hardly be in any jeopardy to leave UND. Blais is a perfectionist obviously who wants to see instant results. As much as this is a negative remark, it can be positive. Those who know more about what it is like to be in a team sport such as hockey or basketball in high school or something like that can remark about it better than I. I do not believe that Kollar simply laid down and "died." Everything I heard screamed of problems off the ice for Andy. I've actually met the guy. He was a nice, quiet, reserved fellow (short!). He had confidence when Karl was around, but I think Karl was a safety net for him. There was never any pressure because it was always known that Karl was the number one guy. When Karl left, I really feel that Kollar collapsed. The safety net was gone. ALL the pressure came to him and he couldn't handle it. Everyone was comparing Kollar to Goehring and nothing positive came out on Kollar's side. In fact, I like to call it the "Curse of Karl." It got a lot of people including Siembida. Everyone compares our goalies to Karl. Karl could control the game by himself. When the defense was merely half on its game, the Sioux could still win. They could think more offense and not worry about defense because, when the poop hit the zamboni, Karl was always there to bail them out. Kollar came ine (and Ranfranz, Brandt, Siembida, etc.) and suddenly they need more defensive help than Karl did and BOOM! Everyone's jumping on them, myself included. Indeed, something to ponder. Enough with the ponderances. I'm getting tired of writing long posts. I'm sure you all are tired of reading them!

All I have read on this thread have been great points but I do have some thoughts to ponder. First, regarding Siembida, I wonder just how much of his poor performance is confidence related and how much of it is just plain bust. Yes, the stats are terrible for him this year, despite going 18-3 or something like that. (Pretty sure that is incorrect, but I know I'm in the ballpark). He DID get recruited by many different colleges... bust or not, that's saying something. I hope he doesn't give up hockey. Maybe he can transfer to a DIII school and do well there. If he does that, he won't even lose a year of eligibility like if he were to transfer DI schools. A Gopher goalie a few years back did that I hear and is doing well at some DIII college. Second, the "Musical goaltending." It surely did not work for us this year, but it did in 2000. It wasn't that prominent because Karl was doing so well, Andy only had to come in a few times during the season. And it paid off in the WCHA playoffs after Karl got a concussion. ALSO: I'm sure the Minnesota Wild fans will back up this style of coaching as it got them deep into the playoffs this year. Who would have known that a former bust goaltender (Giguere) would beat them out? Some people remember that Giguere was pretty much abandoned by the Hurricane organization and was even out of the NHL for a while playing in Germany. Third, I am wondering if we are doing the same thing to J. Parise and Ziegelmann that we did with Brandt and Siembida their freshman year. Are you guys sure that you are not putting all the weight of the expectations for a championship on their shoulders before they even play a game? How do we know that J. Parise is an excellent goaltender? 2.55 GAA is ok, but Brandt had a similar GAA this year and we're all beating him down. Siembida came in with a 4.00 GAA (I'm probably wrong on this too, but I couldn't honestly find his junior stats) and he was supposed to be the next Eddie the Eagle it seems. Let's not jump to any conclusions. Let's just be optimistic and sympathetic if things don't turn out the way it should. Fourth, a goaltending coach is the obvious answer to a complex problem. HOWEVER, Roger is so tight walletted with his huge profits that I am starting to worry about whether or not Blais will stay now that he doesn't have to worry about Ralph's influence anymore. Also, taking ScottM seriously, Patrick Roy would NEVER come to UND to goaltend coach. I have heard that he has a personality that makes Ralph's darker side more akin to the Teletubbies (not the purple one!) People I'd like to see helping goaltend coach would be already retired goalies such as Grant Fuhr or John Vanbiesbrouck. Maybe even Tom Barrasso (depite the fact that he went directly from high school to the NHL). Eddie would be nice, but I'm not sure how committed he'd be to UND.

I'd love to see the Morelands play for the Sioux, however, I'm willing to bet they end up in St. Cloud if not at UM or UMD. I am not sure if they would go as a package deal so to speak, but SCSU is where I'd expect.

Ah. Thanks for correcting me. I would have enjoyed seeing the Potulnys in Sioux jerseys.

Ok, Admittedly, I have never watched an All Star game outside of the NHL. I have no doubts that it is tough to get there. However, I argue that the All Star game, in the NHL anyways, is more of a showboating period of time where the game becomes nearly a joke. Dominik Hasek giving up 3 goals in a period? That's RARE regardless of the situation. If he were trying, I doubt much would have gotten by him. Also, no one blocks shots or checks hard during the All Star game because no one wants to get injured or injure another player. In other words, the All Star game, to me, is a publicity stunt. Before you all jump on me, bear in mind that this was JUST my opinion. I don't really care if you think I'm wrong. As for the Jordan Parise thing, I really don't understand this all. It's turning into a mess fast. I don't know what to believe anymore really. I know Ziegelmann is coming. I know Sedevie isn't. Otherwise, everything is confusing to me.

For me, I'd say those people who were on the checking lines (3rd and 4th line) will improve the most overall. I look for forwards such as McMahon and Prpich to improve the most. As for D Men, I am thinking that it will be Fuher and Greene that improve most visibly with an Honorable Mention to Marvin. With Hale's departure, we don't have a hard hitter on the team. Yeah, yeah, Greene hits hard, but HE CAN'T GET AWAY WITH IT. I do agree that Schneider will step up and take over the defensive, if not team, leadership, but I'm beginning to think that the gameplay that Hale brought to UND will be shouldered by three players instead of just by David. Those players? Schneider, Jones, and Smaby. Yikes, eh? Just to explain the three players, Schneider will be the leadership side that Hale vacated. Jones will be the defensive mindedness that Hale vacated. Smaby will be the size and hard hitter that Hale vacated. Why not Greene? Again, refer to my earlier statement. I believe everyone agrees that the least of UND's worries is their skaters. So let's hope I'm wrong and that the most improved player on UND is Brandt.

Hello, I keep hearing that Sedevie's scholarship has been pulled, so I think I'll go with that. I DID hear that Blais was trying to convince Lamarreaux to come early, though no word on whether or not Dean-o was successful. A disturbing thing I heard earlier on this year was that Siembida was highly recruited by many colleges. WHY? The only stats I could find concerning his juniors career was that he started an All Star game once and had a GAA of 4.00. Now, starting an All Star game is special, I'm sure, but a 4.00 GAA? Admittedly, he's done better than that at UND (3.36 GAA his freshman year and I think between 3.00 and 3.30 this year) but this is hardly a "hot" goaltender regardless of the participation in an All Star game. There has to be something that attracted everyone to him. I really want to be wrong in assuming that Blais is a great recruiter for D-Men and forwards and just crumby for goaltenders, so someone prove me wrong! (Yes, I was here for Karl and I worship the dude.) As for Marc Ranfranz leaving UND, that sucks. Ranfranz never got a true shot. He wasn't that bad this year. If he had finished all the games he started, I'm sure his save percentage would be as good or better than Brandt's. Sofie is an enigma. Since I can't play hockey (yeah, I suck), I can only talk about what I would feel in his shoes if I could. If I could, I would NEVER have come to UND unless guaranteed a slot. D III and a playing slot is better than D I without a playing slot, IMO. That being said, maybe Sofie wanted to be like Mr. Engelstad. After all, Ralph didn't play much for UND when he attended here. His nubmers and playing time I think are very similar.

Ok folks, Not sure if everyone has heard this, but the officiating for the WCHA COULD change in the near future! According to a source who works directly with the WCHA heads, the WCHA is talking to the NHL about having the WCHA as a "farm system" for the NHL's referees. I am not sure what this means for existing officials, though I hope that a certain few of them are handed a beautiful pink slip and the Herald's classified section. I figure with this method, good refs like Campion will become more common and poor officiating less so. One can only hope!

Hello all, Just responding to the whole Ryan and Grant Potulny thing. I heard that it was a similar case with the Potulnys and Minnesota as it is with Phillippe Lamareaux (sp?) and UND. I believe Ryan and Grant's father or close relative played for the Gophers. So, it is more like "Like Father like Sons" I suppose. I need clarification then on this whole drafting and NCAA eligibility thing. If Parise enters the draft this year that means he forfeits his NCAA Eligibility? I don't understand the system, sorry.