redwing77

I heard an interesting story. Wahpeton and Grand Forks paid money for flood levee stuff (the words escape me). Fargo tried but was defeated by a bunch of homeowners who didn't want it passing through their property. Is it ok for me, on behalf of my parents who still live in Fargo, to laugh at those bozos if their houses flood? Seriously, though, I wonder how much trouble Fargo would really be in had those flood prevention measures been built.

I don't have all the permutations laid out, but the highest I've been able to get Minnesota is 13 and the lowest is 15/15t Deleted the other stuff because sagard's post on the pairwise thread made what I said incorrect. Apparently there is a scenario or more that eliminates the Gophers, but I haven't found the permutation yet.

Hey, how bout this fact: The Game Winner was scored SHORTHANDED. Yeah, if that doesn't spell suck for PP, I don't know what does.

Erik Haula is from Pori, Finland. And he's got a great scouting report and good size for a winger 6'1 or so. Something tells me he's going to be good.

What do you all think about the Hawks? Do you think they'll remain #4 in the standings? What about their playoff chances (meaning how well do you think they'll do in the playoffs. I'm pretty sure they'll make the playoffs)? Quite honestly, I think they're still very young and they are lacking in goal. Heh... a younger version of the Red Wings. The only difference is that Osgood has his name on the Cup 3 times. And he was dominant last year. Now he sucks hardcore. Hell, even Turco has recovered to a point of being somewhat respectable. Osgood still blows chunks. Conklin isn't meant to be the go-to Goalie. He's, imo, become one of the premier backup goaltenders in the NHL, but that's about it. He's very reliable in relief and to give a #1 a day or two off, but not in the capacity Detroit is reliant upon him for. Oh well, I say give Osgood Game 1 of the playoffs and if Detroit wins and Osgood gives up 3 or less goals, let Osgood play game 2. Then reevaluate. When Osgood gives up 4 or more goals and/or loses a game, put Conklin in.

I think the regular season thing is interesting but the FF stuff is irrelevant. What's the difference between losing a game by 1 goal in OT and losing by 12 in regulation? It may be a question of competitiveness, sure, but in the end they are both losses. I'm a Hakstol supporter and I firmly believe that one of these times HAS to work. I don't know if this is the year, but I know that he'll win one if we allow him to stick around long enough. But the FF numbers are stupid, imo. I don't care if we lost by 1 or by 5, we still lost. As for what others are saying about this team, I couldn't agree more about this Sioux team. In some ways it is a lot like the 1995 NJ Devils team or (using a different sport as a comparison) this year's Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sure, the Devs had Brodeur in 95, but there wasn't any truly elite players on that team. Good ones, yes. Great ones? Not really. This year's Sioux team's main asset is balance. We don't have a top tier scorer like Oshie, Toews, Zajac, Parise, etc (Duncan is the closest we get as it is too early to tell with our freshmen). We do have a balance from top to bottom.

I don't know if we ever looked at him, but Erik Haula (SSM by way of Finland) committed to Minny. An interesting thing considering the nutjob who proposed the xenophobic bill discussed else-thread.

Do you know which Russian kid? I'm curious now.

Kangas is one of the best goaltenders in the country. He's better than every backup goaltender in DI, every goaltender in DII/DIII, every Canadian University goaltender, most of the goaltenders in the ECACHL, all of the goaltenders in the CHA and perhaps the AHA (Air Force might be the only exception), every goaltender in junior B, and every adult beer league. So... I can see their point. As for keys for UND: 1. No standing around. Play hard, play physical, and get off shots will produce victories. 2. Stay out of the box. Seriously, our PK took a nosedive this weekend. That means we must stay out of the box or we'll see our Final Five end early. 3. Stay fundamentally sound. This is hard when the ice conditions suck, but when we go up against finesse passing teams like Minny, we need to be crisp. 4. Keep to our game. Maddenistic key: ** Keep the other team's scoring chances to a minimum. If they get more chances to score than we do, they may end up winning the game **

I still don't know what to think about Fink. All I have are stats and, statistically speaking, Fink isn't really doing well. I DOUBT stats tell the tale, but what is the story? Apart from injuries, Fink hasn't really done much at all in the USHL.

It's because they're always on the ice at the right time. Just like why Finley's +/- was so high his first two years.

I agree. I used to give "grades" after every weekend series but I stopped because it didn't prove anything. But yeah, if I were I'd say the Sioux PK earned 2009's first F grade. Simply outstandingly bad. And no, I don't care what the circumstances or bounces were like. Those were some atrocious PKs.

I think Minny squeaks into the Final Five. I think SCSU will be the one that chokes away a lead either today or tomorrow. I thought UAA could have won that game. Did they sit back with the lead? If they did, that's why. You never sit back on a team that is better than you when you have a lead. You stay aggressive and try to run up the score.

Though I HIGHLY DOUBT a high scoring blowout like our regular season matchup again if we were to face Minny at the X and though Minny has had our number there as of late, I'd still take them on this year. They don't have the defense to contain us if they play the kind of game they've played in 2009 so far. Their offense is still potent and cannot be ignored, but I don't see them being able to contain us if we can play our game. Seriously, these past two years saw the Gophers have some of the worst defensive play that I can remember.

I've answered this question what... 3 times already here in different threads? Here's the 4th: NO, it's not racist. NAs are incapable of racism. Only the White Man can be racist. When NA people speak out against other NAs, they're criticizing faults. When NAs speak out against White Man, they're simply voicing their frustration at what the White Man has forced them to become. They can do no wrong. They are completely without fault because they are what we made them. Come to think of it... I really should start a campaign to censure Germany, Spain, Russia, and a few other countries and demand reparation to all Jews around the world for their keeping the Jewish people down. That way I can go around calling all the Christians "Satan's Army" and do whatever I want to you all because of what Christians have done to the Jews over the past millennia. No... that sounds pathetic. Oh well, at least you know Longie's position now.

I'm not sure Kane is as much overrated as somewhat overhyped for aspects of his game that just aren't a part of it. I don't see Kane as anything but a scorer really. He's less of a defensive liability than Ovechkin or Malkin but not quite as gifted a scorer. In my opinion, I think Kane is a Vanek type player. Looking now at him, is he a #1 overall pick? Well.... certainly still a top 5. He's not going to wow people like Ovechkin nor is he going to have the media drooling over him like Crosby.

Who would give them a player that could end up being their missing piece? Besides, not a whole lot of good goaltenders on the block. It's a loss basically. Too bad. This is an amazing offense and incredible PP.

Especially the Fink one. That and the one on Bruneteau. Unless I misread your post, Bud, Bruneteau had a big impact in the 3rd period but didn't play all that much in it. Kinda contradictory.

How does Schroeder compare to Okposo (freshman year) now that most of Schroeder's freshman year is over?

I'll say it again. The UMD/CC and SCSU/UMN series could go either way without too much surprise, IMO. All others would have clear cut favorites/upset possibilities. You all know that I would watch UND games over all else, but I think the UMD and UMN series have the largest potential to be out and out entertaining games.

Despite the fact that MTU plays a defensive style that has given this same UND team fits?

That's a lot of tough games. UND vs. Notre Dame would be a very tough game. Michigan and DU, imo, have just about the easiest track to the Frozen Four. DU has a slightly harder track. I don't see Vermont or Princeton giving Michigan too hard of a time. It would be an awful lot of fun once again helping turn Miami into the SCSU of the CCHA.

Gopherz- Hmmm... I think UMD/CC will be the closest series. I also think that no one sweeps at Mariucci. Both the Gophers and the Huskies have been playing awful hockey as of late. Both rely a lot on very few (Lasch and Roe for SCSU, Stoa and Schroeder for UMN). Both goaltenders are playing well below their potential and both defenses had have a lot of trouble remembering that they are playing to win. UMN will win in 3, but I wouldn't be surprised if SCSU pulled off the series either. It's really going to amount to which D and goaltender plays better than the other.

IIRC the Jackets were floundering a bit offensively... or maybe that's the Preds. Who cares. The Wild have zero offense and they still dropped 5 on my wings. As a Red Wing fan I have to say..... it is unbelievable. We have one of the, if not the, best offenses in the NHL and on the other side, we have one of the worst defenses and goaltending in the NHL. Simply amazing. Can't blame Babcock. Can't really blame the forwards either. Other than the game against the Jackets, Lidstrom did a good job even in the losses. Rafalski has been Jekyl and Hyde all season long. Osgood has been flat out awful. Conklin has done well since he's playing a role far greater than he is capable of doing. It's like we're back to the days of Cheveldae. With Osgood's play this year, can you honestly believe that his name is on the Stanley Cup 3 times? Incredible. If this year were his norm, he'd be in Europe or an AHL goaltender tops. I was ecstatic when the Wings picked up Hossa. Now I'm disappointed that Hossa had to rejoin the Pens if they wore different jerseys.

Beats what my Wings have done lately. They made the Wild, Preds, and now Columbus look like offensive juggernauts. That's ok, really, the Wings aren't going to win the Cup this year anyways. Man... it's like a Sioux fan watching Siembida all over again. Osgood is sooooooooooooooo ridiculously bad this year. And their D.... good gravy. Red Wings are cursed with Minnesota Gopher D this year.