kiork

I, too made the trip to Madison. It is my favorite road trip to make, Frozen Four aside. I have some responses for a lot of things mentioned in the thread, so I'll just go shotgun. Sorry for the long post, but throw me a bone for personal road trip experience. 1. I heard the buzzer on the Saturday Parise no-goal and I heard it before I saw the puck in the net. I'm not saying people in other parts of the arena are morons for not hearing it, but my buddies and I figured that the refs would (and should) waive it off. I'd rather see head referees willing to listen to AR consultation than refs that are needlessly stubborn about changing a call even though they're not positive what happened. I imagine their little conferences involve weighing how sure each was about what they saw. Maybe Schmidt never heard a buzzer, in which case the best they can do at that point is talk it over. I was on the opposite end of the ice, so it's possible that the puck was in the net before I saw it there; somebody said that TV replays showed that the goal was in time. My biggest contribution to the discussion is that there was a buzzer. 2. No team aims to be outshot, but a strategy can be to force long-range shots, even if the consequence is that a few more shots are fired. I'm not saying that happened, but you have to allow that it's a real strategy. Unfortunately for Jordan Parise, his three goals were all shot from inside the triangle between the dots and the top of the slot. 3. From my experience, the UW students and general fans have no equal in crowd atmosphere and participation. Fedorov, creativity (meaning to new cheers more often than every three years) and entire-crowd-participation don't happen at the same time. Similarly, sieve chants that involve saying it more than once per second cannot get entire crowd participation due to the distance across the arena. Finally, you know darn well that the REA crowd (old and new Ralph) still hasn't figured out the hand pass nuance, and we do sieve an ENG. The first one is still getting better (the rule must be eight years old now), and the second one is a natural reaction when drunk with a victory-sealing ENG. 4. In Madison, the opposing goalie is called a sieve--by the entire crowd in unison--at various times starting with team introductions. It's just crowd involvement and a head game--not a scientific conclusion--and I think it's intimidating and frankly awesome. 5. The best part about the Bina head-over-heels check was the UW crowd hadn't stopped cheering for it when his pass resulted in a goal. Unfortunately, he didn't even get an assist because too many other Sioux players touched it after him. 6. Madison seems to be by far the worst place where people say, "Sioux sucks." If a response is worthwhile, I inform them, "Sioux is plural." 7. jloos, as somebody said, UND has a lot more student seats than UW. My impression is that most student fans buy Friday-only or Saturday-only season tickets. Also, UW students are allowed to stand the entire game because they didn't choose seats that obstruct other fans. Personally, I'd rather stand in the end zone than sit at center ice. I'll leave it at that since this topic is hotter than abortion. 8. UW non-student fans are insanely jealous that we can drink in our arena. UW Blue Line Club members can go into the bowels of the building and have a drink in the "club room," which is about as nice a place as the beer garden at the Alerus. 9. From my vantage, I didn't think the Sioux fans in Madison were any more quiet than normal. ...when the team was playing well, anyway. We didn't have much to crow about for half of the minutes. 10. Thank you huskies679 for mentioning the UW Alma Matter, now it's in my head. It's hard to hate it. 11. I encourage each of you to make a road trip to Madison sometime. REA is a great crowd, but I have to admit that Madison is in the next level of crowd participation and having a good ole time--even when their team is not. Maybe next year I'll go dance with the students in the aisles during intermissions.

The REA Pro Shop has magnetic schedules. I picked one up on Saturday and noticed that the Concordia game is actually Concordia of Montreal (as opposed to Moorhead). Borrowed from www.concordia.ca: My first impression is that it looks regal. There are no references to athletics on their main page. I found it interesting that, in addition to women's hockey, they also have women's rugby. Perhaps that wouldn't be surprising to people who follow rugby. Back to the subject: Last season, the Concordia men (9-13-2) finished last in their division of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport league. The CIS standings contain an amazing range of talent: One school finished 24-0-0 while two others combined for three wins. I, for one, am pleased that it is Concordia of Montreal rather than Moorhead. For further research: http://web2.concordia.ca/Rec_Ath/

The per capita difference would be twice as much if I had actually included Milwaukee. Like many in Fargo, I drive the same distance for Sioux home games as those brewers would. My mistake on Madison/Dane County. I merely did a quick Google search to find census info and didn't look close enough. It even struck me as unusual that both Madison and Grand Forks were the city/county names. jimdahl hits it on the head when he says that UND has built a quality product--on and around the ice. Like in Madison, people don't show up because they're bored; they show up because it's a fun place to be. (I like his first paragraph, too.) While few can compete when North Dakotans play the per capita card (e.g. most highway lane-miles, most golf courses, etc.), it is nonetheless worth noting that a significant portion of the populous is attending. If only one in 40 felt the desire to attend, it'd be pretty empty. It's just fun with numbers in the summer. My last question (rhetorical): how many of those 11,431 fans could see the entire ice?

Not really trying for one-upsmanship, just fun with numbers. Madison County, population 406,000 (not to mention 2 mil in Milwaukee) Grand Forks County, population 64,000 (not to mention 0.15 mil in Fargo) (North Dakota, population 634,000) 11,431 fans per capita by county: 0.028 Madison 0.179 Grand Forks (over six times!) In order to match the per capita, UW would need 72,600 average fan attendance! I enjoyed a similar "per capita for fun" discussion showing how ND had more in-state boys per capita (5 at the time) than Minnesota did, back when they were 100%.

Stick curvature: A slap shot is not a one-time impact like a baseball hitting a bat. Rather, the puck is flung off of the stick toe like a wrist shot. Watch for this when you see slow motion replays. Bigger nets: For some time, there has been some talk in soccer about widening the nets to increase scoring. However, even if everybody agreed that this was necessary, the logistics of replacing goal frames all across the world is relatively astronomical. In hockey, the NHL could conceivably choose to make their nets a different size from other levels of hockey. However, they have more options than soccer does with huge goalie pads and restrictive rules like the two-line pass. On a slightly different tangent: I don't understand how debate can rage whether a goalie's pads are legal. Is it so hard for an official to measure? They use the same pads all game--it is unlike sticks which are swapped at will. Yet, teams hint that an opponent is cheating and the goalie insists that his pads are legal. Personally, I would like to see slightly narrower goalie equipment than we see today. Either that, or a 5' goalie tether.

I just wanted to be the first person to post on Siouxsports.com from Japan. Obligitory hockey content: From reading about the game, I think it sounds like this game was representative of the season. I look forward to another year already. How many days away?

sprig, I disagree about playing Denver three times being better than two. The third game does help the Opponents' Winning Percentage portion of RPI, but the damage done to our winning percentage hurts more. The RPI would be about 0.0030 points higher had the Sioux won in two. The extra loss also makes a difference in COp and TUC. jk, you want RPI? I've got your RPI right here, pal. I'm not a PWR expert, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently. Updated Pairwise Rankings 5. Maine 5. Ferris St. 7. Minnesota 8. BC 9. University of North Dakota 9. Michigan 11. MSU-M 12. Ohio St. 13. Harvard 14. Mich. St. 15. SCSU 15. Providence As you all know, because the CHA and MAAC champions will not be in the top 16, only the top 14 in the PWR can advance. If the ECAC, CCHA and/or WCHA are won by teams not in the top 14, #14 and possibly #13 and #12 are left out, too. UNH already won the HE tournament. Potential spoilers include CCHA: Northern Mich, Notre Dame; WCHA: Duluth; ECAC: Brown, Dartmouth How does UND stand against the bubble contenders? First, let's look at the RPI, the most powerful part of the PWR. Because it is the tiebreaker in PWR comparisons, if you win RPI, you almost always win the PWR comparison. These are my estimates of UND's RPI after the Final Five. The last column includes our Final Five record and who the opponents were (scenarios such as "beat CC and lose to UM" result in the same RPI as "lose to CC and beat UM"). UND WinPer OPer RPI Final 5 Results 0.6951 0.5183 0.5637 (Today) 0.6786 0.5197 0.5602 0-1 UMD 0.6705 0.5293 0.5630 1-2 UMD, CC, MSU 0.6705 0.5298 0.5632 1-2 UMD, CC, UM 0.6932 0.5293 0.5687 2-1 UMD, CC, MSU 0.6932 0.5298 0.5689 2-1 UMD, CC, UM 0.7159 0.5293 0.5744 3-0 UMD, CC, MSU 0.7159 0.5298 0.5746 3-0 UMD, CC, UM When inserting these numbers into today's RPI rankings, the Sioux could rise one spot to 8th (earning a #2 seed) or fall only as far as 10th. If MSU-M, Ohio St. or Harvard have great tournaments, their RPI could overtake a weak performance by the Sioux. Here are some estimates of RPI: CC 0.5931 Today's RPI 0.5870 0-2 UND, MSU Minnesota 0.5840 Today's RPI 0.5920 2-0 MSU, CC 0.5859 1-1 MSU, CC 0.5785 0-2 MSU, UND MSU-M 0.5596 Today's RPI 0.5692 2-0 UM, CC 0.5630 1-1 UM, CC 0.5569 0-2 UM, UND Ohio St. 0.5528 Today's RPI 0.5643 3-0 NotreDame, Mich, Ferris 0.5584 2-1 NotreDame, Mich, Ferris Harvard 0.5543 Today's RPI 0.5656 2-0 Dartmouth, Cornell 0.5581 1-1 Dartmouth, Cornell Today's PWR comparison summary -Minn: A 0-2 Gopher weekend and 2-1 Sioux record with a head-to-head Sioux victory over the Gophs isn't enough for RPI but is just enough to steal the PWR comparison with TUC, COp and H2H. -BC cannot be caught by UND -Michigan can only be held off through RPI, and they are just .0031 behind right now. I haven't done the numbers, but a 2-1 Sioux weekend probably won't be enough if Michigan goes 2-0. -MSU-M: If the Sioux meet MSU-M, the winner will likely end up on top in PWR, too. If not, you can determine the winner with the RPI tables above. -Ohio St. could give UND a run if they can beat Notre Dame and Michigan. -Harvard also has the opportunity to move up UND doesn't perform -Michigan St. could have an outside chance--I haven't bothered with the numbers. -Providence gets a footnote because they currently steal the comparison from UND. A victory over Mankato or a 2-1 performance (to win TUC) will get that comparison point back. Sorry if I used too much PWR terminology. Feel free to write me with questions or go to USCHO and study. I will be out of the country from March 20-31. The bottom line is that there isn't too much room to go up, but a lot of teams are at the heels of the Sioux. All of these statistical exercises are fun and all... but just win the games. Just win the games.

One could field a team of all left-handers and they, too, wouldn't get my sympathy when they don't win championships. It's not my fault if they handcuffed themselves by prefering tradition over sound recruiting strategy.

I was excited to see pantherfan's question about one of my favorite three players, then disappointed to see everybody beat me to the answer! The observations appear very consistent. Nonetheless, I have this weird urge to readdress the question. Like others, I was astounded and a little scared by his PIM last year (4.19 per game, I heard). However, he has proven to have a very cool head. After the whistle, he sometimes takes pushes to the face with his arms at his side--unfortunately, hasn't been rewarded by the refs for that yet. He seems to get under the skin because he isn't visibly chippy but guys always seem frustrated with him. On replays, he's always got a big grin while mucking it up. When Bayda's name came up near the end of the thread, it ocurred to me that his resemblance to Bayda is becoming more than just the sweater number 19. I think he has the potential to work and score like Bayda, but has more character and speed. I agree with captain predictions, and I think he will be a double-digit goal-scorer soon, too. pantherfan, I'm guessing you got the answer you wanted.

Looks like there may be a market for a new satellite package: NHL Sioux Center Ice

I was at the game, and got to watch our tape afterwards, so here's my take on the two goals-against: First goal: Shorthanded, The puck lands in front of Greene right in front of the net and he quickly slaps at it to try to lift it out of the zone. He only got some of it, UW guy basically on the dot knocks it down and has an open shot. The shot was actually 1' off the ground, centered on the net. Unfortunately, it hits a UND defenseman's shin and skips to the left, over Marc's right arm (he's down in the butterfly). In describing the second goal, I'll make a body language transcription: (Greene goes behind the net, to his right, and gets some forecheck pressure, so he scoots it along the boards to Jones, on the left side. Jones tries to stop it with the skate and the puck shoots out to the high slot where a crashing UW player picks it up.) Ranfranz (peeking over left shoulder): What are you going to do with the puck back there? Jones (looking down at skates): I think it's down here, under my skates somewhere. Wait, no, I don't have it. Where is it? Ranfranz: You don't have it? Where is it (looks up ice to see UW puck-carrier coming in) Holy smokes! Ranfranz managed to get square to the shooter, but barely had his stick down and was not at all able to move forward to cut down the angle. One really doesn't expect your defenseman to center the puck. We couldn't believe that Dean pulled him then. We talked ourselves into thinking it was a message to the team rather than a critique on the goaltending. After Brandt's scoreless play, he's certainly the starter tonight. Giddyup!

I think I would rather play the Sioux play any team that doesn't have Dubielewicz.

PCM didn't give any hint of joking, so I'll assume he may have been serious, and offer my knowledge. I was at the jersey retirement of NHLer Dennis Savard. During the ceremony and scoreboard video of highlights, he was credited with inventing the spin-o-rama (and he was damn good at it on 1-on-1 breaks). It was explained as something he came up with when he was young, and he brought it to the NHL. I can't find any confirming evidence on the Web, perhaps it's in my NHL encyclopedia at home. Nonetheless, it's at least a 20-year-old hockey phrase. Obligitory thread topic content: Heartfelt thanks to all three seniors. It seems rare to have a class where the impact of each player will be missed.

There were a lot of good comments. I feel these are worth adding: Nobody mentioned yet that Dagwoods is smoke-free, which may be important to you one way or the other. Any ticket holder can enter through the student doors (SW corner). The best bet for more than two consecutive empty seats is high up, across from the press box (in the student section). With the exception of the student section, the entire arena is reserved seating. With that knowledge comes responsibility--please don't just plop down in the student section before it has a chance to fill up. Having traveled to many WCHA away games, and especially in light of the bad experiences many on this board had in Mankato last weekend, I am curious to hear how you are treated. I like to think we'll treat you better, but everybody has some hockey fans and some bad apples. Please post your honest experience next week.

Good point that the term "MSU" has a legacy in Moorhead. Lest non-Fargoans be confused, I submit the clarification that the school has made it a point to always call itself Minnesota State University-Moorhead ("Moorhead State University" appears completely purged). Any continued use of "MSU", even though partly due to left-over culture, is nonetheless an abbreviation of MSU-M. If the new name did not share the same letters (i.e. suppose they changed to Kiork State), "MSU" would not be seen any more in these parts. P.S. I can't quite remember: Wasn't it Mankato State University? But we digress. I can't believe I came out from lurking for this. I guess I felt bad when mksioux jumped on a guest who took offense and submitted facts against his slanderous steam.