yzerman19

There was HUGE political pressure to schedule the in-state schools. Mankato and Bemidji specifically NEED to play Minnesota in order to stay viable. I would guess that tDon and all the Minnesota hockey powers that be would prefer to play UND. The coaches and the players love playing rivalry games like that. Obviously UND vs UMN generates huge ticket and concession revenues as well.

Gophers are an excellent team this year- just like most years. I think Wilcox is answering the question about their goaltending. I really think we are going to see a clash of the Titans this last year of WCHA play. This could be like the epic Sioux Gopher games of Parise vs Vanek. Unlike those years though, this UND team has the advantage in dmen. That era of Gopher team had Ballard and Martin back on the blueline. WOW. That said, I really think these two teams have Frozen Four written all over them on paper- I just hope the PWR ends with us 1 and 2 so we don't see each other until a final.

Its about the resultant air traffic delays for the team, if runways are an issue, routes will be changed and flights will be impacted. However, I would guess that the BU corporate travel situation will result in getting the boys on a plane and getting them to UND. When I used to travel for work, it was amazing what our travel people could do.

Tearing it up to me assumes heavy drinking. I would be SHOCKED if that is happening after all the suspensions. If it is, there is a serious problem in that locker room. If they went out after the game and had say a single beer or better yet, club soda- I think that is fine. I would guess they have a midnight curfew on game nights.

The boys practice going "bar down" so all of that iron is literally missing by a half an inch. I have no doubt more of those go in by year end. As for Danny, you have to take what they give you too. No point in going Brian Boitano out there and losing the puck. He is at least in position, one on one, to try and make something happen. By the way, one on one, good defense should win that most of the time. Also, he is deceptively fast...don't let the easy stride fool you. Lastly, he does have a rocket release from full stride- he just needs to hit his spots instead of iron or high. Rocco can finish, he's got 2 goals in 4 games- I predict we see 20 goals and 50 points out of him this year

Two things: 1. Either the pass is not in a good place for a one timer or 2. They are trying to set up a screen We all know the one timer works best when you are forcing the goalie to move laterally and he hasn't the time to get into good position...I haven't seen that tee'd up very well. I also don't think it is very common in a cycle type offense, unless the d pinches.

I've been very impressed with his play so far as well. Rodwell also played like a man wanting to make sure he plays 40+ games this year- I also noticed that we appeared to lay-off some of the heavy corner and end board physical play- it almost looked as if we were more concerned with the potential for penalties and therefore took our foot off the accelerator in the heavy impact zones. I like keeping Rocco on a separate line from Knight and Kristo, but then putting him up there if we need to put on serious offensive pressure. I thought Gaarder looked a little out of place- his positioning was odd to me. He kept hanging around the slot, but then he'd chase the puck- Along those same lines, I've seen MInnesota do a lot of this, and AA did it last night- pass to open ice based on positional play and anticipation. We tend to wait to see the man and the tape before we pass. I like passing to open ice in the offensive zone, obviously in our own end, we have to be more careful with the puck. Anyone have a clue as to what the referee convention was all about on that goal review- it looked like a no brainer from where I was. Rocco is just unbelievable- we have in him a dynamic player in that Parise/Oshie skill level. I had heard the scouting report was he was likened to Brian Gionta- I believe it.

I agree with Frozen4Sioux, it was a night where we had no puck luck - bounces and timing just off. That happens in hockey, just have to gut those games out. Add that to this being the 3rd time we played the same team in 8 days, and 2-0-1 isn't too bad. Rocco hit two pipes, and Kristo hit the crossbar in OT with a rocket. AA really played up tempo and looked to disrupt and pressure. We have to be prepared for that- making 30 foot passes under pressure is not a recipe for success!

Those are short shifts...although, I agree that a 4th line that can pick up big time minutes is key- top players on the top line should be skating 20-22 minutes including special teams, second line should be getting 18-20 minutes, checking 12 or so, and 4th line 8 or so

I actually agree with Mariucci here- way too early to talk about goaltending. I agree that on paper, Gothberg should be an excellent goaltender for us, but the WCHA is not the USHL. He still has a lot to prove. It could be that he is the starting goalie on a team that wins the NCAA or the backup on a team that doesn't even qualify for the tourney- it is October.

Kozek could let it fly, but his release was not quick. That is why he didn't score a ton of goals in his career. Bochenski was the best pure shooter I've seen play with UND in recent memory. Heavy, accurate shot with an NHL release. He also put himself into position to take good shots. Frattin had a rocket too, and was just a complete beast the last 60 or so games of his career. Duncan was very, very accurate; especially from the top of the circle down to the dot. He rarely missed, and could just tuck it right in that near side upper.

They haven't tallied the stats from the AA win on USCHO yet...kind of strange. As per Knight- I've said it before- there is so much more to being a hockey player than lightening speed, sick stickhandling, and rocket release- positional play, anticipation, how you play all three zones AWAY from the puck. It is the sum of all these things that make a great hockey player. There are plenty of guys with elite offensive skill toiling in the minor leagues or Europe, because a more rounded, less flashy player took their job in the NHL.

I see Knighter as a less skilled Toewser- similar to as15 Toews might be the best two-way center in the NHL, so the gap is pretty dramatic, but that is the best comp I can make

What I didn't say is that Bjugstad is certainly in the conversation as the best player in the country- I don't think UND has a proven commodity in that conversation...I do stand by Knight being the best two-way and the best on the draw center iceman. Kristo is very skilled, but is a much different player than Bjugstad. Rocco might also fit into that description- his unknown commodity status might help him produce beaucoup points. I'd can think of no better swan song to the WCHA than a Gopher- Sioux NCAA final!

Budish is a rock solid 6'3 220 who can skate- that is hockey for "tank". On top of that, he actually has pretty decent puck skills to go along with it. He isn't a second round pick because he is a talent risk. He is also coming off a 35 point year, and it isn't just because of the guys he skated with last year. I think he is among the best power players in the league and would also love him if he were on our team

Budish is very solid and strong- hockey is not all about style or points. IMO he actually has NHL checker written all over him. I'd love to have Budish skate wing with Knight and Kristo- talk about puck possession if you had Knight on the draw and Knight and Budish working down low, while Danny got into shooting position...WOW! I think Knight is the best two-way center in the league. I think Kristo is definitely a first line winger on any team in the league. I think Rocco is a magician who would skate scoring line on any team in the league. Haula, Bjugstad, Budish vs Knight, Kristo, and Rocco is pretty much epic- Gophs are bigger in that scenario. Our dmen will need to be able to physically match Budish and Bjugstad. I think that MacWilliam can stack up...I don't know about the other boys. I actually think the Gopher and UND top 2 lines this year will be very nicely matched...both are very talented.

Hak was quoted as saying he is still being evaluated and he doesn't have any different info than he had on monday. He said Parks will not play this weekend.

We are a lucky fanbase in that we compete for a national title every year- the parity in college hockey has made it harder to win than it was in the 80's. That said, I go into every season with the expectation that we will be competitive. SOme years more than others. I agree with you that there are some apologist fans, but I think it is more about taking the good when we don't get great...I might want fillet, but I won't complain if I get a ribeye

If I canned a guy who was doing a good job and had strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders and replaced him with someone else, that someone else had better wow quickly or it would reflect poorly on me and my decision making. I would then need to either back the new guy all the way to make sure he is successful, or quickly reverse my decision. The biggest difference from that analogy is that this is a different company, so in essence, the analogy is that we changed suppliers and we need to make sure our customers are satisfied. However, the product is SIoux hockey, not the play by play and color guys. It is more analogous to the steering wheel on a car- you don't change your opinion of the car or car company because they have a pedestrian steering wheel or you preferred the steering wheel of your old car. I liked Sweeney better, but I will always watch SIoux hockey edit- North Dakota hockey

I hit up the facebook- it needs more likes- People who feel disappointed in the production need to speak up.

let's hope so, eh? I've loved this Fox College Sports deal. Living in Mpls, I watch probably 75% of UND hockey games now- all home games for sure, the occasional road game on TV, and I travel occasionally to SCSU or MSUM or UMD if not on

Hey, I always supported Sweeney- his hokiness was endearing They will care what we think if enough of us comment- social media impacts marketing departments fast As to big time- don't national Sioux hockey games do really well? I thought I heard that...I'm not talking Michigan vs Notre Dame football or Duke vs UNC hoops, but I thought we did pretty well

Look- this made the FSN production with Woog and The Rug look like the pinnacle of broadcasting Hammer and Kober are fired. The production team is fired. I was embarrassed for them to look so minor league

Facebook petition to bring Sweeney back has to happen ASAP- otherwise it will just "whither on the vine" The network needs to know how bad we all thought it was.

This is big time college sports, not high school- the broadcast was garbage and they produced a less than pedestrian performance. If I were running the channel as a business, they would all be fired and we'd do a re-boot. You can't honestly believe that they deserve "practice" and some time? This isn't a "do your best" kinda world...