yzerman19

Two more guaranteed games btw...I am thinking 6...

And coach Hak has two more games to play yet this year that tDon doesn't have... I don't think anyone will debate that tDon was an excellent hockey coach at one time. I think that time might be passed.

The unique thing, and this ties back to another thread, is that these two skate on two separate lines... Often times you see a dynamic duo on one line. Fratty and Gregs are the top-end scorers on each of our top two lines. Their linemates all contribute tremendously as well, but seldom do you see a team with this kind of one-two punch.

ANybody got a +/- on Miele...Not only is Frattin a dominant scorer, but he also is a physical menace out there and a solid two-way player. Does Miele hit?

I agree...both Blood and Mac IMHO. Unfortunately this voting tends to lean VERY heavily on stats alone...especially for dmen, making offensive dmen first teamers and defensive dmen mostly left out in the cold.

I think an interesting way to quantify stats for Hobey is to use the SOS calculation from KRACH as a multiplier. I took one plus the KRACH SOS divided by 100 to try and equalize the scoring leaders based upon difficulty of opponents. The results are as follows: SOS Adj Goals SOS Adj Assists SOS Adj Points Miele 26 54 80 Zanett 31 28 59 Frattin 43 28 71 J.Connolly 17 51 68 Thompson 33 29 62 Camper 22 43 65 Nyquist 22 38 60 Atkinson 34 24 58 Anyway, excel didn't copy very well, but you can see that Miele still leads the country in points, but Frattin leapfrogs Zanette into the #2 In my mind this helps Frattin's cause. The decision will ultimately be whether or not Frattin's return from the brink is viewed as a positive or if his past indiscretions are used as a reason not to give it to him. I think that the committee would be making a great statement by giving the award to Matt. It shows that everyone makes mistakes, but what you do afterwards determines your character. The other question is about total points versus goals...the committee has gone both ways in years past. I also understand the flaws in my calculation, but I am trying to create a fairly simple way of adjusting for playing the likes of DU and UMD and Omaha vs the likes of Le Cordon Bleu and National American University

Trupper

I agree that spraying the goalie is bush league and finishing checks good, hard and clean is how you establish a physical presence and a psychological edge. If you have to think about being tough, you aren't; and if you have to think about backing up your teammates, you aren't a team.

Perhaps we should follow Jonny T's lead from the Stanley Cup run and not touch the MacNaughton Anchor...

I certainly hope you aren't suggesting that I am hating on Chay by likening him to Paul Coffee

CHay is UND's version of Paul Coffee on the 80's Oilers...obviously he isn't Paul Coffee, but he has the green light to take the puck up ice, just like Coffee did. In my perfect defense scenario, I have two pairings that have one stay at home defensive defenseman and one offensive minded puck-mover. My third d-pairing would be two big, physical defensive defensemen. So, I like 4 defensive minded and two offensive minded dmen...We might have something that looks like that next year...I'd love to put Blood and Mac out together every once in a while just to keep our opponents honest...Maybe pair Forbert with Mattson and Simposn with Panzarello and put Blood and Mac together to clean house.

As my cousin said: You can't hurt Mac...just feed the scott some scotch

I absolutely LOVE Mac. He is a great defensive defenseman, a potential NHL player, and arguably our most important defenseman. I value him above most defenders in the league, but I don't think his plus/minus is good enough to make the short list. I'd love to be proven wrong. Oh, and WE NEED HIM BACK IF WE HOPE TO HANG #8

Agree, but I haven't verified the math, and I am too busy to do so. It doesn't pass my initial sniff test.

NHL.com has a new history will be made about wishes and it shows old video of a young Jonny Toews...pretty cute

I would assume that if they decide to put UND in St Louis, they will simply move the entire bracket there...not swap any other parts of it.

So all the Gophers have to do is get to the Final Five and then have the favorites win in the other tournament games and they are in? That doesn't seem right...if the favorites win, then UMD beats UMN on the Thursday night game.

If memory serves, the center in the offensive zone has to put their stick down first. On a center ice faceoff the visiting team's center has to put their stick down first (someone help me out here, but I think that is the rule). Common reasons to get tossed: encroaching over the dot, not squaring up, not putting your stick down first. I can't remember ever seeing a faceoff go to a third guy to take the draw...sounds like an unlikely infraction.

It's crazy around that bubble...yesterday RPI is in, they lose on Sunday and now CC is in...crazy

MacWIlliam is a great defensive player, well suited for a pro career. Smart, physical, tough. I originally thought he should be on an all-WCHA team over Blood until I saw Ben Blood's +/-...

What a moron!!! The leading goal scorer and total points scorer is left off the first team and does not make POTY?! Serious rube.

I put Dell on the first team and Patterson on the second team. I recognize that Patterson is the Gophers' MVP and that he had an outstanding year leading the conference in save %. My criteria is Wins, GAA, sv%, and Shutouts with the tie breaker being team success. Dell wins the comparison against Patterson in 4 of those 5 criteria. They both deserve to be all conference, and they will be. I don't know how you put the goalie on the 5th place team over the goalie on the conference champion all else being considered. I think Patterson is a great goalie, but you don't make the first team on save % alone.

No doubt...talk about a coach getting the most out of his team...

I still predict that Gregoire comes back for one more year...enough former SIoux have stated that they would rather have stayed than gone to the minors that Gregs will need to seriously weigh his probability of skating in the NHL right away vs the AHL. Kristo...well there was a whole stupid thread of speculation. I would be surprised if he comes back...

This one is more art than science. Regarding difficult PK situations, basically all your guys become penalty killers if you're skating shorthanded for an extended period of time. Always short shifts on the PK if you can get off, get off. But you might roll 8 forwards killing off a 5 minute major. Deciding when to go head to head: top scoring line vs top scoring line vs checking against scoring really depends on what you're trying to accomplish with a particular shift. It also depends on how your other lines match up. Certain game situations such as faceoffs at critical times might dictate a line based on your best centerman for draws and right vs left handed. This year the Sioux are highly effective because 2 of the 3 guys on our #1 scoring line can physically punish almost any line or d-pairing in the WCHA. It makes it difficult for other teams, because if you send out your checking line, well Pony and Fratts can simply beat them at their own game.