yzerman19

myself and others have commented that Woog is genuinely a heckuva nice guy. He has a job to do and knows who signs his checks. As I stated earlier, Wooger will always get a pass from me because of this along with the fact that at the end of the day, the man flat out knows hockey.

FOr the record, the Bemidji State announcers who were very home biased even commented on how clean the Sioux played them the weekend before. The Sioux had no motive to be cheap...I might shoot my mouth off if I were decimating a team all weekend, but what would the motive be behind any extra stick work or cheap sh*t? Maybe it was a SIoux player who speared Trupper and framed Lucia!

I am pretty sure that the Sioux players ran their mouth plenty and instigated a few things. I am 100% sure that Tonya Lucia is gutless. I am 100% sure that Hextall would be more than happy to answer any questions that an opponent might have for him. By the way, what is an official doing badmouthing players and a team? Real professional.

all WCHA series are tough in the second half. UAA might not have our roster, but it is a grueling road trip and their style frustrates us. Wisconsin is a hostile arena (last time we played there we knocked WI out of the F4). They play a frustrating style as well, and have a very good WCHA record. Denver might be the best team in the country. SCSU's concrete tomb is also hostile to the Sioux. We have to keep getting better. I don't want sweeping MN to be the highlight of the 08-09 season. I've got Final 5 tix and I might actually be starting to believe in this team. I loved what I saw this weekend in so many ways. Jonesy blackout raging after Lucia is so great for team chemistry...man, the Gophers couldn't have done more to build our team if they tried to do so. The guys believe in each other now...that is EVERYTHING

In looking at the PWR, there are a lot of comparisons that can easily tip to us as more teams get enough TUCs under their belts. DU head to head will be key. One series at a time though. Let's mush the Huskies.

I am really hoping that this past weekend built the line cohesion and confidence we need to really roll a team like Tech. Our depth is what beat MN, and there should be no way possible that MTU can match up with our depth. It is true that trapping gives us fits. We simply need to adjust our passing and hit the tape we did against MN. Confidence and line cohesion will do wonders for this. I saw the Sioux lines play as units this weekend rather than individuals. I think that the guys figured out where their linemates were going to be and made aggressive plays with anticipation.

He does hustle...onto the bench after spearing opponents and behind the ref when running from Jonesy

Tonya Lucia is now my least favorite player in the WCHA. It used to be Roe at St Cloud Community and Technical College, but now Tonya is #1.

I bet half the boys were "classless" today after the big weekend! If you know what I mean. It is clear that any attempt at analogy or explanation of the code is simply lost on some on this board. I am not a huge proponent of fighting either, but it does have its place. I still liked Genoway jerseying old Morgan Fairchild on friday night the best. In typical Gopher POI (we all know what the P stands for) fashion, They get rough, Chay works him over and jerseys him, leaving Fairchild on his knees with his jersey over his arms and head. Then Chay starts skating to the box with the official, and Morgan comes after him to fight again. Some people just don't learn. Also, I agree with the statements about how you go after someone. Jonesey did it like a man. tDon's daughter might have earned the ultimate POI award of all time. Does anyone have a photo of Jonesy ready to go and Tonya running away? That would be awesome. I have actually come across many Gopher fans who are simply embarrassed by all of it. Getting out skated, out shot, out hit, out hustled, out goaltended, out scored and out classed. One of my friends even said that it might be the lowest point in Gopher history. It is acceptable to lose, it is unacceptable to lose with disgrace and cowardice.

Notice that it wasn't Trupp who was going to go after Lucia, it was a 5'11 210 pound bull by the name of Jones, who most likely got beat up by his 6' 225 pound bull of a brother growing up. If the officials don't protect your teammates, you have to. It is that simple. If someone comes into your home and assaults your wife, do you wait for the cops to catch them in the act or do you unleash your own justice. Yes, waiting for the cops is the higher road, but I'd be hard pressed to look at my wife again if I stood by and watched that happen.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, one thing that certainly helped us win is the fact that MN does not trap. When team's open up and skate with us, we have done very well: CC, the first game against Cornell, and now MN. I am very excited by the way the lines have shaken out. Our first line might be average for D1 with Duncs playing the pivot instead of wing, but our second line now with VV, Frattin and Trupp is as good as any second line in the country, and Kozek and Toews on that fourth line offers a scoring threat that is above average for most team's second lines. Throw in a third/checking line that has age, speed, and strength along with a pretty high level of skill and we honestly can roll four lines. I loved watching Zajac, Martens and Watkins match up against their Gopher counterparts and just own the offensive zone on the cycle. Moving Miller back to D was a great move too. He is not the defensive liability I was afraid of. Getting Joe up to game speed will be critical, and he is starting to look like his former self. It's really looking like Blood possibly and Fienhage definitely could've used some more time to develop their game. I don't think they are going to see much ice from here on out this year unless someone gets hurt.

It is what it is. Lucia did in fact run away from Jones. Its too bad too, because the way Jonesy was going ballistic, I think Donny's daughter would've gotten beaten to a pulp. As horrible as this sounds, I would, just once, like to see one of them just get beaten stupid. Although, it probably wouldn't change anything. Oh, one other unrelated thing. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to play a clip from "Miracle" on the big screen...Who do they think old Herby would be routing for?

I think that is a poor strategy if it is intentional. You might get a power play, but at what cost? Momentum? locker room cohesion? THe price is too high to pay. You can't sell your integrity for a power play. In a 6-0 game, it is about honor and defending yourself, your teammates, your program. I'll spot a team a goal if they're going to run away afraid of my team.

Nice to see you again this weekend Siouxmama. We're looking forward to sitting by you at the F5 again. As for Wooger, I have rarely met a nicer guy at the bar after a game. He is friendly and willing to chat hockey with most anyone. He has a job to do, and yes he is a homer, but I will always cut Doug slack. There is little point in responding to any baiting by Gopher fans. Which team is most likely to have become frustrated and tried to pick fights? The team that is dominating or the team that is getting their butts handed to them? Seeing Trupper on the ice, obviously speared from the bench, is a disgrace to the rich history and proud tradition of Minnesota hockey. Lucia's running from a straight up fight with Jonesey is so gutless, I am embarrassed for him. The Golden Gophers put on a display this weekend, but it wasn't hockey. If I were the MN AD, I think that I'd ask for Hill's resignation and issue a formal apology. I think I most enjoyed the lesson that Genoway put on Fairchild leaving him on his knees with his jersey over his head.

Considering the only line to do anything for the gophs had Schroeder on it... They are a one line team.

Stoa is good, but Schroeder is special. I think Fairchild didn't know what he was getting himself into messing with Chay. Manitoba, older brother, iron man, these all spell s&@t for little Cade.

What's wrong with AK? He just can't get it together this year. I'm starting to feel badly for the guy.

I think the high breakout is intended to take pressure off the defensemen by forcing the opponents to be honest on the forecheck. This high breakout assumes that a defensemen can shake a forechecker one on one, then open up a forward in the neutral zone as a second defender is forced to play the puck carrier. The high breakout might be more effective when the forwards are VERY fast. I think with the exception of Watkins and Frattin, our forwards are simply not fast enough to make the high breakout work. I can think of one time where Frattin scored in transition and many opportunities where Watkins has had good looks. THe high breakout against a 2-2-1 would also explain why Miller and Genoway are our leading scorers. They are carrying the puck up themselves, bringing up the rear of the play, while the forwards are stuck waiting at the offensive blue line because the 2-2-1 has clogged the passing lanes. Whatever happened to fundamentals? Wingers at the hash, Center between the dots, stay in your lanes, sticks on the ice, head on a swivel, hit the tape with your passes, go to the net, follow your shots... There aren't any shortcuts in this game.

I couldn't agree more with the bolded. This all stems from our ridiculous high breakout. I can't think of a team that's scored fewer goals on the fly. If we were breaking out well and scoring in transition we'd see a bunch of second assists coming from the d. It seems crystal clear to me that well-coached teams know exactly how to bring the forecheck to disrupt our breakout. The 2-1-2 seems to really give us fits as the dmen can't seem to beat a forechecker one on one, and the 2-2-1 clogs up the neutral zone and passing lanes by proxy. Opposing coaches can play either and give us fits.

YEah, I corrected myself on the other thread. Bobby Joyce was captain in 86-87.

My memory of Ian Kidd is that myself and a couple of my elementary school friends saw him at meet the Sioux and thought he was Jim Archibald. We were all sad when he signed "Ian Kidd" and not "Jim Archibald". The dark hair and mustache was enough to confuse a couple ten year olds. It's crazy to look at the young Pat Sweeney in that video! I also stand corrected from an earlier post as Bobby Joyce is clearly wearing the C, and there is no letter on Malcolm Parks.

Last time we didn't have a first round or future first round forward on the team was 01-02. We've been spoiled with NHL forward talent for the last 7 years. I couldn't find a season's final stats without at least one drafted player among our top four.

Didn't Malcolm Parks wear the C for us in 86-87? He was a solid two way player who scored clutch goals if memory serves me.

I do always get nervous when we change the style of play with a lead int he third. That is usually a recipe for disaster. As for the chemistry issue on the top line. I agree that it takes a few games to get great chemistry, but usually you can feel some chemistry right away. I didn't get that feeling tonight.