yzerman19

I feel a deep emptiness... SHould there be some sort of prerequisite of having NCAA title banners in your barn before you spout off? Anyway, the facts are simple: hockey is a very physical, violent, and often mean game. There are many minor injuries that occur through clean play and generally accepted dirty play...generally accepted is the key. A little stick work, a little elbow, that is part of hockey...not clean, not good, but part of the game. Then you have attacks where players step out of bounds and go from something penalty worthy to something suspendable. If you add serious injury to the mix and repeat offenses to the mix, you cease to have a physical hockey player and start to have a menace. Incidental contact to the head is different than head hunting. A slash to the back of the shins is different than a slash to the head. A cross check to the shoulders is different than a cross check to the neck. The problem is there is always some subjectivity. When there is subjectivity, a player's history and reputation will determine the punishment...sorta like a first time offender, good citizen who blows 0.80 on the nose will not get a DUI whereas the derelict with 2 priors will go to jail for DUI in the same scenario.

At this point we see: 1. DU vs 16. RIT (currently in first in Atlantic Hockey) 8. Yale vs 9. New Hampshire 4. SCSU vs 13. Ferris State 5. Bemidji State vs 12. UMD 3. Wisconsin vs 14. Northern Michigan 6. UND vs 11. Michigan State 2. Miami vs 15. Vermont 7. BC vs 10. Cornell If you held by the rule of the highest seeds travel the least distance, then you have major attendance issues: Putting DU in St Paul is correct, but you send 3 eastern teams to visit them at the X. BY the rules you should send SCSU out to Worcester, but every team in that bracket would be WCHA or CCHA. Where putting SCSU, BSU and UMD all at the X would sell it out I'm not even sure about hosting: Is the Albany bracket hosted by the ECAC again? Meaning not one particular team? SO either Yale or Cornell will be there? IN Worcester you're going to want BC for sure, but you might settle for NH or Vt, again the brackets are fowled up. There's a lot of hockey left, but it could get interesting for how the NCAA places these teams. Chances are there will be some pi$$ed off head coaches and ADs. Ona side note, who do you rather play at home to go to the Final FIve? CC or MN...I think I like our odds better against CC again. I don't want to play our most heated rival, with the 5 at stake, and them being desperate to win 2 out of 3 or play golf.

Not saying Canada is an underdog at all...in fact they have to be the favorite going in...not so much after the output. I am saying that the love of Sid by everyone makes you feel he is the favorite and makes youpull for other players. I thought Crosby was a liability vs the USA. I thought Toews was extremely effective in that game. I saw Crosby take a bad penalty and be out on the ice for at least 2 minuses.

The mad love for Sid makes you think he is the favortie rather than the underdog and promotes dissent. Sid is great and lead his team to a Stanley Cup. If I am a GM, I draft Ovi first overall. I drafted in NHL 2010 the other day and went: Ovi, Phaneuf, THomas, Toews, Langenbrunner, Boyle...I'd take that team any day...I wanted getzlaf and Parise, but that would've been an all star team

I thought Toews was incredibly effective. He is playing excellent two way hockey and doing what he is good at. Doing what you're good at is what you are supposed to do. Is Sidney Crosby a more dangerous offensive player? Certainly. As the Blackhawks GM said about the contract extensions: kane will win us a couple scoring titles, but toews will win us a couple championships. I'll take a 30 goal 40 assist, plus minus leading, faceoff leading center well ahead of a lot of players if I am starting a franchise. Toews and Kane will be a dynamic combo for many years. It is important to remember just how young those guys are...

I could care less where they come from, as long as they are the best. The Twin Cities metro is over 3 million now too.

Call me an elitist, but quite honestly I could care less about any sport that does not produce DI titles or professional athletes, I've got plenty of entertainment options, and I'm not in it for charity to kids who wouldn't go to school without athletic scholarships. Fighting Sioux to me is synonymous with elite hockey. DI is an experiment that I hope works out, but I'm not holding my breath. As for March Madness, it floats a lot of people's boats and makes beaucoup $, but I'd rather watch the fighting Sioux hockey team than any bball game. I know this site is for all Siouxsports, so I apologize for venturing outside of hockey. One thing that North Dakota as a whole needs to accept is that we are never going to exist on a national level, we're simply too small. Supporting a great hockey club is probably the most we can hope for.

Part of being a team is having each other's back. Not fighting Marvin would be deleterious to the character of this team. Anyone wonder if Hak is tweaking his style in an attempt to peak better? An interesting point is that over the last six years we have never had to win. We were locks for the Final 5 and the NCAA tournament. We've had no consequences to losing until the tourney, and as such, maybe we never learned to play with urgency. This year, we have to get hot and win starting now. Sad thing is maybe this lessen is learned with the wrong team, as certainly this team's makeup isn't full of NHLers.

I wouldn't worry about The Don's meager salary as a reason behind a decision. His salary while high by UND standards is nothing in the world of Big 10 athletics. Additionally Men's hockey and the athletic department as a whole are self sufficient at UMN, and they are in the black.

The reference to Tom Ward on one of these posts is interesting. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a shot with a WCHA team. He is certainly well respected as a coach and a hockey guy. Blaiser, well, I doubt anuthing is a done deal. Its all conjecture until a deal is inked. There are more far fetched scenarios out there...

no changing the net, no new mandates on equipment, no changing goals to count as touchdowns. One answer, pure and simple: gotta call it like the WJC or NHL. I also think they should give penalty shots more frequently. There is no such thing as a two step rule. Id make it so if you pull a guy down or interfere on a guy with a clean look, it could be a penalty shot. Lastly, you could ban the neutral zone trap and/or clogging the middle. Establish a bench minor penalty for illegal defense. I disagree with some of the support of the cycle and overall x and o strategy not being at fault. These guys can shoot the puck. The epic failure of our pp is on the coaching staff. That bring said, I agree with the statement that we aren't finishing. Don't know how an entire team forgets how to pick a corner or make the goalie move laterally.

I guess its easier to blame one thing rather than accept just getting beat because someone else is better.

Note: Support does not mean unquestioning and blatently accepting failure and defeat...I am not wired that way, and I for damn sure hope no one in that locker room is either

33 years, some great joy, some bitching, some venting, some depression, but always proud to support the best amateur hockey program on earth!

Marvin first and foremost. Roe is right behind him. I am fine with positivity, but the blanket statements that True fans are behind our coach and players through thick and thin is a little too Polly Anna for me. This is one of the most prestigious amateur hockey clubs in the world, not Saturday morning ice mites. I'm not here to bring a rain cloud on this thread, but criticism is warranted given the current situation. I support the Fighting Sioux program year in and year out. I also believe that second place is the first loser. Athletics are by nature all about competition. The purpose of competition is to prove who the best is. Best players, best coaches, best teams. Again, this is very different than little kids or rec sports. This is the Fighting Sioux Hockey Program.

I agree, but would the University?

Couldn't agree with you more. No Brad Miller time, no cheesy mustaches or died hair. Business. Sioux hockey.

Back to 0-32 on the power play. If we score 4 goals out of 32 that is a 12.5 percent clip, not good, but should be expected as a bare minimum. 4 more goals in a lot of close games makes a huge difference, especially at key points of the game. 0-32 on the powerplay is straight up poor coaching. No excuses.

Our epic failure at last year's Final Five and vs NH combined with this year's poor showing is not going to bode well with the alumni. Blaiser will not come back...Maybe for $400k per. He'll go to Minni before GF

Guys like Parise, Oshie and Toews were known for living at the rink, practicing at game speed and refusing to loose. It might be a personnel issue. Hak needs to send a message and bench a regualr or two.

Miss the Final Five twice and he's out. His job is safe for a while yet.

First things first, I give a ton of credit to Denver. They are an excellent, excellent hockey team. I still despise George, but they are playing great. Now a look in our own kitchen: 1. Another 2 goal lead given up. Good teams don't lose games when they lead by 2 goals, especially at home. There is a mental issue going on. No killer instinct. 2. Powerplay. 0-32??!! OK Dave, draw up some new Xs and Os and change the attack. We also need to evaluate the personel. I am tired of Kristo on the point. Overload a side and put Kristo on the weak side to shoot. 3. The cycle. OK, it worked for a few years, but it doesn't work anymore. I am sick and tired of winning a forecheck battle only to have no one in position to shoot. DU always had a man in the slot, example the Colborne goal. 4. Passing. Hit the damn tape. We put more passes into guy's skates tonight than I see at pee wee games. 5. Defensive zone play. Our dmen panic when pressured by an opponent's forecheck. The result is turnovers and horrible breakout passes. 6. Defensive coverage. I don't know what Lapoint is doing out there half the time, and the others aren't much better. 7. Goaltending. That Rackshani goal just killed us tonight. BE should have that one. It was a good shot, but still. Not to mention the 2 in the first 3 minutes last night. 8. Offensively we need to make plays (see #3). We are not moving the puck in a way that we set guys up with high quality scoring chances. 9. Finish. When we get good looks we are not burrying them. You can't miss clean looks. 10. Personnel. I don't know if we are younger, slower or less skilled than our opponents or maybe it is just that i got used to seeing guys that are now NHL all-stars over the past few years, but this team jsut doesn't look like they have the skill. there is no dominance. 11. Physical presence. Other than Malone, MacWilliam and Blood does anyone else on this team hit?? I guess Zajac does some, and Mario mucks it up, but everyone needs to hit. Most of our forwards could carry a carton of eggs on the ice and not break any. This team shows flashes of potential, and that is why I haven't quite given up hope, but after this weekend; hope is fleeting.

That call was horrible. Knight barely enters the crease, moves out of it, then back in, then out when Rowney shoots. Never once did he so much as breathe on Chevrie. A 2-1 game early in third vs 2-0 and on the pk was an enormous momentum shifter. All that aside, this team has to figure out how to score. The o for 21 streak on the pp has to end. Hak has to evaluate the system or the players and make some changes. Furthermore our inability to score 5x5 has to be addressed. We are suffering from a complete lack of chemistry and no offense. We are playing like a bunch of individuals on the outdoor rather than a cohesive unit. Defensively, I don't know what Dell's deal is at the start of games. The first one is on Lapoint for not clearing the front, but he should've had the second. I'd go off on Lapoint, but what's the point (no pun intended). This team is very frustrating to support.

First goal is big

We're going to need to move the puck up the ice quickly. Attack the neutral zone and offensive zone with speed and numbers. Our strength is up the middle and we need Malone, VV and Zajac to dominate the end boards on the forecheck. For God's sake someone drive the front of the net and be in a position to shoot. Keep sticks on the ice and bang in a rebound. Greasy goals don't get the girls, but they get the Ws. Defensively we need to keep our heads up and our feet moving. Don't give a single line without making them feel it. Wingers stay in those passing lanes in the defensive zone, don't let them use their points for help. Dmen, don't panic, use your feet to get out of trouble and make passes to where the forwards can do something with the puck...No oh Sh8t! passes. This is the WCHA not Pee Wee AAA. Clear the front of the net and let AD see the puck. Its just a simple game...play your position, pass the puck, shoot the puck. Now go and blow them out the zamboni door!!