yzerman19

No biggie. The Strib filed for bankruptcy today anyways, guess it goes to show what poor writing gets you. Strib is bankrupt, Gophers were swept, Lucia's cowardice broke the code, Kangas got the hook twice. Looks like we win. That being said, I'm not a fan of the F*&k the Gophers chant either. I like how they always act like we're a bunch of goons. Our team is not big this year. In fact, after Finley who else is big? Blood, Fienhage, Davidson? Sure, but they haven't been playing. Then who? VV? He's expected to be a scoring power forward, not a goon. He certainly wasn't mixing it up. Malone likes to mix it up, but he isn't huge. Let's see under Hakstol we've sent Stafford, Zajac, Toews and Oshie off to regular shifts in the NHL. We've sent Lee, Chorney, Porter, Greene, Jones, Smaby off to AHL/NHL status. We've won a Hobey Baker award with Duncs...hmm...four frozen fours too...hmm...sounds like a goon squad to me...

I"d like to see: Gregoire, Duncs, Hextall Frattin, VV, Trupp Watkins, Zajac, Martens Lamoureaux, Malone, Toews Genoway & Finley Miller & Jones Marto & Lapoint I'm bummed about Kozey. I thought he played great last weekend and was looking forward to him getting hot.

IS it tDon driving that bus? I thought it was the MN athletic department... Jeez. It could be Geoff Paukovich, and I'd still wish the guy well off the ice. No one is immune from criticism, but there are times and places where you simply give people a respite from it in order to deal with other issues.

I'm sure I represent all on this board in saying that we are happy that it appears that tDon's illness is not anything life threatening or life altering. Here's to getting some answers and getting to 100% quickly, Don. We wish you many more years of happiness and joy off the ice, and many years of sadness watching the Sioux end the Gophers season on. Get well soon. Glad to hear he's gonna be ok.

We could call ourselves th University of North Dakota Americans ala Rochester in the AHL. Oh the irony...just imagine how much fun the Goof faithful could have with that.

We do have two 23 year old Canadian Seniors in Martens and Duncs

Things look a little different from the booth after a couple cold ones...I didn't say anything about the man's eyesight

I'm pretty certain he is headed for Kitchener too, but a guy can hope...Had he been in GF this past weekend, we might've wooed him.

AZ, I wore a green throw back I bought from you to Saturday's game...Pretty good result! I didn't wear it Friday per the white out

Jeremy Morin maybe? Rumor has it that UND was a possible choice for him, although he is going to be in a Toews situation with Canadian Major Junior beating down his door...I hope the success of Toews and Parise at the NHL level after two years at UND might influence him...

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.