yzerman19

My beef with the Defense isn't their ability to play defense, but their inability to transition the puck. I still blame Hakstol for this because of the high breakout. Short crisp passes up the ice, 5-10 footers, not 30-40 footers. I blame the inability of the defensemen (exception Genoway) to beat a forechecker one on one, and the overall inability to adjust the breakout depending on the oponents forecheck. We play our system, we do not adapt based on what's available. This is a recipe for disaster against well coached teams. Well coached teams will simply adopt a style that will give our system fits and hope for us to make a couple mistakes that they can score goals off of. I also blame the forwards for not coming down to help out. I blame the telegraphing of passes and the overall inability to create offense. The only forwards I have been at all impressed with this year are Frattin, Hextall, Gregoire and Martens. Lammy is also a pleasant surprise. Where is Vandy? Was Duncan a product of Oshie and Toews? It's really starting to look like it. How about Kozek's big year? Looks like he benefitted from playing with Oshie too. I bet the Thrashers are glad they didn't sign him after last season, unless they want a checker. He is doing a very good job hitting out there. Watkins, Trupp, Malone? nowhere, disappointment, and cut if I'm coach respectively. It is virtually guaranteed now that we must win the FInal Five to make the NCAAs.

Even with a strong surge starting in 2009, we're in trouble in the PWR. Just stating the obvious. I'm looking forward to 2009...and the start of the 2009-2010 hockey season. Teams have found ways to beat us by playing defense first, playing physical and clogging up the passing and shooting lanes. We do not make adjustments against these teams, but continue to play the "system". Sometimes you gotta mix it up when the plan doesn't work. Do you start playing all of the freshmen to get them experience? I might think of focusing on next year instead of this year.

Last night in the NHL, the following former WCHA players scored goals: Parise (15, OT GWG) Kessel (16) Wheeler (9) Backes (6) Stafford (4) Vanek (19) Toews (6 and 7) Turris (3)

found it

SO Sioux sports isn't carrying the webcast? Do we have to pay

I disagree. Both Vanek and Parise are GREAT NHL players and are the offensive leaders of their respective teams. I am proud of both of them. I agree with the comments that Vanek is no longer a defensive liability. He most certainly is not. He is among the elite players in the NHL. Hated him wearing maroon and gold, with the green glasses off he is an excellent, excellent player. A side note is that Phil Kessel is scoring goals like a wild man too. Vanek, Parise, Kessel, Toews, Ballard, Martin, Greene, Commodore, Blake, Goligoski, Zajac, Stastny, Pavelski, Niskanen: Doing the WCHA proud!

I'll give Marto the benefit of the doubt, as the kid is an awesome skater. Marto and Genoway both can move their feet. The other dmen aren't where they need to be with their skating. Jones isn't a great skater, but I will give him that he is ridiculously strong on his skates and just punishes guys along the end boards. I continue to believe that our shortcomings at D are driving our shortcomings on the season. The Sioux have always put together a team that is explosive in transition. In order to do that effectively the dmen have to make the right passes. Thus far they seem to be playing hot potato with the puck and not getting it on the tape to a forward who can do something with it. I don't care if you're Sidney Crosby, if the passes are in your skates or behind you or you've either had to slow down or are just getting going, you aren't going to be able to make things happen like you otherwise could. Additonally our pp and offensive zone play also lacks due to the play of the d. As a forward you are always taught to use your points for help in the offensive zone. They should be a safety valve. If you're working the boards down low and you get doubled, someone is open, and more often than not the "helper" that is doubling you is the opponent's winger coming down. That should mean an open point man. If the d can't hold the zone, that help is lost. There is plenty of blame to go around, waiting too long, not finding shooting lanes, etc. However, if the defensemen were able to hold the zone and move the puck it would certainly help. All that being said, there have been some glimmers of really great play on this team. Getting Frattin going is huge. Gregoire has been very good as expected, and Hextall is looking better than expected. Duncan is Duncan too. We need Kozek to get going, and we need better play out of Watkins and VV (not that they've been terrible). Trupper wasn't doing much prior to the Cornell game before he got hurt, and Malone has yet to impress me whatsoever.

Cornell figured out that we can't win a defensive contest. We also looked a step slow all night.

Last couple Sioux teams have had a lot of trouble beating teams that play defense first. We can run and gun with anyone, its the clog the slot, slow it down, block shots style that kills us.

It also doesn't help to pair up Lapoint and Genoway. The absence of Joe figures into this heavily. You need to match up a physical, defensive minded dman with a smooth skating offensive dman. Genoway and Marto are both gifted skaters and should be paired with Finley and Jones respectively. No Finley forces Lapoint to play with Genoway, because the two freshmen simply aren't ready for that much responsibility yet.

Nice to see some of you at the game last night. I'm not in GF often, but it was nice to see a win. I've typed and deleated several examples of why I am not a fan of Lapoint, but after reading them, I am going to leave it at that. I am not a fan of Lapoint, and this team is lacking defensively due to his play. The absence of big Joe makes the inadequecies of others all that more apparent. Genoway does get caught up sometimes, but he is also leading the team in scoring. Genoway's game is that of an offensive defenseman; you can't blame him for getting caught up, it's how he plays and how he needs to play. The freshmen are playing like freshmen and will be fine. On a very positive note, Matt Frattin is starting to look like the player many thought he could be. He has good speed and some good moves. His shot accuracy and nack around the net is starting to show too. Kozek didn't hit the scoresheet, but he hit everything else last night. The guy was a man possessed finishing every check with authority. Props to Andrew. One anti ref statement: The interference call on Miller was horrible. Since when can't you play the body?? If you didn't want to get hit, you should've joined the band.

I'd say that if you were out hustled, you were out coached. I am not ready to fire Hak yet, but I agree with some of the statements about his teams having a lack of fire in big games. I also agree with AZ on the conditioning. These guys are coming to camp in shape. What I did see on Saturday night is the toll of getting out hit on Friday night. I think the boys looked like they were nursing some bruises. It used to seem like our opponenets had that problem on Saturday nights. Sioux hockey is about transition, positional play, aggressively forechecking, and making every opposing forward pay for each step they take into our defensive zone. THE biggest issue that I continue to see is defensive breakdowns starting with giving attacking forwards the blue line. Our dmen need to hold that line. Power play is god awful. Time for the gut check. I'd come to practice with the following: Playing Friday: Duncan, VV, Hextall, Toews, Frattin, Gregoire, Jones, Genoway, Eidsness Everybody else must fight for a spot. I'd be leaning towards Davidson and Lammy getting ice too.

Usually its like 15. I'm in south minny

Andrew and Evan are needed to be leaders on this team. Love or hate Hak, it is up to him to get 20 goals out of Andrew and 30 points put of Evan. They are both more than talented enough to pull it off. Both needed to get their heads right, and maybe a benching will do it. We have no chance at a frozen four without them playing well. IMO the biggest problem remains with the d corps. We have a huge void without Joe, miller Is playing better than could be expected. Jones continues to be solid in our end, but we are simply unable to beat most forechecks one on one. We need Lapoint and Marto to step up. Transition hockey which is the hallmark of good Sioux teams is sorely lacking. Dmen need to beat the forechecks one on one and put breakout passes on the tape. We spend too much time trying homeruns and not enough time attacking the offensive blue line with all three forwards.

I can't believe that I'm compelled to defend my comments about the Sioux hockey team, but for some reason I am. If I ever said they were without talent, I was probably drunk and disappointed. I don't believe they have the eye popping talent of some of our other teams in recent history. I'll stand by that. Regardless, TNT, I find your desire to call me out on a positive post amusing. Do you have something constructive to add or are you going to continue to pull out various older posts? I had a few off the deep end ones two years ago after the Wheeler goal in the F 5.

its not the W or L that determines my take, but the product I see on the ice. The team I saw at CC on Friday looked nothing like the team I saw play in Boston. I bet most of the team would say they were terrible in Boston.

I saw Friday but not Saturday. I was very impressed with the boys. I just watched the replay of the Hextall check from behind...what a garbage penalty. Hextall is driving to the net and wearing the CC player. I call that text book forward play. Very disappointing call, and from the posters it sounds like it was a momentum killer. Anyway. a big time road performance at CC should do wonders for the confidence. The boys now have to realize that they can beat anyone in the country on any given night. The team I saw on friday night is not the same team I had seen previously. A telling stat (i know...stats) is the fact that other than Genoway and Miller (the forward) the rest of the defensemen in entirety have 1 point (Finley with 1 assist). No points for Jones (expected), Marto, Lapoint, Blood, Fienhage; this despite tons of pp opportunities. THis must change for us to be successful.

Nice win tonight. Very solid performance. Not perfect, but a very good team output for 60 minutes. The officials did all that they could to get CC back into the game in the third. The hit on Genoway was junk. Totally taking liberties on a guy. SOunds like he's marked for tomorrow. Like the depth in the forward lines tonight. Props to Hextall and Davidson on the ir first career goals. I was surprised with how well Miller played back on D. Maybe that's where he belongs on this team. Our defense is so banged up, but I thought everyone stepped up. What do you do when you get Finley back? I have to say that not having Frattin or Malone in the lineup didn't hurt us at all. Best performance of the year, proud of the boys tonight

What's the old saying about glass houses? I'm by no means a fan of Mankato,but I seem to remember a game in the Ralph last winter where many bottles were also thrown on the ice... I'm very pleased that the boys were able to gut out a big win. The big guns scored, and that's what we need. We still have a lot of work to do in building up a cohesive unit, but last night was a start. Hopefully they can build this win into a great two weeks of practice and come out flying against sconny!

I am also optimistic based on who scored the goals: Kozek, Duncan, VV...these guys are supposed to be scoring. Throw in a goal for the hardest working man onthe ice and there you go. Were Watkins and Toews scratches tonight? I didn't see Watkins out there, maybe he's banged up?

Found it. Thanks! How are the boys looking tonight?

What Channel on Comcast? I'm in Mpls and have Comcast, but I can'[t find the game

Time for a big time line shakeup. Without Finley along, and without having seen last night's game, it would be tought for me to say who deserves a seat on the bench and who deserves a seat in the press box. having Finley out makes it difficult for us to do a major shakeup. I might consider putting Genoway on a forward line just to try and generate some decent offense if we had ANY d-men to spare.

I was unable to watch tonight's game, but I watched both games last weeekend, and it sounds like more of the same. This year's Sioux team is flat out terrible. We've scored 4 goals: Miller, Martens, Watkins and Genoway. Where are Vande and Duncs and Kozek and trupp and Grgoire and Toews and Frattin??? Where are they? We have a non-existent powerplay, pilons for defensemen, a terrible breakout, and weak goaltending. Not to mention our forward lines are not firing at all. It is time for a big time change. I make a statement tomorrow night. I bench some players. For the first time since the mid 90's, I'm embarrassed to fly a Sioux hockey banner. Lapoint: cut Malone: cut Fienhage: USHL VV: benched I am being ridiculous, but seriously guys, GET IT TOGETHER. I am starting to believe what everyone said about Duncan being entirely a product of Oshie and Toews. Here's what is scary, I watched part of the Gopher SCSU game, and both of those teams look like they'd outskate us and then take our sisters out for a lobster dinner. Shots ar e ajoke stat, we outshot UMass too, but I saw the quality of shots we were taking. We look like a bunch of ice mites. Hak=Woog We had the teams with the talent. This is not one of them.

St Cloud got jobbed. The replay shows the puck going in off the Gopher Defenseman's leg. Bruce McGophioneer