yzerman19

All in good fun UMDDOGZ , but the last time I was in the DECC, the only championship banners I saw were for women's hockey. MN, UND, WI, Denver and CC have all won many NCAA titles. SCSU and UMD have both been to the dance a few times, so maybe I shouldn't have thrown TECH in, sorry.

Maybe we need some guys like Ed Belfour and Jason Blake to come talk about what a privelege it is to wear the green and white. As far as being sick, that is no excuse. Mike Modano has put together a HOF career playing 90% of his games with the clap.

I always say reloading with our program. It's not like we are Tech or UMD or SCSU, we are an elite program that always is a threat to win.

I'm well aware of the terrible senior class. I was speaking positively about the underclass forwards I mentioned. You're right about the beating to death of our woes. Right now I just hope Wheeler and Kessel are busts!

I agree with Federov on the coaching issue. Blaiser would've had guys crying in his office after some of the performances we've been seeing. If we weren't on the bubble in the PWR I would make an example of some of these clowns. I'd put scholarship info on the chalk board and every guy who didn't play would see his $ disappear in front of the whole team. Leadership has to come on the ice too, and it doesn't look to me like we have any out there.

I agree that a "Denver Run" is very unlikely. We have some horses though, they just aren't running. Murray, Stafford, Zajac and Porter can play on my team any time. Greene is a pro player, not a college player. His game is much more suited for the NHL or Major Junior. If the lockout gets resolved, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go. It is unfortunate that we will be reloading in a year where we are hosting a regional.

PWR is everything right now, all we have to do is get there and anything can happen. Look at Denver last year, they were the fourth best team in the conference. Final Five and all of that is nice, but we've won seven national titles! We aren't Duluth (just happy to be there), we are the second winningest program in D1 hockey (by titles). We expect to go to the NCAAs and we aren't happy unless we have a shot at winning. People tell me how bad we are going to be next year, because we are losing so many defensemen, but tell you what, I'm happy to be getting rid of all of them. Open tryouts should be held. This year is a disgrace. I call for a new coach and a new attitude. I think Hakstol should skate the guys until they vomit at 12:01 on Sunday, just like Delta Don threatened to. Further proof that Parise was the best player in college hockey last year...we can't score a goal without him.

I'm trying really hard to stay positive, but it isn't easy. Nobody can score for us. Oshie, Vandevelde and Lee won't have anything to do after tomorrow night, maybe they should come up early. I'm really thinking that this year might have to be one and done for Hakstol. He obviously can't get anything out of these guys. Stafford and Zajac are number one draft picks for crying out loud. It has to be the system or the coaching.

TJ Oshie and Brian Lee are playing on TV. I don't know who else we are getting. There is a new crop of Shattuck kids and some guys from BC. There is a superstar from Winnipeg who is comingthis way too. Kessel is a fine player. I watched him in the WJC. He is not be all or end all yet. A lot of people thought Barry Tallackson was going to be a superstar in this league and he was a bust. I have to think that Kessel's mind is a little warped after seeing the hype and all that encouraged by his Dad.

Can anybody say Barry Tallackson?

Looks like an all east winners bracket is inevitable. Maybe the west should get to make an all-star team to try and compete with the east

No Murray, no national tournament. This breaks my heart. Our inability to score goals this year is sickening. Murray is one of the few players who has proven his ability to burry the puck; without him our line chemistry is diminished. One solid scoring line is all that remains. We aren't going to win many games with that.

2-1 Bismarck after 2. Go Rough Riders. As to Marto and Juniors. I am very well versed regarding the junior hockey leagues throughout North America. There are many players who make the transition directly from high school. The Gophers to this day take a lot of kids right from high school. Yes, many program's rosters are full of junior players, but many special players can make the jump. It is a case by case decision, and I think that Marto is ready for the college game. Like I said earlier, he reminds me of Paul Martin who made that transition. The better the competition, the better for a player's development, and obviously the college game is better than Tier I US or Tier II Canada. I agree that Marto is not a Sidney Crosby, and I am not saying that he could step up to Major Junior. I just think that he is ready for the college game.

I just figure an hour to fargo and a little time to cross the river. On Marto, I don't believe he needs junior hockey to prepare him for the college game. He is such a nice player already. Junior is great for a lot of kids, especially those who haven't had any scholarship offers yet. Marto has been scouted extensively already. I heard through the grapevine that MN is number one ona short list for him right now.

I agree, i hate seeing homegrown talent scoring for other teams (especially MN). I grew especially sick of it when it lead to MN titles.

It will be a clean sweep for the east. Additionally, no Mr Hockey should ever come out of the west. Put a top east region player out west and watch his stats triple.

Kessel is going to Yost. If I were him I'd be in CHL next year.

I'm comparing Marto to Martin when Paul was at Elk River. He obviously developed significantly in the three years he played at MN. Marto has been down to Minneapolis on an "unofficial" visit. I think Lucia sees the same things I do. Western ND hockey will never equal the east. GF has an elite DI program and the best facilities in the nation. It has a rich tradition. It is 2.5 hours to Winnipeg. It is 2 hours to Roseau, 2.5 hours to Warroad and 1 .2 hours to Moorhead. Proximity to the best competition and hockey schools and programs make it superior.

This weekend is everything as far as a national tournament birth is concerned. We have to sweep. We want Maine to sweep Lowell, we want Tech to sweep Alaska, we want Bemidji State to sweep UMD and SCSU to sweep the Gophs. Dartmouth v Harvard is either or. We can move way up in the pairwise if that sequence of events occurs. As far as this team. I don't know what to think. I think we lack a third period, carry the team on my shoulders, and win the f---ing game kind of guy. We've lost a lot of 1-goal games this year against some very good teams. I place the lack of success of this year's team squarely on the shoulders of the defensive corps' inability to create offense.

Marto reminds me of Paul Martin when he was at Elk River. Same build, same smooth skating defenseman who can really lead the transition to offense coming out of the defensive zone. He could very easily become an every day NHL defenseman. Mr Hockey here it comes. I don't want to see him in Maroon and Gold next year!!!

I am not surprised at all about the Central-Minot score. When you play for a Grand Forks school, you don't ever think that you won't go to state. It is a forgone conclusion. We were never nervous, and we played at Englestad against Central every year. We know the ice, we expect to be there, and we sleep in our own beds at night. Proximity to MN is everything for ND hockey. Being able to play Roseau and Warroad and Moorhead growing up is huge. For that reason alone, the East will always dominate the west.

Hockey East will always get the media attention etc. simply because of the population of the area it encompasses. Major city universities and universities with successful D-I programs in other sports also get more attention. If you look at the WCHA, only MN and WI meet that criteria, that is why whenever they have a decent player he gets the Hobey or everytime they have a decent year the media can't stop talking about it. Bottom line is that hockey is a regional sport that has a couple of highly successful programs and a bunch of also rans. UND, MN, MI, ME, or BC will win the NCAAs this year and every year that follows.

I just read my post and I meant split not sweep.

Here's how I see the series breaking down. Forwards: Advantage UND. Bochenski, Parise and Murray are all in the top 5 for ppg. Vanek does make the top 10. I think that every one of UND's scoring lines is more potent than the comparable UM line. Additionally, UND's forwards backcheck and play both sides of the rink. Vanek play D? Please. Defensemen: Draw. Although MN has much more highly skilled offensive defense men (think Ballard), UND's bruisers will hold the blue line and will match up well with MN's goal-mouth garbage collectors (Potulny has had a great career out-bruting defensemen and banging in rebounds and tips). Goaltending: Advantage UND. Although Briggs has been playing well lately, Brandt and Parise are both superior. Special teams: Advantage MN. Although UND has a decent pk, MN's pp is lethal. The Rodents just move the puck too well. The men in green better stay out of the box. Incentive: Advantage MN. The Gophs have home ice and motivation to test their mettle. There is nothing that the Mariucci crowd would rather do than chant "over-rated" after a sweep. So it is a toss-up. I am looking forward to some exceptional hockey. MN is one of the few teams that can actually skate with UND. That could be exciting. I predict a sweep 7-4 UND on Friday and 4-2 MN on Saturday with an empty netter. I can't wait fort his one.

The plexiglass partition in the penalty box was the result of legendary Sioux tough guy Dean Dachyshyn who fought a Wisconsin player when they were both in the box. The fights that occurred were legendary at the old Ralph. The best part of it was that a fighting penalty usually only drew a double minor back in the 80's. I remember Dan Brennan fighting the same guy three times in a game once.