yzerman19

Let's not be mean here guys, c'mon. It is stated that there has to be more reasons to stay in the WCHA. I agree. Helping the CHA, while noble and in the spirit of supporting american collegiate hockey is like throwing our program underneath the bus. It would be great if I gave half my income to charity too, but hey, I'm a Sioux Fan, not Mother Theresa. The history, tradition and success of UND hockey has been due to being part of the WCHA. The WCHA has become The premier league in college hockey because of programs like UND. MN, WI, UMD, Denver and CC also contributed to this for decades. Recent success in Mankato and SCSU have helped too. AA is still working on some things, Tech and Northern Michigan have both spent plenty of time helping build this conference too. Now Northern MI is in the CCHA. I am for inviting as many kids to the party as we can, but not to the point where we run out of cake and ice cream. Hockey will always be a regional sport. You don't build fans where kids can't play it on their own, and don't have heros to watch. As much as I want BSU to be successful, and for CHA to be successful, there is no way I trade the chance at beating MN, WI, Denver, CC, UMD, et all in the best conference in college hockey year in and year out. Long live the Sioux, long live the WCHA. No matter what Bruce McClown and the Sheep heard want to do to it.

Supposedly the integrity of the brackets is the paramount consideration. Next is host schools at home. Next is number one seeds closest to home. Last is intraconference matchups. I believe that we will be the #2 seed overall following a BC/NH split this coming weekend. With that being said, I would predict: By the numbers: MI vs Army BC vs Mankato UND vs BSU MSU vs UMD NH vs SCSU Denver vs Clarkson CC vs Notre Dame WI vs Miami You won't move CC, as a #1 seed and a host, so you have to move WI. If you swap Denver and WI, you end up with two eastern teams heading west (bad for eastern attendance). If you swap MSU and WI, you end up with an intraconference first round matchup. So, I think they swap a whole bottom bracket. BC vs Mankato swaps with WI vs Miami So we have: MI vs Army WI vs Miami UND vs BSU MSU vs UMD NH vs SCSU Dever vs Clarkson CC vs Notre Dame BC vs Mankato We still have an attendance problem out in Mass. So, we swap BC and MSU. Now we have Madison MI vs Army WI vs Miami Attendance - GREAT Worcester UND vs BSU BC vs UMD Attendance - As good as can be Albany NH vs SCSU Denver vs Clarkson Attendance - GOOD Colorado Springs CC vs Notre Dame MSU vs Mankato Attendance - GOOD

A BC/NH split also turns the table. It moves us to a tie in COP, making us win RPI, them win TUC, we split the HTH. RPI is the tie breaker.

Did a quick bracketology with the latest and greatest PWR available on USCH at 11pm on Sat night: By the numbers: Michigan vs Army Mankato vs BC New hampshire vs Bemidji UMD vs Michigan State UND vs SCSU Clarkson vs Denver CC vs Notre Dame Wisconsin vs Miami Couple Problems: 2 hosts in the same bracket and an intraconference first round matchup in UND vs SCSU First problem is getting Wisconsin to host. You can't swap them with Clarkson, because you add another intraconference matchup, so you swap them with UMD. To get rid of the intraconference in UND vs SCSU, you can't swap out Notre Dame, because you again end up with an intraconference matchup, so you swap SCSU with Bemidji Now you have : Worcester Mass: MI vs Army Mankato vs BC BC and Army aren't too far away (attendance -good) Madison WI: NH vs SCSU WI vs Michigan State WI at home, and a Big Ten matchup (attendance -excellent) Albany NY: UND vs Bemidji Clarkson vs Denver Only ECAC school in in the regional hosted by the ECAC (attendance -fair) Colorado Springs CO: CC vs Notre Dame UMD vs Miami CC at home (attendance -good)

I love the scenario of us, CC, NH and Michigan as the Regional #1 seeds. It means we won't see any of those teams until the Frozen Four (fingers crossed), and it guarantees us that we don't end up in CC's Regional on their home ice. Assuming Wisconsin gets in as a four seed, that also guarantees us not seeing them in Madison for a Regional!

Looking at the current PWR, If the Sioux take care of business against BSU this weekend, and NH and BC split, the Sioux will take the PWR from NH as well, and we will be the overall 2 seed going into the 3/1 series at UMD.

I certainly hope that Radke doesn't get an extra game. An extra game would be unusual for a first fight of the season. Radke's presence seems to add character to this team. I think he is a good locker room and bench guy. Tied for first...who would've thunk it in November?

How did that fight between periods start? I just caught it when Radke was fighting the Denver player who still had his helmet on. Did Kyle go dog him or did the guy just punk it keeping the lid on?

Totally agree AZ! What a win. Interestingly enough, I never got upset in this game, even down 4-1. I was pleased with how they played as a whole, and I just felt like it might be one of those games where you don't get bounces. Well, the team really showed me something tonight. Battling back like that, wow! Let's hope they don't have comeback hangover tomorrow night. A number one seed would be so great, especially if the combination of our play and NH's play keeps us out of each other's bracket. I don't really want to see them with VanRiemsdyk.

I've never said that a defenseman has to contribute offensively to be good. I don't come down on Jones! I will agree that I routinely complain about the freshmen D. I probably am overly hard on Lapoint. With that concession however, one of Lapoint's goals was a last second tap on a Duncan shot that was rolling in (CC game). Anyway, I just wanted to add that I don't think a d-man has to score to be highly regarded in my book. The best d-men in my opinion are the ones who can clear out the front of the net, who don't get caught up out of position, and who can transition the puck up ice for the breakout. Instead of me defending why I am unimpressed, why are you so impressed? Just curious if I am missing something that you might be seeing.

Big Joe leads the league in plus minus. He took a stupid penalty tonight, and he pulled a bush-league move in the handshake line, but I'll take a 6-7 252lb plus minus leading defenseman any time. On D, Genoway has been a stud, Bina has been a rock, Jones has been solid, Finley has played better than my expectations of the man, Chorney has been disappointing, and the freshmen have been freshmen.

Redwing, from one Redwing alias to another, I am going to have to respectfully disagree. That's ok, its America Hak also plays Marto, and I am not lobbying for the Jake either, in fact I think he is often a liability too. They are freshmen. I guess I can't expect them to be superstars. You know, I hope they become great. Finley and Smaby and Greene weren't exactly studs their first years either. On a positive note, I do agree with you whole heartedly on those comments regarding Denver's goals.

You must've been a goalie, I didn't notice what Lammy was doing as much as I noticed getting the puck on the tape with a whole net to shoot at, and not because of some pretty passing. I don't know how to quote, but this is a comment in reply to the comment about the 4 denver goals

It might not have been our best all around performance, but I thought it was the best forecheck and best puck movement we've seen from the forwards since the start of the season. We wore them down with four lines. Defense wasn't that bad either. The goals that DU scored were all about puck luck. DO NOT CRUCIFY ME, RIDICULE MY LEGITIMACY TO MAKE COMMENTS, OR CALL ME NOT A TRUE SIOUX FAN, but seriously...Lapoint...the guy is not getting it done out there. I hope the kid turns it around, but he was noticeably a liability out there tonight. KEEP WINNING! I do not want to draw UNH, WI in Madison, or CC in CS in a regional...give me a nice CCHA or ECAC route in.

Wow!!! If Kozek can keep playing like this, which is what Atlanta saw in him, we are going to be tough to beat. First line forwards played their best game of the year A+. Chorney and Lapoint were not up to standard, but Genoway, Bina, Finley and Jones were A-. Lammy's numbers for this game will suck, but he didn't play poorly. Denver capitalized on a lot of puck luck. I think good coaches are telling their teams to counter punch the Sioux. Much respect to Denver. They do not clutch and grab. They play legit hockey. They are skilled. Now...FINISH THEM TOMORROW

He MNman, I wasn't interpreting the rule book. I know there is no third man obligatory rule, but being 3rd man in warrants a misconduct call IMHO. As for not being able to give a roughing major. Why not? Typically they might give out a double minor for roughing, but I was looking to make it 5 and 5 for both Malone and Peltier. I've seen 5 minute majors for other calls i.e. high-sticking. Why not call it a major rough? I thought you could give a 5 minute major for any infraction that warrants it in the opinion of the officials. My case was simply to try and even it up as best you could given the circumstances. Certainly Peltier warranted more than two minutes.

Comment that i heard from a very reliable sources was only "Brock got screwed by the University of Denver." Its all speculation from here. He lives off campus, so it isn't housing related...most likely some sort of academic issue.

I'll take the Penis Mightier, Alex. Its the Pen Is Mightier, Sean.

That's fair, so let's consider only the forwards. Of the forwards drafted in the first round of the 2004 NHL draft, only Blake Wheeler, Lauri Korpikoski and Kris Chucko have not seen an NHL game.

Regarding Wheeler, the following is an assessment of other first round picks from 2004. Blake wheeler was taken 5th overrall. He has scored 40 goals in his career for the Golden Gophers. Alex Ovechkin, taken 1st that year, has scored 46 goals in the NHL so far this season! 144 total NHL goals Evgeni Malkin, taken 2nd has scored 61 NHL goals Drew Stafford, taken 13th, has notched 26 NHL goals ) 48 professional goals Travis Zajac, taken 20th, has notched 29 NHL goals My point is first round picks are supposed to be in the NHL producing 4 years after they are drafted. Wheeler is a fine college hockey player. He has some skill. He wouldn't make it on the bad boy Sioux, but he is perfect for the Pansies on Ice.

It is a nice article. I do want to comment on the shots on goal stat. I think that it tells some of the story, but no where near all. A great scoring chance where you hit the crossbar is not considered a shot on goal by the statisticians, so you can have a high-quality, fully-executed scoring chance resulting in no shot on goal. Conversely, a clearing attempt that finds its way to the goalie counts as a shot on goal. Also, a team on the penalty kill for 7 minutes of a first period is ALWAYS going to be outshot for that period.

Trotter is a heckuva hockey player. No matter what the reason, I wish him the best. I have no love lost for Denver, but BT is a worthy competitor and has my respect.

Noone has condoned Hak's mistake. He has formally apologized to everyone from his players, the alumni, Don Adam, to kids watching at home. He owned up to his mistake. UND did a pre-emptive strike by suspending him, keeping it in house rather than waiting for the league to issue something. While I originally thought one game, I think UND did two to prevent the league from thinking we took it easy on him. He also was given a formal written blemish in his personel record. Not that it means a whole lot. Dave Hakstol is in elite company. He has lead UND to three straight Frozen Fours. Gino didn't do that, Blais didn't do that. I know there are those in the alumni and boosters who wanted Eades to be head coach, but Hak has done a great job. I think the players believe in him and believe in themselves when they play for him. Dave Hakstol is usually a robot on the bench. He showed how much he cares about Sioux hockey and about his team last Saturday. If I'm a player, I respect that, even if on a headier level I know it was wrong. Remember, in a huge rivalry series and conference game, we lost Duncs 7 seconds in for a CFB (legit, but not a malicious CFB). Then in the second Trupp gets cross-checked from behind and no CFB is called. In fact, from the ensuing scrum, The Gophs get a pp and we are down to only 10 available forwards for 10 minutes. The lunacy of that call is reinforced by the make-up call on Wheeler a minute later. Hak was mad and frustrated. It still doesn't make it right, but he has apologized. I think we emerge from this a more cohesive unit. Players know that their teammates and their coach have their back. I think we will battle adversity from the officials the rest of the way, but we will rise to the occasion. As for people commenting on JT and the Osh getting minors...Should the Gophers have suspended every under age player at the Blarney Stone following the undercover report? Of course not. College kids have few beers, guess what? Some probably even try to get laid on a Saturday night after a game too! Big Shocker. The latest TJ incident was nothing, in fact, the charges will most likely be dropped, and the circumstances are such that any reasonable person would understand. I do want to know if Joe was speared by Wheeler. If he was, the action was somewhat warranted (albeit in poor taste).

As someone who did undergrad and got my MBA at Minnesota (all who read my posts know there is no love for Maroon and Gold hockey however) while the map is accurate as far as physical campus is concerned, dinkytown and stadium village are definitely considered "campus" by locals. In fact, the map indicates areas as "non-campus" that include a number of sorrority and fraternity houses (up and down 10th). Marcy Holmes and southeast Minneapolis (just on the other side of 35W) is also almost entirely student housing. The map clearly shows property physcially owned by the U of MN. Is campus definied as property owned by the University or as the area of town dominated by the University and its students?

Big difference between an official and an opposing player. If you physically wnet after an on ice official, you'd be done for the year. You can not fight an official. You can fight a player and it is only a game DQ. Besides, when did I ever make a comment about Malone?