yzerman19

Gopher athletics need help to balance the budget??? Please. The Athletic Department is completely self sufficient. If they need to pinch pennies because of their multi-million dollar football and basketbal coaches, I guess that might make sense. My understanding is that U of MN athletics always operates well in the black. It is public record too. You just have to dig.

I'll take a third place finish so long as we go into the playoffs as the hottest team in hockey. Winning is contagious. If the guys believe it, we can do it. I just really hope to avoid Michigan. Although in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. I just don't like the thought of having to end their season for the third year in a row. Especially with the differences in the CCHA vs the WCHA style of play and officiating. I also think that it will be really unfortunate if we have to face Denver or CC in a Regional Final. The current PWR would have us with Lowell and Denver vs Quinnipiac in a Regional Bracketology: Michigan vs Bemidji State BC vs Clarkson Miami vs RIT Michigan State vs Northeastern* CC vs UMass NH vs Notre Dame* Denver vs Quinnipiac UND vs Lowell *switched to avoid first round intraconference matchup

Wow! Did the what if, and we basically need to sweep out to take second. That's assuming Denver beats up on the teams that they should beat up on. Not that that's impossible, but that will be tough. I predicted a strong third place finish with us hosting either Tech or UMD in early March.

It looks like AA has one pretty decent forward line. From the stats, it looks like they might have an issue with goaltending. An 88% sv percentage would translate to 3 goals if we can put between 26-30 SOG. Add the Oshie and Duncan Factor and that number should be more like 4 or 5. I think the Sioux depth will be apparant in this series. CC has beaten these guys 4 times, Denver has beaten them twice; although MN and UMD have been beaten by them and WI and SCSU skated to ties. I think this is a separate the men from the boys kind of weekend. The top teams in this league beat AA. A loss will hurt us terribly, especially if we have any hopes of picking up ground on CC and DU in the PWR, as they are a COP. It is the second half surge. We are in better shape for it this year than in any of the previous 3. It is time to stop talking and start doing. Each unit, each line, each D-pairing has already put together 3 periods of perfect play. They might not have been in the same game, but it has happened. It just has to all happen in 60 minutes now. Build every week. Practice should be fun now. Winning is fun. Hockey is fun. I am excited for this second half surge!!!!

This is great fun I wish I would've been on for last weekend's games. There should almost be a requirement that you can only go with the Osh or Duncs once in the survivor season!

Only thing about a #1 seed in the regional is we'd have to leave the black Nike Swifts at home!

4th is good. I'd like to see that 4th place in the PWR to lock down a #1 seed. This is key to a. avoid Michigan in a regional and b. to have the last line change throughout the regional. Still early, but we are striking distance to the coveted #1 seed in a Regional.

I also don't think that they are struggling at all. We've won five in a row!!! They have not been the dominant force of last year, and I think AZ is right. You can't take JT out of the equation and expect it to net zero. We are in good shape. Keep working and clicking. I predict a strong stretch run. If the other two scoring lines are able to get going too, that will provide more opportunities for that top line.

Agree 100% that Duncan has not had the space this season. He has done a great job this year when he just cuts to the net and lets his wrister go. The only way that I've thought you can free up some space for Ducs is to separate him from Oshie. Try and get one or the other out against an opponents third scoring line and/or d-pairing. Although a point per game in this league isn't too shabby. It might be hard for those guys to get the chemistry rolling with other linemates at this time of the season.

I think Duncs and Osh can play with whoever is on that line with them. I think the bigger issue with those two is deciding who does what. They can both make plays and they can both finish. I think they are both trying to do both a little too much.

I was unable to watch this series unfortunately. I did see Kaiper on youtube Sounds like special teams played well. Only the one goal on 5 on 5 though. Any overall feel of how we are clicking 5 on 5? Clearly you never argue with a sweep. I just keep looking for us to get better doing the little things. I've been really impressed with Trupp lately. The kid's motor never stops. From the box score, it sounds like Frattin is finding his "inner playmaker" which is great for us. Don't want to beat the dead horse and get more eye rolls, but how did the defense look? Again from the box it sounds like Genoway is still playing great. My biggest concern is still around how we handle an aggressive forecheck. Does Mankato bring it with all three forwards on their forecheck? Reading through Firday's thread, it sounds like we were hanging on. I am optimistic due to our sweeps. They are teams that we should sweep though. The goal has to be to get better every weekend so that we are still playing in April.

Old Time Hockey...I hope you were . I can take a shot, but I dare say that of all things, I've never been called not a good hockey mind. That's a pretty low blow, considering some of the minds in hockey You seemed to pass over rather quickly "played a while" and chose to highlight watch a lot. I did play for about 16 years, I wasn't D1 or pro material, but I've spent many hours on the ice. Besides, I didn't realize that opinions need to be qualified here. Anyway, Lapoint is a freshman. I don't think he's terrible, I just don't think that he is where he needs to be yet. I have high expectations for the kid. He is an offensive defenseman, or that is his billing anyway; yet, Joe Finley has more points, and about the same points per game. Everyone knows Joe is not a playmaker. As for size, the kid is tall, but he is not thick. I like the kid, I like the fact that he is part of the Sioux family. I just can't help but state, that with him out of the lineup the last two weekends, we've had 3 of our best defensive performances. Why would you mess with that? Not saying its because Marto was in and Lapoint was out. Just saying that's what happened. As I stated on a previous post, I look for a defenseman to be able to transition the puck up the ice, protect the puck in the defensive zone, lay the body, get into passing lanes, clear out the slot, and be a safety net for the forwards in the offensive zone. With Lapoint out the last two weekends, I think we've been better at breaking the puck out. That's where I'm coming from. Chorney is definitely playing better with Bina than he was with Lapoint. Is this because of Taylor or because of Robbie? Who knows. I just call it like I see it. I'm happy to discuss hockey, I just don't like personal shots. It takes away from reasonable disagreements or differences in opinion and makes everyone more ignorant for reading it.

I'm just not impressed with Lapoint. He is not physical at all. He has some skill, but you have to be able to hit in this league. I think Chorney's early season slump was in part due to his being paired with Lapoint. Agree with DAR, that's why I'm not coaching, but I played a while, and watch a lot. Lapoint reminds me of a slightly less skilled...dare i say it on this board?...Brian Lee

Finley might come back too. The way his game is improving, I think the collective bargaining agreement might keep him around, unless of course Washington shows him big time money. Washington just dumped a boatload into Ovechkin... Duncan, well, here is what I'm thinking. His numbers are off from last year's Hobey performance. He is still a great player, but he still has to deal with NHL perception of a 5'6 player. His Dad had a brief pro career, so he knows how fickle the league can be. Having an education to fall back on if the big $ isn't there might be enough incentive to stick around. Its all speculation on the freshmen, although Toews, Cichy, Gregoire and Hextall all sound like big time players. Assume for a second that Duncs and Finley stay: I wonder if Miller and Kozek are under the microscope i.e. Hak has said if you don't earn it this year, you are sitting next year. Clearly Forney, Davison and Martens are also under this microscope in practice. For THIS year, I still think we should split up Duncs and Osh, except for on the PP Move Kaip back to Center on the third scoring line: VV centering Trupp and Duncan (scoring 1) Oshie centering Watkins and Frattin (scoring 2) Zajac centering Radke and Malone (checking) Kaip centering Kozek and Miller (scoring 3) Oshie centering Duncan and Trupp (pp1) VV centering Frattin and Kozek (pp2) Kaip and Duncan (pk1) VV and Oshie (pk2) I like the D: Chorney and Bina Finley and Genoway Jones and Marto (we've been winning without Lapoint)

I dunno. Cichy is still really young. Bruneteau was not having a good year for a 3rd year USHL player, even before he was concussed. If Duncs comes back we have a lot of forwards. Hextall has good numbers. Gregoire has good numbers. Cichy has good numbers. Toews has good numbers. It just seems like we have a lot of good players committed for next year

VV is not ready for the NHL. I think that we are going to have a surplus of really good players. I wouldn't be surprised to see some guys get sent back to junior for another year. I also wouldn't be surprised to see some upper classmen get bumped.

A good defenseman doesn't give up odd man rushes. He pinches when he knows he will have a winger's support or when he is sure he can score. Sidenote, a temporary 3 on 2 rush is not a dman's fault in anyone's estimation. Even if the d-man pinched, so long as there are two back, the d-man did his job. The third player should get picked upby the backchecker. 3 on 2 appears to happen to us a lot. I believe it is the result of the cycle, and the close puck support approach. Growing up, I was always taught (as a winger) to never be the third player below the goal-line. If you are the weakside winger, you can not let yourself get caught up. You should always be moving your feet, with your stick on the ice ready to receive a pass and go to the net. If the puck gets coughed up, you need to do a stop and start and get backchecking.

I look for a defenseman to be able to do 3 things fairly well. 1. Not give up scoring chances. This means no odd-mans, play the puck when appropriate, play the body when appropriate, tie up forwards crashing the net and don not let them shoot. 2. Transition the puck up the ice. Have to be able to make good breakout passes and be able to skate the puck up out of your defensive zone yourself if need be. 3. Be a calming presence in the offensive zone. I want all forwards to be confident that if they get in trouble with the puck, the points are there to bail them out and restart everything. To be truly elite, you also should also be able to QB the powerplay, anticipate well, and really be able to lay the body.

AZ, you stole my idea. Frazee for Hobey

#1 stat for a defenseman IMO is opponent scoring chances allowed. #2 is just minuses.

Great article. Love Jonesey. However, Big Joe leads the WCHA in +/-. That is tough to knock

As much as I love the Sioux, no player this year (so far) is Hobey material. I'm way more concerned about hanging number 8 than any individual accomplishments. No Hobey, but we might get Duncs and Finley on the All-WCHA first team (Duncs is tied for 3rd in scoring and is #2 in assists). Finley has the best +/- in the league at +17 and has chipped in a GWG among his 6 points

Roe is a dirty player. He embodies all that is unclean in hockey. I need a shower after watching a SCSU game. Great win for the Sioux. The sweep is clutch. We have struggled with teams that play a defensive style. We played through it and showed we can win a tight-checking hockey game with limited opportunities. We can not let up for Mankato. We need to build each and every game. Enjoy the win tonight, back to business on Monday.

I'm surprised about the hook on Kozek. Even when he isn't doing anything I at least have faith that he MIGHT do something. I don't have that same kind of faith in some of the others (insert Miller here).

Thanks a ton to everyone who offered help to me last night. I got an email back saying I had something set up wrong on my media player. Anyway, thanks Sioux Fans!! By the way, has anyone seen the replay on that disallowed goal in Denver last night? What an absolute joke. How do you waive that off? Let them decide it on the ice in OT if it honestly is that close. The video that I saw certainly made it look like a goal. The on ice officials signal goal. What on God's earth were they thinking up in the booth! If it were the Sioux, I would come unglued. Imagine if it were a playoff game where loser goes home!