yzerman19

I grew up in GF, and nothing was better than Sioux-Gophs. I can remember Gopher players from years back

Hello, Jordy plays with a ton of heart. He isn't the talent little bro is, but he plays hard every night. I am imagining some pretty heated breakaway contests in the Parise driveway

MN is an elite hockey program. They are not the elite hockey program. There are some banners flying in ND, CO, MA, ME, WI and MI that say MN doesn't own the college sport. They always put together a good squad and are deserving of praise. However, the jock sniffer who never laced 'em up whose claim to fame was Mike Crowley once drove him home from BJHS has no business talking trash about hockey

I'm thinking both teams will be happy with 2 points. Teams are both young, talented teams with a lot of growing pains left. I've watched both extensively this year, and they remind me a lot of each other. Very talented young forwards, a couple skilled upper classmen, weak D. The difference maker has to be Jordy

Allright Sioux Here's how to win this game: 1. Go out and hit somebody or get hit on your first shift. Get the blood pumping. Early goals either way will determine the winner. 2. Keep the feet moving away from the puck. MN has some great skaters, and if our feet aren't moving they will get odd man rushes. 3. Forwards, remember your defensive assignments and backcheck. The Gopher forwards can fry our D if they don't have support. 4. Do not abandon Jordy. Any Maroon sweaters near the crease should be covered in snow. 5. Good, hard passes. Noone can outskate a good pass. 6. Do not take stupid penalties. MN has a very good pp and the last thing we need is pim trouble. Exclamation: IF YOU CAN READ HIS NUMBER DO NOT HIT HIM! 7. Don't get too pretty (even you gifted players i.e. Drew and Travis and Jonny) 8. Take shots. Get to the circles, let 'em fly and everyone to the net. Especially opposite wingers to the far post. 9. D-men take care of business in the d zone before you worry about transition; again this means even the gifted guys (Brian) 10. Feed off the high energy guys. Get Prpich and Oshie running around like a 22 year old Roenick on Effadrine. 11. Have fun. Hockey is a fun game and a series like this is what it's all about. 12. Play Sioux Hockey

why is Malkin not in the NHL?

Have you seen PK's mug shot? I don't care if you are going to go Top5 in the draft I did hear from a credible inside source that PK is not exactly popular with his teammates.

I also believe that SCSU, MSU and AA should not play in the WCHA. BSU's D1 status also bugs. I liked and miss the WCHA that I grew up with.

You can't base rivalry on attendance. There are two large metro areas in the WCHA and Mpls is driving distance to most schools while Denver is not. UND and WI want to beat MN because of the age old rivalry among the traditional elite WCHA programs. SCSU, MSU, BSU and UMD all want to beat MN, because they have the David v Goliath complex. Everyone likes to knock off traditional powers and MN is just a great big target. UND is too, and I would bet that all of the schools that claim MN as their top rival would put UND as number 2.

I heard Phil Kessel hangs out with Fred Smoot

If I were in charge of Canadian customs, I wouldn't issue Paukovich an entry visa. Zach Jones can't hold his own in the WCHA, he will not be a top NHL prospect. Sorry, kid. WJC is the best talent in the world. I hope our guys really shine. Toews especially, he is the only undrafted SIoux in th tourney.

What's going on...overloaded server?

Alright! Hang on...good positional hockey, no gambling with that big empty stat padder out there...........

How's the action? Do we sound pretty fresh yet? Who's out there? I'm dying without the internet radio feed.

Unfortunately Toews from Lee will probably only be a two year gig

Rodents win 5-2. Game was closer than the score. Very physical too. Go Sioux!!

How did Toews' goal sound? He has to pleased to hit the twine with all the scouts there.

First things first, the year that Neal won the hobey, Aaron deserved it. Neal will even tell you that; although Aaron will not. Second thing, the deal that was worked out with the Brotens was unique. It was one of the first scholarship offers that included a clause to be able to leave to go pro early and be able to come back and finish school for free. The ability to have lifelong linemates Butsy and Aaron come play with you too, also weighed in. There has always been a strong Roseau connection with UND, Rube and Deaner having coached there just solidified that pipeline. The failure to land three future NHLers from there is perhaps UND's greatest recruiting failure. Grand Forks is the town that Roseau kids go to for school clothes and WDAZ Sioux games are televised there. Piece two. How can Dubay make the comparison of Kessel and Wheeler and crew to Tkachuk, Roenick, Amonte and crew. I hope the best for those kids (except when they play UND), but to compare them to 3 guys with 1000+ NHL goals among them is ridiculous.

Denver fans might object to not being labelled elite. They have won more titles than the Gophers including b2b. MN will always be unique, due to being a huge metropolitan market. It results in different media exposure and bias. The underdog piece goes back to the 70's when MN and Mass owned US hockey.

UND hockey (up until recently) was the great (albeit very small) state of North Dakota's only high caliber (D1 or pro) team. UND is a small school in a small state that plays big time hockey. The entire state of North Dakota is smaller than Hennepin County. UND hockey is not an underdog anymore, but the state of North Dakota is, and UND hockey is our only representation on a national stage. The hatred of the Gophs (and they are my favorite team to hate) is mostly due to the fact that the rivalry is so rich. We share a border, we fight for the same talent, and we both have winning traditions. UND is the only team in the WCHA with a winning home record (all-time) against the Gophers. UND is not an underdog in hockey, but the team still represents the little guy as far as school enrollment and state population.

I like the intelligent speculation. I especially appreciate someone who understands the nuances of a play maker, a corner man and a finisher. There are a couple intangibles left out of course, such as chemistry. I believe that you keep guys together who play well together. So Zajac and Stafford must be on the same line. I haven't seen the rookies play at all, but another important factor is speed. You don't want a really fast guy on a line of slower guys. Also when factoring centermen, you need to know who is a good faceoff man. Also, I have never known a center who couldn't play wing, but i have known a lot of wingers who are terrible playing center ice. As for Oshie, I'm sure he will be a fine player, but he definitely isn't a Brady Murray. Brady was special because he has world class speed. He was a threat everytime he was on the ice, and his speed opened up lanes for his mates. WIth Brady's size, he may never suit up in the nHL for any more than a cup of coffee, but his size and speed really suit the European game. He could have a very nice career over there. Oshie will get very limited time this year as the coaches work to develop him. I think you have to put another scorer out with Toews in either Spirko or Porter.

I agree, although I will always doubt the quality of NTDP players. I keep saying that Wheeler reminds me of Tallackson. Kessel will have a very good year.

Now I have no affiliation to Michigan, but comparing UND to Michigan is kind of a stretch. Yes, UND's hockey program has been every bit as if not more successful than MI lately, but Michigan is basically an ivy-league caliber academic institution and is a national player in DI in all sports. As much as I like UND and could care less about Michigan, Michigan is all in all a superior academic institution and collegiate experience. If someone I cared about was debating between attending UND or Michigan, I would say go to Michigan in a second. Sorry, but I have to be pragmatic about this one. Only exception would be if this person was a hockey player with an interest in aviation.

I'm starting to think that the gold colored glasses in the MN corner have finally corrupted their reality. I was cruising around their forum and they are talking about the U18 championships going on right now, and some guy actually made the comment that it's time for Phil Kessel to show the Canadians who the real "next one" is. Now I will always route for the USA, and I hope we win, but have some perspective folks. Phil Kessel is a talented kid, but to compare him to Sidney Crosby is going a bit far. Sidney's dominating a talent pool that is the greatest in junior hockey at 17. There is a big difference between playing for NTDP and playing in the Q.

I could see thirty plus with a healthy Brady Murray on his wing. He and Brady really played well together on the playoff run until Brady got hurt. Zajac's reaction to the injury indicated to me just how much he likes playing with Brady.