fightingsioux4life

FYI, I am 38 (almost 39) years old and I have two degrees from UND and I know all about patience and following through on a plan and not giving up when things don't work out well the first or second time. And FYI, you would be better served in making your points without the moralistic preaching and lecturing.

Okay, besides that debacle, the team was solid in the first half.

Brock Nelson would make this a much better team than it is now. I think Dean Blais said he thinks we would have won the 2001 title if Mike Commodore had come back for his senior year. One player, even in a team sport like this, can put you over the top in certain situations. And don't forget, we had a couple of kids bail on us for the CHL (Jones, Miller). That is another problem with top draft picks: even if you don't lose them to the NHL, you can lose them to the CHL. There is some truth to the point that we have kept more of our players in recent years. That is probably why the 2011 team was so good thru out the season (I don't think that team had a first-half slump). Last year's team had too many injuries to have a realistic chance to win it all. We'll have to wait and see if this year's crop of younger players sticks around or leaves early. If they do, we'll have another 2011-caliber team in one or two years.

Okay, here is a serious answer. I have absolutely no intention to stop following the team. They have been my team since I was 6 or 7 years old and they always will be my team. But if the Cary Eades quote in my signature has any meaning or relevance at all, then it is fair to talk about why we haven't won one in 13 years and what it will take to get back to that level. It is possible to be a "real" fan and also be objective and logical. It's too bad some people on here don't feel that way.

Back in 2004, the DII North Central Regional Women's BB tournament was held at the BESC and the men's hockey team was at home the same weekend. So I think it could be done. Parking would be a @#$%^ though.

This is what I mean when I point out that national titles don't seem as important to our fan base as they used to. I should bookmark this post so I can point it out every time I get told that "no Sioux fan would ever say national titles aren't important", because that is what this post is saying. I don't think every season without a national title is a failure (I don't think I have ever said that), but when you have the talent we have had over the past 13 years and have ZERO national titles during that time, it is fair to ask what variable is missing from the equation. And you simply cannot explain it all away to bad luck, hot goalies and all that other stuff. I think part of the problem is that we don't have enough 3-4 year players in our program anymore. We had those from 1997-2000 and, not coincidentally, that was one of the most successful periods in the history of the program in terms of both wins and championships. It is good to have a few 1st round draft picks on the team to add that extra level of firepower, but if your team is dominated by them, you run the risk of starting over with a new team every year. That is tough to overcome. If we get back to having a core of players that are talented and skilled, but not loved by the NHL scouts, I think we'll have more success in March and April. And I will close by saying this: I will gladly give up the "UND in the NHL" status we have had since the new REA opened in 2001 if it means hanging more NCAA title banners in that beautiful arena. Agree or disagree, but that is my position on the subject.

Sid "Grandpa Sports" Hartman is the biggest brown-nosing sycophant in the MSP media. Period.

Which does not help us since we have so many skilled players.

I know, I was backing you up because it happened to me on Sunday. And I (like you) are concerned that this team is not consistent enough to make a run at #8.

I have taken some shots on this topic as well. Like I have said before, if you want to call me out on something, just do it. Don't make snide comments.

I was afraid of that.

If that's a shot at me, please don't speak in semantics. Just come out and say it.

Well, I was a both games this weekend and I think scpa0305 makes some good points.

I am not comparing national debt to personal debt. I just think it's amusing that some of the same people that kick and scream about "letting me keep more of what I earn" and "I do a better job of managing my money than the government" also have credit card debt problems and have creditors calling them day and night. I guess you haven't seen the statistics about how addicted millions of Americans are to the cheap and easy credit that is available to them. Anyway, we are part of the national debt problem. We want to cut government spending.....until it impacts one of our cute little pet projects. Then we kick and scream about how wrong it is to cut that program. Like it or not, we are mirror images of the government we elect (and I am talking local, state and federal). To change the latter, we must also change the former. We must become an investment and savings society, not a spending and consumer society.

This is pure hooey. If the oil is there, the oil companies will remain in the state to get it out of the ground so they can sell it. And you can forget all this fear-mongering about the price of oil dropping to unprofitable levels anytime soon. Every time a big oil refinery has a leak in a hose, they shut it down for two weeks and the price of gas at the pump rises 50 cents per gallon. And with increasing demand worldwide (China, India, ect.), there will be no surplus of oil on the world market anytime soon. My advice to everyone is get the most fuel-efficient vehicles you can from now on, because that is the only way you will save money on fuel. The bottom line is this: Lowering the oil extraction tax won't change the behavior of oil companies in western North Dakota in terms of what they pump out of the ground. But it will take money out of the hands of the State of North Dakota, resources that could be used to mitigate the negative impacts of the oil boom in the west (damage to infrastructure, inadequate roads and highways, overcrowded schools and hospitals), add to our reserve funds for possible hard times in the future (drought, floods) and play catch-up on deferred maintenance projects that we couldn't afford in the past. This is, in short, a big tax giveaway to oil companies that can serve no logical purpose other than to thank them for their generous contributions to the campaign accounts of certain politicians in the state of North Dakota. I don't have to name names, I think we can guess who these people are. Further proof that monopolies don't work in business and they don't work in government. And on that sour note, have a good Sunday.

The current epidemic of credit card debt in this country today suggests otherwise.

This is my main concern about this team. It's March, we are fighting for playoff positioning and we lost one precious point to Bemidji at home. We better hope that the Beavers can pull off a one or two point weekend vs. Minnesota next week. It could happen, but I am not counting on it.

He is just pointing out that struggling to tie Bemidji State at home is unacceptable at this point in the season. Calling a spade a spade doesn't mean you "aren't a real fan". Honestly, the "ducky and bunny, sunshine and smiles" syndrome that has infected our hockey (and football) programs is sickening.

And people were giving Minnesota the WCHA and NCAA titles back in January because they had "the greatest goaltender in the world" and "we don't match up well with them" and blah, blah, blah. Sure, they are a top 3 team in the league this year, but they long ago shed their invincibility.

It was Denver. I was at the ND State Hockey Tournament that Saturday night and I was in the hospitality room in the loft of the old Ralph. They used to have someone at the bottom of the stairs with a radio and a chalkboard with out-of-town scores of interest on it that he kept up-to-date. I also remember the Sioux women's BB team losing to NDSU that night. It wasn't a good night at all. But we all know where both of those teams ended the year.....ON TOP!!!

I agree with you on this. You simply have to beat teams like this at home. Ties aren't good enough. Losses are unacceptable. Bemidji State is a bad team this year. If their system works so well, how come they don't win more games? Because they are a bad hockey team and should have been swept this weekend in one of the toughest places for visiting teams to play. We were outworked and outplayed in the overtime period and should have lost. And yes, I know we had that flurry right before the horn went off, but before that, we were getting worked in the D zone and should thank God over and over that we didn't give up a goal. Next weekend we are on the road against a much better team (Minnesota State) and if we aren't on top of our game, we risk sliding down to 5th or 6th place and having a much tougher road to St. Paul and beyond.

Please don't get me started on that.

We play whomever we play in the first round. If we can't beat them at home in the first round, we don't deserve to go to St. Paul. Personally, I am not worried about it.

I was there. It was brutally cold and windy that day. I stuck it out until the end, but it was not easy.

I was there as well. Great turnout by the fans, beautiful night for a game next to Lake Bemidji and the butt-kicking was fun too! Of course, 1995 started out with excitement and expectations for our team. We had been to the national semifinals back to back years and we were all excited with the prospect of taking the next step as a program. If we can get back to those expectations and excitement level with the program, we'll see more people at the Alerus Center and more people travel for road games.