fightingsioux4life

The point that people are trying to make is that the second half of the season is now underway (the playoffs are just around the corner) and we are still "finding ourselves" as a team. We are running out of time to "find ourselves". We have a bunch of league games coming up with 4 points at stake every weekend. We have to start being more consistent game in and game out. If we can do that, we can still make a run at a top three finish in the league.

I wouldn't blame Hakstol for this team's inability to win tonight and earn a home sweep. The coaching staff has been making some changes to the lines to try and get more offensive consistency (which has been lacking this year). The changes worked for us last night because the Sioux worked hard on offense and played solid defense on the other end. It didn't do us any good tonight because we were careless on the defensive end. We also seemed to lose our composure and poise after UNH tied it in the third period. The players have to execute the gameplan; otherwise it doesn't matter how brilliant it is. The guys didn't finish what they started tonight and when you don't play for 60 minutes against teams like UNH and most of the teams in our league, you are going to lose. Period.

I bet that Schlossman is going to run with the "hot goaltender" theme in the Grand Forks fishwrapper tomorrow, but that doesn't explain giving up four unanswered goals after building a 3-1 lead, being sloppy on the penalty kill, the lack of effort and urgency after UNH tied the game at 3-3 in the third and the careless, sloppy play in the defensive zone tonight. We had to earn our chances tonight, UNH didn't give us anything. But UNH took advantage of some bad defensive zone coverage on our part. The silver lining for tonight is that this wasn't a conference series, so we didn't lose points. But if we want to finish in the top three in the league (and avoid the Final Five play-in game), we will have to win games like this and not lose them. Bottom line: A championship team would win a game with a 3-2 lead at home going into the third period. Test failed. Time to get ready for conference play next week at St. Cloud and then back home vs. Michigan Tech.

In case anybody cares, the Giants are leading the Patriots at halftime 21-16.

This is a good test for this team. Our championship teams of the past would win games like this (3-2 lead at home going into the third period). If we keep playing like we have been and tighten up the penalty killing, I think we can pull this one out and have our first stick salute of the season.

This sloppy penalty killing has to stop.

What bothers me about this whole thing is that this makes our program look like a mid-major DI FCS program which will lose coaches every five years or so to the big-time DI FCS programs. I can deal with being a mid-major in DI basketball, but not in football. The move up to DI in all sports was in part predicated on the football program being nationally competitive in DI FCS, not just a lower to mid tier FCS program. If that's all we are capable of, this whole DI move was a big fat waste of time and effort. We had better get some order and leadership established in the athletic department and in Twamley Hall or this is going to be catastrophic for the football program and who knows what else. Losing coaches to DI FBS schools? Understandable and inevitable. Losing coaches to DI FCS schools? Unacceptable and preventable.

This whole thing stinks to high heaven. By all accounts, Lennon seemed happy about the direction the program was going in terms of facility upgrades, recruiting, fundraising, ect. Just a few weeks back on 740am, he was telling Dan Hammer about the schedule for the next two years and how excited he was about the future of the program. Now, all of a sudden, he's gone. I am willing to bet some serious money that there is some political garbage going on behind the scenes that Lennon wasn't willing to put up with. He turned down two other FCS jobs before this one. Our program is moving up to FCS with resources that are already as good or better than some FCS schools. His kids are still school-age. A couple of years ago, we upgraded his contract to keep him. If he had gotten a job at an FBS school (even if it was an assistant coaching position), I would understand this. But this doesn't add up. Who's next, Dave Hakstol?

Frazee is more talented and more consistent than Kellen Briggs was, but he still has some occasional lapses that cost his team games or momentum in games. Kangas is an unproven commodity at this point and we didn't do anything to test him tonight until the very end. Getting shots on net is important, but it's quality scoring opportunites that can either win or lose games for you. I hate it when we put 30 shots on goal and most of them are not good scoring opportunties and then we have to hear about "running into a hot goaltender". Get guys in front of the net, screen the goaltender, get some tip-ins, crash the net, ect. Sometimes we don't do that enough and it is one of the reasons for our up and down offense this year.

I am not convinced that the Rodents are all of a sudden a solid defensive team. They looked solid for long stretches Friday and Saturday night, but some of that was a lack of energy and forechecking on our part. When we did get momentum in the offensive zone (which didn't happen much this weekend), we were able to generate chances and they had trouble getting it out (the third period on Friday and the last five minutes of tonights game). They did collapse around the net this weekend and it was effective, but I think they went into a shell a little too much tonight and it almost cost them. The Rodents have struggled in the third period this season (the Saturday Anchorage game in Minneapolis comes to mind). Minnesota still has some improvements to make on the blueline before the playoffs. Also, I don't think their goaltending is all that great. Sometimes Frazee will look solid, then he'll give up a goal that he shouldn't and the momentum will shift because of it. Kangus is a young player who still has to learn how to win at this level. Our second goal tonight is what turned the tide and almost led to a tie game and overtime. Minnesota is very good up front, but they still have to develop their defensemen and goaltenders if they want to make a run in the playoffs. They needed a good weekend and some league points and they got it in a tough environment. But I will believe in their defense and goaltending when they do it on a week to week basis.

I want to believe in this team, but every step forward is followed by another step back. This Gopher team is not strong on the blueline and not strong in goal. If you put pressure on their defensemen and get some good shots on their goaltender (I don't care which one), you will create scoring opportunities and get some goals. We did that in the third period on Friday and the last 5 minutes or so tonight. But we didn't do it enough over the weekend. And that is why we are still .500 in the league, still haven't swept at home and still have a lot of work to do before the second half. I hope this time off will help them like it did last year.

This is kind of off topic, but does anyone remember the old U.S.A vs. U.S.S.R bubble hockey game? The Circus arcade in Grand Forks used to have one and there is one in Dickinson at the local community center/restaurant/bowling alley. If your opponent hogs the puck behind the net for too long, there is this button you can push up to three times that makes booing noises. It's just a classic, classic piece of Cold War/Sports memorobilia. I'd like to get a hold of one of those as a collectors item/toy.

I voted for eight teams, but I have an idea for a 16 team playoff incorporating much of what already exists. But anything would be better than the Bull Crap Series. The BCS might be better than what we had before because there is a strength of schedule component to the rankings. But the fact that a bunch of inherently biased coaches meeting in smoke-filled backrooms drinking hard liquor from old mayonaise jars (ok I am exaggerating, but you get the point) have any sort of power over who plays where and when for what makes the whole system a total joke. If this is such a great system, why doesn't any other sport at any other level use something similar? Because it sucks, pure and simple. It is absolutely outrageous that coaches can "campaign" for their teams in the press and then get what they want (and I think everyone on this forum knows what coach and team I am talking about; it happened last year). Of course, since the BCS has zero credibility, the BCS-ites have to come up with a bunch of half-truths, speculation and empty rhetoric to defend it. I have posted it before on this forum and I do so again right here to illustrate just how stupid the Bull Crap Series really is: 1) A playoff would ruin the importance of the regular season: Bunk. In Division 2 (as most people on this forum know), if you lose more than 2 games in a season, you can kiss the playoffs goodbye. Sometimes, even one loss teams don't get in. The regular season is still very important in D2 and it would still be important in DI FBS. The only sports in which the playoffs ruins regular season significance are the NBA and NHL. But that is a topic for another time. 2) A playoff would make less money than the current system: Bunk. This is perhaps the stupidest piece of reasoning of all. How in the world could anyone think that a tournament over a period of three to four weeks involving eight to sixteen teams, nationally televised, with most (if not all) of the games in prime time would make less money than a bunch of meaningless Bowl games (except for the BCS title game) scattered over a period of two to three weeks in December and January? The TV contracts would be worth mad money. And that doesn't count the ticket sales and the merchandising. I guess it depends what side your bread is buttered on. 'Nuff said. 3) A playoff would hurt "the little guy" in college football: Bunk. The "little guy" isn't getting much out of the current system, so the BCS-ites have a lot of nerve trying to use this argument. Properly structured and thought out, a playoff system would generate tons of money that could be poured into a revenue-sharing system that would benefit all schools, even those that aren't ranked in the top 5 or 10 ever year. This cash could be used to help pay for Title IX compliance issues and other things that athletic departments have to deal with. And a playoff system could be implemented without getting rid of all the lower and medium tier Bowls. You could leave those games as they are so that teams that don't qualify for the playoff tournament can still play for something. But I do think they should get rid of some of these low-level Bowl games, there are way too many bowls right now. 4) A playoff would hurt the academics of student-athletes because of too much travel, etc: Bunk. D-III has a playoff system, but most of those schools also have strict academic standards that all students (including athletes) must comply with. And it seems to work just fine. College basketball teams travel all over the Western Hemisphere during the regular season and across the country during the postseason and everything seems to work out just fine with those athletes. A playoff could be implemented that starts early in December and is finished by January 1st. That would help mitigate these concerns so that athletes are also doing their jobs as students. As I have said before, what is preventing a playoff system are the numerous political entanglements between the NCAA, the various schools and the various conferences. Not lack of revenue-producing potential. End Rant.

I think Colorado College might be a little bit better (more experienced and very good up front), but I think it's early to start annointing anyone anything. The season is a grind. There is still time for both UND and UMTC to turn it around and make a race of it. We'll find out next week which one is ready to start swimming and which one will keep sinking.

Tim Hennessey said on the radio during the 3rd period that the Rodents had lost in overtime. That is all I know about it, I am not in the mood to verify other team's scores. Our team has problems of it's own.

If this is a team full of "role players", how did we ever get to the Frozen Four the past three years? And why are so many of our underclassmen targeted by their respective NHL teams with contracts that have lots of zeros on the end year after year? And why does our roster currently have 11 NHL draft choices on it? Either the talent is there or it isn't. We just have to start playing earlier in the season so we can get a decent seed in the WCHA and NCAA playoffs. And adding another MacNaughton Cup wouldn't hurt, either. But I think we can kiss that goodbye for this year.

You are correct. The point I am making is that a team with this many upperclassmen (10 Juniors and 4 Seniors) should not be struggling this much early in the year. This isn't 2005-06 when we had freshmen leading the charge. Even last year you could excuse the team for a slow start because of all the underclassmen that left the team during the offseason. Not this year. There is no good excuse for the lack of offense, the abysmal powerplay and the lack of success at home. If these things don't turn around before Christmas, this could be a long, cold winter in Grand Forks. The late season turn around trick won't work every year.

We almost have to win tomorrow night and sweep the struggling Rodents (who lost again tonight) at home. Otherwise, we'll be consigned to fighting for "the 5th and final home playoff spot in the WCHA". Or worse. This is one of the most underachieving teams we have had in a long time.

Then let's either work out a deal with the Dallas Stars to use the old logo or modify it so that it isn't the same thing. Oh wait, I already pointed that out, didn't I? Look, I am not saying that the North Star name is the answer (I think Roughriders is worth at least a look). But I want as many options on the table as possible. That could take a couple of years to figure out, but since we have three years to work with that shouldn't be a problem. As long as it isn't Flickertails, NoDaks or something handpicked by Ron His Horse Is Thunder and Jesse Taken Alive, I think we will all learn to live with it. End rant.

Now you are comparing apples and oranges. The teams that you mentioned changed logos and uniforms, but they didn't change their names and geographical locations. The Minnesota North Stars no longer exist. Long live the Dallas Stars (I still think they should be called the South Stars, but that is another topic for another time). I am not saying you don't have valid points on this, but that was not the best analogy. I agree with what some people have said: change just enough of the logo to satisfy copyright concerns and give it a shot. And if we had to work something out with the Dallas Stars, I don't think it would be that difficult. We are a college sports program, they are an NHL franchise; I don't think it would be that threatening to them. And by using the North Stars name and at least a similar version of the logo, our hockey team (with the media coverage it attracts) might help boost sales of the retro merchandise and help the Dallas Stars make more money in the process. Everything in business and life is negotiable (unless you are dealing with Ron His Horse Is Thunder and Jesse Taken Alive )

MafiaMan, I have to disagree with you on this. For years, UND had a verison of the Chicago Blackhawk logo on the front of its hockey jerseys. There must have been some type of agreement with the NHL franchise to use it. Why couldn't a similar agreement be forged with the Dallas (South) Stars? (sorry I couldn't resist the dig against that franchise) As for the North Star name being Minnesota's state motto (actually, it's Star of the North, but who's paying attention), well I couldn't care less about that. If we are going to build the search process on the premise of not using something that someone else used in the past or is using in the present, it's going to take a long time to find a suitable replacement. When Grand Forks Central switched from Redskins to Maroon and Grey and finally to Knights, some people said that Climax-Fisher used the name already and it was wrong, wrong, wrong for Central to use it. Well, its been about 13 years since GFC adopted Knights as its name and it hasn't caused any problems for anyone. Any new name should be able to incorporate our school colors and be able to stand up to the test of time. It should also be marketable and give us an identity. North Stars fits this criteria. I'm not saying that it's the perfect solution or even the right solution, but we are going to have to broaden our criteria as it pertains to what we will consider and accept or else this process will not yield a palatable result.

Have to disagree with you here. The main problem with this team right now is inconsistency on offense (6 goals one night, 1 the next; 8 goals one night, 2 the next). When we are skating, moving the puck, getting guys in front of the net for screens and deflections; we are a very dangerous offensive team. When we stand around, play dump and chase without the chase, crash the net, shoot from the point or from bad angles all the time; we are a very average, mediocre offensive team. We have the tools to be good at both ends of the ice, but we are still not doing it.

It's gut check time for this team. Either we rise to the challenge and get 2 or 3 out of 4 points this weekend (I would be shocked if we swept at Denver), or we fall further and further behind the teams ahead of us. The talent is there, but games are not won on paper. They are won by the team that works the hardest and plays the smartest. We did neither last night. Having said all that, my prediction errors on the side of optimism: Friday: UND 4, DU 3 Saturday: UND 2, DU 2 Three out of four points would help this team's confidence (and conference standing) right now.

You are right, I probably should keep off the message boards for at least 24 hours after my team loses a playoff game so I don't come off as a bitter fan. I have nothing personal against GVSU or Laker fans in general. But if you have experienced what our fans have experienced over the past 20 years or so, you would understand our frustration. During the 1980's and early 90's, we took a back seat to North Dakota State (ugh!). After that, it was North Alabama. After that, it was Northern Colorado. After that, it was Northwest Missouri State. Then in 2001, we finally break the playoff glass ceiling and win a National Championship. I thought our time had arrived to build a championship legacy. And then GVSU comes along with their 4 titles in 5 years while we sit in the background sharing conference titles with other teams and coming up short in the playoffs over and over again. It isn't GVSU that most of us have a problem with, it's the fact that we haven't fulfilled all the promise that was there earlier in the decade. I will say that GVSU winning is much more tolerable than NDSU or UNO. On Saturday, I will have to stick with Central Washington and the NCC. I don't think I can take you up on your offer this season, but next season I think I can and will. I hope our teams can meet again in the future (although I concede that is a long shot).

If this team is going to hang some banners this year, this splitting at home nonsense is going to have to stop. I am sick and tired of hearing what a good team Duluth is; they are better than last year but they are still a second division team that we should sweep at home, no questions asked. This team has shown what they are capable of at times this season (last night's third period for instance), but then they lapse back into going through the motions and not playing with any energy or jump. We are still .500 in the league and if we don't start sweeping some teams, we will be back in that familiar position of fighting for "the fifth and final home playoff spot in the WCHA". This team has much, much more talent than that. But if they don't start bringing it every game and start taking care of business at home, fifth is the best we can hope for.