fightingsioux4life

PCM, My problem with the officiating tonight is that, for most of the game, they didn't call much. But in the last half of the third period, they started calling every penalty they could think of. Either call it for 60 minutes or let it go for 60 minutes. Be consistent. Yes, our team is undisciplined at times. Yes, they need to start burying the puck. But I hate it when the officiating becomes a major part of the game at a critical time in the game. I don't like it in hockey or any other sport.

I agree, but don't bet on it. Hakstol is committed to the Lammy-JPar rotation system. I think for the stretch run, we should put Lammy in for all the big games and most of the games overall. He kept us in it tonight when we were down 5 on 3 late in the third and gave us a chance to tie it up. I think he's earned a second consecutive start, if only Hak would give it to him.

Cratter, No one is saying CC isn't good, they swept the Rodents on the road last week and are ranked #1 in the nation right now. I am just sick of watching our forwards (and occasionally, defensemen) get in position to score and then miss the net, miss a pass, have no one there to get a rebound, etc. Our guys can't bury the puck when they have the chance. It happens week after week and it's holding our team back.

Icing on Sioux with :12 left.

Lammy pulled. Less than one minute left. COME ON SIOUX!!!

Jones and Sterling go to the box for tussle in front of Sioux net. Lammy keeping us in it.

We just finish killing off one of the penalties and Prpich gets a slashing penalty. 5 on 3 AGAIN, with 5:00 left in third. Sioux trail 2-1. Hennessey ripping officials!

ANOTHER penalty on UND. Greene. Sioux down 5 on 3.

Spoke too soon. Sioux penalty. CC powerplay.

About time we stop missing the net.

Unless they're playing UND!

ethanm, I agree with you. This happened in 2003 to a certain extent. Our defense was inconsistent, especially early on. Digger really stood out from the rest of the players. In 2004, our defense was more consistent and Digger didn't stand out quite as much. More players were making more plays. They can give someone else the Harlon Hill if it means we'll contend for another National Title.

Digger Anderson has to rank as one of the best linebackers ever to play in this program, and considering all the great LB's that have played here that says a lot. The first time I saw him in action, I knew he was special. All that being said, the Harlon Hill is all about offensive stats and highlight reel plays. Defensive players are rarely considered. Ron McKinnon of North Alabama (and later, the Arizona Cardinals) in 1995 remains the only defensive player to win the award. If there was such a thing as a D-II Defensive Player of the Year award, I would campaign for Digger as much as possible. I think most people on this forum would as well. All that matters is that Digger is wearing green and we'll be able to enjoy his exploits for another season.

TheBisonator, Very funny. Maybe you should go back to supporting your "D-I" Bison sports programs! By the looks of it, they need all the help they can get. Grand Forks is simply trying to grow its economy, create jobs and keep our youth here as much as we can. These are the same challenges other cities in North Dakota are facing. Apparently, you are one of those "Imperial Cass County" boosters that doesn't like seeing any kind of growth anywhere except in Fargo. Are you John Dorso in disguise? Quit being a troll and go back to your precious little Bison! We now return you to regularly scheduled bantering!!!

Fedorov, After Super Target opened up, the Target Corp. kept the old space vaccant on purpose so that their customers would get acquainted with the new location. That is what I read in the Heraldo, anyway. Now that Target Corp. doesn't own the space anymore, we are seeing action on filling it up. If the old South Forks Mall (now Grand Cities Mall) can be resurrected, anything is possible. As for Grand Forks not being able to support more movie screens, that's the same tired old crap we heard when the new REA opened up in 2001 (You'll never fill 11,500 seats on a regular basis! ). The naysayers have been proven wrong on that. Also, as far as people in Grand Forks not having enough money to go out often, that has also been proven false by REA. There are never a shortage of lines at concessions between periods and almost everything at The Ralph is outrageously overpriced. When people want to be entertained, they are very liberal with their money. Remember, we live in the era of plastic! I think the addition of more movie screens (especially those not controlled by Carmike) is a great thing for the city. The fact that private investors are willing to put their money into Grand Forks proves that we have overcome the Flood of 1997 and are moving in the right direction (but we still have a long way to go).

Props to everyone's comments so far. Here are a few things I am sick and tired of hearing from the team, the media and some of our fans as well: 1) "You have to give (the team that just kicked our butts) a lot of credit. They worked hard, they buried the puck, blah, blah, blah!!!" If Hakstol gives any more credit to other teams, he's going to have to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. I have no problem recognizing the talent other teams have and respecting other programs. But if you respect them too much, it can put up psychological barriers to playing well. Not to mention providing a convenient excuse when you play like crap and lose. 2) "We ran into a hot goaltender" I believe this started with the 1996 WCHA First Round Playoff Loss to the Badgers (back to back overtime games) and it's still going on. Yes, a goaltender can and occasionally does carry a team to a win or a championship that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to achieve. But you can't bring this up after every single loss. It doesn't seem to happen to any other teams except us, which leads me to believe that it has become a sorry excuse for bad offensive execution and poor shot selection. I also think it becomes a sort of self-fulfulling prophecy for our players. By making a goaltender unbeatable, you psych yourselves out and that leads to forcing shots and passing when you should just shoot the stupid thing. Unfortunately, the media has picked this up and continues to repeat it over and over again. During the World Junior Tournament, the U.S. lost to the Czech Republic 3-1 in the prelim round. The U.S. forwards kept blotching odd-man rushes and shooting the puck over the net, but all I heard the next day was how "hot" and "unbeatable" the Czech goaltender was. Lucky is more like it. If I ever hear this again this season, I think I'm going to throw up. 3) Tim Hennessey on the Fighting Sioux Hockey Network during the St. Cloud series at The Ralph (paraphrasing): This team and the fans in this building need to understand that if this team wants to win, they're going to have to win ugly. In other words, the team lacks offensive talent and needs to keep scores down to give it at least some chance to win. Let's see; Stafford, Porter, Zajac, Spirko, Murray....yeah, those are marginal forwards at best. Maybe Tim has a point. While I have stated in the past that the upperclassmen forwards are nothing special and that our best forwards are freshmen and sophomores, I don't think they are so devoid of offensive talent that they have to start playing like Michigan Tech or Anchorage. There is a lot of underachieving on this team right now and that shouldn't be overlooked by the media (and especially the coaching staff). While I think Hakstol deserves a few years to prove he has what it takes to lead a big-time program like ours, some of the things I've heard this season are not encouraging. I think we can make a run in the playoffs, but I think the coaching staff needs to plant some boots in some rear ends. Hakstol needs to figure out he's not an assistant anymore. He needs to set the tone for this team and program, or we won't win #8 anytime soon.

It's over! The Tigers sweep the Rodents in "The John", winning 5-3 tonight. It kind of makes last night a little easier to swallow.

This proposal is ridiculous, of course, but it shouldn't surprise anybody. It is attitudes like these that sour my attitude toward Canadian hockey (I cheered for Canada in the gold metal game on Tuesday only because I didn't like Russia). They hate the idea of hockey being played by anyone but Canadians. If they want to limit the presence of Americans and Europeans in their precious Major Junior system, by all means let them. It probably will encourage more top players in the States and the Old World to consider College Hockey. I wouldn't mind seeing another Spirko or two wearing Green and White in the future!

Cratter, I think this is a case of cheering for the lesser of two evils. I usually cheer against Canada every chance I get, but this time I will have to side with our neighbors to the north. Those Russian punks don't deserve to wear gold metals. The Canadian fans I have been sitting with are pretty cool. Those jerks in the upper deck cheering against us are exceptions to the rule. I can't believe I'm saying this, but..... GO, CANADA, GO!!!

On the front page of the December 15th edition of the Grand Forks Herald, it is reported that UND is going to try to land a $25 to $31 million Federal biological research facility that would specialize in creating vaccines against deadly human pathogens. This would mean more and better paying jobs for Grand Forks and another important addition to UND's educational mission. With the war on terror continuing and the fear of terrorists using biological weapons inside the United States, a facility like this is very much relevant to the times in which we live. The one big potential hurdle is that the ND legislature might decide that the Federal matching requirement would cost the state too much money. I hope our elected representatives, who are usually much better at talking about economic development and job creation than actually doing it, will think twice before killing what could be a wonderful addition to our economy and educational system in North Dakota. Any other thoughts?

Just the thought of North Dakota kids growing up dreaming of wearing Maroon and Gold makes me want to throw up! That being said, I don't think it will happen. Most North Dakota kids grow up wanting to wear the Green and White. With the advent of the Fighting Sioux Sports Network, more and more kids will grow up watching the Sioux play in the best hockey arena in College Hockey (and better than some NHL rinks). I think Danny Irmen grew up watching the Gophers and wanting to play for them, so I think he was lost a long time ago. The Potulny's got away because Blais made a rare recruiting mistake by passing on Grant, thinking he wasn't very good. If Grant had went here, I think Ryan would have followed. I think Hakstol needs to make keeping D-I level ND kids in North Dakota a top priority in his tenure. Blais made it a priority when he took over in 1994 and our program got some good players out of it. We'll never be able to fill our roster with ND talent, but we need to try to keep as many of them here as we can. They are a nice compliment to the Canadians and Minnesotans we bring in on a regular basis. Who knows, maybe this year's European addition to the program (Spirko) will help open a pipeline to the Old World. But I think if we can keep the ND kids at home and continue to pick up talent from Canada and Minnesota, I think we'll be just fine. Enjoy the ND kids you have Gopher Fans, but don't expect it to continue!

PCM, I'm positive we'll pick up a road sweep in the second half someplace. Doing it in Duluth against a desperate team that has more talent than they have shown so far is tough. We have been showing slow, steady progress the last few weeks. I'm looking forward to getting back to the Final Five and making some noise. Hopefully, that will lead to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Without the pressure of being the #1 overall seed like last year, maybe we'll perform better.