SiouxTupa

Yeah, I agree. Lucia is an excellent coach, there should be no denying that. Plus, you could use the same logic as the OLE YOULKINN to argue that York is a massive choke artist. It took him 3 kicks at the can in a row to put one through and get that 2nd title. He lost in the title game twice before the 2008 title win. I'd still call York a great coach for his accomplishments, but how long into his coaching career did it take him to get the first one? How many years for Gwoz... York coached at Clarkson for 7 years w/o a title and 5 more at Bowling Green before pulling one out in 1984. He coached at BC for 7 years before getting another. Gwoz took 10 years at DU to get his first. Lucia, was much quicker at UM, but laid a goose egg at CC. So great coaches sometimes don't bring home the hardware. It remains to be seen if Hak will do it, but it's not like he's not accomplished in the meantime.

I love listening to TH do hockey pbp. Huge homer, but it's ok because he's on the right team.

Doesn't matter to me who they throw in there to to analysis. But I am pretty critical of play-by-play guys. Frank is great at it. He is a huge Gopher homer, and a lot of the time Woog actually corrects Frank when Frank takes digs at the Sioux. Now obviously they both like to talk up UM whenever possible. But Woog will at least compliment other teams. Sweeny is a great guy, but he goes off on tangents about hockey in the 60s and guys that are probably listening to him on tv wishing he would get back to discussing the game. I find his little discussions about the old days very distracting. Otherwise, he is pretty good at play-by-play except for the screechiness when he's really excited.

That's sad. Say what you want about Woog and Mozacco, I'd take them any day over Sweeny and anyone he chooses as color. Frank is very good at play-by-play and doesn't get squeaky high pitched like Sweeny when action happens. Woog is a good hockey mind and is typically a closet Sioux fan during these games. Oh well, we'll see them tomorrow night.

Really? Who does the commentary then?

Those are the kind of stats that scare me. It's definitely bulletin board material. Even though they don't play like it sometimes, the Gophers have a lot of pride. This is the kind of thing that should light a fire under the players. If Kangas were my fantasy goalie, and his team hasn't won against UND at home in 3 seasons, knowing only that stat about the game, I'd probably start him. Trends were made to be busted. However, how both teams are playing does factor in. Since we've got a couple kicks at the can down there, I figure at least a split.

I don't think this is right. Channel 44 is the FSSN channel, and I think the only place you can get tonight's game is the Big 10 Network. I'm in Fargo, so if that changes, correct me if I'm wrong. Tomorrow night's is on FSN and FCSA.

I'm in that boat. I'm probably going to Buffalo Wild Wings...but you have to get there almost an hour prior to avoid waiting until 1st intermission for a table. I like to avoid large crowds at restaurants, but I don't see any way around it for this game. Really not liking FSN and BTN right now.

This carries over the last couple years. I remember them showing a stat last year about how bad the sioux were when scoring less than 3 goals. If they keep working hard in the zone, they'll get rewarded. The big question is which team will be more opportunistic.

With Hextall out of the lineup, I guess it's up to Malone to mix things up. From what I saw of the gophers against Hahvahd, they'll really have to ramp up their speed game if UND brings their A game. The gophs looked decent in the offensive zone once established, but I keep coming back to that transition. It will be another big key.

I guess upset was the wrong word, as I'm sitting here cool as a cucumber at work, but I went a bit "Thread Police" so I apologize. I just don't like seeing crazy long tangents in threads, and they get started by little posts like that. And now I'm contributing So anyway, about the series... If you had to make a guess, who starts in goal for the gophs? Is it a split? I'd probably go Kangas both games, but I haven't seen enough of them lately to make that call. I'm thinking Eidsness goes both games for UND. If Dell is healthy, he hasn't played in a really long time, and it's a hostlie/important road game. I didn't like the Lucia opinion article from the Trib. He didn't really talk about UND at all, just about what the Gophers have done in their last couple games. I like to read interviews where they give a little scouting on the opposing team. It helps me see how the coaches/players view some of the things we as fans see from opposing teams. I'm thinking we'll see more of that after the media day interviews today.

Whenever I see posts like this it really upsets me. You complain and taunt like mad when DaveK responds to your posts about certain subjects. But when he's not around, you goad him into arguments. In this case, you're not taking the high road that you think you are. It's not just you, Goon, but I felt like I should say something. That being said, I wish I could see more hockey in HD. Once a week on NBC isn't enough, but I don't have fancy satellite packages to pull it in. In fact, it sounds like I'll have to go out to watch the game since I don't get the BTN. I live in Fargo so I'm thinking South BWW, anyone have a place in mind other than that?

One perceived advantage UND will have is the level of competition they've faced over the last month. As others have stated, the Gophers have played relatively weak teams compared to even MSU. Maybe it'll take a few mins of game time to catch up to that speed and level of play. But I have no doubt the Gophers are capable of pulling at least one win out. They are too talented, and despite what others might say, they're well coached. Donny can't play the game for them, so they just need to ramp up the desire. I completely agree with this. Kristo has a tendency (from what I've seen in the WJC and the last few games) to rush the puck with a lot of speed, and try to create chances for himself. I wouldn't call him a puck-hog, but when ever he doesn't have the puck he calls for it. When he's weaving through defenders, he's not looking for someone to pass to. I saw him run into teammates while carrying the puck in the offensive zone a few times last weekend, which supports your statement. I like what he brings to the team, but he would fit better with a banger and a guy that can feed him the puck. So when you say he and Trupp should be split up, I am on board. They play the same role on that line.

Sounds like sandbagging to me. I've watched the gophers a couple times over the last few weeks. They looked much better against Harvard than they did against BG or NMU. Seems like their D can be exploited by a speedy transition. Goaltending, like most series, will be the key for both teams.

Nobody with any say in the matter (coaches, players) seems to take the 2nd half run for granted. However, what Hak has instilled in his tenure is a tendency to build team chemistry into the 2nd half to a point where the players can put together 60 min games and build a win streak. The schedule looks very hard. Nobody's predicting 18-20 2nd half wins, just as nobody was predicting them the last 5 years. But good teams that make serious runs get better over the course of the season. It seems they peaked a bit early over the last few years. I'm just looking for consistency and healthiness. Getting everyone together and healthy will be a major key in the playoff hunt.

Yes, that would be brilliant...all we need is for Eids and Dell to start emulating Hexy Sr. At least that would keep guys away from the net. And that guy knew how to shoot a puck too, so puck handling skills would improve.

Despite their inability to hold leads, I'll take their position now all day over the last few years at this juncture. They're playing fairly well, beating some good teams, and have a winning record. Once the youth finds some consistency they'll be very dangerous.

Hak did gripe about the puck hitting the netting, but other than that he was not sugar coating it. He said they need to find a killer instinct and start putting teams away. He said they played well for the most part, but can't be happy or satisfied with that.

http://www.uscho.com/preview/college-hocke...ANov122009.html In this week's USCHO WCHA Preview, Theresa Spisak offers this tidbit:

Plus, if you're going to only recruit in your own state, then it should be vital that you get all the top-end talent, right? Many elite players from MN choose not to become Gophers. When that happens, why shouldn't UM recruit the best players they can find no matter where they're from? There's something special about seeing home-grown talent live out their dreams, but you need a good mix.

My dad is the artist who painted that! I have one hanging at home too, though it would be cooler with the hockey stick frame. I sold quite a few of them on this board a few years ago. It's a great piece for any UND hockey fan!

This is pretty after the fact, but there was a giant pick set by #15 (Brunteau?) on Hextall's goal. Very blatant from the replay, and I'm surprised it wasn't called...probably would be in a "real" game. The guys looked pretty sloppy for most of the game, and Manitoba ran out of gas big time in the 3rd. But as was said by others, a lot of guys looked a step better than last year, so that's encouraging.

Now the tracker seems to be working, but very slow. Faceoffs are an amazing 14-2 for UMD!

Link is broken, and my gametracker won't live update

Gametracker for UMD http://uscho.cstv.com/gametracker/launch/g...artschool=&