jk

In Arch's senior year (37 goals?), he was converting Hrkac's passes into goals. That was a real nice team, sort of in transition with players from the early 80's (Arch) and the 87 team (Hrkac, Joyce, Johnson).

I think you maybe drink already today.

This game got me thinking (a dangerous thing, to be sure). It seems to me that we see more games where the team that dominates possession, shots and play either loses or barely survives than we used to. I don't know whether this is true or not, but it seems that way to me. It may just be the result of being a Sioux fan the last few years, where we saw it a lot. Still, though, I have noticed it a lot this year. I recall that SCSU badly outshot Princeton and barely won. Michigan did the same with a MAAC squad. If I assume that this phenomenon is true, then what is the cause? Is it because college goaltending is better than ever, partly due to goaltending equipement? Is it a lack of finishing talent on offense? I considered the trapping, defensive systems as a cause, but I'm not sure that's it, since that should prevent the dominance in shots as well as keeping the score down. Any ideas?

This is now updated through 9 games. This is how UND's and its opponents' scoring breaks down this year (UND's scoring listed first): 5x3 1-0 (When UND has the 5x3 advantage, it has outscored its opponent 1-0.) 5x4 2-2 5x5 34-10 4x4 5-0 4x5 0-8 3x5 0-1 6x5 1-0 * * Not sure where to include this so I'll put it in its own category for now. This is an extra-attacker goal, where UND pulled their goalie due to a delayed penalty call on the opponent. Denver has apparently scored fewer than half its goals at even strength. They have six(!) shorties this year.

With the winning goal by John Grubb. Is he the former Minot player, who came up with Fylling?

"I know they are ranked higher, but rankings at this point don't mean much," said DU's Lukas Dora, who recorded two goals and an assist in the playoff series against North Dakota. "I know they have been playing well, but I still think we are the better team." From (I think) the Rocky Mountain News

I had the same very optimistic outlook until last weekend against SCSU. That series brought back memories from last year, and brought me back to Earth. Outshooting opponents and winning the puck possession battle counts for nothing; only the scoreboard matters. In the four games preceding last weekend, the Sioux scored 30 goals. I loved it, as it brought back memories of the old days. Then 3 goals total last weekend. Ugh. I'm hopeful this weekend, but my enthusiasm has been tempered.

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archiv...wizard_0212.htm The comparison of Maine and ND is a riot. A real treat. I love having access to another college hockey website.

Fedorov, I know what you're saying. I guess the deal is with the Sioux: if you earn your ice time in practice, then you get to play. Maybe Blais felt like he practiced better than some other guys and earned the trip. Maybe he's not happy with some guys' play last weekend and wants to sit them. Skate or sit at UND.

Dang it, dagies, I already forwarded the thread to the hockey office so the coaches could use it to fix the PP, then you go and put another idea on here. Is everyone done now so I can send it to Blais again?

The Sioux have gotten bigger each year for the last several years. This must be the biggest team of the Blais era.

My apologies for starting this thread then. Usually when it's on that website, it's good.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article.php?s...hreaded&order=0 Interview with Kevin. Keep up the good work and good luck.

Toews is considered by many to be the top player his age in all of Canada. He was the top pick in the WHL bantam draft. A Crosby kind of player comes along once a decade or so, so Toews isn't Crosby, but he's just a step down. I would consider it to be pretty unlikely that he would go the college route. Another big name is Okposo (I think), who is supposed to be in the top handful of US kids his age. I believe this Eaves is not a brother of Ben and Pat. I think he may be the son of Murray Eaves, not Mike. Murray coaches at SSM, or at least I think he did recently if he's not there now.

I'm a little disappointed that the depth that I believe exists in the lineup hasn't translated onto the scoreboard recently. A look at last night's boxscore reminded me that little of the game was played 5x5, which helps to explain why the lower lines didn't contribute much. Still, they need to get on the board. Hopefully Massen will be in tonight, and maybe he can put one in. He's been a Husky killer of sorts in his career. These were the stretches of time in the second period that were played 5x5: 3:28 0:56 0:50 0:50 0:04 (the time it took Porter to step out of the box and can Ianazzo) 0:05 for a grand total of 6:13 played 5x5 in the second period. If it seemed like there wasn't any flow, that might be why. I enjoy Porter's aggressive play, but I wonder if he might sit in favor of Massen to think about not taking quite so many penalties.

Just going off memory here, but Heisenberg has him listed at 5-6 155, and the SSM site has him at 5-8 160. Either way a pretty small guy for Division I. I like having some small skill guys in the mix, so I have no problem with it. However, I could see that being the kind of issue that sends Duncan to juniors for a year before coming to UND. Another small skill guy did that, and it worked out OK (Jeff Panzer). Maybe it will ultimately depend on whether one or more forwards sign pro contracts after this year, which will depend on whether there is an NHL season next year.

A little good news after the disappointing game tonight. Heisenberg put Ryan Duncan's commitment to UND up on his site tonight. Welcome aboard, Ryan. Edit for you physics fans: the Heisenberg who runs the college hockey recruiting website is the grandson of Werner Heisenberg, of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

I think up until last weekend UND had scored no PP goals and given up two SHG. Then last weekend they scored three PP goals, two 5x4 and one 5x3. So on the year, UND has now scored two goals while having the 5x4 advantage, and allowed two goals under the same circumstances. You're right, though, there is something wrong with the stat: UND hasn't outscored their opponents when the opponent is short a man. Another stat that is due to change soon. I might be missing something, but that's how I got the numbers.

Have to update this schedule. It is updated through 7 games. This is how UND's and its opponents' scoring breaks down this year (UND's scoring listed first): 5x3 1-0 (When UND has the 5X3 advantage, it has outscored its opponent 1-0.) 5x4 2-2 5x5 32-9 4x4 5-0 4x5 0-6 3x5 0-1 5x5 continues to look outstanding. Seven games, nine even-strength goals. 4x4 seems to tell a tale as well. No shorties yet this year. That's going to be changing soon, I think.

I think people romanticize their memories of the old arena. The atmosphere last weekend was great. Perhaps it didn't match the old rink during a third period comeback against the Gophers, but the standard there is incredibly high.

I worry about this weekend, but it feels like time to expect sweeps at home. We've spent a few years now worrying about the Sioux's opponent; perhaps we've now reached the point where the opponents need to worry more about the Sioux. I like that the team is scoring goals. Feels like the old days.

http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com/team/fea.../arts/536.0.php And the words "hockey factory" don't come up even once!

GE, I think I meant Wendell, not Senden (all those "e"s), and I feel like he was banging people around at the end of that game. I might be wrong though. After Greene and Vanek went at it, I'm interested to see if Suter (who appears to have a nasty streak of his own) decides to take a few whacks at TV.

Thanks for the comments. forecheck, I don't know much about the game, but I like to watch it. A few other things: Dub was a great #19, and I love that Prpich wears that sweater. Two similar players. Dub was grittier (believe it or not) and Prpich has a few more skills, but Prpich is definitely in the Dub line. I completely agree that the coaches have a dilemma in removing someone from the current lineup. At the same time, Massen has offensive skills matched by only a couple handfuls of players in the league, let alone the team. He was 15th in league scoring last year. Sadly, there will almost certainly be forward injuries this year, so Massen will at the very least get his chance then. I suspect he'll get another one before then too, but at whose expense I don't know. I was shocked by Fylling when I saw the UMD game - the player of the game IMO - so I'll not be disagreeing with anyone touting his play. Lastly, Stack's note of Vanek floating reminded me of a favorite sight from the series - When the Sioux are setting up the PP from behind their own net, Murray circles deep into the offensive zone, below the dots, then makes his way back to the blue line as the Sioux bring the puck up the ice. (I don't mean this to be the same as Vanek floating when the other team is attacking, it just triggered the memory). It's just cool to see him down there all alone; it's like he's just visiting, and says, "I'll be back again real soon."

One other thing about the Sioux