jk

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforkshe...rts/7080332.htm Hockey players issued citations Two UND hockey players were issued citations for minor on the premises over the weekend in Grand Forks. Sophomore forward Zach Parise, 19, and freshman defenseman Matt Smaby, 19, were cited by Grand Forks police at The Edge bar in downtown Grand Forks. Two Boston College hockey players, sophomore defenseman Peter Harrold, 20, and junior forward Ryan Murphy, 20, also were cited for minor on the premises. The charges were issued late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, and the four are scheduled to make their first appearance in Grand Forks District Court on Nov. 5. ------------------------------------- Hate to be the one to break the bad news, but Iguess it'll be out anyway. I can't believe college students drink at age 19. Maybe they should be suspended for the Yale series.

If he continues to progress at the rate he has over the last year, I would think the risk of his opting in to the 2004 draft is reasonably high. The NHL loves size. Zach slid on draft day because of size, and they'll be drooling over Stafford for the same reason. Hopefully he has a great year this year and decides that another year to mature physically is in order before taking the big leap. Of course there may not be a 2004 draft.

I wasn't able to see or hear the games this weekend, so my take on the weekend comes from press and internet reports. Obviously the PP is a problem, so I know I'm not breaking a hot story here, but this view of things is pretty stark. This is how UND's and its opponents' scoring breaks down this year (UND's scoring listed first): 5x3 0-0 (When UND has the 5X3 advantage, neither team has scored.) 5x4 0-2 5x5 8-2 4x4 2-0 4x5 0-3 3x5 0-1 Even strength, UND looks great. Outscoring good opponents 10-2 is very impressive. The PK results have been OK, as well, allowing 4 goals in 22 chances (18%). That's not great, but the opponents have been good. Even though UND seems, to me, to perennially struggle on the PP, I think this team just has too much talent to not be at least decent on the PP. When this element of their game comes around, this team will be hard for most teams to handle. They are 0-20 so far, so at least it can't get worse. I love what it means for the team to receive improved play from guys like Fylling and Genoway. When you consider that Parise, Murray, Lundbohm and Massen (four forwards that I considered among the top six on the team heading into the season) have hardly contributed on the scoreboard yet, and then realize that they probably will still have a major impact, depth at forward looks to be shaping up nicely. I've read a few accounts of a BC player taking Schneider's skates out from under him while heading into the boards. Anybody remember what Ian Kidd did when Skeeter Moore did the same thing, endangering Kidd's career? (Answer: He got up, completely ignoring play, and chased after Moore. He tried to take a tee shot at Moore's ankles, missed, then delivered a cross-check from behind that had the stretcher out. It was nasty, but also a kind of frontier justice for about as dangerous a play as you can make out there.) Anybody wondering whether there were some recruits in the stands for the Friday night game? That's the kind of environment you hope for when you bring kids in for a visit.

This one seems pretty simple to me. If the doctor (by "doctor" I mean several really good ones who specialize in hockey-related knee injuries) says he is not risking further injury by playing on it, and he's comfortable playing on it, then let him play. Otherwise take a few weeks off and see how it is for Yale. You can bet he's itching to get out there against his national team and SSM teammates.

No offence to anyone, but who cares where UND's ranked? I can understand UMD fans caring and being excited, because they've been lost in the woods for a long, long time, but I would rather not have the target of a high ranking too soon.

kr, I just posted that on USCHO because Lucia really has proven the first half of the year to be meaningless. Just post a good enough record to be in position in the second half. I got tired last year of all the woofing by siouxiniminny and UNDLAW, and I hope we don't have to put up with so much of that this year if the Sioux do well. Of course, if someone wants to take pleasure from MN's loss last night, who am I to say they can't? It would be practically un-American of me. sprig, did you see that UNO first goal was scored by Murray's buddy, Nikiforuk?

I've been tied up this week, so I'm sure I don't recall all my thoughts on the game, but here are a few. Thanks to Farce, skate.., NDH and others for your detailed thoughts. Despite what Zach thinks, I shouldn't be a coach; these are just a few very unexpert opinions. I thought Fylling was the best Sioux forward - consistently winning races to the puck (which we've seen) and then winning battles for it (which is new). He didn't seem able to fight through the "stuff" last year, but he was very tenacious in this game. I thought his line was the best of the Sioux lines early, before the DQ necessitated the inevitable shuffling. If it were based solely on 5-on-5 play, I would say Lundbohm had a great game as well, as he was his usual crafty self on the forecheck. Unfortunately I thought he had some gaffes on the PP that tempered my enthusiasm a bit. Three times he sent the puck to the point either with too much heat on pass or to a covered point man. Each time the puck left the zone and the PP had to try to set up again. I thought the first PP unit was Schneider and Parise at the points, with Lundbohm, Bochenski and Murray down low. Lundbohm and Parise basically switched spots from last year. If it appeared that Schneider was down low, I think that was just a momentary occurrence when he was pinching. The second PP was Fuher and Jones, with McMahon, Prpich and Stafford (I think). It was really unfortunate for Jones to fan on that shot in the first period of his first game manning the PP point, with the SHG resulting. The first D pairing of Schneider and Greene was very impressive defensively, as you would expect. In the second period, Greene leveled Stapleton in front of the net. He really sent him flying, literally through the air. Stapleton got up and stood next to Greene, staring him straight in the neck. Then they seemed to laugh a bit. Later, when the Prpich fracas was being sorted out, I noticed Greene and Stapleton visiting at the blue line. Then we put the Green Bay connection together, and realized they were former teammates. Unlike many here, I thought Murray had an uneven game. He looked quite a lot like a freshman to me, the most of any of the frosh. He tried to deflect a puck out of the zone to clear it, and sent an opponent right in for a good chance. Later, he tried the old drop pass at the offensive blue line, which sent play the other way in a hurry. Anyway, these weren't "bad player" plays, just frosh mistakes. His talent is obvious, and the little touch to Parise to send him and Bochenski in for the goal was nice. Porter fit in quite a bit better than I expected. Maybe it's the physical attributes (the size and speed), but he seemed to be the best adjusted of the frosh forwards to the college game. Stafford had a few bursts of speed that you don't expect to see from a big guy. They caught me by surprise in the same way similar bursts by Vanek did last year. (I'm not saying he's a Vanek-like player; I was just struck by the similarity of those surprising bursts). Smaby is a crusher. His "mishandling" of the puck wasn't due to his bad puckhandling, the puck just stuck on the ice. I thought he had a good game. I didn't see Foyt play, but I may have missed it. We would think differently of that game if Zach had converted on a few of those rushes where he had great chances. He will score on a lot of those this year, but just missed these. The two Parise's were the last players off the ice after warm-ups. That's all I remember for now. I had fun.

I have ten thousand comments on the game, and on these comments, but no time right now. I can't believe some of the stuff I've read here. Great game by a lot of players; I'm still optimistic about the season, as the ingredients are all there to be very good.

One of the most telling comments to me was this: --------------------------------- The bar is raised throughout the league so you have to be ready every game. You're not going to outcondition anyone in this league because everyone does it. Maybe our extra conditioning will give us an edge against a Hockey East team that got a later start, but not in this league. --------------------------------- I think when Blais first got to UND, he worked his guys harder than anyone, and it showed on the ice. It gave the team a big edge. Opposing coaches saw and learned, and now "everyone does it." It has taken away one of UND's advantages. Just as the recruiting landscape is always changing, this is one of the shifts in competitive balance that the coaches need to adjust to.

Heck of a career for Murray Baron. Another from the 87 team who's still around. With the Blues in town for a few days of practice, do you think Murray will be taking his millionaire buddies over to the Red Pepper?

sagard, I agree. I'm apparently just about a minority of one here, but I like INCH. More college hockey to read is OK with me, even is I don't always agree with it.

I haven't seen the prices people are charging, but it's worth noting that season ticket holders would need to charge more than "face value" for the tickets to recoup their cost, since the cost includes up-front fees for the right to sit in certain areas. There may be a down season occasionally if the program has a big number of players graduate/leave in the same year (like if Parise and Greene leave the same year Bochenski, Massen, McMahon, Canady, Fylling, Genoway, Schneider, Fuher, Jones and Brandt all graduate), but I think they will be few and far between for a while. The combination of the arena, tradition and coaching has really helped recruiting, and I think the program is on very strong footing (knocking on wood).

Sorry to spoil the party, but this thread sounds like a bunch of regional homers. It is possible that the Eastern guys can play. Imagine how we would have shrieked had Hrkac lost to an unknown Eastern boy who was a finalist that year. I can't spell his name, but I've heard of it since: Joe Neuwendyk. I'm not saying he had a better year than Hrkac in college that year, but he must have been pretty good, even though we wouldn't have known it. The guys who earn their place on the finalist list will be there.

I can't imagine that sitting out this year would count against his eligiblity. The only impact I can see would be that his five-year clock is ticking; you have five years to complete your four years of competition, and the clock starts when you enter school. That's the rule that nailed Tim Skarperud. So if he missed this year, he could come back and still have three years left. If he skipped two years, he would return with just two years left.

There are only six defensemen listed, not including Marvin, who is listed as F/D. For that reason, I hope it's not complete, and that Foyt is still in the running for a walk-on D spot. I understood that they were not having open tryouts, but that there were a few invited walk-ons (including Foyt) attempting to make the team. Fabian is supposed to be a character guy, and he's big. I remember his coach last year telling the Topeka paper that he had a professional future in the game. His junior numbers certainly aren't overwhelming, so we'll hope for the best. I'm surprised to see Porter's hometown listed as Thunder Bay, because I recall that he played on a US national team at some point in the past. It's a big team that won't get pushed around. Let's hope they can hit like big guys and skate like little guys.

From a New Jersey paper. Good stuff.: "Hale stands up Rookie defenseman David Hale didn't have a chance to hone his fighting skills at the University of North Dakota because the NCAA prohibits fighting, but he showed he can handle himself during a scrap with agitator Cam Janssen in Tuesday's scrimmage. Although Janssen compiled nearly 500 penalty minutes in his last two seasons in junior, Hale got the better of him, dropping him with a left hand to the head. "He's a high-skilled guy, and fighting a guy that does it for a living - and Janssen, that's what he does for a living in junior hockey - he's a tough guy," Burns said. "For a guy like Hale, that doesn't happen in college |hockey.""

The Red Wings released Kevin yesterday as they cut their roster down, but I'm guessing he wasn't planning on making the team right off the bat anyway. I think it's a process, and step one is getting a chance and making an impression, which it sounds like he did. Hopefully, he can have a good year below the NHL and continue to progress professionally. Also, in the same camp, this apparently happened: "Tim Skarperud gave the lead to Team D once again at 23:05. Mark Mowers passed the puck across the front of the net to Nathan Robinson who took a shot but was stopped by Hasek. Skarperud jammed the rebound in past Hasek's pads." That last sentence is something else.

I ran into this on the Detroit News. It just provides a little basic information about the lockout. Not knowing these details myself, I thought others might find it interesting. I consider this to be a very relevant Sioux hockey topic, since it could have a big say in the makeup of next year's team. ------------------------------------------------------ Revenue sharing is dividing issue between players, owners By John Niyo / The Detroit News Burning questions about the NHL with training camps underway around the league: Question: A new season is about to begin, but all the talk seems to be about next year. What gives? Answer: The official countdown to Armageddon officially began Monday, that's what. The league's collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Sept. 15, 2004. And, as all of us doomsday types have been saying for some time now, it appears as if there might not be a next season. Q: And why not? A: Because neither side -- the players' union nor the league and its owners -- are ready to budge on the central issue. Q: Which is what? A: Revenue sharing. Or, more specifically, the allocation of revenues between management and the NHL workforce. According to the league's numbers, more than three-fourths of NHL revenues -- 76 percent, to be exact -- went to players last season. In the NFL, that share is 64 percent; it's 63 percent in Major League Baseball and 58 percent in the NBA. As a result, the league's owners, with Commissioner Gary Bettman doing most of the talking, are demanding some sort of "cost certainty" in any new deal to reign in player salaries. The players, not surprisingly, are against a salary cap, and their argument is that it's the owners themselves -- not the current CBA -- that's to blame. Who is right and who is wrong? Doesn't matter. This is where the battle line is drawn, with nary a white flag to be found. Union leaders have warned the players to prepare for a lockout that could last an entire season, or even longer. Q: When will the two sides sit down at the negotiating table? A: Perhaps sooner rather than later, though technically the NHL needs only to give 120 days notice -- that's May 15, 2004 -- of plans to terminate the current labor agreement. The NHL Players' Association certainly won't make the first move -- the players are happy with the status quo. It's the owners who are demanding a new CBA, after all. But both Bettman and union boss Bob Goodenow have met informally to talk about the issues. And Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal counsel, said recently the league might be ready to submit a formal proposal to the union later this fall. Expect something along those lines in late November or early December. Just don't expect any quick resolution on the issues, not while the players are still getting paid and the grumbling owners are still signing the paychecks.

Pasted from a Hockey's Future write-up: ---------------------------------------------- Today was the fourth day of Detroit Red Wings training camp and the last day of scrimmages before the teams face off for the championship games Tuesday night. The eleven tryout players continue to try to impress the Red Wings management for a contract before the regular season starts. Four have caught Ken Holland's eye this week: Carson Germyn, John Shouneyia, David Brisson, and Kevin Spiewak. "Spiewak has speed and is very competitive" said Holland, "but Brisson has scored four goals this week which has put him a little ahead of the rest." Brisson is tied for second place in scoring with Tomas Holmstrom with six points. Brendan Shanahan is in first place with seven points. The team standings after today's games are as follows: Team W L T Team A 3 - 0 - 1 Team B 3 - 1 - 0 Team C 0 - 2 - 2 Team D 0 - 3 - 1 Teams A and B will play for the gold with teams C and D playing for the bronze. The same pairing of teams faced off on Monday morning with Team A winning 3-1 over Team B and Team D winning 4-2 over Team C. Jason Williams scored the first goal for Team A at 11:35 of the first period against tryout Jeff MacDougald. Danny Groulx and Hugo Boisvert had the assists. Spiewak put Team A by two at 20:54 of the first with Brisson and Jimmy Cuddihy picking up the assists. Groulx scored the final goal for Team A at 23:02 with Grand Rapids Griffin's player Aaron Schneekloth getting the assist. Travis Richards scored the only goal for Team B against Dominik Hasek with a slapshot from the blueline. Pavel Datsyuk had the assist. Team D then took on Team C, beating them by a score of 4-2. Matt Ellis gave Team D the lead scoring the first goal at 6:14 of the first period with a slapshot from along the boards beating Marc Lamothe over the glove shoulder. Scott Horvath and Chris Chelios had the assists. Michel Picard tied the game up three minutes later scoring on Drew MacIntyre with a cross ice pass from Jason Wooley at 9:26 of the first. Shanahan took the lead back at 13:07 poking Jiri Hudler's rebound past Lamothe. Horvath scored at 16:46 to finish the first period scoring. Tomas Fleischmann and Ellis assisted on the goal. Kevin Miller scored Team C's second and final goal against Joey MacDonald on Anders Myrvold's rebound at 14:04 of the second period. With 49 seconds left in the game, Shanahan scored in the empty net with an assist from Tomas Holmstrom making the final score 4-2.

I put the following post on POI to explain why UND might be good this year, and I wanted to put it here also since the audience might be more receptive. ----------------------------------------------- ...there are a few points of view that suggest UND might be a top tier team this year. Here are a few: They finished tenth in the PWR last year, which factors in the swoon and the cupcake schedule. Of the teams that finished above them, the following lost a ton from their teams: Cornell, CC, UNH, Maine and Ferris. That leaves MN (3), BU (5), BC (8) and Michigan (9) as teams that bring back a lot. As UND brings back most of their team, they should have a good chance of moving from the middle pack to the upper tier. UND's top 11 scorers went, in order: So, F, J, So, Sr, So, So, Sr, So, So, Fr. Some people think players do get better with another year, especially from years 1 and 2 to 2 and 3. 11 of the nation's top 20 scorers return this year. UND returns 6, 8 and 14. MN returns 6 and 16. Ferris returns 9 and 12. No one else brings back more than 1. 11 of the WCHA's top 20 scorers return. Of the 11, UND returns 4 of the top 8. MN returns 2, and no one else returns more than 1. The team still swooned last year despite those numbers, so your point is well taken. The numbers do provide some basis for optimism, though. As for the swoon, some mitigating factors are that it occurred mostly on the road and with injuries (OK, just one main one, but it was a doosy). Some other teams last year did not reach top form until they got past their injury problems. The other thing about the swwon is that they were just cursed. They failed to win games where they outshot the opponent 52-21 (MSUM), 38-20 (UMD), 37-24 (UMD), and 46-27 (FSU). Will the extra year of maturity help to overcome the intangible problem that led to the swoon? Who knows. But they should have top-end players that are matched by only a few teams in the country, which gives them a chance to be among the elite. I won't suggest they be considered in the MN, BC, Michigan group until they perform in the Spring.

Of course you'll now be the object of ridicule for your obscene projection.

A few things about Ryan Hale: sagard, Hale often looked good, as his line with McMahon and Prpich forechecked well, keeping the opponent bottled up in their own end. If Hale had been even a decent finisher last year, he would have had about ten more goals. The regularly fine play of that line, with all of them back and a year older, is one reason I am more optimistic than most about UND being three lines deep. The finish last year left me, and other Sioux fans, discouraged, so I understand people questioning Hale's captaincy. However, I think people forget the strides a still-young team made last year. Coming off a very disappointing season, they put together a solid record and finished tenth in the nation in the PWR (which discounts the poor quality of the non-conference opponents). Even though they just couldn't seem to get things right down the stretch, I can say in their defense that I thought they played hard all the way through it. I feel that last year put the program back on track, and a lot of the credit for that should go to the Hales and Spiewak and Notermann for setting the right tone from Day 1. I'm not an insider so I don't know how it really went down, but that's my view from afar.

MN has a fan who goes by the name "Jupiter" who digitally records games and other Gopher media events, and puts together highlight packages. I haven't personally watched any of them (not wanting to get ill and all), but I love the idea. I don't have the resources, time or ability to do such a thing for Sioux hockey, but I sure wish someone would. An individual could do it, or REA could do it, or the Athletic Depatment could do it. Even the Salmon Arm Silverbacks have video highlights of games on their website. It would be nice if fans, and prospective recruits, could log onto the REA site and watch the boys fill the net.

I like INCH; they spare no one when taking shots. I appreciate another college hockey site that is more than just rival fans spitting at each other. Check out their "cocktail napkin" list throughout the year, as it's often very funny.

I am terrifically optimistic about UND this season. I think this team will put on the type of show that we haven't seen in years. I expect the top line to be as good as it has been under Blais (Line of Fire quality), the top two lines to rival the 99-00 team's one-two punch (Goren/Ulmer/Bayda followed by Panzer/Lundbohm) and the third and fourth lines to be better than we've seen since the Blake/Hoogsteen class graduated. The defense should be rock solid. Questionable goaltending may derail the team short of a title, but it won't make the show any less entertaining along the way. I'm always too optimistic at this time of year (in the offseason everyone's a potential all-American), but that's what I think. I also think Minnesota, BC and Michigan will put fantastic teams on the ice this year. ---------------------------------------- As for Weber and MN, I wish Weber the best personally and I hope he continues his education. MN now loses 1 goalie, 2 defensemen and no forwards from a national championhip team. That's probably the lowest level of losses a champion has suffered in recent memory. If I were a Gopher fan, I would still be pretty confident.