jk

dagies, One of their little guys could hit me and my wife would be on the phone with the insurance company giving them instructions on where to send the life insurance proceeds.

Anyone else tired of hearing interviews about the WJC? I know it's kind of a big deal, but I'd rather they talk a little more about the Sioux. UND hockey used to be about offense. Where's the pressure? Let's score some goals!

Even when not killing a penalty, it didn't sound like the Sioux got much going that period. I'd say it was a scoreless period thanks to the Sioux goalie. Haven't heard that too often. The Sioux need to take their frustration with Shepard out on the scoreboard. If they win tonight, they get a new ref tomorrow.

Two shots in one shift for the Sioux. Wow. Wasn't that the first period last night? A few marginal chances for each team so far. It sure would be nice if Massen could get going again. Ryan Hale takes a penalty on a big hit. I hope they kill this one off so the captain doesn't have the stain of a PP goal while in the box.

Sentiment is Sioux-land is pretty down right now, to be sure. One bit of hope here is that Denver has had a season filled with disappointment as well. Losing tonight would fit their season pretty well.

PCM, that's the best post I have seen on the second half of the season.

I watched the game at Sensers in Bloomington. Ended up sitting with Matt Smaby and his dad. Really nice family. Despite the shot totals, I thought the Sioux had pretty good jump in the first, as did Denver. Then the floater from the blue line kind of took the Sioux down a notch. Through the whole game, I couldn't believe how tightly Denver checked the Sioux. You can question the legality of it if you want, but the fact is that it was highly effective. Whenever a Sioux player was near the puck or a passing lane in the offensive zone, there was a Denver player there, checking and holding with liberal stickwork. I'm not complaining about the officiating, just noting how stifling Denver was. For that, I can't blame the Sioux; that is a credit to Denver. I also felt like the Sioux were trying - it didn't seem like a lack of effort. And defensively UND played a very solid game until the couple breakdowns late in the third that ended up in the net. However, for offensive execution and puck movement, UND was terrible. The times a player was able to make a decent pass, the receiver couldn't catch it. The few times UND seemed to have an edge entering the zone, they ended up misfiring on a pass or getting it picked off by Denver. And Denver blocked quite a few shots. As the third period wound down, the Sioux just seemed thoroughly un-dangerous. They just could not get the puck to the net. This was not one of the games like so many in the last month where the opposing goalie stood on his head and stole the game. It was pretty evenly played, in that neither team had many scoring opportunities. Ranfranz let in the softie at the start, and in such a tight-checking game, that was probably the difference.

I love the INCH website. Their "Found on a Cocktail Napkin" is often pretty clever.

Neither could I.

Maybe they need a PP quarterback. Their most recent plan didn't pan out. (Jeez. That was uncalled for. I actually like Leopold (except for the Gopher thing).)

I agree that it's wishful thinking to expect an upset in the top three series. But I'm not above a little wishing every now and then. We should be big Wisconsin fans this weekend. Not only would a Wisconsin victory have huge implications for the following weekend's schedule (provided the Sioux make it to St. Paul), but it might affect the PWR rankings as well. Here are the steps (I'm a PWR novice): Records against TUCs is a PWR comparison. Teams with an RPI greater than .500 are TUCs. Wisconsin's RPI is something like .4972, making them among the teams with the highest RPI's not qualifying as a TUC. If Wisconsin won this weekend, perhaps they would become a TUC. UND's record against TUCs is not outstanding (7-7-4?). UND's record against TUCs (with Wisconsin included) would be 11-7-4. UND might be able to win more comparisons with other teams if their TUC record was greater. It is not inconceivable that Wisconsin could win. In the two teams' only meeting this year, in January, MSUM won 3-2 in OT, followed by a 4-4 tie the next night. Bruckler, you rock. You can do it. To the rest of the players: win, or you get a closed-door meeting with the coach.

Thanks to all you folks for taking the time to share with us. That is (potentially, preliminarily) great news about D. Hale. I don't actually care (much) at this point whether he is able to suit up again for the Sioux yet this season, but if he's able to get well and continue his career that would be great. Now we just need Merrimack's goalie to wake up.

I was just a listener, but here's what I had: 1: Parise, Bochenski, Notermann 4: Canady, Connelly, Genoway I think the other two were: Spiewak, Lundbohm, Fylling McMahon, Prpich, Massen But I'm not entirely sure on the last two. First PP unit: Lundbohm (pt), Schneider, Parise, Bochenski, Prpich Second PP unit: Fylling (pt), Fuher, McMahon, Spiewak, Notermann, (Massen?) That is at least what things sounded like for a time. I don't know if that's the new "regular" alignment.

Well, you could put UMD on a list that would include most everyone UND has played in the second half, but UMD's going to be playing in the DECC next week, not the Ralph. But it would be nice. Look at it this way, if the Sioux can figure out how to win games, maybe they could take care of Denver at the Ralph, then UMD the following Thursday at the X. But first they have to get back on the winning side.

My strongest Notermann memory is not even a Sioux one. I was pulling for Moorhead (as it was nearly North Dakota) in the state tourney quite a while ago, and they were playing Mayo. Matt Cullen was on the Moorhead team, and they were loaded. I didn't know much about Mayo. Anyway, in one of the most amazing third periods I've seen, Moorhead would score, then these two sophomores from Mayo would come out and take the puck right back down and score to answer. "Leimbeck to Notemann" "Notermann to Leimbeck" over and over and over. I thought: oh great, two more great players for the Gophers. Moorhead prevailed, but those two were etched into my memory then. That's why I was excited when I saw that Jason had committed to UND a few years later. This is another can of worms, so I guess I don't want a Gopher-Sioux fight here, but I sure wish Leimbeck had come to UND, because he was a puck wizard, even in his limited appearances in college. More later.

Where are your priorities, PCM?! Just kidding; thanks for the best update yet.

forecheck, anything else from the coaches show that you heard? If not, no worries, as you, PCM and kr have done way more than your share this year. MNS, I remember that Wisconsin was looking at Ellsworth, McIlhenny, Sedevie and McKenna (SLU) two years ago when they were goalie shopping. I think they then got an idea that Bruckler would be available and zeroed in on him, although he was the last to commit. So Blais was shopping then in the group that was considered among the elite prospects for the year. He probably didn't go after Reichmuth because he had two sophomore goalies in Brandt and Seimbida and another commitment for the next year in Sedevie. The disclaimer would be that all of the above is just my recollection of the ever-accurate message board discussions of the time.

YaneA, I've been looking for a place to put this sentiment, and now your post gives me a chance. Looking back on last weekend, I was thinking that perhaps I shouldn't post right after a tough loss because I don't come off as very optimistic, when I definitely hope for the best.

Yikes. I didn't mean to start this. Let's talk about Bucky this weekend.

Chris Porter has also continued to regularly grace the scoresheet with his presence at Lincoln in the second half of the season. In his first 28 games, Porter was 3-8-11. In 22 games since then, he is 10-14-24, for a 50-game total of 13-22-35. 35 points in 50 games isn't exactly lighting up a junior league, but his second-half contribution is encouraging. It's also worth noting that his 2003 points are in the ballpark with the other highly touted Division I recruits at Lincoln. Porter has 15 points in 2003, compared to Irmen's 19, Backes's 13, and Potulny's 12 (Potulney has missed the last five games with an injury).

Bingo. Had the fifth goal Sunday been scored by the Sioux, it would have been one of those moments people would remember as another step in turning the new REA into "home."

Salmon Arm finished its regular season Sunday, with Brady Murray getting points number 100 and 101 on the year. He finished third in BCHL scoring witn 42-59-101 in 59 games. Congratulations to Brady on a fine season, and good luck in the playoffs.

About David Hale: Any discussion of the effect of his absence on the team should start with this: First, I hope he gets healthy and is able to lead a healthy life. Second, I hope he's able to have that crunching pro career he has seemed destined for. Third, I hope he's able to come back and help the Sioux. In that order. Now, what effect has his absence had on the team during this stretch? He couldn't have solved the average-at-best goaltending, nor would he have been likely to score much. But surely replacing your best defenseman with your seventh-best has an effect somewhere. Consider the ten games he's missed: at CC: 3-5. ENG at CC: 1-4. one-goal game in the third that then got away MTU: 8-0. Sioux win MTU: 2-5. Sioux lay an egg, lose. at Denver: 3-3. at Denver: 1-2. GWG at 19:58 of third at MSUM: 1-2. at MSUM: 4-5. UMD: 3-3. UMD: 2-3. Especially consider the last six. Two ties and four one-goal losses. I think Hale would have been worth at least a few points in those six close games. Am I making excuses for the losses? No, just explaining one of the reasons for them. It means that the rest of the team hasn't been good enough to compensate for his absence. Other teams have had severe injury problems as well and done better. MN lost a lot of forwards earlier this year, but were fortunate that they were incredibly deep at the position. SCSU lost Malone, their best player, for a stretch at the start of the year, and again near the end, and struggled badly in his absence. Losing Hale has been similar to losing Malone in that he is probably UND's best player. The biggest reason Hale's loss has impacted UND so badly is that it came at a position where UND was already thin. The D-corps looked like this to start the season: Hale-Schneider, Jones-Greene, Fuher-Leinweber, with Marvin getting some forward time. That's three sophomores at the core, led by a rock-solid junior, with a surprising freshman helping, and a senior and freshman bouncing in the six/seven slots. Without Hale, you're left with three sophomores and a freshman as your top four, with two guys who were scrapping for ice time as your third pair. --------------------------------------- With the recent scoring woes, I can't help but think of Ryan Bayda. He seems to have made the right choice, as he is, so far, sticking in the NHL, which I think is just awesome. But offensively, I guess we are seeing that this team wasn't ready to be without a senior star. Spiewak and Notermann have stepped up and are having fine senior seasons, but they aren't stars. I still think Bayda would have won the Hobey Baker award this year had he returned. I know that Michigan would have Cammalleri and others, and MN would have Taffe, so I'm not claiming UND is unique here, just noting that some teams were prepared to be without their senior star, and others weren't. You can't rely on freshmen and sophomores to be your stars on offense and expect to be great (copyright C. Dahl). ---------------------------------------- Goaltending: Unlike some others, I am not in favor of cutting a player and pulling his scholarship. If a guy is not good enough to be on the team, then cutting him from the team should be an option, but I think he should be able to stay in school with whatever assistance he was expecting. This is all assuming that he works and tries as expected. In Josh's case, for instance, I haven't heard any talk of his not working his butt off and really caring. If he does those things, I think he earns his scholarship. Even if he's not a good goaltender. The thing is, this is a kid's future we're talking about here. A player getting hockey scholarship money but not playing on the team because he was cut would just mean that the program would have to do the job with less money. An example would be Ziggy walking on next year and taking Josh's spot. Again, I have no problem cutting a player from the team if he's not good enough to be on it. ------------------------------------ On a related note, I wasn't a fan of the discussions last year of giving up on young forwards, and I'm still not. Here are the young guys: Bochenski - not a complete player, but obviously a star in the making Massen - inconsistent, but took a big step up this year McMahon - production has been disappointing, but he has played a lot and has been steady Canady - how could anyone expect him to do much this year? He has either been injured or rehabbing the entire year. From what I understand, he has busted his butt to get back in the lineup after each injury. I disagree strongly with anyone who would want to cut someone after the kind of year Canady had; the idea is that you stick with someone when they're down, then later, when they're back up, they care that much more and perform that much better. Connelly - I understand complaints about his lack of production, and can't argue against them. All I can say is that I see flashes of talent, outstanding moves and good speed, and I think he could contribute in the future. And I'm not his uncle, or anythign like that. Genoway - Based on some of the whispers, I had high expectations that obviously haven't been met. I'd like to see if he can make the first-year to second-year jump that many players do. Fylling - Has been up and down, but has been much better than he was his first year. Prpich - His outperformance has softened the blow of Genoway's disappointment. A very pleasant surprise who could be an important player in the future. Parise - I assume no one wants him to be cut. Bring young guys in, develop them, build a team. If the numbers were different, some people would have wanted to cut Skarperud somewhere along the way, but he played, got better, then eventually blew up. ------------------------------------ Even with the adversity the team has faced, this year is not done yet. They just need to win a game this weekend, get home ice, and win a few home games. That would send them on to St. Paul on a bit of a roll, and maybe keep them in contention for an NCAA bid.

Can anyone imagine the team winning again this year? At 2-2 I was sure they were going to pull it out. Wisconsin (I think) is 6-3-1 in their last 10. That looks tough all of a sudden. Then, depending on how that goes, maybe on the road in the first round of the playoffs. Then to the golf course. Then again, maybe all they need is to just happen to win once, and that could change things. Maybe Josh is about done after that last goal. I didn't see it.

I think it has gotten too comfortable to accept bad breaks and bad puck luck as the reason for losses, with not enough people accepting blame. I know I'm far away and it's easy for me to say, but the object is to score more goals than the opponent, not outshoot or outpossess them.