jk

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.

Anderson scores on the delayed penalty, 2-0 UMD. Does the team have to hit rock bottom before it can bounce? Would this be it?

"he had an open unklesby" says TH. Sounds like something you need to see a doctor about.

12:40 to go in the second. Sounds like UMD has had a much better period so far than in the first. Siembida with several good saves.

First period SOG: UND 17-10. Score Duluth 1-0.

Siembida with a big save on a wrap-around try by Schwabe. The league is crazy, with all the big scores last night. If the Sioux could win today, gigantic IF at this point, they would have a three-point lead over three teams for fourth. All things considered, that would be a decent place to be going into the final weekend.

Siembida in net for UND. Anderson for Duluth. Connelly, Prpich and Ryan Hale together for this shift anyway. McMahon, Notermann and Spiewak I think together. Lundbohm, Massen and Prpich now out. Not sure where Prpich's regular spot is right now. SOG 9-4 UND 8:47 to go in the first.

1-0 UMD, PP goal. Sioux on a PP that is about to expire. A radio listener definitely expects the worst at this point. Good pressure on the PP but no goal. Parise and Bochenski skating with Genoway today.

Can't rip you for that question, O. Obviously something is wrong. Persistent bad luck is not just bad luck. CC was supposed to be great last year and faltered; even though they recovered later in the year, their inability to be great was inexplicable. Denver's troubles this year have been similar. How can the Sioux consistently play well and consistently not win? I don't know. Could they please just win a game?

Running the table was a lot to ask, but catching Mankato is now no longer possible, as they own the tiebreaker and the best the Sioux can do is tie them for points. MN opened the door just a crack for UND last night, and the Sioux helped them edge the door back shut today. How is it that Parise and Bochenski cannot score?