jk

Heard? Did you read it out loud?

Pretty nice game last night for Brady Murray: VERNON VIPERS 2 at SALMON ARM SILVERBACKS 4 VE- 1) Chad Murray(Han, Claffey), 2) Bryan McGregor(Reaney, Kisio). SA- 1) Brady Murray(Nikiforuk), 2) Murray(Nikiforuk, Veideman), 3) SHG/WG- Murray(Nikiforuk, Kestell), 4) PPG-Alex Nikiforuk(Murray, Veideman).

Although Spee was with Parise for a shift in the OT, I think the third period was Parise, Bochenski, Notes and then Lundbohm, Massen, Spiewak - these would be the lines we're most used to, IMO. Yep, this experiment lasted about a period longer than the last one, which had Parise with Massen (I think). Blais doesn't hesitate to pull the plug on his own ideas, if he doesn't think they're working.

Bayda is held off the scoresheet in a 3-1 win. He played a lot though, and even got a little PP time. Lost in last year's disaster was how good he was. Congrats, Ryan, on advancing your dream one step further by playing in the NHL.

Hey, I didn't know you guys were over here! Parise must have had about five excellent chances that were all either saved or near misses. I predict that both Parise and Bochenski find the net tomorrow. Whether it will be enough to win, I don't know. How about Connelly getting robbed in the first by Berkoel? He just can't buy a goal. And so nice to hear Canady playing. Good job, Sioux. I really thought they were going to pop one in in the OT.

All the Ranfranz longing reminds me of the love affair that Vikings fans typically have with backup quarterbacks.

The Sioux also seem to have a little bit of the Friday/Saturday thing going on: CC: UND leads on Friday, with CC getting the tie with 5 minutes left. Saturday CC plays well, deserving a win probably, but UND gets the borderline miracle finish to tie. MN: UND plays great in a Friday win. Saturday they lose. AA: UND kills em Friday, and wins only 3-0 Saturday. CC: Taking the Friday/Saturday thing to an extreme, UND plays great for only the first period, then gets into the Saturday slide early. MT: UND kills em Friday, and loses Saturday. Recent records: Friday 3-1-1 Saturday 1-3-1 Recent GF/GA: Friday 30-13 Saturday 13-19

If he starts tonight, maybe they want him to have an easy time of it, since there will not be an opponent on the ice. It looks like Carolina plays Washington on Valentine's Day. Wow. Bayda called up! How cool is that?

This is pasted from the Topeka press release. Since it's a press release, I assume there's less of a problem with copyright issues. If I'm wrong there, I apologize. After an injury-filled season last year and a bit of a slow start this year, Layne had really come on for a good Topeka team. Hopefully, he can recover fully. LINCOLN, Neb. -- Topeka ScareCrows netminder Layne Sedevie was lost for the season after suffering a rotary subluxation in the first two cervical vertebras during Tuesday night's 5-2 loss to the Lincoln Stars in the Ice Box in Lincoln, Neb. The incident occurred in the second period, when Stars forward Ryan Potulny came in on the right side on a partial breakaway. Potulny collided with Sedevie, knocking the netminder into the goalpost. Sedevie remained face down on the ice for about 15 minutes, before being taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital. According to ScareCrows trainer Michael Muir, "Layne complained of neck pain and anytime there is a possibility of a spinal injury, standard operating procedure is to put the individual on a spinal board and transport him to a nearby hospital. "We were fortunate to have Dr. Robert Vande Guchte, who is with the Lincoln Orthopedic Center, on hand for the assessment and transport of Layne. Layne is currently under the direct supervision of Dr. Vande Guchte." Muir continued, "That night Layne underwent a CAT scan and an X-ray, which confirmed the aforementioned diagnosis. Layne also underwent an MRI today, which was negative. Tests confirmed that the damage was done to the ligaments in the neck region and not to the spinal cord." ScareCrows Executive Vice President Steve Pona, who was with Sedevie at the hospital, said, "Layne is a very brave young man. He will be severely missed, but I am confident the team and the fans will rally around him." Pona was also very complimentary of the Lincoln Stars and the fans of Topeka. "I would also like to thank the Lincoln Stars organization for all their assistance in this serious matter and the fans of Topeka for their phone calls and genuine concern for our injured goaltender." Sedevie remains in Lincoln and the decision will be made in the next 48 hours on his transport and treatment. With the season ending injury to Sedevie the Crows are left with one netminder, rookie Michael Zacharias. "Michael is a top end goaltender and our team will rally around him," Head Coach Tom Rudrud said. "As far as a backup to Michael is concerned, we will add a goaltender to our roster by this weekend." Cards and letters for Layne can be sent to the following address: Topeka ScareCrows Attn: Layne Sedevie, 1800 Exoduster Blvd., Topeka, Kansas 66612 Crows will be back in action for a weekend series in Cedar Rapids on Saturday and Sunday.

I miss Adam Calder. I guess Notes has pretty much been in that role for a while now. I think Prpich is Notes's heir. Tough, plays big but isn't, good offensive ability but it comes in flashes... did I mention tough? Spiewak, Notes and the Hale boys have earned a special place in Sioux history for bridging the gap between eras. If only Ryan Hale could finish.

I think I can remember back to Friday now and post a few other observations from a non-expert fan: On Friday, Parise had the best game I've seen him have (I haven't seen as many games as most of you have), and not because he scored twice. In the third period, he made three really beautiful passes to the "extra" guy for scoring chances. None of them went in, but they were Roche, Panzer, Hrkac vision passes, that really catch the defense and goaltenders off-guard. One of them was to Schneider cruising down from the blueline, and it got me thinking about the freshman adjustment factor and one distortion of it this year. In addition to Zach having to adjust to the NCAA, his teammates are still learning how to play with him. Now, when Schneider sees Zach head to the corner in pursuit of a loose puck, he sees an opening down the middle and heads for it, guessing that Zach will not only win the puck in the corner but get it to him. Earlier this year, I don't think he would have done it. I also noticed this weekend that Zach, while quicker than heck in short races to the puck, does not yet have the breakaway speed up and down the rink. Knowing his reputation for hard work, I'm guessing he'll get faster as his career progresses. Although he had a few gaffes on Saturday, Schneider really is turning into a fine, fine player. He seems more aggressive offensively all the time, is tough to beat defensively, and still lays the smack down all the time. I love it when an opponent's offensive rush ends with the puck carrier getting intimate with the glass on the side boards. Speaking of which, Matt Jones absolutely demolished two Huskies right in front of me, about ten seconds apart, in the second period Saturday. They were clean bodychecks that should be in the video dictionary next to the term. Spee had more blinding speed rushes this weekend, and Notes pulled another spin-o-rama in the offensive zone. People love to look ahead to national contending teams for the next few years, but this team is going to miss those guys next year. If Ryan Hale could only finish... He didn't do much Saturday, but Prpich showed again on Friday that he has a real presence on the ice and could be a special player. While his line was cycling relentlessly on Friday, Prpich seemed to take it upon himself to GO TO THE NET with the puck, several times. He got several good shots off, but didn't score. It reminded me of, of all things, Tyler Hirsch last year in a SSM game. The Parise line was dominating possession in the zone with precision passing, and a few times Hirsch just seemed to say, "screw this pretty stuff, I'm goin' to the net." Not that Prpich needs to aspire to be Tyler Hirsch, it was just deja vu for me. How about Connelly's move from the blue line to the net in Saturday's first period? It was like he was doing a skating drill around cones. If only he could have finished! Does Fylling idolize Bochenski? I feel like he sometimes shoots when he should pass. He's a good passer, but at least once a game I think, "shoulda passed." I don't want to take anyone out of the lineup to get him back in there, but I think the team needs Canady back to shake things up a bit. Who knows what a big hit could have done to the momentum of Saturday's game?

sagard, Thanks for posting. You are welcome here. Of course, you may not want to any longer, now that you have been revealed to be not a real Sioux fan. I think I would think the same thing about CC and UND if I were in your shoes. As a Sioux fan, I think UND's chances are best at any of the small ice sites, as I like their game better there. Of course, I'd get to watch them if they were at Mariucci, but that's just selfish on my part. Hopper, Thanks for posting also. Please lighten up just a touch. A Gopher fan should be able to come here and call his team the Gophs.

I'll try updating this.

Just back from GF. Highlight Friday was the game, with Lola's a close second. Highlight Saturday was Sanders; there was no second. Although there's a lot of hockey to be played, I think MN took second place Saturday night. That four-point swing will be tough to make up with the remaining schedule. I just hope UND can hang on to third, because fourth is a place you don't want to be. Third will probably be determined by the series at MSUM; I think two points gets UND third place. Getting swept there probably drops the Sioux another slot. The Sioux D has been good this year, but all five goals were the direct result of defensive miscues. Not one resulted from MTU possession in the zone. #1 Schneider fans on a puck in the offensive zone, MTU goes the other way with an odd-man rush and scores. #2 Leinweber just plain gets beat on a rush to the outside. As it was happening, I could see that one of UND's other bigger defensemen probably would have introduced the guy to the boards, but Leinweber couldn't reach him and his move set up the goal. The guy who knocked the puck in was unchecked by (I think) Fuher. #3 Greene, backing up in his own zone, five seconds after a successful PK, and basically not under pressure, fans on his pass out of the zone. This is a simple pass that he does ten times a game, and probably flubs once out of 100 times, but this was that one time. Because he was moving backwards, the puck just sat there waiting for the MTU player to scoop it up. Although Josh was completely hung out to dry, this is the kind of save I would like to see him make, since he could have bailed out Greene, who has bailed him out many times. #4 Fuher falls down at his own blue line, allowing the odd-man situation into the zone, and the goal. #5 Greene pinched because the team was down two, he missed, and the rush the other way led to a goal. I'll try to think of some more positive comments later, but losing those two key points could really haunt UND this season, if it results in play-in game implications. I couldn't see the calls in the third too well, but 8 minutes in penalties in the last 11 minutes, when you're down three, isn't much of a formula for a comeback. Being the homer optimist that I am, I still thought they could come back until they spent the rest of the game shorthanded. I'm not blaming the ref, just noting that there was no way they were going to come back and win in that situation. Eight tough games left; now they have to go win one they weren't supposed to, to get this one back.

I agree on Denver. They are tougher than people seem to think. I would be thrilled to get a total of four points out of Denver and Mankato. Then the Sioux would need to win the other six games, which aren't a lay-up either, by the way. Tech has been playing people tough. Before their slip-up last weekend, Duluth had played everyone tough. And, as noted, Wisconsin is never an easy opponent for UND (unless it's the national title game).

One last thought on the CC series before this thread fades away. The big four underclassmen with questions about which jersey they would wear in 2002-03 (IMO) were Taffe, Bayda, Sejna and Dubie. I thought Dubie staying would keep Denver at the top, but I guess he did miss some time with injury. MN has felt Taffe's absence. This weekend we got to see (hear for me) what Sejna means to CC. Does anyone doubt that Ryan Bayda would be leading the nation in scoring and be right alongside Sejna as a Hobey frontrunner had he stayed at UND? I'm not playing the "what if" game, as I know many teams could re-draw their line charts to include players currently playing at a higher level. I'm just pointing out what I think is the reason CC seems to be the better team right now. They brought back their stud. Ours moved on to bigger things. Put Bayda in a Sioux jersey and the two teams are even. Do that and take Sejna away and the Sioux are superior. One last thought, somewhat related. UND's first PP unit goes frosh, soph, soph, soph, junior. That's so young! The second team is senior, senior, soph, soph, someone else on the point (When Fylling was on the point Saturday it made for three sophs). They're having a fine year considering their youth.

I noticed on Heisenberg's site that Jonathon Sigalet has committed to BGSU, where his brother plays. He is a 16-year old offensive defenseman for Salmon Arm in the BCHL. Since he's Brady Murray's teammate, I was wondering if the Sioux might have gotten involved. Even though UND is doing great with the current crop of defensive defensemen, I look forward to the next Murphy/Roche.

sprig, I usually don't use the smilies to indicate sarcasm. I just try to make my comments outlandish enough that they are taken that way. Just so I'm clear, it's usually not a problem to cheer against MN.

Maybe I'm unnecessarily concerned. Hopefully. FWIW, this is the excerpt from Sunday's Herald game report that sparked my concern: "Sioux notes: For the second straight game, Sioux junior defenseman David Hale had to sit out with flu-like symptoms. Hale may stay behind here when the Sioux go back to Grand Forks and have additional tests done at the hospital in Colorado Springs, his hometown."

Obvious bias aside, cheering for MN this weekend doesn't make sense. CC is no longer UND's competition; MN, Mankato, SCSU and Denver are the teams UND should be concerned with. Finishing first or second is really a push - you get a terrible team the first weekend either way. Finishing third is worse as you get Tech (probably) or Duluth. Finishing fourth or lower gets you a tough first-round opponent and all the Final Five play-in problems. UND needs to push for second or third now, which means cheering against MN (hard to do, I know). That said, I think CC-MN is a split this weekend, as CC will have trouble getting sufficiently motivated after the big showdown weekend. Plus MN is good.

I think these seem too optimistic. I haven't run it myself, but I think the league is just tough and 8-2 down the stretch will be tough to accomplish. The key, to me, is the health of David Hale. If it's just the flu and he gets better soon and plays most of the remaining games, I can be more optimistic. However, staying behind in Colorado Springs for "more tests" sounds like it could be more than just the flu. For his sake personally and for his future career, I hope it's not serious.

Jan 14 L 2-3 at Wisc Jan 15 L 5-6 at Wisc Jan 21 W 1-0 MN Jan 22 L 2-5 MN Jan 28 W 5-0 at MTU Jan 29 W 11-1 at MTU Feb 4 L 0-3 at SCSU Feb 5 T 1-1 at SCSU Record in this stretch: 3-4-1 Record after this stretch: 13-1-2 Record in the last six games of the year: 6-0-0 Record for the season: 31-8-5 It was 1999-2000. I'm not saying this team is going to win the national title, but things looked pretty bleak in early February 2000 and it worked out okay. It's a tough league. Teams have their ups and downs. The Sioux just went 3-3 on a tough road trip, and they now enter the stretch run. Other teams have faced serious injuries this year that the Sioux have largely avoided; I think we've learned from the absences of several players a few times this year that the team is thin enough on defense that the margin for error is pretty slim. David Hale has missed three games this year, and the team was out of sync for all of them. Jones and Greene missed four and the team didn't seem the same at all. Four players missed the first SCSU game and the team got waxed. For this weekend, consider that Schneider and Hale are typically on the ice for 50% of the crunch-time minutes. Hale was gone and Schneider wasn't 100%. That's a big change. I heard Marvin and Leinweber out there at times when they would typically have been planted on the bench. As for whether that affected UND only scoring one goal in the last five periods, I think: yes, it did. Transition teams generate offense from defense. When you turn the other team around at the blue line, play goes the other way immediately. If you let them get it in deep, you get into breakouts, and failed breakouts, and then icings or just dumping it in to get a change. To summarize: Unpleasant result this weekend. Not the end of the world. Stay the course. Please don't think this is last year's team because it's not. They're a lot better and will continue to show it. Plus I think they'd love another shot at CC.

OETKB, It's a long season. UND's other successful teams had their miserable moments, but they persevered. MN fans last year went over the edge when they struggled during January and February, and I hope we try to take it in stride.

I haven't watched; only listened. It messes with your head to be up 3-0 after one. It's only natural that you start to think it should come easily. Against a great team that can be a killer, and once the ice tilts that way, it's tough to get it back. TH has made it sound like the Sioux defense is not only undermanned tonight but also sick. That could account for some of the "tired" look. Whatever the reasons, CC was the better team tonight. UND'll have to try again tomorrow.

I agree on the entertainment value of the Yale game- it was great live radio. I couldn't believe other listeners got so bent out of shape by TH's call and actions.