jk

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.

With two good teams that will both want badly to win, these games could come down to bounces. All the team can do is play as hard and smart as they can and hope they get a fair share of the breaks. With evenly matched teams, home ice may be enough to swing a series, and of course this edge would go to CC. Another swing factor could be coaching, and this edge arguably would go to UND. I guess the real winners are college hockey fans. I haven't heard if Fylling is back on the Parise line, but I have a few thoughts about it. First, I love it when he's up there for what it does for the other lines. It allows Notermann to move down (over?) to the Lundbohm Massen line, which allows Spiewak to move down (over?) to the McMahon Hale line. It makes those other two lines that much stronger and gives the Sioux three very good lines. My concern about moving Fylling up there is that was the configuration that got smoked by SCSU's senior line earlier this year. I'm not suggesting that it was Fylling's fault, but a line of two sophomores and a freshman is at risk of being used by an experienced top line (like Senja/Clarke). Having Notermann up there adds an element of stability and defensive responsibility that is otherwise lacking. I guess that's Blais's call, and even he is likely to change his mind during the game. Lastly, a line of Genoway/Connelly/Prpich (if that's what the fourth line is this weekend) may not seem too imposing now, but I have a feeling that in a few years we will look back in amazement that this team was so deep that it had players that good on the fourth line. (Might be wearing green-tinted glasses, there, too; I guess we'll see.)

Lamoreaux beat Sedevie 5-2 last night. Although Porter was pointless, he's done well since he turned it around in December. Lincoln's Division 1 forward recruits have the following numbers for the ten games played to date in 2003: Irmen 7-5-12 Porter 4-6-10 Potulny 3-6-9 Backes 5-3-8

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/colu...-woodlief_x.htm Red Line's latest mentions a few names we know.

There are several stories at the Anchorage (don't spell that wrong) Daily News, but this one from last Sunday tells a lot about the state of the Seawolves. On the positive side for the Wolves, their attitude seems to be good; with the announcement and commencement of the suspensions, and the dismissal of Chytka, I think the program has seem the bottom. It will all be better from here, although the losses may continue to mount. On the negative side for the Wolves, and positive for the Sioux, UAA is down to four (4!) defensemen for the series, including one sophomore and three freshmen. Not that the Sioux shouldn't take care of business anyway, but given the state of UAA's defense, UND needs to take advantage of this opportunity to add four points in the standings. You can bet all the other contenders will. UND needs to play that high energy attacking game, rolling four lines and three defensive pairs, and absolutely wear them out. No matter that UND is on the road, or UAA may get great goaltending, or UND may get questionable goaltending, the Sioux should win, and not by just a little. I have been worried about a letdown, with this series between the MN and CC series, but hopefully the team will show up and take care of business. http://www.adn.com/sports/story/2451724p-2499242c.html

You're right, I didn't see that. With 4 GA on 35+ shots, he must have played well overall.

I listened to the Gopher broadcast of the end of the second period and start of the third, then I watched the last 8 minutes. Going into it I was hoping for a split and hoping they played well. Of course this afternoon I was hoping for more than a split, but I'm happy enough taking two points out of there and going home. I was fearful the Sioux would go up to UAA and get beat if they had swept MN; in fact, I'm still worried about it. No matter how much better a team is, you can't account for emotion and human nature. You know the Sioux were pumped for the MN series, and it will be hard to be that intense next weekend. Anyway, I chose the right night to attend, as I was able to view firsthand the Sioux's excellent adventure on Friday. Tonight I had a family commitment at, of all places, the U of M Natatorium (sp?), which is a block away from Mariucci. Some good North Dakota boys (including my nephew) from Minot were in town for a swim meet. I wasn't able to hear the postgame. What were Blais's comments? Also, was there any word on Canady? That place is a house of horrors for him, as that's where he hurt his knee last year. I hope it's not serious. I caught Zach's goal on the TV news. Nice. They also showed the Koalska to Vanek to Riddle goal, on which Brandt had no chance. Also nice, in a sick way. Then I saw Fleming's SHG to start the third. I know breakaway goals aren't just the goalie's fault, but I've seen this before and have to comment on it. Waibel passed to Fleming pretty early, and Waibel then wasn't a threat to receive a return pass - it was Fleming against Brandt, period. So why, on Fleming's move, was Brandt on his tummy? I have an idea - stand up and stay with the shooter until he runs out of space. He did the same thing against Malone when he had a breakaway. At least make it close. My model for staying with the shooter on the breakaway, believe it or not, is the Josh Siembida that arrived about 54 weeks ago. He was so confident then. I'm not lobbying for Josh to get more playing time, as he doesn't seem to be the same player now. Solid weekend for the Sioux. Get four really important points next week.

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/section.../scout_0114.htm A nice write-up from an NHL scout on the US team.

This is copied from a post on POI last fall when his name came up: "As shooter said, big D from WBL, 6'4", a bit skinny, I don't think he ever played on an 'A' team at WBL. Played in the HS Elite League this fall. The first 2-3 weeks looked out of place, a little too gangly and slow. Really picked it up the 2nd half. Many people thought he passed up WBL teammate & St. Cloud St. signee Chris Anderson. The pro scouts love his size and toughness. Hartzell really started to push him on the scouts. I was really surprised when he left for the USHL. Personally, I think some pro scouts got to him and convinced him to leave so they can see him fight. very nice kid."

http://www.gamblershockey.com/pdfs/beaverson_to_nd.pdf Luke Beaverson 6-4, 205. Credit Eric the Badger for posting this on USCHO.

Take Hale, Hale, Spiewak, McMahon and Fuher off your list to start. They've each already served a suspension, so the next would be for two games. That leaves only Schneider, Greene, Prpich and Canady in my book. DeMarchi has been bad in the past, to be sure, but it's a little closed-minded to think he's that much worse than any other team's enforcers. We celebrate Archie, Commie and Greene, and while I know there's a big difference between physical play and cross-checks in the back, most neutral observers would have a tough time distinguishing one team's crusher from another's.

It looks like the US just lost the bronze medal game to the Finns, 3-2. They tried to pull an REA comeback but fell just shy. Down 3-0 in the last five minutes, Ryan Suter scored, then Brown scored from Parise and Shannon with 2 minutes left. With the goalie pulled, apparently the US was all over the Finns but couldn't put it in. It had to be tough to be completely up emotionally after the electric Canada game. From everything I've read, Parise impressed most everyone who watched him there, and he will probably move up the draft rankings, perhaps into the top 10. Apparently the Canadian broadcasters had nice things to say about Greene, calling him the US's best PK defender. Considering he wasn't even invited to the summer evaluation camp (at least as far as I know), making this team and playing so well is a great achievement for him. Matt Jones was apparently nothing but solid, which comes as no surprise to us. I don't mean for this to take anything away from the players, who obviously are most responsible for their growth, but it sure says nice things about the Sioux program that the guys played so well there. Greene's improvement from the USHL to being one of the best 19-year old US defensemen was a big leap. Parise played with a lot of these guys in the under-18 tourney in the Spring. At that time, he was outscored by (I think, just my recollection) O'Sullivan, Eaves and Sterling. Eaves was hurt and didn't play here, but O'Sullivan and Sterling were nonfactors, at least on the scoresheet. If the players read this board, congratulations on a great tournament and thanks for representing the US so well.

Nearing the end of the Michigan game in October, with the Sioux down two and scoring chances getting rarer by the minute, I thought, well, it looks like they're going to lose this one. Then it's Bochenski to Parise and Parise to Bochenski and it's all tied up. I had the same feeling last night as time wound down, and I remembered the Michigan game. This time, I thought, too bad Zach's not around to provide the spark, or maybe we could come back with a couple of late goals like the Michigan game. This team just hates to lose. I said that quite a few times during the 2000-01 season when the team had so many ties. They just never quit. This team is not dominant, but they're mentally tough and they don't quit.

In Connelly's defense, I thought the Connelly/Fylling/Massen line had the most consistent forechecking pressure of any Sioux line. They cycled like mad down there; the Canady/Genoway/Prpich line also had some nice third-period shifts. The Sioux did not pull into a shell, IMO. For most of the three minutes between Notes' goal and Cullen's goal, the Sioux were in the CC end. In fact, I think it may have been a couple guys getting caught deep (maybe the Connelly/Fylling/Massen line) forechecking that led to the rush resulting in CC's fourth goal. So while it may not have been the smartest play, it at least wasn't pulling into a shell. I jinxed it by remarking (to myself) "way to keep up the pressure" just before CC scored. I'm not sure, but it may have been Fylling who was closest to Cullen when he knocked in the rebound. Whether Cullen was his responsibility I don't know. I liked the third and fourth lines so much that I don't know who you pull out to put Parise back in. Maybe Zach sits... (That doesn't even deserve a smiley.) As for Zach, I have been in the "two definitely, maybe three" camp. After he shone so brightly at the WJC, I'm now "very probably two, three would be a surprise."

45?! There was, let me see, if I include the bar and all the surrounding tables, about ... 1 person watching in Roseville. I guess next time I'll make the trek to the south end.