jk

Thanks for updating it. I guess they've greatly improved over the worst of last season's results: +10 points so far. Some of the trickier comparisons lie ahead, but it's nice to put some points in the bank.

Blais indicated in the Herald that it was due to their play. sprig, the better reason for Prpich to wear #19 is Scott Dub, for me. Maybe he'll have a little better touch than Dub, and be a little rougher than Bayda. That would be a nice combo. I'll admit to being surprised by Prpich's development. I thought that he and Palmiscno would be wearing suits most often, just because the lineup would be so tough to crack. I guess if you're on the bubble, you have to make it impossible for the coach to sit you.

Well, the team earned two points Saturday night, and after last year, you just have to tuck the points away without much concern for style points. I listened Friday, and just read the score update thread Saturday, so my feelings are based on my imagination. It is a little troubling that on consecutive Saturday nights the Sioux let three-goal leads slip away, and had to hold on at the end. Not since Yale have they pulled away and put someone away in the third. The funny thing is that they haven't played the passive prevent; they've pressed and just been unable to score. Nice to see the offense get going. And the balanced offense. Since I couldn't listen Saturday, what were the line combos, and who sat out? Thanks. Outshooting an opponent for one game does not equate to "outplaying" them, because it can be deceptive. But consistently outshooting your opponents, game after game, by noticeable margins, is encouraging. Now for a big weekend with SCSU.

A thread on USCHO suggests that Parise and Jones from UND are locks to make the US WJC team. The US team plays the following preliminary schedule: 12/26 Russia 12/28 Switzerland 12/30 Belarus 12/31 Slovakia Then medal round play takes place from January 2-5. UND would be without those players for the holiday tournament games on December 27 (Brown) and 28 (Manitoba/Bemidji). They would also miss the CC series at REA on January 3-4. Just to keep things fair, CC's Brett Sterling and Mark Stuart are also expected to play for Team USA, and miss those games. I'm guessing everyone will be ready for the next weekend, when the Sioux visit Mariucci. Thankfully, the tournament is in Nova Scotia, so the players won't be dealing with European jet lag and should be able to get back on schedule pretty easily. Here's a link to the IIHF site for the tourney: http://www.iihf.com/hockey/htm/ws202003.htm

Lost in his colorful legacy is that he was a heck of a hockey player. Sometimes in the WCHA, a guy reaches his senior year and suddenly he towers over the league. Archie had that kind of a senior year. I was in Duluth for the WCHA Playoff Championship series, in a two-game total-goals format, in 1985, Archie's senior year I believe. UND lost the series (4-4 Friday and 4-3 or 4-2 Saturday), but it was a fantastic series that featured two third-period comebacks by a loaded UMD team. With Watson, Hull, probably Kurvers, and others on the ice, I had UMD fans afterward tell me that Archie was the best player on the ice. By the way, the Sioux squad must also have included Chris Jensen and a couple of freshmen by the names of Hrkac and Joyce. Even though UND lost, that series has a special spot in my memory, for how good the hockey was, how passionate the city was about the Bulldogs, and how nicely we were treated by the UMD fans.

"Goehring has allowed only one goal in his last five games (0.20 goals against average and a .993 save percentage (145 saves

After slipping down the scoring leaders list, Brady Murray had a 3-2-5 game last night in a 7-6 win to jump back into third in BCHL scoring with 18-34-52 in 28 games.

Looking at UND's recent scores has me asking: Who are they, Michigan State? Having seen UND play UAA, I can say that I was impressed with the chances generated. However, the pragmatist in me has to admit that if they don't start finishing soon, we may have a bit of a problem here. In Bochenski, Massen and Parise, I believe the Sioux will have three top-notch finishers. Unfortunately, they're not getting most of the chances now and aren't finishing the ones they do get. Fylling and Notermann have worked their butts off to get great chances, but just haven't been able to get the puck in the net - they could each have had two goals per game in the UAA games, and it sounded like Notes had his chances again last night. Genoway sounded active last night. I assume Canady will play tonight; I wonder who will sit. I'd like to see something like a 6-2 win tonight. As for the MSU comparison, the Sioux aren't playing anything like that ugly trap. The pressure is there, just not the results. The good news is that, despite scoring just 13 goals in 5 league games, UND is 4-1. After last year, we should all be able to appreciate the value in gathering points, even if the wins haven't been perfect.

Thanks for the great update. I had to laugh reading the quoted line, as it would be wrong in many message board posts (sad to say). Your right, their they're for each other, you can bet you're farm on it.

I typically don't paste things from other boards, but I thought I would share the following, not to stir controversy or take shots at it, but just as a reminder that the early 80's rivalry still lives on in the hearts of Wisconsin fans as well. This is from the badger (small b) board: -------------------------------------------------------- first of all, i grew up in milwaukee, which was not the hotbed of hockey in the 70's and 80's. but i read about the badgers whenever the milwaukee journal had a small space to print an article about my beloved badgers. so my first recollection of seeing/hearing about them was in 1981 when they became the back door badgers. my dad mentioned the article about how UW got in the playoffs and had a chance to win it. so in 1981-1982, i dedicated myself to being a bigger hockey fan. And that year, when we went to the final, they showed it live on regular tv for the final game ( a local station carried it). man, was I stoked!!! a chance to see the badgers with "badger BOB" (God rest his soul) win the title!!! and then it happened...... those ba$tards from the sheep fields open my chest, ripped out my heart and stomped on it. I'll never forgive and I'll never forget what they did to my beloved UW that year. so, this week, I gaze upon the schedule chart posted in my office and see we play them this week. 2 games at their palace that a construction/gambler mogul built for them with his own money.And I see RED, not just RED, but a cardinal red, and it blots it the green that is clouding my thinking, disturbing my judgement, causing an imbalance in my every waking moment this week; and I just have to implore Mike Eaves and the gang to win 4 points this weekend. not just for the standings , but for that liitle kid in me who had his hopes dimnished by those scoundrels from the west. so you see, this week is a torment for me. mondaytuesdaywednesdaythursday (swimmnight for the girls) and finally 6am -2pm work on friday. a nice fish fry friday night,and then it all comes loose at 7:00pm so when others talk about the "rivalery" with the goofers from minnesota, i just chuckle. For i know the only rivals i have are the little green men from the west. and losing to them is not an option.

I'm not sure which format makes the most sense, but I'll try this. It shows points earned last year and this year for each series. An "x" means the series is/was not on the schedule that year. ............... Last ... This at SCSU ..... 0 ..... 2 ... AA ......... 1 ..... 4 ... Wisc ...... 2 ... MSUM .... 0 ... SCSU .... x ... CC ........ 4 at MN ........ 2 at AA ......... x at CC ........ 0 ... MTU ...... 4 at Denver .. x at MSUM .... 3 ... UMD ...... x at Wisc ...... 0 at MTU ....... 4 ..... x ... MN ........ 0 ..... x at UMD ...... 2 ..... x ... Denver .. 2 ..... x

Golly, this topic is tired. Reusse respects Blais. I've heard him refer to Blais as "the best coach in college hockey. No... the best coach in hockey, period." I paraphrased that, so I hope Reusse doesn't come after me. This might fit with a view he may hold that it is a miracle that UND can compete with MN, given MN's recruiting and resource advantages.

I've now watched three games, Friday against SCSU, and two against UAA. I've yet to see Parise tally a point. I'll stop watching now so he can get back to business. It seems to me that Zach shows flashes of brilliance, but, given his size, he won't be ready to move on after this year. Still, he was fun to watch. One of the neatest things for me to see, more than once, was his pursuit of a loose puck in the corner. For me, it was complete deja vu for the former number 17, and it went like this: See the loose puck, and skate to the open spot where it's going to end up. As soon as your set your body in motion to get to that spot first, it's "head up" and looking in all directions to see where to go with it when you get there. Impressions of other players: Bochenski seemed to struggle a little Saturday, but he is faster this year. Lundbohm, Massen and Fylling worked the offensive zone for a while Saturday like they were on the PP. Lundbohm looks faster also. Massen is locked in a battle for most-improved honors with Notermann and Fylling. It looks like he's getting more comfortable, his effort looks more consistent, and his talent seems to be shining through as a result. Spiewak called his Saturday goal-scoring move lucky, but it was beautiful. I thought he had a nice puck-control game Saturday, better than Friday. That line, with McMahon and Hale, makes just as many nice, short passes as the first two. The puck movement is really impressive, and it will pay off for the team down the stretch. Even the fourth line moved the puck well. I thought Prpich looked out of place against SCSU, but he looked much better against UAA. (Perhaps that says something about SCSU and UAA.) He was really drilling people late in the game Saturday. I've said it over and over, but Canady can fly. He must be one of the fastest guys on the team. He needs to work on play-making at high speed, but the guy was winning foot-races to the puck all weekend long. I saw some of the good and bad from Genoway. He made a really nice touch pass on a rush, and I was asking "who was that?", and some other nice offensive plays that required vision and touch. I also saw him get muscled off the puck more than once. I think he may not be strong enough right now, which is reminiscent of some freshmen last year. By contrast, more than once I saw Fylling muscle an opponent off the puck in the neutral zone; he has matured physically. From what I saw, the Sioux committed hardly any "dumb" penalties. UAA's first goal on Friday came on the 5-3 that resulted from Greene sticking up for Parise. I have no problem with that. I didn't see what Hale did to get called on Saturday, but when a UAA forward is laying on the ice in front of Brandt, and Hale is standing over him, I consider that a good penalty. I continue to really enjoy watching Jones play. He wins races to the puck, preventing the other team from getting the forecheck going. Also, when he decides to pressure someone on the PK, he doesn't do it halfway. He goes after the guy with gusto. Physically punishing. Leinweber played a nice defensive game; I wish he had another year. Not only are the Sioux fresh in the third from rolling four lines, but also from rotating six defensemen. Brandt looked solid. I don't fault Siembida for the goals, but he looked shaky when the puck was bouncing around in his end. I just didn't feel very confident with him in there. Overall, the team looks solid. Good defensively, and dangerous offensively. Fun to watch. I felt like they used up a month of bad puck luck and still got four points. If they were to advance far nationally this year, I wouldn't be surprised. They will need good-to-great goaltending to get there, though, because the attacking style of play that is so easy to cheer for does yield chances the other way. (See the loss to SCSU). One of the best impressions I left with is that the team played hard for six periods, shift after shift. That's really easy to cheer for.

Back from the "Grand Cities," after my first look at this version of the Sioux. I can be a big homer, so sometimes I see too much of the good and go into denial about the bad. (I thought they looked pretty good when they lost 7-3 to SCSU.) For instance, I should be concerned about the lack of finishing. But even that doesn't bother me; if a team works as hard as the Sioux did this weekend, the goals will come. It's also worth noting that the opponent was a pretty badly outmatched UAA team, so maybe that should temper my enthusiasm. With those concerns noted, my initial opinion about this Sioux team is: WOW. They looked fabulous. This was the most lopsided 4-2, 1-0 sweep in history. All four lines worked and worked all weekend long, and the defense was stifling. I guess they eventually have to score more to prove that all is well, but my concerns about scoring depth are gone after watching the team. On Friday, the third and fourth lines may have applied the most consistent pressure, even though the top lines definitely had their chances. I have to laugh now when people think this is a one-line team, like the last few years. This year's second and third lines are better than the second line on either of the last two teams, even though the second line two years ago (Spiewak, Notermann and Lundbohm) played great down the stretch. I have no problem seeing any of the top three lines out against anyone, which is different from last year, when it seemed like the freshmen needed matchup protection. More impressive than the forwards, who I really like, are the defensemen. When UAA tried to go wide, whichever defensemen happened to be there stapled the opponent into the sideboards. Even a lot of the rushes up the middle ended up with someone getting drilled into the side or end boards. Did anyone get beat wide all weekend? I didn't see it, but I didn't have a good view of the other end of the rink. I would love to hear what all the pro scouts showing up to watch Parise think of the Sioux defense, because I was impressed. Someone mentioned somewhere their concern about the defensemen leaving early. I agree. Hale, Jones and Greene will all be pretty big early departure risks. After Friday's game, I commented that I was pleased the Sioux didn't have Wisconsin's Heatley syndrome, where everyone stood around waiting for Dany to do it. One of the advantages of having a hungry scorer like Bochenski on the same line is that he's not going to watch anyone do anything. Goal scorers have a selfish streak by nature - they want to put the puck in the net - so I like that Bochenski wants the puck and wants to score. By the end of the weekend, though, I thought the Sioux were trying too hard to get the puck to Zach. The PP point men love to fake the shot, then pass it to Zach down low to the right of the net. But if you try it every time, the other team has an idea that it's coming. It's been kind of shocking to see Blais stick with his line combos so consistently; I hope Dean's feeling OK. He put Spiewak in Fylling's spot Saturday against SCSU, and Notermann there Saturday against UAA. But other than that, the same combos have been going out game after game. I noticed that sometimes he spotted Fylling or Prpich into lines after Notermann or Spiewak had just finished a PK shift. Notermann, Fylling and Parise have got to just be dying to see the red light go on. Notermann looked great. Friday he had the play where his shot went through Reiter, only to have Reiter dive backward and knock the bouncing puck away just before it crossed the line. Shortly after that, he had the rebound of the Massen shot (Massen made a gorgeous move on the left-hand side to get to the middle and take the shot - the kind of move that makes him an early-departure risk as well) that Reiter somehow got his glove on. Then Saturday he had the breakaway where he got hauled down - penalty shot? - and that stunning shorthanded rush - spin-o-rama at the blueline to lose one guy, then deke the next guy to get the shot off. After all that, he's due. I can't get on Fylling's case about all his missed chances, because you don't get those chances by accident. He had to be fast enough and see the play well enough to get those breakaways and open chances, and they will eventually go in. The one I can knock him on is the 3-0; when you're in with two of the top snipers in the country, move the puck over to one of them to pick a spot. They weren't even close to being in too deep yet. I'll post this now so I don't lose it.

An article from NHL.com. Pretty interesting, with a few insights into recruiting, moving on to the next level, and Zach's background. http://www.nhl.com/intheslot/read/college/index.html

Does anyone know or care to say if there is a particular area where the Sioux parents sit at games? Since I will be in attendance, I might like to stop up and meet some of my cyber-acquaintances, if I get a chance. If you'd rather not post that publicly here, you could just e-mail me at kellyjr@wellsfargo.com. Thanks.

This speaks to me of the important role that Spiewak, Notermann, Hale and Leinweber are playing in the continuity of the program. They are bridging the gap from the Blake/Panzer/Goren era to the Parise/Bochenski/Murray(?) era, teaching the next generation what it means to wear the sweater. As the wise one in St. Cloud said, talent can only take you so far. He actually was right. The seniors have won a ring, they know what it takes, and they are trying to build a committed team of their own. I'm glad that Blais isn't talking about contending for a national title this year, but I'll bet he'd like to see the team take a shot at putting together a four-game winning streak to end the year. Just make it to the last sixteen teams, and play that tight-checking transition game and see what happens. And while I don't think the Sioux are a Top 5 team right now, it's interesting to see BC and UND in the one and four spots. Deja vu all over again.

Favoring UND: - Better players. - Revenge factor. Revenge may be too strong a word. Trying to atone for last year might be closer. - Home ice. - Lots of freshmen on UAA, which is adjusting to the graduation of senior leaders. Favoring UAA: - They are desperate for a WCHA win. - They played CC tough last week, leading Saturday after two. - Confidence after doing well at REA last year. - Sioux goaltending will remain a question until someone plays well consistently. Favoring me: - My first trip to GF this year, and my first look at the team live. Really, really looking forward to it. If the Sioux want to contend this year, this is the kind of series they need to sweep.

Here are some updates: Murray 23 gp, 12-30-42. Tied for third in BCHL scoring. Just had a 1-5-6 game in a 7-6 win. Missed one game with a slight concussion. Stafford 19 gp, 9-19-28. Last I heard he was not playing on Crosby's line, which makes his numbers more impressive, to me. Crosby, BTW, is 20-31-51 in 19 gp. Porter 17gp, 2-6-8. Seems to be having trouble adjusting to the USHL, at least based on the stats. Ugly -7 so far. Fabian 13 gp, 5-2-7. Smaby 18 gp, 2-7-9. 31 PIMs. Lamoreaux 5-3, 2.805 GAA, .906 Sedevie 5-3-2, 2.535 GAA, .900 As for their teams: Salmon Arm (Murray) is 16-8 and in second place in its division. SSM (Stafford, Smaby) is 15-4. Lincoln (Porter, Lamoreaux) is 12-4-1, the best record in the USHL. Topeka (Fabian, Sedevie) is 6-5-2, which puts them last in the USHL's West Division, but would be good enough for second in the East.

http://www.collegehockeystats.com/0203/box...es/mndkprn1.n01 If this link works, it looks to me like there were two Sioux players in the box, and one Princeton player, when Bochenski scored his last goal against Princeton. So it should be a SHG.

Since this has turned into a referendum on Coach Dahl, I can chip in with my opinion that I have no problem with the guy. I think I have probably said just about the same thing before - the junior-senior league thing. I also think it's pretty amazing that the SC program is where it is; there's really no reason it should be any more successful than Ferris, Miami, Western Michigan, UAA, Michigan Tech or any non-major school. But they are pretty consistently near the top now. I also think it's safe to like him there, in much the same way I didn't mind Woog staying at MN. But that's just my opinion.

Big win for the Sioux. It's just the second league game of the season, and on the road, but you just have to collect points when you can, and the Sioux played well enough to earn points this weekend. Like in the Michigan game, it seemed just about over until Parise made a great play in last five minutes to tie it up. With five minutes left, the game had slowed to a crawl, with hardly a chance by either team, and it seemed like the Sioux were going to go home swept. So great effort by the team to get points, first one, and then the second one, tonight. Tim and Berry very complimentary of Notermann's work in the OT. Berry thinks he has really stepped his game up this year. Also fantastic job shutting SC down for almost the whole game. When SC's big line did have a few great chances late in the second, Josh made the big saves and kept the team in the game.

This was my first look at the team this year, and I can tell now why people think the team looks better than last year. They do simply move the puck better up front, and the defense does not yield the zone nearly as easily as it did last year. They made mistakes, and SC made them pay for every one of them, but they played well enough to win. After Friday night last year in SC, I felt like the team had been run over by a truck and was not nearly as good as SC. Getting pounded 7-3 bites, but I don't feel the despair that I did after last year. Actually, I am anguished over one thing. As a hint, let me just say that the first thing I checked on the internet after the game was how Sedevie did tonight for Topeka. (Topeka won 3-2 in a shootout; Sioux recruit Fabian scored 2 of Topeka's 3 goals in the shootout; Sedevie saved something like 10 of 12 shootout attempts.) It must just be killing the coaches to see that they have put together what could be a stunning team, in time, that looks to be undone by goaltending. I would hate to have to bring in another goalie mid-season, but one of the guys currently on the roster has got to step up soon. Let's see: SOG 43-25. Score 7-3. Sounds about right ... oh, 3-7. Something's wrong here. Not that SOG is necessarily the end-all of statistics, but the Sioux definitely carried the play for at least a lot of the first two periods. It's not like they were going to go undefeated or anything, so there's no point in overreacting to a bad loss in November. I saw a lot of things to like. Massen seems to be getting a lot more comfortable. Lundbohm and Notermann played well. Parise's line seemed quiet, and I think a lot of that was because they seemed to spend many shifts in their own zone. They just had trouble getting into the offensive zone. Connelly is faster than I remember, and Canady was a presence at times. I was hoping for more from Genoway; he seemed to really nonchalant it on a first-period power play. He obviously is taking time getting adjusted. I didn't think Marvin looked out of place at all, but Prpich didn't do much for me. Even though there were encouraging signs, this isn't last year - there aren't moral victories. The Sioux need to get points this weekend, so they're going to have to get them tomorrow. What did Blais have to say afterward?

Agreed. We can all be thankful that Matt wasn't badly injured. The picture is chilling, with the angle of his impact into the boards and his helmet visible elsewhere.

I was glancing at recent WCHA scoring statistics and thought it notable that for at least the last four years (all that I could easily check) UND has had at least two of the WCHA's top five scorers. Considering how college teams turn over, that's pretty amazing. 98-99: Blake, Jay Panzer, CC, Denver, Goren/Panzer/Williamson (tie) 99-00: Panzer, MN, Wisc., Goren, Wisc. 00-01: Panzer, CC, Lundbohm, CC, Wisc./SC 01-02: SC, MN, Bayda, Skarperud, CC Has this been the result of great offensive players, Blais's philosophies, or both? The Sioux haven't played any WCHA games yet, so it's hard to say whether it will continue. It seems to be a reasonable possibility, though.