jk

I don't mean to be critical, but I just don't understand the goaltending situation. JB had a weak outing against Niagara on Friday, then got sent out again Saturday. Then he got pulled on Saturday, so he gets the nod for the next game? This seems like the time of year when rotating goalies makes sense, so I'm surprised to see JS on the bench again. For most of the second half of last year, it seemed that JB was in the doghouse, not playing even when JS had begun to struggle. Is JS now similarly in the doghouse? Or is it just as simple as one guy looking better in practice so he plays?

Part 1, of course, was a thread with a few Blais comments about the Gophers that ended up on another board. Turnabout is fair play, so I thought I'd highlight the following Lucia comments from the WCHA preview column on USCHO a few weeks ago. Gee, I wonder which unnamed team he's referring to. ----------------------------------------------------- "We have enough good players where we don't have to rely on one freshman to carry the mail," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "We don't need a freshman to come in and be our No. 1 center or quarterback our power play. We have guys returning that can do those jobs." ----------------------------------------------------- Gophers forward scoring through 5 games: Riddle 5-3-8 Guyer 5-1-6 Vanek 3-2-5 Hirsch 1-4-5 Looks like the freshmen are carrying the mail for the Gophers. Guyer leads the team in PP goals with 3, and has been the team's best player. Where are the returning guys who are supposed to be doing those jobs? (I know the Gophers have some injuries.) If Parise played for MN, who do you think would be centering their number one line? Disclaimer: I still think MN's going to be very good this year. I just think the shot from Lucia shouldn't go unnoticed.

I'm looking for scoring from Canady, Connelly, Massen, McMahon, Genoway and Hale... say, about four goals on the weekend for the group. Considering they have combined for one so far, it sounds like a lot, but considering their abilities, it doesn't seem too far-fetched.

I only got to hear pieces of the game, as I was busy parenting this evening, but I was pleased to hear that the upperclassmen stepped up - 3 goals between Spee and Notermann. Two shorties on the same PK shift, when you started the PK down two goals - that's senior leadership. (It's too bad NU scored later in the PP, or it would have been perfect.) I should "not listen" more often. I stepped away down 0-2 and came back to 2-3, then I left just after NU made it 4-4, and came back to 6-4. I would enjoy reading people's impressions of players, including Genoway, Massen, Connelly, Fylling, Prpich and whoever made an impression on you. Thanks.

If Canady's pre-game interview at the Ralph was broadcast on the big-screens there, that must have been fun for his parents. I too would love to see Ryan Connelly have a nice year here, so the positive reviews on his performance are encouraging. After all the shots he took on this board last year, I've been kind of pulling for him. He seemed to be just figuring things out last year when he got hurt. After playing on the third line for a lot of last season, he should be ready to contribute. The reviews for Connelly and Fylling also make me think about team speed. In the last game of the year last year (granted, just one game), the Sioux played well against MN. Forwards in the line-up now (or soon) who did not play in that game are Parise, Fylling, Genoway, Connelly and Canady. Guess what? They can all skate! Well, Parise, Fylling and Connelly obviously, Genoway by reputation (how did his skating look, BTW?), and I was surprised by how much Canady buzzed about when I saw them live last year. I had not expected him to be that fast, since he was more of a banger by reputation. Anyway, my point is that I think the team is a lot quicker this year.

PCM, I heard from someone in Anchorage that journalism school might help you keep your facts straight. Thanks to all for the game information. More than the score and the statistics, it's nice to hear that they look good.

In best Emily Littella voice: What's this I hear about Viagra at North Dakota? Is it so cold there that "things" don't work properly? And why will Viagra be there for only one weekend - won't that just be torture, to have one warm weekend before all those cold months ahead? Apologies to those too young to have heard Ms. Littella's editorials.

I'd love to stop by to say hello, but I'll be home, which unfortunately is 300 miles away. I think I'll be in town to watch the UAA series in a month, so I'm pretty excited about that. Hope you have a great trip.

Someone who claims SSM connections noted on another board that Stafford centers his own line, separate from Crosby. Of course everything you read on the internet is true.

We report on the bad as well as the good. Salmon Arm took its 10-game winning streak on the road this weekend and came home with a 3-game losing streak. Murray was 1-1-2 in the three games.

A few thoughts: Sprig, your spartan writing style was easy to spot on the Salmon Arm board. I recall seeing somewhere that Nikiforuk had been in contact with Brown last year (hey, they beat SCSU), but that there has been interest from other schools (not named) this year. Stafford is really young. He's 16, turning 17 in a few weeks. Do we know if this is for 2003 or 2004? That also makes his size even more impressive. Blais's recruiting in the last few years makes me wonder if perhaps his first few teams were filled with smurfs because that's what he could get at that time. Now, after the program's recent success and with the arena, he seems to have this image of a team with giant defensemen, generally big wings with a few small skill guys, and tiny goaltenders. That's fine with me as long as the big guys can get up and down the rink.

BTW, it's just my nature to be a contrarian on the board. I was pumping my fist like Tiger Woods and jumping up and down like an XFL cheerleader (oh yeah, they didn't jump) late in the game, just like the rest of you. (One more contrarian note: Duluth opened the year by beating Michigan last year. I like our chances to continue improving at a better rate than Duluth, though.)

If I'm allowed to be at all negative, a few things troubled me a bit. One is production down the line-up. I don't want another line of fire team. I really want Spiewak, Notermann, Hale, McMahon, Connelly, Massen and Canady to score. It's just one weekend and I'm certainly not on anyone's case, but I'd like to be more dangerous four lines deep (or at least three). The other concern right off the top of my head is 4 GA on 19 shots. I didn't see it, but it doesn't sound like great goaltending. Tons of positives, though. What can you say about Parise? I don't know what he was thinking, being so productive. Isn't that just going to drive up the expectations? Fylling's emergence sure is a big surprise to me, and a huge bonus for the team. It's also great for Western ND hockey. Lundbohm had a nice weekend. Were these the PP units? Parise, Fylling, Bochenski, Fuher and Lundbohm. Then Spiewak, Notermann, Hale, Schneider and Leinweber? Against Michigan I heard McMahon out there some, but I got mixed up a bit. My biggest positive for the weekend is the defense. Only 19 shots allowed against a good MI team (although it is young and missing its best offensive player), and, better than the statistic, it didn't sound like they ran aroung much in their own end. Michigan's fourth goal came on a shift when the Sioux couldn't clear the zone, but that was one of the few times in the game when they got bottled up. Otherwise they seemed to move the puck up the ice pretty well. The Sioux's second line sounded like they played well all weekend, but just didn't finish. I hope they finish more. It sounded like Blais went with three lines down the stretch, with McMahon, Hale and Connelly on the third line. I didn't hear Palmo, Massen, and Marvin much. And is that right, did Marvin have Prpich's spot on the fourth line? Great opening weekend. Congrats to everyone involved.

They have video clips of goals on the Salmon Arm site, in the "Clips of the Week" section. You can see a few of Murray's goals there, which is fun, but it's very interesting to watch his linemates' goals. I don't think I saw one where #24 (Murray) didn't touch the puck just before someone put it in. It made me think of Blais's comment on Parise's linemates getting rich. Murray's linemates are currently getting rich. I also got the impression during goal celebrations that Murray is bigger than Nikiforuk, which may explain why he isn't committed to a college yet.

Murray's Salmon Arm team continues to cruise, with a 9-game winning streak and a 10-1 record. His linemate Nikiforuk is the BCHL's leading scorer with 12-12-24, Murray is third in the league with 7-14-21, and the other linemate Viedeman (Denver) is 10-7-17. In his last five games, Murray is 3-12-15. Three points per game in a good league. This is obviously THE line in the BCHL this year. I wonder how BCHLers compare it to last year's line at Chilliwak, where Tambellini (Michigan, 117 points in 54 games), Vandergulik (BU, 100 in 56) and Gauthier (Denver, 99 in 50) lit it up.

I agree about Spiewak - Notermann - Lundbohm from two years ago. They were very potent in the drive to the frozen four, generating many chances. I remember thinking at the time that if Lundbohm was a little better finisher they could have scored even more, as he seemed to miss a few golden opportunities. I couldn't understand why they weren't together again last year, but I guess Blais was looking for a top line, and rotated many people through there. This doesn't seem like a "Line of Fire" situation to me. No disrespect to the rest of the team, but the Panzer line was really at the top of their game, and quite a bit more dangerous than anyone else on the team. I think this year will see very balanced scoring. I also don't see this year's top line being dominant. Exciting at times, but we're still talking about a frosh and two sophs in an upperclassmen's league.

To your last point, I am one of the grateful readers from afar, but I think it would be fair for the person summarizing the conversation to use some discretion on the Sioux board. It's a fact of life that college hockey fans visit here (why wouldn't they, as they try to get a little of that winning tradition to rub off (added for our friends in the TC)), so things are sure to be spread about. So part of me thinks discretion would be good. The other part of me that really enjoys reading the updates recommends that such discretion be used sparingly.

With the season just days away, I want to wish the team all the best. By all accounts the players have worked hard to bring the program back to the top, where it belongs. The season will be sure to have its ups and downs, but if the team can play Sioux hockey the way we know it, physical and responsible on defense, the quickest transitions around, and attack-attack-attack on offense, the results will follow. Let's go Sioux. Time for a little payback.

Fournier has, in fact, been spotted on one of the lines in the UAA practices, according to a USCHO poster. I wanted to add that he's been spotted in line at McDonalds also, but we're probably beyond that now.

I don't know if it's been posted anywhere, but Sofie won the Ironman again this year, according to the Herald.

I believe he's a frosh at little n.d. this year, Notre Dame. Played for the USNDT last year, and he's another Anchorage native who got away.

The anticipation for the season is just that much stronger when you fellows are excited for it. It's finally close enough now that it'll be here before we know it. Two work weeks and one weekend in-between and it's here, the team's first trip to Buffalo this season. Non-hockey break: I ran the Twin Cities Marathon today, in about 3:53. There are things I'm happy about and others I'm disappointed in. 2,088th place overall, out of 8,500 registrants. Not exactly up to Sioux standards, but I mostly did the best I could.

Brady Murray's Salmon Arm team has started fast, with a 6-1 record. In last night's win, Murray was 2-2-4, bringing his season totals to 6-4-10. He's playing on SA's top line with Viedeman, who just committed to Denver, and Nikiforuk, another small skill guy. Murray has points on three empty-netters this year, which you might view as diluting his stats a bit. Or you could view it as him being on the ice at the end of the game, which speaks to his important role on the team. Plus, empty-netters can be important. Just ask Lee Goren (and Mike Motteau). And I'm sure Maine wouldn't have minded one about six months ago. Anyway, good job, Brady.

Nice doctor-patient confidentiality. As to the program's durability, the examples used so far were Gino's Sioux days and the Gophers' recent slide. You could add Sauer's Badger teams to that list. In all three cases, the slide was marked by a long-time coach who wasn't getting the job done any longer. The Gophers and Badgers stopped getting some recruits they typically would have gotten, but I wasn't really following the recruiting angle ten years ago (no internet) so I can't speak to whether the same was true for Gino near the end. So in asking whether this is a little slump brought on by a confluence of negative factors (unexpected goaltending problems, big freshmen class, unfamiliar new arena) or the beginning of a cyclical downturn, a la Gino, Woog and Sauer, you need to ask whether the game is starting to pass by Blais the way it did the others. I think that he is not yet entering that uncomfortable twilight, and I look to recruiting as the clearest evidence. Not only is Blais not starting to miss key guys, he's getting guys he didn't when he started. The biggest names around were mentioned for Bochenski and Massen, Jones was apparently ticketed for Madison, and the Shattuck boys had many, many options. But they're coming to Grand Forks. The only key misses lately seem to have been Ballard and Guyer, but anytime you're going up against Minnesota for a Minnesota boy, you are the underdog. I think those results say more about Lucia's arrival than Blais slipping. Arguments for Blais slipping would be last year's results and the fact that he's now been here a while (I think only Dahl has more tenure). Even long-tenured coaches don't necessarily have to slip, though, as Berenson and Mason continued to compete nationally many, many years into their careers. To conclude, I don't think it's simply arrogant to think that last year was just a hiccup. If anything, it's just plain reasonable to expect the team to do well, based on the recent success of the program. The proof will be in this year's play, but I don't think the program is starting to slide.

Not to be usurping someone else's authority here, but so far for UND it's 4,3,4,2,6,3,3,4,5. I think it's safe to say there aren't a lot of homer fans on this board (just Sprig). I hope the boys prove the doubters wrong by having a very good year. I haven't posted my list yet, because I'm still trying to reconcile my heart with my head. For all the line combos we've drawn up (hey, at least we only use guys on the roster), everything's up in the air until a goalie steps up. If I recall correctly, the Sioux had some pretty good talent in the late 80s and early 90s that was undone by inadequate goaltending. If someone steps up, though, it can really change not just the results but the way the team plays - with less fear and a more freewheeling attack. We will have to just wait and see. Edit to note this to Sprig: I'm just having fun, but I hate to use those darn smilies, so I don't.