jk

Sure is quiet around here. When does school get out at UND? I assume a lot of the guys stick around for the summer - skate and workout and work and goof off. I hope they work hard and come back ready to go.

OK, How about this perspective: What line will each forward play on? Example: Spiewak Somewhere between line 1 and 3 Spiewak 1-3 Notermann 2-3 Hale 2-3 Lundbohm 1-3 Fournier 1-3 Bochenski 1-3 Canady 2-4 Connelly 3-4 Massen 1-4 McMahon 1-3 Fylling 2-4 Parise 1-3 Genoway 2-4 Faul 4 Palmiscno 4 B. Connelly 4 Looking back at my list, I'm not sure I completely agree with it, but... oh, well. I guess what this and the many possible line combinations suggest is that the Sioux have a lot of quality forwards, many with the potential to play on the top lines. The $64,000 question is which of them will develop sufficiently to become stars to be feared when they're on the ice - like Blake and Goren and Panzer, and, from the other side, Pohl and Taffe this year. It should be fun to watch.

The fun part about projecting next year's lines is that, with Blais as coach, we all get to be right by about the third game of the year. Although with Genoway sitting for three more games, it will take until the fourth game for all the possible line combos to see the ice. I have lately been pondering: Fournier, Bochenski, Lundbohm Notermann, Hale, McMahon Parise, Spiewak, Genoway Fylling, Massen, Canady, Connelly That is with no sense of who is a righty/lefty or a more natural center, but refer to my first sentence for my response. I could also see a team with lines so balanced that it would be hard to tell which of the first three is the "first" line. I really have no idea, though. It should be fun.

NDHockey, I agree with you about the predictive value of past statistics: with different players, opponents, etc., there really is none.

NDHockey, You are correct, of course, that these scoring feats would seem to be wishful thinking. But consider some other data (Year, 10+ goal scorers, 20+ goal scorers): 1996 6 3 1997 10 1 1998 8 3 1999 9 4 2000 8 2 2001 7 3 2002 3 1 The big question is whether 2002 will eventually be seen as an abberation or the beginning of a new trend. I think we're all hopeful that it will just be a little dip, with future performance returning to past standards. By the way, it's interesting that of the ten 10+ goal scorers in 1997, only three were also in that group in 1996. In other words, seven players in 1997 were new members of the double-digit goal club. This is what I think may happen next year. Guys will step up.

Speez, Thanks again for your input. One general impression I get from your posts is how much work it takes to be a big-time college athlete. These kids must be incredibly dedicated to juggle all their commitments, and their lives after hockey will surely be better for the lessons learned now. I managed to squeeze my schoolwork into a busy schedule of work and goofing off, but I suspect the demands on the athletes' time are a bit more strenuous. As to the point about goaltending affecting the team's play, I think the disappointing end to the 1998 season is the perfect example of the phenomenon. Aaron Schweitzer played in the infamous NCAA quarterfinal against Michigan at Yost, after Karl Goehring, who had taken over the starting job and led the team down the stretch, was hurt in practice that week. Schweitzer was not the goaltender he had been the year before, and the team seemed to play like it was scared to give up a goal. More than the Yost mystique, I think the forced goaltending change was the undoing of the 1998 Sioux, which may have been the best team of the Blais era. Well, I've predicted nine players with 10+ goals, and now you're on record for five players with 20+. I like it. Go Sioux.

Good comparison, dagies. MN loses a lot, but they will be fine. This just means the preseason order at the top should be 1. Denver 2. MN (until Dubie leaves, at which point maybe it flips back). MN has a fine team returning either way. The Sioux need to get good enough to beat them all, anyway, so it doesn't matter too much. It should be noted, though, that Taffe did play great against the Sioux all through his career. After seeing him play against UND as a freshman and sophomore, I couldn't understand why he wasn't putting up more points. So subtract one difference-maker. On that note, Leo single-handedly won the Saturday game in Mariucci with two third-period goals, and Pohl did the same thing on Saturday at REA. So subtract three difference-makers. The question is how well the younger guys will step up. Although the answer won't be known until they do it, I suspect they have the guys set to be able replacements - new guys to hate.

Some miscellaneous predictions for 2002-03: 1. The Sioux will be Top 4 in the WCHA regular season. 2. UND will play in the Final Five. 3. UND will win at least one NCAA tournament game, perhaps at REA. 4. UND will have nine players score 10 goals (1997:10, 98:8, 99:9, 00:8, 01:7, 02:3), but none score more than 25. 5. David Hale, Schneider and Greene will all serve one-game fighting suspensions. 6. Parise will average 1 PPG ... after Christmas, less before that. 7. Genoway will be within 10 points of Parise. 8. Notermann will hit less than 10 goalposts, which is about half of what he hit last year. Probably overly optimistic, but I'm just a fan and that's my job. Feel free to chime in with your own.

KG's Dayton team swept its first-round playoff series in the ECHL- he was 3-0. In the second round's first game, his team won 4-3 in 2OTs, behind Karl's 50 saves. In the next, Dayton won 3-1, with Karl making 40 saves. I was very happy that Andy Kollar closed out his career with a fine game in Mpls., but in case you were wondering what the Sioux really missed this year, look at Mr. Goehring's results in the playoffs.

Thanks for the information, The Sicatoka. I guess it's not the "spring" signing period then.

I believe recruits can sign LOI for next year starting today, April 10. I don't know how long the signing period lasts. I also don't know if recruits for 2003 like Murray and Porter can sign yet, or if they have to wait until November 2002. If Murray and Porter can't sign yet, then I guess we're not expecting any new LOI to be signed. Greene, Sedevie and Parise have already signed, Fylling's not a new recruit and I guess I don't know about Marvin. I am curious, though, whether anything will come up in this period. I assume Blais has some scholarship money available since Bayda left, and, sadly, Blais had some free time the last month to do some looking.

Speez, It's funny, at this point, there's not much reason to be very optimistic about next year, at least on paper. But for some reason I am. I think all of the upperclass forwards (Spiewak, Notermann, Hale and Lundbohm) will have the best years of their careers to-date. I think some of the big sophomore group will really step up, maybe even some guys people don't expect. And none of the new forwards are "new" in the ordinary sense. Hopefully Parise's talent puts him a step ahead of the average freshman, Genoway has already adjusted to school and has practiced for a year, and Fylling also knows the drill. So there will be no struggling freshmen next year up front. Expecting a solid defensive corps next year requires a bit of a leap of faith - faith that the returning guys will all continue to develop. The goaltenders may look a bit better with a better team in front of them. Most of all, though, my hope comes from how good the team looked when they played well. They just need to play well all the time now. Two very good upperclass forwards are gone from last year. Two decent to very good, depending on when you saw them, senior defensemen are gone from last year. One mediocre to very good, depending on the part of the season, senior goaltender is gone from last year. However, also gone from last year are: Adjustment to a brand new rink. Baptism by fire for a bunch of freshmen, especially at defense. I like the Sioux's chances next year.

Yeah, Goon, I think dagies and I are in that age group as well. Must be why we're all so darn reasonable.

Wow. Great game. The Gophers are a great team and are deserving champions, but I thought they got outplayed for a big part of that game (mainly the second and third periods). I was shocked to see that. They won't admit it or care because they won, but to get the PP when everything had been let go was a huge break. Then to not have a penalty called on Hauser on a much more blatant play was another huge break. The Maine fans are probably too classy to complain about it, but it really was a lousy way for a great game to end. Also Taffe only getting two for almost killing the guy along the boards. I'm happy for some fans, and some players (Leo, Pohl, some others), and really not happy for those hacks Hauser and Taffe.

And SSM beat the East Mass. Senators 5-2 in Saturday's morning quarterfinal. They advance to play Wisconsin in Saturday night's semifinal. No stats available yet (to me anyway).

Leo wins the Hobey. Of course I don't necessarily like it when good things happen for the Gophers. However, this is one that I have no complaint about. Actually, that's wrong - I can complain that he was even back with the team this year instead of moving on. But, in terms of seeming like a high-character guy, he reminds me of Jeff Panzer quite a lot. A very deserving winner. Congrats to Mr. Leopold.

Providence also. I thought UNH was supposed to be there, but I must have been mistaken.

Miscellaneous thoughts from Thursday: Strongest feeling from the day: The X is a dump. REA is truly the finest hockey arena in the world. I had not been to the X since last year; in the interim, I attended five Sioux games at REA. Now that I've returned to the X, knowing that it is considered in the top handful of NHL rinks, my feelings about REA are even warmer than before. I saw Blais in the concourse just before the Gopher game, but he was visiting with someone, so I didn't stop to say hello. He appeared to be in good spirits. Even though Maine poured it on in the third, I can't say I was impressed with either HE team. The Sioux that we saw go toe-to-toe with MN at the end of the year could have handled either team. The Rodents' puck possession game was very good; they look tough to beat. Still, Michigan did get their chances, and Hauser made some big stops (at least in the first 54 minutes). Leopold and Pohl both showed up and played great in this big game. I also thought Koalska looked very good and will be a real factor in the future. Sorry I missed meeting up with you Sioux fans. Maybe next time.

Selected SSM players stats: Game 2 Total Hirsch 0-1-1 3-3-6 Murray 1-1-2 2-4-6 Parise 0-2-2 0-7-7 Porter 0-2-2 1-3-4

SSM beat the Pittsburg Hornets 7-4 in its first game.

Bumped into this story from December on a USAHockey site. Very complimentary of UND's returning forward. ---------------------------------- Fylling toast of prospects event By Ken Welsch Special to USAHockey.com PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- For a good number of the scouts in the stands at the USA Hockey Top Prospects Tournament earlier this week, the top prospect on the ice was off-limits. Much to their dismay. College scouts from some of the nation's elite NCAA programs had to try and ignore the play of United States Hockey League forward Quinn Fylling, who already has a year of collegiate hockey play under his belt at the University of North Dakota. Fylling, who plays for the Sioux Falls Stampede, scored four goals and had three assists in 42 games with the Fighting Sioux last season, and gained NCAA championship game experience as UND finished runner-up. Having seen that level of action, it's little wonder that Fylling is tearing up the ice in the United States Hockey League, and he put his skills on exhibit during the Top Prospects Tournament at Compuware Arena in suburban Detroit Dec. 3 through 5. In the three-game tournament, Fylling scored four goals with seven assists to lead the USHL to a 3-0 record. He opened the tournament in grand style, scoring a hat trick in his team's 9-0 win over Team Top Prospects, and added an assist for good measure. Not bad, considering he entered the game unsure about his health. "I was telling my teammates before the game that I felt run-down," Fylling said. "I didn't feel good at all." The buzz around Compuware was that if anybody on the ice would one day be playing in the NHL, it's Fylling. And if that comes true, Fylling will again be taking his game outside of the Dakotas. A native of Minot, N.D., Fylling stayed home when he chose to play at UND. His USHL days have taken him a short drive to the south, but many believe that much further travel awaits his hockey future. Prior to college, the 5-foot, 10-inch, 180-pound forward took his game to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he honed his skills as a member of the U.S. National Development Team. The 19-year-old, (who'll turn 20 in January), returned home to UND after playing in Michigan, and his acceleration through hockey's ranks doesn't appear to be slowing. He's helping the Stampede to a title chase in the USHL West Division, where they currently hold third place, still in striking distance of leader Sioux City. Through 23 games, Fylling has nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points, ranking him among the team leaders in both categories.

A little note about Wes Dorey from the Colorado Springs paper: WCHL ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: Garrow and two Idaho Steelheads - goaltender Jason Cugnet and forward Wes Dorey - were unanimous selections to the WCHL all-rookie team. Cugnet, who played at Colorado College, has a 2.47 goals-against average and a 10-4-2 won-loss record in his first season. Cugnet's .909 save percentage is second best among WCHL goaltenders.

The national midget tournament runs from April 3-7 in Colorado Springs. SSM is the defending champion. Here is a pre-tournament story from the Colorado paper. http://www.gazette.com/stories/0402spts3-4.php?section=4 And the following is from the Faribault paper. The link would disappear tomorrow so I cut-and-pasted it. "The Sabre boys, meanwhile, skate into nationals as the defending champions, at full strength and regarded as the definite favorite. The Sabres outscored six teams 34-9 at nationals last year in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and similarly dominated the prestigious Mac's tournament in Calgary this past Christmas and New Year's. Junior forward Brady Murray said last week that his team is guarding against overconfidence. "Two years ago, when Zach Parise and I were playing, we went into nationals with a 40-game unbeaten streak and thought we couldn't be stopped," Murray said. The Sabres were stopped, in the semifinals by the Chicago Chill, a team they'd handled during the regular season. "We will be confident but we have to make sure we aren't not too cocky," said Murray. The Sabres' main firepower comes from the line of seniors Parise (69 goals, 93 assists) and Tyler Hirsch (55-72) plus Murray (53-76). Next-leading scorer is Chris Porter (27-25). Sharing the goaltending duties are Mike Mayhew of Owatonna, who has a 27-2-3 mark and .903 save percentage, and Kevin House, who's 23-2-3 with an .890 percentage. Asked about the national field, J.P. Parise, head of hockey operations at SSM, said they don't know much about it except that a Philadelphia team has beaten SSM once, early in the season, and Team Wisconsin, a pool-play foe, is a big and strong group whom the Sabres have beaten. He noted that the Chicago Chill, a fixture at nationals, are absent this year, having lost to Team Wisconsin. The Sabres, coached by Tom Ward, will be seeking their third title in four years. In pool play, they will meet the Pittsburgh Hornets on Wednesday, Team Wisconsin on Thursday and Alaska All-Stars on Friday." ------------------------------ Apologies for focusing on recruits so much, but with the Sioux absent from the FF, I need to follow something.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb....99.html dagies, Try this.