jk

Goon, Tell us what you really think.

Interesting, dagies. Thanks for the info. I had e-mailed Chris Heisenberg with the same question, but haven't heard back from him yet. It should be interesting to see how he does at Lincoln next year. Regarding Parise's effect on recruiting, I'm hoping some slick defenseman from the Canadian prairie sees what the forward lines look like for the next few years and wants to pad his assist stats a bit. There must be one out there somewhere.

Ahh, Greyeagle, there you go ruining all the ill will. Thanks for your input. The downside for you is you now (or at least next year) have another spot to check on the internet. Good luck, but you might not need too much of it.

A BU fan (might have been King) described cheering for BC during the 1998 NCAA championship game (I paraphrase): I was pulling for BC to defend the conference's (Hockey East)honor, but when Langfeld scored I was surprised that I was the first one out of my seat to celebrate. (Michigan's Josh Langfeld scored the OT game-winner.) You pull for your conference, but it's hard to have too much affection for your big rival.

Final plus/minus for 2001-02: Skarperud +18 Bayda +11 Bochenski +10 Massen + 3 Palmiscno + 2 Notermann + 1 Fournier + 1 Spiewak 0 Lundbohm - 1 Faul - 1 B. Connelly - 2 Canady - 6 R. Connelly - 7 McMahon - 8 R. Hale - 9 D. Hale +14 Schneider +11 Fuher + 5 Jones + 4 Schneekloth + 1 Leinweber - 3 Mazurak - 6 Nice to see the performance by the top four defensemen, one sophomore and three freshmen.

Speez, I appreciate you chiming in here from time to time; it's nice to get an opinion from someone who really has a reason to care, rather than the rest of us, who are just big fans. It must have been a tough year for the guys. Hopefully some of the payback they get to deliver next year will make up for all the bad breaks and tough losses.

Kuhninca, I disagree on Connelly. As for recruiting offense for next year, exactly who do you think is out there? There are a lot of high profile forwards coming into college hockey next year (Vanek, Parise, Guyer, Gauthier, Tambellini, Eaves, Sterling - you know, BC's top two lines), but, ahem, they're all signed up to play already (MN, UND, MN, DU, Mich., BC, CC). I like UND's forwards for next year, and the few years after that as well.

Parise - I've seen him once, but I'm such an amateur I'll have to rely on the opinions of others (like Louie and Glen) to believe that he'll be a fixture in the lineup. R. Connelly - Got better all year long, until the season-ending injury. Has a necessary commodity for all Sioux teams - speed. UND needs more of it up front, and I think he'll play a lot. Massen - Probably the one freshman I can say I was disappointed with. He seems to lose many more battles for the puck than he wins, and doesn't seem very strong on his skates to me. Reminds me of Grant Paranica - big guy, looks like a smooth skater, seems to have good hands, but can't get the job done. Hopefully he'll work on his deficiencies and come along. Fylling - He's had a nice year in the USHL, which was expected. I like that he can skate well. How will he look compared to guys like Canady, Connelly and Palmiscno when practice starts? I don't know. Genoway - I have no idea how he has looked this year. Maybe he'll be a fixture in the lineup, but I have no way of knowing. B. Connelly and Faul had trouble getting into the lineup this year, and it just gets harder next year. Faul looked decent to me when I saw him, but I assume he would have played more. Palmiscno basically didn't play until injuries opened up a spot, and I think he'll also have trouble with the numbers game next year.

In some cases, the player's importance to the team and talents need not be mentioned, so I skipped them. Hale - I thought he started slow and showed quite a bit of rust from the year off, but he was very solid down the stretch and has shown flashes of offensive skill. Getting the medical redshirt will pay big dividends for the team in the next two years. Lundbohm - Not a good year, but by the end we saw once again how good a player he can be. He was in a funk even before his injury, and then seemed to take a long while after coming back to get into the groove again. Even though the points didn't come, he played well at the end, in all zones. He has the best moves with the puck in a little one foot square box, which is where those battles for the puck are often won. Fournier - I think we have an idea now what the big deal was about Chris Fournier. Put him behind the net on the PP! What a difference he could have made if he was healthy. He's not fleet-afoot, but centering the puck well (getting it through defensemen and the goalie) is not easily done, and he has a knack for it. Seems to be the best on the team at it, except for David Hale. Bochenski - Looks like cra* a lot of the time, but he manages to get his shot off all the time when he's covered, especially when it just comes to him as he's skating into the zone; he has it off before he even seems to get the puck. I'm often just puzzled at how he got the shot off. Someone who can flat-out score is invaluable, but I hope he works on his skating. McMahon - Going to be the best all-around player from this class and a fixture on the top lines in his last two years. Canady - For me, probably the best surprise of the freshmen. I expected a hard worker, but he's faster than I thought and always involved. I expected him to be one of the ones to lose ice time because of the team's forward depth, but he got better as the year went on. And let's face it, college hockey is not for the meek; it's rough out there, and you need some guys on a mission.

A lot of players floating around next year. I'm thinking of the forwards like this: In the lineup basically all the time: Bayda, Sr. Notermann, Sr. Spiewak, Sr. Hale, Jr. Lundbohm, Jr. Fournier, So. Bochenski, So. McMahon, So. Canady, So. Parise, Fr. Battling for the last two spots: R. Connelly, So. Massen, So. Fylling, So. Genoway, Fr. Will not play much except against Canisius: B. Connelly, Sr. Palmiscno, Jr. Faul, So. I'll add some thoughts in a bit.

Once again the season ends with an overtime loss, and once again I am so proud of the program. What a gutty, determined effort. Even though 52 shots were allowed in four periods, the Sioux played a fine checking game, covered the slot well, and were always there to carry or sweep away rebounds, except for that one at the end. As many of you said, there is so much to say, but I'm very happy for Andy, most of all.

Handy, I don't mind if you come here, as I am generally welcomed at POI. But you have to know that stuff like this: You can have your opinions of The Gopher players and fans, but if you want to see classless, look at UND. Do you wanna know why Mason called 7 straight penalties on your team? CAUSE THEY EARNED THEM!! Your young players are a bunch of hot heads who look to try and goat players to fight. They cant keep up with the Gophs (or I shoudl say they havent been able to the last few games) so they use their stick. Slash, hook, trip and lots of other stuff that goes uncalled. How about your fans, lets see they threw crap on the ice at the New Ralph after the Gophs came back...CLASS!! There were a couple fans who stayed to the end of the game yapping at Mason. Yeah it was HIS fault you all lost...CLASS!! ...will not go over well. I know you are just responding to statements you disagree with, but on the other Board you basically just have to read and turn the other cheek. Do you think I want to respond every time smitty throws in his anti-Blais cheap shots on POI? Yes. (BTW, did Blais cut him off in traffic once, or what?) But I just read past it. And as to your points on class, you may not know that some observers consider the Gophers to be the worst in the league at after-the-whistle sticks and shoves - worse than Sconny. I know Taffe has drawn kudos on some boards for his nastier persona this year. That nastiness comes in the form of sticks and face rubs. Funniest line last night: After Skarperud got a boarding call for pounding Leopold on a good check with no elbows or stick, the Tims saw the replay and figured the penalty was "two minutes for checking Jordan Leopold."

I must be a masochist because I'm watching the stupid thing anyway. This says something about the brutal honesty of the Sioux announcing crew, but believe it or not it doesn't look quite as bad as they made it sound. Part of the problem is some of these Gopher players are so good. Pohl's PP goal where he pops in the carom from behind the net - he one-timed the thing from a terrible angle into the top of the net - was one that almost no one else in the country could have converted. Most everyone else would either have had to catch it first, giving the D and goalie time to cover, or would have missed the one-timer. And what's with the Gophers getting seven consecutive PPs in the last half of the game? Not that it mattered, but it still got a bit old. dagies, the Tims said the end-of-game thing had to do with Ballard apparently doing some intent-to-injure stuff to Bayda at the Ralph. They said Bayda had been chipping at Ballard all game long and would really have been pleased to have a go with him.

Not even I can think of anything good to say. Actually, yes, at least I don't have to stay up late to watch the tape delay on FSN. Thankfully the Sioux got good goaltending so the game didn't end up in the record books in all sorts of scoring and victory margin categories. It's hard to tell who played well on the radio, but you can get a sense, like when a guy's name is mentioned and it's followed by "and it bounces off his stick" a lot, he probably didn't have a good game. It seemed like one of the only guys I had the sense had a decent game was McMahon (and not just because he scored). Poor dagies had to attend. Ouch. I really felt there was reason for optimism, at least for close games, as the Sioux hadn't been pounded in over three months. Big wrong there. Can they bounce back from this and be competetive Saturday? I guess we'll see.

Game day. All things considered, this is the Gophers' year - great season, star upperclassmen, depth. But they still have to play the games, and win them. For instance, going into the 2000 title game, all signs pointed to BC. They had been there the preceding two years, had three Hobey finalists and were going to fulfill their destiny. But they still had to play the game, and couldn't get it done. The Gophers are supposed to win this weekend. Hopefully the Sioux veterans can lead the way in stopping this automatic event from happening.

From the Herald: "I have a good feeling," coach Dean Blais said. "I think our guys are ready. Just watching our team practice this week, I can feel the intensity they have. They're prepared, physically and mentally, to play." I will be very disappointed if UND loses, because losing always stinks, regardless of the circumstances. I just hope they play well. The team has had its low moments this year, but they have not quit despite being given numerous chances to do so. After every tough loss, they have come to play the next night. Hopefully this character shows itself with a great effort, and maybe some wins, this weekend.

Aside from the obvious (goaltending), I think two things the Sioux need to have happen to succeed this weekend are: Get Bochenski going. I might be wrong, but I think he has no goals and maybe even no points in five games against MN this year. This should be an opponent and place that brings out his best. The Sioux need it to win. Spiewak, Notermann and Lundbohm need to finish some chances. Spiewak especially has a history of finishing in the postseason, and the time is now. I have a feeling the Gophers will be putting a few more in the net than in January so the Sioux will need to have the offense going also. Say, maybe, three goals in two Sioux wins for this line would be about right. Different topic: Why does Brandt get into Blais's doghouse so easily? I don't think he is the savior as he and Siembida seem to be a "pick 'em" right now, but I'm surprised he hasn't seen the ice a little more, since everyone else has been less than spectacular.

As midweek rolls around I usually get real optimistic. Last week at this time I was pretty sure the Sioux were going to take four from Denver and have home ice. Well, it almost happened. Now I read about how well they played Saturday, with Hale and Schneider laying the smack down, and Canady and McMahon flying around, and "Line of Fire, Jr." continuing to produce, and I can't help but feel optimistic again. When I wake up Friday morning, though, it will be back to apprehension. Come on, Sioux, you're due to receive a few bounces (Notes and Spiewak with the hatties?) and, you know, the harder you work, the luckier you get. Plus it's Hauser! Don't bother me with reality for a few more days.

End of the regular season for SSM.

I don't post this to rip on the team.

Ouch. As with so many games this year, this one really hurts. So, so close. I only heard the last 2+ periods, but it sounded like they were right there with DU and just couldn't bury any of a number of great chances (especially for Bayda and Spiewak). And these game-losing goals in the last ten seconds. I don't know who deserves the blame. Considering how bad the fans feel right after the game, can you imagine how the team feels? It seems to me that it's going to be mighty tough to come out with a good effort tomorrow, after this deflating result. I guess Brandt goes tomorrow, at least for the start of the game.

Pretty quiet around here. I guess there's not much left to say. We need a win or two to talk about. The Sioux are just a little seven-game winning streak away from the NCAA tournament - that would be four at home followed by a three-game sprint on NHL ice in St. Paul. Definitely possible. If this was USCHO, someone would ask if they could share what I'm smoking. Someone probably will here too. I don't care. Go Sioux. Step it up. Start the downward spiral for Denver.

1995-6 (GP, G, A, P): Hoogsteen

K, We often disagree, which is fair enough.

From a Denver newspaper: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 - The University of Denver's medical staff had bad news Monday for the hockey program. While the report could have been worse, two key players will be out of the lineup indefinitely. Junior defenseman Aaron MacKenzie and sophomore forward Lukas Dora won't be making this weekend's regular-season ending trip to North Dakota. Their status for the playoffs is uncertain. MacKenzie, DU's highest-scoring defenseman, has a broken left wrist and will undergo surgery today. Doctors said he might be able to return for the March 15-16 Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament in St. Paul, Minn., if the Pioneers make it that far. Dora, who is fifth on the team in scoring, has a badly sprained left knee. He will be re-evaluated next week. The Pioneers are hopeful he will be available for the March 8-10 first round of the WCHA playoffs, a best-of-three series at Magness Arena against either No. 9 seed Minnesota-Duluth or No. 10 seed Michigan Tech. MacKenzie and Dora were hurt in Saturday's 4-2 loss to No. 2-ranked St. Cloud (Minn.) State. The WCHA title will be decided on the final weekend of the regular season. While first-place DU visits the eighth-place Fighting Sioux on Friday and Saturday, second-place St. Cloud plays a home-and-home set against No. 4 Minnesota. Juniors Jason Grahame and J.J. Hartmann will vie to replace MacKenzie. Grahame has played in 16 games and Hartmann 12, but both were scratched last weekend as freshman Jussi Halme (shoulder) returned after missing 27 games. Senior James Armstrong, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, has not been cleared to play. Junior forward Matt Weber likely will replace Dora on the line with center Chris Paradise and Kevin Ulanski. Weber has played in 26 games this season. "You never want to see guys go down, especially two guys that have been so crucial to our success this year," DU coach George Gwozdecky said of MacKenzie and Dora. "But one of the things that has really helped us this year is our depth."