jk

When I think of this weekend from MTU's perspective, you know they are absolutely licking their chops to get a piece of this "weak" Sioux team. I hope the Sioux realize this going in and play with passion. When they do, they have really been able to rattle some good teams. It's time to earn points in the conference standings. I'd like to see the Josh/Jake show again this weekend in goal; I'm not sure which night for who, though. As usual, any input from the coach's show would be appreciated.

Thanks, Scott, for the consideration. Your thoughts on the event's proximity are mine as well.

For any Metro-area fans looking to take in SSM's game with Benilde, here is what I have found: According to the SSM site, the game is Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 7:15 p.m. A receptionist I spoke to at Benilde said they play their home games at the St. Louis Park Ice Arena. She gave me these directions: Coming from the North on Hwy 100, take the 36th (St./Ave?) exit. Go East on 36th, back over Hwy 100, and through two lights. The rink is on the right-hand side just after the second light. She was not a good direction-giver so I think there may be a little searching required, but this should get you in the area. I have a commitment that evening (and I never have commitments) but I'm going to try to get over there if I can.

Scott, I may have interest. Please e-mail me at kellyjr@wellsfargo.com with info (number of tickets) and your e-mail address. I will do a little checking and get back to you. Thanks.

I have read somewhere that Lee Marvin of Lincoln will come to UND next year. Does anyone know if this is true, and if so, if it's a good thing? He's not listed in Heisenberg's USHL section, so I don't know if he's just coming in as a legacy or if he's considered a "real" recruit. If it's the former, I'm OK with that. Nurturing the program's history is valuable, with benefits you sometimes don't see for years. At the Lincoln site, he is listed as 6-1, 195, DOB 6-25-81. In 32 games, he's got 2-7-9 and 87 PIMs, which leads the team. Sioux hockey: You don't want to go into the corner with our defensemen.

Well, I've got to say that I find myself in agreement with you guys. Dropping two more is disappointing. But the real problem is not coming away from CC empty-handed, it was not taking care of UAA. It sounds to me like the Sioux came to play the last three games. In fact, the Friday UAA game sounds like the only one where the team really laid an egg since before Christmas. If Blais says the guys played hard but we just didn't get any points to show for it, I can handle that. The hockey gods are not smiling on the Sioux right now. If they get good goaltending, they can't score. When they're filling it up, they get average goaltending. Josh lost consecutive 2-1 games; that's gotta hurt for a goalie. And all the goalposts! But I think this year might be payback for last year. At the start of last year, I really didn't think the Sioux would be playing in OT in the national title game. Last year had more than a bit of magic attached to it, and I think this year we're suffering from an abnormally low amount of good fortune. These glimpses of dominance are encouraging though, and I am still expecting to ruin someone's season this year. So that'll be nice.

At www.gazette.com, Blais apparently said Siembida goes Friday, and Saturday will be either Brandt or Kollar. Without getting into a debate about whether he should or not, I had wondered if Blais might play Andy this series, as his best weekend of the year was against CC.

Great job, Heidisioux. Thanks for the hard work. I have a good friend at word named Heidi, but she's *gasp* a big Gopher fan. Let's just say it's been a good five years.

As usual, any insight from this week's coach's show would be much appreciated. Thanks.

On that note, SSM has updated its stats page. It currently shows (GP, G, A, Points) Parise 40 53-71-124 Murray 40 41-58-99 Hirsch 40 41-51-92 Whether it translates to the next level only time will tell, but those guys sure do dominate the Midgets.

Sic, I thought that too. I think either Palmiscno or Leinweber is number 19.

I've just been to the HOF Game myself, but have a few more games scheduled this year.

I've heard other reports of Bayda's strong play. The complaints about upperclass leadership are broad-brushed, but I can't think of a time when Blais has been critical of Bayda, Skarperud, Spiewak or Notermann. Regarding Bayda, check out these stats (Year, points, ppg): 1999 61 1.49 2000 41 1.08 2001 41 1.05 2002 49 2.33 Those are Darren Haydar's stats at UNH. What happened in 1999 and 2002? Jason Krog and Sean Collins, respectively. These are Bayda's: 2000 40 0.91 2001 59 1.28 2002 21 0.91 A lot of people thought Bayda would probably be gone after this year, and he still might. I'm not close to the situation, so I don't know. But as an outsider it appears that this might not be the best time to leave, after he struggled (statistically) and the team has had a rough time. I think Bayda could enjoy a similar senior bump next year (but not to 2.33 ppg) as his linemates get more experienced and blue-chip (if you know what I mean). In addition to looking forward to next year, I'm still hoping the Sioux make a bit of noise this year. It's great that you had a good time, dagies.

Earlier this year, I posted somewhere: "It's not about winning or losing right now, it's about getting better." This deep into the season, while improvement is still the main goal, I think it's OK that results begin to become more of a focus.

To update where everyone stands: (Team, GP, Pts) 3. MN 14 18 4. CC 16 17 5. Wis 14 15 5. AA 16 15 7. MSU 18 13 8. UND 16 12 When you see how close even third place is, those points lost to Wisconsin, Mankato and now UAA are even more painful. Just splits in those three league series (the last with each of those teams) would have left the Sioux one point out of third. There's a lot of hockey left to play and really not too many points needed to get in the top five, but the Sioux need to start picking up some points. CC's schedule: UND, Denver (hh), Wisconsin, at MN, at AA, Tech. WI: at MSUM, SCSU, AA, at CC, Denver, at MN, UMD. AA: MN, at UMD, at WI, MSUM, at SCSU, CC. MSUM: Wisconsin, Tech, at AA, UMD, at Tech. UND: at CC, at Tech, MN, Tech, at UMD, Denver Go Sioux.

Thanks, Doc. I think you're so right. The team just isn't ready to dominate at this point. I do think that as juniors and seniors, some of the players in this freshman class will be stars, not just good players. If you look through Sioux history and other WCHA teams as well, there have been many dominating upperclassmen who were hardly noticed as freshmen. Thanks for also pointing out that the defensive effort is better as well. Scoring droughts happen, but they end. As long as the defense and goaltending are there, the team will be in a position to win. I like to remember when the Sioux went 119 minutes in St. Cloud without scoring a goal, losing that weekend 3-0 and tying 1-1. That punchless team went on to beat BC in the finals. I'm not predicting that result for this team, but perspective is good. I haven't been there, so I shouldn't say, but I'm disappointed in the booing as well. Support the guys. It's a college team.

K, I don't want to join your b!tchfest, because you do such a good job of it yourself, but I will say that I was wondering tonight whether we should even want the Sioux to get home ice. And I mean that only partly in jest. Something needs to happen for the Sioux to claim this rink as their "home," but it hasn't happened yet. I'm sure it will, but it might not be this year.

I tried to see him when NJ played Philly last night, but I was busy so couldn't watch too closely. I finally heard, "Held in by Commodore," so he must be up. No idea how he's playing, but he's very young so to be up is impressive, IMO.

Catching CC is possible, but for this discussion I could concede 4th and discuss the race for 5th. The other contenders are: WI: Currently 6-5-1. Needs to go 8-8 to reach 29 points. Remaining schedule: MN, at MSUM, SCSU, AA, at CC, Denver, at MN, UMD. MSUM: Currently 5-10-1. Needs 9-3. Plays at CC, Wisconsin, Tech, at AA, UMD, at Tech. AA: Currently 5-7-2. Needs 8-5-1. Plays at UND, MN, at UMD, at WI, MSUM, at SCSU, CC. Wisconsin's not going .500 with that schedule. MSUM has a relatively easy road, but 9-3 for a team that is really struggling might be asking too much. AA also has a pretty difficult schedule, but it's pretty similar to the Sioux's. Assuming both UND and AA continue to play well, I think they might have the best shots at the 5-spot. That makes this series very important. Even though we've had our troubles in the playoffs with Wisconsin, I wouldn't mind hosting Sconny, getting a little payback for Madison this year, and ending Sauer's career. Erasing the memory of the Mankato weekend would be nice as well.

For the Sioux, 33 points would be 11-3 the rest of the way, added to the 5-8-1 current record to total 16-11-1. That would be fabulous, but to reach it would require no more lapses. Not that any of this would be easy, but I could see: 2-0 against UAA, 2-2 on the four-game trip to CC and Tech, 1-1 against MN, 3-1 against Tech and UMD, and 1-1 against Denver. That would be 9-5, for a total of 14-13-1. I still think that could get home ice. I'll follow with more.

Darn. Sauer's retiring. I was hoping he would drag on for a while longer. This will be good for the league, but it will make recruiting more difficult for everyone, including UND. For instance, I read (probably on a message board, so completely unreliable) that Bochenski didn't really consider UW because of the coaching. Also, Vanek didn't really take UW seriously. As sig said somewhere to a Wisconsin fan, what's it like having your team playing up in St. Cloud. SCSU seemed to step into Wisconsin's role of sccoping up the Gophers' MN leftovers. Anyway, I am sure they will get a good coach, and they will follow a recovery trajectory very similar to Minnesota's. That will be good for the league. And I'm not really worried about an impact on UND. You've gotta beat the best to be the best, and the Sioux will be there regardless.

Sorry I can't answer your question, but it's so odd that I was thinking of Big George just this week myself, for no good reason, and for the first time in years. I believe the accident happened over Labor Day weekend, after the first few days of school. I never saw him play, but his size surely would have given a boost to a pro career.

Since you asked... I really like this new class. I think every one of them is going to be a good player, and several will be stars. Canady - As you mentioned, very visible, especially Sunday. Connelly - I'm glad a fast guy got #17. He's not Panzer, but his speed will destabilize defenses for the next few years. He also shot low on the 2-on-1 Saturday, yielding a Goren-to-Ulmer-while-Hobey-watches rebound goal, which no one did on the numerous 2-on-1's Sunday. Fournier - wish I could have seen him. Bochenski - didn't have the big series I was hoping for. It seemed like he didn't see as much ice in the third Sunday, as perhaps Blais was thinking defense. Still, what a quick, hard shot he can get off in traffic. Massen - breaking out, but more visible Saturday than Sunday. Looks like he's used to having a bit more room to operate with the puck, and still adjusting to that. But, for a big guy, nice skills. McMahon - Is going to be the prototypical Sioux forward, I think. Average Plus skating, hands, vision, aggressiveness. More later.

FWIW, Murray's verbal hit the Faribault paper today.

I was just looking at the PWR rankings, where the Sioux are 20th, and noticed their record against other PWR teams: 1. Denver DNP 2. SCSU 0-2 3. Lowell DNP 4. UNH DNP 5. MN 1-2 6. MSU 1-0 7. BU DNP 8. CC 2-0 9. Maine 1-1 10. Michigan 1-0 That's 6-5 total against Top 10 teams. The Sioux have played none of the other teams in the PWR rankings (there are 32 total). As Blais said, if they play their game, UND can now beat anyone. Now they need to handle the teams they are supposed to and get the winning percentage up. At 5-9-1, I thought if they could go 3-1 in each four-game set, that would be 15-5 in their last 20, and 20-14-1 overall. I'm guessing that would be enough to get them in the tournament. At 5-1 since then, they are a touch ahead of that pace. Next up in the development of the team is to discover home ice. I think it just hasn't felt like home to them; it's like a neutral site, to which a lot of Sioux fans have travelled. Does anyone know why Fournier didn't play this weekend? I had considered him to be one of the freshmen who was coming along nicely, as he was showing up on the scoresheet regulary. I was looking forward to seeing him play, as I thought his offensive creativity would be welcome on the big ice. Transitioning from defense deep in their own zone to offensive possession down the rink seems to be this team's biggest problem right now. Aside from the PP, that is, which continues to struggle. But many players seem to be getting better, and team play seems to be improving also. Lundblom (thanks Wooger) looked better Sunday than Saturday, and I'm sure he will continue to work into shape. Enough rambling. Go Sioux.