jk

It's tricky without knowing exactly who will be on the team next year, but there are a few general areas I think you can look to. 1. The defense will be more physical. Sounds odd losing Jones and Finley, but in a way Jones is physical without the size, and Finley is size without the physical (partly because he often gets penalized because of his size, and partly because he just doesn't have the killer mentality of a Smaby or Greene). Blood will play more, and he crushed a few people this year. Fienhage and McWilliam will probably play a lot, and they are both big and I think nasty. This will look at times like a shift back to the crushers of a few years ago. There will also be more penalties, so I hope the PK is good. Also, I'm no doctor, but I think LaPoint will be ready to go. 2. The forwards will be less gritty. The incoming class is smaller and quicker, with the exception of Forney, who is big but not a grinder. They're replacing seniors who, while not all bangers, are sturdy physical guys who are good on the wall. There will still be plenty of size and grit, as VV, Zajac, Malone, Frattin, Hextall, Gregoire and Mario all know how to throw a check. Still, next year will be a continuation of this year offensively, as it was a throwback to the days of rolling four dangerous lines. There will be some nifty offensive players on all the lines. That will make for some fine, entertaining games with MN and CC, and perhaps continued struggles with the bigger older clubs like UAA, Tech and Mankato. 3. Who will play the point on the PP? This year it was Genoway, Marto, Miller and usually Martens. Two of those guys are gone for sure. Who can step into the other two or three spots? LaPoint and Blood both played there in juniors; maybe LaPoint will be ready at this level. Trupp seems to have the skillset. Another poster talked about Toews in that kind of a role. It's obviously crucial that these spots are filled effectively.

Don't ask why I did it, but I had to go back and see the GTG. You won't believe this, or maybe everyone already saw it this way, but that goal rang off the far post and went in. If you slow it down, the puck goes off the back boards to Pollastrone, who shovels it out front. Genoway sees it coming and dives, reaching the puck first. His stick pushes the puck away from the net, just as Fortney takes his swing. Because Genoway got there first, Fortney's shot is not clean, and the puck flies across the crease in the air, where it hits the far post and goes in. Which of course makes it even more frustrating. A game of inches and tenths of seconds.

I guess we can start following the kids with a little more enthusiasm. Danny Kristo with I think his first hat trick tonight. 3-1-4. Congratulations. Also, although they lost again, Des Moines received goals from Bruneteau, Gleason and Fink tonight. Mike Fink has gradually been finding his way to the scoresheet in the last month.

Bummer for UMD. The bounces and miracles can only last so long. I suspect UNH is going to find that out tomorrow.

Heck of a run for them. End of an era for the program today; start another one next year.

SOMEONE HERE SHOW A LITTLE CLASS. The guys have got to feel terrible. They came and played hard today and probably deserved to win, but that's hockey. They probably didn't deserve to get out of last year's regional, and now they're paying the price. Thanks seniors and congrats on a good season.

SS.com, home of the blame. UNH got a bounce. The Sioux have played well.

BE was out to cover the shot from the point. Whether intentional or not, the bounce right out the other side on that shot from the point is the kind of bounce you pray for if you're UNH. Actually the Sioux played really well down the stretch in this game.

BE is going to be asked to make a few big saves next period. UNH is good offensively, and the Sioux are not sparkling in their own zone.

I've seen 3 Sioux goals on TV and none for UNH. Is it 3-0?

Shocking that BE let a breakaway in. He has been money on those for months now.

Where's freakin Mike Legg when you need him?

LAX will end just after UND's first period ends.

I'm OK with the concept of the lax game going to OT, but who knew they took timeouts every minute or so. It's like watching a basketball game try to end.

Wow, the goal with 40 seconds left was a PP goal, then the OT goal. I think UMD had 6 PPs to Princeton's 2. Without seeing a second of it, I have to think some people might be upset.

Outshot, outskated and outchanced; deserved to win. That was a clear sign that the wheels had fallen off. Having Dunc and Kozek picking corners just hid it for a couple games.

Vermont and Miami both rested up last weekend after failing to advance to their conference tourney semis. UNH is in the same boat. A little scary.

McDonagh (sp) is going to be a machine when he goes, and I hope it's soon. He was excellent against the Sioux in Madison; broke up a ton of stuff. He's also a rock physically. INCH did their "draft" where each tourney team gets to add a player from a non-tourney team. My two choices based on their play against UND would be Rau and McDonagh. But now I'm way off topic.

I think Vandy has a good chance to be an NHLer. You can't teach that big frame, with pretty nice hands to go with it.

They get jumped if they bobble a pass. All it takes is one sign of weakness - pass hops a stick and you have to turn to the boards to retrieve it - and they are all over you. Then you spend the next 30 seconds just trying to maintain possession, sending it from one board scrum to the next. If you're lucky, you get it the point and start over; just as often it's out of the zone.

Give it a rest already. Edit: What I mean is that Finley makes mistakes that have nothing to do with Genoway, and vice versa. Finley's return is the single biggest event that turned the team around, and Genoway won WCHA defensive player of the year because he's paired with an extremely complimentary defense partner. Now is not the time to be taking shots at anyone, as everyone on the team makes mistakes pretty much every game.

Geoffrion was not off to a good start as his jersey was over his head just as he got rescued.

Especially when every team is hurt already this time of year, and a little rest before the biggest weekend of the year would be helpful.

Let's say Watkins is out. Here's what they did to compensate for his absence on Saturday: Duncan Hextall Gregoire Vandy Frattin Malone Zajac Martens Kozek Mario Trupp Davidson One line of thinking is: Kozek was an obvious choice to move up from the fourth line to take Watkins' spot. Still an experienced line that will be good on the wall. However, Kozek's absence turns Mario's line from "one of four" to "the fourth line," which will now not see as much ice as it otherwise would. In that case, Malone, who has really stepped forward and has been one of the best forwards in the last month, needs to move up, so they swap him with Trupp. Perhaps Davidson was the choice over Toews against Wisconsin because they are so big and physical this year. For UNH, if you want four lines, I probably go with this: Duncan Hextall Gregoire Vandy Frattin Trupp Zajac Martens Kozek Mario Malone Toews It's a risk, because you probably just want the fourth line to not get scored on, and Toews might be a risk there since he's not the biggest guy and he hasn't played in a while. Then again, UNH is not a physical team, usually like the CC of the East, so Toews might work since he could make good use of the extra space. If you want three lines and just want the fourth to see spot duty, then maybe their setup against Wisconsin is the right lineup. P.S. I have no idea what I'm talking about.

No one should waste any time worrying about BU. We don't know if UND or BU will advance to play that game. Let's hope to get by UNH and see how Ohio State does against BU. OSU has played and beat some very good teams this year, so they're not going to be scared. I know the Sioux will belong on the ice with any college team they might meet up with. They might not win, but it wouldn't be surprising if they did (except against BC). Arrogance: We're freaking North Dakota ... we're not scared of anyone (except BC).