jk

The announcers are fine, I agree. Harvard starting to go a little better now.

That's a huge sequence for the Sioux. Give up a goal, then immediately face a full two minutes of 5-on-3, really risking letting the opponent and crowd into the game. Kill it, then score to restore the 4-goal lead. Good job. Also, JT was so good he was a 3-time All-America in his 2 years at UND.

The loser scored twice tonight in Fargo.

That's a nice welcoming thought. He's at least two years away and he already sucks. Some people on the board think the Sioux are too soft, and need more physical players. Others think we only need scorers. How about a mix?

In the junior class, Vandy and Genoway have steadily improved throughout their careers and are very good college players (although I do think Genoway is trying to do too much right now). Zajac has also taken a step forward this year. Of the sophomores, Frattin is a ton better than last year - much more assertive. Trupp has seemed to be in a sophomore slump. I love Marto's skating, but he and LaPoint do need to improve. Do you know what people said on this board when the Sioux defense consisted of the big mean guys? "Why can't we get someone on the blueline who can handle the puck?" Now you have Genoway, Marto and LaPoint and people want the big mean guys again. When Blood, Fienhage and McWilliam get up to speed in a few years, there will be plenty of size and grit back on the blueline. A real key to the effectiveness of the defensive corps then will be the offensive development of Marto and LaPoint, which seems stuck right now. And while the defense may be soft, up front Kozek, Watkins, Zajac, Malone and Hextall all play a physical game. The offense carries the puck into the zone when the other team lets them - like CC. When you play a team that clogs the neutral zone, if the opening is not there to carry it in, it's called a turnover and everyone here is complaining about the odd-man rushes against. I'd much rather they chip it in then and take your chances in the offensive zone.

Kozek has had PP time this year and possession has often ended when he has the puck. I'm not sure he has the puck handling and passing skills to be effective on the PP. Of course his shot there is a huge asset, but if the play dies when the puck goes to him, then his presence there is counterproductive. It hasn't helped that 95% of his shots this year have been high or wide. His energy and physical play have been terrific lately, and I think he still will play a leading role for this team before the year is out.

It's definitely Mario's 7 minutes of ice time that made the difference. I'm happy he's on the team, and happy with his play so far, but the results are a total coincidence. Do you think if he had sat Friday, the team wouldn't have gotten those bounces? As injuries mount as the season progresses (whether that's Trupp now or the inevitable later ones), we'll get to see plenty of him.

LOL. It's the coach's fault; he shouldn't have changed the lineup. Except Blood. Oh, and except Toews. How many posts until we hear UND lost because Mario didn't play? They lost because Cornell is good and played a nasty physical game (and held a lot), and all those bounces that went UND's way last night didn't tonight.

Cornell is a big strong team that will do well this year. They came out like a team that lost 7-3 last night, winning a ton of battles. VV was on the edge of the crease, and if that's the rule, then I guess Cornell got the benefit of the closest goalie interference that will ever be called. Jones is a joy to watch when he's marking someone along the boards; best intensity on the team. Two nights in a row Cornell got a 2 that should have been a 5. Someone's going to get hurt.

Darn. Using up too many bounces tonight. Tomorrow will be 2-1; I just hope the guys in white have the 2.

I thought this last year, too, but UND matches up poorly with UAA. They are big up front and can skate, but they aren't very creative or fancy offensively. They play a simple game, win the race or wrestling match for the puck and try to get it to the net. With Greene, Jones, Smaby and Schneider, I like our chances against that type of team. Less with Marto, Genoway and LaPoint (and Miller). With the bruisers a few years ago, the Sioux were perhaps short on blueline skill. Now they're short on muscle, especially with Finley out. Next year, Blood, Fienhage and McWilliam should get regular shifts, and the balance should be better. Then it will be up to Genoway, Marto, LaPoint and Gleason to be effective offensively.

You make some good points, but I have a few comments. Every college team is filled with former scoring stars, most of whom go on to score very little in college. If all the goal per game guys in junior continued that pace in college, the college game scores would be 19-18. The real measure of the offense is how it compares to other college teams, and I believe the Sioux offense is consistently near the top of the league, and usually ranked pretty well nationally. No doubt it's nowhere near there so far this year, but check back at the end. UND's PP has actually looked like a PP since Eades took it over. I loved the Blais teams too (how could you not), but the PP was terrible then. I wanted to decline penalties because UND never scored, and the two-minute break just robbed the team of the great 5-on-5 momentum.

Sioux played with more energy tonight, but the difference between the two nights was who got the bounces. UAA had many more good chances tonight, and Eidsness played very well. Miller's shot from the point sure did get blocked often this weekend. Marto was good all weekend, and sometimes very good. Vandevelde had a much better night Saturday; the play died off his stick quite a few times Friday. Duncan is the best player on the team by a lot; he's a complete player who makes the right play with the puck nearly all the time. Oh to have seen Zach Parise playing with this level of rule enforcement; he would have drawn a penalty or scored on nearly every shift.

Thanks. Now there are two of us who saw the Sioux outchance them. Even with the disappointing effort, you will usually win games when you outchance your opponent like that.

For as bad as everyone thinks the game was, this one was much worse: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20080126&am...nd&gender=m The total domination that everyone thinks they saw tonight was actually present that night. Tonight's result was just payback for that unjust ending.

I am keeping the faith.

OK, it's understandable to be PO'd right now, but there are a few things to point out. First, about UAA's goals, two are point shots that made their way through bodies into the net. They count, but they are the kind of thing that happen once every five games or so. Not really Walski's fault, just good fortune for UAA. The 2-on-1, the pass was bouncing and the shooter golfed it up. How often is someone able to put a bouncing puck where he wants to? Part great play, part good luck. Second, UND's shots on goal are embarrassingly low, but I'd love to see the shot attempts by the two teams. I'll bet the Sioux have attempted almost twice as many. Kozek alone has shot about six high or wide. I'm not happy with Kozek tonight, because he has one job, and he's been set up pretty well tonight to do it. Also, although Miller's been OK overall, he personally wasted the 5-on-3, losing the puck 3 times (although one was on a hot pass). Toews looks pretty good and will get a bigger role as the year goes on. Ultimately none of this matters if you lose, but the fact is the team has been terrible some nights and won (like last year against UAA), and I don't think they've been terrible tonight. Just not good enough to overcome some bounces for UAA.

I think the Sioux are playing pretty well. Five or six really nice chances, just inches away. They're getting the puck right down by the goalie, and when you do that, eventually they'll start to go in. UAA deserves credit, as they are big and can skate. They're good at using their size legally, which is tricky. Last year UAA skated circles around the Sioux at REA, and this year the Sioux seem quicker. This year it's size against speed.

I think this year's Sioux team might ultimately be better for not having the NHL star type elite player. Sometimes I wondered if the team did some standing around waiting for Oshie to save the day last year. This year the lines are so balanced that I think you might actually have a chance to see the Sioux roll four dangerous lines in a nod to the Blais days. We'll see how it goes, but this might turn into more of a "team." (Nothing against UND's recent stars, who I really enjoyed wearing the Sioux jersey.)

By most accounts the guys played hard and pretty well tonight. They were not satisfied with the Friday win, but came out intending to get the extra two points. I came into the season expecting Finley, Genoway and Jones to get a ton of ice time this year, and tonight the team was without two of them, and apparently Jones, Blood and LaPoint were nicked up during the weekend as well. Given that situation, and some of the strange bounces, I have to give the guys a pass on this one. Just be thankful some of these odd occurrences happened in November instead of March or April. I think the team is coming along.

Mike Forney had a hattie in about 2.5 minutes of the third period to bring his team back from a 3-6 deficit to a tie game. After two long years off, he finally gets to play hockey again.

Out-attempting the opponent 31-8 in a period is not a lousy effort, especially when the opponent had 2 PPs. Usually when that happens, it will show up on the scoreboard.

You have five chronological years to complete your four years of eligibility. If Forney successfully received a medical redshirt for last year, his career could look like this: Year 1: Freshman Year 2: Medical Redshirt Year 3: Sophomore Year 4: Junior Year 5: Senior However, if he goes to the USHL, he would come back with just two years left on the chronological clock. That would make the question of the medical redshirt irrelevant: Year 1: Freshman Year 2: Medical Redshirt Year 3: USHL Year 4: Sophomore Year 5: Junior Year 6: Sorry there is no year 6; you're done after 5.

As for who will be coming to UND in the fall, this should be your starting point, a Herald article from April. Eidsness, Gregoire, Hextall, Toews, Lamoureux and Blood will be here. Others might, depending on early departures. I'm guessing Brad doesn't compile a list like this in a vaccuum. He likely gets input from "very good sources." http://www.undsportszone.com/articles/?id=74207 "But a large part to next season

Gerbe's gone. Thank goodness. http://wgr550.com/Sabres-Sign-Gerbe/2136906