jk

Hextall said, I didn't even know we did that thing after a sweep where we salute the fans at center ice.

Not only letting stuff in but shaky otherwise too. Oh well.

Most of his goals have been just cleaning up the garbage, so that's not what I'm talking about, but that Hextall is one heck of a hockey player. Some of his shifts that period were clinics on how to play tough, skilled hockey. (Nothing wrong with cleaning up the garbage either.)

A shame to be up only 4-3 in a game they've pretty well dominated.

yes same story here

Sioux had such jump early, but since the multiple penalties in the last half of the first, SCSU has really come on. Tough to get the puck away from them once they get possession in the Sioux zone. The Sioux looked so good on their only PP of the night (not counting the 16 second stub later) so I'd like to see them get another shot at it.

People hate to hear about bounces and hot goalies, but that's the case so far tonight. The Sioux are playing a good offensive game tonight. The puck has been bouncing around in front of the scsu net a lot.

It took him until the end of his junior year? He was a true freshman last year. That's what they do, get used to the speed and strength of the next level. He's learning and developing.

What a game. I'd still be wearing the jersey too.

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.