jk

Woog is fine. When the Sioux have carried the play in recent years, he has had plenty of good things to say.

I can't take seriously anyone who would list Kaip and Watkins as disappointing or lacking in effort. They play their roles terrifically and have chipped in on the scoresheet as well. The team disappointed this weekend, no doubt, but Captain Kaip shows his leadership on the ice every shift. By the way, Oshie was really nicked up. Couldn't do a thing with the puck in practice all week, from what I heard. MN was just really good this weekend. When they get Carman back, they'll go on a good run and have a good shot at third in the league, behind the Colorados. UND's goaltending should keep them in the top five, but until they actually sweep someone, it's hard to see them in third. The next two games are absolutely crucial for qualifying for the NCAAs.

I completely agree that BC will be there again in the end. Parker has gone the way of Gino, Woog and Sauer. For whatever reason, even the greats sometimes can no longer get the job done. It seems that York and Berenson have been immune to this. One of the great things about Blais transitioning the program over to Hak is that we weren't forced to discover whether Blais would succumb to the slide. Usually a program has to hit rock bottom, and suffer for a few years, before new blood is brought in. So Blais brought the program back from a dark period, got the arena built, and then managed a seamless transition to a new era. Thanks Dean.

I personally appreciate hearing from someone who has, in fact, actually seen the recruits play. Whether he turns out to be right remains to be seen, but it's nice to get an opinion anyway.

People are getting a little too optimistic. MN's not as bad as some people think, and UND hasn't been able to sweep a home WCHA series in almost two seasons. Seriously, if they haven't swept Mankato, UAA, MTU or UMD in that stretch, why does sweeping MN seem so easy? If the Sioux play like they did for most of Saturday, they will be tough to beat. However, the ability to consistently play at that level has been the problem.

I loved his poise when I saw him play. No extra movement, no flopping around. I don't know how hard UND went after him, but I was hoping he would end up in GF.

Danny Kristo with the GWG in a 2-1 win over Yale tonight. I believe he continues to lead the U18 team in goals and is near the top in points. Ben Blood and Bruneteau also scored in the USHL tonight.

Watched the first and third periods. For about the first 14 minutes of the game, I thought the Sioux looked fantastic. If they play like that all the time, they're going to win a lot of games. Then the third was painful to watch. They did play smart and keep DU away from the front of the net, but I wouldn't have minded if the puck was down in the other end a bit more. Someone said they thought DU only had 6 good forwards. Geez, it seemed to me like they had about 15. DU could very well win the whole thing again this year, which would make me sick. I wonder if the altitude got to the Sioux in the third. Maybe it was the big ocean effect, but the UND/DU game seemed like it was in fast-forward compared to the MN/MTU game. Despite that, the odds for a split next weekend are huge. UND just flat-out doesn't sweep anyone at home.

!!

Gleason was electric, but to be fair he is a senior and as an elite prospect he should dominate. He was very dynamic with the puck and easily faster than everyone else. As for the negatives, he might have been playing defense but you wouldn't know it for how many times he was the first Hornet in the offensive zone. In addition, I'm not sure how much work he's going to get in the defensive zone this year on this Edina team that is going to be in the other end for most of their games. Obviously the coaches know best, but I wouldn't be bothered if he played a year in the USHL to learn how to play defense against other great offensive players. I'm guessing the pro scouts will find his skating irresistible. As with, "you can't teach size", you also can't teach world class skating, which he appears to have.

I'm guessing Miami and Michigan are better than most here think. I also think the Sioux schedule seemed tough at the time, especially because they gave the Sioux such a tough time, but in hindsight perhaps it wasn't so hard. For example, MTU skated well, but since splitting with UND they are 1-4-1 and haven't won in a month. Wisconsin, since splitting with the Sioux, is 0-3-1.

Nick Mattson scored his first goal of the year for the U17 team, and added an assist. He's been off to a bit of a slow start, as this doubles his point total on the year to 4. Must have been the commitment that got him going. Also Bruneteau scored his first goal for his new team.

This pretty much guarantees that the Sioux will score 1 or 2 goals tomorrow. The only question is whether they can hold Duluth to 0 or 1.

That is really terrific news. I had heard he was leaning heavily to the Sioux this Summer, but then when he didn't commit at that time I figured UND had lost him to MN. I guess "Double T's" won't work for Danny Mattson's nickname at UND.

I agree that there are certain matchups where Radke's presence in the lineup would be welcomed, for the reasons stated. Let's leave Archie out of it though; he scored 37 goals as a senior and was one heck of a well-rounded hockey player.

Canada West beat Canada East 4-1 for the title. Eidsness stopped 22 of 23, and Hextall added two assists. UMD recruit Connolly was named MVP.

CC is really good up front and is going to win a lot of games this year. Walski can really fly and I could see him ending up on an all-league team; UAA must be PO'd that he left. CC has had a lot of odd-man rushes, especially in the first, and the Sioux goalie has been the biggest difference in the game.

All it takes to see the Frozen Four is a two-game winning streak. Miami's probably a lot better than most here think. I'll just worry about the Sioux and let the rest happen.

I think the hype machine got a bit overheated, especially after the Michigan State game. Right now the Sioux seem to be about equal to the good teams in the major conferences, but they're not dominant by any means. That's just fine, as Hak builds his teams throughout the season, and we know they'll be a lot better in the spring than the fall. It sounds like they're getting rolling a bit here in the third, though.

First goal wins?

I've never bashed Lee and don't intend to here, but you need to revisit last year's PP experience. Bina replaced Lee on the top PP unit in the second half of the year, and the PP never looked back. It was as dominant a Sioux PP as I've ever seen, and Lee never got back onto the top unit.

Not sure who would be in the four forward spots on the PP not occupied by Oshie and Duncan. Ended up being Vandy, then Watkins, Miller and Martens. I thought we might see Trupp or Frattin somewhere on the PP. I thought Trupp, Frattin and Malone all looked pretty decent. Disappointed to not see Forney, as he was the headline recruit last year.

I said the first time I saw Toews play for the Sioux that he had a chance to be the best pro skater ever to lace them up for UND. This was after I saw him in person, where you can really appreciate how smooth he is. To have the best pro career he has to top Belfour, which is a high hurdle.

Looking forward to 4-on-4 shifts this year. Oshie, Duncan, Chorney and someone else -- LaPoint, Bina, Genoway? There will be more open ice than on the PP, and the opponent won't be playing a collapse around the goaltender D like they would on the PK. I can see shifts where Oshie and Duncan occupy a few opposing defensemen and then feed it to Chorney sneaking in from the point for the tip in.

I have no specific comment on Mario, because I've seen him play as much as I've seen Trupp, Cichy, Toews, Kristo, etc. play, which is to say, not at all. I also totally appreciate that an ideal hockey team has a mix of different types of players, and guys who might be a little short of skill but are hard to play against play a role. However, it is hard to see how the numbers add up in the fall of 2008. UND loses Kaip, Radke, Oshie and Duncan up front, and Bina, Chorney and Finley on the blueline (assuming likely early departures). That's 4 and 3. They have Cichy, Toews, Gregoire, Bruneteau, Hextall and now Lamoureux coming in, plus Blood and Gleason. That's 6 and 2. Of the 6, it's hard to see any of them getting pushed back to 2009. Cichy and Toews are national recruits, not the kind of guys who play an extra year of juniors. Gregoire and Bruneteau are both playing an extra year of juniors after their draft year already, and both were drafted. Hextall and now Mario are also playing their extra year of junior hockey this year. It looks like a heck of a class, but there might be an awful lot of forwards on the team that year. I should add that it seems odd to those of us who aren't privy to the plan, but I'm sure the coaching staff has next fall well considered. It'll just be interesting to see how it shakes out.