jk

I think the expectations Lee had, based on draft position and all the accolades that had come his way the preceding two years, led many of us to be disappointed at times during the year. If Jones and Chorney seemed better adjusted, that could be the result of their playing experience in the years before coming to UND. Two (or three, not sure) years at SSM for Chorney is probably at least double the games Lee played at Moorhead, generally against better teams. Likewise Jones's stint with the US team had him better prepared. Even some who lamented Lee's lack of physicality during the year noticed that he got more physical down the stretch. It was good to see him mature that way. Really, for a true freshman, coming right from high school, he did great last year. I'm sure he'll be better in every phase of the game next year. Regarding the slapper, I have to assume the coaches desire the PP to be run the way it is, where Lee finds a lane to get the puck to the net. He just floats the wrister in there, hoping for a Zajac tip. I do agree that it would be nice for someone to fire off a bomb from the blue line - I noticed in the CSB write-up for Lapoint that it said he had a good slapshot.

Other notables: 2 33 GEOFFRION, BLAKE USA US NAT'L U-18 2/3/1988 6' 1" 190 LW L 46 17 17 34 56 2 39 FORNEY, MICHAEL USHSW THIEF RIVER FALLS 5/14/1988 6' 2" 185 LW R 21 23 37 60 28 2 49 LAPOINT, DERRICK USHSW EAU CLAIRE NORTH 5/13/1988 6' 2.5" 175 D L 23 6 26 34 32 2 50 MARVIN, AARON USHSW WARROAD 5/27/1988 6' 2" 191 C,W L 23 9 21 30 40 2 56 RAKHSHANI, RHETT USA US NAT'L U-18 3/6/1988 5' 10" 170 RW R 50 18 23 41 59 2 60 NODL, ANDREAS USHL SIOUX FALLS 2/28/1987 6' 1" 196 RW L 58 29 30 59 16 3 63 CARMAN, MICHAEL USA US NAT'L U-18 4/14/1988 6' 0" 180 C L 51 15 29 44 90 3 66 GRYBA, ERIC USHL GREEN BAY 4/14/1988 6' 3.5" 215 D R 56 3 12 15 205 3 69 TUREK, RYAN USHL OMAHA 9/22/1987 5' 11" 170 C R 52 17 11 28 71 3 77 FLYNN, RYAN USA US NAT'L U-18 3/22/1988 6' 2.5" 212 RW R 51 13 16 29 69 3 81 RATCHUK, MICHAEL USA US NAT'L U-18 2/20/1988 5' 10" 175 D L 47 11 15 26 50 3 82 MEDVEC, KYLE USHSW APPLE VALLEY 6/16/1988 6' 5" 191 D L 25 12 19 31 36 3 84 MCBAIN, JAMIE USA US NAT'L U-18 2/25/1988 6' 1.5" 190 D R 47 6 10 16 41 3 87 DOWZAK, TYSEN WHL KELOWNA 3/8/1988 6' 4.5" 225 D L 43 1 3 4 68 3 90 FERRIERO, BENN H-EAST BOSTON COLLEGE 4/29/1987 5' 10" 185 C,RW R 34 11 6 17 28 4 92 LEBLER, BRIAN BCHL PENTICTON 7/16/1988 6' 1.5" 194 W L 54 23 12 35 97 4 97 JONES, ZACH WCHA UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA 1/14/1987 5' 11" 191 D L 38 0 5 5 75 4 103 KANTOLA, KAI NAHL FARGO-MOORHEAD 11/9/1987 6' 1.5" 176 C R 52 24 28 52 116 4 106 WILLERT, JORDAN USHL TRI-CITY 11/6/1987 6' 2.5" 215 RW R 59 6 17 23 22 5 123 FELDE, ERIK BCHL VERNON 12/29/1987 5' 9.5" 179 F L 61 32 49 81 44 5 133 SACKRISON, ANDY USHSW ST. LOUIS PARK 11/12/1987 6' 1" 178 C,LW L 25 41 26 67 32 5 146 GRUN, DAVID USHSW WHITE BEAR LAKE H.S. 12/17/1987 6' 0.5" 185 RW R 25 22 23 45 32 5 148 RUEGSEGGER, TYLER USHSW SHATTUCK-ST. MARY'S 1/19/1988 5' 11" 170 C,RW R 60 38 51 89 70 5 149 GALLAGHER, BLAKE SJHL NOTRE DAME 2/10/1988 5' 6.5" 167 C R 43 24 18 42 18 5 150 FILANGIERI, TIM H-EAST BOSTON COLLEGE 8/18/1987 6' 0.5" 209 D L 34 2 1 3 40 6 162 ROWE, ANDREW USHL SIOUX CITY 1/22/1988 6' 0" 175 LW L 50 8 8 16 30 6 163 FULTON, JORDAN USHSW BRECK 9/12/1987 6' 0.5" 191 C L 26 40 34 74 34

Little story about being an obsessed Sioux fan. A couple years ago, a friend and I were scanning the SSM roster for future Sioux. We knew Duncan and Chorney were legacies, and I think maybe we knew that Genoway's brother was there too. So we came across Toews, who would be starting his first season there. Saw he was from Winnipeg, which was a big plus (old Sioux recruiting ground), so we did some research. Very early we discovered he was the first pick in the WHL draft, to which we said: "oh, no way is he coming here; he is a big-time player." Then we saw some scoring summaries from his youth hockey teams, and saw that a Zajac was a coach of his, and figured maybe that would be a significant connection. Those are good memories that bloom a little more with every point Toews puts up.

Couple things. The NHL had their draft lottery today, and there were no changes from the order based on season records. So this is the draft order: 1. St. Louis Blues 2. Pittsburgh Penguins 3. Chicago Blackhawks 4. Washington Capitals 5. Boston Bruins 6. Columbus Blue Jackets 7. New York Islanders 8. Phoenix Coyotes 9. Minnesota Wild 10. Florida Panthers 11. Los Angeles Kings 12. Atlanta Thrashers 13. Toronto Maple Leafs 14. Vancouver Canucks Also, the NHL Central Scouting final rankings are being released. Here is the list for North American skaters: 1 1 JOHNSON, ERIK USA US NAT'L U-18 3/21/1988 6' 4" 222 D R 38 11 22 33 57 1 2 STAAL, JORDAN OHL PETERBOROUGH 9/10/1988 6' 4" 215 C L 68 28 40 68 69 1 3 TOEWS, JONATHAN WCHA UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA 4/29/1988 6' 1.5" 195 C,W L 34 17 11 28 20 1 4 BRASSARD, DERICK QMJHL DRUMMONDVILLE 9/22/1987 6' 0.5" 172 C L 58 44 72 116 92 1 5 KESSEL, PHIL WCHA UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 10/2/1987 6' 0" 189 C R 34 14 28 42 22 1 6 MUELLER, PETER WHL EVERETT 4/14/1988 6' 2.5" 205 C R 52 26 32 58 44 1 7 LITTLE, BRYAN OHL BARRIE 11/12/1987 5' 10" 190 C R 64 42 67 109 99 1 8 STEWART, CHRIS OHL KINGSTON 10/30/1987 6' 1.5" 228 RW R 62 37 50 87 113 1 9 SHEPPARD, JAMES QMJHL CAPE BRETON 4/25/1988 6' 1.5" 204 C L 66 30 54 84 78 1 10 EMMERTON, CORY OHL KINGSTON 6/1/1988 5' 11.5" 177 C,LW L 66 26 64 90 37 1 11 OKPOSO, KYLE USHL DES MOINES 4/16/1988 6' 0" 195 RW R 50 27 31 58 56 1 12 SANGUINETTI, BOBBY OHL OWEN SOUND 2/29/1988 6' 1" 174 D R 68 14 51 65 44 1 13 WILLIAMS, NIGEL USA US NAT'L U-18 4/18/1988 6' 4.5" 226 D L 48 6 9 15 41 1 14 FIALA, ONDREJ WHL EVERETT 11/4/1987 6' 1" 183 C L 51 21 14 35 26 1 15 GRABNER, MICHAEL WHL SPOKANE 10/5/1987 6' 0" 170 RW L 67 36 14 50 28 1 16 SHUTRON, BEN OHL KINGSTON 6/14/1988 5' 11.5" 186 D R 67 10 29 39 134 1 17 SWAN, BRYCE QMJHL HALIFAX 10/6/1987 6' 2" 191 RW R 34 14 11 25 54 1 18 BURKI, CODEY WHL BRANDON 11/17/1987 6' 0.5" 190 C L 70 27 34 61 69 1 19 FOLIGNO, NICK OHL SUDBURY 10/31/1987 6' 0" 188 LW L 65 24 46 70 146 1 20 MITERA, MARK CCHA UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 10/22/1987 6' 3" 202 D L 34 0 9 9 51 1 21 WISHART, TY WHL PRINCE GEORGE 5/19/1988 6' 4.5" 205 D L 70 5 23 30 135 1 22 STRAIT, BRIAN USA US NAT'L U-18 1/4/1988 6' 0.5" 200 D L 47 2 11 13 68 1 23 HILLIER, RYAN QMJHL HALIFAX 1/25/1988 5' 11.5" 179 LW L 68 19 38 57 76 1 24 CLUTTERBUCK, CAL OHL OSHAWA 11/18/1987 5' 10.5" 196 RW R 66 35 33 68 139 1 25 HUGHES, BOBBY OHL KINGSTON 11/11/1987 5' 10.5" 170 C L 56 35 40 75 47 1 26 SNEEP, CARL USHSW BRAINERD 11/5/1987 6' 4" 210 D R 26 14 23 37 34 1 27 WHITE, RYAN WHL CALGARY 3/17/1988 5' 11.5" 200 C R 72 20 33 53 121 1 28 CALLA, BRADY WHL EVERETT 3/14/1988 6' 0" 190 RW R 66 8 25 33 52 1 29 FISCHER, DAVID USHSW APPLE VALLEY 2/19/1988 6' 3" 185 D R 25 8 30 38 34 1 30 LEWIS, TREVOR USHL DES MOINES 1/8/1987 6' 1" 192 C R 56 35 40 75 69

I imagined how these games might fit into the schedule. I'm guessing the Maine and Madison weekends immediately follow Quinnipiac, in some order, followed by a trip to Mankato. A trip to UAA could be squeezed between the SCSU and CC weekends, and I wonder if the Sioux could host the defending national champs just before they host MTU. Between CC and MN in January, it sure would be neat if they could host UAA and play home-and-home with the BSU Beavers. Starting with BSU, it could be like a tour of Minnesota hockey to close the regular season: BSU, at MN, MSUM, UMD and at SCSU (with a trip to Denver snuck in between UMD and SCSU).

This was just slightly better last year before Montoya left Michigan.

Here are a few snapshots from the last three years: Met Matt (a high school senior) and his dad at Sensers watching the Sioux play Denver in the WCHA playoffs. During a break in play, Brad Berry was interviewed, and Matt commented on what a great guy he is. Also, when Matt stepped away for a minute, his dad commented that Matt is a tiger on the ice - very aggressive. I attended the UND/MN series in Grand Forks a few games into Matt's UND career, and he leveled more forwards than all the other defensemen combined. He kept holding the blueline very aggressively, and although he missed a few times (yielding opportunities), his physical play was a big reason the MN forwards wanted nothing other than to find the bus by late on Saturday. At the 2005 Frozen four practice between the Thursday and Saturday games, Berry and Smaby spent some time on one-on-one drills, and I was reminded of our initial meeting. [On that note, I get the sense that Coach Berry is a huge part of this program right now. His impact on recruiting and teaching and his rock solid presence seem nearly as important as Hakstol's role.] During the Friday game at Mariucci in January, when an emotionally and physically worn UND team was getting embarrassed by MN, Smaby was the only defenseman who seemed capable of handling the puck. He kept making the right play, and kept hitting people. Eventually the dam broke and the Sioux were overwhelmed, but it was clear to me then that Smaby was the most important skater on the team, while the younger defensemen were still developing. In another MN game this year, Matt wiped Potulny out at center ice. Although the FSN guys tried to suggest it was an elbow, it was just one of his classic open-ice hits. It was also classic in another sense, because the recipient was one of the opponent's best players. He famously took Marty Sertich out of the whole weekend (not by injury, but by effectiveness) by rocking him early on Friday, and he apparently hit Slattengren so hard he drove him right out of college hockey. Overall, Smaby had a terrific college career. He skated a regular shift as a true freshman on a league champion. He played a big role as a crushing defenseman who mostly avoided the penalty box as the 2005 team advanced to the national title game. And he topped it off by teaching the next generation what it means to be a Sioux defenseman, while captaining the team to a repeat Frozen Four trip in 2006. Congratulations and good luck.

I talked to a source in the Spring of 1986 at the Antique. Coach Eades told me they had a special goalie coming in that Fall. Honest.

Congrats to Wisconsin - 5 in a row for the WCHA. Watching this game frustrated me, because BC just is not very good. They only had a sniff of a chance to score all game long. The TV guys scoring chances in the first were 9-3 Wisconsin, but the score was 0-1. Similar to Thursday's game, when they were 9-3, but the score was 0-3. Basically, BC just led a charmed life, they aimed for corners and got them, instead of shooting high or wide, where 90% of those attempts go. Their shots hit goal posts (2 of the first 3) and went in instead of out. Then UND got flustered by the scoreboard and made some mistakes, and BC converted them. Wisconsin didn't make those mistakes, and BC had nothing to convert. I think BC rode five players to the last game: Collins, Boyle, Harrold, Motherwell and of course Schneider. That's similar to UND in 2001, with Panzer, Lundbohm, Bayda, Roche and Goehring, but I like UND's supporting players that year better (Notermann, Spiewak, etc.). Anyway, congrats again to Wisconsin and go get em next year Sioux. p.s. That was sour grapes above, but I can't help it.

Farce, I think you mean 18, 16, and 9.

I can't get too worked up about EJ because he's in the same boat as Toews. Top five pick, could get offered a ton, could go. Might opt to play 2006-07 in college to get physically stronger. I'm guessing we see both in college next year, but it could be only EJ just as easily as only Toews. I'm also not jumping up and down about Potulny and maybe Irmen leaving, because the list of UND players who could leave if their future employer deems it desirable is probably as long as it has ever been.

Thanks for posting that. As much fun as it has been celebrating Holy Cross' achievement and following the Potulny and Irmen chronicles, I'm ready to move on to the other maroon and gold menace. Bring on BC. Let's Go Sioux.

Let's see, hockey players clean up, second maybe only to rock stars. What's Stafford's hobby again?

And Potulny is now a pro.

Was Hennessy channeling there? "Are you kidding me?"

Can't believe I just wasted a bunch of time watching the third period again. Spirko and Zajac have a 4-on-4 shift that is just sickening with about seven minutes left. Then two minutes later Oshie has his ridiculous shift that ends with Zajac's goal. Given a little extra room on the ice this team is unbelievable.

Here are Wisco's goals against by period since they were wiped out by Mankato (formatted terribly for dramatic effect). Tells you something about Wisco, but tells you something about UND too. 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

It's like the punchline to a joke: Wisco and Cornell 0-0 after 4 periods. The Sioux have only one tie because their defensemen have been young and make mistakes and because the front line is so stacked with elite offensive players.

Now this one hurts. The reason HC felt they could beat MN? Because MN is like Mercyhurst. From INCH's West write-up: McGregor said that he and his teammates felt confident entering the game, fully believing they could win. He compared the Golden Gophers to Mercyhurst, a high-flying offensive club that his Crusaders toppled twice earlier this season.

So much to say, but just a few things ... Paradise said, when it went to 4-on-4 earlier in the third, maybe this will give Michigan's skaters a little more room to use their speed. I laughed out loud thinking about the pairs of forwards UND was going to put out there. Yeah, they won't enjoy the extra room at all. Later, Paradise said, the Sioux are winning all the 1-on-1 battles ... heck, they're winning the 1-on-3 battles! Oshie's diving assist was very reminiscent of his assist to Marvin in the state tourney overtime last year. Overall, I could not believe how dominating the Sioux were in closing the game out in the third. It was so different from the games at the X, where they were back on their heels. It was truly men against boys, except of course that in reality it was boys against boys. What a dominating, dominating performance. And last year I wondered if Duncan might be another Hoogie, but I figured I was just dreaming. Well, he sure looks the part right now. Dynamic offensive skater, shooter, passer.

Lucia was fine. He gave HC credit and thought they played well. "It's not like shots were 60 to 20. They were in the game." Hill was very stand-up immediately after the game. Ryry was hurting but stood in front of the TV camera. For sagard, FHG, WPOS, and others, sorry guys. This will hurt for a long time. For now, Go Sioux!

and kessel comes out of the box into a 2-1 and scores. neither hc goal is briggs' fault BTW.

massive pp goal on the 5-3 for HC. 2-1 now. great one-timer.

big goal for MN, sh howe from guyer. 1-1

MN's getting plenty of shots now, some good, none yet requiring spectacular saves by Q. Q is just playing a very steady positional game. HC just killed a penalty, and is now going on the PP.