jk

K-rap. Bummer to see Chorney get beat like that for the goal. Then Skille gets it back. Good. Maybe we still have a game.

Completely different game in the second period. The US needs to get on the scoreboard to convert all this great play. I think Erik Johnson might just be the first player picked in next year's draft. Holy cow Schremp can dangle. I like Mueller too. And Oshie draws another one. The kid is something.

Best shift of the night for the US - Schremp, Fritsche and Mueller with the pressure. Do you think the Sioux coaches can put some snarl into Lee's game? I wouldn't mind a few stupid penalties, as long as he inflicted a little pain and inspired some fear. This period is better so far. The ice isn't so tilted.

Vegas, How did Toews do against Finland? I heard that the TSN guys were down on that line a little for not producing, but I gathered it was directed more at Pouliot.

Ouch. That was brutal. Reminds me of some squirt games where one team is really outclassed. The US is going to need to step it up in a big way here to stay in the game. Hate to say it but the highlight of the period may have been Paukovich's big hit on one of the Russians. It's risky with international officiating, but one way to change the momentum in a game (and it REALLY needs changing) is to just go out and hit every chance you get. I'm reading "The Boys of Winter" about the 1980 team, and it's interesting that one of Herb's theories about playing the Russians was to not dump and chase. Basically you work so hard to get the puck from the Russians and then you just voluntarily surrender possession. So tonight the Russians have the puck for, like, 80% of the time, and even on the PP, the US dumps it in and loses possession. Did we forget that lesson? Sagard, you're right especially because he has such a wicked snapshot. Chorney seems to me to be playing very well.

Just finished watching the tape delayed version on FSN. Where to begin? You could tell Kyle really wanted this game, rightly so, to avoid the quarterfinal game. I have a bad feeling the Sioux players on the U.S. team, especially the defensemen, are going to be completely gassed at the end of this tournament. Chorney and Lee played a ton, and they're four games into a seven game tournament. Having only listened on the radio prior to this game, I was expecting to see Oshie have the impact he seemed to have earlier, but he looked tired to me most of tonight. Then he took a big slapper in the ankle with about five minutes left and limped to the bench, and I had to hold my breath until he came out for his next shift. Chorney scrapped and scrapped all game long, but seemed to have trouble with the puck bouncing against his stick throughout the game. Lee made steady plays throughout the game, but the shift where he and EJ couldn't get off the ice was painful to watch by the end of it. Toews I expect to not be burnt out at the end of the tourney, at least physically, as he (first) seems to play a more regular shift on a deep Canadian team and (second) will play one less game. Toews made some nice little plays, but mostly didn't stand out to me. He's 17 in a tournament for 19-year olds, so just fitting in is a nice accomplissment. Interesting that the marquee draft prospects, Kessel and Toews, have zero goals through eight total games so far. It was a riot seeing Toews trying to rag the puck with Lee and Chorney checking him. Also, at one point Paukovich checked Toews along the boards, nearly from behind. Had to hold my breath a little there too. People had said ahead of time that Cogliano was perhaps as fast as Kessel, but it looked like Kessel was hand-down the fastest skater on the ice tonight. He just has another gear. I love the Sioux and dislike the Gophers (hate is such a strong word during the holidays), but if the kid was wearing green we would adore him. No doubt he's got his deficiencies, too (which is nice), and I'm sure we can check in here to read about them often. I was really hoping Oshie would have a chance to line someone up for one of his patented wipeouts, but if it happened I missed it. Back to the topic of WJC fatigue, I would seriously consider bringing other players, Miller or Alexander or someone, to Alaska and giving the WJC guys the weekend off. I know it would put the crucial UAA points at risk, but maybe they'd be at risk anyway with the rubber-legged kids out there. Seven games in two weeks is already a lot, and playing in Alaska would make it nine games. I'm not sure what the right answer is. Anyway, good hockey to watch to send out 2005. Here's to a good 2006.

I hope Greg L. doesn't say again: Kozek's coming in there with the big wood.

The first time I saw Jeff Panzer play live was a weekend in the old REA against a powerhouse CC team. The Sioux got beat the first night, and Blais was not happy. Even though the team was already short due to injuries, he sat several upperclassmen - important players - the next game. I walked in for warm-ups, looked at the players on the ice, and thought: "Thanks, Dean. I didn't drive 300 miles to watch us get swept so you could make a point." Goren won the unwinnable game Saturday with an OT goal. I say if Hak wants to sit someone, he should do it anyway. I didn't see the game so I don't have an opinion on who should sit. [Off-topic, I went into the game with a neutral opinion of Panzer. I was down on the glass, and he went around a CC defender along the wall for a loose puck, right in front of me, like the guy was a statue. I couldn't believe what I had just seen, and the CC player couldn't either. A sign of things to come.]

johnsowe, I was in the same boat as you. The USCHO schedule page lists the game as starting at 7:05. Well, the commercials were really entertaining.

It was just a little lighthearted jab, IMO.

Actually I heard they're both throw-ins to get Kelly.

Geez, I'm dumb. Guess it means Darcy's coming too, as Heisenberg has both Trupp and Zajac commited to UND. Great news.

A USCHO poster says that USHR is reporting "Trupp to UND." The news is a few steps removed, but hopefully we'll get confirmation soon. Makes you wonder about the status of Darcy Zajac.

I was able to listen to most of the second periiod of the US/Finland game, and I don't think I heard Chorney's name once. Does anyone have a sense of his icetime? I saw a report somewhere that the "top 4" defensemen for the US played quite a lot, and that Mitera and Niskanen didn't see much time. I'm just not sure where Chorney fits into that report. You would think Rich and Sauer were Sioux homers with as much love as they gave Oshie. Sounds like he is having a terrific tournament so far. It sounds like Toews is continuing to play well, but it would be nice for him if he could find the back of the net.

Holy cow is the Space Station movie amazing. They show a shuttle liftoff from right up close, and it's so involving to the senses that I was nearly in tears. Second period underway. USA on the PK. And the Finns score.

Did anyone see the replay of TJ's goal against Norway and wonder where Aaron Marvin was? TJ's face-off win was pretty much identical to the one in OT against Totino Grace, except this time he shot instead of shoveling it over to Marvin. The other difference is that Totino might have been a tougher opponent than Norway. I can't wait for the NYE game against Canada.

I'm pretty sure it was last night. It's on the IIHF schedule for December 22, Iceburg posted a boxscore on GPL, and there's a thread on the BCHL board discussing the game (sadly with no specifics other than the score). I can't find the results anywhere official yet, but I'm sure it will make it to the USA hockey site soon enough. Not sure where Iceburg got the boxscore, but he's very resourceful.

Saw on a message board that Oshie went 1-1-2 in a 5-1 exhibition win over Norway, but I haven't been able to find anything else on the game.

One more thing about that RPI weekend (I was also in attendance, Farce). That was a two-game set. The other game was won by UND 7-6 in OT, and it was RPI's last loss of the season. Thanksgiving is pretty early to have your last loss of the year. Chris Jensen scored the game winner on a Bobby Orr-style "flying through the air like Superman" goal, as he lunged for a rebound. I can still picture him suspended in the air as the puck went in, then falling to the ice on his stomach and bouncing right back to his feet to celebrate. An early Sioux hockey moment for me, from a great college player in Jensen.

I believe the last two defensive pairs will be: Berry/Hakstol sprig/dagies

Who'd a thunk Oshie would have 10 goals before Christmas? (I know Yttrium and THETRIOUPER (sp?) probably did.) When Mueller and Oshie were headed to the U.S. summer camp and there was some comparison between the two, one of the aforementioned posters said: "let's let them get out on the ice and see how it goes." I guess we're seeing. What a revelation. Way to go TJ, good luck tonight, for the US for a few weeks, and in calendar 2006.

TH says Lou Gehrig-son. Actually Luke Erickson, but sounds like the former.

Hey dagies. Interesting to hear the BCHL names on BSU - Jarvis and Bostock. Former teammates of various Sioux players in the last few years. "Spirko's managed to stay out of the box so far." Nicely done by TH.

This is apparently from a Wisconsin paper, as posted on USCHO: "Meanwhile, a decision is expected by the weekend from Evan Trupp, a center with Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League. UW wants Trupp, one of the top scorers in the BCHL, for next season. The other finalists, North Dakota and New Hampshire, apparently want Trupp for 2007-08." Up front, UND loses Prpich after this year, and probably Stafford, with Zajac a sizable risk as well. Right now Forney and Vandevelde are coming in. For 2007, though, UND will need the numbers again. Porter and Fabian graduate, and Oshie and Toews will be big risks to leave, if they're even still here for next year.

http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/news_story.asp?id=147019 "North Dakota forward Jonathan Toews and Michigan forward Andrew Cogliano each scored twice for the White team in an 8-1 win over Red in Wednesday's intra-squad game at the Canadian junior hockey team's selection camp."