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No offense to UND's academics, as I did earn a degree there, but as a parent I think it's fantastic that a kid like this could go play at Harvard. What a great way to leverage hockey talent into a terrific life experience. I've always thought another non-traditional way to experience college hockey would be to go play someplace like Alabama-Huntsville. You still get to play hockey, but you also get warm weather and Southern belles. The old US International U. in San Diego would have been a similarly good setup.

There are some old and newer Sioux names that might be showing up in the 2007 or 2008 recruiting classes, such as Christian, Marvin, Lamoreaux, Zajac and Toews. I don't know anything about any of these particular cases, but history suggests that family ties play a role in the recruiting process. This is all pending continued development, etc.

I'd love to see it, but I think the league is tougher than you guys do. I don't know how they'll do, but the numbers suggested seem tough to reach, to me.

Good. It's a great building and event. The championship game a few years ago with Parise, Bochenski, Ballard, Vanek (all of whom started the season on NHL teams) was a jaw-dropping display of the college game at its most exciting. The wrong team won, and I think UND might have gotten burned up emotionally a bit, but it was a heck of an event.

Oooh, uninformed but intelligent speculation. Count me in. Kermit, I agree with your projections for departures next year. I think it's possible depending on New Jersey's offer and the brothers' desires that perhaps Travis Zajac could stay to play with his brother for a year, if he were to come to UND. Maybe UND's offer could be: Darcy's scholarship kicks in when Travis' ends. And then a few years from now Darcy's could end when the next brother's begins. Sort of a decade long Zajac family sholarship. (I have no idea if the next brother is a D-1 type player; just playing.) On Genoway, I have wondered if he would come in and be the jack-of-all-trades person on the roster, similar to what Marvin has been. Injuries on defense, play Marvin. Injuries up front, play Marvin. I have heard that the Vernon fans love Genoway's skating game. The step to the USHL is a tough one for a lot of players, even some who become good college players. Wheeler apparently looks great at MN, and he had a solid but not at all spectacular USHL year. Chris Porter came on in the second half at Lincoln, but overall didn't have a great USHL year. He was very ready for college, though, a brick house on skates from his first game. Hopefully Vandevelde and Marto can use their USHL seasons well.

Good news. Another name for us to follow this winter. Welcome aboard, Michael.

I think this weekend will be tougher than last weekend. Wisconsin has its whole team back from last year, less a few bench players and plus a few budding offensive stars. Despite their slide down the stretch last year, I thought Wisconsin was very tough at the Final Five: good at every aspect of the game save perhaps putting the puck in the net. And they seemed to figure that out last weekend. I expect it to be very tough for the Sioux this weekend. Whatever the results, and I could imagine the entire range of possibilities, I hope they just continue to get better each week. If they do, then the results will ultimately take care of themselves.

Bit of a wakeup call for the boys tonight. All the talk of how far ahead of the curve they are may have gone to their heads. Next weekend will be really tough, with a very experienced and tough Wisconsin team, one that's waking up, in town. The tough part about tonight is that you have to take advantage of scheduling breaks, and getting a shorthanded DU team tonight was an opporunity to get a few more points.

There's always the Eddie Belfour don't-camp-in-the-crease stick swing. You know, the one that starts on the ice and goes straight up, until ...

I wasn't party to the on-ice conversations, but I guess I wouldn't be at all surprised if the tough Sioux defensemen last year, especially the captain, did have plenty to say. It also may be pretty accurate that last year's Sioux team was that type of team, where intimidation played a big role on the ice. That may be why some teams wanted nothing to do with the crease after a period or so of pounding. I wouldn't say it in the press if I were him, because it seems pretty inflammatory. But it doesn't seem wildly off the mark.

I don't think he said anything wrong. What would you expect him to say at this point? p.s. Not saying he's a good guy.

dagies, thanks for saving me the time typing. You expressed my sentiments perfectly.

I'd personally rather beat them straight up, with full rosters. I think the Spirko and Irmen injuries will ultimately benefit both teams, as younger players are getting opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have. Later, plug in the recovered star and the team is that much better. This assumes the team in question wins enough along the way to make the second half matter.

gibber from uscho has posted some photos from the weekend: http://www.joshgibney.com/hockey/photos.html There's one particularly nice one from Saturday of Smaby crushing someone at the blueline.

It sounds like it was not a nice play, but before complaining about chippiness I try to remember that UND plays a pretty physical game that does get chippy and at times even slips into the "illegal" category. I'm glad UND has an edge to their game. If I were a Northeastern fan, I would want that too, just with a little more restraint than was shown this weekend.

I see no reason to rush to anoint a number one goaltender. Both guys will see plenty of rubber this year, if early indications hold true. Why not keep both guys involved throughout the year, so you have a very stable situation if one ends up injured for a while? When the time comes, ride the hot one (talking hockey here).

I pretty much don't participate in the flame wars, but I've seen enough to give you some advice: Don't ask a question like the number of games played unless you're sure you're going to be right. Just a quick check shows Craig Ludwig with 1,256 NHL games played, and James Patrick with 1,280 NHL games. I can see how you missed them, though, since they aren't in Larson's ballpark for games played. edit: gasp ... redwing beat me to it

I wish Murray all the best and I'm sure he did the right thing when faced with a good offer in an unusual situation (the Swiss league eligibility deal), but Panzer signing there brings the irritation to the surface just a bit for me. I thought Murray had a chance to be the next Panzer, which, to my eyes, is huge praise. Panzer going to play with Murray reminds me that Murray left without becoming the next Panzer. Such is life, I guess.

This excuse will be all worn out soon enough, but it's real fresh in October. (Returning players versus freshmen) Miami - Forwards 11-1 Miami - Defense 3-3 MSU - Forwards 9-3 MSU - Defense 6-0 UND - Forwards 7-5 UND - Defense 2-4

terbele, thanks for the on-site reports. Most of us said that it could be a little rough at the start, with hopes of the team coming together in the second half. It's one thing to say it, and another to actually have to suffer through the rough times. The UNH, DU, UW stretch that's approaching very quickly is looking a little more like a freight train right now. The main objective now, though, is to GET BETTER, and win enough along the way to make the second half matter. Reults like Sunday don't bother me, as long as the team is learning and getting better. Here's a comparison to the last cycle: 2000: Great team. National Champs. 2001: Subtract some stars, and a limited team loses in the title game. 2002: Add a huge freshman class, rebuild, and struggle. 2004: Great team. Shoulda been national champs. 2005: Subtract some stars, and a limited team loses in the title game. 2006: Add a huge freshman class, rebuild, and ... I think 2006 will differ from 2002 in two ways. First, the primary weakness in 2002 was goaltending. It wasn't the only problem, as the entire team needed to grow and learn to play together (as evidenced by early season poundings delivered by SCSU and Mankato), but it was the one area expected to be solid heading into the year. But Kollar slipped, and Brandt wasn't ready, then Siembida just wasn't good enough. And the team wasn't mature or good enough to overcome that. This year, between Parise and Lamoureaux, it appears that UND can at least count on solid goaltending while the team tries to come together. The other difference is that the 2006 team is probably simply more talented than the 2002 team. Both had returning role players (2002: Spiewak, Notes. 2006: Prpich, Porter, Kaip). Both had offensive stars (2002: Bayda, Skarperud. 2006: Zajac, Stafford, Spirko). Can Toews, Oshie, Duncan et al outperform Bochenski, Massen, McMahon et al? Time will tell, but early indications and NHL draft positions suggest that they can. My main early impression is that Oshie and Lee certainly have a presence, coming as they have directly from high school hockey to the WCHA. Also, Zajac, Stafford and Spirko are absolutely going to have to score for this team to succeed. I'm not sure how much the uncertain team defense affects the ability of the offense to execute, but I don't expect that trio of players to go scoreless in two games against the CCHA (Stafford's e.n.g. doesn't count).

Darcy Zajac at Salmon Arm had a nice weekend. In three wins, he scored five goals and added two assists.

I think this would be Willert's senior year of high school. Is that correct, ND high school hockey followers? I'm very interested to see how he does this year in the USHL, as he's flying in under the radar, coming from Minot. Last Fall, someone here (jloos?) thought he looked good in the Elite League, so it's possible that he could step in and have a good USHL season. I actually met Jordan and his dad a few years ago at a Sioux game at the REA, and he was a big kid even then. I'm always a fan of having a Western ND presence on the team, so it would be nice if Willert could continue to develop, reach WCHA status, and maybe hook up with UND.

Funny thing is that Porter assisted on UND's first goal of the season. Didn't he go about four months last year before he recorded an assist?

I started listening five minutes in, and it's been all specialty teams since, so I have no idea of the lines.