jk

Lines without Murray. This is my opinion on it: Zajac, Stafford, Spirko: Keep the first line together McMahon, Prpich, Fylling: Not the "second" line, but reunite this checking line and put them out, along with Greene and Jones, against Earl's line, as he seems to do a ton of damage against the Sioux. Show them tape of them shutting down Vanek, Koalska and Riddle. Genoway, Porter, ??( Massen?) Canady, Fabian, Bina: They've had some chemistry in the second half. Let them give it a shot. Also gets Radke back in at defense. Time to just give it a shot.

An old guy: Do you like Lynyrd Skynyrd? Fedorov: I've heard of him. Whipper-snapper.

I wasn't entirely clear, but I was trying to explain my own disappointment, which results from my own expectations. I set my own expectations. I frequently set 'em wrong. Thank goodness I was wrong in 2000, because I thought UND was going to suffer through a painful rebuilding year.

MafiaMan, I mostly agree with your sentiment, with a few reservations. I can accept a tough season, but it's easier to do when you can see it coming. For instance, I was fine with what occurred in 2001-2002. It wasn't fun, but you could imagine the beatings those kids took being repaid with interest a few years down the road. I think the problem many have with THIS tough season is that it was harder to see coming. Of course the early departers were key players, but I thought they were bringing enough back, and adding enough, to still be a Top 10 -type team. I was wrong. The other reason it is tough to take is that I personally thought #8 was coming last year or this year. Last year was a near miss, and this year's looking pretty unlikely as well. Additionally, the next chance at #8 looks like it may be a few years away, as the odds of all the kids coming in next year and winning a lot don't seem good. A lot of lower teams in the league are getting better, and Wisconsin and MN look like they will be beasts next year. I don't imagine CC and Denver will slip much either. That's why this year seemed important to me.

Wow. Guess who didn't have a good game on Saturday? Here are the numbers of the Sioux players on the ice for the UAA goals, all even strength (but the last was an empty-netter): 6, 8 10, 14, 29 6, 8 10, 14, 29 6, 8 10, 14, 29 28, 8 10, 14, 29 8 14, 29, 11, 15, 18 Edit: Didn't quite format like I wanted, and I put it in the wrong thread. I'm playing as well as 6, 8, 10, 14, 29 did.

I turned (hopeful) pessimist Saturday night. This was my thought process: I could forgive the CC series, because by all accounts they played their hearts out and really did deserve about three points. Plus, CC's really good. I could forgive the Denver series, because the Sioux were undermanned, missing two of their best forwards. Plus, Denver's really good. I can't forgive Saturday. Saturday was a prime opportunity, delivered up by the hockey gods, to get a sweep, lock up home ice, get on a roll and win four or five of the last six games. So UND was missing two key forwards against Denver? Guess what? UAA was missing FOUR players Saturday. I don't care how scrappy they are and how much heart they played with. If they are that short, you are either playing against bad players (if UAA is playing everyone), or exhausted players (if UAA shortens the bench). Either way, circumstances required that UND dominate the third period and win going away. They obviously didn't. I guess that made me finally abandon my optimism. I'll still be hopeful, though.

I threw this on USCHO, and thought I would post it here too. Just strictly looking at the facts, it's hard to be an optimist. They can create a new set of facts by going out and winning games, but recent results don't suggest that will happen. ------------------------------ One team's WCHA results since Christmas (with aggregate Goals For and Goals Against): Split with MSUM 6-6 Swept by CC 1-3 Swept by DU 4-8 Split with UAA 8-8 Another team's WCHA results since Christmas: Swept SCSU 10-2 Swept UAA 9-3 Split with MN 6-6 1 Pt. from DU 6-7 Split with CC 6-3 Realistically, only the home ice factor argues for UND to scrap out a split this weekend. Otherwise this one screams for a Badger sweep. UND has proven to be basically equal to teams like UMD, MSUM and UAA, and inferior to top teams like Denver and CC. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has proven to be basically equal to the top teams, and clearly superior to the middle and lower teams that UND has struggled with. This seems extremely disrespectful to UAA, but seriously only about four or five of the UAA players that played last Saturday would get even close to Wisconsin's roster, and that group from UAA took it to UND in Saturday's third period. We'll see if UND has any fight left in them this year.

It is an interesting question that I have also considered. I have not been a huge Brandt backer in the past, because I think his more "acrobatic" style leaves him out of position too often. However, UND's goaltending has slipped in the second half, to the extent that it now sits alongside the scoring problems as a real issue for the team. Average goaltending and a weak offense do not alone doom a team, but together they are a killer. Lammy's season save percentage is .913. Since Christmas, in six starts, it is .893. Parise's season save percentage is .897. Since Christmas, in four starts, it is .864. Both guys have slipped. I can't recall too many games in 2005 where Hennessy has not said, "[goalie] would like to have that one back." I don't know if Brandt is the solution, but the team will need above-average goaltending to have any success the rest of the way.

I think this too. It actually has been staring us in the face all year, but we are required by our fan status to deny it until the very end. Losing twice to an undermanned, exhausted CC team was a big sign. Not pounding Bemidji was a big sign. Swept at home by anyone is a sign (Denver's good, but they have been beaten by MTU and UMD since Christmas). Now, not taking advantage of a depleted UAA team is another message. I don't think it's fair to blame Hakstol at this point, though, as we have been disappointed in other recent years without similar coach-bashing. The Spring of 2003 was similar to this one, except it featured a descent from #1 in the country to not being able to beat anyone. Last year, the best team in the country didn't reach the Frozen Four. These are disappointments that we roll with and move forward from. I'll continue to hope they're a good team waiting to win the rest of their games, but it's "hope" at this point, not an expectation.

Yikes. It's even uglier around here than it usually is after a loss. There's no way to know if guys who score well in junior leagues will turn into good college players. Sometimes juniors is the last level they excel at, and other guys pass them by in college. That said, I'd rather UND's recruits do well in the juniors than the alternative. On that note, Andrew Kozek had a bit of a breakout weekend, with a 3-2-5 line tonight after his three-point night last night. This follows quite a few weeks where he had seemed to cool off, starting about when Surrey had a coaching change. Tonight the BCHL scoring race has Reaney with 87 points, Kozek with 86 and Duncan with 84. Duncan's 84 includes two goals tonight, after a rare pointless night last night. He and Kozek are tied for the BCHL lead in goals with 45. I think Watkins had three assists tonight to go with a goal last night, and he sits in tenth place on the scoring list with (I think) 69 points. Also, I recall reading message board blather that Oshie grew up playing roller hockey. FWIW.

Stuff happens in hockey, bounces and the like, but the third period tonight wasn't bounces. UAA earned the win. The hardest thing to take is how much the ice was tilted in the last ten minutes or so. All it would take is a shift or two down in the UAA zone, even if it didn't result in a score, to halt the momentum. But they couldn't do that. I wonder if UND's fourth line should have taken a shift, as they were good all weekend. Truly disappointing to get not just beat but outplayed. I have to echo PCM and admit that I'm not real optimistic about Wisconsin next weekend.

I'll just shut up. Guess I don't have to worry about sweating out the one-goal lead.

So funny that the UAA announcers thought it should have been a major and TH thought it was not even a penalty. Both teams get about 40 seconds of 5-on-3 in the third. I would really like to see UND get another one pretty soon here. The thought of playing out the third with just a one-goal lead is nerve-wracking.

Couple PPs for the Sioux to start the third. They had better score because there will be a few Sioux penalties coming later in the period.

You are so right here. Some of us were quick to cite UND's injuries and suspensions as a reason for the losses to Denver, but the flip side is as you state. They should have advantages in various one-on-one battles throughout the game and need to get those onto the scoreboard.

Color guy is Brush Christiansen, who (I think) basically started their program and was their long-time first coach. Or something like that.

Sorry for the stupidity, but who is on the fourth line? Stafford, Zajac, Spirko Genoway, McMahon, Murray Porter, Prpich, Fylling Canady, Fabian, ? Also surprised Radke is not in the lineup. Thanks for returning, Brady. We missed ya.

OMG. WTF?? Porter with an assist? Five goals? Keep it up. No prevent defense. We want more!

Murray had the key assist on UND's second goal, by Genoway.

Crap, the puck is in the Sioux zone right after the Sioux scored. Makes me nervous.

MafiaMan, I agree with the sentiment, but I would take it further - don't be worrying about home ice, how about you just try to win tonight's game?

The pipeline thing is stupid. Neither goalie has been sharp lately. Where were you with the goaltending comment when Lammy stopped 23 of 26 against Bemidji, then Parise stopped 27 of 28 the next night? Each goalie gave up four against Denver. Lammy stopped 22 of 26 shots. I'm not ripping Lammy as I would like to see them both do well, but there is a reason both goalies are playing, and it's because neither has taken the job. All that said, 3 goals on 12 shots tonight is terrible.

True, but it was the first sustained pressure of the game for UAA, that I have heard. Bound to happen sometime.

Peter Cartright scored. Is he Hoss's kid or Little Joe's? Anyone listening to Hennessy know who was on the ice for the Sioux for the UAA answer goal? After all of DU's answer goals, to have it happen again really frosts me.

McMahon gets one and Murray sets up the second. You think the Sioux missed them against Denver?