jk

At least twice this year, but they were a long time ago. I remember because I noted at the time that we outgoaltended the opposition. Sat 10/16/2004 W 2 @ Minnesota State 1 Fri 10/22/2004 W 4 Minnesota 2

Accepting reality hasn't always been one of my strengths, but I can't escape the conclusion that we have a pretty good picture of this Sioux team, and it's a little short of the one I expected (not a lot, but at least a little). Sometimes you can get fooled by how things "feel." They played well, etc., which suggests that they are truly an elite team. But the facts are these: Overall 14-8-2 (71 GF, 57 GA) WCHA 10-7-1 (49 GF, 43 GA) That's exactly two-thirds of the regular season done. In addition, the last three WCHA series are these: Fri 12/03/2004 W 4 Alaska-Anchorage 2 Sat 12/04/2004 L 1 Alaska-Anchorage 2 Fri 12/10/2004 W 5 @ Minnesota-Duluth 1 Sat 12/11/2004 L 3 @ Minnesota-Duluth 4 Fri 01/07/2005 W 3 Minnesota State 2 Sat 01/08/2005 L 3 Minnesota State 4 UND appears to be in the "middle" group of teams that includes the three opponents listed above, and the results spanning the last month don't make a convincing argument that UND is superior to them. Before the season, I expected the team to be on a par with CC and UMD near the top of the league. I was wrong (a lot) on Denver and MN, and on UND and UMD. For this weekend, I need to consider what I would think if UAA, UMD or MSUM were traveling to CC for a series. I would think that those pretty scrappy teams would have a chance to squeak points out of the weekend, especially with CC on a bit of an emotional hangover after beating MN, but that a CC sweep should probably be expected. Since UND seems to be on a par with the huddled masses in the middle of the league, then that is my rational expectation for them this weekend as well. For the postseason, I have held for some time that UND has the ingredients to go on a postseason run: goaltending, defense, size, skill, some speed. But the first ingredient needed to play well in the postseason is to qualify for it. There are plenty of things left to play out, but right now UND is 12th in the PWR, in about a 13-team field (after autobids). If they slide into the end of the year at .500 or so, they could very well slip out of the field. I won't be surprised at all if UND puts it together and finishes strongly. But so far the evidence doesn't point to that happening.

There are going to be a lot of positive memories from this era of Sioux hockey, but one of the frustrating aspects has been the penchant for giving up game-losing goals in the final seconds of a tie game. It's happened a lot in the last four years, and I can't remember too many going the other way. These are NOT tying goals with the extra-attacker, just defensive lapses at the end of a game. 2-9-02 Waibel 19:50 Final 3-4 MN 3-1-02 Doell 4:51 (OT) Final 3-4 DU 12-15-03 MacKenzie 19:58 Final 1-2 DU 12-11-04 Schwabe 19:28 Final 3-4 UMD 1-8-05 Backes 19:56 Final 3-4 MSUM That doesn't count several similar goals given up in the last two minutes -- Leopold in MN, Novak for UAA at REA, Iannazzo for SCSU a couple of months ago, the DU kid about 10 months ago (ouch). It's gotta be gut-wrenching for the team, because it sure is tough on the fans.

A single mistake by a goaltender and it's "get a rope." Many times, the correct play for a goalie is not to stay in the net. He is in the best position to reach the puck and play it properly to safety. Of course it's not always such a black-and-white situation, so judgement is usually necessary, and sometimes the goalie makes a mistake. In this case, Parise misplayed it, and it cost a goal. I know there have been close calls in the past, but is this the first time his wandering has actually cost a goal? I wonder how many goals he has prevented by playing the puck to safety, preventing an opportunity from even getting started. By the way, Karl Goehring misplayed a puck and it was 1-0 Boston College in April. You count on them to make the right play and they usually do ... but sometimes not. I think Parise stopped Backes on a SH breakaway last night, which qualifies as one of the "some he shouldn't" in the phrase: "the goalie needs to stop all the shots he should, and some he shouldn't." I'm not happy about things either, but I'd like to know who let Backes go the net alone with five seconds left. That's the bigger mistake to me. I'd like to see Phil and Parise both continue to do well. Even with last night, goaltending is not a problem or weakness with this team. Failing to make territorial possession and scoring chances translate to the scoreboard is the big problem.

sprig, I agree with all of that, but I would add the names Patrick Eaves, Wiesnewski (badly spelled probably) and Carle to the list. It was a spectacular class for the USA, and the following class wasn't as good (sorry to state the obvious).

The note on Fast is interesting to me because, as big as the incoming recruiting class is, I think it is still short one forward and one defenseman. Up front, UND loses five players to graduation (McMahon, Massen, Canady, Fylling, Genoway), and I feel like they have been one forward short already this year. In addition, there is always risk for some of the higher-profile guys to leave early. With five scheduled to come in (Duncan, Kozek, Watkins, Miller and Toews), I expect to see another commitment. Also, it is possible that Oshie and Vandevelde are viewed as early-departure insurance, able to come a year early if the roster is short. On defense, UND loses four players, three to graduation (Schneider, Jones and Fuher) and one to an almost certain early departure (Greene). Again, I feel like this year's roster has been borderline short one defenseman, with six and a half plus a rover currently on the roster (The "half" is Bina (height shot) and the rover is Marvin). With three defensemen committed for the fall, at least one more will probably be added. With Spirko and Prpich among the Sioux's recent Spring recruits, I'm comfortable with the coaches' ability to round up a few gems for the Spring signing period.

Ryan Duncan had the big, fat 3-2-5 game last night in a 6-2 win. This moves him to third in overall BCHL scoring, and first in points per game. His teammate Evan Barlow, a Cornell recruit, had a four-point night and has been on fire lately, moving up into the top ten in points per game. Both Kozek and Watkins have slowed down lately in the scoring department. Toews' Team Western won the U-17 tournament last night, with Toews scoring 2 goals (one into an empty net) in a 3-1 win.

Nice to hear TH call a game again.

I was wondering if that was noticed as much as the succesful rushes were against Sweden. It was especially frustrating to having PP possessions end that way. That said, can you imagine the terror that kid will be on the big ice at Mariucci. He's so fast that the defense will have to give him a cushion so they don't get beat wide, giving him space to operate. To summarize, I don't think he will be the complete player Crosby will; I think his game has limitations right now (but that is totally understandable since he is so young); and he will be way too much for his college opponents to handle. Also I think his draft status just got moved up to top 10, maybe top 5.

SSM just redid their website, and I haven't taken the time to find the stats page. However, Toews is playing in the Under-17 tournament in Lethbridge this week. Without going back to check for sure, I think he had 1 goal in the first game, 2 goals in the second, and was 1-2-3 in the third. He is also Team West's captain. Today, Toews and Team West will play his SSM linemate and top prospect Kyle Okposo and Team USA. Some MN fans are very high on Okposo and the buzz is that he is leaning towards MN.

Kessel is indeed something else. He's bigger than I expected, and he seemed to really improve from the first game to the second (the opponent may have had something to do with that). I personally thought Lee looked very, very tentative out there. It's understandable, but it made him pretty ineffective. Hopefully he can get a little more comfortable with more ice time, then we can see what he can do. Regardless of how much ice time he sees, I'm guessing HS hockey might be moving in slow motion for him when he gets back. I haven't liked Likens, but Suter has suited me. Actually Suter, Hagemo and Borer have seemed the most steady to me, with the other defensemen seeming to struggle. I've only seen it on TV, so I don't necessarliy have the right perspective. (And even if I were there, I wouldn't neceesarily have the right opinion.) But that's how I have seen it.

Article on the Czech experience in Warroad: http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/10472203.htm Sorry, not sure of the result though.

Fylling played against BC in the 2001 national championship game. I agree with your sentiment however.

A few happenings: Moorhead beat White Bear Lake 3-2. Sioux legacy Becker with 1-2-3. Warroad beat #2 Benilde 6-1. Not sure of the scoring but wouldn't be surprised if Oshie figured in it. Brad Miller with a goal for Green Bay in the USHL.

Checking the Vernon game in the BCHL and came across these message board posts at the start of the game. Canadian hockey I guess. ------------------------- Right off the starting faceoff Tyler Loney & Troy Cherwinski go at for the 2nd time in 2 games. ------------------------- Darcy Prince & Wade Davison go at it, with Prince getting the decision. Only 4 seconds into the game, already 2 fights. ------------------------- Steven Little & Korey Gannon go at it, with Little getting the decision. Only 5 seconds into the game with 3 straight fights. ------------------------ ...At that rate the game could end up taking a while.

The Sioux's third goal was Murray from Foyt. Foyt's first Sioux point. Congrats.

I think US practices are open to the public. Has anyone attended? I'm curious about how the UND-connected kids look, especially how Lee is adapting to the quicker pace. jloos, you're a hockey junkie; have you been there?

Very unofficially, I think this gives Oshie a 13-20-33 line in 8 games. If BCHL points are "easy" to rack up, then MN HS Class A points should really be discounted. I'm sure most Division 1 forward recruits could clean up in MN HS competition. That said, Oshie's performance so far this year has been impressive, and makes his arrival in a year or two something to look forward to.

Hey, "Just Curious" actually composed a nice post, with a source and everything. We could use posters like that around here, so don't pick on him/her too badly. Just Curious, I think they all know Sid's not going to play college hockey.

Tough crowd here this weekend. The Sioux must have had their ugly masks on, because while I didn't see the games, I listened to some of them and it didn't sound as bad to me as it apparently looked. Missed opportunities stink, but comparing the result to my expectations going into the weekend, I think it was a good weekend. Great performance Friday, and a close loss on the road against a desperate team Saturday. I guess it depends on how good Duluth really is. If they are in fact a good team, then splitting at their rink isn't so bad. Here are the blemishes on this year's record: T 2 @ Minnesota State 2 ot L 0 Minnesota 6 L 3 @ Boston College (nc) 5 T 3 @ Northeastern (nc) 3 ot L 2 Colorado College 3 ot L 0 @ Wisconsin 1 L 2 @ Wisconsin 5 L 1 Alaska-Anchorage 2 L 3 @ Minnesota-Duluth 4 Since getting drilled by MN, they haven't lost by more than 1 goal (excluding empty-netters). I know they don't give style points, and there are no moral victories, but it's not like this team is far from being very good. Of the results above, the ones I would want back are: Northeastern - the game was basically in control and the score could have been much worse, and NE got a bounce on a PP and suddenly they were back in the game. CC Friday - I attended this game and still can't believe the Sioux lost. Shots mid-way through the third were 32-13, and suddenly CC was back in the game with a goal on the next rush up the ice. Wisconsin - My understanding without seeing the games was that play was generally even throughout the weekend. You would hope to come home with some points if that were the case. UAA Saturday - Outshoot 'em 2-to-1, you should win. ------------------------ I don't see them going on the run Stack thinks is necessary, but I don't see that as completely necessary to still do well by the end of the year. Positives for me are: - Development of a killer line, as Murray, Stafford and Zajac are starting to click. - With the exception of the last game, the team has begun to limit opposition shots. After being consistently outshot, UND is now regularly outshooting opponents. - Consistently good goaltending.

Not to bag on Sandy too much, but this has to be one of the worst sentences ever (answering question on last year vs. this year): "Well, I mean obviously, I think, like I said earlier, I mean, I think this team is going to, you know, is going to have its own identity and I think, you know, last year

Duncan went 3-1-4 in a 9-7 win for Salmon Arm last night. Lots of goals scored in the BCHL games; it's worth keeping that in mind when comparing scoring stats to other leagues.

SSM has updated its stats page. Chorney is 3-16-19 in 31 games. Doesn't really have a ton of meaning for a defenseman. The team's leading scorers are all on the top line: Toews, Gergen (UMD) and Okposo with 51, 50 and 43 points, respectively. Looks like no one is on a Parise/Crosby scoring pace this year.

So two Sioux (sort of) will be skating for Team USA. A nice run for the Sioux: 2002: Parise, Jones, Greene 2003: Parise, Murray, Stafford 2004: Stafford, Lee Congrats and good luck.

Wow. That he is even being mentioned for something like this, alongside some of the names listed, is amazing.