jk

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.

Haven't seen the official stats, but I read somewhere that Oshie went 3-4-7 in an 8-2 Warroad win over Orono, which may have been ranked #3 going into the weekend, and which also knocked Warroad out of the state tourney last year.

Boy are there ever familiar names for Sioux fans in that box score. Obviously Lee and Vandevelde, but also former Sioux names like Becker and Christian, and of course Loos.

Wow. It's a good reminder that the players we follow (and criticize) are young people and have the problems that young people have. We just see someone's on-ice performance dip and think they must not care, when in fact we don't know what issues they have with their health, their family's health, their relationships, substance problems, etc. Good luck to Jacques.

sagard, While I agree with your general sentiment, there is a baseline level of success required to be included in the post-McNaughton fun: You need to win enough along the way to be in the PWR top ten. UND seems to be getting on the right side of that equation. It will be one funky season if all six WCHA contenders can do that. The team most at risk there, IMO, is UMD, with their bad non-conference losses.

Excellent point. To follow what Goon has posted, I tracked down the schedule information for the WCHA contenders. For this purpose, I consider the six top WCHA teams (UND, UM, Denver, CC, UMD, Wisco) to be basically equal. UND has only two with MN, UMD, Denver, MTU ... so UND misses 3 top teams Denver has only two with MN, UND, AA, MSUM... so Denver misses 2 top teams CC has only two with UMD, Wisco, AA, SCSU... so CC misses 2 top teams UMD has only two with UND, CC, MN, MSUM... so UMD misses 3 top teams UW misses 1 top team UM misses 3 top teams Looks like UMD, UND and UM have the "easiest" schedules, and Wisconsin the toughest. Of course this stuff might not matter too much, as when you play your opponent (injuries, swoon, etc.) may be more important.

I agree that MN is playing great hockey. What they did to UND last month was about equal parts UND being terrible and MN being terrific, and I don't think MN has slowed down much since then. (Thankfully UND seems to be finding its game, but that's another topic.) Briggs has been great, they have the usual speed-and-skill-all-the-way-down-the-lineup, and the freshman defensemen have been a revelation. But the biggest factor in MN's success (IMO) has been the play of Irmen and Potulny, who might be the two best forwards in the country. The puck just finds Potulny, in space, with a sometimes half-open goal in front of him. If the goalie is in position, he picks the corner. He has been outstanding, and has to be considered the early frontrunner for the Hobey. (Calling them the best forwards begs for a comparison to Stafford and Murray in the same class. By the end of the year it might be a good argument, but right now, with Murray's injury and Stafford's slow start, it's not even a contest. Stafford is apparently coming around, and we'll see how Murray comes back.) With all that said, I think Denver is the best team I have seen this year, and if they get any kind of goaltending, they are a real threat to repeat. The idea seems ridiculous, because I think they really were about the tenth to fifteenth best team last year, which is where they finished in the PWR. They seem much better this year. If Denver is in the Mariucci regional, that would be a battle. Otherwise I don't see anyone beating MN on the big ice, with MN advancing to Columbus. In terms of chances of advancing to Columbus, I think UND's best chance is somewhere away from the big ice, even if it means Michigan in Michigan.

Just this to add for the Sioux tonight. With Murray and Stafford out, that means only Porter returns from last year's top two lines. Take out Parise, Bochenski, Lundbohm, Murray and Stafford and you don't have the powerhouse that dominated so many games last year. Graduation, early departures and injuries are part of the game for everyone, but this was a tough two points to get, and they got them. Congrats and get well.

I went to the first page of Friday's game thread, and that link worked very quickly tonight.

FWIW, Wheeler's line after 8 games was 6-4-10. In the last 10 games, he's 1-3-4. Really, the only conclusion one can reach right now is that Green Bay is really bad. I'm sure Gretzky got it close to right and Wheeler will be a stud. I'm also hopeful that Hakstol's description of Miller (great hands, deadly around the net) will prove true at the next level. This team could use a little dose of "deadly around the net."

There's not much to note in the USHL, as UND currently has just one recruit there (Miller) and he plays for a team (Green Bay) that has elected to not score this year. Green Bay took the momentum from its 3-1 victory a week ago Friday and ran off consecutive losses by scores of 6-0, 5-0 and 4-0. The trend is positive, though, as in just four more games they will have the opponent down to zero goals as well. I'm not sure what kind of judgement you can make on Miller based on his performance with this team, but this is at least encouraging: In his first 7 games, he was 0-0-0. In his next 7, he was 5-2-7. In the next 4 games (the 4 described above), he was again 0-0-0, but when the whole team only scored 3 goals in that span, it's hard to hold it against him.

Just checking in with the BCHL over the weekend, and it looks like the kids are alright. Kozek's team won 3-2; he was 1-0-1 with the GWG. They won 6-3 the next night, with Kozek at 1-3-4. Duncan was 1-1-2 in a 3-2 loss. Then, although he was scoreless in a 4-1 win, he must have been doing something right as he was named the game's #2 star. Watkins was 0-1-1 in a 3-3 tie, then scored Vernon's only goal in a 2-1 loss.

Reviving an old concept here. If you come across interesting statistics, feel free to put them here. ---------------------------------- Suddenly the "returning all the defense and goaltending" strength of the team is showing up. These are the goals allowed in the last five games (excluding the two empty-netters in the loss to Wisconsin): 1,1,3,1,1. In addition, UND has outshot its opponent (finally) in the last three games, with the shots allowed in those games being 27, 20 and 24. A big caveat would be that two of these games were against SCSU, and we don't know how decent they are yet. Even so, it's good to see some familiar patterns emerging. If the offense continues to improve, this team could be on to something. I wonder how much of the defensive improvement can be attributed to the seeming relaxing of the officiating emphasis.

IMO Heatley was dominant, and Vanek as well.

This seems like a good time to trot this one out. Here is a stretch of games from the past (I took out wins against a bad MTU, 5-0 and 11-1; otherwise these games are in order): T 1 Colorado College 1 ot W 4 Colorado College 0 L 2 @ Wisconsin 3 ot L 5 @ Wisconsin 6 ot W 1 Minnesota 0 L 2 Minnesota 5 L 0 @ St. Cloud State 3 T 1 @ St. Cloud State 1 ot W 2 Alaska-Anchorage 1 That's 18 goals scored in 9 games. The lowlight of this stretch of offensive ineptitude came in St. Cloud, when UND went 119 minutes without scoring before Lee Goren banged in a garbage goal with the extra-attacker on Saturday to sneak one point out of the weekend. About two months later, UND smoked SCSU 7-3 in the Final Five. So things do turn around. In the interest of a fair presentation of history, I need to note that UND did in fact outshoot the opponent in every game listed above, which is of course quite different than the current stretch.

I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the MN weekend supports your opinion somewhat. Friday, the Sioux were holding team meetings in the penalty box, but they somehow survived all the PK and won the game. Saturday, I think they only took three penalties, and didn't exactly get in the way of anyone wearing maroon, and were embarassed.

Uh, no. I think these were your thoughts, and were the kind that had so many people coming to the team's defense: Seriously, if you had posted something with the tone of skateshattrick's message, no one would have had a problem with it and a good discussion could have followed. skateshattrick, thanks for your reasoned analysis of concerns. I have a few comments: 1. Big and slow. Just in looking at the additions and subtractions from last year's team, it's hard to see the Sioux as slower this year. Out: Parise (not necessarily a burner, but a terrific skater) Bochenski (better than advertised, but still not a great skater) Lundbohm (seemed to be one of the slower forwards) Hale (good speed, but not quickness) In: Zajac (better than Hale and Lundbohm, maybe equal to junior-year Bochenski) Spirko (nice agility, not sure about speed. Any opinions?) Kaip (at least Hale-like, with good speed when he gets going) Radke (haven't seen enough to know, but was advertised as a skater) Having Murray out might not help the appearance of team speed, as you take out the fastest skater and replace him with Canady, Fabian or Foyt. Also, Stafford seems to me to have lost a step. On the other hand, both Porter and Schneider seem a step quicker to me this year. 2. Discipline. Of course I have no choice but to agree, because to argue on the side of an ill-disciplined team is folly, but I think it is just not that simple. You said: "It is simply an excuse to blame the new rules, because everyone knew that they were coming and you have to adjust." Although the same rules apply to everyone, it is unfortunate that they came in a year when UND has (I believe hands-down) the biggest, most physical defensive group in the country. It's easy to tell a defense that didn't check much anyway: "don't check." But it's another thing altogether to tell that to a defense that punished the opposition mercilessly last year. In the Saturday debacle against MN, Woog correctly marveled at how open the middle was for the Gophers' forwards, and wondered where the thicket of long arms and sticks was from the previous year. I'll tell you where they were: trying not to take a penalty. I know there is a lot of room to be physical without going over the line, and that a lot of the cross-checks are certainly avoidable, but I think it all fits together and still needs to be sorted out. However you want to analyze the effect of the rules, I do know that I considered Jones and Greene the best defensive pair of defensemen in the country last year, the ones you would want on the ice late in the game. This year, they have not been nearly that, and might have been a liability so far. On this topic, I have to say that I find suggestions that Greene is selfish and doesn't care about the team to be unfair. I have heard that he has really been struggling with the adjustment, trying to stay out of the box and still play the good defense he has been known for. 3. Recruiting. If you want to get smaller, next year will be the year for you. Lots of smaller forwards, and the defensive group will change even more. I have to admit to hoping that Ryan Duncan can be a Dave Hoogsteen type player. Overall, I'm concerned but still hopeful. I've only seen them live for the two games against CC, and I thought they looked very solid, with the potential to be excellent. In the Friday game (which unbelievably ended up a loss), I said to someone: "Geez, if the Sioux suck, what does that say about CC?" because it really was the men-against-the-boys for most of that game.

I agree with Diggler. Relax a little. I'll still be here when things turn around, knowing I was on board the whole time. And you're wrong on Kessel; there was no shot there, Blais or not.

Two weeks ago I don't think it was so much the record that caused concern as it was the seemingly pathetic performance on both offense and defense. I believe they are well on their way to righting the ship in that regard, and they now look like a team that will be competitive most of the time. I think the league is so tough that 8-4 for the next twelve will be tough to accomplish, especially if Murray is out for a lot of that.

The two MN teams sqaured off in the finals of the Elite League invitational tournament this weekend, with the "Sioux" team (oddly enough featuring a Lucia) losing 5-3 in the finals. The goalies for the winning team made a combined 56 saves. Here is a link to the tournament summary: http://www.hselitehockey.com/index.asp?Typ...1-B73A00A7202B}

I had a good time at the games this weekend. We don't seem to see it too often around here anymore because UND has been churning out early departures to the professional leagues, but sometimes a player reaches his senior year and really steps his game up. The first player who really struck me with his senior dominance was Chris Jensen in the mid-80s. He was a very good player throughout his career, but as a senior he ruled the rink on every shift. Jeff Panzer was a terrific junior, but his senior year he too took it to another level; just watch the final game of his career (if you can take the pain) and watch him set up good scoring chances every shift. Other times the step-up comes from a player who was not previously a star. The best recent example for me is Tim Skarperud, who went from a role player on the third and fourth lines to a first-line forward who finished as one of the WCHA's top five scorers. Jason Ulmer is a similar story. This year UND may be fortunate enough to have two players make the senior jump, Genoway and McMahon. Genoway put the numbers up last year, but I wasn't a believer, based on my limited viewings. Having watched him this weekend, I am beginning to come around. He is big, smooth and calm. He seems very comfortable on the PP point, which is a big reason why the PP looked as good at times this weekend as I have seen in a few years. He had one unfortunate pass in the offensive zone on Friday that turned into the rush that tied the game, but mostly he is making good decisions (usually the simple, safe choice) with the puck. I noticed they are using Genoway to bring the puck through the neutral zone to establish offensive zone possession on the PP, relying on his good decision-making. I had heard McMahon had been one of UND's best players so far this year, but again I wasn't convinced. I thought: oh, he must be checking particularly well. I'm coming around here as well. I don't expect a player to add another gear in the speed department at this age, but McMahon seems quicker than I recall. As with Genoway, when he is heading to the corner for a 1-on-1 battle for the puck, I fully expect him to come away with it. Other notes: I agree on Porter's unusual mix of size and speed, but I have to add that his size is not just "measured" size. There are plenty of guys with his size on paper, but few that are so solid. He is a brick shouthouse on skates. He absolutely splattered Mark Stuart behind the net once, and that is a guy not easily rocked. I also agree on Zelkin. I would gladly have him officiate every Sioux game for the rest of the season. We commented on his style Saturday, even after the 5-on-3's. We actually got to watch hockey as we knew it. One funny moment: Zelkin called a penalty on CC with about five minutes left on Saturday. The CC player held his hands up, gestured to the scoreboard, and said, "There are only five minutes left!?" As in, how can you call a penalty in the last five minutes? Mostly I thought Zelkin let them play, but I also thought the play was cleaner than last year, so he didn't need to call as many penalties. I also thought his resume, the one with NHL games on it, carried a lot of weight with the players, as he was definitely in charge of the rink at all times. When CC was called for "holding the stick" one new fan behind me commented: "How can he play without holding his stick? Everyone's holding their stick." Her friend let her know the penalty was for holding the Other Guy's stick. It must be a source of great pride for McMahon, Prpich and Schneider to kill 5-on-3's. They killed the first one, then stayed out after the whistle and killed the second one. I expected Murray and Stafford to be the team's best forwards this year, and they will need to be very good for the team to make any real noise. Murray obviously can't help it right now, but Stafford has not been at the level I expected. What made Stafford special last year was a burst of speed that seemed out of synch with his size. A few times each game, it would allow him to gain an advantage on an unsuspecting opponent. I didn't see that burst this weekend, but it could have been me. I'm glad he put in the GWG Saturday, but really, that play was Genoway beating his man on the faceoff. I'd also like to see more from other upperclassmen like Fylling and Massen. Note to any offended parties: I freely acknowledge that I don't know what I'm talking about. Just commenting on what I see. I was not surprised to see Bina sit on Saturday because I thought he got beat in his own zone a few times Friday. I know he is small, but he has to be able to win those physical battles to be an effective defenseman. Overall I'm still a big supporter of Bina, as I like the skills he brings to the rink, and I like it when he surprises bigger guys who suddenly find themselves on the ice looking up at the hobbit. I also thought Prpich was not particularly effective Friday, but everything that he wasn't on Friday, he was on Saturday. I thought he had a great game. Overall, I think this team will be good enough to beat anyone at the end of the year, but I don't think they'll necessarily be favored against some teams. Maybe a national 6-10 kind of team. The difficult thing will be surviving a super-tough WCHA. Remember that Denver barely qualified for the national tournament last year. It's a little unfortunate that UND has all these tough conference games early, while they're still adjusting to the officiating and suffering through a few injuries. But that's the way it is, and they will need to win enough along the way to be there at the end.

No time for a big recap right now, but I was able to attend the game last night and I thought the Sioux played really well. I commented when the shots were 32-13 in the third that the game seemed quite a lot like the 6-0 MN game, with one team completely dominating the other. I also noted that the difference was the score was only 2-1 instead of 5-0. It's too bad things didn't quite go their way last night, and they made a few mistakes down the stretch that cost the game. But this was a completely different effort from the MN series. In the second MN game, the Sioux probably made 50 mistakes compared to the few last night. This looked like a team that has a chance to be very good later. Of course I'm disappointed with the result, but I'm encouraged by the play. It's fair to note that Parise struggled last night; I agree with that. I think it's silly and insulting to suggest that he has played because Zach was here. I think CC will play better than last night. I'm not sure UND can play much better than they did for most of last night, because they were mostly very good. Hopefully the hockey gods can start rewarding the effort.

I'm typically opposed to talking on one message board about information on another, but I'm breaking my own rule for this one, as a public service. There is a thread on USCHO called "goaltending commentary" that includes a great educational discussion on goaltending techniques and theory. It is a terrific read if, like me, you don't know much about the position. You actually have to concentrate more than for the average message board discussion, but it is worth it.