jk

Hennessy definitely said that he would be surprised to see Bochenski back, and he did not make it sound as though it related to Blais. I can confirm the earlier poster who noted that Hennessy really sounded quite sure the job would go to Hakstol.

The Sicatoka, got you by about 80 minutes on that wild speculaiton.

I agree with The Sicatoka's list. In the interest of throwing names at the wall, would Coach Ward at SSM (former Woog assistant) receive any consideration?

Let's keep the replacement speculation out of this thread. THANKS Coach Blais for bringing UND hockey back. It was a hell of a run and the program is on as firm a footing as it has ever been. Good luck to you and your family, professionally and personally. Signed, a student in your ninth-grade phy-ed class at Minot High School in 1979.

WOW. I mean, really. WOW. I'm stunned. We've kicked the list of replacements around for quite a while, but I didn't expect to need it for a few years yet. Bigger picture, he basically told us ten years would be it, so we shouldn't be too surprised. In the shorter view, though, with the lockout, the great team lined up for the next few years, and the WJC, it's surprising.

Thanks for the links. I have to say that I'm not sure Sioux fans fully appreciate the high-level player Stafford is. I know I didn't last year. I saw flashes of brilliance (e.g., a burst of speed that seemed out of sync with his size), but not sustained dominance. I think a lot of that had to do with his age, as he was among the youngest players in all of college hockey. I also wonder if he was fulfilling a non-starring role given him by the coaches: You're young and learning the league, go up and down the wing, make smart plays and get better. Then I felt he faded for a good while after the World Junior tournament. I think the coaches will expect a lot more from him this year, and he will be asked to play a starring offensive role. Although the WJC will again tire him out, at least travel fatigue won't be an issue. The top 10-15 picks in the NHL draft is rarified air, and it should be fun to see his talent develop.

Draft talk has been scattered about in a few threads, so I thought I would start one to consolidate the discussion. Red Line Report has had a few columns in USA Today this week ranking the top goalies, forwards and defensemen for this weekend's draft. Points of Sioux interest are: "Drew Stafford is another big winger with good hands and scoring ability. The bloodline is good too

That's fine, 04Spud. Good luck in school and thanks for contributing here. Please keep us informed of the Moorhead hockey happenings.

04Spud, Surprised because you thought he would wait, or because you thought schools would wait, or for some other reason?

I wish Moreland the best as well, but I agree with your sentiment. If he wants to get on with life and get college started, more power to him. But if he wants to play hockey at UND, his best bet is to go play 60+ games in the USHL against other future Division 1 players. ... I hope he proves us both wrong and excels at UND despite taking an unusual route.

Moreland has shown up on Heisenberg's list of 2005 recruits: Matt Moreland-C (6/8/04) Sioux Falls (USHL) 6' 165 1-13-86 Chris Vandevelde-RW (6/8/04) Moorhead 6'2 180 -87 Brad Miller-LW (3/12/04) Green Bay (USHL) 5'10 170 1-31-86 T.J. Oshie-LC (2/5/04) Warroad 5'10 165 12-23-86 Brian Lee-RD (2/3/04) Moorhead 6'2 180 3-27-87 2003 USA U-17 team Ryan Duncan-RW (12/18/03) Salmon Arm (BCHL) 5'6 155 7-14-85 Taylor Chorney-LD (10/23/03) Shattuck St.Marys 5'10 160 4-27-87 2003 USA U-17 team Luke Beaverson-LD (1/3/03) Green Bay (USHL) 6'3 201 12-11-84 57-1-6-7-141 || 44-2-3-5-69

Nice to see you here, WPOS. From my early season viewings of Briggs, I thought he was good and was going to be MN's starter. I think he is better than last year's numbers, and that he will put up better ones this year. As for UND's strong defense, I agree that it helped to lower the goalies' GAA. When you see not much more than 20 shots per game, you're not going to post a bad GAA. For me, though, the defense does nothing for the saves percentage, which was simply outstanding for both Sioux goalies. Many Sioux fans have believed that Blais' style (offense, offense and then ... more offense) leads to fewer shots against (because the opponent can't get the puck), but higher quality chances (because the Sioux get caught up ice). That would make the saves percentage even more impressive. I will grant you that I had that bad old feeling again watching Brandt in the WCHA title game, his worst of the year, I think. 5 goals on 38 (?) shots isn't horrible, but his few softies definitely didn't inspire confidence. While Hauser got away with a few in the Maine game (not callable unless there's an even-up on tap, which there was), it's only fair to note that Parise had his stick up quite a few times last year, especially against MN. Your hack is my player with an edge.

I'm guessing we will see UND wait on Ammerman and Hardwick to see how they progress this year. The Sioux already have two MN high schoolers coming in (Lee and Chorney), and while they are touted as elite prospects, they will be awfully young for the WCHA battles. Jones sounds like a prospect, and there is also the big country to the North that typically provides some decent hockey players. The coaches could very well have their eyes on someone we have never heard of. I know the POI gang has hinted that MN has had interest in Salmon Arm's Marcuzzi. Since UND obviously saw Salmon Arm last year while recruiting Zajac and Chucko, I'm sure they're aware of him as well.

Bumping this up to satisfy the new requests for info on Miller.

From the River City site: -------------------------- "The Lancers 2004-2005 entry draft had an offensive flavor. On Wednesday, River City picked 11 forwards and three defensemen in its 14 selections.

Very interesting catch. Thanks for pointing it out. I'm sure someone will be able to help with this one. If it's true, then congrats to Matt and please work extra hard next year to get ready.

You can follow the tournament at this site: http://www.hockeycanada.ca/e/championships...2004/index.html

Here's where I am: Some of the information was new to me. It confirmed my earlier understanding that the Edmonton Oilers really like Matt Greene, at least publicly. I had, and continue to have, no idea whether he will join the Oilers organization next year. I will admit to taking the somewhat pessimistic position that I would be naive to be surprised if he does leave.

PCM, I believe THIS is old:

This is from a review of Edmonton's prospects on Hockey's Future. HF is not itself an authoritative source, but the quotes from members of the Edmonton organization are telling (they are still ringing in my ears). --------------------------------------- 6. (9) Matt Greene (D)

Schedule for the Royal Bank Cup: ROYAL BANK CUP (at Grande Prairie, Alta.) May 8 Kindersley vs. Grande Prairie, 7:30 p.m. May 9 Nepean vs. Nanaimo, 2 p.m. Grande Prairie vs. Aurora, 7:30 p.m. May 10 Nepean vs. Kindersley, 2 p.m. Aurora vs. Nanaimo, 7:30 p.m. May 11 Grande Prairie vs. Nepean, 7:30 p.m. May 12 Kindersley vs. Aurora, 2 p.m. Nanaimo vs. Grande Prairie, 7:30 p.m. May 13 Aurora vs. Nepean, 2 p.m. Nanaimo vs. Kindersley, 7:30 p.m. May 15 Sudden-death semi-finals at 2 and 7:30 p.m. May 16 Sudden-death final

Tri-City managed to survive last night in Game 3 of the USHL finals against Waterloo. Here is how it has gone: Game 1: Waterloo 3-2 (SOG Tri-City 32-18, Spirko 0-0-0) Game 2: Waterloo 4-1 (SOG Tri-City 30-18, Spirko 0-0-0) Game 3: Tri-City 4-3 (SOG Tri-City 37-27, Spirko 2-0-2) I know SOG is an overrated statistic, but it looks like Tri-city might be getting out-goaltended. Not only has Tri-City outshot Waterloo in every game so far, they have outshot them in every single period. Spirko took just one shot in the first two games combined, but had four last night. Bubz, Tri-City seems to be loaded with future Division I players. How does Spirko compare to some of the other leaders on the team, like Dingle and Thomas, in terms of ability and future college impact (just your guess)? Thanks.

Someone on USCHO put up a link to the thread there when Pineault committed. There are some classic Chris!!! posts there. These are the best: "If BC gets that Hennesey kid from Milton Academy, they may as well just give us the National Championship Trophy from 2004-2007. Damn, it's nice to be a BC Eagle these days!!!!!!!!!!!" "Can you picture BC's top 2 lines in 2002: Vanek/Spina/Hennessey Parise/Pat Eaves/Pineault Holy Schnikes!!!!!!!!!!" Ahh, the bad old days.

Thought I would pass on that Mr. Lefebvre committed to UMD over the weekend. Congrats to him and to UMD.

Thank you for the early morning laugh ... this one is just priceless.