Old Barn Guy

Dave Merrifield

Where were all of these "complainers" when "Hogan's Heroes" was on national tv, and even now may be on syndicated re-runs. I have never felt that shows like that, or the "Producers" (remember the phoney "Springtime for Hitler" play they were doing) were meaning to belittle the actual horendous deeds of the Nazis. Sometimes the line between comedy and tragedy is a thin one.

Dave Hakstol

Best of luck, but I think you should put something in your contract that sends you to the Blackhawks after the pre-season camp is over! Wish you would be a Hawk, but I guess that's just not going to happen, at least right away.

Just in case this hasn't been seen by Sioux fans, here is a nice write up about Jonathan Toews and his family, and the "early days" of his hockey playing. This was listed on the Blackhawks message board. http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1055351.html

Red Wing, I think you are right on in your assessment of the situation. As a Blackhawks fan from the late 50's, I can tell you that the team is on the way back to respectability and might just do some damage in the playoffs next year thanks to Toews and Kane.

A big thank you to the coaches and players and all involved in the Sioux hockey program. Sure, we're disappointed that we didn't win the National Championship, but a lot of people have remarked that there are a lot of teams that would have loved to have been in the Frozen Four this year (that's not even mentioning that the Sioux have been there FOUR years in a row!). Best of luck to the players that depart the team. To those players returning to the program, good luck and work hard in the off-season getting ready for next season.

I saw the replays of the incident on Sunday night. From the angle of the camera, it was hard to determine just what happened. The announcers said that the Mankato player elbowed Pohl in the head/face. The Mankato guy's left shoulder and elbow were screened by his body as were away from the camera. I did see Pohl's helmet come off as he was dropping to the ice. It looked like he may have hit his head on the top of the dasher boards (this was in front of one of the team benches). He looked limp as he collapsed to the ice and he may have also hit his head (now helmetless) on the ice. I didn't see it happen "live," but they did show some slowed down replays and it truly was hard to determine just what the Mankato guy did to him. It was called a major penalty, DQ, and game misconduct by Mazocco, but that may not be totally accurate. My thoughts and prayers go out to Tom Pohl and his family. May he recover to play again next season.

About the concern for the lack of scoring by the Sioux lately: There used to be a large display board hanging in the Old Ralph's Sioux locker room. To paraphrase what it stated, it was something like this: Concerning hockey games, teams really have control over just a few things going on out on the ice. They have difficulty in controlling the oppostition's hot goalie play, and they can't control the bounce of the puck, etc. But game in and game out they CAN control their defensive play (TEAM defense, forwards, defensemen, and goalie). It boils down to hard work and playing together within the system the team has been taught. This CAN be expected from game to game if the team members all follow through. Going in to the playoffs, I think teams that are playing outstanding defense have a much better chance to win than that of a team that relies on consistently "outscoring" the opposition in "6-5 type games." Sure, it'd be nice to have a 3 or 4 goal cushion, but in the playoffs, that just doesn't happen very often. I feel a lot more confident in our Sioux team than I would in a lot of other teams right now. I just hope that Oshie and Genoway can rejoin their teammates for the post-season. I feel bad that Trupp is probably out for the remainder of the season, but it's playoffs now and some other guys must step in and perform!

How does a guy go from playing for a professional team (Rockford Ice Hogs) to playing for the U. of Sasketchewan? Must have different eligibilty rules in Sask.

Hermit, are you saying it is "in" character for Hak? By saying it was "far from out of character," I seem to read that as "in character?" Nothing could be further from the truth, if that is what you are claiming here. I have known Hak for quite a few years, and I can attest that his actions were very much out of character for his usual behavior. He is a respected person, at the rink and away from the rink. He lost control of his emotions for a few seconds, and now he is paying the price. Let's move on and let him move on now also.

Tom "Benny" Benson is the goal-challenged regular. Travis Dunn did not play on the 1987 team. Craig Perry would be the fourth goalie, along with Eddie Belfour, Steve Peters, and Greg Strome.

The drill you are describing is indeed a Sioux drill. It is a "touch passing' drill, used to increase speed along with developing accuracey and a "soft" bottom hand. It is not an easy drill, but when you go back to one puck, it seems a heck of a lot easier than before. If you have never watched an entire hockey practice of a top college team, pro team, or international team, you have really missed out on something. I encourage any of you to do so, whenever it might be available to you, especially if you are interested in coaching at any level.

I think that rumor may have had its beginning when someone was describing how a team of rodents performed on Friday night. I'll bet most, if not all of them, felt that the "implosion" had actually taken place a little more then a minute into the overtime session.

Many years of coaching and being a fan of hockey has taught me one thing that is for sure: Talent doesn't always win. It is a subjective entity and can sometimes be inflated in the eye of the beholder. I like tournaments best when the winners move on and the losers have time to reflect on what happened to them and begin their plan to prepare for the next year. Power ratings and the like don't go up onto the scoreboard. If you score more than your opponent, chances are you played better that game. Not always, but usually. The Gophers' goaltending has not been at the level of their forwards or defense for quite some time now, and it finally caught up to them at the end of this season. They also have some problems of griping between teammates. An on-ice official that I know told me that the Gophers had been "chirping" at each other on the bench and on the ice during the St.Cloud and Wisconsin games at the WCHA tourney, and during the Holy Cross game Friday. He didn't give any more specifics, but it doesn't surprise me. They haven't really played like a team for a while. They did perform an outstanding comeback to tie St. Cloud and bring the game to OT, but it was more on the back of a few individuals that that happened. Potulny's performance in that game was one of the greatest individual efforts I've ever seen in any sport. I don't pull for the Gophers, but it would be great if Ryan Potulny were to win the HB. Like I have stated, I would like to see a North Dakota kid win the HB, but after watching the Wisconsin-Cornell marathon shutout by Wisconsin's Elliot, I have to believe he will be in the running to win the award (if the playoffs performances are taken into consideration for the award). Otherwise, either Carle or Potulny would be deserving recipients.