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.

Hey guys and gals, don't get so excited. The advertisement didn't say the Gophers were going to be PLAYING in the Frozen Four, it just said they were going to advance (the Sioux will appreciate the support of all of their WCHA bretheren and fans).

I have to believe that this was an intentional "practical joke" played by a non-UND person (who knows what "enemy agent" could have done such a thing). This reminded me of some of the big jokes that have been played in football, when ingenious college "spies" have infiltrated the opposition's cheering section plans. I'm referring to the ones that have colored placards to hold up at various times to spell out various things or depict various objects in the stands. By changing the order of instructions at each seat (either hold up the dark or the white side of the placard), some very humorous slogans could appear. The fans for, let's say, USC could be holding up the letters that spell out "Let's go UCLA," or something to that effect. This is a slight to the Sioux, but the embarrassment should go to the people responsible, not necessarily the Red Baron people. They should put pressure on the WCHA to find the culprit(s) and the $ damages of the misprint could end up with a fine or probably a lawsuit on behalf of those who paid to have the correct poster printed. The fact that Mr. Harmeson pointed out the mistake, and still nothing was done to cease their distribution seems to be disturbing to me. I feel they should have halted the give away right then and there. I would hang onto a poster, if you have one. It no doubt will be a collecter's item and may actually appreciate in its worth because of the misprint. I hope that Hak has one posted in their locker room to remind the guys that they have an excellent opportunity to help educate the ignorant masses as to which school has the top college hockey program in the country.

Each team has a question to ask themselves: UND........."Who is going to score the winning goal for us?" Minn........ "Who can stop the puck for us?" I don't believe there is a magic switch that players can just turn on or off (sort of like the "Easy Button" commercials). Once a ball gets rolling and gathers momentum, it is hard to stop. I like the way the Sioux have been playing for the past few weeks, and I think the Gophers' D-zone problems are coming to the surface at a very inopportune time for them. The real issue is for the Sioux to defeat Michigan, and then we can begin to look at the Gophers' situation.............that is if they happen to defeat Holy Cross.

Better check on that Fox Sports Net source. According to the tv listings, the games are not scheduled on the Fox. It has been listed to be held on ESPNU (whatever that is). It isn't available on our local cable net in Bismarck. I've decided to go to GF and see this spectacle in person!

Near the end of the Saturday telecast vs Michigan Tech, Pat Sweeney mentioned that the Sioux-Mankato series would be on the FSSN. Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 7:07, and if needed, Sunday at 7:07.

I have been watching international hockey since the early 70's. I have to say that the Canadian team's performances were the most boring and unimaginative I have ever seen by Team Canada. While the US team only won one game, at least they generated offensive chances, and against some of the vary teams that the Canadians could not even score against (Finland and Russia). Ever since the WJC in Vancouver, I have had a rethinking of my feeling towards Team Canada (I've always pulled for them, sometimes even against the USA--back in the first Canada Cup in 1976--when the US really had no chance of beating the USSR, but Canada did). Those jerks in Vancouver who pulled for the Russians against the US got some of their own medicine yesterday, I'm sure. But no matter what may have transpired in Vancouver, I could not bring myself to pull for the Russians against Canada. I will add that it is too bad that the US didn't get to play the Canadians this Olympics. Based on what I saw, the US would have probably beaten Canada. I base that on the fact that the US was close to winning their games against the Finns and the Russians, where I felt that the Canadians only showed fleeting moments of being competitive against those two international powerhouses. I don't know what the solution for the US team is to be, but I do know that any team that could leave a natural talent like Sydney Crosby off from its roster in favor of a "registered goon" like Bertuzzi probably doesn't deserve anyone's sympathy. On a large ice surface, with the tight officiating, what more could you want in a hockey player than what Crosby has? Too bad the US couldn't have suited him up, I'm sure we could have found a spot for him. I will close with a couple of comments about the play of Jason Blake. I do not intend this to be in any way negative toward Jason. I thought he was one of the top players on the US roster and of the entire field of teams. I know I may be partisan towards him because of his UND connection and that I know him, but really, who was always in the fracas, forechecking like a mad man, causing things to happen for the US? It was consistently Jason! The only fault I can find is that he just could not get the puck to go in the net. He easily could have had about a half dozen goals with any luck. A coach really can't find fault with a player who generates so much offensively and creates chances for his team. Sometimes you just need a bit of luck to go with all of your hard work. Jason and his teammates deserved a better fate. Congrats to Jason on representing his country and UND with the energy and enthusiasm that we were fortunate to witness when he was playing for UND.

Gopher Dom: To misuse the word ludacrist for the Scandanavian word "lutefisk" is hostile and abusive to my native heritage. Please refrain from further such misrepresentations. By the way, look up the word "satire" in the dictionary. Then you may actually grasp this thread!

Do any of you posters know anything about the "Can-Am Cup" games? I don't know if they presently continue the tradition, but I have to believe that they do. I am most familiar with some of the games played in the mid to late 80's. They were competitions between members of Sioux hockey teams (Canadians vs Americans -- I don't know who would claim Spirko) and they could become quite high-spirited contests. They were usually played during times like long layoffs (Christmas or Thanksgiving), or between players left in GF when the team was playing a road game. These games were very competitive, but I don't think they ever were mean-spirited or based on controversial political attitudes of the countries involved. From what I read about Toews-Oshie, etc., nothing is out of line there and nothing more should be made of it. I'm pretty sure that the players understand, so why try to make sometime controversial out of it. Now, they are all Fighting Sioux hockey teammates, and that's all that should matter.

I can just see the Gopher fans recommending that the "WJC Four" would be best served if they sat out an extra week (through Jan. 14th), "just to be sure that they didn't rush back into the fray too soon." I am nearly 60 years old. If I had the opportunity to play in the Alaska series (or any other series), it would take a pretty serious injury or circumstance to keep me out of the line up. If a player truly doesn't feel he can play and help the team, so be it. But I have to believe that the heart and soul of these players carry on the Sioux tradition of "team first," and they just don't have any quit in them. Remember the quote from last year when the Sioux played the Gophers in the WCHA Final Five third place game? It went something like, "There is no meaningless game. When you put on the Sioux jersey, that's reason enough to want to win." (I think it was Schneider who said that.) That's the attitude that these guys have, and you have to really respect that. The right decision will be made by the coaches, with input from the WJC from the players. Go Sioux!

I agree that Woog does help to "reel in Mazacco" when he is doing his usual "homer" act. I know all announcers have their hearts with their home teams, and that's to be expected. It's just that I feel FM is the most blatant of any, in any sport I have ever watched. Woog's usually ok in my book and will "call the play as he sees it," no matter what. Also, I know why Sagissor was in the booth, and that the two FSN sets of commentators cover their teams throughout the season. I lived in Mpls for 5 years and thought I could pull for the gophers (when they didn't play the Sioux), but the way FM shows his "colors" made me even more anti-gopher. I know Hennessy is a Sioux fan, but feel he is much more objective in his comments, and I have listened to him since back in the late 70's. I was not actually expecting FSN to say, "Wow, what a great idea!" and scoop up additional people for the booth at each game. But if you didn't notice the difference in the way FM behaved towards that particular call I mentioned before, then I don't feel you are very observant. If FM has to put on a phoney "concerned about fairness" routine for the Wisconsin rep in the booth, but wouldn't act concerned if it was just Woog and himself in the booth, what does that tell you about him? FM has a great announcing voice, no doubt about it. I just wish he was announcing at some race track someplace far away so I wouldn't have to listen to his drivel. By the way, I think it would be great to have Glen Sonmor in the booth with Tim Hennessy. I'll bet it would be a hoot, and that even Tim would think so too.