MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 21, 2003 Author Share Posted April 21, 2003 Minnesota hockey, a thorn in the side of all other hockey teams at all levels of play Always have been...always will be (I'm speaking as a former Minnesota hockey player myself) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I was watching the Avalanche news conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 22, 2003 Author Share Posted April 22, 2003 HaHaHa....Game 7, yeah we really don't belong on the ice with them do we Kiszla. That's why we just forced a game 7, jacka$$. "With all due respect to Detroit -- or, actually, to its temerity in copyrighting the term, Hockeytown -- the Twin Cities are the United States' true Hockeytowns. Lecturing too much about that would be condescending. Everybody knows about the area's deep-rooted amateur hockey history, right?...The Twins Cities is the best hockey market in the United States, hands down." -espn.com From Minnesota hockey fans to you Kiszla...Kiss off!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmerduf Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 Those damn Wild! Don't they know that the Avs have this one in the bag! What's the matter with them, trying to win this game/series. jeez..... Another game 7 for the Avalanche. If they lose the next one, I expect Pierre will be shopping for a new coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 22, 2003 Author Share Posted April 22, 2003 If they lose the next one, I expect Pierre will be shopping for a new coach. ...............again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 Always have been...always will be (I'm speaking as a former Minnesota hockey player myself) Oops, the Wild forgot they were supposed to lose 3 games ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I think part of the reason that the Wild are keeping up with the Avs is that they have nothing to loose. For a 3rd year team making the playoffs is a victory. No one really expected them to even be there, now they go out and win Game 1 against the Avs in their house. Really if the Avs had come back and won the next 4 games every Wild fan would still look back at see a great season. Now its game 7. If the Avs win... OK they were supposed to take this series in 4 or 5 games and they should have gotten it done sooner. If the Wild wins it may be a bigger upset than Ducks v. Wings. If the Wild come out there just to play to win and dont put the pressure on themselves that the Avs are going to have put on them the Wild could take it. Its game 7 it could go either way... I don't care what all the sports people say. Right now the Wild can win this just as "easilly" as the Avs can. On a serperate note.. How great has the Toronto - Philly series been. Just great... I love it OLD TIME HOCKEY!!!!!!!!! Tonight is a great night for Hockey... Toronto v Philly then Wild v. Avs with St. Louis / Canucks thrown into the mix... I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commodore Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I don't know... I like Granato. It seems to me that if the Avs lose tonight, any sane person wouldn't blame it solely on Granato. He (and Forsberg) managed to revive the Avs season and win the division title. And while I felt that the main problem for the Avs in game 1 was that they were clearly outcoached, I don't think that's the case anymore. Fernandez is playing his heart out (for the first 55 minutes, anyway) and there's no pressure on the Wild to win this series. I think last night there may have been a little pressure on MN in winning a home game, but tonight it's all on Colorado. They were supposed to finish the Wild off in 4 games and are now in a must-win situation. But firing Granato? Nah... I don't think the problem for the Avs is in the coaching department this series... unless you're talking about the coach on the other bench. Colorado isn't being out-coached, they're being out-worked by a team virtually free of egos. The Wild aren't even a team, they're more of a collective. It's amazing. I said Wild in seven after game 1 and I'm sticking with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 22, 2003 Author Share Posted April 22, 2003 Flatspin is absolutely right...tonight will be great OLD TIME HOCKEY All three games could go either way, the only problem is what game will be watched, either game you pick will be a fight. I said Wild in 7 also, BEFORE the playoffs started...I'm sticking to it BTW...you can email Kiszla at sports@denverpost.com, if you feel so inclined to let him know what game is being played tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmduf Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 Kizla has a whole new approach in today's column. He blames the coach. What a winner. Pierre has a short fuse with coaches, that's why I think that Granato could get the ax if they lose this series. Lacroix seems to feel that if he supplies the right players it's up to the coach to win from there. I don't know if I necessarily disagree with that. Granato did a great job after he took over, but he's sucking wind in the playoffs right now. However, I also think that the Avs players have taken the Wild too lightly. I don't think they are letting their egos get the best of them. I think they are getting out hustled to the puck. I think the Avs will win tonight, and even if they don't I don't care that much. It's not like its a Sioux hockey series! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leifolson Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 5 straight game 7s for the Avs dating back to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Devils. This is getting a tad bit tedious for us Avs fans who have to watch this year in and year out. I'm all for keeping the series interesting, but one of these days it's not going to work out in the end for the Avs. I have all the respect in the world for the Wild; behind the Avs, they are number 2 for me, but I am ready for them to stop being so good for at least one game. By the same token, it's time for the Avs to step it up and play as hard as they obviously can. No more of this stupid come-back-from-2-or-3-goals-down-at-the-end-of-the-game-only-to-lose-in-the-end-anyway-crap. It's time to score first...and score often. I hope tonight is a great game...with the Avs winning 75-0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I've lost some respect for the Avs this series. I was a fan '96 - '00 (hey, I had no better team to cheer for at the time), but this whole series is out of hand. No one has granted the Wild an ounce of respect, not Granato, not the players, not the sports writers... Now, I don't expect the Avs to not think they're better then us, they are and I admit that. I'm also not surprised that they took the Wild too lightly --we all are doing the same (in saying we don't expect them to win, we're just glad it was more than 4 games, etc.). But, to not even give credit to the team for their effort in the most recent two wins. To not even be able to say, "The played tough, battled hard, and earned the win." I guess once the playoffs start I've always believed all bets are off and you don't disrespect your opponent. I hope we blow them out in their own rink tonight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I hope tonight is a great game...with the Avs winning 75-0. Hooooly Jugdesh.... Thats a goal 48 seconds. They cant even score that often in Basketball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 [... I like Granato. It seems to me that if the Avs lose tonight, any sane person wouldn't blame it solely on Granato. He (and Forsberg) managed to revive the Avs season and win the division title. But firing Granato? Nah... I don't think the problem for the Avs is in the coaching department this series... unless you're talking about the coach on the other I said Wild in seven after game 1 and I'm sticking with it. I thought it was ridiculous that the Av's fired Hartley, I think as an organization they pull the pin too fast on coaches... Just my opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 Ok, I feel a little better after seeing this poll on the Denver Post site... Wild Game 7 Poll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin7 Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 Ok, I feel a little better after seeing this poll on the Denver Post site... Wild Game 7 Poll Geez... Either Wild fans are swamping the Denverpost or Avs fans are the biggest group of fair weather fans in the world, but on that poll only 900 fans said the avs would win in any shape for form and it looks as if 13000 wild fans have chimed in or Avs fans have turned sides. HEHEHEHE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND95 Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 The way the two teams have played, I feel Minnesota deserves the win tonight. They have come out every game and played their butts off and have worked hard. Colorado has pretty much gone through the motions until the final 5 or so minutes of the games it seems. Not taking anything away from Minnesota with that statement either, just stating the Avs thought they could show up and win a 5 game series here. Walz and Mitchell have done a heck of a job on Forsberg and what I feared from the Avs heading into the post season is rearing its ugly head...not enough scoring depth to make up for the Forsberg line being shut down. I also think Roy has been outplayed by Fernandez. Roy has let in some not so typical goals in this series. I don't think he or the rest of the team is mentally there. I think other Avs fans may feel this way also and that may be why you see the results in the poll as they are. I am not a big enough homer fan to not be able to see that Minnesota deserves this series based on heart and passion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slap Shot Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 This is the e-mail I sent to him when the article first came out: Mr. Kiszla, Your article from yesterday is a classic example of bulletin-board material from a guy who clearly doesn't know a thing about hockey, but runs his mouth about the hometown anyway. You actually took to ripping on their uniforms? Are you aware the Wild sweater is the #2 seller in the NHL? What team doesn't try to goad other teams into creating turnovers, taking stupid penalties and giving up odd-man rushes? How do teams TRY for soft goals? Soft goals happen by accident, yet the Wild have scored off of quality chances in this series. If Foote is correct about the supposed HUGE talent gap (I readily admit there is A gap), why is the series tied and why did the Wild play with the Avalanche during the regular season? How did they manage 42 wins in arguably the best division (4 playoff teams) in the NHL? You claim the number of playoff teams should be reduced. What's the solution - reduce by 4 teams per conference (thus removing St. Louis, Minnesota, Anaheim, Edmonton, Toronto, Washington, Boston, and the Islanders) or 3 (which would force the NHL to use a ridiculous wild-card system)? You also have the audacity to claim Jacques LeMaire teaches players how to be cheap. Tony Granato will never be half the coach Jacques is and he walked into a fantastic team loaded with talent. As for claiming the Wild are cheap and goad their opponents, not only did Forsberg elbow Ronning, but he also took a SIX-step run at Walz in Game One, yet Walz got a penalty! Forsberg is the most highly skilled player in the game but he is not even close to being above the cheap stuff. The diving call on Walz Saturday was comical, too. Battaglia (known for diving, too) damn near went knee-to-knee on Walz, and he stuck his leg out to do it. Perhaps you were simply trolling with this article, or sucking up to the local fan base, a fan base that didn't have the hockey knowledge to cheer mightily for Peter Sejna (you being a hockey expert surely know of Peter Sejna) when scored in a game against the Avalanche in Denver at the end of the season. xxxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmerduf Posted April 22, 2003 Share Posted April 22, 2003 I just checked the ESPN.COM page, 56.1% believe that the Avs will win, 43.9% believe the Wild will win. I say we just go with this poll and forget about playing the game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 I just checked the ESPN.COM page, 56.1% believe that the Avs will win, 43.9% believe the Wild will win. I say we just go with this poll and forget about playing the game! So, the national audience thinks the Avs will win (which I think is logical), earlier this afternoon 90% of the Denver audience believed the Wild would win tonight. That's says great things about their fan base's faith. I don't know if those numbers are still holding at the Denver Post poll, but at the time 13,000 votes had been cast, so it wasn't a fluke based on numbers. Maybe Kiz-butt had nothing better to do today buy vote against Granato 12,500 times today I honestly think the Avs take tonight seriously for a change and come out fired up with revenge on their minds. Avs win 4-1. Not the outcome I want, but I just don't see the Wild holding up to take 3 in a row from one of the best teams in the NHL (prove me wrong boys!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowdog Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 do they have crow in Denver. Everyone should email this idiot and let him know what you think of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 do they have crow in Denver. Everyone should email this idiot and let him know what you think of him. Fired one off already... I am sure Kiszla email is full of hate mail from Wild fans all over the midwest. Wow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leifolson Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 Well he certainly isn't getting a lot of love from Avs fans either. Too many of us believe at least a little bit in Karma, and Kiszla screwed us royally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted April 23, 2003 Author Share Posted April 23, 2003 Here's a copy of the email I sent Kiszla tonight after the game: Mr. Kiszla, "But the Avalance losing a playoff series to Minnesota? C'mon. Don't be stupid." Sound familiar? I think that it has been proven that the Wild DO belong on the same ice as your precious Avalanche. No, you were not dreaming when Andrew Brunette (in his ugly red and green jersey...even though it's one of the top selling sweaters in the NHL...wow did that make you sound intelligent) beat, and I do mean beat, Sir Patrick Roy for the game winner of this series. Yes, Jaques Lemaire's defensive system proved to be matched up quite well against the offensive powered Avalanche. Hell, it got him a Cup in New Jersey, why not in Minnesota? And, yes, you lost the series to a third year expansion team making it's first playoff appearance. By the way, I'm pretty sure the Wild have the best record in the NHL when leading after two periods. I would also like to thank you for that wonderful article that gave me even more of a reason to hate the Avalanche and their fans. You do not realize, sir, that in Colorado, you have been spoiled in hockey. Colorado won the Stanley Cup in their first year from a team built in Quebec, and have yet to have a bad season. I can't wait until the Avalanche go sub .500. How many fans will remain faithful (yes, I realize there are a lot of fair weather fans in Minnesota, but that does not apply to hockey)? Most of the people there obviously know nothing about hockey as they didn't even cheer for Colorado College's Peter Sejna as he netted his first NHL goal against the Avs. The Wild fans certainly would have cheered for John Pohl or Jeff Taffe if it were them. Even Ryan Bayda would have gotten a few cheers. You know who these players are, right? Actually, I shouldn't assume you're that intelligent. Pohl and Taffe are former Minnesota Golden Gopher (that's a D1 college team) players in the Blues and Coyotes systems, respectively. And Bayda is a former player with the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota. I also love the fact that you are a pure homer. If Colorado doesn't win, it was because of the Wild's style of play (what were the words you used...would make a pro rasslin' thug blush?). This coming from the team with the dirtiest scoring forward, with the possible exception of Todd Bertuzzi, in the NHL. Yes, I am talking about Peter Forsberg. That hit on Gaborik tonight, was absolutely uneccessary, dirty play. He skated right by the puck and hit Gaborik not once, but TWICE. Sweeden should also look at Forsberg for their summer olympic team, he'd be sure to win the gold for diving (yes, he does that too). It's also important to note that by scoring forward I do not include players like Tie Domi or Donald Brashear. Just accept the fact that your forwards can be stood up and knocked off the puck by guys getting paid less than half of what they are, like anyone else in the NHL. Colorado is full of talent, I admit. On paper they should have handled the Wild in four or five games...on paper. There's a reason they play the games, anything can happen, and in the playoffs, will happen. The Wild also had the State of Hockey on their side. When talking hockey, a Minnesota team ALWAYS has a chance. Maybe you guys should just concentrate on football and basketball as you obviously have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to hockey. Leave the REAL sports to those of us who have the intelligence to comprehend just exactly what the hell is going on. There is no joy in Denver...because the mighty Avalanche...just got sent to the golf course. Go Wild!!! Go Sioux!!! Mike F*******, 21 University of North Dakota Senior, Commercial Aviation Hockey Aficionado Denver guys...If this appears in the post tomorrow...send me a copy. I'll email you my address if it happens (not counting on it though). Also, be sure to watch Around the Horn tomorrow...there's a chance, albeit a small one, that this will be among the topics and I'm curious as to what Woody Paige has to say about the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leifolson Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 I would also like to thank you for that wonderful article that gave me even more of a reason to hate the Avalanche and their fans. I do have to say that a statement like this dismays me some. The statements of some raving lunatic columnist in a local paper (albeit a well known one) should not cause one to HATE a team or its fans. Believe me, there are plenty of other, and generally, much more logical reasons to dislike a team (generally conference, divisional or historical rivalry is a good place to start). My two least favorite teams are the Stars (because having grown up in North Dakota I watched the North Stars and was disappointed when they left) and the Devils (mainly because they always scare the hell out of me). But there really seems to be no reason to hate an entire group of fans; my hatred for my roommate who is an avid Devils fan notwithstanding, of course. As an avid Avs fan myself, I certainly don't feel comfortable when people say that they hate Avs fans, mainly because I don't think I've done anything to cause anyone to hate me as an Avs fan (I realize you are not talking about me specifically, or any of the other outed Avs fans on this board, but your statement to Kiszla was all encompassing and doesn't leave much leeway). Most of the Colorado fans that I know (granted, I certainly don't know them all, but I know quite a few) aren't really all that different from fans of all other teams, including the Wild. They're rabid for their team; they get disappointed and not just a little p*$$ed off when they lose; they talk crap about other teams, especially their biggest rivals (because really, isn't that the nature of fandom--within reason of course). Yeah, Colorado fans are a bit spoiled, but honestly, not any more than Sioux fans have been since the late nineties. Not anymore than the Red Wings fans have been since the early nineties. Not any more than the Devils fans have been since 1995. We Avs fans don't like to see our team lose. Wild fans don't like to see their team lose. Devils fans don't like to see their team lose. It's the nature of being a fan. We Avs fans get upset when they lose, especially since they have so much talent and at times the team seems nearly invincible. We know that this is hockey and on any given night, any team can beat another team, no matter what their record. I don't think it has anything to do with being a fairweather anything. The fans boo at home games when the team is not performing at the level they know the team can perform at. In my experience, it often seems to help push the team a little harder, because no one likes to get booed at home. Some people see that as an act of fairweatherism; I personally find an act of support through negative response--I guess it all comes down to how you decide to look at it. Again, dislike the guy who wrote the article but don't hate the team or its fans because of the guy who wrote the article. A lot of people have talked about the dirty play of some of the Avs players, but honestly, the Avs played no dirtier than the Wild played themselves (Forsberg got punched in the face 3 times tonight and only once did someone get called--I'd probably start to fight back myself in that situation), or really, any of the other teams in the playoffs for that matter (I don't claim to know the specific statistics, but I have seen every team in the playoffs play at least twice, and every team has done as much as it could get away with in order to win the game, including tripping, holding, roughing, interference, etc...--can't hardly fault them really; it is, after all, the hardest championship trophy to win in professional sports). Anyway...that's all I have to say about that. I'm not so much commenting on your post MinnesotaNorthStar as I am commenting on a lot of the grotesquely negative comments about my team and fellow fans in a couple of different threads on this board. I mean honestly, hoping that a team bus crashes...seems a bit extreme and unnecessary even if it's a joke. As far as the rest of the playoffs are concerned: Go Wild! Go Ducks! But in the end: Go Wild! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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