SIOUX @ MAVERICKS

[brianvf]

I was unable to watch tonight's game, but I watched both games last weeekend, and it sounds like more of the same. This year's Sioux team is flat out terrible. We've scored 4 goals: Miller, Martens, Watkins and Genoway. Where are Vande and Duncs and Kozek and trupp and Grgoire and Toews and Frattin??? Where are they?

We have a non-existent powerplay, pilons for defensemen, a terrible breakout, and weak goaltending. Not to mention our forward lines are not firing at all.

It is time for a big time change. I make a statement tomorrow night. I bench some players. For the first time since the mid 90's, I'm embarrassed to fly a Sioux hockey banner.

Lapoint: cut

Malone: cut

Fienhage: USHL

VV: benched

I am being ridiculous, but seriously guys, GET IT TOGETHER.

I am starting to believe what everyone said about Duncan being entirely a product of Oshie and Toews.

Here's what is scary, I watched part of the Gopher SCSU game, and both of those teams look like they'd outskate us and then take our sisters out for a lobster dinner.

Shots ar e ajoke stat, we outshot UMass too, but I saw the quality of shots we were taking. We look like a bunch of ice mites.

Hak=Woog

We had the teams with the talent. This is not one of them.

Jesus, dude, pull it together.

All of this after not even watching tonight's game? Nice job.

[johnsowe]

I just got back from Mankato and it was not a fun game. I do not think MSUM was the better team but they made there chances count and UND did not and it showed. UND had 2 5x3 and did not score and got scored on one. Giving up three shorthanded goals is not good and it was not all the goaltender. The team did look better than they did last weekend. I think the biggest problem is not scoring.

[siouxweet]

#8 ain't gonna happen this year. It has nothing to do with being 0-3 but this team is not a national championship team.

agreed. I hope I'm wrong about tonight but I think the odds are greater we get swept than we don't. there tends to be a pattern with hak's teams in the ridiculous slow starts-they tend to hit rock bottom by getting swept in series us fans think they shouldn't get swept because afterall they are the sioux. jan of 2006-get swept at home versuses st. cloud, nov and december 2006-get swept at aa,split with cc,get swept by wisc and get swept by tech both at home. heading into this season no one would have thought that we would have started out 0-4, but the possibility is very real with how this team is performing. if you can't score,defend or have a goalie that can't stop much you are not going to win very much. this year's goalie excuse-they are not getting much help-however the goalie still needs to stop something on a consistent basis and neither of these guys can do that right now. I also thought that this could be a rebuilding year and we would struggle a bit-then with duncan,kozek and finley coming back along with 5 defenseman that played a lot last year bought into the hype of this could be a good team. right now I'm totally disaapointed and coming to the realization that this will be a very,very long year-along the lines of 2001-02. it's been a fun ride the last four years-bright side is I guess I won't be needing to dish out thousands of dollars to travel to a frozen four and watch them get spanked again.

[siouxweet]

I was unable to watch tonight's game, but I watched both games last weeekend, and it sounds like more of the same. This year's Sioux team is flat out terrible. We've scored 4 goals: Miller, Martens, Watkins and Genoway. Where are Vande and Duncs and Kozek and trupp and Grgoire and Toews and Frattin??? Where are they?

Here's what is scary, I watched part of the Gopher SCSU game, and both of those teams look like they'd outskate us and then take our sisters out for a lobster dinner.

We had the teams with the talent. This is not one of them.

I'll add Wisconsin and Denver to that list after watching their game last night. so where will that leave us in the WCHA:

cc-better than us

denver-better than us

msu-mankato-better than us

minnesota-better than us

wisconsin-better than us

st. cloud-better than us.

duluth-not sure but they have won a game this year

tech-not sure but they have won a game this year

aa-same as duluth and tech

honestly INCH may very well be right and could finish 7-10.

[neoflex]

Amazing how quickly so many are giving up on this team. Pretty annoying. Maybe it will turn out to be a crappy year but 3 games in seems a little soon to give up on an entire season. Maybe the Sioux should pull a Blackhawk's move and fire Hak after the first 3 games of the season like they fired Savard after the first 3 games.....

I actually agree...I think this is it for HAK. After the debacle in the frozen four, and starting out 0-3, the writing is on the wall. This team has had some awsome talent over the past 4 years, and it was squandered by poor preperation for the 1st half of every season since HAK has been here, and again, the awful game to end last season. (which by the way, I was sitting there with the other 10,000 sioux fans, and it still stings!)

This year, we simply dont have the talent. HAK failed to develop a goaltender in the offseason, and now it shows. Our offense has generally been anemic, except for a few standout players that have had to shoulder the bulk of the scoring: Towes, Oshie. Now that this team actually has to play as a team, they apper to be lost.

Hopefully they can turn this around.

[siouxprideforever]

Boy was I wrong! I thought the coaches would have had the team primed to come out and redeem themselves. I too agree that its early and we would be fools to think that the rest of the year will not get better - based on the simple fact that it can't get much worse! However, before we throw the goalies under the bus, if my math is correct - and it has been awhile, we are averaging about 1.3 goals per game in the last 3 season games. Consequently, to win we would obviously have to score on average more than that amount per game or our goaltenders would have to have a combined GAA of less than that amount. To date, only one WCHA team has a GAA of less than 1.3 and that is CC! Plenty of blame, I mean responsibility to go around!

Did a little research and a shorty hat trick is extremely rare - someone referred to it as a Hak job!

Sorry about that! Hak is a good man, without question - and all that is said here is not questioning that.

[Irish]

Hopefully we've seen the last of Walski - he is definatley not an everyday WCHA goalie and never will be. I feel we've badly mismanaged the goalie situation. Instead of developing a young goalie during the Lammy years, we seem to have put our eggs in the Walski basket and driven off our young prospect. I'm not saying Greico would have solved all our problems, but we should have developed someone. Now we're stuck. It's time to play Eidsness for better or worse. We should not be in this situation.

Other frustrations - There ain't nobody getting better on this team.

Our defence has signifigantly deteriorated.

It appears Hak can't fire up a team to save his butt. If you can't get up for a frozen 4 game there is something wrong. This attitude is carrying over this year.

Hak appears to be on the road to Woogville.

[fightingsioux4life]

Hopefully we've seen the last of Walski - he is definatley not an everyday WCHA goalie and never will be. I feel we've badly mismanaged the goalie situation. Instead of developing a young goalie during the Lammy years, we seem to have put our eggs in the Walski basket and driven off our young prospect. I'm not saying Greico would have solved all our problems, but we should have developed someone. Now we're stuck. It's time to play Eidsness for better or worse. We should not be in this situation.

Other frustrations - There ain't nobody getting better on this team.

Our defence has signifigantly deteriorated.

It appears Hak can't fire up a team to save his butt. If you can't get up for a frozen 4 game there is something wrong. This attitude is carrying over this year.

Hak appears to be on the road to Woogville.

I think we should just play Eidsness and live with the ups and downs that a young goaltender will go through. The Gophers did that last year with Kangas and now they have someone who is ready to carry the load. This looks like a rebuilding year (like 94-95 and 01-02), which means we should have an open competition each and every week in practice for playing time. No star system allowed. And that includes former Hobey Baker Award winners. That is the only way we are going to salvage this mess and build on last year.

[The Whistler]

Does anyone think we're going to continue to give up 3 shorties a night? Take those away score at least one goal on the power play and get a dirty goal elsewhere and we win.

I don't think this is the end of the world. (But I do feel fine).

[The Whistler]

I think we should just play Eidsness and live with the ups and downs that a young goaltender will go through. The Gophers did that last year with Kangas and now they have someone who is ready to carry the load.

What and give up on all of Walski's game experience?

Seriously the way to go IMO is to rotate the goalies and see what happens. When one of them steps up....

[LLHF]

Can someone tell me if the game sheet stats are available anywhere. Thanks

[UND85]

Does anyone think we're going to continue to give up 3 shorties a night? Take those away score at least one goal on the power play and get a dirty goal elsewhere and we win.

I don't think this is the end of the world. (But I do feel fine).

We were at the game last night and when we scored first I thought it was going to be a good night. Seems a lot of our passes were to an area where no one was skating towards. Everyone a step behind. A MSU fan came up to me between periods when it was 2-1 and said it's going to be a down year for the Sioux. My answer... it's the first weekend of WCHA league play and it's a long season."

[nodak hockey fanatic]

i agree with the majority about our goaltending situation. walski may be a great kid (which i have heard he is), but he is not a wcha goalie. there is a reason eidsness won the mvp of his league last year, and why he was one of the top goalies selected in his nhl draft class. i say we give eidsness as much experience as possible, and live with the ups and downs. it will only help the team in the future. and we can't give up on this season yet, it is still very early. GO SIOUX!!!

[Coolshot]

Hopefully we've seen the last of Walski - he is definatley not an everyday WCHA goalie and never will be. I feel we've badly mismanaged the goalie situation. Instead of developing a young goalie during the Lammy years, we seem to have put our eggs in the Walski basket and driven off our young prospect. I'm not saying Greico would have solved all our problems, but we should have developed someone. Now we're stuck. It's time to play Eidsness for better or worse. We should not be in this situation.

Other frustrations - There ain't nobody getting better on this team.

Our defence has signifigantly deteriorated.

It appears Hak can't fire up a team to save his butt. If you can't get up for a frozen 4 game there is something wrong. This attitude is carrying over this year.

Hak appears to be on the road to Woogville.

[/quote

For some reason this coaching staff in the last five years doesn't have a handle on there goalies. Rolling the dice and not thinking about the future. There have been freshmen goalies that come in and handle the postion, but they have a supporting staff ie a seasoned team. The frustrating part, we go out and recruit a young prospect that had the same or better junior A experience as Eidsness. We throw him into a game situation when he was only 17 years old and in his second weekend of playing he pick up his third and fourth win of the season and rookie of the week!! Don't get me wrong he had a great team in front on him that year. The point I am making if Walski was the go to guy after Lammy and Grieco as the third goalie whydidn't that ever occur?? Now we are in a situation, where we have not built for the future which is now! Eidsness in a perfect world would be coming in as a freshman goalie and having a senior and a junior goalie that had playing experience at this level. Don't know what happened but the coaching staff needs to be held accountable for the poor recruiting and development in the goalie position and we are seeling the ramafication of these decisions so far, so lets ride Eidsness, good , or bad, he needs to develop and build confidence.

[siouxweet]

i agree with the majority about our goaltending situation. walski may be a great kid (which i have heard he is), but he is not a wcha goalie. there is a reason eidsness won the mvp of his league last year, and why he was one of the top goalies selected in his nhl draft class. i say we give eidsness as much experience as possible, and live with the ups and downs. it will only help the team in the future. and we can't give up on this season yet, it is still very early. GO SIOUX!!!

I can live with BE going through some ups and downs as long as he gets to be consistent. what I can't live with is no offense production from non freshman players and the defensive lapses that have led to numerous goals this season so far.

[Siouxtimestwo]

I said it earlier in the thread, but I'll repeat it again since I'm sure many logging on today or late last night didn't read it: Michigan got shut out last night by Northern Michigan and Michigan State got shut out Thursday night by UMass-Lowell. It is still too early in the season to make rash decisions. If this team is still playing like this 2 weeks from now, then it's time to start to worry and wonder who belongs in this program and who doesn't.

Look, I have been one of the biggest complainers about our constant slow starts each year under Hakstol, especially when posters claimed it takes a half season for our all world talent to get acclimated with each other. That said, I think 0-3 (0-1 WCHA) is not an insurmountable hole to climb out of. The way we are playing is not good, but did anyone really expect us to come storming out of the gate? We have 2 unproven goalies, less talented skaters both offensively and defensively, and we haven't played a game at home yet.

The only terrible loss was to UMass, but as you can see, we aren't alone in that category. I know some of you don't believe any team outside of the WCHA can actually produce a decent hockey team, but Boston isn't exactly a slouch in the college hockey world. When it comes to Mankato, we should have expected a split this weekend. The Sioux have played like garbage thus far, but if they come out and get the split tonight, then we're right where we should have expected to be in the WCHA after the first weekend.

Trust me, I have my beefs with some of the things Hakstol has done to this hockey program, but it's not time to right him or this team off yet. I know it can be therapeutic to vent, and I usually am in the venters crowd, but I say give them until after tonight to get their act together. If they score less than 3 goals tonight and lose, then we can have a massive, warranted bitchfest tonight.

[Siouxtimestwo]

We have a non-existent powerplay, pilons for defensemen, a terrible breakout, and weak goaltending. Not to mention our forward lines are not firing at all.

Come on now, don't be ridiculous, pylons don't fall over on their own. I'm looking at you Jake Marto.

[siouxweet]

as much as I like Duncan, I think he should have gone pro. after watching him this year so far through three games plus the exhibition-his stock is going to drop off the boards. he does look slow and right now isn't bringing much to the table. I hate to admit it but after seeing him so far his success was truly a by product of being with oshie and toews. I was always hoping he could do something by himself-so far I am wrong. maybe that will change in two months. why not move him down to a second to fourth line because he is not a top line performer anymore, sadly.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

WOW is all I have to say. Yes there have been defensive breakdowns, the special teams stink and the coach observed that the players aren't in a groove yet. This is still a talented lot of players and these are all issues that can be corrected by good coaching. Although this may be the most painful October in a real long time, better to have these problems now than later. Wait to see if we are still talking about all the same problems come January before getting so negative.

[yababy8]

Ok the team isn't looking good. I have some opinions regarding the skill, or lack thereof, of some of the members of this years team.

But instead of ripping players who are sucking, let's problem solve for fun. It always makes me feel better.

Here is one idea I have come up with;

Two seasons ago, our team was struggling offensively until January and of course, just about everyone remembers one of the big reasons for the turn around was the creation of the DOT line.

But when we started to really produce offensively-remember the Gophers series and the St.Cloud series?, it was because of the gelling of another line. The Watkins-VV-Porter line. They were probably the most dominant two way line the Sioux have had since Zajac Stafford and Parise played.

Why do I make such a point?

Because I'm thinking we still have two of the three guys from that line on our team two years later.

Now I Know that Porter was the man.

But still, is there anyone on the team that has his kind of smart, fast, hard-nosed, never give up two way style?

I'm thinking Hextall or Gregorie?? This is based on only what I have read about what type of players they are. We need to see them play some first to know.

I'm thinking of the article about how Gregorie was called his teams "best ever" and why they said that. Or about how Hextall was a tough player before and then he really started to produce points and eventually won the leage MVP if I recall correctly.

So even though they are freshmen and Porter was a senior maybe it would be a good style fit??

...also I think that Duncan should play with Trupp and Toews. I bet that line would start to get real creative with the puck and get some goals. Just as long as they keep possesion!!

So there you have it, I just solved our offensive problems.

Now I just gotta figure out the Defense, special teams and Goalie problems hehehe

[Fetch]

It is hard enough to see this slow start

It is getting even harder to come here & read all the Crap

Many of the more knowledgeable poster are getting tired of the "experts" who only know win

I think it will be Fun to watch a talented team develop

They know (coaches & players) that they have to step it up & find this teams strengths

Complaining & put downs will not matter -

What is this the 5th game these guys have played together

Real Fans enjoy hockey (good & bad) Lets see if they learn from their mistakes, make adjustments & finish strong

I think we would have beat BC last year early on - but look how they finished

Sure it is OK to have a opinion & criticize some things - but some of you act like it is the end of the world & get way over the top in wanting attention about your comments

Yep it's a coaching challenge & every team is different - I love the past & especially most of the recent past - but I think we recruited some of the best of the best - Goalie & the PP will decide a lot of how we do - were not there yet - but if we get there, this team will finish strong

Lighten Up !

[NorthDakotaHockey]

It is hard enough to see this slow start

It is getting even harder to come here & read all the Crap

Many of the more knowledgeable poster are getting tired of the "experts" who only know win

I think it will be Fun to watch a talented team develop

They know (coaches & players) that they have to step it up & find this teams strengths

Complaining & put downs will not matter -

What is this the 5th game these guys have played together

Real Fans enjoy hockey (good & bad) Lets see if they learn from their mistakes, make adjustments & finish strong

I think we would have beat BC last year early on - but look how they finished

Sure it is OK to have a opinion & criticize some things - but some of you act like it is the end of the world & get way over the top in wanting attention about your comments

Yep it's a coaching challenge & every team is different - I love the past & especially most of the recent past - but I think we recruited some of the best of the best - Goalie & the PP will decide a lot of how we do - were not there yet - but if we get there, this team will finish strong

Lighten Up !

Damned straight Fetch.

[Siouxtimestwo]

It is getting even harder to come here & read all the Crap

Real Fans enjoy hockey (good & bad) Lets see if they learn from their mistakes, make adjustments & finish strong

Complaining & put downs will not matter

Sure it is OK to have a opinion & criticize some things - but some of you act like it is the end of the world & get way over the top in wanting attention about your comments

1. Well, then don't come here anymore.

2. I've been a fan for a long time and I've never enjoyed bad hockey. I've learned you can't win every game or be successful every season, but I've never gotten excited and celebrated a Sioux loss.

3. You're right, complaining and put downs won't matter, but neither will being positive and heaping praise. This is a fan message board. Nothing we say or do here will have any impact on how the players perform on the ice.

4. Again, I agree with you. It is OK for everyone to have an opinion, including a negative one. Some fans find it therapeutic to come and vent their frustrations. If you don't want to read it, ignore it. Sometimes I am one of the most negative fans, sometimes I see a reason to be positive even in a loss. It all depends on what each individual sees and expects on the ice.

[Godsmack]

I think Sioux fans have a right to be frustrated right now. Afterall, doesn't the team consistently have one of the highest ranked in-coming freshman recruiting classes year after year? How come teams like Minnesota can consistently be competitive even in years when they are light on upper classmen and heavy on new comers?

That said, the bar is set quite high so to fall back on the "it's a rebuilding year" excuse doesn't have much merit with me. I just find it inplausible how the team could have as many holes as they do and not enough fingers to plug 'em (pourous defense, shaky goaltending, lack of a power play, no offense). My God, can anyone tell me one aspect of the game where there are signs of strength?

[OETKB]

1. Well, then don't come here anymore.

2. I've been a fan for a long time and I've never enjoyed bad hockey. I've learned you can't win every game or be successful every season, but I've never gotten excited and celebrated a Sioux loss.

3. You're right, complaining and put downs won't matter, but neither will being positive and heaping praise. This is a fan message board. Nothing we say or do here will have any impact on how the players perform on the ice.

4. Again, I agree with you. It is OK for everyone to have an opinion, including a negative one. Some fans find it therapeutic to come and vent their frustrations. If you don't want to read it, ignore it. Sometimes I am one of the most negative fans, sometimes I see a reason to be positive even in a loss. It all depends on what each individual sees and expects on the ice.

Exactly. Those of us who have been fans for a long time know that a program's continued success depends on the current people involved taking pride and performing at a high level. A also agree that, on a fan message board, especially in a single game thread, complaining about team performance is completely acceptable. If you want to police other people's opinions, you are in the wrong country.