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Parity within the WCHA


SiouxForever

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A lot of interesting scores from the WCHA last night. I would of never guess Alaska upsetting Colorado College. St. Cloud also destroyed the Badgers. Looking at the current standings in the WCHA, most teams have about 4 losses, other then the current unstoppable Minnesota Gophers (which I don't really care for, and we'll see how they are at the end of the year). I think the Sioux tonight need a must win, I hope they rock their black jersey's and realize it's all business tonight. I see the Sioux ending up in the top 4 of the WCHA this year, which is fine for them and they will go on a great run into the WCHA Final Five tourney, and the National one as well. As long as they get healthy and keep getting good play from the freshman and continue to improve, I don't see any reason why this team can't compete/beat any team in the nation.

How would you guys rank your pre-season WCHA standings now after a few games in the conference has been played?

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1. Minnesota - Kangas will continue to give up his 1-2 goals per game, and the Stoa/Schroeder/Barriball line will continue to be unstoppable.

2. CC - As long as they have Bachman I think they'll be just fine. They've taken a few tough losses but I fully expect them to get it together.

3. DU - Lost their last 3 games but they have some scoring punch. A few bounces go their way and they have a few more victories this year.

4. UND - Same problem as DU, just can't put the puck in the back of the net. Eidsness looks like the real deal and once they get healthy I expect them to do well.

5. Mankato - They seem like a pretty tough team from what I've seen and returned a lot of scoring.

6. SCSU - They have been on a tear as of late but I don't know how permanent that's going to be. In the back of my head is still the slaughtering they took from the

Gophers.

7. Wisconsin - Way to inconsistent for me to put them in the top 5 right now, but they definitely have the potential to be a team who has home-ice come playoffs.

8. AA - I don't expect their great start to the season to continue at all, they just aren't very talented.

9. UMD - Bad

10. MTU - Really Bad

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Modifying Gopherz predictions:

1. Minnesota - Kangas will continue to dominate for the first half. Lately, second halves have been the bane of their existence. I don't think it will be the case this regular season.

2. CC - As long as they have Bachman I think they'll be just fine. They've taken a few tough losses but I fully expect them to get it together. They will make it close.

3. DU - Lost their last 3 games but they have some scoring punch. A few bounces go their way and they have a few more victories this year.

4. Mankato - Tough team. Tons of chemistry. Great goaltending. Not excessively talented but still dangerous.

5. UND - Eidsness and the D are playing alright. Offense isn't there. Offense gets going and the Sioux will be tough. If not, 5th place may be the best we can hope for.

6. SCSU - They have been on a tear as of late but I don't know how permanent that's going to be. In the back of my head is still the slaughtering they took from the

Gophers.

6b. Wisconsin - Way to inconsistent for me to put them in the top 5 right now, but they definitely have the potential to be a team who has home-ice come playoffs. Connelly is STILL suspect imo.

8. AA - I don't expect their great start to the season to continue at all, they just aren't very talented.

9. UMD - Bad

10. MTU - Really Bad

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UMD can't be that bad, afterall they do have a better record than us. I wouldn't get all that gaga googoo over minny's start just yet gopherz. they are playing really well right now but they've only played 11 games and have a second half to the season coming up where they might be feeling "tired" after the WJC. I remember in 2002-2003 we got off to a torid start not unlike you guys right now and from the middle of January to the end of the season the wheels just fell completely off and we barely made the tournament and got bounced by ferris state. just enjoy their good play for however long it lasts whetthe rit's one more game or 3 more months.

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UMD can't be that bad, afterall they do have a better record than us. I wouldn't get all that gaga googoo over minny's start just yet gopherz. they are playing really well right now but they've only played 11 games and have a second half to the season coming up where they might be feeling "tired" after the WJC. I remember in 2002-2003 we got off to a torid start not unlike you guys right now and from the middle of January to the end of the season the wheels just fell completely off and we barely made the tournament and got bounced by ferris state. just enjoy their good play for however long it lasts whetthe rit's one more game or 3 more months.

UMD is 4-4-4. .500

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6. SCSU - They have been on a tear as of late but I don't know how permanent that's going to be. In the back of my head is still the slaughtering they took from the Goofs

SCSU has 8 wins they have collected 5 wins (Mercy Worst, Robert Morris and BSU) against the weak sisters of the poor and lost to one (bsu).

They are 3-3 in league play.

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The Gophers are the class of the conference right now, and nobody else is even close. The only race this year is going to be for 2nd place. Unfortunately I think the WCHA overall is down from where it has been over the majority of the past decade or so.

I think the CCHA is even worse right now. MSU lost 6 in a row, Michigan is 2-4 in their last 6 games.

Notre Dame is ok but DU took them apart.

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The Gophers are the class of the conference right now, and nobody else is even close. The only race this year is going to be for 2nd place. Unfortunately I think the WCHA overall is down from where it has been over the majority of the past decade or so.

I wish. I just can't agree with that.

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I wish. I just can't agree with that.

i agree that it is way to early to know who is really going to take the title. there is so much hockey yet to be played. i think this season we will see many splits keeping teams bunched up for a while. the gophers are playing very good right now without a doubt and are on tops because of that but i dont care whos up top right now or down besides tech every team has proven they can play with anyone so far. i cant wait until after the holiday when wcha weekends go week after week and then we will see how it shakes out.

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Before you get all in a tizzy...I went through the "What if" and came up with the following based on what has happened thus far, this year I had figured the Gophers would start slow and finish fast based on youth and schedule. They have to get more balanced scoring to remain on top. AA has been a nice surprise. Mankato, SCSU and Wisconsin have been disappointments because of the inconsistencies for me. I thought UND would start slow and maybe make a typical UND late surge. I don't see it when Mankato, @AA, CC and @Wisco are your final four series. 8 points would be a very successful run there I think. Tech is the only likely sweep. Again, this is based on what I have seen so far. BE has been solid in the net and better than I thought he would be coming into the year. If he can make the progression similar to Kangas last year, I could see you getting to the 5th spot. Gotta score to win games. Gophers fought that every weekend last year. Even they got into the tourney and that's all that matters, new season.

I have a split in the Gopher/Sioux series.

WCHA Final

Team GP Pts

UMN 28 41

CC 28 37

Denver 28 37

Mankato 28 33

AA 28 28

UW 28 26

UND 28 25

SCSU 28 24

UMD 28 16

MTech 28 13

Rip away...lets see your standings too. :lol:

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Before you get all in a tizzy...I went through the "What if" and came up with the following based on what has happened thus far, this year I had figured the Gophers would start slow and finish fast based on youth and schedule. They have to get more balanced scoring to remain on top. AA has been a nice surprise. Mankato, SCSU and Wisconsin have been disappointments because of the inconsistencies for me. I thought UND would start slow and maybe make a typical UND late surge. I don't see it when Mankato, @AA, CC and @Wisco are your final four series. 8 points would be a very successful run there I think. Tech is the only likely sweep. Again, this is based on what I have seen so far. BE has been solid in the net and better than I thought he would be coming into the year. If he can make the progression similar to Kangas last year, I could see you getting to the 5th spot. Gotta score to win games. Gophers fought that every weekend last year. Even they got into the tourney and that's all that matters, new season.

I have a split in the Gopher/Sioux series.

WCHA Final

Team GP Pts

UMN 28 41

CC 28 37

Denver 28 37

Mankato 28 33

AA 28 28

UW 28 26

UND 28 25

SCSU 28 24

UMD 28 16

MTech 28 13

Rip away...lets see your too. :lol:

Not to a be a jerk, but you are an idiot, Wisconsin will not be higher then the Sioux and UAA. I watched Wisconsin pretty hard when the Sioux played them, they are god awful, I know the Sioux are struggling and aren't that great right now, but Sconnie is serious brutal with their defensive system and lack of scoring, they don't have any real true offensive talent on that team, "big names" on the o side.

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Not to a be a jerk, but you are an idiot, Wisconsin will not be higher then the Sioux and UAA. I watched Wisconsin pretty hard when the Sioux played them, they are god awful, I know the Sioux are struggling and aren't that great right now, but Sconnie is serious brutal with their defensive system and lack of scoring, they don't have any real true offensive talent on that team, "big names" on the o side.

Whoa, there hard-ass. Take your panties out of a bunch. :lol: Your the type that pushes the Sioux fans bad rep. :D How do you explain losing to the god awful team at home? by 3 goals? Its just predictions based on what has happened so far, it doesn't mean anything, just a talking point. Sioux 2.5 GPG and giving up 3.2 GAA in conference Wisco 3.25 GPG and 3.08 GAA. Hmm. I can see where I am the idiot. Where is your final standings?

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WCHA Final

Team GP Pts

UMN 28 41

CC 28 37

Denver 28 37

Mankato 28 33

AA 28 28

UW 28 26

UND 28 25

SCSU 28 24

UMD 28 16

MTech 28 13

I don't really see a lot to argue with here.

If the Fighting Sioux can't figure out a way to start scoring goals, I'm thinking the first-round playoff tickets in my season ticket envelope will be worthless reminders of a season to forget. :lol:

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