The collective solution

[yababy8]

I believe I have the solution.

Could someone deliver it to HAk!!! lol

My assesment of the Sioux answers many questions like the following:

1. The team looks good but doesn't score.

2. We dominate zone time but don't score.

3. In a season our team starts slow and finishes strong.

4. We can't finish on good opportunities.

I read hear that the fans are saying what is broken. I seek to go further. This is a theory why.

I figure, let us, the great Sioux Nation, get to the bottom of this. We can solve the problem, report out our findings to the Coaching staff, they can fix the problem, and we can all go to DC and party!!!!!

I threw out the following argument in a post last night before the game but I got not a single reply to it:

The Fans, the players and the coach keeps saying the Sioux are close and they are due a break out game where they find the back of the net more.

My take on the Sioux. Oh and by the way I have been seeing this since last year

Most guys on the team have played with little to no touch when touch is called for both in the passing and the shooting game.

Let's look at the passing game first. I see this as the biggest issue.

The Sioux make each and every pass with the same velocity- VERY FAST.

They are showing very little touch when needed.

Its like a golfer taking the same big swing with thier mid irons, wedges and even putter that they use when they swing thier driver.

How crazy is that?

The Sioux are not adjusting their pass speed and shot precision when it is called for- mainly from inside the circles from side board to side board and from behind the net on all centering set-up feeds.

How many times have we seen a player wiff on a one-timer shot in the crease with a open net in front of him? Hextall missed 3 against CC alone. Wasn't his fault, the passes were all insanely fast. Before he could react to the fact that the pass was on its way and set up his stick position the pass was about all the way out of the zone. We have all seen a player who was seemingly just a bit out of position when that feed came to him and he couldn't get the shot off. I would say I have seen this 20 times already in this young season alone. Our players have immense talent, they are not failing to get a stick on those passes for no reason.

Friday night we would have won the game if a couple of our feeds would have not been 800 MPH passes.

The hard speed passes are great out at the points and across the zone and the Sioux are very very profecient here. In fact, I would say they are down right awesome at this. But our team does not have a short passing game.. When it comes to the little feed we are flat out pathetic.

Passing Solution:

We need to start rolling the puts to the hole not blasting them eight feet past it.

Now for shooting:

They are doing the same thing when they shoot the puck. Every shot is a blast. Even shots at the door step. Also we shoot at a squared up defender and goalie way to often!! Genoway did this Sat night. There is no damn chance that puck is going to get by the defender, HE IS SQUARE- not to mention the goalie as well!!!!! Your just turning the puck over and losing the zone Genoway. (Other than this Genoway has been outstanding!)

Notice how we get scored on? When it's not a point shot it is a pass to the man with the OPEN net. You hear the same old thing from the guys at WDAZ, " (Sioux Goalie) had no chance there. It was just a nice feed. Nothing he could have done.

Now how often do you hear that regarding the opposing goalie on our goals?

About NEVER!

The pittence of goals we get are simply a result of resolve by guys like Duncan, Miller, and VV. I'm suprised our team doesn't go through 30 sticks a game the way the they wack desperatly- like humgry dogs trying to scratch under the door that hides the food- to get the puck jammed into the net.

Decisions made on the ice are really no more than probability arguements and my friends, we are getting our asses kicked at the poker table.

Too many times our shots have the look and feel of 'all-in' bets when you are about to be blinded out of a long frustrating Texas Hold'em game. We are making poor low probabilty choices with our shots. Kozak and Genoway are they fish at this table.

I think every time Kozak shoots the puck he ends up on a knee because he is firing so hard. Nice position to handle a second effort off of a rebound huh?

...Hey Kozak, no matter how hard you shoot that thing I don't think it will pierce through the defender right in front of you. Maybe if he wasn't wearing pads?? But he is...

Hard shots are fine from the point but inside the circles you don't need speed, you need placement. The goalie has much less time to react so the speed issue is not as much a variable.

I have also been noticing that because we shoot so damn hard at the goalie most of the time our rebounds have been flying off the goalie, toward the side boards and way way away from any of our sharks lurking for a rebound.

Shooting Solution:

Draw a line and picture a corridor with roughly the dementions of a hockey puck for example, from the tip of your stick to the open net and ask yourself, "Is there any non-gasious matter about that corridor in space?"

If yes, then pass the puck to fellow player wearing that cool jersey much like your own.

If no, take a shot it in such a way that you will give the puck the best chance of traveling down that corridor in space. Also, do so in such a way that your skates remain generally under your butt when you have completed your shot.

I think our team is playing to hard and to fast at times in situations when they should chill out a little. Be more relaxed, confident and methodical.

I think the one weakness HAk has is mental preperation. He has our guys wound-up way to much. He jacks them up with his statements like, "We need to play for 60 min". While this is true, I don't think it is yielding the desired result..

Hak is a great at many things there is no debate about that. He is a fine strategest and very stong and getting good line combos together and keeping his team moving in a positive direction through the season. But I think he pushes for offense in the wrong way. His style seems to mire players creativity.

I think it has been going on since Hak has been here. It could be argued that even players like Toews and Parise offensive prowless were somewhat stymied in our system. Following going pro they seem to be more prolific at scoring don't they?

I should say that for the most part like HAks grind-the-boards, keep-the-zone and tire the other team out in our zone style but as B.C. showed us, creative offense can end a game pretty darn fast. Or we could just watch the archives and see how Blake and Panzer did it.

I don't know if my take is the answer but I do know we need to find one because it sure isn't a question of talent because we all see the talent that these guys have and it sure as heck isn't lacking!

SO come on Sioux Nation let's give Mr. Hak a little help and get to the bottom of this...

[Big A HG]

Not bad. I do think we lack talent though. Half our upperclassmen have hardly improved since their freshman and sophomore seasons.

[nodak hockey fanatic]

Not bad. I do think we lack talent though. Half our upperclassmen have hardly improved since their freshman and sophomore seasons.

i disagree with you here... i think our upperclassmen have mostly improved, we just can't finish. i don' know the reason, but it has been very frustrating to watch. duncan, well he had a tough road to improve after his hobey season, but is still our best player imho. finley is immensely better than his frosh and soph campaigns (how soon we forget), i hope he gets healthy and is back to help in the second half, i just hope it's not too late by that time. chay is what he is, the best puck moving dman in the league, who will because of that give up rushes the other way, problem is his partner has not been up to the task of covering him. jones is our best defensive dman, he has improved each year, he will be missed more than we know next season. martens was a walk on who earned the right to play, he is inconsistent at times, but definately improved. kozek has dissapointed this year, but remember how he came on last season, hope we see a repeat, we need him (and everyone) to start burying the puck. zajac is a completely different player this season, most improved imho. miller is a sr who has been in and out throughout his career, who is now an everyday dman for us, and has done very well i think. watkins is as solid on the puck as few are, but it would be nice to see him contribute on the scoresheet (we can say that about everyone i think ). and vandy, he is a beast on the puck. i hope his scoring will come, but damn, not many one on one will get him off the puck, i hope he's around next season. i know it's not this simple, but our scorers need to score. eidsness continues to improve, we need to give him more than two goals a game. i'm actually not as concerned about the dcorp as most seem to be. i don't know what's up with lapoint, he is tenative and seems to lack any confidence with the puck. his ushl experience would suggest he is better than that, and i hope we see it. marto has had some rough patches, but i still think he is our next genoway, i really like this kid. the frosh... i love blood, i think he will be great, i haven't seen much of finehage, but hope we see more of him. lets start to get it going boys with a thanksgiving sweep of riley nash and the big red. LETS GO SIOUX!!!

[Big A HG]

i disagree with you here... i think our upperclassmen have mostly improved, we just can't finish. i don' know the reason, but it has been very frustrating to watch. duncan, well he had a tough road to improve after his hobey season, but is still our best player imho. finley is immensely better than his frosh and soph campaigns (how soon we forget), i hope he gets healthy and is back to help in the second half, i just hope it's not too late by that time. chay is what he is, the best puck moving dman in the league, who will because of that give up rushes the other way, problem is his partner has not been up to the task of covering him. jones is our best defensive dman, he has improved each year, he will be missed more than we know next season. martens was a walk on who earned the right to play, he is inconsistent at times, but definately improved. kozek has dissapointed this year, but remember how he came on last season, hope we see a repeat, we need him (and everyone) to start burying the puck. zajac is a completely different player this season, most improved imho. miller is a sr who has been in and out throughout his career, who is now an everyday dman for us, and has done very well i think. watkins is as solid on the puck as few are, but it would be nice to see him contribute on the scoresheet (we can say that about everyone i think ). and vandy, he is a beast on the puck. i hope his scoring will come, but damn, not many one on one will get him off the puck, i hope he's around next season. i know it's not this simple, but our scorers need to score. eidsness continues to improve, we need to give him more than two goals a game. i'm actually not as concerned about the dcorp as most seem to be. i don't know what's up with lapoint, he is tenative and seems to lack any confidence with the puck. his ushl experience would suggest he is better than that, and i hope we see it. marto has had some rough patches, but i still think he is our next genoway, i really like this kid. the frosh... i love blood, i think he will be great, i haven't seen much of finehage, but hope we see more of him. lets start to get it going boys with a thanksgiving sweep of riley nash and the big red. LETS GO SIOUX!!!

The thing is, the guys who you say have improved over the years, look better than they really are. They are just average college hockey players. If you take many other schools, their players develop into key players (sometimes stars) for their junior and senior years.

A lot of these guys look decent because we don't have anyone better than them. But they're not scoring or finishing because they just aren't that good.

Take Matt Watkins for example. He scored 74 points in 60 BCHL games as a junior. Freshman year he scored 9 points in 46 games. Did better his sophomore year to get 17 points in 38 games, then actually puts up less numbers his junior year with 18 points in 43 games. Let's we quadruple his stats for this year (which would be 44 games, which is more than what we can bargain for), and he'd finish with 12 points this year.

You can say we lost a lot of good talent, but these guys are supposed to improve and step up for their junior and senior years....not stay the same. Watkins isn't a guy we rely on to score, he's definitely more of a grinder, but if you can put up that many points in juniors, and by the time you are a senior at UND you are on pace to have 12 points? That's not good.

Martens may have been a walk on, but he did score 62 points in 60 games in the BCHL. He's a good player and definitely has improved. Still, he's not much to fear for opposing teams.

Kozek scored 97 points in a 60 game season of BCHL. Freshman year: 13 points. Sophomore year: 11 points. Junior year: 21 points (better). Senior year: On pace for 10-12 points.

Darcy Zajac: Frosh year: 10 points. Soph year: 8 points. Junior year: On pace for 10-11 points.

Brad Miller actually can be a bright spot. Freshman year: 0 points. Soph Year: 24 points (nice!). Junior year: 10 points. Senior year: On pace for 32 points (not bad).

Vande Velde scored 9 points his frosh year before a very nice year last year where he scored 32 points. This year, he's on pace for 25-26 points. Another slide.

Why aren't ANY of our seniors greatly improving over 4 years. Seniors are guys you should be able to turn to, to win games. Even Hak said the sophomores will be the key this year, because he knows the upperclassmen just aren't good enough...Duncan being an exception.

It's no surprise as to why we are not playing well. We just aren't that talented.

[wiese2006]

The thing is, the guys who you say have improved over the years, look better than they really are. They are just average college hockey players. If you take many other schools, their players develop into key players (sometimes stars) for their junior and senior years.

A lot of these guys look decent because we don't have anyone better than them. But they're not scoring or finishing because they just aren't that good.

Take Matt Watkins for example. He scored 74 points in 60 BCHL games as a junior. Freshman year he scored 9 points in 46 games. Did better his sophomore year to get 17 points in 38 games, then actually puts up less numbers his junior year with 18 points in 43 games. Let's we quadruple his stats for this year (which would be 44 games, which is more than what we can bargain for), and he'd finish with 12 points this year.

You can say we lost a lot of good talent, but these guys are supposed to improve and step up for their junior and senior years....not stay the same. Watkins isn't a guy we rely on to score, he's definitely more of a grinder, but if you can put up that many points in juniors, and by the time you are a senior at UND you are on pace to have 12 points? That's not good.

Martens may have been a walk on, but he did score 62 points in 60 games in the BCHL. He's a good player and definitely has improved. Still, he's not much to fear for opposing teams.

Kozek scored 97 points in a 60 game season of BCHL. Freshman year: 13 points. Sophomore year: 11 points. Junior year: 21 points (better). Senior year: On pace for 10-12 points.

Darcy Zajac: Frosh year: 10 points. Soph year: 8 points. Junior year: On pace for 10-11 points.

Brad Miller actually can be a bright spot. Freshman year: 0 points. Soph Year: 24 points (nice!). Junior year: 10 points. Senior year: On pace for 32 points (not bad).

Vande Velde scored 9 points his frosh year before a very nice year last year where he scored 32 points. This year, he's on pace for 25-26 points. Another slide.

Why aren't ANY of our seniors greatly improving over 4 years. Seniors are guys you should be able to turn to, to win games. Even Hak said the sophomores will be the key this year, because he knows the upperclassmen just aren't good enough...Duncan being an exception.

It's no surprise as to why we are not playing well. We just aren't that talented.

Maybe the seniors got so many points before they came here, because they got alot more icetime.

[Big A HG]

Maybe the seniors got so many points before they came here, because they got alot more icetime.

That's not the point. The point is, you should get better with experience and score more. I'm not saying all these guys should be putting up 50 points each this year, but the numbers should improve more than they have. These guys have been here. They've all logged plenty of ice time. They know the pace of the game. They know what to expect when it comes to college hockey. If all they are going to do is put up the same numbers they put up their sophomore years, why have 'em at all.

[mikejm]

I'm not going to get into a "solution" discussion. I don't like the kind of offense Hakstol coaches, and I've made that clear in many other posts.

I'll go with Al Davis on this one: Just win, baby.

I do have an issue with people looking at BCHL scoring and expecting that kind of offensive performance in the WCHA. It just doesn't translate. Never has, never will. Look at the Sioux roster(s) for the last ten years or so.

[Big A HG]

I'm not going to get into a "solution" discussion. I don't like the kind of offense Hakstol coaches, and I've made that clear in many other posts.

I'll go with Al Davis on this one: Just win, baby.

I do have an issue with people looking at BCHL scoring and expecting that kind of offensive performance in the WCHA. It just doesn't translate. Never has, never will. Look at the Sioux roster(s) for the last ten years or so.

I wasn't implying they should put up the same numbers or anywhere close. I'm just saying that these guys knew how to score at one point. Yes, it is a lot more difficult to score in the best conference in college hockey. But, to score as little as a lot of these guys are is disappointing.

[The Sicatoka]

I don't like the kind of offense Hakstol coaches, ...

I second.

[ScottM]

I'm not going to get into a "solution" discussion. I don't like the kind of offense Hakstol coaches, and I've made that clear in many other posts.

I tend to agree. I'd go for more balanced scoring across the lines rather than trying to rely on 1-2 lines that waste so many opportunities as seems to be the case the past few teams. Sometimes, when I'm able to watch a game live or catch a vids, I feel like I'm watching a JV team.

[AZSIOUX]

The thing is, the guys who you say have improved over the years, look better than they really are. They are just average college hockey players. If you take many other schools, their players develop into key players (sometimes stars) for their junior and senior years.

A lot of these guys look decent because we don't have anyone better than them. But they're not scoring or finishing because they just aren't that good.

Take Matt Watkins for example. He scored 74 points in 60 BCHL games as a junior. Freshman year he scored 9 points in 46 games. Did better his sophomore year to get 17 points in 38 games, then actually puts up less numbers his junior year with 18 points in 43 games. Let's we quadruple his stats for this year (which would be 44 games, which is more than what we can bargain for), and he'd finish with 12 points this year.

You can say we lost a lot of good talent, but these guys are supposed to improve and step up for their junior and senior years....not stay the same. Watkins isn't a guy we rely on to score, he's definitely more of a grinder, but if you can put up that many points in juniors, and by the time you are a senior at UND you are on pace to have 12 points? That's not good.

Martens may have been a walk on, but he did score 62 points in 60 games in the BCHL. He's a good player and definitely has improved. Still, he's not much to fear for opposing teams.

Kozek scored 97 points in a 60 game season of BCHL. Freshman year: 13 points. Sophomore year: 11 points. Junior year: 21 points (better). Senior year: On pace for 10-12 points.

Darcy Zajac: Frosh year: 10 points. Soph year: 8 points. Junior year: On pace for 10-11 points.

Brad Miller actually can be a bright spot. Freshman year: 0 points. Soph Year: 24 points (nice!). Junior year: 10 points. Senior year: On pace for 32 points (not bad).

Vande Velde scored 9 points his frosh year before a very nice year last year where he scored 32 points. This year, he's on pace for 25-26 points. Another slide.

Why aren't ANY of our seniors greatly improving over 4 years. Seniors are guys you should be able to turn to, to win games. Even Hak said the sophomores will be the key this year, because he knows the upperclassmen just aren't good enough...Duncan being an exception.

It's no surprise as to why we are not playing well. We just aren't that talented.

i think a large % of BCHL players who come to the WCHA do not come close to what people think they should do numbers wise. the BCHL is a scoring league. the USHL seems to be a different style. even kyle turris came from the bchl at sconnie and didnt do much, yes i know uw isnt a scoring powerhouse but still. he was the 3rd pick overall. the players that come from the bchl do not seem to translate points wise. i know they arent expected to come in and put up 50-70 points. i get that but it seems to be a trend overall. oh well. i see we dont have a single bchl player coming in anytime soon so maybe that has been a concern. who the hell knows.

go sioux woop some BIG RED

[Big A HG]

i think a large % of BCHL players who come to the WCHA do not come close to what people think they should do numbers wise. the BCHL is a scoring league. the USHL seems to be a different style. even kyle turris came from the bchl at sconnie and didnt do much, yes i know uw isnt a scoring powerhouse but still. he was the 3rd pick overall. the players that come from the bchl do not seem to translate points wise. i know they arent expected to come in and put up 50-70 points. i get that but it seems to be a trend overall. oh well. i see we dont have a single bchl player coming in anytime soon so maybe that has been a concern. who the hell knows.

go sioux woop some BIG RED

For the second time now, that's not my point. I'm not saying they should score as much as they do in the BCHL. I'm saying that these guys knew how to score. It's not like they don't play with goalies or defensemen in the BCHL. These guys should be improving more than they are over 4 years. I just put up BCHL numbers to show that they've scored before.

[AZSIOUX]

For the second time now, that's not my point. I'm not saying they should score as much as they do in the BCHL. I'm saying that these guys knew how to score. It's not like they don't play with goalies or defensemen in the BCHL. These guys should be improving more than they are over 4 years. I just put up BCHL numbers to show that they've scored before.

i know it wasnt your point at all. i was just expressing my views on it i guess. didnt mean it to think i was talking about your view. i agre with you about the points but i also think there is a reason why he have zero bchl recruits coming in so far in the next 2-3 years. toews, oshie and lee and chorney would be part of this class and those were the premier players with the others being more of the role player types and maybe impact through their careers. kozek is all over the board. hes a 1st liner then 4th liner than in the press box then 3rd or 4th liner. its crazy to see. i sure hope things change around this weekend and thats just wishful thinking whatever the answer is i hope it turns around vs a top pairwise team as of now in cornell. would be great to see VV and kozek bury a couple each this weekend

and i know they pay with d men in the bchl, not sure how much d they play though

[Goon]

I don't like the kind of offense Hakstol coaches, and I've made that clear in many other posts.

I wish there was more of a focus on offense I swear I am watching the college version of the Wild the last 2 1/2 seasons.

[Big A HG]

I wish there was more of a focus on offense I swear I am watching the college version of the Wild the last 2 1/2 seasons.

We have to have scorers to score. We just don't have a group of guys who can put the puck in the net night in and night out.

[yababy8]

The thing is, the guys who you say have improved over the years, look better than they really are. They are just average college hockey players. If you take many other schools, their players develop into key players (sometimes stars) for their junior and senior years.

A lot of these guys look decent because we don't have anyone better than them. But they're not scoring or finishing because they just aren't that good.

Take Matt Watkins for example. He scored 74 points in 60 BCHL games as a junior. Freshman year he scored 9 points in 46 games. Did better his sophomore year to get 17 points in 38 games, then actually puts up less numbers his junior year with 18 points in 43 games. Let's we quadruple his stats for this year (which would be 44 games, which is more than what we can bargain for), and he'd finish with 12 points this year.

You can say we lost a lot of good talent, but these guys are supposed to improve and step up for their junior and senior years....not stay the same. Watkins isn't a guy we rely on to score, he's definitely more of a grinder, but if you can put up that many points in juniors, and by the time you are a senior at UND you are on pace to have 12 points? That's not good.

Martens may have been a walk on, but he did score 62 points in 60 games in the BCHL. He's a good player and definitely has improved. Still, he's not much to fear for opposing teams.

Kozek scored 97 points in a 60 game season of BCHL. Freshman year: 13 points. Sophomore year: 11 points. Junior year: 21 points (better). Senior year: On pace for 10-12 points.

Darcy Zajac: Frosh year: 10 points. Soph year: 8 points. Junior year: On pace for 10-11 points.

Brad Miller actually can be a bright spot. Freshman year: 0 points. Soph Year: 24 points (nice!). Junior year: 10 points. Senior year: On pace for 32 points (not bad).

Vande Velde scored 9 points his frosh year before a very nice year last year where he scored 32 points. This year, he's on pace for 25-26 points. Another slide.

Why aren't ANY of our seniors greatly improving over 4 years. Seniors are guys you should be able to turn to, to win games. Even Hak said the sophomores will be the key this year, because he knows the upperclassmen just aren't good enough...Duncan being an exception.

It's no surprise as to why we are not playing well. We just aren't that talented.

I agree with your assertions. It would be foolish to argue given what you have spelled out are factual statistics..

BUT you are missing my point and being to general with yours;

My point aims to explain WHY these guys are not improving in the scoring department. You say they are just not that talented. I'm saying they are not achieving their tallent.

As much as you point is based on facts, so is mine in so much as I have observed this flaw in our game all year.

I have watched all AND rewatched most (on tape) of our games this year and I have seen the same thing happen over and over and over again. From the Wisc series to the CC series- I was there for both games. We would have scored 10-20 more goals this year had the set up feeds not been so hyper jacked up. and really that is about all there is to it. Many many many beautiful plays all the way to the point where the feed to the wide open shooter occurs. Then meltdown!!!

It is a fact. You can call that lack of talent if you want but in all other ways I see this team as having alot of talent. Outside of those blown passes I have seen a lot of high level play. Of course there are exceptions to that. I could name a few of this years Sioux that have really been flops so far. But that is not either one of our points so no need.

[Big A HG]

I agree with your assertions. It would be foolish to argue given what you have spelled out are factual statistics..

BUT you are missing my point and being to general with yours;

My point aims to explain WHY these guys are not improving in the scoring department. You say they are just not that talented. I'm saying they are not achieving their tallent.

As much as you point is based on facts, so is mine in so much as I have observed this flaw in our game all year.

I have watched all AND rewatched most (on tape) of our games this year and I have seen the same thing happen over and over and over again. From the Wisc series to the CC series- I was there for both games. We would have scored 10-20 more goals this year had the set up feeds not been so hyper jacked up. and really that is about all there is to it. Many many many beautiful plays all the way to the point where the feed to the wide open shooter occurs. Then meltdown!!!

It is a fact. You can call that lack of talent if you want but in all other ways I see this team as having alot of talent. Outside of those blown passes I have seen a lot of high level play. Of course there are exceptions to that. I could name a few of this years Sioux that have really been flops so far. But that is not either one of our points so no need.

I agree with your assessment. I just also feel the guys just aren't that good.

[DAR]

I agree with your assessment. I just also feel the guys just aren't that good.

This team does not have the so called "difference makers"...our main guys Kozek and Duncan depend on a top center to get them the puck and VV does not fit that bill. He is a checking line player who should be on a line with Watkins and whoever. i was in Duluth this weekend and that was pretty obvious.

[Goon]

I think the way to fix the problem is simple. Most of the stuff that is happening on the ice fundamentals. A pass missed here an open net missed there. I want to see the coach get excited and show some emotion because frankly Hak is boring me to death. I want a coach that yells and gets upset and isn't afraid to say his players sucked during the game. If a top player is not playing well bench his ass. There is too much coddling of the players go on here.

Back when Blais was the coach if a player misses an assignment they sit a shift. If a player misses a couple of plays they sat a few more shifts. Heck he sat Jason Blake for not playing well. I remember the Blais saying if a player does live up to expectation they sit next to the coach on the bench or they don't dress.

[Oxbow6]

I do think we lack talent though.

I agree. I don't think the guys we have brought in over the past few, that are still on the roster, are as good as their incoming hype. Case in point, LaPoint, an offensive minded D man, who has been...not very good in any facet since he has been here. I could on and on, but this team is what it is this year...not very good because the talent is not very good! This is a team that can't score and doesn't play good defense. Not hard to see why they are under .500 when you watch them game in and game out.

[siouxforce19]

This team does not have the so called "difference makers"...our main guys Kozek and Duncan depend on a top center to get them the puck and VV does not fit that bill. He is a checking line player who should be on a line with Watkins and whoever. i was in Duluth this weekend and that was pretty obvious.

Just curious here, but of the guys that play center, who would you put on that top line? I do think Vandy is more of a checking line player also, but I have an issue finding someone else to play with Dunc and Hextall if you move Vandy back to the checking line. So, who takes the center spot? Zajac's more of a checking line guy, Malone isn't skilled enough to be up there, Gregoire's not a center. I guess that would leave you with Trupp or Toews to center that top line. I do hope we see some new line combos this weekend, but I don't think we'll see anything different on that top line.

[Siouxtimestwo]

Once the NFL season is done, maybe Hak can hire Mike Singletary as an assistant. He won't hesitate to show some emotion or drop his pants if he feels the players aren't playing well.

[passit_offthegoalie]

We've got a freshmen goalie, no Joe, and we've got a lot of young guys that I think will only get better, and contribute more offensively, as the year goes on. And in spite of that, we're still playing decent and getting wins against tough teams and getting a lot of good chances(usually) even if they aren't putting them away like they should.

I'm frustrated too, though. These guys better do the little things better and start puttin pucks away. I really don't want Jess Meyers to be right in his prediction about the Sioux. I'm not down with that guy at all, and it's not just because he picked the Sioux to finish 7th.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Not bad. I do think we lack talent though. Half our upperclassmen have hardly improved since their freshman and sophomore seasons.

I agree, Think about who the best players have been for the Sioux thus far this season. For most games it has been one of three freshmen, Hextall, Eidsness or Gregoire. That is not a recipe for success at the DI level and which is why I hope that the return of Joe Finley might spark better play out of others.

[Big A HG]

I agree, Think about who the best players have been for the Sioux thus far this season. For most games it has been one of three freshmen, Hextall, Eidsness or Gregoire. That is not a recipe for success at the DI level and which is why I hope that the return of Joe Finley might spark better play out of others.

I'm glad you agree, but you can't discount Duncan. The problem with Duncan though is that he can't create much on his own during 5 on 5. When that's the case you need players to move the puck around efficiently to give Duncan a chance to get open. Then, add the fact that teams are focusing on Duncan and it's hard for him to produce. It's actually great that he has as many points as he does and shows how good Duncan really is. But, imagine how much better a line could be if you had a couple guys who can get him the puck in an open space.