AZSIOUX Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 i cant wait to see the team celebrate on the badgers home ice after they win friday night!! im sure the cup is on its way to madison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoflex Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 CC is a really good team. The series could have gone either way, and the Sioux were just good enough to get the 3 points. Congrats! Hard to believe that CC could end 7th or 8th after this coming weekend's games...As I would hate to be that 3rd place team having to take on CC in the first round of the tourney. But your right, as it was a good tester series to get amped up for the game in Wisc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Going to Madison is perfect preparation for the hostile environments the Sioux will face in the playoffs. And the Badgers, even the Badgers in a slump, are a playoff-worthy opponent as good as any we'll face in the playoffs. The CC series was the start of a stretch that will run to the end of the season of playing desperate opponents who are fighting for their lives. No one in the NCAA tournament will be any more motivated than CC last week, or Wisconsin next week, or whoever is playing to extend their careers in the WCHA first-round. Then the final five looks to be a cage-match of teams trying to qualify for the NCAAs. Looking at Jim's PWR analysis, the Sioux should be pretty darn desperate themselves this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 my final what if http://siouxsports.com/hockey/whatif/ Team GP Pts UND 28 38 Denver 28 37 UW 28 31 UMD 28 31 CC 28 30 UMN 28 30 SCSU 28 29 Mankato 28 25 AA 28 19 MTech 28 10 my scenerio would put cc home vs gophers in first round as cc owns that tibreaker for seeding purposes - uw would win the tiebreaker vs umd to get that 3 seed. i have............ sioux splitting in uw du beating cc um getting 3 points in tech scsu and msu splitting umd sweeping uaa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzerman19 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Bucky's going to come out flying on Friday. We'd better be 100% locked in. You'd better believe those seniors in Red are going to remember how their season ended in Madison last year. Kohl center will be hostile and abusive. Friday night all you need to do is win. I think the boys should pack the black Nike Swifts and show mad town some real black ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 i cant wait to see the team celebrate on the badgers home ice after they win friday night!! im sure the cup is on its way to madison Would it be handed out when we are on the road, or would they wait until we are home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxweet Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Would it be handed out when we are on the road, or would they wait until we are home? home I believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USA Hockey Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Would it be handed out when we are on the road, or would they wait until we are home? I think it has to be handed out at home, although it would be sweet to hoist it in front of their fans and a few of us that are going, makes the moment more special Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Whistler Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Would it be handed out when we are on the road, or would they wait until we are home? I'll bet they wait until we win the first round WCHA tourney match before it comes out of the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejm Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 This isn't directed at you MikeJM; I didn't lose faith at the begining of the season when the Sioux started out slow. Some people were jumping off the band wagon before the first of the year. Now we have a bunch of people running to jump back on board the Sioux band wagon. Whether or not it was directed at me, I'll confess that I was very frustrated with this hockey team after two months of play. I just didn't see a whole lot of jelling among linemates, and Hakstol's incessant tinkering was driving this anal old coot crazy. I am surprised, yet again, at how this coach can bring a team from what seems like a shambles at mid-season into a juggernaut every season. Is Hakstol's system so complicated that it takes that long for the players to "get" it? I don't understand, but I am honestly amazed at what I'm seeing again. Maybe Hak has a rider on his contract for home ticket sales in only the last two months of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianvf Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Is Hakstol's system so complicated that it takes that long for the players to "get" it? I don't understand, but I am honestly amazed at what I'm seeing again. Even if that were the case, you would think only the freshmen players would be affected by the "early season issues" since all the other players would have gotten used to it in previous seasons. Whatever it is, it's certainly nice to see this group of players come together after a rough first half (I think I've said that same thing the previous four years as well). Now hopefully this team can just win a couple more games at the end of the year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzerman19 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I don't think it has to do with the system. It has to do with preparation and focus. I think it is almost marine corps esque... Break the boys down and then build them all up together as one unit. I am one of those early ledge walkers. I will never accept being put on or off a bandwagon. I am always a Sioux fan. You can still be a fan and complain. Fans do not equal cheerleaders. I have very much enjoyed this team provingnme wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejm Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I don't think it has to do with the system. It has to do with preparation and focus. I think it is almost marine corps esque... Break the boys down and then build them all up together as one unit. Yeah, the Marine thing crossed my mind a couple of times over the last few years. A conversation I had with a former player gave me an indication that that is what is going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieSiouxFan Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Yeah, the Marine thing crossed my mind a couple of times over the last few years. A conversation I had with a former player gave me an indication that that is what is going on. Care to elaborate?? , what did the former player say exactly, is there some top secret plan hak uses every year or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianvf Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Care to elaborate?? , what did the former player say exactly, is there some top secret plan hak uses every year or something? Ssshhh, you do know that many current WCHA coaches lurk this message board looking for coaching insight from redwing77. The last thing we want is for those coaches to find out the Hakstol secrets as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieSiouxFan Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Ssshhh, you do know that many current WCHA coaches lurk this message board looking for coaching insight from redwing77. The last thing we want is for those coaches to find out the Hakstol secrets! yeah i can imagine Don sitting at his computer all night looking for the secrets behind the Sioux second half success with steam coming from his ears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigGreyAnt41 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I remember being at a Wild game early in the season and I had my Sioux sweatshirt on. The lady at the concessions was making small talk asking about how the season was going (no smack talk or anything) and I told her how awful the Sioux were playing so I wasn't sure how the season was going to go. Thinking back on that now, I find it so hard to believe that was this season. It seems like ages ago, then again it's happened every year. I think maybe I have the opposite reaction as some people. I don't jump off the bandwagon or start panicking, but rather I'll stay overly calm and just assume that things will turn around. So far things have always been fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockey10 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I just hope Hak has mastered his second half turn around plan by finishing it out through the frozen four. And I hope all Boston schools are in a separate regional and are knocked off prior to the frozen four.....I cannot take losing to Boston again (that may be the Yankee fan in me talking). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackheart Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I have to believe that playing the extra period both nights against an opponent of CC's caliber probably really helped the legs. You can practice and condition 24-7, but until you go game speed for 128 in a weekend you don't know what you've got for wheels. That's almost as much conditioning as the Gofer players who walked back from the World Juniors...I've always loved that one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 That's almost as much conditioning as the Gofer players who walked back from the World Juniors...I've always loved that one... Anyone else think Kozek deserves to be on that top line permanently? He needs more ice time than a 4th line player. Man he threw some huge hits this past weekend and has the hardest shot on the team. I realize Gregoire is great as well but I think Kozek should be up there with Dunc and whoever (either Gregoire or Hextall) for the duration. Thoughts>?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxforce19 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Anyone else think Kozek deserves to be on that top line permanently? He needs more ice time than a 4th line player. Man he threw some huge hits this past weekend and has the hardest shot on the team. I realize Gregoire is great as well but I think Kozek should be up there with Dunc and whoever (either Gregoire or Hextall) for the duration. Thoughts>?? Disagree. Kozek did well up there, but to maintain the balance in the lines, keep him with Malone on the 4th line, as it provides a bigger scoring threat for that line. There is no need to mess with the lines right now. The gregoire-duncan-hextall line has been very good and I wouldn't mess it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxweet Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Yeah, the Marine thing crossed my mind a couple of times over the last few years. A conversation I had with a former player gave me an indication that that is what is going on. kind of like Herb Brooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siouxman Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Disagree. Kozek did well up there, but to maintain the balance in the lines, keep him with Malone on the 4th line, as it provides a bigger scoring threat for that line. There is no need to mess with the lines right now. The gregoire-duncan-hextall line has been very good and I wouldn't mess it up. I did some digging on team balance in the stats, and with a few exceptions team balance in scoring appears to have a correlation to performance. Here are the number of players with 20 or more points per team. I started with the PWR ratings and then included all of the WCHA teams. BU - 9 ND - 9 Mich - 6 DU-10 Northeastern - 4 Vermont - 5 UND - 8 CC - 4 WI - 7 UMTC - 4 UMD - 6 STC - 5 MSUM - 6 UAA - 3 MTU - 2 Northeastern and Vermont appear to be aberrations in the PWR. They have their scoring concentrated in a few players. It would seem that if you can shut down their top line, you have a good chance at winning. Even Michigan doesn't appear to be as balanced as BU, ND, DU, and UND. UND currently has 8 players at 20+, and Kozek and Trupp are at 19 points each. So it would appear that UND is one of the top balanced teams in the country. CC appears to be an aberration in the WCHA, but we saw that this weekend with their scoring basically coming from a few players. I also appreciated the comments about Hakstol's methods being similar to boot camp, tear the players down and then build them back up. Being a veteran, I can understand that. It is clearly a method to build self-confidence as well as to eliminate bad habits. It is just frustrating for us fans to wait for the build up to take hold. I am optimistic about this team's chances in the NCAA's. It will be hard to shut down this UND team totally, although a hot goalie combined with solid defense can do it. I like the current line combinations, but I am concerned that the loss of Lapoint will hurt the PK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxweet Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I did some digging on team balance in the stats, and with a few exceptions team balance in scoring appears to have a correlation to performance. Here are the number of players with 20 or more points per team. I started with the PWR ratings and then included all of the WCHA teams. BU - 9 ND - 9 Mich - 6 DU-10 Northeastern - 4 Vermont - 5 UND - 8 CC - 4 WI - 7 UMTC - 4 UMD - 6 STC - 5 MSUM - 6 UAA - 3 MTU - 2 Northeastern and Vermont appear to be aberrations in the PWR. They have their scoring concentrated in a few players. It would seem that if you can shut down their top line, you have a good chance at winning. Even Michigan doesn't appear to be as balanced as BU, ND, DU, and UND. UND currently has 8 players at 20+, and Kozek and Trupp are at 19 points each. So it would appear that UND is one of the top balanced teams in the country. CC appears to be an aberration in the WCHA, but we saw that this weekend with their scoring basically coming from a few players. I also appreciated the comments about Hakstol's methods being similar to boot camp, tear the players down and then build them back up. Being a veteran, I can understand that. It is clearly a method to build self-confidence as well as to eliminate bad habits. It is just frustrating for us fans to wait for the build up to take hold. I am optimistic about this team's chances in the NCAA's. It will be hard to shut down this UND team totally, although a hot goalie combined with solid defense can do it. I like the current line combinations, but I am concerned that the loss of Lapoint will hurt the PK. our problem with our pk this weekend is that we couldn't clear the zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickboy1956 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I am optimistic about this team's chances in the NCAA's. It will be hard to shut down this UND team totally, although a hot goalie combined with solid defense can do it. I like the current line combinations, but I am concerned that the loss of Lapoint will hurt the PK. I too like our balance on offense. With Lapoint gone, it is even more important that Joe Finley play like a Sr. 1st. round draft pick. He should be our best defenseman every night. Lately he hasn't. Especially with Genoway taking chances on offense, Joe needs to be a force in our zone and not give up the puck so often like he did this weekend vs. CC. If Finley becomes our best player down the stretch, I like our chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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