SIOUX vs UNH WILDCATS

[GeauxSioux]

What a horrible weekend of Sioux hockey. They may as just mail in their forfeit for the regionals. After all of the time I have invested in them this season and they stink that bad. That was just total crap.

Okay, now that I have the BS out of the way, let's get down to business. GO SIOUX!!!

Checking out the past year's brackets, courtesy of AZ, it appears that UNH doesn't get past the first round very often.

With the exception of a couple of weekends (particular this past weekend) the Sioux of 2009 prove that they can beat anybody. The Sioux will be in DC for....

N

[AZSIOUX]

since we are on espn2 saturday im assuming its in HD which is friken sweet!!

oh and my theory is simple, score 3 or more goals and we wont lose a game, dont score 3 and we are done............ the numbers dont lie

[Tommiejo]

I don't think UNH is a bad matchup for you guys. They don't have scoring depth and their goal differential is only +4. This tells me they aren't that strong. BU isn't a great matchup for anyone, but at least if you guys get through there won't be BC waiting for you in DC. Good luck out East!

That's true.

SIOUX FAN SINCE 1973.

[siouxweet]

maybe eades will take the team for a trip down memory lane in that the 81-82 lost it's last two games in the wcha playoffs to the badgers and went on to win the title. so losing the last two games isn't the worse thing in the world-maybe.

[jk]

No one should waste any time worrying about BU. We don't know if UND or BU will advance to play that game. Let's hope to get by UNH and see how Ohio State does against BU. OSU has played and beat some very good teams this year, so they're not going to be scared.

I know the Sioux will belong on the ice with any college team they might meet up with. They might not win, but it wouldn't be surprising if they did (except against BC). Arrogance: We're freaking North Dakota ... we're not scared of anyone (except BC).

[AZSIOUX]

No one should waste any time worrying about BU. We don't know if UND or BU will advance to play that game. Let's hope to get by UNH and see how Ohio State does against BU. OSU has played and beat some very good teams this year, so they're not going to be scared.

I know the Sioux will belong on the ice with any college team they might meet up with. They might not win, but it wouldn't be surprising if they did (except against BC). Arrogance: We're freaking North Dakota ... we're not scared of anyone (except BC).

im pretty sure most sioux fans know UNH is the task at hand but its just natural to take a look at the future possibilities and plus we can look as far as we want we arent the ones out there on skates

go sioux - play fighting sioux hockey and whoop some east coast azz

[Siouxman]

JK - Nice to meet you at the Final Five.

UNH is definitely an up and down team. The ankle injury to their goalie may help explain some of that. They beat some good teams, and they also lost to some not-so-good teams. According to their stats if you shut down the JVR line your odds of winning are pretty good. Let's hope the boys are ready to go.

[Smoggy]

since we are on espn2 saturday im assuming its in HD which is friken sweet!!

oh and my theory is simple, score 3 or more goals and we wont lose a game, dont score 3 and we are done............ the numbers dont lie

Doubt they'll bring the HD cameras, but one can hope!

Even better is that we get some actual hockey knowledge in Buccigras and Melrose as announcers.

[AZSIOUX]

Doubt they'll bring the HD cameras, but one can hope!

Even better is that we get some actual hockey knowledge in Buccigras and Melrose as announcers.

you never know on the HD but you could be correct, also we do get the best announcers by far. melrose did a hell of a job with pang and gary thorne in 05-06 frozen 4

[sioux7>5]

Doubt they'll bring the HD cameras, but one can hope!

Even better is that we get some actual hockey knowledge in Buccigras and Melrose as announcers.

Hey I think it is in HD

[jk]

Let's say Watkins is out. Here's what they did to compensate for his absence on Saturday:

Duncan Hextall Gregoire

Vandy Frattin Malone

Zajac Martens Kozek

Mario Trupp Davidson

One line of thinking is: Kozek was an obvious choice to move up from the fourth line to take Watkins' spot. Still an experienced line that will be good on the wall. However, Kozek's absence turns Mario's line from "one of four" to "the fourth line," which will now not see as much ice as it otherwise would. In that case, Malone, who has really stepped forward and has been one of the best forwards in the last month, needs to move up, so they swap him with Trupp. Perhaps Davidson was the choice over Toews against Wisconsin because they are so big and physical this year.

For UNH, if you want four lines, I probably go with this:

Duncan Hextall Gregoire

Vandy Frattin Trupp

Zajac Martens Kozek

Mario Malone Toews

It's a risk, because you probably just want the fourth line to not get scored on, and Toews might be a risk there since he's not the biggest guy and he hasn't played in a while. Then again, UNH is not a physical team, usually like the CC of the East, so Toews might work since he could make good use of the extra space.

If you want three lines and just want the fourth to see spot duty, then maybe their setup against Wisconsin is the right lineup.

P.S. I have no idea what I'm talking about.

[gfhockey]

To me I think we need toews in. The east plays more of a finess style of hockey. Toews has a lot more play making ablitity (without all the grabbing and holding that goes on in the wcha). Toews IMO should be more effective out there and should be paired with kozek and and maybe a toews pass to a kozxek snipe left hand corner.

[yzerman19]

We HAVE to have line chemistry in the NCAAs. If watty can play I roll:

Dunc with Gregoire and Hexy

VV with Frattin and Trupp

Zajac with Martens and Watty

Malone with Toews and Kozek

If no Watty I roll:

Dunc with Gregoire and Hexy

VV with Frattin and Trupp

Zajac with Martens and Malone

Mario with Toews and Kozek

We really need Watty's on ice leadership. He and Zajac are our best penalty killers too.

[KEH]

Hey I think it is in HD

According to INCH the only true HD games will be the west and the east regionals.

[phriq]

If the Sioux advance and beat UNH and end up playing BU or Ohio, that game will only be on ESPNU? Just the first round will be on ESPN2? That sucks.... D**n College basketball and its television coverage. It's disappointing how such a boring sport gets so much attention. lol... Ok, well it was fun watching the Bison play... but man, College (and NHL) hockey needs more coverage! I live in Fargo and see more Minnesota HS hockey than i do college and NHL..

Wanted to get dish so I could get Center Ice Package, but then I wouldn't be able to FSSN.... ahh... Life for a hockey fan is rough.

[AussieSiouxFan]

OK, I am very excited about this weekend, the Sioux are coming off an absolutely shocking run in the Final 5 but i think they got their bad weekend out of the way and are ready to play the way we know they can, I have a few points,

Firstly, this is one and done playoff hockey, even the most favourite of teams can be knocked out of the tournament by the most unlikely teams (eg. HOLY CROSS ) So i expect to see a lot of upsets as i do every year

Secondly, We are a number 2 seed and the "home" team against UNH so we can always match up Van Riemsdyk's line with our best defensive line using the last change, this is great for us as said many times before JVR is the majority of UNH's offense if we can shut him down we will have a great chance to take down this UNH team

Third, we do need to work on the special teams, the PP is needing a lot of work and with a good PP unit this team could acomplish a lot they just need to fix this FAST, the PK is hurting a little without LaPoint but it is still quite solid we just need to be careful not to take any dumb penalties, with HE refs there will be a lot of calls made so our big D men need to be careful.

Four, Eidsness has become such a reliable goalie for UND, the players have a lot of faith in him and this gives them the confidense to force shots on him from out wide, Sure he may have slipped up once at the Final 5 but it was just a lillte focus slip up, so at least he slipped up then and knows to be focused on even the most innocent plays and he will be ready for the regoinal, he will be solid in net this weekend just as he has been all year.

5, We do need lady luck to work in favour of the Sioux this weekend, i didnt see any of the final 5 but i did hear that there were a lot of unlucky bounces for UND so lets hope that the bad bouncs are all out of the way and now the good bounces will arrive for UND, as the saying goes you have to be "good to be lucky and lucky to be good" so lets hope that UND can earn some of those lucky bounces this weekend

Finally, with the MacNaughton cup UND was expected to do well at the final 5, and that didnt happen, now this team is back to being the under dog and is facing adversity straight in the face, and i think this Sioux team thrives off that, i believe the determination we saw earlier this year is back, they know they are not expected to make it to Washington, they are not in front of a home crowd and they have nothing to lose, i think this will be the driving force for this Sioux team

Lets hope all these things go our way this weekend and the Sioux can hopefully punch their ticket to Washington D.C.

The SK8 for 8 is back on and i cant wait for it to get started.

GO SIOUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AussieSiouxFan]

Wanted to get dish so I could get Center Ice Package, but then I wouldn't be able to FSSN.... ahh... Life for a hockey fan is rough.

Try living Down Under!!!

But the rest of this place is OK i guess,

[phriq]

Try living Down Under!!!

But the rest of this place is OK i guess,

I suppose your are correct on that! lol. Are you originally from up North in the States? Or how did you become a Sioux fan?

Four, Eidsness has become such a reliable goalie for UND, the players have a lot of faith in him and this gives them the confidense to force shots on him from out wide, Sure he may have slipped up once at the Final 5 but it was just a lillte focus slip up, so at least he slipped up then and knows to be focused on even the most innocent plays and he will be ready for the regoinal, he will be solid in net this weekend just as he has been all year.

I agree with most of your points except (partially) with this one. Eidsness, I believe, made more than just a one time slip up. But it was a HUGE mistake that, in my opinion, totally caused a bad chain reaction for the Sioux. And the second goal on Eidsness against Duluth was also a BAD goal on Eidsness. He should have been in MUCH better position for it. I just hope that last weekend was a one time 'weekend' fluke and not foreshadowing of his age and inexperience in these situations coming through. I give him all the credit for the season, but the Sioux's defense and PP REALLY have to step it up a notch.

Also Hexstal needs to SERIOUSLY settle down and Finley needs to pick up his game at defense.

[Wilbur]

Well, I had a horrible feeling going into the final five, so like someone already mentioned hopefully they have that out of their system now. They didn't play a horrible game on Friday night, but Saturday was just a game that really nobody could get excited for, and you could even tell that in the body language of the players. That and I really thought that our fourth line as a whole both games had their worst weekend of the year.

The Keys to beating UNH

~Contain the big fella. Limit his touches and be physical with him.

~No more assists for Eidsness.

~Get better on the power play. That might mean taking Martens off the darn thing.

~Get the puck to the net!!! Way too many shot opportunities passed up this weekend. Shoot the darn thing!

~Watkins.....I hope he can play....I really do.

~The Seniors as a whole. I really hope this group goes into the postseason with the belief that they have unfinished business left in their careers. They've been great to watch, but I really believe they are the #1 key to getting to D.C.

[AussieSiouxFan]

I agree with most of your points except (partially) with this one. Eidsness, I believe, made more than just a one time slip up. But it was a HUGE mistake that, in my opinion, totally caused a bad chain reaction for the Sioux. And the second goal on Eidsness against Duluth was also a BAD goal on Eidsness. He should have been in MUCH better position for it. I just hope that last weekend was a one time 'weekend' fluke and not foreshadowing of his age and inexperience in these situations coming through. I give him all the credit for the season, but the Sioux's defense and PP REALLY have to step it up a notch.

Also Hexstal needs to SERIOUSLY settle down and Finley needs to pick up his game at defense.

I didnt see either of the Eidsness slip ups but by the sounds of it, the goal he gave away was a BIG mistake, but what caused this was a little loss of focus to not check over his shoulder for a forechecker, i guess he assumed on the PP there wouldnt be an aggressive forechecker coming, but he still needs to be 100% focused and ready to play from here on.

Hextall does need to be careful this weekend, the refs will be out there to call every little thing and Hexy can not make any dumb descisions or the Sioux could really pay for it.

I agree, joe needs to pick up his Defensive game, i often find he never knows when to play the puck and not the body, he always choses to play the body and either gets beat to the puck by a small fast player or gets a penalty i think he needs to work on this, but overall he has been a big part of this defensive group and has played well we just need him to play GREAT this weekend as defense will be extremely important in this regional.

[Big A HG]

I didnt see either of the Eidsness slip ups but by the sounds of it, the goal he gave away was a BIG mistake, but what caused this was a little loss of focus to not check over his shoulder for a forechecker, i guess he assumed on the PP there wouldnt be an aggressive forechecker coming, but he still needs to be 100% focused and ready to play from here on.

Hextall does need to be careful this weekend, the refs will be out there to call every little thing and Hexy can not make any dumb descisions or the Sioux could really pay for it.

I agree, joe needs to pick up his Defensive game, i often find he never knows when to play the puck and not the body, he always choses to play the body and either gets beat to the puck by a small fast player or gets a penalty i think he needs to work on this, but overall he has been a big part of this defensive group and has played well we just need him to play GREAT this weekend as defense will be extremely important in this regional.

Joe looks bad b/c he's covering all 3 guys in front of our net while Chay is off in la-la-land.

[brianvf]

Secondly, We are a number 2 seed and the "home" team against UNH so we can always match up Van Riemsdyk's line with our best defensive line using the last change, this is great for us as said many times before JVR is the majority of UNH's offense if we can shut him down we will have a great chance to take down this UNH team

This is a huge point. If we can match up our best defensive line against the JVR line and hopefully shut them down, that would be an enourmous help.

That, and a PPG or two. And no SHG allowed.

[Blackheart]

OK, I am very excited about this weekend, the Sioux are coming off an absolutely shocking run in the Final 5 but i think they got their bad weekend out of the way and are ready to play the way we know they can, I have a few points,

Firstly, this is one and done playoff hockey, even the most favourite of teams can be knocked out of the tournament by the most unlikely teams (eg. HOLY CROSS ) So i expect to see a lot of upsets as i do every year

Secondly, We are a number 2 seed and the "home" team against UNH so we can always match up Van Riemsdyk's line with our best defensive line using the last change, this is great for us as said many times before JVR is the majority of UNH's offense if we can shut him down we will have a great chance to take down this UNH team

Third, we do need to work on the special teams, the PP is needing a lot of work and with a good PP unit this team could acomplish a lot they just need to fix this FAST, the PK is hurting a little without LaPoint but it is still quite solid we just need to be careful not to take any dumb penalties, with HE refs there will be a lot of calls made so our big D men need to be careful.

Four, Eidsness has become such a reliable goalie for UND, the players have a lot of faith in him and this gives them the confidense to force shots on him from out wide, Sure he may have slipped up once at the Final 5 but it was just a lillte focus slip up, so at least he slipped up then and knows to be focused on even the most innocent plays and he will be ready for the regoinal, he will be solid in net this weekend just as he has been all year.

5, We do need lady luck to work in favour of the Sioux this weekend, i didnt see any of the final 5 but i did hear that there were a lot of unlucky bounces for UND so lets hope that the bad bouncs are all out of the way and now the good bounces will arrive for UND, as the saying goes you have to be "good to be lucky and lucky to be good" so lets hope that UND can earn some of those lucky bounces this weekend

Finally, with the MacNaughton cup UND was expected to do well at the final 5, and that didnt happen, now this team is back to being the under dog and is facing adversity straight in the face, and i think this Sioux team thrives off that, i believe the determination we saw earlier this year is back, they know they are not expected to make it to Washington, they are not in front of a home crowd and they have nothing to lose, i think this will be the driving force for this Sioux team

Lets hope all these things go our way this weekend and the Sioux can hopefully punch their ticket to Washington D.C.

The SK8 for 8 is back on and i cant wait for it to get started.

GO SIOUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with pretty much everything you said...the Sioux did not play bad on Friday, they just couldn't get a bounce...Eidsness made a bad play but you still gotta put the puck in the net to win...I felt pretty bad after losing to UW but I think going out east will give the Sioux a chance to regroup...to quote the movie Apollo 13, "with all due respect sir, I think this will be our finest hour"....Go Sioux, take it to'em!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Oxbow6]

The Zajac line, with or without Watkins, has to come up big this weekend. They were almost non-exisitant in St. Paul. I did like what I saw from Kozek and Malone most of the time...big/physical play helps this team alot. But I think the one player that will decide this weekend is VV. He didn't play well at all in the F5. He can dominate a game better than almost any one UND has because of size, strength and skill. He needs to be HUGE for UND to advance to the F4. BE needs to be solid of course. UND wins when they get 3+ goals/game and they lose when they don't...plain and simple!

[GeauxSioux]

Wildcats, where they want to be, draw Sioux

Drawing North Dakota in the first round is no break.

As the Wildcats watched the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN2 yesterday, there was no cheering, no yelling in a subdued upstairs lounge at the Whittemore Center when their assignment was posted on the screen.

"No one's going to be happy playing North Dakota," said senior and captain Greg Collins later. "But anyone can beat anyone ... And guys are definitely excited that we're in the tournament and have a chance to go to the Frozen Four. A lot of teams are on spring break right now and we're happy we're not one of those teams."