SIOUX vs UNH

[UNDPUCKS]

Wow, that sucked. Thanks to ALL the men who played their last game for the Fighting Sioux Hockey Team. You guys made it an incredible four years, or three, or whatever. Not our day today from the little more that half of the game that I was able to see in WI.

Melrose saying remember that open net on Duncan, made me mad. #2 is not the reason we lost, nor #5 being out of position, nor any one play or player. Thanks again for being the quality people that you all are, I will miss seeing you in D.C.

[Big A HG]

Big A - NO EFFING WAY will Genoway be criticized. The guy has made some great plays over his 3 years here and is a fan favorite. He wasn't drafted. Finley was a first round pick and therefore, should have been Dion Phaneuf/JMFJ/EJ/Pronger/Chara all rolled into one. And yea, I'll go as far as to say Genoway or any of the other D could have skated around the perimeter scoping out the chicks while Finley was left high and dry and Finley still would have been crucified.

Well, Finley has one thing going for him though: At least he's not Brian Lee. (FYI- For those of you tired of hearing about it, I'll NEVER stop bringing it up until posters here tire of throwing players under the bus when the team blows it big time. Finley had a bad game. Wow. So did the team otherwise they would have WON THE GAME).

siouxperseven - Yup. MARK MY WORDS: Finley WILL play in the NHL. I don't know for which team or how long it will take for him to reach the pros, but Washington drafted two big D in the first round that year and Finley is the ONLY one they talk about. The other, Pakaluk (out of Cornell) has been rather quiet.

Hmmm... I'll take Finley 10 times out of 10 opportunities over Pakaluk. Heh. Cornell didn't even recruit his brother.

I guess that makes us the Bash-Defense Brothers, haha.

Finley didn't have his best game, but for one defensive pairing to be on the ice for FIVE opposing goals, something wasn't right. If you really break down the plays where Joe looks like the bad guy, you will find that 2/3 of the time it starts with #5, Chay Genoway.

All these people that think Chay even has a chance at the next level really confuse me. I have no idea what they see in him in a professional league.

Hak should move Chay back to forward next year. I think he could be a BAMF next year not having as much defensive responsibility. Chay for Hobey next year as a FORWARD!

[mujack]

Question - I'm not a great hockey mind but wanted to understand

As we held the lead with a few min. remaining, it seemed as if we were still going with the aggressive forecheck. UNH even had a 2on1 rush late... When we play Denver/Duluth/WI, and they have a lead they always have 3 men on the blue line and minimal forecheck.... Were we too aggressive at the end leaving ourselves open to the rush?

Also after unh won in OT it looked like duncan was questioning something to HAK, any thoughts?

[Big A HG]

Question - I'm not a great hockey mind but wanted to understand

As we held the lead with a few min. remaining, it seemed as if we were still going with the aggressive forecheck. UNH even had a 2on1 rush late... When we play Denver/Duluth/WI, and they have a lead they always have 3 men on the blue line and minimal forecheck.... Were we too aggressive at the end leaving ourselves open to the rush?

Also after unh won in OT it looked like duncan was questioning something to HAK, any thoughts?

I tried to figure that one out myself...my initial thought was an offside. I could have rewound it and looked but was too disappointed....doesn't matter if it was b/c we aren't moving on either way.

[redwing77]

I tried to figure that one out myself...my initial thought was an offside. I could have rewound it and looked but was too disappointed....doesn't matter if it was b/c we aren't moving on either way.

Then there is no one to blame than the players on the ice.

Off sides or not, you play out the action until you know for sure a whistle has sounded.

IF they assumed that it was offsides and slowed down... then... wow.

[Going48]

he sucked, she sucked, this year, next year, blaa..........blaa...............blaa............

Bottom line, I just expected more or should I say, anticipated more once we moved into the Ralph almost a decade ago. And what do we have to show for it, two WCHA titles???

This season is nothing more then the previous eight seasons: would'uv, could'uv, should'uv.....

In my opinion, NOT ACCEPTABLE !!!!!!!!!!

[siouxforce19]

It's over. Done with. It's a waste of time to start putting blame anywhere b/c it doesn't change the heartbreaking loss. The boys that come back have some things to work on. With the way the tourney has gone, are we really surprised? Time to move on.

What is it? 6 months til next season??

[kfah1]

Sigh! What a disapointing end.... I was pretty upset afterwards (no different than any other Sioux fan) but I'm sure it is no comparison to what the team felt. I'm only a fan. It now is what it is...

I'm glad I waited to get on the board to post afterwards. I probably would've spewed some crap out of frustration.

What a crazy season! As always, I look forward to next season. All the best to the seniors on their future endeavors.

Thanks for another season of fighting Sioux hockey!

[undchris]

Disappointing is all I will say about this game and the end of the season. But with the way BU is playing I wouldn't be surprised if it is going to be another blowout tomorrow against New Hampshire.

[brianvf]

Disappointing is all I will say about this game and the end of the season. But with the way BU is playing I wouldn't be surprised if it is going to be another blowout tomorrow against New Hampshire.

Yeah, BU looks to be a step above every other team this year.

[siouxprideforever]

Personally, I can't wait to see the next episode of Brad Miller Time! Perhaps he will explain what happened to the team this year. It is way to easy to say that we just got beat. This team didn't just get lucky and win the McNaughton. They didn't overachieve either! They grew into a team that after early season challenges got their act together and stormed through the WCHA. Then something happened - while it is easy to say put the losses behind us and focus on next year, but I don't buy that. I am hopeful that we learn from this experience as well as our performance in the last four post season collapses. It is tough to legitimize these continual collapses - yes it is an accomplishment to get to the big show, but why can't our teams continue to play like the team that got them to the post season? This is not intended to be in indicment on our system - it is just starting to feel like that Bill Murry movie where he wakes up every day and it the same as the day before!

[johnsowe]

Back in Boston. What a game and a disapointment!! We should have had that game. I think it was like our season bad things happen at the wrong times. Why was the face in the zone it should have not been and we had two times to clear it but it went in the box!! What i good team we had this year not great but good. The thing we needed was that special player that can change the game.

[siouxpa]

I'm as disappointed as anyone with the way this season ended, but I gotta say, the way we finished the regular season was pretty amazing after the lackluster start. Not only that, but 5 frozen four appearances in a row is a pretty hefty task. I think that's an awful lot to expect out of even the most prestigious of hockey programs. The loss today stung for sure, but after having had a few hours to let my emotions settle down, I think we as fans should be happy that they made it this far. Just my 2 cents.

[Sterling]

Lets face it, it's tough to out-recruit power house teams like Bemidji St and get players to give you 60 minutes. We must have had a lot of over achievers on this squad this year to have accomplished so much. Although the odds are usually with you when you have a 2 goal lead in the 3rd period, it's really hard to develop a game plan to close those types of games out. Very few coaches have that ability, or perhaps it's just luck or lack of bounces. Ah well, good try guys.

[jk]

Don't ask why I did it, but I had to go back and see the GTG.

You won't believe this, or maybe everyone already saw it this way, but that goal rang off the far post and went in. If you slow it down, the puck goes off the back boards to Pollastrone, who shovels it out front. Genoway sees it coming and dives, reaching the puck first. His stick pushes the puck away from the net, just as Fortney takes his swing. Because Genoway got there first, Fortney's shot is not clean, and the puck flies across the crease in the air, where it hits the far post and goes in. Which of course makes it even more frustrating. A game of inches and tenths of seconds.

[Irish]

These playoff collapses recently all have the same feel. - Our defense looks like crap. I think the thing that killed us was our 5th goal - we then went into our totally ineffective defensive shell - I have Never see this work. Come on coaches. I am tired of our seasons ending on this kind of game. I want #8 and am getting impatient. We have just graduated the greatest recruiting class in our history (maybe in the history of college hockey) and have no championships to show for it. Unless we get turned around I see a long drought (good but not great teams). With our tradition and facility we expect better. I'm having another drink and going to bed - I can't believe we ended like this again.

[brianvf]

Brad with a good writeup on the Sioux blog:

http://www.areavoices.com/undhockey/?blog=47220

[DAR]

Give it a couple years. When Joe is in the big show looking good, people will be like "remember when Joe played here? We sure miss him."

I'm glad Joe is leaving for his sake. If people really watched the game, watch how out of position Mr. Chay "Awesome" Genoway is 90% of the game leaving Big Joe hanging.

There is some truth to that that Genoway rushes the ice and Joe is back to cover...but I seem to remember the last couple of games in the FF Collins and then Gerbe really exploited Finley. Too bad for Joe but he cannot handle the quickness of the college game when we play the best teams.

[DAR]

And you seem to think that I believe the SIOUX can do no wrong. I don't. I don't think that it is fair or appropriate to CONSISTENTLY AND CONSTANTLY RAIL individual players on a team you supposedly root for.

If posters here "don't blame X for the loss" then why do they rail on him so much instead of railing on the team for choking away the game?

Because they want to blame SOMEONE for the loss and there's Finley...whose game was poor, for sure, but it stood out because some posters here decided almost from day FREAKING ONE that Finley sucked.

I have no problem with railing on the SIOUX as a TEAM. But pointing fingers at individual players over and over and over again? Nope. Sorry. I'll stand up for that player EVERY SINGLE TIME. No matter how aggravating or annoying I get.

So if Jones and Marto were out there to start the OT would we have given up that type of goal?? I highly doubt it.

[Big A HG]

There is some truth to that that Genoway rushes the ice and Joe is back to cover...but I seem to remember the last couple of games in the FF Collins and then Gerbe really exploited Finley. Too bad for Joe but he cannot handle the quickness of the college game when we play the best teams.

I haven't seen the 07 game in awhile, but if you rewatch the 08 game, Chay was forcing way too much and out of position just like many games this year. Joe was all alone stopping 2 on 1's half the time. Chay wasn't a defenseman yet in 07 anyways, so they weren't even a D-pair yet.

I'm not saying Joe is perfect, but it takes two to tango.

[SiouxAddict]

UND played well against both UMD and UNH. They could have easily won both games.

Well, except for the fact that our boys couldn't score a single goal against UMD that night in a 3-0 shutout.....

The UNH game, however, could, and SHOULD, have been won by the Sioux!

[GeauxSioux]

Sigh! What a disapointing end.... I was pretty upset afterwards (no different than any other Sioux fan) but I'm sure it is no comparison to what the team felt. I'm only a fan. It now is what it is...

I'm glad I waited to get on the board to post afterwards. I probably would've spewed some crap out of frustration.

What a crazy season! As always, I look forward to next season. All the best to the seniors on their future endeavors.

Thanks for another season of fighting Sioux hockey!

This post pretty much sums up my feelings.

I followed the game via blackberry yesterday, as I was out most of the day. I was in total shock at what happened and very frustrated, but like you said we're only fans and nothing we feel even comes to close to how the team feels.

I felt bad for the Princeton guys the night before, not that I wanted to Duluth to win or lose, I just felt bad for Princeton. It never entered my mind that UND would go through the same thing the next day.

I will always be a fan of UND athletics, no matter what.

[yzerman19]

So we couldn't buy a goal in the Final 5, but we can rock out 5 in the regional...I agree that something must be done about the play in the WCHA.

UNH didn't play last weekend, but had two weeks off to nurse their wounds. I have to believe that factored in at the end.

When is the last time that BE let in 6 goals? The big stage, a long season, I have to believe that it took its toll on the kid.

I sort of feel like this was the end of a golden age in Sioux hockey. The 2000's will go down as a decade of almosts...1 title, 2 runners up, 6 trips to the Frozen Four. How many elite NHL players? Parise and Toews, Stafford and Zajac, Oshie, Greene, Lee (no comments please), Murray...Add in ridiculous college players: Bochenski, Lundbohm, Dunc, Chorney. Great leaders and role players like Porter and Bina and Kaip and Prpich. Man it has been a fun time to be a SIoux fan.

This year's edition ws built on depth...how come in the biggest game of the year all the production came from the top two lines?

I really did think that we carried most of the play yesterday. It was certainly an entertaining game. I wish the WCHA would call games that same way, that was pretty up and down hockey.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Sorry, Peter Puck, but all teams at this time of the season are battling injuries. That excuse doesn't fly.

Always nice to hear from a know-it-all with 16 posts. First of all start by reading Brad's Blog to get a brief rundown on some of the team's injuries. There are most certainly two other significant ones he isn't mentioning regarding two players who were in yesterday's lineup. Then take a look at the teams making the FF. At least two of them had last weekend off and were well rested and healed. Stick to the sports you know that involve playing with little balls.

[yzerman19]

So Finley and VV with separated shoulders, Hexy with a broken foot, Watty with a sprained knee, Trupp with some mystery ailment. Sucks, but you play with the cards you're dealt. Maybe our injuries were worse than other teams'.