Sioux Hockey 09/10

[DAR]

Conference standings next year:

1) Denver

2) Minnesota

3) Wisconsin

4) North Dakota

5) Duluth

6) CC

7) Anchorage

8) Mankato

9) St. Cloud

10) Mich. Tech

6-10 were all hard to pick. All of them could shuffle within those positions. Tech was bad this year, but very injured. Someone has to be last, so I felt that's where they'd be. St. Cloud doesn't have the guns. UAA has shown improvements big time with Shyiak (sp?). CC is losing a ton, but they still should be good enough to finish ahead of the bottom feeders. Mankato is losing a few good players and will be tough for them to rebound from a promising season.

We don't have anyone that clearly stands out as the best team for next year I don't think depending on who leaves and stays for Denver, but they look the most solid for sure. Minn and Wisc will reload as usual. Duluth will be good, but still not good enough to jump them into the top 3 or 4. North Dakota is just kinda there. Not pushing for a top spot realistically, but staying ahead of the lesser teams.

Who knows how it will play out. I see Bozak leaving for Denver. With Stoa gone I don't think Minny will be world beaters next year. I just hope the Sioux can start strong and forget about this big second half surge and peak at the right time.

[brianvf]

As long as INCH predicts that we finish in 7th again, we'll be just fine.

[Big A HG]

As long as INCH predicts that we finish in 7th again, we'll be just fine.

Well.....we did win a conference title....but also failed in the playoffs. I'd like to see more green banners despite white banners being nice.

[siouxforce19]

As long as INCH predicts that we finish in 7th again, we'll be just fine.

oh they will...because we have no...defense?

But whatev....whatever floats their boat.

[UND85]

Next year we could potentially have just 3 seniors on the team after having 8 this year. At first I thought that was a low number to only have 3 in your senior class, but then checked the past few years. Of course we have lost many over the years to early departures. I hope everyone comes back that can. I'll try and get the rest of the schedule for next season this week.

2000-2001= 4

2001-2002=3

2002-2003=3

2003-2004=3

2004-2005=9

2005-2006=2

2006-2007=3

2007-2008=4

[Irish]

Conference standings next year:

1) Denver

2) Minnesota

3) Wisconsin

4) North Dakota

5) Duluth

6) CC

7) Anchorage

8) Mankato

9) St. Cloud

10) Mich. Tech

6-10 were all hard to pick. All of them could shuffle within those positions. Tech was bad this year, but very injured. Someone has to be last, so I felt that's where they'd be. St. Cloud doesn't have the guns. UAA has shown improvements big time with Shyiak (sp?). CC is losing a ton, but they still should be good enough to finish ahead of the bottom feeders. Mankato is losing a few good players and will be tough for them to rebound from a promising season.

We don't have anyone that clearly stands out as the best team for next year I don't think depending on who leaves and stays for Denver, but they look the most solid for sure. Minn and Wisc will reload as usual. Duluth will be good, but still not good enough to jump them into the top 3 or 4. North Dakota is just kinda there. Not pushing for a top spot realistically, but staying ahead of the lesser teams.

Does anyone else feel that after all these years of playoff frustration and no championships that this type of year is unacceptable. It's time for us to bring in some studs and become an elite team again. I want the days back when we reloaded in stead of rebuilt. Hak needs to step it up. I'm getting impatient.

[Goon]

Does anyone else feel that after all these years of playoff frustration and no championships that this type of year is unacceptable. It's time for us to bring in some studs and become an elite team again. I want the days back when we reloaded in stead of rebuilt. Hak needs to step it up. I'm getting impatient.

Huh, you're kidding right? We won a MacNaughten Cup. That is a lot better than any of the other teams in the WCHA and only one WCHA team went further in the NCAA playoffs and we could make the arguement that we may have did better than Michigan and Notre Dame because we didn't lose to a 4 seed.

[yzerman19]

we're going to be in a lot of trouble defensively. In the end it was defense that cost us this year too. You can't expect to win giving up six goals.

We will be very solid upfront. The new guys have some big time skill. I'm expecting that kristo and Cichy play with Gregoire and Frattin. I like the idea of putting Zajac and Hexy together.

[Goon]

we're going to be in a lot of trouble defensively. In the end it was defense that cost us this year too. You can't expect to win giving up six goals.

We will be very solid upfront. The new guys have some big time skill. I'm expecting that kristo and Cichy play with Gregoire and Frattin. I like the idea of putting Zajac and Hexy together.

How about Brad Malone? He looked pretty good yesterday with Vandy.

[yzerman19]

Malone will be on one of the top two lines.

[Shawn-O]

Huh, you're kidding right? We won a MacNaughten Cup. That is a lot better than any of the other teams in the WCHA and only one WCHA team went further in the NCAA playoffs and we could make the arguement that we may have did better than Michigan and Notre Dame because we didn't lose to a 4 seed.

I agree with Goon. The loss hurts like hell, but this team exceeded expectations IMO, particularly winning the McNaughton. Looking at that roster in October I saw a 4th place WCHA team and about a 3 seed in the NCAA. Looking forward to next fall and another great season of Sioux hockey! Perhaps the last season of "SIOUX" hockey....

[Goon]

Conference standings next year:

1) Denver

2) Minnesota

3) Wisconsin

4) North Dakota

5) Duluth

6) CC

7) Anchorage

8) Mankato

9) St. Cloud

10) Mich. Tech

I am going to have to disagree with the guy that made my Avitar as well, I don't see UND finishing out of the top three.

[redwing77]

Huh, you're kidding right? We won a MacNaughten Cup. That is a lot better than any of the other teams in the WCHA and only one WCHA team went further in the NCAA playoffs and we could make the arguement that we may have did better than Michigan and Notre Dame because we didn't lose to a 4 seed.

Yup.

We were a 2. UNH was a 3. PRetty evenly matched. A toss up.

Michigan, DU, and ND losing takes our choke job off the hook. Still a choke job, but we can truthfully say we showed up. Michigan and ND are still trying to find where their teams went and why their intramural teams had to take the game instead.

And I maintain Miami got lucky and UMD ran out of luck.

[yzerman19]

Yup.

We were a 2. UNH was a 3. PRetty evenly matched. A toss up.

Michigan, DU, and ND losing takes our choke job off the hook. Still a choke job, but we can truthfully say we showed up. Michigan and ND are still trying to find where their teams went and why their intramural teams had to take the game instead.

And I maintain Miami got lucky and UMD ran out of luck.

Not only a 2 and a 3, but 8 and 9 overall. Still no excuse, we should've won that game.

[Dden1]

For some reason I want to say that it's because the NCAA only allows you to have three coaches on the payroll, most of the time teams go with a head coach and two assistants. Therefore goalie coaches are usually on a volunteer basis. I could be completely wrong however.

There was a big feature story in the Denver Post this past week in connection with Denver opening up in the national tournament. The gist of the article was the fact that DU has employed a goalie coach for the past several (like 10) years. They also quoted some of the goalies who have gone through the system as essentially saying they learned more about goaltending at DU than they had in their pre-college years or during their pro careers. Gwozdecky said he would always keep a goalie coach on staff. Gwoz maintains that the national tournament is a goaltending tournament. It is hard to argue against that year in, year out DU has had the best goaltending in the WCHA for several years. Dubawitz, Mannino, Berkhoel, Cheverie and others have been very good for them. I think Sioux have had suspect, inconsistent goaltending ever since Goering graduated. I would be curious to know just what kind of coaching the goaltenders at UND get or for that matter what kind of expertise the coaching staff has in picking goalies. I didn't have much faith in Parise or Lammy ability to steal a tournament like some of the DU goalies have done.

[yzerman19]

There was a big feature story in the Denver Post this past week in connection with Denver opening up in the national tournament. The gist of the article was the fact that DU has employed a goalie coach for the past several (like 10) years. They also quoted some of the goalies who have gone through the system as essentially saying they learned more about goaltending at DU than they had in their pre-college years or during their pro careers. Gwozdecky said he would always keep a goalie coach on staff. Gwoz maintains that the national tournament is a goaltending tournament. It is hard to argue against that year in, year out DU has had the best goaltending in the WCHA for several years. Dubawitz, Mannino, Berkhoel, Cheverie and others have been very good for them. I think Sioux have had suspect, inconsistent goaltending ever since Goering graduated. I would be curious to know just what kind of coaching the goaltenders at UND get or for that matter what kind of expertise the coaching staff has in picking goalies. I didn't have much faith in Parise or Lammy ability to steal a tournament like some of the DU goalies have done.

A goalie coach could certainly help, but I think a d coach ala Brad Berry would be even better.

I get what you say about jpar, but Lammy was a Hobey finalist who stole us a few games.

[siouxprideforever]

A goalie coach could certainly help, but I think a d coach ala Brad Berry would be even better.

I get what you say about jpar, but Lammy was a Hobey finalist who stole us a few games.

As I recall, Lammy's dad was a D1 goaltender. I am wondering when our coaching staff will realize the import of this facet of the coaching team. Perhaps, they could talk with Lammy's dad to provide some insight.

[brianvf]

Dubawitz, Mannino, Berkhoel, Cheverie and others have been very good for them.

Having a goalie coach on DU's staff certainly didn't help Cheverie against Miami.

[Irish]

Huh, you're kidding right? We won a MacNaughten Cup. That is a lot better than any of the other teams in the WCHA and only one WCHA team went further in the NCAA playoffs and we could make the arguement that we may have did better than Michigan and Notre Dame because we didn't lose to a 4 seed.

Kidding - no

At this point in their coaching careers, Gino had 2 national titles and Blais 1 with another one coming in his 6th year. We have gone thorugh an incredible run of talent without one. Did we overachieve this year and win a MacNaughten - yes. My point is that we have tried it both ways now - loaded with top end talent and running 4 lines without a star. We still have not found a way to win it all. I don't see a national championship team next year either. I'm frustrated with the drought. Hak knew the expectations coming in. We need to pick it up.

[brianvf]

Kidding - no

At this point in their coaching careers, Gino had 2 national titles and Blais 1 with another one coming in his 6th year.

Hakstol is facing more parity in college hockey than Gino and Blais ever did.

The thought of Air Force and BSU making (or almost making) the F4 would have been unheard of back in their days. In the Gino and Blais eras, you could have made a list at the beginning of the seasons of 10 teams, and more than likely all four of the F4 teams would have been on that list. You can't do that anymore.

Am I disappointed that Hakstol hasn't won a NT in his four trips to the F4? Definitely. But I'm not going to compare him to Blais and Gino because the situations are different.

And I like how you are already writing off next year's team, especially being that our current season ended less than 12 hours ago. Nicely done.

[jimdahl]

Hakstol is facing more parity in college hockey than Gino and Blais ever did.

The thought of Air Force and BSU making (or almost making) the F4 would have been unheard of back in their days. In the Gino and Blais eras, you could have made a list at the beginning of the seasons of 10 teams, and more than likely all four of the F4 teams would have been on that list. You can't do that anymore.

Am I disappointed that Hakstol hasn't won a NT in his four trips to the F4? Definitely. But I'm not going to compare him to Blais and Gino because the situations are different.

And I like how you are already writing off next year's team, especially being that our current season ended less than 12 hours ago. Nicely done.

While it's true that the nature (and even format) of the tournament has changed dramatically over the years, this sort of fan reaction to success has certainly been seen before.

It's a little tired already, but the best WCHA analogy for fan reaction really is Woog, who also started with 4 Frozen Fours then an NCAA tournament appearance. He continued to make the NCAA tournament for the next 7 years including 2 regular season titles and 3 WCHA tournament titles. By that point opponents' fans, and quite a few Gopher fans, were mercilessly criticizing him as leading talented teams that always choke on the big stage. Two losing seasons and he was out, despite 12 tournament appearances, 4 regular seasons titles, 3 WCHA titles, and a 390-188-40 (.66) record in 14 years.

My point? I guess that fans of successful programs mercilessly expect continued success. Making the big stage only placates people who didn't expect to make it (e.g. NDSU basketball fans). I personally call it the Denny Green effect, because that was the first and last time I personally fell for it -- putting together too successful a regular season year after year just begins to annoy your fanbase when you never finish it up in the playoffs; fans come to take your year-after-year success as assumed, as a given, and wonder why you aren't delivering more. It's not shocking to see a small number of Sioux fans utter similar murmurs in the last couple years as the drought turns 10 (though I personally think 5 years is way too small a sample to make any such claims about a very successful and obviously talented coach).

However, while I think it an interesting discussion, brianvf is also absolutely right that it's a bit of a downer for an '09-'10 Sioux thread. Fighting Sioux 2009-10: we're bringing in a bunch of new talent, the Sioux are so far undefeated, and the possibilities are endless. I'm looking forward to the kickoff of a new decade of Sioux hockey.

[yzerman19]

If Chay goes pro, and despite his critics and size, etc. he will be a pro hockey player; we are in a world of hurt on the blueline.

I do not think that Chay is the second coming of Scott Neidermayer, and I think it is doubtful that he will see the NHL. However, he is definitely AHL material. Coming off WCHA defensive player of the year honors and first team al-WCHA and being undrafted will most likely lead to some offers...If he gets offered a job with a $100k signing bonus and $65k per year to skate in the AHL, I'd be surprised if he didn't jump.

Back to the blueline sans Chay.

Marto and Blood

Lapoint and Finehage

Gleason and MacWilliam

That is a very, very green dcorps. I predict that dcorps costs us some games early leading to another second half team.

We will be fine up front, although I don't know who we have for natural centers other than Zajac.

[Irish]

Hakstol is facing more parity in college hockey than Gino and Blais ever did.

The thought of Air Force and BSU making (or almost making) the F4 would have been unheard of back in their days. In the Gino and Blais eras, you could have made a list at the beginning of the seasons of 10 teams, and more than likely all four of the F4 teams would have been on that list. You can't do that anymore.

Am I disappointed that Hakstol hasn't won a NT in his four trips to the F4? Definitely. But I'm not going to compare him to Blais and Gino because the situations are different.

And I like how you are already writing off next year's team, especially being that our current season ended less than 12 hours ago. Nicely done.

Is it unfair to compare this coach to his immediate predecessors and have roughly the same expectations - I don't think so

Is it way harder to win a championship now compared to 10 years ago - I don't know, but since we last won one Minnesota, Boston College, and Denver have each won 2 and Wisconsin has won one.

Am I writing off next year's season because I said I don't see a National Championship at this point - no more than others who are trying to be realistic - Big A HG picks us 4th in the WCHA, Yzerman states we're going to be in a lot of trouble defensively" - etc. I'm stating my opinion and could do without your snide remarks.

[jk]

It's tricky without knowing exactly who will be on the team next year, but there are a few general areas I think you can look to.

1. The defense will be more physical. Sounds odd losing Jones and Finley, but in a way Jones is physical without the size, and Finley is size without the physical (partly because he often gets penalized because of his size, and partly because he just doesn't have the killer mentality of a Smaby or Greene). Blood will play more, and he crushed a few people this year. Fienhage and McWilliam will probably play a lot, and they are both big and I think nasty. This will look at times like a shift back to the crushers of a few years ago. There will also be more penalties, so I hope the PK is good. Also, I'm no doctor, but I think LaPoint will be ready to go.

2. The forwards will be less gritty. The incoming class is smaller and quicker, with the exception of Forney, who is big but not a grinder. They're replacing seniors who, while not all bangers, are sturdy physical guys who are good on the wall. There will still be plenty of size and grit, as VV, Zajac, Malone, Frattin, Hextall, Gregoire and Mario all know how to throw a check. Still, next year will be a continuation of this year offensively, as it was a throwback to the days of rolling four dangerous lines. There will be some nifty offensive players on all the lines. That will make for some fine, entertaining games with MN and CC, and perhaps continued struggles with the bigger older clubs like UAA, Tech and Mankato.

3. Who will play the point on the PP? This year it was Genoway, Marto, Miller and usually Martens. Two of those guys are gone for sure. Who can step into the other two or three spots? LaPoint and Blood both played there in juniors; maybe LaPoint will be ready at this level. Trupp seems to have the skillset. Another poster talked about Toews in that kind of a role. It's obviously crucial that these spots are filled effectively.

[siouxforce19]

Is it unfair to compare this coach to his immediate predecessors and have roughly the same expectations - I don't think so

Is it way harder to win a championship now compared to 10 years ago - I don't know, but since we last won one Minnesota, Boston College, and Denver have each won 2 and Wisconsin has won one.

Am I writing off next year's season because I said I don't see a National Championship at this point - no more than others who are trying to be realistic - Big A HG picks us 4th in the WCHA, Yzerman states we're going to be in a lot of trouble defensively" - etc. I'm stating my opinion and could do without your snide remarks.

You're in the wrong place if you can't handle some snide remarks. I think it's pretty ballsy of you to write off a season that hasn't even started. People can pick a team 4th in the WCHA, sure... but we all know predictions are just that...predictions. We don't know what will happen in the off season and what kind of progression will be made from this season to the next. I suggest everyone wait until a game is played in the 09-10 season before writing anybody off. I don't stop watching/paying attention/supporting Sioux hockey because I don't think they are capable of winning a national championship. I watch because I love the game.