INCH's top 10 for 09-10

[siouxweet]

This is the latest from INCH I was thinking about that UND is going to be flying under the radar this season after winning the MacNaughton Cup last season. No offense to Denver fans but I am not impressed with Cheverie as a goaltender, I still think he is there weak leak. Except for Wiercioch who is a great and up and coming player I like our players just as well as their.

I've said this before-who cares what these so called experts think in may,june or october. it did them well picking us to finish 7th last year and cc as the overwhelming favorite to win the wcha. flying under the radar will do me just fine.

[siouxforce19]

All this hype for Denver could come crashing down all around them for all they know. (I'm expecting it) It could be a kiss of death like it was for CC. I'm waiting for a potential EPIC FAIL.

[Sioux-per Villain]

All this hype for Denver could come crashing down all around them for all they know. (I'm expecting it) It could be a kiss of death like it was for CC. I'm waiting for a potential EPIC FAIL.

or they could live up to the hype ala BU

[siouxforce19]

or they could live up to the hype ala BU

BU didn't have that much hype preseason though. A little, but not like DU has right now. They got a lot of hype once the season got going... so it's a little bit different case. Remember, BC was the preseason number 1 team in the country?

[Goon]

BU didn't have that much hype preseason though. A little, but not like DU has right now. They got a lot of hype once the season got going... so it's a little bit different case. Remember, BC was the preseason number 1 team in the country?

All I see is a team that was crushed 8-3 by the Sioux. I dunno, I don't think they are head and tails above anyone else.

If anything UND and Wisconsin are just as talented.

[fightingsiouxfan86]

INCH is a JOKE!!! Okay I know we failed in the WCHA tourney as well as the NCAA (even though I think the game against UNH was played very well on our part. We had some great plays and I think defence did relatively well up until the OT.) But UND's second half surge was pretty exceptional, going from the bottom of the WCHA to the #1 spot takes talent and determination, something only a great team can produce. I think to not even include the WCHA regular season champs (considering WCHA is probably one of the toughest leagues in the country) is just rediculous! You could easily take out Prinston or Cornell! I'm not gonna say they didn't have a good record last year (except Prinston's failed final game against UMD) but you need to take into consideration the other teams in their league, none are particulary exceptional so I am not surprised they posted the records they did.

As far as Minnesota being #3 I think that is a prediction with hopes far too high. "when he's on his game, Kangas can be a difference maker" I cannot believe any serious hockey fan would ever even make a statement like that! That can be said for just about any golie out there, when they're good they're good... big deal! When they're not good, they SUCK! Kangas may have had a good '07-'08 season and a decent first half of last season but if you look at his career stats I would not say he is an exceptional golie, I would instead say he can sometimes have the potential to play very well, in fact he has basically carried the goofs through many games but that doesn't make him exceptional.

I kind of get the feeling UND is hated by INCH. Even when we turned our season around last year to become Mcnaughton cup champs when you read the articles on INCH regarding us it feels a little like they are pulling teeth when giving us credit. Almost like they really had to try to find good things to say about our team.

I also think UND should have had at least one guy on the Hobey Baker top 10 list, I mean come on! All I can say is Chay Genoway! This kid has a 3.64 gpa and is one of the best defencemen in the country, last time I checked that pretty much meets the criteria for a Hobey Baker canidate. I'm not even saying he is the best candidate out there, I am merely saying he will probably be a finalist or at least he deserves it.

We have a pretty amazing team coming in for next season, a lot of fresh blood but it seems we play very well with a young team. And we do have some pretty solid upperclassmen coming back, I think the combination of the new talent and the time-tested old talent will prove to be very successful.

I guess we're just gonna have to kick ass and prove INCH wrong... again! haha

[siouxweet]

All I see is a team that was crushed 8-3 by the Sioux. I dunno, I don't think they are head and tails above anyone else.

If anything UND and Wisconsin are just as talented.

how about the one that tied us 2-2? du will be good, check that very good. same could be said about us. some might say all they see in BE is the kid who gave up 6 in the ncaas.

[siouxforce19]

how about the one that tied us 2-2? du will be good, check that very good. same could be said about us. some might say all they see in BE is the kid who gave up 6 in the ncaas.

When really it wasn't just BE that gave up 6... it was the entire blue line. We gave them too many odd man rushes.

[Sioux-per Villain]

BU didn't have that much hype preseason though. A little, but not like DU has right now. They got a lot of hype once the season got going... so it's a little bit different case. Remember, BC was the preseason number 1 team in the country?

True, but their hype grew rapidly after their first game.....

[siouxforce19]

True, but their hype grew rapidly after their first game.....

true story there....

[siouxweet]

INCH is a JOKE!!! Okay I know we failed in the WCHA tourney as well as the NCAA (even though I think the game against UNH was played very well on our part. We had some great plays and I think defence did relatively well up until the OT.) But UND's second half surge was pretty exceptional, going from the bottom of the WCHA to the #1 spot takes talent and determination, something only a great team can produce. I think to not even include the WCHA regular season champs (considering WCHA is probably one of the toughest leagues in the country) is just rediculous! You could easily take out Prinston or Cornell! I'm not gonna say they didn't have a good record last year (except Prinston's failed final game against UMD) but you need to take into consideration the other teams in their league, none are particulary exceptional so I am not surprised they posted the records they did.

As far as Minnesota being #3 I think that is a prediction with hopes far too high. "when he's on his game, Kangas can be a difference maker" I cannot believe any serious hockey fan would ever even make a statement like that! That can be said for just about any golie out there, when they're good they're good... big deal! When they're not good, they SUCK! Kangas may have had a good '07-'08 season and a decent first half of last season but if you look at his career stats I would not say he is an exceptional golie, I would instead say he can sometimes have the potential to play very well, in fact he has basically carried the goofs through many games but that doesn't make him exceptional.

I kind of get the feeling UND is hated by INCH. Even when we turned our season around last year to become Mcnaughton cup champs when you read the articles on INCH regarding us it feels a little like they are pulling teeth when giving us credit. Almost like they really had to try to find good things to say about our team.

I also think UND should have had at least one guy on the Hobey Baker top 10 list, I mean come on! All I can say is Chay Genoway! This kid has a 3.64 gpa and is one of the best defencemen in the country, last time I checked that pretty much meets the criteria for a Hobey Baker canidate. I'm not even saying he is the best candidate out there, I am merely saying he will probably be a finalist or at least he deserves it.

We have a pretty amazing team coming in for next season, a lot of fresh blood but it seems we play very well with a young team. And we do have some pretty solid upperclassmen coming back, I think the combination of the new talent and the time-tested old talent will prove to be very successful.

I guess we're just gonna have to kick ass and prove INCH wrong... again! haha

despite losing 8 seniors we are a better team heading into next year.

[buckysieve]

despite losing 8 seniors we are a better team heading into next year.

It's tough to replace three senior d-men.

[siouxweet]

It's tough to replace three senior d-men.

jones and finley yes but miller was a converted forward who I don't consider a true dman. we'll have genoway, lapoint, marto,and blood back who played pretty regular the whole year. finehage(sp) who got some experience and the the freshmen. having freshmen at the blueline isn't the worst thing but we'll just go through some growing pains. we had what 4 freshmen in 05-06 and ended up fairing pretty well.

[siouxforce19]

It's tough to replace three senior d-men.

we don't replace them... we develop new ones!

[siouxweet]

having three senior d didn't help our cause against unh.

[Goon]

how about the one that tied us 2-2? du will be good, check that very good. same could be said about us. some might say all they see in BE is the kid who gave up 6 in the ncaas.

I also think that UND is going to have two good goalies next season and Dell is going to push Eidsness and that UND is going to be better for it.

I actually think as someone mentioned we lose 8 seniors and get better with the addition of some players that will make immediate impacts.

[siouxforce19]

I also think that UND is going to have two good goalies next season and Dell is going to push Eidsness and that UND is going to be better for it.

I actually think as someone mentioned we lose 8 seniors and get better with the addition of some players that will make immediate impacts.

Speaking of Dell... he's already in GF. I've crossed paths with him at the Ralph a few times. The first time was back in April, didn't know who it was aside from the fact that it was one of the Alberta recruits, so I did some research and figured out who it was. He must be pretty amped to be here already...

[redwing77]

Speaking of Dell... he's already in GF. I've crossed paths with him at the Ralph a few times. The first time was back in April, didn't know who it was aside from the fact that it was one of the Alberta recruits, so I did some research and figured out who it was. He must be pretty amped to be here already...

If I recall correctly, Eidsness came in early before last season too.

It worked out pretty well for him.

That being said, Eidsness did pretty well for being the #1 almost out of the gate.

I think Dell is going to make Eidsness better late in the season because he'll be able to give Eidsness a night off without fear. I think Walski could have done the same, but we squandered too many winnable games early in the season... I think pressure was on. When the pressure is on, you just go for the best guy. No offense to Walski, but Eidsness was the better option.

[fightingsiouxfan86]

jones and finley yes but miller was a converted forward who I don't consider a true dman. we'll have genoway, lapoint, marto,and blood back who played pretty regular the whole year. finehage(sp) who got some experience and the the freshmen. having freshmen at the blueline isn't the worst thing but we'll just go through some growing pains. we had what 4 freshmen in 05-06 and ended up fairing pretty well.

I think miller was a bigger loss than Jones and Finley. I know a lot of people rip on Finley and I am not trying to do that. Finley was a great player for the Sioux but I do not think he was one of the stars. Look at his stats for the 08-09 season, I believe he played only 27 games and managed 10 points but combine that with his 56 penalty minutes (the 4th highest on the team) and his knack for blowing some of the most crucial moments in games and I would say he is a loss but we'll do fine without him and the talent replacing him is of a much higher caliber. The kid was an enforcer on the ice, I'll give you that. His gi-normously huge stature made for a pretty intimidating image. But the fact is that he lacks the ability to perform under pressure, he fails when it comes to making crucial decisions that could make or break the game. I'm not a Finley hater, I'm gonna miss the kid but I feel like he needs some serious work before he reaches his full potential.

Jones was a mediocre player. His stats are less than spectacular but better than above average. I think his biggest downfall was his temper, he had poor control of it. His incident this year where he was literally dragged off the ice by the officials and then proceeded to tear down the stick rack on his way back to the locker room was piss-poor sportsmanship. Everybody loves a good hockey fight and I don't see anything wrong with his actions up until the point where he should have known the fight was over. When 2 officials are dragging you off the ice and you're fighting both of them its probably time to give up. But hell, I can get past that cuz I don't know what sort of taunting from the opposing player he was recieving. But tearing down the stick rack in a fit of rage just makes you look like a little kid stomping his feet and screaming at Wal-mart (or basically pulling a Sydney Crosby) and that reflects poorly on the team and the coaches.

As far as Miller not being considered a real d-man I strongly dissagree. This kid has talent by the *@#%-load! Moving him to D has only seemed to improve his play. He did wonders for this team last season and I for one a really gonna miss watching this kid play, he put on one hell of a show in almost every game!

Either way though we have some strong players returning and some real potential coming in so I'm excited to see what next season will bring... GO SIOUX!

[redwing77]

I think miller was a bigger loss than Jones and Finley. I know a lot of people rip on Finley and I am not trying to do that. Finley was a great player for the Sioux but I do not think he was one of the stars. Look at his stats for the 08-09 season, I believe he played only 27 games and managed 10 points but combine that with his 56 penalty minutes (the 4th highest on the team) and his knack for blowing some of the most crucial moments in games and I would say he is a loss but we'll do fine without him and the talent replacing him is of a much higher caliber. The kid was an enforcer on the ice, I'll give you that. His gi-normously huge stature made for a pretty intimidating image. But the fact is that he lacks the ability to perform under pressure, he fails when it comes to making crucial decisions that could make or break the game. I'm not a Finley hater, I'm gonna miss the kid but I feel like he needs some serious work before he reaches his full potential.

Jones was a mediocre player. His stats are less than spectacular but better than above average. I think his biggest downfall was his temper, he had poor control of it. His incident this year where he was literally dragged off the ice by the officials and then proceeded to tear down the stick rack on his way back to the locker room was piss-poor sportsmanship. Everybody loves a good hockey fight and I don't see anything wrong with his actions up until the point where he should have known the fight was over. When 2 officials are dragging you off the ice and you're fighting both of them its probably time to give up. But hell, I can get past that cuz I don't know what sort of taunting from the opposing player he was recieving. But tearing down the stick rack in a fit of rage just makes you look like a little kid stomping his feet and screaming at Wal-mart (or basically pulling a Sydney Crosby) and that reflects poorly on the team and the coaches.

As far as Miller not being considered a real d-man I strongly dissagree. This kid has talent by the *@#%-load! Moving him to D has only seemed to improve his play. He did wonders for this team last season and I for one a really gonna miss watching this kid play, he put on one hell of a show in almost every game!

Either way though we have some strong players returning and some real potential coming in so I'm excited to see what next season will bring... GO SIOUX!

You're citing offensive output as a comparison point between Miller, a former forward turned defenseman and two defensemen who were ALWAYS defensive defensemen?

That's just... well.... whatever. You're wrong, but whatever. Finley was the second most consistent defensive defenseman on the team. Second to Jones. (I know I'll get ripped for this. People are going to jump all over me saying that Miller and Genoway were more consistent. Maybe last season you'd be correct. But not this past one. Genoway made many more mistakes than he did his freshman year or at least they were more noticeable).

If you want to compare similarities among defensemen, then you should compare Miller to Marto or Genoway. Those three play similar games. LaPoint has the potential to play that kind of game even though he's slower than those three.

The best defensive defensemen are known for NOT getting much press. Listen to the broadcasts, defensemen get noteworthy mentions in two ways: First, when they score or are the primary assist to the score via the nice pass or whatnot. Second, when they screw up. If they do neither, they don't get much more of a mention other than the routine play by play when they touch the puck.

Jones' temper is noteworthy in the fact that it wasn't there his last two years of college. He hardly ever was penalized his junior and senior years. At one point he went a number of games without so much as a single minor penalty.

It's obvious that you are a fan of Miller over Finley and Jones. It's not hard to like Miller. He did everything for the team, even moving to D (which I'm not sure how much experience he had playing prior to UND). He is dynamic. He is also very well known thanks to his Miller Time, which helps his popularity for sure.

It's easy to dislike Finley. He's 6'7 and he doesn't hit like Greene/Commodore/Smaby. He's been generally disliked since he came in as the second underaged freshman in recent memory (He was 17 or a VERY young 18 when he began the season his freshman year. The last one to do that, IIRC, was Jonathan Toews). He doesn't score. This season, Finley bailed out Genoway on a number of Genoway's mistakes, but.... Genoway is an All American and is well liked so you'll never hear a contrary thought on that.

In any case, Miller will indeed be missed. So will Jones and Finley. The only difference is that people will willingly mention missing Miller and mean it. The same might be true for Jones, but at a lesser extent. I'm surprised I haven't heard more of "Thank Parise Finley's gone."

[fightingsiouxfan86]

You're citing offensive output as a comparison point between Miller, a former forward turned defenseman and two defensemen who were ALWAYS defensive defensemen?

That's just... well.... whatever. You're wrong, but whatever. Finley was the second most consistent defensive defenseman on the team. Second to Jones. (I know I'll get ripped for this. People are going to jump all over me saying that Miller and Genoway were more consistent. Maybe last season you'd be correct. But not this past one. Genoway made many more mistakes than he did his freshman year or at least they were more noticeable).

If you want to compare similarities among defensemen, then you should compare Miller to Marto or Genoway. Those three play similar games. LaPoint has the potential to play that kind of game even though he's slower than those three.

The best defensive defensemen are known for NOT getting much press. Listen to the broadcasts, defensemen get noteworthy mentions in two ways: First, when they score or are the primary assist to the score via the nice pass or whatnot. Second, when they screw up. If they do neither, they don't get much more of a mention other than the routine play by play when they touch the puck.

Jones' temper is noteworthy in the fact that it wasn't there his last two years of college. He hardly ever was penalized his junior and senior years. At one point he went a number of games without so much as a single minor penalty.

It's obvious that you are a fan of Miller over Finley and Jones. It's not hard to like Miller. He did everything for the team, even moving to D (which I'm not sure how much experience he had playing prior to UND). He is dynamic. He is also very well known thanks to his Miller Time, which helps his popularity for sure.

It's easy to dislike Finley. He's 6'7 and he doesn't hit like Greene/Commodore/Smaby. He's been generally disliked since he came in as the second underaged freshman in recent memory (He was 17 or a VERY young 18 when he began the season his freshman year. The last one to do that, IIRC, was Jonathan Toews). He doesn't score. This season, Finley bailed out Genoway on a number of Genoway's mistakes, but.... Genoway is an All American and is well liked so you'll never hear a contrary thought on that.

In any case, Miller will indeed be missed. So will Jones and Finley. The only difference is that people will willingly mention missing Miller and mean it. The same might be true for Jones, but at a lesser extent. I'm surprised I haven't heard more of "Thank Parise Finley's gone."

I didn't mean to compare offense to defense in any of that. What I was trying to say is that I think Miller did better as a D-man overall. Finley and Jones were great D-men, I cannot argue that at all. But miller brought something more to his position and that is that he does decent with defense but even as a D-man he still puts out some great offense- similar to how Genoway plays. I don't actually watch miller time but I have heard good things. Genoway made mistakes from time to time but his were small in scale when compared to Finley's. Take the game against UNH for example, I think BE should have probably made the save on that overtime goal, but at the same time Finley was covering the wrong guy! In a game that crucial you really cannot afford to make mistakes like that. That is just one example but Finley has made many mistakes like that before and the ones that stick with you are the games that end our season. Last years Frozen 4 semi-final embarassment is another example. It didn't really matter cuz we were already losing by so much but Finley made some very poor defensive decisions that cost us goals. The kid just doesn't perform the greatest under pressure. There are a lot of Finley haters out there and I can say I am not one of them. My girlfriend hates him with a passion and I am constantly sticking up for the guy haha On the other hand it is easy to get frustrated with a player who makes dumb mistakes like that.

I don't know nearly as much about Jones as I should, I wish I knew more but he just never really stood out for me last season. We had a lot of other players who stole the show on D such as Genoway. The one thing I remember about Jones is his temper, you are probably right that he toned it down though. Either way though I think every team needs a guy with a temper so he will be missed.

[siouxforeverbaby]

I think miller was a bigger loss than Jones and Finley. I know a lot of people rip on Finley and I am not trying to do that. Finley was a great player for the Sioux but I do not think he was one of the stars. Look at his stats for the 08-09 season, I believe he played only 27 games and managed 10 points but combine that with his 56 penalty minutes (the 4th highest on the team) and his knack for blowing some of the most crucial moments in games and I would say he is a loss but we'll do fine without him and the talent replacing him is of a much higher caliber. The kid was an enforcer on the ice, I'll give you that. His gi-normously huge stature made for a pretty intimidating image. But the fact is that he lacks the ability to perform under pressure, he fails when it comes to making crucial decisions that could make or break the game. I'm not a Finley hater, I'm gonna miss the kid but I feel like he needs some serious work before he reaches his full potential.

You do realize that Joe suffered a concussion in the 2nd game of the season and missed most of the first half due to PCS right? We didn't really start turning things around until after he returned to full strength? Just saying since that explains somethings.

[siouxforce19]

I don't know nearly as much about Jones as I should, I wish I knew more but he just never really stood out for me last season. We had a lot of other players who stole the show on D such as Genoway. The one thing I remember about Jones is his temper, you are probably right that he toned it down though. Either way though I think every team needs a guy with a temper so he will be missed.

Zach Jones was an aggressive D-man who knew his role: to stop the puck from going in our net. He was a team-first player who helped the team by sitting out some games to let Ben Blood get game-time experience, which was HUGE down the stretch when Derrick LaPoint went down. Jones was a defense-first guy who did his job and got very little credit for it. Genoway is a different kind of D-man, which is good because we need an offensive D-man as well, but a guy like Jones shouldn't be taken for granted either. Everyone will remember his temper, and that's fine ... but he's not the only one on our team with a temper. I'll miss his team-first mentality and his aggressive defensive play.

[82SiouxGuy]

I didn't mean to compare offense to defense in any of that. What I was trying to say is that I think Miller did better as a D-man overall. Finley and Jones were great D-men, I cannot argue that at all. But miller brought something more to his position and that is that he does decent with defense but even as a D-man he still puts out some great offense- similar to how Genoway plays. I don't actually watch miller time but I have heard good things. Genoway made mistakes from time to time but his were small in scale when compared to Finley's. Take the game against UNH for example, I think BE should have probably made the save on that overtime goal, but at the same time Finley was covering the wrong guy! In a game that crucial you really cannot afford to make mistakes like that. That is just one example but Finley has made many mistakes like that before and the ones that stick with you are the games that end our season. Last years Frozen 4 semi-final embarassment is another example. It didn't really matter cuz we were already losing by so much but Finley made some very poor defensive decisions that cost us goals. The kid just doesn't perform the greatest under pressure. There are a lot of Finley haters out there and I can say I am not one of them. My girlfriend hates him with a passion and I am constantly sticking up for the guy haha On the other hand it is easy to get frustrated with a player who makes dumb mistakes like that.

I don't know nearly as much about Jones as I should, I wish I knew more but he just never really stood out for me last season. We had a lot of other players who stole the show on D such as Genoway. The one thing I remember about Jones is his temper, you are probably right that he toned it down though. Either way though I think every team needs a guy with a temper so he will be missed.

I don't usually get into these discussions, but I am making an exception for this one. Many of the odd man rushes against Boston College in 2008 were not because Finley made a mistake or was out of position. They were because Genoway was being overly aggressive on the offensive end and either lost the puck or was out of position. That left Finley going back to play a 2 on 1 against much quicker players. That is not a situation that works to Joe's advantage, although he ended up facing it quite often over the past couple of years with Genoway as a partner. I am not saying that Finley never made a mistake. And I am not saying that Genoway is a bad player. They are college kids and all of them make mistakes. But Finley was often blamed for plays where he was trying to cover up for someone else, he was just in place at the end of the play so it looked like he made the mistake.

[Goon]

I don't usually get into these discussions, but I am making an exception for this one. Many of the odd man rushes against Boston College in 2008 were not because Finley made a mistake or was out of position. They were because Genoway was being overly aggressive on the offensive end and either lost the puck or was out of position. That left Finley going back to play a 2 on 1 against much quicker players. That is not a situation that works to Joe's advantage, although he ended up facing it quite often over the past couple of years with Genoway as a partner. I am not saying that Finley never made a mistake. And I am not saying that Genoway is a bad player. They are college kids and all of them make mistakes. But Finley was often blamed for plays where he was trying to cover up for someone else, he was just in place at the end of the play so it looked like he made the mistake.

I think people forget that hockey is a team game. There are a lot of things that happen in a series of plays that lead to a goalie getting beat. The game is played in all zones of the ice. Like I told my buddy after Central had a goal scored on them in one of the games last season. I told him that It started with the forward in the offensive zone, the center lost the face off, then there was a bad line change that lead to the defenseman getting beat 3 on 1 and finally the goalie gave up a bad goal. Hockey is a team game and for what ever reason Finley always got beat up for Chay's mistakes, but it always wasn't Chay's fault either, the forward probably did something in the offensive zone that wasn't very good and finally maybe the goalie wasn't covering the post like he should.

There isn't any I's in team.