Goon Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 From the Wooger's Predictions It Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sioux fan in phoenix Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 What a prophet! The Wooger amazes us again with his brilliant, insightful analysis of the upcoming season. Wonder if it's the excessive alcohol that makes him clairvoyant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 He did pick the Sioux to finish second in the conference. I don't know how anyone could not pick Minnesota as the favorite to win it. So I do think he's giving the Sioux enough credit. However, some of his analysis is wrong concerning lack of offensive defensemen. In WCHA play, Andy Schneider was only one point behind the highly touted Keith Ballard. Nick Fuher had a good sophomore season and should be even better. How many offensive-defensemen does a team need? Personally, I wouldn't trade Minnesota's defensive corps for North Dakota's. We don't know yet how the goalie situation will shake out for the Sioux. However, if he thinks UND has problems in that area, then so do the Gophers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Personally, I don't see anything wrong with Woog's analysis, of UND or the rest of the WCHA. (However, it does appear that in between trips to Stubs he's been reading Happy's posts on USCHO and obviously considers BC to be a "cupcake".) Anyway, one game has not yet settled the goalie issue, and until somebody steps up and takes the job it remains THE big "?" for the team. I agree with Pat about our d-men. A P-Mart or Roche is pretty rare on any team, so you work with what you have and I generally like our blueliners this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Man Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 From the Wooger's Predictions North Dakota, who beat UMD 3-2 at the US Hockey Hall of Fame game this past weekend in Grand Forks, has a pretty soft non-conference schedule when you look at the rest of this season. I think that the questions for the Sioux will be the lack of offensive-defensemen and also in goal, which is an issue that I don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I wouldn't be so quick to put Foyt in with Fuher and Schneider. He may prove to be a good offensive defenseman, but given his lack of playing time against UMD, I'm thinking that he has a ways to go. Speaking of Fuher, after the game Saturday he was laughing about his goal against Reichmuth and comparing it to the blistering slapshot he scored in OT against Denver last season to put the Sioux into the WCHA Final Five. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 How much did Ballard contribute last season? I'm just curious. Wooger is a tried and true Gopher's fan. Look at his history. However, standings, he's mostly correct in his predictions of the WCHA standings. He needs to flip CC and UMD around. Their defense is going to keep them in games, period. As for offensive defensemen, I guess 41 points isn't quite respectable for Woog's taste. That's ok. Wouldn't want to give too much to the Sioux. BC will make the FF, as will Michigan. Those are safe predictions. Minnesota will be in the post season, that's for sure, but how far will they reach? Just like in the ECAC, it isn't a sure bet with Minnesota or Harvard. It really comes down to goaltending. Who has the better goaltender? Or more appropriately, which goaltender will step up when the back is against the wall. I admit, UM has a good shot of going all the way this year, but we'll see. Mostly Woog is correct. He didn't say anything truly inflamatory. Maybe he was mislead with the defense situation with UND and we differ in the strength of UMD, but all around, it's just Woog playing the middle of the road. He works for the Gophers so having him saying that UND is better than UM at anything would be highly suspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I wouldn't be so quick to put Foyt in with Fuher and Schneider. He may prove to be a good offensive defenseman, but given his lack of playing time against UMD, I'm thinking that he has a ways to go. Speaking of Fuher, after the game Saturday he was laughing about his goal against Reichmuth and comparing it to the blistering slapshot he scored in OT against Denver last season to put the Sioux into the WCHA Final Five. I was a bit surprised about Woog's shot at the non-conf schedule. Yes, we will play 2 cupcakey teams during the Christmas tourney but other than that, are they all that bad? BC is tops and Yale is at least respectable, aren't they? Other than that, I don't have any major complaints. He sees things his way, we ours. Like PCM said, he picked the Sioux to finish 2nd in the conference, so thinks highly of them overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mksioux Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I was a bit surprised about Woog's shot at the non-conf schedule. Yes, we will play 2 cupcakey teams during the Christmas tourney but other than that, are they all that bad? BC is tops and Yale is at least respectable, aren't they? Other than that, I don't have any major complaints. He sees things his way, we ours. Like PCM said, he picked the Sioux to finish 2nd in the conference, so thinks highly of them overall. Not only is BC a top-5 team, Yale is respectable and the UMD HoF was also non-conference. Even with the admittedly soft holiday tournament schedule, any objective person would at least have to say it's respectable overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn-O Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 While I generally agree with Woog's predicted order of finish, I don't think a whole lot of original thought went into the analysis. Goaltending, strength of schedule, and offensive production from the blueline (or lack of any of the above) are cliches, and have all been beat to death by the blowhards on POI and USCHO to the point of becoming folklore. Yes, goaltending was an issue. Three of the four were sent on their way, and two of the top six USHL goalies (by GAA) were signed. What more can you ask of Blais to address the issue? Pat is right, the tandem of Johnson/Briggs is as big of a question mark as the Sioux situation. As far as the non-conference schedule goes, we all agree last season was a joke. However, Boston College, Yale, and Duluth is very comparable to what the non-conference schedule looked like in prior seasons. Blais is back to the formula of two with Hockey East, and two with the ECAC. This is back to business is usual, with last season being an aberration. With the issue of offensive production from our defensemen, I agree with Pat and Mad Man's posts. Again, I agree with Minnesota-North Dakota in the one-two spots, but I think depth at forward and special-teams play will be the difference. Just my $0.02. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Even with the admittedly soft holiday tournament schedule, any objective person would at least have to say it's respectable overall. Before the season started, Blais said he wanted a balanced nonconference schedule, and that's what he got. As tough as it is to win in the WCHA, he doesn't think it makes sense to play a nonconference schedule that's too challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sioux fan in phoenix Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 While I generally agree with Woog's predicted order of finish, I don't think a whole lot of original thought went into the analysis. Goaltending, strength of schedule, and offensive production from the blueline (or lack of any of the above) are cliches, and have all been beat to death by the blowhards on POI and USCHO to the point of becoming folklore. Well put...Geez, my wife could regurgitate the same crapola & she knows zilch about the sport...But you can't blame Wooger--what's he supposed to say? "Tech & UAA should challenge for 1 & 2." Most astute coll. hockey fans already know what to expect & these "predictions" only benefit those new to the game or who are waking from a coma... Love your anti-Franken avatar...he had an argument with Bill O'Reilly on national t.v. (C-Span) earlier last summer when they were promoting their new books...O'Reilly worked him like Prpich worked Peluso...it was funny because the 2 can't stand each other... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 All this is is regurgitated from someone else's prediction. I wouldn't be surprised if it was paraphrased from USCHO or INCH. He picks BC as atop contender, then says our NC schedule (which includes BC) is soft. It's balanced. Woog is such a flippin moron. I barely liked him as a Gopher fan. Sid Hartman has been more right ...well, maybe I won't go that far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPoS Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 How much did Ballard contribute last season? I'm just curious. if you watched Gopher hockey you would know Ballard is a big reason we won a few games. He may not have all the "stats" but he definitly helps in the play and allows others to score...he is so selfless! But I don't think w/o Keith, we would have done as well as we did. I am sure GE would have more insights and stats for you. WPoS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoteauRinkRat Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I love those "cupcakes" from BC. If UND was playing a non-conference schedule against NHL teams, the gopher allegiance would still say our schedule is weak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Even rereading my own post I have to say we are getting riled up about a Gopher fan's assessment of UND's schedule. We can't expect blind Gopher fans (excluding WPoS and GE of course) to make accurate predictions of their arch rival, no? Hell, he even disrespected UMD! Don't get riled up folks. This is just typical Woog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 You guys need to get over what other people think of UNDs schedule. The BC games will be nice measuring stick for both teams. The only thing you all don't have is a quality opponent in your Holiday tourney. That will change in the future. The WCHA will prepare the Sioux fine for the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Sagard, I don't think you have the point of the Holiday Tournement. It's a "Holiday" tournement, dangit! It's not meant to be challenging! Think British English when you think of Holiday and you'll do fine. Seriously though, I do believe that our Holiday tournement isn't supposed to be like the other tournements out there at that time. I think they want to play smaller regional opponents as well as some eastern programs like the ECAC. I would anticipate a strong CHA, ECAC, and maybe even Atlantic Hockey presence at our holiday tourney for that reason. And when I say ECAC, I don't mean Harvard, Yale, or Cornell. I think all the teams I would like to see play either cannot come to play (Michigan) or hold their own tourneys (UNO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 If UND was playing a non-conference schedule against NHL teams, the gopher allegiance would still say our schedule is weak. No, they'd say UND is playing the cupcakes of the NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamStrait Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Woog's predictions are just following 'conventional wisdom'. If there is one thing we know will be true at season's end, it will be that 'conventional wisdom' will fail to be wholly accurate, maybe not even mostly accurate. And as Sagard says, who cares what anyone else thinks? Spammy, Yappy and Woog say what they say hoping to get a rise out of Sioux fans. Why reward them by getting hot-under-the-collar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UMDDogz Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Sounds like he dissed UMD much more than the Sioux. I think the Dogs are better than both teams from CO. CC lost too many scorers this off-season to finish in the top 3. What is he thinking?? And when Denver is pressured (to quote the Simpsons) they fold faster than Superman on laundry day. Just look at where they ended up last season (7th in WCHA) after being the pre-season favroite. Like you guys have been saying...you have to consider the source. I think UND has a nicely balanced NC schedule, as does UMD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skateshattrick Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Personally, I don't see anything wrong with Woog's analysis, of UND or the rest of the WCHA. (However, it does appear that in between trips to Stubs he's been reading Happy's posts on USCHO and obviously considers BC to be a "cupcake".) Anyway, one game has not yet settled the goalie issue, and until somebody steps up and takes the job it remains THE big "?" for the team. I agree with Pat about our d-men. A P-Mart or Roche is pretty rare on any team, so you work with what you have and I generally like our blueliners this season. I agree with Scott. I personally think that Woog's assessment is pretty accurate. I hope and believe that we addressed the goaltending issue, but time will tell. However, I think he's right on with respect to a puck-carrying defenseman. I like Schneider, and he scores a lot of points, but I do not believe that he has the offensive skills of Ballard, let alone persons that they have had in the past like James Patrick, Curtis Murphy, Travis Roche, Ian Kidd, Russ Parent or Brad Williamson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I would probably agree with his prediction of the WCHA, but he did not give the Sioux much respect. I say let him blow us off. We know how good of a team we have. Let the players prove him wrong. Since when do Sioux fans care what Woogy has to say, or any Goopher for that matter!!! Let the Goopher talk all he wants. Isn't he the same dope that said he would never recruit out of the state of Minnesota. Look how well that turned out for the Woogster. Woog is George Costanza minus the weight problem. He's got the bald thing going and he's a total moron when it comes to anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UMDDogz Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 Does Wooger still do the color commentary for Gopher games? That guy is impossible to take seriously, and spends the whole game kissing Gopher A**! Watched a Gopher vs. UMD game one year, and nearly threw up at some of the outrageously biased things he was saying. Mozocco needs to shorten his leash considerably if he wasts anyone other than the Maroon and Gold bleeders to listen to anything Woog has to say. He MAY know some things about hockey, but he makes a horrible broadcaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted October 7, 2003 Share Posted October 7, 2003 I really don't mind Woog's color commentary. Sometimes he makes very good point points. Sometimes he's funny on purpose. Sometimes he's funny when he doesn't mean to be. And, yes, he's biased toward the Gophers, but I don't know why that should surprise anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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