The Truth

[SiouxForever]

Alright let's put things in perspective here folks:

1. This team has potential. If this team was consistently getting beat by a large margin from the best teams in the country, I would not say this, but guess what, they aren't. They are only losing by a few goals here and there, and like any team have had a few rare uncharacteristic games.

2. If, and that is a big if this team can get a winning streak going, anything can happen towards tournament time, given they are still highly placed in the Pairwise rankings (the only thing that matters)

3. Injuries aside, this team has been inconsistent all year. From chemistry issues with finding the right personnel for Gregoire to having players compliment Kristo with the player he is.

4. From a goalie standpoint Dell and Eids, if the team can generate some offense, Eids usually does not lose a game for the team, however he is nowhere near a high profiled goalie in the nation

5. This team does not have a number one line that scares the opposition while having superstars on that line like years in the past. Not a good thing to have. Having four strong lines on the depth chart is great but as we have seen with this team, offensive woes and power-play troubles are a result of this luxury.

6. Time and time again I have seen Malone, Zajac, Rowney, and Lammy not bury. The reason being people is because they are not true goal scorers. Everyone of these guys can play a role and play physical and go balls out night in and night out, but last time I checked you need to score goals to win a hockey game, I do not care how great one is given their defensive responsibilities and that a player plays with an edge. That stuff can all be learned, becoming a true goal scorer cannot.

7. Chemistry issues with the team? Dam right, people don't be so oblivious to these things, you can tell by players body language on the ice. Quit reading all the blogs and listening to Hak's comments, become a realist and do not be so naive to the fact that there are problems on this years team.

8. Hockey IQ wise, a few guys come to mind that understand and play at a different level, number one Gregoire, number two Marto. These two players are doing everything right most nights and making plays that are fantastic plays where other teammates look like a deer in the headlights and can't follow where Gregoire and Jake are going with the play. With that statement a lot of these players on this year's team are cement heads. Their hockey decision making is nowhere near previous Sioux' teams, as a result scoring became a significant issue and confidence issues with forwards has hit an all time high.

9. My last problem Leadership. Who is the leader on this years team, is it Chay? Obviously is. Well guess what folks, Chay is injured and has been injured for a long time. He may not play this season and he may never play again. Being optimistic lets say he gets back to join the team this year. Does that change all the current problems on this years team. No it doesn't. What the team needed in Chay's absence was someone to step up and become a leader. No one currently has risen to the occasion. Team wise that is not a good thing to have.

10. Lastly win tonight and move forward! Life moves in only one direction and that is forward, quit wasting time and energy on excuses and what if scenario, reffing problems ect. Please waste your time and energy on things you can control!

11. Rant over, Go Sioux!

[redwing77]

Alright let's put things in perspective here folks:

1. This team has potential. If this team was consistently getting beat by a large margin from the best teams in the country, I would not say this, but guess what, they aren't. They are only losing by a few goals here and there, and like any team have had a few rare uncharacteristic games.

I wouldn't even go that far. I think we've only been beat through and through 3 or 4 times this year. All the 1 goal losses are hard to swallow, but we've not been outclassed in any of them. They haven't gotten lucky, nor have we been unlucky. They simply capitalized on one more mistake than we did. It rolls like that sometimes.

2. If, and that is a big if this team can get a winning streak going, anything can happen towards tournament time, given they are still highly placed in the Pairwise rankings (the only thing that matters)

I agree. I want home ice badly, but I want the NCAA more.

I'd also like better officiating but we can't be too greedy.

3. Injuries aside, this team has been inconsistent all year. From chemistry issues with finding the right personnel for Gregoire to having players compliment Kristo with the player he is.

True enough. I think our offense has been more inconsistent this year than our D. We're still doing pretty darn well all things considered. We're not going to beat many teams if we don't score more than 2 goals.

4. From a goalie standpoint Dell and Eids, if the team can generate some offense, Eids usually does not lose a game for the team, however he is nowhere near a high profiled goalie in the nation

Goehring, JPar, and JPL wasn't a "high profiled goaltender" either really. Goehring became a big name after 2000's NC. I doubt JPL and JPar were really that high profile outside of those who faced UND. We just pedestal those three because they all seem better now to us than Eidsness and Dell. I argue that Eidsness isn't a shut down goaltender (which no one will argue against me on), but is HARDLY bad or even mediocre. He's not great, but he is solid AND pretty darn consistent. As for Dell... what can you say about him? 5 games... What does 5 games tell anyone? Well... nevermind. We ran Grieco out after that many games.

Yeah, I'm a homer. Yeah, I blindly support all Sioux players. However, I do truly believe that blaming Eidsness for our woes, even some of them, isn't fair and, in some cases, utterly ridiculous.

So, yeah, he's no Goehring/JPar/JPL, but he's a helluva lot better than many posters here give him credit for.

5. This team does not have a number one line that scares the opposition while having superstars on that line like years in the past. Not a good thing to have. Having four strong lines on the depth chart is great but as we have seen with this team, offensive woes and power-play troubles are a result of this luxury.

Recruiting flashy players is great if we can get them but... tell me... DU doesn't have many flashy players. Colborne, Ruegsegger, Rhakshani are all great players, but hardly flashy. UW doesn't have any flashy players and those that did come fared how well? I mean... How did Turris do for UW? RIght now, the teams with the most flashy players on it top to bottom are.... yup... Michigan and Minnesota. How're they doing? I'd DIE for another coming of Toews/Oshie/Parise/Zajac/etc. However, I'd rather die than have a team full of them. We'd be destined for 7-9th place.

6. Time and time again I have seen Malone, Zajac, Rowney, and Lammy not bury. The reason being people is because they are not true goal scorers. Everyone of these guys can play a role and play physical and go balls out night in and night out, but last time I checked you need to score goals to win a hockey game, I do not care how great one is given their defensive responsibilities and that a player plays with an edge. That stuff can all be learned, becoming a true goal scorer cannot.

I have no argument for this.

7. Chemistry issues with the team? Dam right, people don't be so oblivious to these things, you can tell by players body language on the ice. Quit reading all the blogs and listening to Hak's comments, become a realist and do not be so naive to the fact that there are problems on this years team.

Not sure about this one. It's hard to prove. Teams with bad chemistry issues give up. They don't respond to coaching. If you need an example, look at MTU, UAA to a certain extent, or in the NHL you can look at STL, Columbus, or Toronto. This team is in a slump. Their body language shows stress, frustration, high emotion to me. This is not a chemistry issue. This is just reality not going the way they'd like. Maybe my definition of chemistry is different than yours. I think they miss a calming influence ON THE ICE. I've argued at length that's where Genoway's absence is greatest. Chay can only lead so much from the locker room or press box. Unfortunately, this problem falls on the shoulders of VandeVelde and Zajac really. They're the leaders that are on the ice. They need to step up and Zajac has played very well, but VV has faltered a bit. I could understand this in the context of our special teams. PP has no chemistry at all.

8. Hockey IQ wise, a few guys come to mind that understand and play at a different level, number one Gregoire, number two Marto. These two players are doing everything right most nights and making plays that are fantastic plays where other teammates look like a deer in the headlights and can't follow where Gregoire and Jake are going with the play. With that statement a lot of these players on this year's team are cement heads. Their hockey decision making is nowhere near previous Sioux' teams, as a result scoring become a significant issue and confidence issues with forwards has hit an all time high.

I guess I don't follow you on this one either. You can't really claim that we're not playing all that poorly one on hand and call the players cement heads in hockey iq on the other. If they were really playing stupid hockey we'd be getting blown out far more often. And I think there are a lot of players who have hockey IQ. Marto and Gregoire are great, but there have been a lot of bad things happening in our games that are being placed upon the shoulders of our players that aren't that player's fault. A great example: Blood's penalties. Yes, he has taken some dumb penalties this year, but those are greatly outnumbered by how many times the officials have simply reacted to Blood's play and called a questionable call on Blood. Nevertheless, Blood is blamed for it. I honestly believe he's just like Matt Smaby and Smaby got called A LOT for using his size. Blood uses every inch and pound of his frame out there. And I really think he has been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise dull as all get out powerplay.

Yeah, I'm blaming some of this on the officials, and that's stereotypical of me, but I can't help but look at Blood's play and saying to myself "He'll be rid of that garbage when he gets to the pros." How sad is that? In order for Blood to play at the higher level he must overcome the officials and in order to do that, he has to go pro? Depressing.

9. My last problem Leadership. Who is the leader on this years team, is it Chay? Obviously is. Well guess what folks, Chay is injured and has been injured for a long time. He may not play this season and he may never play again. Being optimistic lets say he gets back to join the team this year. Does that change all the current problems on this years team. No it doesn't. What the team needed in Chay's absence was someone to step up and become a leader. No one currently has risen to the occasion. Team wise that is not a good thing to have.

This is the point that I can say I agree with the most. VV and Zajac are good and, though Zajac has played VERY well lately, I think VV has been the most absent in this category. I remember watching a player like Andy Schneider before he was named Captain. He played like he had no cares in the world and he scored points like a mad man. He got the C and....where'd his offense go?

I know this isn't a popular opinion and I'll get flamed for this but... I say strip the A off of VV's sweater. Let him go back to just playing hockey. Give the A to Marto. It would be a slap in the face, no doubt, especially seeing how VV has helped UND over time, but even in the NHL, players have benefited from it. Some people, like Chris Porter, take to the leadership aspect. Others, not so much. I think VV is a great player, but I don't think he's letter material to be blunt.

Doesn't solve Chay's absence though.

10. Lastly win tonight and move forward! Life moves in only one direction and that is forward, quit wasting time and energy on excuses and what if scenario, reffing problems ect. Please waste your time and energy on things you can control!

11. Rant over, Go Sioux!

I'll admit the reffing thing is a problem for me. Heh, you couldn't tell by now? But I think that this team can win and it will.