My Great Weekend

[jk]

This is ridiculously long, so I

[jk]

Of the three recent Lincoln Stars on the ice (only two of whom were stars), I have to say that Little Potulny is the least adjusted to the college game. Irmen and Porter seem strong and fast enough to compete, but Potulny seems a step out of place. He may very well end up being the best of the three in time, but right now I

[jk]

One other thing about the Sioux

[CoteauRinkRat]

It was interesting to read your thoughts on the weekend.

I agree with a lot of your points, especially the strategy used to shut down Vanek and how it will be looked at around the league.

[Goon]

I would just say want an awesome weekend of hockey as the Sioux shut down Pretty Boy Vanek and the Dirty Gophers...

[forecheck]

I agree 100% about Canady. He had an amazing weekend, and is looking like one of the best penalty killers out there for the Sioux. Very aggressive. I hope he can stay in the lineup.

It's always fun to read your view of the games, jk. You obviously know a lot about the game.

[farce poobah]

Just back to the boards after returning home from the games. What a weekend! I have a ton of impressions, so I’ll just let them go in a free-form ramble.

That fourth line was just outstanding this weekend, and especially Saturday, when it was Genoway, Hale and Canady. They forechecked hard, drew at least one penalty, and were physical all game long. They had a shift in the last ten minutes where I was sure they were going to score, but it didn’t happen. In fact, they played a LOT in the third period Saturday. It almost seemed like Blais had the first line skip a turn in the third, as it seemed like they hardly played. He was rolling lines in classic Sioux fashion.

Hard to question any of the coaches’ decisions this weekend, but it seemed strange that Massen didn’t see any ice. I read that he was a healthy scratch; is that correct? UND is going to need his contributions this year.

Conventional wisdom now holds that people will see what the Sioux did to Vanek, and employ the same strategy to keep him in check. ... Obviously, my point is that the Sioux’s effort against Vanek will not be easily replicated by other teams. Vanek’s still going to have a monster year. Great job by McMahon’s line, though. To contribute offensively in addition to the job they did checking was just outstanding.

The play of the weekend, IMO, was Zach’s defensive play on Vanek in the first. It was 1-0, Big Potulny had scored to back up his talk, and Vanek was going to score after executing his signature move to the outside (which defenseman did he beat, BTW?). It seemed a sure goal, with just a tap-in needed, then Zach tied him up at the last instant with a play that surely had Lamoreillo (sp?) smiling.

JK, very interesting read.

If Blais sticks with Genoway, Hale and Canady as the 4th line combination, and I hope we see more of them, it reminds me of 1987. Reason being Sioux 4th line is rarely upperclassmen, but in 1987 at least by the end of the season, it was most often Jeff Bowen, Grant Paranica, and Scott Dub. And we know how that story turned out. Especially on the road, when opposing coaches are deliberately trying to create bad matchups, having experienced, strong skaters to let the 7-11 Line rest will be valuable.

On Vanek's near-goal in the 1st Saturday, he blew by Schneider.

As far as not seeing Massen, who would you take out of the lineup? Chris Porter has certainly earned a spot...

[Stack]

Some comments on this weekend:

1. Brandt played well Friday. Jordan was shaky at times Saturday but was ok.

2. Marvin or Bina on defense on a regualr basis scares me. Too many give aways when someone put on pressure.

3. Greene has not truly made a mistake on the ice yet this year. He takes the body, clears the puck, and does exactly what we had hoped someone that was drafted this high would do. The only close mistake he may have made was the cross checking on Saturday and even that looked like he didn't have his hands clasped on the stick.

4. I expected great things from Parise/Bochenski/Murray but the guy that amazes me this year is Fylling. He is in every opponents shorts and manages to score at the same time. He looks like he is finally strong enough this year to play well at this level.

5. McMahon is just a solid centerman. A great face off center and plays so well positionally.

6. Holy Smokes our defensemen can actually score. Last year they constantly had their shots blocked by sliding forwards or shot the puck directly into someone. This year they are getting the shot off or moving enough to get it off. I'm excited for this trend to continue.

7. Minnesota will continue to scare me until we no longer have to play them this year. Riddle is a great player and they still have a lot of talent. They must get their defensemen back from injuries because their forwards don't play defense. At least not this year. There was at least 4 times on Saturday night when the Sioux were cycling the puck below the faceoff spots in the Gopher zone and I caught Vanek skating at the red line waiting for a pass. It's a lot easier for us to score if we outnumber them since hteir forwards aren't even in their zone.

8. I am amazed that St. Cloud swept Duluth. I can only hope that we do not underestimate the huskies this wekend.

9. Overall a great weekend for a Sioux fan, Sioux football wins the conference, Bison get beat and are out of the playoffs, and we sweep the Gophers in hockey. I guess we won't hear about how they hadn't lost two games in a row forever now that Duluth and us swept them already this year.

[sprig]

Marvin looked to be the most victimized Sioux dman, a bit scary out there. After Schneider's whiff on Vanek, he really did not get beat again; other than the deflection off his skate (a hard work goal acccording to Wooger rather than the lucky variety the Sioux got the night before).

The back check by Parise was super, and a perfect example of what Parise does that Vanek does not (at least not this weekend). He (Vanek) played like Spehar, although with a more offensive upside (upside wasn't there this weekend, but we've all seen it). I don't notice it when I watch the NHL, but are there high scoring Euro's on teams that don't play in their own end? Would seem that Vanek has a long way to go in using some energy to get back defensively before he will have a chance in the pros.

Concerning the waived off goal, on TV in the live action and the first replay on FOXN, it certainly appeared that Greene had gloved the puck (although the shots were from behind Greene, so you couldn't see the puck). After those two shots, had to agree with Wooger that it was either a goal or a penalty shot. Then they showed the third replay from behind the net (Woog and Moz had made up their minds by then that the call was wrong and ignored the replay). The replay clearly shows the puck (which it looks like Greene tried to glove) hit Greene's upper arm, roll down to his forearm at the bend of his arm, then fall off as he (and the puck) were being cross checked, from behind, into the net. The whistle clearly went before Greene and the puck went into the net. With the aid of the replay, the correct call would have been no goal and a cross-checking penalty on the Gopher (Irmen??). Since Schmitt probably had no idea what happened, the call he made was strange. At any rate, both teams were lucky at the no goal/no penalty shot/no gopher penalty. Any of the three seemed more likely than what Schmitt did call. For any of you that taped the game on FOXN, take a look at the replays and see if I actually saw what I thought I saw?

Dagies away from TV, audio, etc, on the Sioux/Gopher weekend? Better have been an important trip

[jk]

Thanks for the comments. forecheck, I don't know much about the game, but I like to watch it. A few other things:

Dub was a great #19, and I love that Prpich wears that sweater. Two similar players. Dub was grittier (believe it or not) and Prpich has a few more skills, but Prpich is definitely in the Dub line.

I completely agree that the coaches have a dilemma in removing someone from the current lineup. At the same time, Massen has offensive skills matched by only a couple handfuls of players in the league, let alone the team. He was 15th in league scoring last year. Sadly, there will almost certainly be forward injuries this year, so Massen will at the very least get his chance then. I suspect he'll get another one before then too, but at whose expense I don't know.

I was shocked by Fylling when I saw the UMD game - the player of the game IMO - so I'll not be disagreeing with anyone touting his play.

Lastly, Stack's note of Vanek floating reminded me of a favorite sight from the series - When the Sioux are setting up the PP from behind their own net, Murray circles deep into the offensive zone, below the dots, then makes his way back to the blue line as the Sioux bring the puck up the ice. (I don't mean this to be the same as Vanek floating when the other team is attacking, it just triggered the memory). It's just cool to see him down there all alone; it's like he's just visiting, and says, "I'll be back again real soon."

[Greyeagle]

Sprig - Here is my comment on the call/non-call Friday night. I agree, Schmitt had no idea what to call.

My only thought is this: If he blew the whistle it's because he lost sight of the puck, and at that point it is because he thought Greene had it in his grasp. Based on that there should have been a penalty and/or penalty shot. However, if replay would have been used I agree, Greene did not have the puck in his grasp (despite his best effort ) and thus no shot - but this means the whistle was blown early. I will be interested to see if the WCHA has an opinion on this as it's an unusual set of circumstances.

One question, is replay used in WCHA regular season games or only in the Final Five? I don't recall seeing it used in the regular season.

Please note, I am not making any claims a goal there would have changed the course of the game, given the Gophers momentum, yadi yadi yadi. It's over with and somehow it appears Schmitt possibly got the call right - but did so accidentally. I am just offering a perspective.

One thing for sure, Green traveled!

jk - I believe MN's 4th line in 2002 was O'Leary, Flemming, & Waibel. Senden graduated in 2001.

[jk]

GE, I think I meant Wendell, not Senden (all those "e"s), and I feel like he was banging people around at the end of that game. I might be wrong though.

After Greene and Vanek went at it, I'm interested to see if Suter (who appears to have a nasty streak of his own) decides to take a few whacks at TV.

[Superman0099]

As far as not seeing Massen, who would you take out of the lineup? Chris Porter has certainly earned a spot...

Personally, I'd like to see Hale back at Defense, and Marvin sitting, with Massen moving back into the lineup... but I do like the Hale/Canady/Genoway line. I think the reason this team is having so much success is due to the simple fact that players like Canady, Genoway, and Fylling have improved drastically, and are giving the sioux alot more depth. Everyone is stepping up, and coming out to play every night, something we didn't see last year.

[U2Bad1]

My only thought is this: If he blew the whistle it's because he lost sight of the puck, and at that point it is because he thought Greene had it in his grasp. Based on that there should have been a penalty and/or penalty shot. However, if replay would have been used I agree, Greene did not have the puck in his grasp (despite his best effort ) and thus no shot - but this means the whistle was blown early. I will be interested to see if the WCHA has an opinion on this as it's an unusual set of circumstances.

IF he didn't grasp the puck with his hand, Irmen had clearly given him a crosscheck in the back. So in fact the call was probably right, minus Irmen going into the box. Although, clearly the reason Schmitt gave probably did not much that. Either way it didn't affect the final score.

[jnv]

I thought Jake played very well in Friday's win! I think he should be the go - to - guy. Take a look at how he handles himself on the ice? He goes out aggressively to stop the puck, and directs the defensemen quite well, letting them know where the puck will be, who's coming on them, etc.

Parise on the other hand, comes out to play the puck with reckless abandon! Heck, he got caught out of the net at least two times, checked about 3 players, surprised he didn't get a penalty. And what bugs me worst, is how he skates to get the puck, then just shoots the thing down the ice at will? I don't think anybody knows where it is going?

I know he's a freshman, and is not a terrible goalie, I just think it's time to make Jake the man and see how far he can take the Sioux until he loses the job!

anybody else have the same opinion?

[CoteauRinkRat]

I thought Jake played very well in Friday's win! I think he should be the go - to - guy. Take a look at how he handles himself on the ice? He goes out aggressively to stop the puck, and directs the defensemen quite well, letting them know where the puck will be, who's coming on them, etc.

Parise on the other hand, comes out to play the puck with reckless abandon! Heck, he got caught out of the net at least two times, checked about 3 players, surprised he didn't get a penalty. And what bugs me worst, is how he skates to get the puck, then just shoots the thing down the ice at will? I don't think anybody knows where it is going?

I know he's a freshman, and is not a terrible goalie, I just think it's time to make Jake the man and see how far he can take the Sioux until he loses the job!

anybody else have the same opinion?

I totally agree.

[mikejm]

Jake played well Friday. Jpar played okay Saturday. I don't mind Blais rolling the two goaltenders ala Wild as long as it's working. With Jpar and Ziggy still a little wet behind the ears, its nice to see Jake carry the load, but what happens if he goes down? Then it'd be nice to see one of the freshmen with some meaningful WCHA experience.

An aside: I didn't really mind Schmitt's calls this weekend, but have you ever seen so much confusion as to WHO the call is going against? I couldv'e sworn the delayed call Friday was going against the Goofs, and, evidently, so did Jake and the rest of the Sioux bench. But for a heckuva long skate and a great dive, that could've been nasty.

And why does it take so long to explain to Donny "Hairdo" Lucia that he had too damn many men on the ice? Let's see, "there's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...and oh yeah, 6 skaters, Don. Guess you'll have to sit one!"

[dagies]

Dagies, a die-hard, is away from civilization until today or tomorrow.  How will he find the results?  Perhaps he

[sprig]

Sprig, I was deer hunting. It was MN's opener. I saw a few but didn't bag one. Thanks for asking.

Neither did Pawlenty. Good to hear you made it back, hear lots of stories of "sound" shots taken by Minnesotans in the trees

[dagies]

Neither did Pawlenty. Good to hear you made it back, hear lots of stories of "sound" shots taken by Minnesotans in the trees

One of the only sounds I heard Saturday morning was the popping of the trees in the -9 degree temps on Saturday morning.

Some thoughts based on what I have read here on the internet. Many things that stick out to me have been said by others:

1. I see MN fans rationalizing this loss by saying they have lost their top 3 defensemen (Martin, Ballard, Harrington). Yet we could say we've lost our top 2 (Hale, Schneider) for the friday night game. That means MN is without say, it's second best defensemen (net loss) for the Friday game. I doubt that would have mattered.

2. Very happy and impressed to see the fantastic 3rd period performance by this team this season. Back to the good old days of 3rd period domination???

3. I see some MN fans talking about how things would be different if so and so had not left. Well, a couple of MN fans were quite adamant last season that Sioux fans were not to do that. I haven't seen a post by either of them lately....

4. Very happy to hear that Canady had a great weekend. That is great for him and great for the team.

5. I still think Massen is a great player and could be a fantastic contributor. Hope to see him in the mix soon, whether it is injury or otherwise that he is out. He can be a force on offense.

6. Well, where are we now on the musical goalie conversation?

7. How about Matt Jones all of a sudden an offensive machine in addition to his steady defensive work? Holy smoke.

8. Sioux fans have taken a lot of crap (some deserved) from gopher fans over the last couple of years. This is only a weekend but frankly, it's nice to have the roles reversed for a while. I have every reason to believe MN will find its way out of its funk by later in the year.

[sioux fan in phoenix]

1.  I see MN fans rationalizing this loss by saying they have lost their top 3 defensemen (Martin, Leo, Harrington).  Yet we could say we've lost our top 2 (Hale, Schneider) for the friday night game.  That means MN is without say, it's second best defensemen (net loss) for the Friday game.  I doubt that would have mattered.

I thought Leopold left a couple years ago or graduated last year?? Dunno, but why would they use him as an excuse?

2.  Very happy and impressed to see the fantastic 3rd period performance by this team this season.  Back to the good old days of 3rd period domination???

I always felt you would see more 3rd-period dominations early in the season when other teams haven't reached their peak conditioning levels; but we'll see & hopefully the Sioux continue this trend.

5.  I still think Massen is a great player and could be a fantastic contributor.  Hope to see him in the mix soon, whether it is injury or otherwise that he is out.  He can be a force on offense.

Massen's been an enigma to me lately. I don't know what's going on with him. I believe he's genuinely injured but I don't understand his lack of intensity on the ice at times. Very talented & it would be nice if he played up to his potential on a steady basis...

[dagies]

[7>4]

Great weekend series. Made the drive from Colorado Springs for both games and was not disappointed. I agree with the posts that Fylling has been very impressive. The kid just works his ass off every shift. The Gophers will be in the mix at the end of the year. They have too much talent to continue to falter. I personally thought Ryan Potulny was more impressive than Irman and Vanek didn't do anything. A huge tribute to our defense.

Listening to the weekly CC talk show and they had USHO WCHA correspondent on. He thinks that UND will not be in the mix at the end of the year due to goaltending and road heavy schedule in second half. I thought both Brandt and Parise played well, just the one weak goal on Saturday. Much better than Minnesota. He also commented that Suter kid from Wisconsin has been most impressive rookie. He must be good if he gets nod over Murray or Stafford who I think have been impressive.

Great weekend at the Ralph. Students were great. Signs were entertaining. Nothing better than watching the Gopher fans sitting on their hands.

Let's get a couple more W's this weekend.

[dagies]

After watching some of most of the games this year, and all of the Friday MN game, I believe this is NOT last year's Sioux team. It's too early to predict the late season fade that we fell victim to last year. This team appears much deeper and more solid defensively.

Jones is an absolute stud on D, and I'm not talking because he scored a few goals. He rode guys off the puck, outmuscled them, and skated better than the opposition. Outstanding.

Canady also played great. Genoway continues to play with confidence, seemingly. This team is coming together. Hopefully, they haven't even peaked.

[forecheck]

You know, with everyone talking about their favorite memories from this weekend, I thought I'd share one of mine. One of the funniest things that I thought happened was in the student section. A few college-aged Gopher fans are sitting in the student section, and every time the Gophers scored on Saturday this stupid girl would stand up, scream, and point her fingers in the air (one of them was big and foamy) with a look on her face that said "Somebody please remove this stick from my ass." UND students (mostly male) responded by standing up and turning their backs to the ice to face her while chanting "Ugly Gopher" clap, clap, clap clap clap. Friggin hilarious! Her friends were smart enough to stop standing up to cheer after the first Gopher goal.