Who is going to start the Michigan Thread?

[ringneck28]

K, It is Monday and we are not talking about our opponent on Thursday night. Lets get it going, its time to get onto topic about the game at hand. Who can tell me about our opponent?

[bigskyvikes]

Their helmets are ugly! Their arrogant, did you see after the UNO got screwed game? They interviewed one player from Mich and he said with a sh*t eating grin on his face, "we knew we would put these guys down" Not to mention in OT with a bad call! Just sayin, I was nervous to face this team later for the Sioux, but Blais deserved better. GO SIOUX!!!! #8#8#8#8

[gfhomer]

These guys are a good team. The game they played against CC was very impressive. They played a balanced game where they brought it for 60 minutes. The only thing I am hoping for is this: TV timeouts don't hurt the Sioux's depth. Michigan's top 2 lines are solid, but beyond that, they cannot compete with our 3rd and 4th lines. If TV timeouts stretch the game, they will be able to rest their top 2 lines and keep them out as long as possible. If the game is close after 2 periods, the Sioux's depth and balance will bury Michigan in the 3rd. In their press conference following the CC win, someone said ( think senior defenseman-turned-forward Scooter Vaughn) this team (Michigan) is going to do something special. Bury them early and give them no hope. Get at Hunwick early and leave no doubt as to who is the best team on Thursday night.

[AZSIOUX]

red is pumping the sioux up a lot. i understand wha hes doing. making it a no lose situation but im sure their fans couldnt care less what he says as they know they are a good team. here is a clip from big ten network with some examples.

b10 net breakdown

maybe reds right, show him and smack michigan!

[ringneck28]

I was reading an article in the detroit news paper and this was said about thier goalie

But plenty of teams have gone against Michigan thinking they'd be able to score easily on the 5-foot-7 Hunwick and come away disappointed.

I think that we just need to play our game and the goals will come.

[ringneck28]

I'm not good at adding links on here, but if anyone has a chance, go listen to the Red Berenson interview. Talk about trying to build up ND ego. At one point in the interview he states" I can see North Dakota looking ahead, because they are the favored team" wow, game is on. This guy really is good.

(If anyone can fix this and put the link on, please feel free, it is on the College Hockey, Inc. on facebook.)

[jodcon]

Gopher, badger, wolverine...just another varmint that needs to be exterminated.

[Let'sGoHawks!]

Looks like you have started the thread, good job! You should rename the title.

I have heard everything about UND, and not much about Michigan in the media. That is just the way Red wants it I am sure...

I see their star, Carl Hagelin has been quiet in the past 5 games or so, I hope he doesn't erupt on UND. Hunwick is a good goalie, but I think UND will get to him.

Early goal will make the X EXPLODE!

The X will hold around 18,500 for these games, over/under on Sioux fans: 11,000

[franchise]

Hagelin is good, so is Louie Caparusso.

I'd argue that D John Merrill is the best player on the team and anyone that caught the highlights of his 2 saves in the crease during regional play might just agree.

Hunwick is solid, but I'd bet that it's tough to see a Matt Frattin wrister when you are 5-7 and Brad Malone is blocking your view!

[Let'sGoHawks!]

I just looked over on USCHO, and Frattin has at least a point in his las 15 games. Not bad.

[krangodance]

i'm curious how the average michigan student fan is viewing this match-up.

obviously michigan will have their share of hardcore hockey fans but with an fbs football team and being a member of a major sports conference i would assume the typical michigan student is only a fan of hockey when they're involved in a big game, such as the one coming up.

if that's the case i'd assume that the majority of the student population is looking at this match-up and thinking "North Dakota?? How did they get this far? We're gonna kill them!!".

like i said, some students will be familiar with the world of college hockey and will know that North Dakota is a legitimate force to be reckoned with in this sport, but most students at michigan probably don't have a clue about the inner working of college hockey and what teams are traditionally dominant.

all of this has no bearing on the team itself since they know who we are and will prepare accordingly. however, for some reason, i do like the idea of a bunch of "our sh^t don't stink" wolverine's fans thinking they're about to skate all over some mid-major (for the b-ball fans) or fcs (for the football fans) chump team.

[Fetch]

They looked pretty physical - & pretty consistent Thu many lines - not many stood out

[Sodbuster]

Yesterday or the day before (I forget which) I checked out Michigan's message board. They had only one hockey thread that I saw that had anything to do with the upcoming game and it was only about one and a half pages long. I guess I was surprised.

[Scotty]

My take on this is pretty simple. The Sioux are just one of those dominant teams that will not be denied a championship. The team's reaction, or lack of, to winning the MacNaughton, Broadmoor, and Regional Championships reminded me of what all great teams in any sport seem to have: a confident expectation that they will win. The national championship is a team goal which no one has discussed publicly, but their focus is evident. I think Michigan might have the "happy to be there" attitude. They can play the underdog card all they want, but the team isn't looking past them. I'm just not worried.

Oh, and Hunwick has given up five and four goals in separate games against Western Michigan in the last six weeks. That was on a combined 38 shots.

[WindChill]

The Red Baron is 71 years old; in his 27th season at Michigan.

Mel Pearson, Associate HC; in his 23rd season at Michigan.

Billy Powers, Assistant Coach, in his 19th season at Michigan.

I guess they're in to the continuity thing. You would think that one or both of those assistants would have moved on by now to bigger and better things.

Wonder how much longer Berenson plans on coaching. I suppose when you have 21 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tourney, it's his call. He's probably got a Joe Paterno type arrangement with the Michigan AD.

[ringneck28]

I guess this is now the unofficial game thread, LOL