North Dakota @ Mankato - who wins the cup??

[bale31]

How is the upper deck in Mankato? Should be able to see pretty well correct? The rink can't be that big.

Pretty much every seat in the house is pretty good. It's only a ~5000 seat arena. I haven't seen what is still left, but you can usually get something in the 300 level near center ice. The away team's seats are in the 100,200,300 sections, but UND usually has people pretty well spread out all over the arena.

[sagard]

Close, but you missed the part though where Parenteau pushed him over so hard that the back of Knowlton's head smacked against the ice. The puck was long-gone when the hit happened.

That was somewhat implied with the "barreled through" part. Gophers in some parts are often considered soft. This was in no means a soft play. Parenteau looked pissed about the weak shot, then decided to destroy the DU kid. It happens, I'm sure you guys can relate.

[Mariucci]

That was somewhat implied with the "barreled through" part. Gophers in some parts are often considered soft. This was in no means a soft play. Parenteau looked pissed about the weak shot, then decided to destroy the DU kid. It happens, I'm sure you guys can relate.

I haven't seen the play we're talking about. In your opinion Sagard should a penalty have been called? Wish I could see this thing.

[shortbusguy]

Close, but you missed the part though where Parenteau pushed him over so hard that the back of Knowlton's head smacked against the ice. The puck was long-gone when the hit happened.

I believe UND fans call that "Old Time Hockey". The hit happened immediately after the shot, hard for the puck to be long-gone. (and they did show a couple of replays of that hit trying to figure out what happened)

When I saw the hit I didn't think a penalty should be called, the puck was there and the DU player was already going down to block it (which he did) and that made the contact worse.

[MafiaMan]

I believe UND fans call that "Old Time Hockey". The hit happened immediately after the shot, hard for the puck to be long-gone. (and they did show a couple of replays of that hit trying to figure out what happened)

When I saw the hit I didn't think a penalty should be called, the puck was there and the DU player was already going down to block it (which he did) and that made the contact worse.

LOL...so the stick or elbow to the face (shown on ONE replay) wasn't enough for you to think that MAYBE a penalty should have been called?

[Goon]

Do you know if there is video anywhere of the hit? I do think it is funny that this types of calls never seem to go against UMtc but I am not suprised by it either. Then again maybe they do and we as Sioux fans refuse to acknowledge it,

I haven't seen any video of the hit, but if it's a Gopher doing a bush league hit on a Pioneer, their Propaganda wing will have hidden it, if it's questionable so they don't have it floating around on line.

[shortbusguy]

LOL...so the stick or elbow to the face (shown on ONE replay) wasn't enough for you to think that MAYBE a penalty should have been called?

I guess I don't remember his stick getting into the DU player's face. I thought his head hitting the ice is what made him groggy.

[Fetch]

Is there senerios where ? How many could share the league (most ?) Thats what I want - Then win the Final Final Five

[Fetch]

I wish WDAZ & Sweeney could get the away games - all of them

[sagard]

I haven't seen the play we're talking about. In your opinion Sagard should a penalty have been called? Wish I could see this thing.

Easily could have been, but it was pretty weird. Had a roughing minor been called nobody would have complained. That said things were happening quickly, if the puck had squirted away like Mafia says then I could easily see the refs following the play and not seeing it. If I remember right they had a long talk with the linesman, and decided to let it go. The call was pretty trivial in comparison to both reviewed goals going the Gophers way. From my view the DU goal happened so fast I'm guessing they must have got it right. The Gopher goal was called good on the ice and I'm guessing that is why it stood. Budish dragged it towards the net with his skate. Then he swatted at it with his stick. Assuming he didn't touch it. The puck then re-directed off what appeared to be another Gopher laying in the crease. Then as the puck is either across or crossing the line, a DU player tries to grab it, but only manages to knock it further into the net. Not exactly sure what the rule is here. I believe the puck after deflecting off the second Gopher is now legal. However if they determined that Budish never touched it with his stick, and the next touches were DU players fumbling around and not a second Gopher then it should have been waived off. Pretty fun game.

[Wilbur]

I hope Minnesota and UND end up as 1 and 2 seeds or like 2 and 4 seeds. The final five isn't a given, but if both clubs make it I'd like them on opposite sides of the bracket with a chance to meet in the final.

Perfect world scenario heading into playoff weekend: (note, not at all likely)

1. UND

2. SCSU

3. Goldy

4. Bucky

5. MSU

6. Denver

7. Omaha

8. CC

9. Duluth

10. Tech

11. BSU

12. Anchorage

I've stated before I don't want The Sioux to play the Beavs, but I guess it's better them than a Duluth. Yikes.....scary first round of hockey there.

[Siouxman]

Bale31 - Is there any kind of ticket exchange that MSU fans use? I am looking for two tickets for the Saturday game. There are only SRO tickets available and that is not accpetable due to a medical condition.

[bale31]

Bale31 - Is there any kind of ticket exchange that MSU fans use? I am looking for two tickets for the Saturday game. There are only SRO tickets available and that is not accpetable due to a medical condition.

I have not heard of any. The best advice that I could give you is to keep trying. Usually there are additional tickets released on Wednesday that come back from the visiting team. I don't know if that's the case for this series or not. Also, the students are going to be on Spring Break, so they MIGHT have some that come back from the students. I don't have any inside knowledge of that though. There are some seats that are at the tops of the sections that are reserved seats for medical requirements. You might try calling to the box office rather than going online. From what I've seen, they have been really willing to work with people on those types of things. Again, no inside info on that either though.

[Sodbuster]

Any word on TV this weekend?

Mankato is a black hole when it comes to tv coverage.

[GFG]

I hope Minnesota and UND end up as 1 and 2 seeds or like 2 and 4 seeds. The final five isn't a given, but if both clubs make it I'd like them on opposite sides of the bracket with a chance to meet in the final.

Perfect world scenario heading into playoff weekend: (note, not at all likely)

1. UND

2. SCSU

3. Goldy

4. Bucky

5. MSU

6. Denver

7. Omaha

8. CC

9. Duluth

10. Tech

11. BSU

12. Anchorage

I've stated before I don't want The Sioux to play the Beavs, but I guess it's better them than a Duluth. Yikes.....scary first round of hockey there.

I'm pulling for the 5 team tie just because it'd be hilarious. And that would be almost as many people tying for the title as Minnesota will have in its entire conference next year

[bale31]

For those looking for a bit of a scouting report on MSU, here are a few things to watch for:

Goaltending- This is going to be a strength for a few years to come. Stephon Williams is the real deal. He's brash. He's cocky. He annoys the hell out of opposing teams' fans. He's not always great on his positioning, but he's athletic enough to make up for it in many cases. You'll see him make some pretty eye opening saves during the course of most games. Don't be fooled by the hype surrounding Adam Wilcox and his seeming runaway Goaltender and Freshman of the Year awards. Williams has a lower GAA and a higher save percentage than Wilcox. It took him a bit to take over the goalie position from Phil Cook, but he's a rock in the net.

Defense- Admittedly, the defense might make Williams look even better. MSU typically outshoots their opponents by a pretty decent margin (sorry, don't have exact numbers). The defense is a pretty responsible group. It's led by Tyler Elbrecht. He is a very defensive defenseman, but is on the ice in all pk situations (but very rarely, if ever, on the pp) and still has a positive +/- for his career (or at least did in November, I assume it is still the case). The only defenseman that is really a threat on offense is Zach Palmquist. You won't see this group make too many mental mistakes. They generally clear out in front of the net pretty well so there aren't too many juicy rebounds. The one place that you will see them give up some chances is Hastings has taught them to be more aggressive on the offensive end with pinching and driving the puck to the net. That leads them to give up a couple of odd man rushes each weekend. The aggressiveness pays off more often than not though.

Offense- The offense is actually pretty deep. There are a couple of standouts in Eriah Hayes (especially on the pp) and Matt Leitner. Hayes is second in the country in Power Play Goals and Leitner is second in the country in Power Play Points. Leitner is the first 40 point scorer for MSU since, I think, David Backes. He's a sophomore that to me looks like he will be the captain next year and he makes everyone that is on the ice with him much better. Teddy Blueger will be a good one, but he's still learning to play with kids that are the same talent level as him (versus the last few years at Shattuck). He has the ability to take a game over and have some pretty amazing games/weekends, but he still is learning when to play the one-on-one game and when to give up the puck. We've got a good young crop of players that will pitch in from time to time. As a team MSU scored 3 goals in 62 seconds on Saturday to blow open the game against CC. They can be very explosive. It's a very good team in the third period. They have scored much more in the third period than any other period.

Overall- This is not the same team as we've seen in the past. This team has discipline and won't be goaded into stupid penalties very often. It's not a goonish team as they have been accused of in the past (although I would argue every team in the country has some "goonish" moments and games). They aren't going to back down when they are punched in the mouth, but they aren't going to pick fights either. As mentioned, previously, Hastings has changed the mindset of this team. It's much more disciplined and it uses the talent that they have. Jutting did not leave the cupboard bare here. Hastings has just taken these kids and got them to focus rather than waste that talent on getting even rather than winning the game. Last year, coaches and media around the league were looking at MSU as a "darkhorse" in the conference, but they all forgot about that when the hype machine started churning this year. Anyone that was paying attention should have known MSU had the potential for this kind of year. I expect a split from this series. I really would not be surprised by anything though. MSU has shown the ability to beat anyone in the league and sweep anyone in the league. They also have weekends when they have slight letdowns (and a slight letdown is all it takes for a team at the top of this league to sweep). I look forward to it as I believe these kids will be amped up to bring a playoff series back to Kato for the first time for the seniors.

[AZSIOUX]

Thanks for the breakdown bale!

This is a pretty cool group of seniors! Kristo and company want this bad, you can tell. Not that others didn't by any means but he gets it. Sweep the mavs who are very solid this season and roll tribe roll into the playoffs! Go Sioux.

Its also pretty cool when Kristo and Knight could have both left for the AHL this year if they wanted. would be great to see this whole team hoist that natty in the burgh!

[Goon]

I can see Kristo and Knight lighting this rookie goalie up.

[brianvf]

I can see Kristo and Knight lighting this rookie goalie up.

Many were thinking that same thing about the BSU series though as well.

Not that I still wouldn't mind seeing it.

[Frozen4sioux]

Bale31 - Is there any kind of ticket exchange that MSU fans use? I am looking for two tickets for the Saturday game. There are only SRO tickets available and that is not accpetable due to a medical condition.

I too would highly recommend calling the box office directly....when I go on road trips I usually take my dad who can't really do the stairs and is handicapped. Every arena we have gone to it takes a phone call and they have sold us two accessible seating tickets or exchanged our tickets for accessible spaces....which in reality usually turns out better as the accessible seats are always at the top of the bowl and usually excellent sight lines to watch hockey. This has even got us face value tickets to sold out games such as at marriucci,...again credit goes out to the marriucci staff who really did a great job in making the experience easily accessible for him.

I would call.

[morley]

Bale31 - Is there any kind of ticket exchange that MSU fans use? I am looking for two tickets for the Saturday game. There are only SRO tickets available and that is not accpetable due to a medical condition.

I would say take me with you, but can't afford to get stuck somewhere for a couple of days. Sounds like a possibility of rain/freezing rain this weekend.

[Siouxman]

I would say take me with you, but can't afford to get stuck somewhere for a couple of days. Sounds like a possibility of rain/freezing rain this weekend.

After the five day trip to Omaha I can't afford to take you with me!!

[ringneck28]

I am looking forward to a weekend with Hennesey. I know there is no tv and may or may not break down and purchase the webcast. This weekend is going to be important for us to springboard into the playoffs. I am hoping that Hak pics a goal tender and sticks with him.

[Blackheart]

Mankato is a black hole when it comes to tv coverage.

For those of you living in the Twin Cities, sometimes Comcast will carry the 'local' WCHA games on one of their infomercial channels...last weekend I got the St Cloud-Tech Series and they have shown Mankato as well this year...In the Southwest suburbs check out channel 23 (KABL) and you may get the game...the production is sometimes referred to as WCHA Hockey on Charter which I'm assuming is referring to Charter Cable...it's not a great picture but better than nothing...that being said, there are seven of us going down for Saturday's game...Go Sioux!

[siouxfan512]

Mankato is a black hole when it comes to tv coverage.

I believe there will be a webcast on AmericaOne though. I haven't confirmed that but heard it through one of these message boards