2014 Pairwise rankings

[yababy8]

so who screwed things up for everyone? ie, who lost to the ECAC?

[yababy8]

If the Sioux played the following teams in a six weekend period home and away series how do you think they would do?

Quinnipiac, Union, Northeastern, Providence, U Mass Lowell, Ferris State.

I would say we would go 8-1-1. That would be our record against a field comprised of 60% of the current top ten teams in the Nation!

I would add that I think it would be likely that we go 10-0.

Omaha would probably go 6-4 against them and they are not even ranked!

[smokey the cat]

If the Sioux played the following teams in a six weekend period home and away series how do you think they would do?

Quinnipiac, Union, Northeastern, Providence, U Mass Lowell, Ferris State.

I would say we would go 8-1-1. That would be our record against a field comprised of 60% of the current top ten teams in the Nation!

I would add that I think it would be likely that we go 10-0.

Omaha would probably go 6-4 against them and they are not even ranked!

I think 6-4 or 7-3 would be more likely.

[Frozen4sioux]

If the Sioux played the following teams in a six weekend period home and away series how do you think they would do?

Quinnipiac, Union, Northeastern, Providence, U Mass Lowell, Ferris State.

I would say we would go 8-1-1. That would be our record against a field comprised of 60% of the current top ten teams in the Nation!

I would add that I think it would be likely that we go 10-0.

Omaha would probably go 6-4 against them and they are not even ranked!

The fact that these days the parity in the game both in talent and in the changing nature of sheer physicality being "officiated" out.....

I would think that stretch could be a very difficult challenge...

10 years ago......cakewalk to that 8-1-1

Now....damn tough schedule of games you put in there. 6-4 would not be frowned upon.....easily could go 3-7 too. Just a fact of the nature of today's game.

[sprig]

so who screwed things up for everyone? ie, who lost to the ECAC?

None of the NCHC teams have anything to brag about.

ND loss to SLU

Denver loss to Canisius

SCSU loss to Union

UNO loss to Bentley loss x2 to Cornell

CC loss x2 to Clarkson, loss to Air Force, loss to Brown

I included the AHA in above, did not include several losses to HE, B1G, and WCHA teams (all above plus NC losses to the HE, B1G, and WCHA are all COP killers). The types of losses above just didn't happen (or only on a rare occasion) to teams in the HEA and B1G, and didn't happen as frequently in the past to the old WCHA. As a whole the NCHC is on par with the AHA and WCHA this year, and not as good as the conferences they usually match (HE, the old WCHA, etc).

[scpa0305]

None of the NCHC teams have anything to brag about.

ND loss to SLU

Denver loss to Canisius

SCSU loss to Union

UNO loss to Bentley loss x2 to Cornell

CC loss x2 to Clarkson, loss to Air Force, loss to Brown

I included the AHA in above, did not include several losses to HE, B1G, and WCHA teams (all above plus NC losses to the HE, B1G, and WCHA are all COP killers). The types of losses above just didn't happen (or only on a rare occasion) to teams in the HEA and B1G, and didn't happen as frequently in the past to the old WCHA. As a whole the NCHC is on par with the AHA and WCHA this year, and not as good as the conferences they usually match (HE, the old WCHA, etc).

Exactly, I would say 8-1-1 would be in our dreams.

[Snake]

If the Sioux played the following teams in a six weekend period home and away series how do you think they would do?

Quinnipiac, Union, Northeastern, Providence, U Mass Lowell, Ferris State.

I would say we would go 8-1-1. That would be our record against a field comprised of 60% of the current top ten teams in the Nation!

I would add that I think it would be likely that we go 10-0.

Omaha would probably go 6-4 against them and they are not even ranked!

Omaha goes 6-4? That is preposterous. How on earth does their 3-7 Non-conference record against the current 10, 11, 22, 33, & 34th PWR teams suggests they could now pull a 6-4 record against the current 3-9 PWR teams?

Omaha is one of the reasons the NCHC finds itself in this mess!

[yababy8]

Exactly, I would say 8-1-1 would be in our dreams.

I guess I see this team a bit differently than everyone else right now. I think they are developing into one of the better Sioux teams I have ever seen. They are certainly skilled in different areas than usuall but some of those are things that even the best teams over the last 12 years have lacked and in my opinion have been weaknesses which have cost us championships.

The only real concern I have for this team is at goal and that can best be described as a question mark more than an overt weakness.

[siouxweet]

I guess I see this team a bit differently than everyone else right now. I think they are developing into one of the better Sioux teams I have ever seen. They are certainly skilled in different areas than usuall but some of those are things that even the best teams over the last 12 years have lacked and in my opinion have been weaknesses which have cost us championships.

The only real concern I have for this team is at goal and that can best be described as a question mark more than an overt weakness.

out of curiosity how long have you been watching und hockey? as from my memory I can list at least six teams that would be better than this one..87,97,98,99,00,04,11. and there are several others that could be on the list as well.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

I guess I see this team a bit differently than everyone else right now. I think they are developing into one of the better Sioux teams I have ever seen. They are certainly skilled in different areas than usuall but some of those are things that even the best teams over the last 12 years have lacked and in my opinion have been weaknesses which have cost us championships.

The only real concern I have for this team is at goal and that can best be described as a question mark more than an overt weakness.

That's bold. Don't misinterpret me, I love the optimism and believe this team is looking better each series though.

Just curious, what are the different areas that you see this team has going for them over the past teams?

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

out of curiosity how long have you been watching und hockey? as from my memory I can list at least six teams that would be better than this one..87,97,98,99,00,04,11. and there are several others that could be on the list as well.

I almost think with Kristo and Knight, you could also argue last year's team was "better". Now obviously this doesn't always matter come tournament time (See: Michigan in 1997, Sioux in 2011).

[UNDBIZ]

I almost think with Kristo and Knight, you could also argue last year's team was "better". Now obviously this doesn't always matter come tournament time (See: Michigan in 1997, Sioux in 2011).

This year's team is just mediocre enough to WIN IT ALL!!!

[Snake]

I guess I see this team a bit differently than everyone else right now. I think they are developing into one of the better Sioux teams I have ever seen. They are certainly skilled in different areas than usuall but some of those are things that even the best teams over the last 12 years have lacked and in my opinion have been weaknesses which have cost us championships.

The only real concern I have for this team is at goal and that can best be described as a question mark more than an overt weakness.

I will definitely agree that they are skilled in "different areas than usual," but not so much on their usual areas. This team is definitely good in its own way, but it's not a complete team in the sense that they lack the scoring threats we're accustomed to.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

This year's team is just mediocre enough to WIN IT ALL!!!

I'm happy you picked up what I was putting down

[siouxweet]

it all goes back to you just gotta get in the dance.

[GFG]

I can't believe how down the NCHC is this year, to be honest. SCSU is a good team, but I wasn't sure how good because they've really struggled to win against the good teams that they've played. UND is starting to show they're the best team in the conference I think. Granted they haven't had an overly tough schedule the last month, but their play is noticeably better compared to earlier in the season. As we've seen in recent years, with the parity in college hockey now all you need to do is make the tournament and you have a chance to win it because of the one and done format

[siouxforce19]

The teams that screwed the NCHC are UNO and Colorado College. Easily. Every other team, without looking up their box scores, had respectable to good non-conference records. Yeah CC is not good this year. But UNO should have at least been able to finish .500 in their non-conference schedule if you ask me. This is why I can't ever pick UNO to finish high in conference standings until they a) perform better non-conference and b)not have a mid-to-late season slump every year.

I'm sure this was already mentioned to an extent. Possibly by me but it's been angering me for a while.

#end rant

[Old Fella]

The Sioux have not won a game to any team above them in the pairwise.

Just commenting.

[cberkas]

The Sioux have not won a game to any team above them in the pairwise.

Just commenting.

They have beaten Duluth, and only have played 2 of the teams above them in the pairwise.

[brianvf]

The Sioux have not won a game to any team above them in the pairwise.

Just commenting.

http://collegehockeystats.net/1314/boxes/mmndndk1.n15

That wasn't very hard.

[bigskyvikes]

The Sioux have not won a game to any team above them in the pairwise.

Just commenting.

Daaaaaa....Denver?

[82SiouxGuy]

The Sioux have not won a game to any team above them in the pairwise.

Just commenting.

They have beaten Duluth, and only have played 2 of the teams above them in the pairwise.

Team PWC RPI H2H COP

#1 Minnesota 0-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.6143) 0-0 0-1 (0.4167—0.8333)

#2 Boston College 0-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.5997) 0-0 0-1 (0.2500—1.0000)

#3 Quinnipiac 0-1 0-1 (0.5365—0.5747) 0-0 0-0 (0.0000—0.0000)

#4 Union 0-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.5699) 0-0 0-1 (0.0000—0.7500)

#5 Ferris State 0-1 0-1 (0.5365—0.5664) 0-0 0-0 (0.7500—0.7500)

#6 St Cloud St 1-3 0-1 (0.5365—0.5640) 0-2 1-0 (0.7083—0.6250)

#7 Providence 0-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.5593) 0-0 0-1 (0.6250—0.7500)

#8 Northeastern 1-1 0-1 (0.5365—0.5580) 0-0 1-0 (0.7500—0.5556)

#9 Mass.-Lowell 0-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.5552) 0-0 0-1 (0.2500—1.0000)

#10 Michigan 1-1 0-1 (0.5365—0.5505) 0-0 1-0 (0.5833—0.5000)

#11 Cornell 0-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.5495) 0-0 0-1 (0.4167—0.5833)

#12 Notre Dame 1-1 0-1 (0.5365—0.5471) 0-0 1-0 (0.7500—0.6667)

#13 Wisconsin 1-1 0-1 (0.5365—0.5451) 0-0 1-0 (0.6875—0.6250)

#14 Minnesota-Duluth 2-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.5410) 1-1 1-0 (0.6000—0.4500)

#15 Colgate 0-2 0-1 (0.5365—0.5397) 0-0 0-1 (0.4167—0.6667)

#16 Clarkson 1-1 0-1 (0.5365—0.5367) 0-0 1-0 (0.7500—0.6667)

#17 North Dakota

See H2H (head to head) column.

[yababy8]

out of curiosity how long have you been watching und hockey? as from my memory I can list at least six teams that would be better than this one..87,97,98,99,00,04,11. and there are several others that could be on the list as well.

..Why no 08?...

a couple of ways I could answer this;

If I was going to be a wise guy I could say, Longer than you have been able to read well as I said "one of the better" not better than. I further qualified the statement with a "developing" into clause... But I'm guessing you are a gentlemen and thus would not deserve such a gruff response...

or I could answer your inquisition into my qualifications and say to you that you have me on 87. (Although Greg Johnson is my all time favorite Sioux player and Dixon Ward and Russ Romaniuk were fun to watch put the puck in the net) I saw my first game two years after the 87 team. Not that this matters because a comparison to that team would be silly at this point.

Having said that I would agree that this team is not the 97-99 team. As far as 04 and 11 go, I would say 04 was better (I was at World Arena when that all ended). 11, now that is a bit more of a question. That team was really good in many way but it's weakness was at defensive depth and completeness. It also relied a bit to much on Frattin's deadly shot (It was something to behold that shot!) but that is not relevant to this comparison because beside the goalie question, consistent scoring is this teams "need to improve" area.

I will explain why I think this team has a big one up on many of the recent great Sioux teams and could thus be on the verge of greatness in my response to Heaven no beers post. I am impressed by his response to my rhetoric. It was what I was fishing for.

[Blackheart]

..Why no 08?...

a couple of ways I could answer this;

If I was going to be a wise guy I could say, Longer than you have been able to read well as I said "one of the better" not better than. I further qualified the statement with a "developing" into clause... But I'm guessing you are a gentlemen and thus would not deserve such a gruff response...

or I could answer your inquisition into my qualifications and say to you that you have me on 87. (Although Greg Johnson is my all time favorite Sioux player and Dixon Ward and Russ Romaniuk were fun to watch put the puck in the net) I saw my first game two years after the 87 team. Not that this matters because a comparison to that team would be silly at this point.

Having said that I would agree that this team is not the 97-99 team. As far as 04 and 11 go, I would say 04 was better (I was at World Arena when that all ended). 11, now that is a bit more of a question. That team was really good in many way but it's weakness was at defensive depth and completeness. It also relied a bit to much on Frattin's deadly shot (It was something to behold that shot!) but that is not relevant to this comparison because beside the goalie question, consistent scoring is this teams "need to improve" area.

I will explain why I think this team has a big one up on many of the recent great Sioux teams and could thus be on the verge of greatness in my response to Heaven no beers post. I am impressed by his response to my rhetoric. It was what I was fishing for.

I hope youre right because I just don't see it with this years team...I've seen them look very good (Friday against Miami, DU) and very average...people have talked about this team having very little room for error in order to win and I tend to agree. I still think we are a year away but I thought that about the 97 team as well so who knows...BTW, how the 04 and 11 teams didn't bring home the big hardware is still beyond me.

[yababy8]

That's bold. Don't misinterpret me, I love the optimism and believe this team is looking better each series though.

Just curious, what are the different areas that you see this team has going for them over the past teams?

Excellent query,

The short answer is this; This team doesn't f_ck up.

While I have always been a strong supporter of more offensive prowess with respect to many of our past Sioux teams( just check my history on this forum to see how I feel about the value of dynamic offense), the number one thing I pay attention to when watching and re-watching Sioux games is who screws things up. I could go back to pretty much any team since Hak has been at the helm and point to more than one player on each team that perpetually mucked up possession. Of course this was and is my perception and my opinion but I do recall it was others as well.

I don't want to go through the last 8 years and throw players under the bus because that is not nice to some very passionate members of Sioux hockey alumni. I am although going to pick one guy out because I need him to make my point. Chay Genoway. (its ok he's currently making a half million a year). Now this guy was probably the best skating defensemen I have ever seen and he bled Sioux green. I really was a fan of his for that. But he had a weakness. He would get toasted by a good forward and give-up plays which allowed opponents offense in vulnerable situations. Every team has had Genoways over the last several seasons.

Tell me I am wrong when I say that we as Sioux fans have seen team after team dominate play against opponents but yet lose games when the other team gets odd man rushes once or twice a game and scores on them. You know what I'm talking about. The, "wow we have been kicking their ass! They can't even get the puck out of our end" Then they get a two-on-one breakaway or two during the course of the game and now we are losing. Shots 35-15, but we lost.

This years team is starting to look different in that they are not allowing the odd man rushes. Even when the opponent gets past our defense we catch them and shut them down. Why is this?

Because we have 7 awesome defensemen.

I was at the Denver series and Friday night was a sight to behold. (Sat was the standard Colorado high altitude/bought refs game I have seen for 12 years here but Friday was impressive). I focused on our blue-liners looking for weakness in their game. Every one of them was dominant. Simpson and Schmaltz go from 99% solid to Hobey caliber play throughout the game. They are complete. Shooting eye, skating, passing, decision making, calm under pressure, defensive control, outlet passes, jumping into the play both to keep possession on the boards and up the middle to score. All of it. Top notch All American level play.

Now the other 5 guys and I'm not talking burgers and fries. Here is the best way to say how I see them; in a comparison with our top two I struggle to find any significant reduction in the level they are at when I break down their game. I watch Ladue and Stecher pinch and I am in awe. They are so effective. They never get burned. They should get burned! They are frick'n freshmen??

If you took these four guys off our team and had to look to Mattson, Ausmus and Thompson as your guys. Well Asmus is pretty solid-Very few and little F_ck ups. Mattson, now that he is skating with the puck, is starting to look like a bit like Chorney and finally Thompson, Hmmmm? leads the team +/- and scores in critical situations. (BTW Hakstol screwed up not switching the lineup for Sat in Denver. Poor respect for altitude. I appreciate him wanting to go with the highly successful group from Friday's annihilation but ya gotta respect high altitude fatigue.)

Ok so there you go. I obviously am pretty high on our blue liners right? But is that enough to justify my claims of great potential? Maybe not. So I will add a little mustard. Two more reasons why this team can be great:

1. I think Hak is a great coach. I have some issues with his what I would call 'lack of focus on offensive creativity'. Just my take on him. Having said that I think he is destined to excel the most with a team that's strength is at the blue line. Given my assertion above then this may be his most appropriately skilled team to coach to a championship.

2. I haven't said anything about the forwards? Well about the forwards. In the course of this season we have all seen the offensive zone game plan; Gain the zone and move the puck to the point and cycle between a winger and the two defensemen until a shot is there, shoot and get bodies to the net.

I have noticed a change in the offensive zone puck movement the last few weeks in two areas; A) The defensemen are moving the puck to the wingers of the circles and the forwards are looking for shots and feeds through the middle depending on how aggressive the defense is toward the top of the zone. Our forwards are doing very well at this. Rodwell, Parks, O'donnell, chyzyk, Grimaldi, St.Clair and others are preforming with a lot of hustle and smarts in this role. I.e. they are not f_cking up. This is a second dimension as compared to before X-mas. B) The defensemen (mostly Simpson and Schmaltz) are moving deep into the zone with a frequency that I have never seen before in the Hak era. I think this is not only indicative of how talented our defensemen are but also I think it speaks to my first point. We don't f_uck up!

That's my spiel..

For extra credit I say this,

Rodwell is starting to remind me of Porter.

St.Clair's penalty kill is starting to remind me of Travis Zajac.

and a couple times a game O'Donnell kind of reminds me of Stafford.

how about a healthy McMillan? a cross between trupp and Oshie? maybe Panzer??

com'on who's with me?