Goon Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Spelling mistakes are mine and mine only, I take full credit for my spelling mistakes. Hey guys (girls too) gut check time. How much faith do you have in your Fighting Sioux hockey team? I still have a lot even after the goalie melt down last weekend in Madtown. The UND Fighting Sioux can win it all even if we get just average goaltending. UofM proved you could win with mediocre goaltending two years in a row. Like I said earlier, I am confident that the University of Minnesota will not win a third. You heard me say it again. This is UND year. I believe that SFIP also said this. come on folks lets have some confidence in the boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leosity Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I am "cautiously optimistic". However, you must understand that I live in Madison, WI (born and raised in Grand Forks. Went to school AND worked for UND for several years.) The only two games I've been able to see so far were the two here in Madison. The first period on friday night was a CLINIC by UND. The remaining 5 periods of the weekend were very much disappointing. I listen to them all the time on the internet, but it just isn't the same as when I had season tickets for all those years back in Grand Forks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 I am "cautiously optimistic". However, you must understand that I live in Madison, WI (born and raised in Grand Forks. Went to school AND worked for UND for several years.) The only two games I've been able to see so far were the two here in Madison. The first period on friday night was a CLINIC by UND. The remaining 5 periods of the weekend were very much disappointing. I listen to them all the time on the internet, but it just isn't the same as when I had season tickets for all those years back in Grand Forks... If You live in Madtown you should know historically UND has not done good in Madison. Last time UND was swept in Wisconsin they won the NCAA title. I don't take a lot from this weekend's sweep. I actually thought that when UND was up 3-1 they would have held on to win. They let one slip away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoteauRinkRat Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Last time UND was swept in Wisconsin they won the NCAA title. UND was swept in Wisconsin during the 01-02 season and did not win the NCAA title that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leosity Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 If You live in Madtown you should know historically UND has not done good in Madison. Last time UND was swept in Wisconsin they won the NCAA title. I don't take a lot from this weekend's sweep. I actually thought that when UND was up 3-1 they would have held on to win. They let one slip away. I'm just saying that I don't get to see them a lot and what I DID get to see, I didn't like. Right now, I'm focused on what they need to do to get the McNaughton Cup. That's going to be quite the battle to the finish with the top of the WCHA tighting up so much after last weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedorov Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I admit to being the first chicken. I think the team has played poorly for the last month, and I don't think CB has done his job well. I know he can turn the team around, and I know the players can play well enough to win. That doesn't mean it will happen, so I will wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 We're playing well, just falling into the trap like last year where were not finding the net. Everyone's tune will change when we sweep CC this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Right now I think UND and BC are the clear cut favorites, with UM, UMD, UMich and UMaine following fairly closely behind. Anyone outside of those six would be a complete and total shock in my opinion. In fact I'll be surprised if come tourney time anyone outside of those six teams wins a game against any of the six. The one place I think the Sioux are vulnerable is if they play the Gophers or maybe CC (probably won't qualify) in the West regional. The Gopher forwards in particular were a lot more effective against the Sioux defense on the big sheet. That said, I don't think the NCAA will place the Gophers out west if either CC or DU makes the tourney. As far as I can tell the Sioux are 2-3-1 on big ice, and 17-2-2 on regulation ice with their only losses coming to BC and SCSU who was playing incredibly well at the time. If the Sioux can dominate MSU in Mankato, that would go a long ways in proving to me they can play at elite levels on both sheet sizes. Things I'd like for the Gophers: 1. Have Grant return full strength. He has been an incredible post season performer and I don't think the Gophers are a Frozen Four team without him. 2. Avoid the GR regional. 3. Do not play three games at the X. CC has tried the playing five games in nine days trick a couple of times and always comes up short in the quarter finals. If the Gophers end up playing three at the X, I would expect Lucia to sit Ballard, Harrington, Vanek, Riddle, and Koalska for the third place game. Having the Sioux lose twice to Bucky really hurt the Gophers a lot. Time will tell if those points are the difference for third. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 sagard, great post. I say that because I have been meaning to list those six teams somewhere for the last few weeks. I could see a few of them being tripped up by someone else along the way, but like you I would be shocked to see any other team in the field go all the way. Maine may be the weakest of that group. MN and Michigan have proven in the recent past, with the same players, that they have what it takes to be there. BC may be the best team in the field (SOG 46-12 ?? or so against BU). UMD needs to prove in the next few weeks that they belong in that group, but I will not be surprised if they do. UND now needs to prove that this is a little slip in a long season and not the beginning of weaker play. It should be fantastic down the stretch. If UND can get the swagger back, I like their chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 One other thing I've whined about in the past is the need for the WCHA to either balance the schedule or move the play in game to the #4 seeds ice earlier in the week. If the Gophers finish fourth by a point to UW the schedule will have played a big role. UW will played the top two (UND and UMD) in only four games and had their full eight against the cupcakes (MTU and MSU). The Gophers will have played only four with MTU and MSU and eight against UMD and UND. Oh well, I think Lucia suggested this goofy schedule where UND/UM and UND/UW aren't guarenteed four with each other. Just seems wrong to me. I'll go get my kleenex now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I know that Gopher fans find comfort in the idea that the Sioux are more vulnerable on "big ice," but I don't buy it. Remember, the Sioux routinely practice on an Olympic-sized rink, so playing on rinks that size is never a new experience for them. Two of UND's three "big ice" losses were against Wisconsin. As I understand it, the Kohl Center isn't a true "big ice" arena. It's in between Olympic and NHL size. I also don't think the losses to the Badgers had anything to do with the size of the ice sheet. Against SCSU, the Huskies got 2 points from the Sioux at the Ralph. In St. Cloud, the Sioux took 3 of 4 points from the Huskies on the big ice while missing three of their top forwards. Had Minnesota dominated the Sioux at Mariucci, I'd say the theory might have some validity. But a 4-2 Sioux win and a 2-1 Gopher win don't exactly bolster the argument that UND is vulnerable on "big ice." Besides that, all UND's "big ice" games are on the road. Therefore, I wouldn't expect the Sioux record to be as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01grad Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 You just always know the right things to say PCM. You are very wise when it comes to Sioux hockey. Whenever I noticed you have posted something I know it is a must see. Thank you for all of your insight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopper Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I know that Gopher fans find comfort in the idea that the Sioux are more vulnerable on "big ice," but I don't buy it. Remember, the Sioux routinely practice on an Olympic-sized rink, so playing on rinks that size is never a new experience for them. Two of UND's three "big ice" losses were against Wisconsin. As I understand it, the Kohl Center isn't a true "big ice" arena. It's in between Olympic and NHL size. I also don't think the losses to the Badgers had anything to do with the size of the ice sheet. Against SCSU, the Huskies got 2 points from the Sioux at the Ralph. In St. Cloud, the Sioux took 3 of 4 points from the Huskies on the big ice while missing three of their top forwards. Had Minnesota dominated the Sioux at Mariucci, I'd say the theory might have some validity. But a 4-2 Sioux win and a 2-1 Gopher win don't exactly bolster the argument that UND is vulnerable on "big ice." Besides that, all UND's "big ice" games are on the road. Therefore, I wouldn't expect the Sioux record to be as good. Bingo, that was awesome PCM, that was what I wanted to say, I was just looking to put into the proper words. So I guess that you took the words right out of my mouth. I think what we are getting is a lot of cases of wishful thinking from opposing fans. UND is not the team it was last year, I would say that UND is way more talented and has better goaltending. I also wouldn't be so sure that Minnesota is going to be in the same regional bracket as the Sioux ala Collorado (another case of wishful thinking). I also wouldn't say that the Sioux fans/players would be quaking in their shoes even if they had to play the Gophers... Welcome to the thursday play in game if the Gophers don't sweep this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sioux-per Villain Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 It's looking too much like last year's collapse. Quite frankly, the difference has been lack of production from their 2nd thru 4th lines. UND as a true #1 should never blow a 3-0 lead and be getting more scoring production out of players like Stafford, Fylling, Prpich, Porter, and mostly Schneider. Lundbohm show'd glipses of a rebound but has sputtered of late. Also, dominant teams find ways to win close games. BC for example is 6-1 in one goal games, where UND is 3-4. As much as I hate to say it, right now, the Gophers are deeper than the Sioux. The difference may come down to coaching. Lucia clearly has the edge here. If the NCAAs started today, I'm afraid the Sioux would not make it to Boston. They need to bury CC this weekend to start the turn-around and build momentum/confidence entering the Final Five. Can Blais coach them out of this downward spiral? I'm not so sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmitzzz Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I know that Gopher fans find comfort in the idea that the Sioux are more vulnerable on "big ice," but I don't buy it. Remember, the Sioux routinely practice on an Olympic-sized rink, so playing on rinks that size is never a new experience for them. Two of UND's three "big ice" losses were against Wisconsin. As I understand it, the Kohl Center isn't a true "big ice" arena. It's in between Olympic and NHL size. I also don't think the losses to the Badgers had anything to do with the size of the ice sheet. Against SCSU, the Huskies got 2 points from the Sioux at the Ralph. In St. Cloud, the Sioux took 3 of 4 points from the Huskies on the big ice while missing three of their top forwards. Had Minnesota dominated the Sioux at Mariucci, I'd say the theory might have some validity. But a 4-2 Sioux win and a 2-1 Gopher win don't exactly bolster the argument that UND is vulnerable on "big ice." Besides that, all UND's "big ice" games are on the road. Therefore, I wouldn't expect the Sioux record to be as good. In addition, UND simply outplayed WI on Sat. They controlled the puck more and did a good job of limiting quality shots... unfortunatly we had a goaltender meltdown that let the shots that WI did get off find the back of the net. So I don't buy the argument that UND can't play on the big sheet. I will admit, however, that MN is certainly a more formidable opponent on Olympic ice than any other team UND will play against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Sorry for not being a little more clear with the word "vulnerable". The Sioux are going to be the favorites whatever size the ice is, but I like the Gophers chances and other big ice teams like CC or UNH chances a lot better on a big sheet than on a regulation rink. In the Gophers case, I'd give them a 50% chance of beating the Sioux in Colorado, but probably only a 30% - 40% chance in Boston. In CC or UNH's case, I'd give them around a 25% chance of beating the Sioux in the Colorado regional and 0% anywhere else. I don't think the Gophers and UND will end up in Colorado together though, so it probably won't make a bit of difference about the Gophers chances against UND in Colorado. UW's rink is listed as 200/97, vs. the regulation 200/85. UND has swept their road series on regulation ice. I'll hold off on drawing any further conclusions on UND's play on the big sheets until after the MSU series. Last point, say the Gophers do finish fourth. UW or SCSU will have their hands full with AA or Denver as the #8 seed, so they could get "lucky" and still avoid the play in game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 It's looking too much like last year's collapse. If the Sioux play poorly against CC this weekend, then maybe I'll agree with you. Right now, I see more reasons to be positive than negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 One bad weekend in goal but we should not get to woried. lets give them a chance to come back and prove theirselves this weekend!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoneyLine Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I am looking forward to a big weekend against CC. It is there, we just have to find it. We aren't getting worse and the other teams aren't getting that much better. Defense. Defense. Makes the goalies job much easier if there is good defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwing77 Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I agree with Sioux-per0villain. one bad weekend is not a championship make. Therefore you can count the Gophers and Denver out of it. After all, they were swept by the Sioux. Seriously, now, ONE bad weekend is nothing. Remeber in 1999-2000, going into Madison in this time of year and doing so wonderful that we were swept both nights in overtime. Was that season over? Looking at the BANNER, I'd say NOPE. Sorry. I'll believe we are out of it as soon as the last loss is made official. Just like I wouldn't believe the Gophers were out of it back in November. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 I agree with Sioux-per0villain. one bad weekend is not a championship make. Therefore you can count the Gophers and Denver out of it. After all, they were swept by the Sioux. Seriously, now, ONE bad weekend is nothing. Remeber in 1999-2000, going into Madison in this time of year and doing so wonderful that we were swept both nights in overtime. Was that season over? Looking at the BANNER, I'd say NOPE. Sorry. I'll believe we are out of it as soon as the last loss is made official. Just like I wouldn't believe the Gophers were out of it back in November. I remember those games in 2000, the last one was really exciting unforunately UND still lost, UND refocused after the series and concentrated on winning the Final Five and the NCAA tourney. Last weekend should serve as a wake up call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UMDDogz Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I believe that the Sioux will be able to refocus and come out blazing this weekend. Blais has done a good job in the past of avioding the swoon (better than Dahl ), and I would look for a sweep. My 0.02. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Things I'd like for the Gophers: 3. Do not play three games at the X. CC has tried the playing five games in nine days trick a couple of times and always comes up short in the quarter finals. If the Gophers end up playing three at the X, I would expect Lucia to sit Ballard, Harrington, Vanek, Riddle, and Koalska for the third place game. Imagine the seeding implications that could come out of that game. Now if a team were to rest the big guns and a lower seed won...oofdah would there be some griping in the world of college hockey. This would also make a mockery of the Final Five. But hey, I've been wanting the Gophers to play all three games and if I were in Lucia's shoes, I'd sit them as long as it didn't hurt my seed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petey23 Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 I think the Sioux will be able to refocus and enter the post season on a high. Not to set expectations too high, but I honestly think anything less than a 7-1 or 6-1-1 finish will be a disappointment and point to possible problems down the road. As far as goaltending, they just need to go back to the KISS method(keep it simple stupid) and let our defense get back to doing their job. The Gophers have proven the last 2 years that you don't need "great" goaltending to win it all(sure Weber had 1 great period against Michigan) but other than that they just made the routine saves and kept their heads(O.K. Hauser totally freaked out in the title game, but the referees chose not to call any of the cheapshot penalties on him, in truth they did not effect the flow of action so I am not saying that they should have been called, just pointing out that with the game on the line, Hauser made some brutal errors in judgement) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 This would also make a mockery of the Final Five. The Final Five format with an unbalanced regular season is a joke. I don't think Lucia would sit anyone, unless they were hurt. I would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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