Looking Back . . . .

[NorthDakotaHockey]

ADVANCE APOLOGIES FOR THE LENGTH. FEEL FREE TO PASS OVER. THERE IS LITTLE SUBSTANCE OR INFO HERE, JUST A WHOLE LOT OF PASSION AND PRIDE

Here it is, Friday night, near 7:00 p.m. The arena should be filled with fans in full revelie, but it is not. The players should be on the ice, warming up, or in their locker room, preparing for another WCHA battle. But they are not. I should be on the road with my children, whether to The Ralph, in Mankato, at the DECC, at the National Concrete Center, or in the deep snows of Houghton, Michigan or the clear blue skies of the Colorado Rockies. We should be in Mariucci, decked out in full Sioux regalia and barking from our standing room slots down at the Gopher student section as the Sioux take command of a close game. Or at the Ex, striding with pride through the sea of brown and yellow, after perhaps the best game in all of college hockey. For this year anyway. I should be here, at my computer, dialing up the DataFlix, or better yet, Tim Hennessy on the radio, while I correspond with hundreds of fine Sioux fans from around the country as the puck drops on another weekend of Fighting Sioux hockey. Instead, there is nothing. It is April, and the season is over. A bit prematurely as well. Maybe that is what stings the most. Probably not. It is the loss of the Sioux Nation. The Sioux History. The Sioux Pride. At least on the ice, and in the arenas, and with the fans, for another year. The hats and t-shirts can, and will, be paraded year round. The jerseys are hung for another season.

This past Monday morning, my kids and I drove to Denver at the crack of dawn and got on a plane back to our so-called lives. This, after throwing our hearts and lungs into a memorable season of Sioux hockey that took us to REA many times, beginning with the Hall of Fame Game nearly six months ago, and ending in a sad realization as the Pioneers of Denver celebrated their absolute stealing of a game for a prized trip to the Frozen Four.

All told, we made 26 games, in eight different venues. We saw the Sioux win early, and we saw them win often. We saw a team that carried itself with absolute poise and class on the road, taking a lesson, no doubt, from its coaches. We saw a five-game season sweep of the likely National Champions, UMD. We saw five games in the greatest rivalry in all of sport, Sioux-Gopher hockey. We met great fans, and sometimes not so great fans, wearing both the enemy colors and the green and white. We tossed hats, or wigs, on the ice in Mankato to celebrate Fabian's hat trick. We jousted with Coach Blais in the lobby of road hotels, and he was always gracious enough to joust back. We watched Robbie Bina get his ass kicked in video games by Jordan Parise, and that was the only time, and place, that we saw Bina get his ass kicked all year. We saw Ryan Hale stand up for what was right to John Scott, and watched a referee tie his hands while Scott took to the sucker punching. We saw the team become a team, as they racked their sticks in unison against the boards to the strangely odd "Overrated" chant of Tech fans who had just seen their team drilled twice, at home. We met fine folk from this board. We proudly wore the "Bo Knows Goals" Hobey Hat so adroitly made by YaneA. I dipped my hand into a tray of Jake Brandt's jalapenos and chips, while giving him tips to improve his game. And improve his game he did. We caught Zach Parise in a quiet concourse of the Excel and thanked him for all of our good fun, and told him to thank his teammates for us as well, and that the best part of the game is the fun in the game. We laughed with him as some boorish Gopher fan, a friend of mine, tried to get in his face in a clever way without having a clue of what he was doing, or with whom he was talking. I watched my daughter stoically stand off the DECC ice and, with a raft of other young children, high-five the team as they stepped to the locker room after a sweep of Duluth to prevent the parading of the McNaugton Cup. I watched her as she cautiously approached, and got, damned near every player on the team to sign her jersey after the Holy Cross game. And sign her jersey with graciousness and class. These guys, top to bottom, are class acts.

As luck would have it, we only listened to the Internet radio on the night that the Sioux clinched the McNaughton Cup and celebrated on the ice. We so hoped that that celebration would have been delayed to Saturday, when we could make the trip, and were in the building. C'est la vie. This team was just too good to put the clinching of that storied trophy on hold, even for a night. We proudly put up Patrick Miller's fine photo of the team with the Cup as our wallpaper. Thanks PCM, for that, and your many fine and level reports, both here and on USCHO.

We anxiously rung our hands during the NCAA Selection Show. We had purchased West Regional tickets back in October, in large part confident that the Sioux would be there. In small part because we had family there upon whom we could impose. After watching Duluth take apart the Gophers for the Frozen Four last Sunday, we checked this board to make sure that everyone had put away the razor blades. Confident that we all had, we then decided to go skating at Hennen Arena, the Colorado College campus arena. Sammy, my daughter, said "We should wear our Sioux jerseys." We did. It was a great idea. It was a near perfect end to a near perfect season. We held heads high, and let everyone know that we were, and are, and always will be, Sioux fans. Through and through.

As we got on the plane early Monday morning, there sat some middle-aged guy in a gravy-stained Golden Gophers sweatshirt, slathering down a Cinnabon roll. Looking to joust with someone close to his own intellect, he proclaimed to my twelve year-old daughter, wearing a Sioux sweatshirt of her own as she walked past, "Your Sioux didn't do so well, did they?" He either chortled, or choked on a piece of roll, I am not sure which. Of course, she just brushed past him, practicing the lesson that I had ingrained in her that she should never talk to strangers, especially boorish ones.

Having overheard him, and not willing to let his remark go unnoticed, I stopped and said rather loudly, "Our Sioux not do so well?? Well, I suppose only if in your jellyroll world a 30-win season, a McNaughton Cup, two Hobey Baker finalists, an NCAA berth, another WCHA Championship Banner, and legions of devoted fans following them all over the country, win, lose, or draw, is not 'doing so well!'"

My kids looked back at me, and we started laughing, and gave each other high fives, and shouted "Let's Go Sioux!" right there on that plane, at 6:30 in the morning, before a legion of weary travellers, most of whom likely had no clue of what was happening.

What happened, then and there on that plane, is what makes Sioux hockey great. Another generation of Sioux fans has been ingrained. Those of us still

walking will long remember these days, as will those fans both older and younger than us.

Last year, shortly after the sting of the Ferris State loss, I went on this board and observed the following . . . .

In the final analysis, seasons come, and seasons go. Some are better than others. Some yield banners, some do not. The best thing about the Fighting Sioux is their history, and the ability to bring folks together to forget, if only for a while, the price of wheat, the whine of liberals, the ravages of high water, and the cost of love.

Players come. Players go. Same with coaches. Same with logos, and jersey styles. The only constant is the pride. The tradition. The excellence. The name.

Fighting Sioux. Everything else is dust. Always has been. Always will be.

Thanks to each and all of you, and especially a big thanks to each and all of the players, the staff, the coaches, and everyone on down the food chain (starting just below President Kupchella, who does indeed need a few lessons in both fervor and faith) associated with Fighting Sioux hockey.

It was a great run. There will be many many more to come.

[siouxyeahyeah]

Well said, NorthDakotaHockey, well said. October, here we come!!

[Fedorov]

Thanks for your thoughts and experiences.

[Cratter]

Bring a tear to my eye.

[dagies]

Amen, brother.

Amen

[schmidtdoggydog]

Great post - preach on!

[siouxbear1]

Absolutely awesome post...I know alot of people that keep saying get over it and I really don't care what they have to say. There is a reason why we cheer so loud and are devoted fans who travel great lengths just to see them play the game of hockey.

I commend and applaud you for spilling your guts! I think alot of people are saying.....yeah what he said!!!!

[Goon]

Well said, NorthDakotaHockey, well said. October, here we come!!

I have to agree with touching awesome post. You right good things happen in October, both happen about the same time: the return of Fighitng Sioux hockey and my favorite time of the year Ducktober.

Touching post, that probably only a Sioux fan would understand. My family most of them Goofer fans don't understand why UND fans take Sioux hockey so seriously. For all of us that live in ND full time, its the only thing that is going on in the winter. Especially next year if there is no NHL season. I actually blame the owners for this, they are the ones that created this mess.

This season was one of the most exciting seasons of UND hockey ever for me, I have been a fan since 1991. I would have to say honestly even over 1997 and 2000. I really felt the boys had a great chance to win an 8th NCAA title (Wait till next year). The 2003-2004 version of the Fighting Sioux did hang an unprecedented 12th WCHA Regular Season Title, I think that is the most of any team in the league. I believe Blaiser's 5th as a head coach.

What was so exciting was that this team ability to score goals in bunches, the money line, Lundy's line. The 2003-2004 version of the Sioux had brusing defense and could kill almost any 5-3 penalthy kill they had thrown against them. The Sioux also got great goaltending and lit up a few good ones along the way. However, their season fell short by two games, as I sat there in my basement in disbelief, I felt as if the Sioux had lost a game they deserved to win and had no business losing, I still feel some lose one week later. The best team doesn't always win, ala Brendon Morrison.

I am still saddened by the early signing of Zach Parise, more so because we will never be able to hear Hennen say, "Heres your University of North Dakota Fighing Siiiiiiiioux scoring, Number 11 ZACH PARISE"... But also because he now plays for the New Jersey Devils a team that a division rival of my favorite NHL team the Boston Bruins, thats almost like playing for the Habs in my book.

[Smoggy]

All of a sudden this weekend doesn't feel so empty. Thanks NorthDakotaHockey.

[MafiaMan]

While I love Sioux hockey enough to have the old Blackhawk logo tattooed onto my back left shoulderblade, I must beg to differ with the Sioux/Gopher hockey rivalry labeled the "greatest rivalry in all of sport."

Drive to Ann Arbor or Columbus in any given fall and when you're on either the Michigan or Ohio State University campus during "THE GAME," you'll find a bigger rivalry. I've been to Michigan Stadium several times over the years, and trust me, a stadium that seats 1/6 of the population of my former home state in it gives me goosebumps every time. Nothing, and I mean nothing in sports can compare to it.

The sun comes out tomorrow and next fall, the Sioux will capture the hearts of fans everywhere. Maybe it's time to add the new logo to my right shoulderblade...

[CoteauRinkRat]

Great to read a positive look back at the season.

[Manderleigh13]

Great post NorthDakotaHockey. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the season. I have to agree. There is nothing better than being a proud Sioux fan. They may not have won the Frozen Four or the Broadmoor Cup, but they won the MacNaughton, were ranked # 1 for most of the season, and have two Hobey Baker finalists. Not to mention, they won the Subway Holiday Classic and had many players make all-tournament teams throughtout the year. It was a great season.

I was on spring break the last two weeks of the season and my friend called the hotel after games and left messages as to whether they won or not and a few key elements to the games. A man on our floor enjoyed walking around in his Gopher hockey gear. I saw this and of course had to put on my Sioux gear. I ran into him in the hall and he had a lot to say about the upcoming game between the Gophers and the Sioux. In the end, he got to gloat in my face and preceeded to tell me that the Sioux played poorly and were a terrible team. I could just stand proud and tell him that the Sioux played their hearts out, it didn't go their way. No one can say that the Sioux didn't play well or had a terrible season, or just weren't good enough to get to the Frozen Four, esp. Gopher fans because they didn't get there either. The Sioux were good enough to go all the way but it just wasn't meant to be this year. I can't wait for October.

[YaneA]

Thank you, NDH, for saying so eloquently what many Sioux Hockey fans are feeling. I love this team...I love 'em... I love 'em...I love 'em.

[The Sicatoka]

Back, schmack.

I'd rather look forward.

Here's one just for "Virg Foss is God":

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/s...ota/8350946.htm

[jk]

"I think the real key is if most of our guys here now are going to stay to make another run at it," Blais said. "Our freshmen will come in the play and contribute. A bigger key is who we can hold here in school and who can have a bigger year next year than this year."

Excerpted from the article linked by the Sicatoka.

To me, this is slightly less promising than the earlier comment by Coach Blais that he thought no on else would leave, with Greene being the next most likely. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

[MafiaMan]

Maybe the best team didn't get there (Boston)? C'mon, Dean, now you sound like Michigan in 1998.

[jloos]

Maybe the best team didn't get there (Boston)? C'mon, Dean, now you sound like Michigan in 1998.

I agree (assuming you mean 97, MI won in 98). Brenden Morrison's Hobey Acceptance speach the day before UND and BU played for the title was one of the lamest things I've ever heard. He sounded like a 2 year old that just had their favorite toy taken away. For those that don't remember he said something along the lines of; the best team isn't playing for the national championship tomorrow night. Titles are not given out for the best team on paper, you have to earn them, this isn't college football.

[DAR]

Agreed, the bottom line is they did not get the job done. They did not get a puck in the net. Take the loss as tough as it was and live with it. Although it is obvious the Sioux are a better team than Denver, the best team does not always win in a single elimination playoff. Credit the other team, don't whine, that is for Goofer fans to do.

[Goon]

If you looking for something to do on Fridays, the races are supposed to start up in Grand Forks this Friday night at River Cities Speedway.

[airmail]

Thanks, NDH... a very good thread.