UND @ Maine

[Smoggy]

In case you missed it, CSTV has put the video of Stafford's penalty shot up. I'm sure it won't be up much longer, but it does seem like they might have a bit of an archive.

[sprig]

In case you missed it, CSTV has put the video of Stafford's penalty shot up.  I'm sure it won't be up much longer, but it does seem like they might have a bit of an archive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Zajac should have ended that game before the penalty shot; he chose to pass out front to Stafford rather than shoot the puck into the open net as he came around from behind the goal.

[Smoggy]

I also found it funny that the announcer called Stafford Dave all game long.

Also strange that the teams shook hands after the first night. Is this normal in the east coast?

[siouxnami]

My Testimonial from Maine... A long read so either enjoy or ignore.

My wife and I went up to Maine to see the games and had a great time. We didn't go on the Charter so we could stay for a week. I love that Maine Lobster. The people in Maine were genuinely nice (not like Minnesota nice or Southern Hospitality...) and almost made me feel bad cheering aginst them. If you have the opportunity, take the trip in the future. Maine's state and national parks are great, particularly Baxter State park.

The Alfond is an interesting rink, but the comparisons to the old Ralph didn't work for me (The Alfond was far too nice and didn't even have wooden benches). I was a little diappointed with the lack of passion from the crowd. There was a disturbing level of sobriety in the student section... Pat's Pizza was a good pregame place.

The Maine fans remind me of the fans at Minnesota, as the tend to sit on their hands and not make much noise. We (6-7 Sioux fans standing together, SRO) took advantage and made some noise. The fans actually let us get all the way through "... your not a sieve, your a funnel ..." with out doing anything. By the end it looked like all the fans in 4 sections either way were staring at us confused. I know Howard heard us because the puck was in the other end and he was looking over to see what was going on. The band actually starts a chant to tell the fans when to stand. There were a few "we have 2 Championships, how many do you have remarks"... Must not follow the game that closely...

The friday night game was a terrible game to watch due to the time-outs and refs. Calls were made needlessly aginst both sides. Appearently the Sioux should not recruit anyone over 6'0" because any contact will result in an elbowing call. The penalty shot was a good call that had to be made. Howard may be a descent goalie, but Stafford exposed him badly. There was no hesitation giving Maine 5 on 3s. It looked like the Sioux were much stronger than Maine at even strength.

The best goalies on the ice for the weekend were Parise, Brandt, and Howard, in that order and Howard was a distant 3rd. Parise stole the Friday night game for the Sioux. Given the defensive breakdowns, Maine could have scored 8.

The Sioux really outplayed Maine on Saturday and were hands down the better team which became evident after the D cut down on some of the mistakes. I only wish I had a chance to see Radke play. I didn't see Greene do anything dirty on the play where the Maine player got hurt (and lost a few chicklets). The fans were upset at Green and the ref (Hanson), but I asked if anyone actually saw Greene do something illegal and no one did. It looked like the Maine player saw the first defender and went around him not realizing that Greene was next in line and subsequently got flattened with no time to brace for impact. In the interest of safety they really should make Greene where a beeper... The Alfond does not have a replay board so I didn't actually get to see any replays.

Wow can the Sioux fly. The forwards remind me of the Blake teams from the late 90's. Kaip looks like a nice find and fit in well on the checking line. As a whole the Sioux can really beat down a team. Maine had just given up by the end of the second game.

Finally, talking with some Maine fans I told then that if anyone desides that they need a new rink, DON'T DO IT! Built nice training facilities, but the atmosphere can be destroyed with a new stadium. Even if the new stadium is really, really, nice.

A friend told me that I am famous as CSTV had my wife and I on a couple of times including an up close after the game. We stuck around until most of the student section was gone, given the way the game ended. I can die in peace now... If anyone recorded the game I would be interested in getting a copy of that game.