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Fighting Sioux Coaches' Show


PCM

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Disclaimer: This is a summary of the weekly Fighting Sioux Coaches Show. It is NOT a verbatim transcript of the show. Comments by the show's hosts and the coaches are paraphrased to the best of the author's ability and are NOT direct quotes. This summary contains selected highlights from the show and is NOT a comprehensive account of all topics covered or discussed. This broadcast summary represents the interpretation of the author and is not associated in any manner with SiouxSports.com, the University of North Dakota or USCHO. This summary MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED without the written permission of the author.

From Suite 49 sports grill near beautiful Ralph Engelstad Arena, Tim Hennessy and Scott Swygman are the hosts with Sioux hockey coach Dave Hakstol.

TH: The outcome of Saturday night's game against Mankato was a bit of a shocker.

DH: We have to play better for a full 60 minutes.

SS: Brady Murray was quoted in the Herald as saying that the team was playing just to get into overtime.

DH: I didn't see that quote. We have to play better for 60 minutes and show some killer instinct to put a team away and close out a series we should have swept.

TH: There have been three series (UAA, UMD, MSU) recently that the Sioux had a chance to sweep or take three of four points, but gave gave up late goals and took the loss.

DH: The last-minute loss at Duluth didn't bother me that much because the Bulldogs were playing desparation hockey and played well. The two losses at home to Mankato and Anchorage do bother me. Those are games we should win. When it's 2-2 going into the third period on a Saturday night at home, we have to put teams away in that situation.

TH: The WCHA championship is now out of reach, isn't it?

DH: We don't want to take anything off the table. A top-three finish in the league is certainly possible. Looking at the way the WCHA has gone, we're not taking anything for granted. We're a team that needs points.

TH: Judging from the way UND played CC in Grand Forks, the Sioux are capable of playing as well as the Tigers.

DH: The big difference is that CC has had players like Brett Sterling and Marty Sertich who have played well consistently throughout the year. We can't say what could have or should have happened when CC played here. We have to play like a hungry team when we play in Colorado Springs.

SS: One of the players told me that the altitude is really a factor when playing at CC. He said he gets gassed just from warmups.

DH: That's something players have to put out of their minds. The altitude affects everyone differently. Some players say that they don't even notice it. We can't use it as an excuse because every team that goes there has to play with it.

TH: You need more production out of your offensive stars, don't you?

DH: Yes, the big guys have to step up and produce on a regular basis. We not only need them to score, but we also need scoring through the depth of our lineup. The games will only get tougher from here on. Everyone needs to contribute.

SS: The Sioux are only averaging around three goals a game.

DH: That's not good enough. We need to average four a game to be in good shape. Special teams will play a big role down the stretch. Cary Eades has done a good job with the power play and Brad Berry has done well with the penalty kill. But we will need to score more goals 5-on-5. Scoring one 5-on-5 goal like we did against Mankato for the weekend isn't acceptable.

TH: Defensively, the Sioux have one of the best defensive corps in college hockey and the goaltending is solid. Just because of that, the team should be in every game.

Caller: Can you comment about Toews coming to UND? What about some of your other recruits.

DH: The NCAA prohibits me from commenting on any player who hasn't signed a letter of intent. Ryan Duncan and Andy Kozak will be coming from the British Columbia junior hockey league. Kozak has a big shot and can produce a lot of offense on his own. Duncan is a smaller player who sees the ice extremely well and makes everyone around him better. Matt Watkins is a very good two-way player.

Caller: What about Phil Kessel?

DH: I can't comment on him.

Caller: Tim, what did you think of Don Lucia's about Hagemo being played too much in the world junior tournament?

TH: Lucia was using it as an excuse for Minnesota being swept at home by CC. The Gophers have always complained about their players going to the world juniors. Either they don't play enough or they play too much. Woog wouldn't let his players go to the tournament. Lucia should just tell his players that they can't go and the Gophers should put it in their recruiting book.

DH: The players take a lot of pride in playing for their country. I'd never tell them not to take advantage of the opportunity. Besides, you get a better player when it's over. They might be tired the first weekend back, but what they learn and the experience they gain ultimately helps the team. When key players go to the WJC, it also gives others on the team a chance to step into different roles.

TH: Someone asked me why Kyle Radke wasn't having more of an impact. He also thought that if the Sioux need an offensive defenseman, they should just convert a forward to play defense.

DH: Kyle has made great strides in the last six weeks. I can see it in practice. He's not quite there yet, but he's coming along fine. Also, it's not easy to make the transition from offense to defense. Few players ever successfully accomplish it.

Caller: Why do the Sioux play dump-and-chase hockey more than any other team I see? Why do we dump and chase on the power play?

DH: We probably do less dumping and chasing than most teams. You have to read the defense and take what they give you. And playing dump-and-chase isn't just throwing the puck away. You have to be smart about how you do it so you can gain possession of the puck after you do it. On the power play, it's mostly a designed play. If you do it right, you can usually gain possession of the puck on the power play. We watch carefully to see that we're coming up with the puck in that situation.

Edited by PCM
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Thanks PCM for another good recap.

Hopefully that wasn't the same caller who asked both the Toews question and the Kessel question....

I agree with DH's assessment of Kyle. He's not there yet, but he's coming. THat's a good sign.

We need someone to call in each Wednesday asking why aren't we crashing the nets. Perhaps Coach has a reason for not coaching this strategy.

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Thanks again for taking the time to share the information with us.

The last-minute loss at Duluth didn't bother me that much because the Bulldogs were playing desparation hockey and played well. The two losses at home to Mankato and Anchorage do bother me.

Although I couldn't hear DH's tone, this comment is troubling to me. All losses should bother the coach. Just because another team was playing well and was somewhat desperate shouldn't make the loss more acceptable.

With playoffs looming and the battle for position ongoing, most teams, especially with the logjam in the WCHA, are playing desparation hockey and more times than not teams are going to play well against top teams like the Sioux. That is the nature of athletics and should never make a loss less bothersome.

I am most definitely not on the bash Hakstol bandwagon, but I could live without hearing this type of comment from the coach.

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Too bad they like to dump and chase so much. The way those dirty russian's played was something beautiful to watch.

What does everyone think about how UND comes up the ice on the PP, four guys in an even line? I think its rediculous. Its either that, or they just aren't that good at it yet. About the only option they have is to dump it in when they get to the blue line because someone is always going to be offsides.

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Thanks again PCM.I disagree about coach saying that he didn't care about the loss to Duluth.He said they were playing desperate,when in fact the SIOUX should be playing desperate.Those 2 points could be the difference of home ice or not in the first round of playoffs.

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Thanks PCM.

I think Hakstol is finally getting fired up. Most of the other recaps...he just said what people wanted to hear. He was very "by the book". Now, he is calling players out and saying what they need to do to win.

I like it. Hopefully it will be passed on to the players.

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Just to clarify what I think Hakstol meant when he said the loss at Duluth didn't bother him as much, I believe he meant that losing on the road to a good team playing playing with desperation was a bit easier to take than losing at home to two teams the Sioux should have swept. Had the Sioux swept UAA and MSU-M, the loss to UMD wouldn't have been as big.

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In regards to DH saying he didn't see that, I thought he was saying that he didn't see the team playing for OT, rather than he didn't see the quote. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good point. I have edited the summary for clarity.

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Just curious as to Kessel's situation - is UND on his radar or is it really between UM and Wisco?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't believe UND is in the mix, one can only hope he pullls a Parise. Although I don't remember much written about where Parise would go except for the "pinheads" writing him into future BC lines.

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Just to clarify what I think Hakstol meant when he said the loss at Duluth didn't bother him as much, I believe he meant that losing on the road to a good team playing playing with desperation was a bit easier to take than losing at home to two teams the Sioux should have swept.  Had the Sioux swept UAA and MSU-M, the loss to UMD wouldn't have been as big.

This is the way I read that statement as well.

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I should have noted that when the question was asked about Kessel, Hennessy said that he would go to either Minnesota or Wisconsin.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hennessy's response was he is either going to Michigan or Minnesota.

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Wonder which gopher fan that reads these boards called up and tried to get Hak to comment on Toews and Kessel....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

HA! Honestly, I thought the same thing listening to the caller last night -- the caller mentioned that on "the message board(s)" there was a lot of talk about Toews and the caller specifically asked "could Hak comment on Toews".

So obviously this guy/the caller is someone who reads this board (or uscho or poi) and knows that coaches can't comment. But I figured the caller thought that by asking Hak the question Hennessey would jump in (which he did) and give a comment, since Hak couldn't.

When Hak said he couldn't comment on Toews or other recruits/potential recruits (and gave the reason why, NCAA rules) this yahoo caller then asked a follow-up question: could you, Coach Hakstol, comment on Kessel and what chance UND had to land him; if the caller really wanted to know about Kessel, and having just been told that Hak can't comment the caller reasonably should have directed his Kessel comments to Tim H. That's when I thought, it has to be a gopher fan trying to see if Hak would say something. :glare:

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You can find sources all over the place!

Right now, Kessel, according to USCHO, has narrowed his list down to Wisco and Minny. However, I've seen references to him going to Michigan, BU, and UND.

If Kessel does commit to the Gophers, that single year when he suits up for them is going to be one hell of a year for them.

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