2005-06 ND Highschool Hockey

[puck71]

Home ice? Just because the game is played in Grand Forks? How easily you forget that Fargo is an hour away and is a very easy drive. If you would've noticed Saturday, the crowd was about equal for both teams. I even commented to a friend how full South's student section looked and he agreed.

Yes, it's a big advantage to play tournament games on the same ice as you play your regular season home games. You know the rink better and most likely will have a bigger crowd. I don't think that's the reason Red River won but it was an advantage. I think the reasons Red River won are that Mihulka had an extraordinary game and South played a subpar game - take that for what it is, I didn't say South "should" have won or make excuses for them, all I said was they played a subpar game, which is true.

However, with the lack of decent rinks with decent seating in the state there's really no other choice of where to host regionals. Obviously the Ralph is the best rink but I agree with those who have said it's an unfair advantage for the East to play there before State. The Ralph should be reserved for state and no games should be played there beforehand. The Coliseum is a non-standard sheet of ice and as such I don't think it should host tournaments, and I don't think it should be in a smaller town, so we're left with Purpur for now. If/when Fargo builds a better rink I would propose EDC switch between Fargo and Grand Forks. Actually I don't think it would be a bad idea to have EDC over at the Moorhead Sports Center, but it would be tough to get enough ice time with Moorhead High and Concordia College having games, not to mention all the other stuff that goes on there.

As for the rest of what was posted today, can't we just let one player's mistake be one player's mistake? It doesn't matter where he's from originally or what school he goes to. He made a mistake and was punished for it. I don't get the argument that Wilson should have benched him. Just because one or two specific other coaches may have done it doesn't automatically make that the "right" thing to do. He was already punished and had to sit out a game. Whether or not the coach sits him for more games is totally up to the coach and depends on the situation. In general I think that on-ice behavior (during/after games) should be punished as dictated by the rules (as happened here) and coaches should bench players based on off-ice behavior (practice, etc.). Of course some coaches do it differently and that's fine, but that doesn't mean everyone else is wrong.

I'm not sure about the "no comment" situation, but it's not like there's a press conference and he skipped it. The reporters just hang out by the locker room and wait for people to talk to. If people don't want to talk that's up to them. At the high school level I certainly don't think there's any obligation for anyone (including coaches) to do interviews and give statements. The pro level is a totally different situation and any comparison to that is out of line in my opinion.

[ND Hockey1]

This is very interesting to read this page with people talking back and forth about RR and FS. Come on guys have some class this isn't a hate website. People need to stop making excuses and just watch the game and see who really worked the hardest. From my standpoint at the RR/FS EDC championship game RR seemed to not give South any chances. Besides South 5 on 3 PP goal they didn't generate that much offense.

[jagrfan68]

Yes, it's a big advantage to play tournament games on the same ice as you play your regular season home games. You know the rink better and most likely will have a bigger crowd. I don't think that's the reason Red River won but it was an advantage. I think the reasons Red River won are that Mihulka had an extraordinary game and South played a subpar game - take that for what it is, I didn't say South "should" have won or make excuses for them, all I said was they played a subpar game, which is true.

However, with the lack of decent rinks with decent seating in the state there's really no other choice of where to host regionals. Obviously the Ralph is the best rink but I agree with those who have said it's an unfair advantage for the East to play there before State. The Ralph should be reserved for state and no games should be played there beforehand. The Coliseum is a non-standard sheet of ice and as such I don't think it should host tournaments, and I don't think it should be in a smaller town, so we're left with Purpur for now. If/when Fargo builds a better rink I would propose EDC switch between Fargo and Grand Forks. Actually I don't think it would be a bad idea to have EDC over at the Moorhead Sports Center, but it would be tough to get enough ice time with Moorhead High and Concordia College having games, not to mention all the other stuff that goes on there.

As for the rest of what was posted today, can't we just let one player's mistake be one player's mistake? It doesn't matter where he's from originally or what school he goes to. He made a mistake and was punished for it. I don't get the argument that Wilson should have benched him. Just because one or two specific other coaches may have done it doesn't automatically make that the "right" thing to do. He was already punished and had to sit out a game. Whether or not the coach sits him for more games is totally up to the coach and depends on the situation. In general I think that on-ice behavior (during/after games) should be punished as dictated by the rules (as happened here) and coaches should bench players based on off-ice behavior (practice, etc.). Of course some coaches do it differently and that's fine, but that doesn't mean everyone else is wrong.

I'm not sure about the "no comment" situation, but it's not like there's a press conference and he skipped it. The reporters just hang out by the locker room and wait for people to talk to. If people don't want to talk that's up to them. At the high school level I certainly don't think there's any obligation for anyone (including coaches) to do interviews and give statements. The pro level is a totally different situation and any comparison to that is out of line in my opinion.

lol yeah central should have taken the edc tourny because they practice at purpur everyday..yeah you are right, they really got the bounces and had the upper hand this whole weekend. gf teams are fist-pumping right now because they get to play in the ralph now, where they havent played all year. on a new note, mihulka is the best player in the state. i believe this weekend proves it.. he can single-handedly carry a team of younger or less varsity experience players to a first seed from the east going into state

[Wilbur]

Wilbur, my ambassador to Western Hockey.

Without Marto does GFC stand a chance against the Mighty Magi?

As usual that is the only game that I believe the West has a fair shot at winning.

Not trying to be sarcastic, but he was the difference last year and is now toiling away in Omaha.

Marto was the difference last year, he played a great game. Of course Central stands a chance. If I was you or a Central fan I would be very happy with this matchup because of Minot's past at the state tournament. When Minot is playing on Thursday at state I think that even Wahpeton would have a fair chance of beating them, they (or we, I played and we lost our first round game) just cannot get over that hump. I expect a great hockey game, with of course your knights getting the better of the magi again....

[Stiouxy]

Im not particularly fond of South but if you dont think South played rather poorly in the first two periods then you either havent seen South play this year or dont dont know much about the game of hockey. I have to give it to Red River for playing a great physical game but South didnt show up till about half way through the third period and when that finally happened, they dominated. This should be a very exciting weekend of hockey.

[puck71]

lol yeah central should have taken the edc tourny because they practice at purpur everyday..yeah you are right, they really got the bounces and had the upper hand this whole weekend.

I didn't say anyone had the upper hand or got the bounces. All I said was playing on your home ice is an advantage. Depending on the situation it can be a big advantage. It won't be enough to let a bad team beat a good team, but it can tip the scales in an otherwise evenly matched game. Again I don't think that was the case this Saturday...all I said was that in general playing a tournament on home ice is an advantage and thus I think it should be avoided if possible. As I said, unfortunately it's not really possible right now.

gf teams are fist-pumping right now because they get to play in the ralph now, where they havent played all year.

I didn't say that playing at The Ralph would be home ice advantage, for the same reason you gave - they haven't played there all year. There is a slight advantage to playing in your home town (basically due to more fan support), but not as much as playing on your home ice. The two previous years when EDC and State were both at the Ralph I do think that gave the East a slight advantage over the West since they'd just played three games there, so I'm glad they moved EDC to Purpur. Given the choice I'd rather a team get advantages at Region than at State, so I do think it's a good thing that EDC was at Purpur. But it did give the GF teams an advantage. Was it an unfair advantage? No, but it was still an advantage.

[X2theZ]

From a very reliable account Wurden took an unprovoked two hand at Fargo North's Matt Labernik and caused him to have a season ending injury in the South and North's 2nd meeting this season. I'm sure ND Pride will vouch for me on this one.

-I have never in my 22 years of hockey experiance seen an unprovoked slash.... my "guess" is that the North player was being a little *****, so wurden let him have it.

- Let's drop this subject because I like many other people on this site weren't at the game so we are just speculating.

- I'm hoping I can make it down to the thursday games. I told some of the boys I'd make it down to their game, but the Ram 2500 has been alittle flakey as of late so, I'm hoping it warms up so I can drive the Trans-Am down.

- I had a few of the players stop in for crumpets sunday afternoon ( they are fantastic ask around for them if your ever in grafton). They seemed fairly confident, they said that if their on thier game they can contend.

[junior24]

Anyone know when they actually announce the finalists for Mr. Hockey?

[BringDeanBack]

I really dont want to get into this argument but you made a good point. BringDeanBack's sarcasim here kind of backfired on him.

I referred to him as a Fargo South player in my post. I did not make any reference to where the guy was born. Looks like your post backfired on you. Get the facts straight next time.

[LeftyZL]

South showed earlier this season they couldn't handle the pressure of winning the EDC title when they blew their 3 goal lead to the Riders in Fargo, they choked in the EDC tournament, so does this mean they will choke again in the State title game? If they happen to lose at the State Tournament, I'm sure you will come on here and say that South just didn't play their best.

How is it "choking" when a 2nd seeded team loses to the 1st seeded team in what is basically an away game for them? This argument was old about 4 pages ago. Everybody can agree, I think at least, that South and Red River are the two best teams in the state. They are basically even as you can tell, with all 3 games being decided by one goal. Each team won on the other team's home ice, so it's fair to say that come this Saturday night, it should be another great game between the top 2 teams in the state. Let's just leave it at that and let them play it out on Saturday for us to see.

[puck71]

I agree. Sometimes it's hard to resist arguing, but with State only a couple days away let's focus on that. After that there hopefully won't be much to argue about

What are everyone's state plans? I'm planning to go early Thursday afternoon to get there in time for the South game and hopefully some of the first game. Since I'm there I may as well stay for the evening games. Then I'll probably come back for the Friday and Saturday evening sessions.

[SportsDoc]

The biggest part of "Home ice advantage" isn't the ice and it isn't the fan base. If your team is playing on Friday and Saturday night, your fans will be there and at the Ralph the ice won't matter.

The biggest advantage is what the coaches have to deal with in all that "dead" time before going to the rink for their game when you are on the road for three straight nights. If you live in the town the tourney is in, you have lots of options that keep you in a regular routine, including eating and sleeping. On the road in motels with whole days to kill can be a challenge for the coaches. Take them to the mall and let them run around? If so, how long is too long? When, where and what are your food options? Take them to the rink to watch consolation games all day? Do you make them all do the same thing? etc.

Those are the things, if handled poorly, that can affect the team's performance more than if they are in their own homes and their own beds, just like any other weekend.

Unless, of course, your team likes to party too much at home! ... just kidding

[nd06hockey]

Home Ice Advantage....

I think it is even when teams go to the State Tournament at the Ralph, except for the West teams but who can blame their fans for not coming when it is like an entire day's drive from williston, hazen and a couple of the others out there. But for the most part Ralph is neutral.

However, at the EDC Tournament I think a majority of the students from GFC or RR pretty much get the day off to go watch the games at Purpur arena...their home ice. You can't tell me that Thursday and even Friday's earlier games that the crowds were even. I thought Grand Forks had a very full section compared to others.

As far as that goes--crowd does affect the play of the away team. For example after getting a "Sieve" chant on a goalie definitely can't help his play after the opponent scores a goal.

I just think with school going on the fans from out-of-town teams will not show as much as the in-town fans. Basically because of the homework or the drive that they would have to take to get there.

[Wilbur]

The biggest advantage is what the coaches have to deal with in all that "dead" time before going to the rink for their game when you are on the road for three straight nights. If you live in the town the tourney is in, you have lots of options that keep you in a regular routine, including eating and sleeping. On the road in motels with whole days to kill can be a challenge for the coaches. Take them to the mall and let them run around? If so, how long is too long? When, where and what are your food options? Take them to the rink to watch consolation games all day? Do you make them all do the same thing? etc.

Those are the things, if handled poorly, that can affect the team's performance more than if they are in their own homes and their own beds, just like any other weekend.

I heard a rumor that Minnesota schools are required to stay in hotels for the state hockey tournament. Any truth to this? Very good post. I know that Grafton travels back and forth during the tournament, how about Fargo South? Do they usually go back after their first round game? Insight is appreciated.

[kirby8791]

I heard a rumor that Minnesota schools are required to stay in hotels for the state hockey tournament. Any truth to this? Very good post. I know that Grafton travels back and forth during the tournament, how about Fargo South? Do they usually go back after their first round game? Insight is appreciated.

[kirby8791]

[ND Hockey1]

I think there's a been lot of premature celebrating on the part of Red River fans this week. The game last Saturday between Red River and South was pretty much meaningless, and I'm not just saying that now because Red River won. If you go back a few pages on this thread you'll see where I called it a meaningless game before it was played. Once both teams are in the state tournament, it really doesn't make much difference who gets the #1 seed and who gets #2. We'll see who comes out on top next Saturday. If South brings their A game they'll win and nobody will remember or care that Red River beat them 7 days earlier. If Red River wins, then congratulations will be in order for beating a very good team 3 out 4 times in one season.

Totally agree with you Dave. I don't see why all of this is carrying on when the EDC championship doesn't mean a whole lot. I though that RR looked like the better team on Saturday but that doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is who comes out on top after this Saturday. I hope I can see a different FS team in this state tournament, not one that comes out flat as if they have nothing to play for.

[ndpucks]

Just a thought....

A few people have said the Mihulka is a gaming changing player. He is great player, but not a great skater....Will this diminish his abilities on the bigger sheet at the Ralph. I might give South the advantage on the bigger sheet of ice on the Ralph. If they truely are deeper than RR. Any way it should be a great friday and saturday of hockey.

[BenchRanger]

Last time I checked, all rinks(with the exception of the Coliseum and Botno) are the same size.

[SportsDoc]

Last time I checked, all rinks(with the exception of the Coliseum and Botno) are the same size.

Williston's home ice is Olympic sheet.

[Bauer16]

It doesnt matter how bad your team played, as the head coach you are an ambassador for your team to the press and it sends a pretty bad message when he is too immature to comment on the game. It's that kind of thing that probably influences why the Forum covers Moorhead hockey more than FSH. If a proffesional coach ditches a post-game press confrence they are hit with big fines, if you cant handle the heat, than get out of the kitchen.

It is easy to coach a good team. Deano needs to learn some professionalism for this upcoming weekend. Suprised that his tenure as administrator and having to work for a masters degree didn't establish some of those building steps for this season. Many of the players will carry a somewhat disrespectful attitude with them to the next level of hockey or next line of work/school. There is competitiveness, and flat out being a disrespectful player on the ice. SOuth is not the only team that is disrespectful. Skaters that read this, GROW UP and get some character. Impressions are lasting. This weekend the televised games will be viewed by the entire state, do you really wanna look like a jackass to the North Dakota viewers?

Good luck and have fun guys!

[Bauer16]

[cory1]

[specifics]

-I have never in my 22 years of hockey experiance seen an unprovoked slash.... my "guess" is that the North player was being a little *****, so wurden let him have it. - Let's drop this subject because I like many other people on this site weren't at the game so we are just speculating.

- I'm hoping I can make it down to the thursday games. I told some of the boys I'd make it down to their game, but the Ram 2500 has been alittle flakey as of late so, I'm hoping it warms up so I can drive the Trans-Am down.

- I had a few of the players stop in for crumpets sunday afternoon ( they are fantastic ask around for them if your ever in grafton). They seemed fairly confident, they said that if their on thier game they can contend.

He must have really said some mean things about Wurdens mom to get him to take a big wack at him after Wurden just won the game 4-0. It takes a big man to throw a slash after the game and then skate behind a line of his own players for protection.

[BenchRanger]

Just a little bit of info for all of you planning to watch the semi's and finals on the tube. Because of the Olympics, the semi's will be tape delayed and played at 1 am Sat morning. The finals will be played back at midnight Sat.