Saturday Night Game Thread

[dagies]

I feel a little like KJL on NRO posting so often (wtf?), but I just have to say that this series really takes a lot out of me. I have tickets lined up to the Friday night game in Minneapolis, but I think I'm going to turn them down. I'm better off watching the game alone in my basement. And so is everyone else.

Are you kidding? Back from the ledge, man. I've got tickets that night and you can bet I'll be there.

BTW, I sure hope the Sioux do some work on the defensive end. Lee got burned by Bostrom on that goal because he didn't take the body out of the play. That goal shouldn't have happened. There were a few times where Sioux players weren't physical when defending the puck carrier and it hurt them.

Couple that with WAY too many times the Sioux players were beaten to the boards when the puck was dumped in. That was starting to get embarrassing.

[DamStrait]

They went into it side by side, but the hit he put him was square on the back (watched in on DVR 4 times now), which is why he went in head first. Hard call to make since it wasn't a clear hit from behind, but regardless, IMO, when a player goes in like that after being hit by the opponent, a call should be made.

They didn't call it when that mouth-breather DeMarchi (sp?) did it to Tyler P., why would they do it now? Sorry, that one still chaps my ass.

Sioux are young and were outplayed for long stretches of both games, but it still bites. The dirty yellow vermin got the benefit of every bounce and call all weekend. It really reminds me of all last year and the last game of the 2003-2004 season vs. Denver.

[BigChief]

Are you kidding? Back from the ledge, man. I've got tickets that night and you can bet I'll be there.

I only have tickets for Saturday night. So let me know if I can have your Fri night!

[Goon]

I think tonight the Parise allowed the Gophers to take him out of the game. Jordy was too worried about all the extra b.s. I just was disappointed by his play and his mental game this weekend. As a goalie you can not let the opposing players take your mind off of the game. In retrospect Lammy looked pretty good in the third period and I suppose he has earned a start at the Glas this weekend.

I hope the Sioux are ready to play this weekend losing to the Beavers is not an option and I can't imagine watching the game with my BSU buddies is we lose a game to the Beavers. I can beat the Beavs are going to come out flying and the opposition is going to be waiting for the Sioux. They have to be ready and focused. I hope Hak skates the crap out of them in practice this week and gets the team focused.

That being said UND has to complain to the league office about the crappy officating that was displayed this weekend. There is no excuse for this type of officating. Apparently it is ok for the Gophers to have numerous players on the ice when UND gets nickled and dimed on the too many men on the ice penalties.

The check on Chorney should have been called or at least the play should have been blown dead and there should have been a face off at least.

[AZSIOUX]

I only have tickets for Saturday night. So let me know if I can have your Fri night!

no crap, easy big guy, back off the ledge and go to the game with your sioux gear on and be a true fan...funny what a game does to people..im as pissed as the next sioux fan but what can you do, this will sting for a bit but they have to sweep bsu and get back on track at home..we have not won at home 4ver..

[01grad]

I feel a little like KJL on NRO posting so often (wtf?), but I just have to say that this series really takes a lot out of me. I have tickets lined up to the Friday night game in Minneapolis, but I think I'm going to turn them down. I'm better off watching the game alone in my basement. And so is everyone else.

I'll buy your tickets from you. PM me if you are serious.

Hey runnin, how was that alumni party, did you go?

[jk]

My first chance to see the team play this year.

This is one freaky team. You can see that they have the ingredients to be something special, but it's like they're not quite all on the same page right now. All weekend it seemed like they were **that** close to a nice play, but were just inches or milliseconds away. They probably got outplayed on the weekend, but not dominated (not like a year ago, when MN deserved to win Friday and killed 'em on Saturday). MN probably deserved to come away with about three points. Also, aside from Chorney's goal, it seemed like there weren't many good bounces to be had.

Parise has been UND's MVP this season, hands down, but tonight he'd like most of those goals back. He's been so good that you have to cut him some slack on a night like this.

Just my opinion, but I don't think Kessel or Toews are even close to being ready to move on to the next level. Based just on tonight's game, I would rank the freshman forwards: Oshie, Stoa, Kessel, Toews, Wheeler. (I'm aware of Kessel's and Toews' ages; just talking about current effectiveness.) Duncan never seemed to get it going. I like what I see from Watkins and Kozek, but they're not going to be impact players right now.

Stepping back for a broader view, I thought before the season that MN had a chance to be a great team this year, and UND would struggle to be .500 at the break. I would not have been surprised then if you told me that MN would sweep this series. Even two weeks ago, when MN was coming off two impressive weekends in Denver and Michigan, and the Sioux were struggling in St. Cloud, my expectations were tempered. Despite getting swept, after watching this weekend, I think there is not much of a gap between these two teams, certainly much less than I expected two months ago, and less than there was a year ago.

Here's the rub though. They have to win enough to qualify for the extended season. This weekend was a pretty significant set-back in that department, and they can't be giving up too many more points along the way and still hope to play in the NCAA tournament.

[BigChief]

I'll buy your tickets from you. PM me if you are serious.

Hey runnin, how was that alumni party, did you go?

The alumni party was so-so. There were more Sioux fans at the bloomington location for the season opener than there was tonight at the Roseville location. And to make it worse we had to listen to the Fox feed and the bartenders were blowing air horns when the gophers scored. Sensers is out of their freakin mind to sign up a UND alumni party, and then NOT cater to them. Let's please give our business to someone who wants it in the future. Sensers is f---ing up.

[shep]

As much as I like JPar, Lammy was definitely the better goalie tonight. Yes, he only played one period, but Parise was not sharp from the get go. The puck would go by him, and he would react to it a second later. I can see that happening once, but it happened about 4 times in the first five minutes. Coaches should have been on top of that and brought Lammy in after the 1st.

Smartert thing I've read on this board in awhile.

I'm too peed to keep typing, except to say that the goalie cost us four points this weekend. Last night there were two weak goals including the fourth that he essentially slid in himself.

Lammy all the way!!!!!!!!

[rochsioux]

If you want to read some funny stuff go to gophersucklive site. They are complaining about Shepturd !!

Shepturd awards them a goal Friday (which should have been waved off) and they win 4-3.

On Saturday he waves off a Sioux goal that should have counted in a 4-3 win.

So basically he gives the goofs two wins. They should show a little more appreciation or he might start doing an unbiased job. Not sure what else he could have done to help the poor goofs.

[mksioux]

Sorry fellas, all I have is an invitation to go with a Gopher fan who has tickets. I don't actually have tickets to give away.

There's no need to talk about ledges (I'm not that screwed up ), I just think it's better to watch from the comfort of my living room than to go with a Gopher fan. If I had a couple Sioux buddies to go with, I'd be there for sure.

And I might change my mind as the sting of this weekend wears off.

Edited December 11, 2005 by mksioux

[mksioux]

Here's the rub though. They have to win enough to qualify for the extended season. This weekend was a pretty significant set-back in that department, and they can't be giving up too many more points along the way and still hope to play in the NCAA tournament.

Good posting, as always jk.

Everyone talks about hosting the west regional, and being the pessimist that I am, I've always thought that Murphy's Law will dictate that the one time UND gets to host NCAA playoffs since 1983 (and likely the last time ever), UND will not even make the tournament. And even if UND does make it, based on their performances at home this season, it doesn't appear home-ice "advantage" is going to help them much. We're not in Panicville yet, but I can see it from here.

Yes, the team started out terribly last year, but turned it around and made a run when it counted. But last year's team was senior-laden with good leadership. This team has only question marks in the category. It should be interesting.

Edited December 11, 2005 by mksioux

[happy]

If you want to read some funny stuff go to gophersucklive site. They are complaining about Shepturd !!

Shepturd awards them a goal Friday (which should have been waved off) and they win 4-3.

On Saturday he waves off a Sioux goal that should have counted in a 4-3 win.

So basically he gives the goofs two wins. They should show a little more appreciation or he might start doing an unbiased job. Not sure what else he could have done to help the poor goofs.

no one likes Shepard. he misses stuff all the time. and, Shepard did give UND two very weak 5X3 opportunities, and power plays at the end of both games. If a ref gave that to my team two nights in a row, I would buy him a drink. A killer team would have taken those opportunities, and stuffed them past Briggs.

[rochsioux]

no one likes Shepard. he misses stuff all the time. and, Shepard did give UND two very weak 5X3 opportunities, and power plays at the end of both games. If a ref gave that to my team two nights in a row, I would buy him a drink. A killer team would have taken those opportunities, and stuffed them past Briggs.

Well we agree Shepturd sucks.

Your complaint is he called a few weak penalties on the goofs. My complaint is he gave the goofs two goals (+1 for goofs, -1 for Sioux). Not quite the same. Send your thank you cards to Shepturd, he earned them.

[LCGopherFan19]

The alumni party was so-so. There were more Sioux fans at the bloomington location for the season opener than there was tonight at the Roseville location. And to make it worse we had to listen to the Fox feed and the bartenders were blowing air horns when the gophers scored. Sensers is out of their freakin mind to sign up a UND alumni party, and then NOT cater to them. Let's please give our business to someone who wants it in the future. Sensers is f---ing up.

It's about time Sensers did something right!!

[DISHMAN]

Just gotta love bad officiating both ways...its great stealing 4 points from ya fellas! We'll see ya in the middle of January, the last time I saw some Sioux Fans pissed, let me reminisce...FERRIS STATE!

Good town, By far best WCHA Arena, atmosphere, have to go with Mariucci...

[shep]

no one likes Shepard. he misses stuff all the time. and, Shepard did give UND two very weak 5X3 opportunities, and power plays at the end of both games. If a ref gave that to my team two nights in a row, I would buy him a drink. A killer team would have taken those opportunities, and stuffed them past Briggs.

Shepherd did NOT lose this series for the Sioux as much as weak goals against Parise did.

You are correct that ANY fan would buy the ref a drink to get PP's at the end of games and this team simply does not have the PP to get it done.

Not anyone's fault in stripes, though I think Shepherd and the rest of the WCHA refs collectively suck.

[Slap Shot]

You play your biggest rival at home and end up playing a total of about 10 minutes of quality hockey.

That's how Gopher fans felt after last weekend.

btw, I can't believe how many of you are whining about the refereeing. The calls and no-calls were absolutely brutal in both directions. How the hell does Kaufmann get yanked to the ice from behind and then called for holding while on his knees? How many of you called the wicked slash Bostrom took last night? How do the Gophers get called for a penalty in the last 2 minutes of both games with a 1 goal margin - something that is almost never done, especially when neither call seemed legit. Kaufmann got killed in the corner tonight from a dangerous run but none of you are calling that cheap shot out (fortunately that was something so blatant they couldn't not call it). How many elbows by UND went uncalled as well? How many cross-checks? But I'm not going to whine about it because Shep sucked arse in both directions. Take the loss like adults and accept your team got whupped fair and square.

[jk]

Thanks for the lectures. Now go away.

[Slap Shot]

Thanks for the lectures. Now go away.

Solid retort.

[jk]

OK. Kaip ran Kaufmann and got called for charging. He didn't hit him from behind. It deserved a two minute penalty and he served his time. I was glad he did it, because the team needed a spark, and a big hit will do that. I must have missed the controversial part of him getting called for a penalty he deserved.

Uncalled elbows and crosschecks? I saw nothing out of the ordinary at all, and no more from the white than the visitors. Last year's Sioux team was quite a lot more vicious, and got called for quite a lot more of it. Smaby's center ice wipeout of Potulny was entirely clean, which is more than I can say for every one of Irmen's shifts on the weekend. (I'm not complaining about Irmen, though, because I know chippiness is part of the game.)

You seriously think the late call on Irmen, the grabbing, tossing to the ice and laying on, was weak?

The fact is that penalty calls get made and missed all the time. Actual goal calls don't, and arguably there were two misses this weekend in two one-goal games. I haven't complained about it, but I understand people who are upset about it.

The several Gopher posters in a row who visited the board to rub it in are a nice reminder of why "Gopher-haters" exist in the college hockey world. I work with good Gopher fans, my kids play hockey with good Gopher fan families, some even post here. Then there are the ones who would visit SS.com after a sweep just to rub it in. Thanks for the reminder, and good luck the rest of the way, except when you play anybody.

[LeftyZL]

How the hell does Kaufmann get yanked to the ice from behind and then called for holding while on his knees?

Before you go off on this tangent for no reason about a supposed no-call, please tell me you were watching the game at least...I looked at the box score and I didn't see Kaufmann's name as the guy that took the penalty you are referring to, but he didn't get called for holding, he got called for obstruction cross-checking if we are talking about the same play(happend just inside your teams blue line), which put UND on a 5x3 or a 4x4 I believe. Anyways, i was watching that play the whole way down the ice and to say that he didn't deserve to go to the box is outrageous, especially if you are a hockey fan. He was on the ice and he blatantly cross-checked the Sioux player when Shepherd was directly behind them following the play up ice. How can you call that a bad call??

[sprig]

The several Gopher posters in a row who visited the board to rub it in are a nice reminder of why "Gopher-haters" exist in the college hockey world.

Exactly why since message boards goph fans have become so hated around the country. There is no other fan base that does this in large numbers like goph fans. Way to go Slappy and company.

[Sioux-cia]

We lost. When we lose, we beat ourselves up worse than any Skippy. We have several 'rivals' who post on SS.com and who 'give it to us' when deserved. The difference as I see it, those seasoned rival posters come on to actually discuss the game, pro and con, including coming down on themselves when deserved. Big difference in 'class' from those juvenile bozos who sign on as new members the day of the game to only come here to talk trash.

Difference between the Irmen and Chorney acts? Irmen is a junior and should know better, Chorney's a freshman and still learning. Where's the leadership?

I invite Skippy to go up to a Sioux fan and talk their trash face to face. Not hard to do, we're everywhere. Sioux appreciation for Skippy is best shown in person.

[rochsioux]

That's how Gopher fans felt after last weekend.

btw, I can't believe how many of you are whining about the refereeing. The calls and no-calls were absolutely brutal in both directions. How the hell does Kaufmann get yanked to the ice from behind and then called for holding while on his knees? How many of you called the wicked slash Bostrom took last night? How do the Gophers get called for a penalty in the last 2 minutes of both games with a 1 goal margin - something that is almost never done, especially when neither call seemed legit. Kaufmann got killed in the corner tonight from a dangerous run but none of you are calling that cheap shot out (fortunately that was something so blatant they couldn't not call it). How many elbows by UND went uncalled as well? How many cross-checks? But I'm not going to whine about it because Shep sucked arse in both directions. Take the loss like adults and accept your team got whupped fair and square.

Please...I shouldn't expect goofer fans to get it. It wasn't fair and square, that's why the complaints.

There were plenty of calls that could have been made both ways that weren't. I'm not complaining about the missed hooks, holds, interference on the goofs that went uncalled. That's what you get with the WCHA refs and Shepturd in particular. My beef is the two goal reviews that were screwed up. Can't get it right live or with the help of replay. Add Shepturd to your XMAS card list, he was your best friend this w/e.