Thoughts from the weekend

[SIOUXELEVENS]

How long can we use youth as an excuse,Minny isn't exactly the oldest team in the league.Someone let Brian Lee know that its ok to take a slap shot and you don't always have to take a wrist shot,in fact tell the whole team it's ok to shoot the puck trying for the tic-tac toe play doesn't always work.One thing that really bothers me is the lack of emotion from this team,it was the same way last year.When I hear Hakstol say they need to play with desperation and they still come out flat you should we blame?At the end of both games when the Sioux were 6 on 4 especially on Sat why were the trying to cycle the puck behind the net,it drove me crazy watching Oshie and Stafford play catch behind the net instead of getting it out front and shooting the puck.Granted we didn't get any bounces this weekend but sometimes you have to make your own luck.

[I Ranger]

If it turns out that it all "comes together" (I love how everyone keeps hoping that will happen even when the evidence thus far is to the contrary) and they play in the Ralph in the Regional, I want someone to print a copy of this, and I will eat it in the organ bar between the first and second periods of their first game.

I'd love to cut Toews some slack, and I will, but I just can't believe he is the 2nd best undrafted player in the world at this point.

I can't believe all this talk about Toews. I thought he was our best player Friday night and should have scored at least two goals as he hit two posts. And how can you say he isn't the 2nd best player eligible when the suposed BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE was basically unnoticable out there this weekend except for a litte shot from the top of the circles on the power play friday.

[ftnsiouxhockey]

I can't believe all this talk about Toews. I thought he was our best player Friday night and should have scored at least two goals as he hit two posts. And how can you say he isn't the 2nd best player eligible when the suposed BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE was basically unnoticable out there this weekend except for a litte shot from the top of the circles on the power play friday.

Thank You!! I couldn't agree more. Toews showed some great puck handling and was an inch away from a couple of goals. That "other"player showed the same move every time he came into the offensive zone.....between the defenders legs and then try to go around him. Just like he did in the WJC last year. He's good, but he needs to take some lessons from Toews on puck handling.

[mksioux]

I agree with you Shep.

I jumped in the game thread last night - page 5 I think - said we should quit complaining about the refs and just start playing better.

I quickly got chastised from a 1000+ poster who questioned why my posts always criticize the Sioux in a backhanded way.

Jeez - - I've only posted 9 times and unlikely to post anytime soon.

I wanted to be a part of this forum to discuss Sioux hockey as I see it. But it looks to me like unless I spend most of my time complaining about the conspiracy by the refs against the Sioux, how gutless, arrogant, and stupid the opposing team players are - I'm a bad egg.

I plan on still reading the threads from time to time (future prospects, Sioux in the NHL, etc) - but I don't see any reason to jump in on the name calling and bitching.

That was me. It just seemed like your first posts were all about how UND was getting beat by a better team and that Sioux fans should stop whining. Given all of the Gopher fans that tend to show up just for this series, I figured you were a Gopher fan posing as a Sioux fan. If I was wrong...my apologies.

[NDFlyer]

Take some time and realize the good things that happened. The Sioux played horribly, yet were only 2 blown calls away from getting ties against a team that supposedly played its "best of the year."

[mikejm]

Okay, I only saw Friday's game (gave my Sat. seats to daughter and son-in-law), but this weekend was the "freshman moment" thing converging on the entire team. They were simply squeezing the sticks too hard, playing too tight all weekend. We've seen some freshman mistakes by one or two of the guys per game, but the phenomenon has been limited to just a few instances. This weekend it was an epidemic, and they simply never shook it.

Minnesota has more upper classmen, and two incredible juniors in Potulny and Irmen, both of whom have now played their last games in Grand Forks, BTW. The Gophers were stung from an embarassing sweep at home at the hands of the Badgers, and were up for the game from the opening face off. They were ready to play, and frankly, played a couple games completely out of character for their team. They were physical, which is certainly not something that is usually associated with the team.

The Sioux on the other hand, came out tight both nights, got behind early, and never recovered. The fact that they were able to claw themselves back to two one-goal losses says something positive. Saturday could easily have been a 6-0 loss or worse.

This remains the most talented team to lace up the skates in Grand Forks for a long, long time. I was very worried this fall that the Sioux would end the calendar year with a horrible record. They're at .500 in the WCHA and 10-7-1 overall. They're outscoring opponents 62-48, and they still have two games in hand against Wisconsin and the Gophers.

Go ahead and jump off the bandwagon folks; but beware of the road rash you'll get, because this team will right itself, and I'll be in my seats in Section 112 for the West Regionals (unless my soon-to-be ex-wife gets the tix )

[WPoS]

quick comment here from the "enemy". I know it burns you guys to have a few players on the Gopher team that hail from NoDak, but c'mon, LOTS of teams have players from Minnesota playing on their teams and we don't get our undies in a bunch...does it "suck" as a Gopher fan to have a NoDak native helping my team win, NO, I don't care where you are from as long as the team wins!

From what LITTLE I got to see/hear of the games it sounded like quite the battle, especially at the end of both games, I look forward to the series down here for another hard fought battle between two great rivals!

Drop the puck!

WPoS

[MafiaMan]

quick comment here from the "enemy". I know it burns you guys to have a few players on the Gopher team that hail from NoDak, but c'mon, LOTS of teams have players from Minnesota playing on their teams and we don't get our undies in a bunch...does it "suck" as a Gopher fan to have a NoDak native helping my team win, NO, I don't care where you are from as long as the team wins!

From what LITTLE I got to see/hear of the games it sounded like quite the battle, especially at the end of both games, I look forward to the series down here for another hard fought battle between two great rivals!

Drop the puck!

WPoS

For the record, WPoS, I was more disgusted by Chorney's antics after scoring Saturday than I was by Irmen on Friday. Ugh...down 4-2 with crunch time to play and you scored on a deflected shot that was probably 10' wide of the net when it was deflected in. Put your head down, go back to the bench, and try to make it 4-3.

[dagies]

Minnesota has more upper classmen, and two incredible juniors in Potulny and Irmen....

Here's a look at the difference in experience between these two teams. I said earlier that the gap in exp might have been the difference. I see a gopher fan out in cyberspace is poo-pooing that gap, but it doesn't take a graduate student to appreciate that there is indeed a significant difference in experience between these two teams.

Here's a break down of Saturday's line-ups for both teams:

Overall...Sioux...Gophers

Sr..........1.........4

Jr...........5.........4

So..........4.........6

Fr...........9.........5

Let's see, trade 3 freshmen for 3 seniors? Think that might make a difference??

I think the comparison is more stark by position:

Forwards..Sioux...Gophers

Sr............1.........2

Jr.............3.........2

So............3.........4

Fr.............5.........4

Defense...Sioux...Gophers

Sr............0.........2

Jr.............1.........1

So............1.........2

Fr.............4.........1

Goal........Sioux....Gophers

Jr............1..........1

Let's see. Most people say defense is the hardest position to learn. And that is where the most glaring difference is. Is it a great surprise that the Sioux looked a little discombobulated in their own zone? Yes, I think it is fair to say that 1 year of experience for a chunk of our D might have made things look a lot more even on the ice.

[siouxnami]

I have finally sobered up after Saturday night, so here are my thoughts.

#1) UMTC is good and the Sioux are good. The Sioux deserved better than 0 points. The two blown calls were significant in two 1 goal games, but UMTC also played well. The Sioux did not get a bounce. That WILL even out after time. UMTC and the Sioux were both dominant at times. UMTC really got some good bounces (and calls). Both teams appeared dominant at times because neither team has the talent to completely dominate the other.

#2) The one view only replay must be changed. By looking at multible views you could see that Oshie did score, but in the overhead view it was hard to see the puck unless you knew exactly where to look.

#3) I think that Toews outplayed Kessel, and expect that the scouts arrived at the same conclusion. As F.M. said, "That's why Kessel doesn't play defense." Note that I am not flaming Kessel, I think he is the 2nd best freshman in hockey... Both players disappeared at times, in large part due to the quality of the other team. Toews has improved considerably this season.

#4) The Sioux are the tougher team, but UMTC is much better than the group of pansies they fielded last year. They have gotten some good size and strength with Wheeler and Stoa. This allows them to have a better forecheck.

#5) If the question mark is goaltending for UMTC, it was answered this weekend. We'll see if it continues. The Sioux should go back to a goalie rotation, both are just so talented, lets not wear one down.

#6) The Sioux have improved significantly since the begining of the season. I expect that 1 by 1 they are passing teams. I think that this will continue and that in March the Sioux will be near the top of college hockey.

#7) What Smaby did to Potulmy may be illegal in some countries. Smaby turned their best player into a non-factor after the hit. Young D-men take notice. Also Oshie is an unrefined animal. He has so much raw talent and will only get better. I thought Lee played well. He scored an NHL goal. I'd like to see more of Finley's shot. Where was Kozak?

#8) I think Prpich killed the Sioux on Saturday. After the Sioux scored to make it 2-1, his line came out and was inept and traped in its own end. Prpich had 2 (maybe 3) chances to clear and get a line change and he absolutly blew it. Minnesota scored and we didn't hear the crowd until the 3rd period.

#9) The crowd sucked... again... It's be said... No need to harp on this...

#10) I see the Sioux in Milwaukee...

[dagies]

#2) The one view only replay must be changed. By looking at multible views you could see that Oshie did score, but in the overhead view it was hard to see the puck unless you knew exactly where to look.

I doubt the "one overhead view" will be changed because my guess is it exists to make the availability to replay review equal across the conference. I'm guessing some teams don't have the TV broadcasts and those that do might not have all the cameras that an FSN or CSTV has available to them at a game. I'm guessing they've installed the overhead cameras in each arena and since that is uniform across the league, that will be the view used for replay. Everyone has a fair shake.

Otherwise, you could use the argument that MN or WI or even UND might have the best advantage of replay thoughout the year because more of their games are televised by a big time operation with lots of camera angles, etc.

[dagies]

Where was Kozak?

Smacking people around, at least that's what I saw on TV.

[SiouxFanatic]

Well, I was greatly disappointed to see the Sioux lose on Saturday. It put my record on seeing the Sioux team play this year to 0-3-0. Denver, Wisconsin, and the Gophers. However, I was glad to see that the Sioux showed some momentum and life in the third period and rallied to be 1 goal behind the Gophers. But I wasn't impressed at all with the shooting. They wasted alot of powerplays by just playing keep away from the Gophers and making no shots.

Ok, I'm just a ranting Sioux fan because I went to three games and all of them they lost. Figured, it's not worth it to go to any more games for this year. Not worth the drive from Minot to Grand Forks to see them lose. I'd rather watch them lose on the ole' Cathode tube than paying to see them lose in person.

Now let's move on and sweep Bemidji State!

[shep]

I have finally sobered up after Saturday night, so here are my thoughts.

#1) UMTC is good and the Sioux are good. The Sioux deserved better than 0 points. The two blown calls were significant in two 1 goal games, but UMTC also played well. The Sioux did not get a bounce. That WILL even out after time. UMTC and the Sioux were both dominant at times. UMTC really got some good bounces (and calls). Both teams appeared dominant at times because neither team has the talent to completely dominate the other.

#2) The one view only replay must be changed. By looking at multible views you could see that Oshie did score, but in the overhead view it was hard to see the puck unless you knew exactly where to look.

#3) I think that Toews outplayed Kessel, and expect that the scouts arrived at the same conclusion. As F.M. said, "That's why Kessel doesn't play defense." Note that I am not flaming Kessel, I think he is the 2nd best freshman in hockey... Both players disappeared at times, in large part due to the quality of the other team. Toews has improved considerably this season.

#4) The Sioux are the tougher team, but UMTC is much better than the group of pansies they fielded last year. They have gotten some good size and strength with Wheeler and Stoa. This allows them to have a better forecheck.

#5) If the question mark is goaltending for UMTC, it was answered this weekend. We'll see if it continues. The Sioux should go back to a goalie rotation, both are just so talented, lets not wear one down.

#6) The Sioux have improved significantly since the begining of the season. I expect that 1 by 1 they are passing teams. I think that this will continue and that in March the Sioux will be near the top of college hockey.

#7) What Smaby did to Potulmy may be illegal in some countries. Smaby turned their best player into a non-factor after the hit. Young D-men take notice. Also Oshie is an unrefined animal. He has so much raw talent and will only get better. I thought Lee played well. He scored an NHL goal. I'd like to see more of Finley's shot. Where was Kozak?

#8) I think Prpich killed the Sioux on Saturday. After the Sioux scored to make it 2-1, his line came out and was inept and traped in its own end. Prpich had 2 (maybe 3) chances to clear and get a line change and he absolutly blew it. Minnesota scored and we didn't hear the crowd until the 3rd period.

#9) The crowd sucked... again... It's be said... No need to harp on this...

#10) I see the Sioux in Milwaukee...

(Somehow I screwed up and as I attempted to quote his post, it looks like mine became a part of it) SHEP EDIT

Of the things I could disagree with, the only one I'll discuss now is #9.

What did the CROWD have to cheer about? The crowd wanted to cheer, the crowd was dying to cheer, but giving up a quick (weak) goal in the first period in both games tends to take the crowd out of it.

I hope you're right when you say "I see the Sioux in Milwaukee" because my only reaction to that is:

I hope they buy their tickets now b/4 it's sold out.

Edited December 12, 2005 by shep

[Bear Man]

That was me. It just seemed like your first posts were all about how UND was getting beat by a better team and that Sioux fans should stop whining. Given all of the Gopher fans that tend to show up just for this series, I figured you were a Gopher fan posing as a Sioux fan. If I was wrong...my apologies.

Thanks for the apology - no offense taken. Sometimes losing to our arch enemy makes all of us say things on the board we wished we hadn't said (me included).

I won't regret saing this ................we need to beat Bemidji State TWICE next weekend. I don't think a split is acceptable at this point.

[sagard]

#4) The Sioux are the tougher team, but UMTC is much better than the group of pansies they fielded last year. They have gotten some good size and strength with Wheeler and Stoa. This allows them to have a better forecheck.

The Gophers are virtually the same as last year. A little on the soft side defensively but if given space they will control the puck and play.

The difference is that the Sioux aren't a Senior laden team playing at the top of their game.

#7) What Smaby did to Potulmy may be illegal in some countries. Smaby turned their best player into a non-factor after the hit. Young D-men take notice. Also Oshie is an unrefined animal. He has so much raw talent and will only get better. I thought Lee played well. He scored an NHL goal. I'd like to see more of Finley's shot. Where was Kozak?

The Sioux had a good third period, but Potuly was still doing his part. If the Lamaroux doesn't make that spectacular save off Ryan's shot as he was steaming down the slot, the game would have been over with 10 minutes left. As it was the Sioux easily could have won the game.

Oshie was probably the most effective freshmen in my opinion as well and it's easy to see why he was a 1st rounder.

[I Ranger]

The Gophers are virtually the same as last year. A little on the soft side defensively but if given space they will control the puck and play.

The difference is that the Sioux aren't a Senior laden team playing at the top of their game.

The Sioux had a good third period, but Potuly was still doing his part. If the Lamaroux doesn't make that spectacular save off Ryan's shot as he was steaming down the slot, the game would have been over with 10 minutes left. As it was the Sioux easily could have won the game.

Oshie was probably the most effective freshmen in my opinion as well and it's easy to see why he was a 1st rounder.

I thought Oshie played pretty well but did anyone else notice how many times he fell. It seemed as if he lost an edge and never got it fixed. I remember one shift where he fell like two or three times in a row and could possibly had a scoring chance or two if he hadn't fallen.

[siouxnami]

If the Lamaroux doesn't make that spectacular save off Ryan's shot as he was steaming down the slot, the game would have been over with 10 minutes left. As it was the Sioux easily could have won the game.

True, I forgot about that play.

[DAR]

Right now the Sioux are not a very physical corps. Smaby is really the only d-man who is playing a physical game. Jones gets his nose dirty but he does not have the size to really intimidate opposing forward. I have seen very little physical play from Finley and he was pretty much invisible out there this past weekend. I don't know if he is worried about drawing penalties or what but he needs to play with more of an edge. For a guy that big he needs to play a physical game. Hopefully this will start to show in the second half. Lee, Chorney and Radke are not physical defenseman by nature. They are puck moving defenseman and that is not going to change. I guess I just got a little spoiled from that frozen four game last year when it seemed like the Goofer forwards were scared to reach the Sioux blue line and wanted no part of "broken nose alley" in front of the net. There was not that physical presence this weekend. I really hope we can find a good physical defenseman to replace Smaby or we are really going to be soft back there if we expect to replace Smaby with Marto next year. I think Marto is about 170 pounds.

[Sioux_Hab-it]

This is just like last years posts all over again. In such a big and important series the freshmen did everything that could be expected of them but we did not get enough from the upperclassmen, some more so than others. Hopefully, like last year, the upperclassmen will show up every game to end out the schedule and the team will pull it out. In other words I expect to be a fan in pain until the end of January.

[dagies]

Right now the Sioux are not a very physical corps. Smaby is really the only d-man who is playing a physical game. Jones gets his nose dirty but he does not have the size to really intimidate opposing forward. I have seen very little physical play from Finley and he was pretty much invisible out there this past weekend. I don't know if he is worried about drawing penalties or what but he needs to play with more of an edge. For a guy that big he needs to play a physical game. Hopefully this will start to show in the second half. Lee, Chorney and Radke are not physical defenseman by nature. They are puck moving defenseman and that is not going to change. I guess I just got a little spoiled from that frozen four game last year when it seemed like the Goofer forwards were scared to reach the Sioux blue line and wanted no part of "broken nose alley" in front of the net. There was not that physical presence this weekend. I really hope we can find a good physical defenseman to replace Smaby or we are really going to be soft back there if we expect to replace Smaby with Marto next year. I think Marto is about 170 pounds.

In the 3rd period on Saturday my buddy pointed out that we hadn't seen Finley on the ice for quite a while. He may yet become that physical presence, but it's possible he's still learning where he should be, and the physical part could come when he gets more comfortable.

[Bignellyxx]

After viewing this forum for a while now i have decided to finally post.

Personally i dont think this was that bad of a weekend we showed improvement in a few places that will help later on. Gopher fans think this was there best weekend and i laugh about that and was not very impressed. They did however start each game very strong and score. They had good passing and were able to capitalize on it when they would catch our players out of position. I am not very impressed with Briggs at all. I think the only thing keeping them in the game was the amount of shot blocked by the gophers. There were a few times i was thinking i was watching soccer when there would be 3 yellow side by side. I think the Gophers forwards have a much better save percentage than Briggs himself.

Toews was smoking on friday night and was not able to get one in. He hit the pipe so many times but was just an inch off on many. I also noticed on friday night how our powerplay has improved. The goals werent there but the passing improved. I dont remember who scored on friday night on the powerplay from the point, i think it was actually spirko. They worked the puck, got a gopher out of postion an scored. Thats how its done. Im excited to see it work in future games. The sioux powerplay will be huge later in the year. Its too bad we couldn't pull one off on both of those 6-4 oppurtunites. On Saturday if we could have had a full two minutes i think it would have happend.

On friday night with Stoa i think we just need to make sure Parise and the D are getting trash like that out of the crease. Parise should have hacked him behind the knee a few more times. He was really good at that as a Freshman.

One thing im a fan of is that the Band was pretty effective at killing the F-the gophers chants, with lets go sioux. I am also glad this series didn't end like it did with Denver. We showed more class this time. Not impressed with Irmen though. Haven't seen many go into the box like him where the students were heckling him and he gives a cocky point at the scoreboard. Much like Paukovich flipping off the students at the end of the DU series.

I think a sweep at Mariucci would be sweet. If i were a gopher fan i would be a little scared because i think we may return the favor next time.

[redwing77]

I think Finley is in dire need of improving his physical game. I know this even without seeing these last two games. I'm confused why this is taking such a long time to develop other than thinking that there is this fear Finley might be facing about going to the box because of his physicality. I'm hoping this is just inexperience talking and we'll see some sort of explosion in his total game in the near future.

To add to that, I also agree on the total physicality of our entire defensive corps being down. This doesn't mean that players like Lee, Radke, and Finley stink, but we're really used to seeing a team face us and go home aching and bruised even if they beat us in the score. Jones isn't at Smaby's level of physicality but he's showing signs that he's going to get there. But we really need to turn that up a notch.

We're a different team this year. And the change of styles is drastic. I truly hope that everyone sits back and realizes that things take time. No one (should) expect this team to win it all this year. If they do, WOW! Great! YEEEHAW! But we will recover and we will finish where we were projected to finish. That is: 5th place in the WCHA.

We lost to the Gophers at home. Gopher punks are going to show up here and on USCHO and act all snotty. Wow. Big deal. It happens every year. Just skip over them and read those who actually have a decent head on their shoulders (Greyeagle, sagard, sometimes ( ) WPoS) and move on.

We knew coming into this season we'd take our lumps before Christmas. Well, we did. WI and MN kicked our butts. If us fans feel awful over these lumps, imaqine how the players must feel. Let's move on and keep things in perspective. I think we'll be fine.

[Stack]

This is just like last years posts all over again. In such a big and important series the freshmen did everything that could be expected of them but we did not get enough from the upperclassmen, some more so than others. Hopefully, like last year, the upperclassmen will show up every game to end out the schedule and the team will pull it out. In other words I expect to be a fan in pain until the end of January.

Guys that played this weekend

Senior: Prpich

Junior: Stafford, Parise, Smaby, Porter, Fabian

Sophs: Zajac, Spirko, Kaip, Radke, Lamoureux

Frosh: Chorney, Finley, Jones, Lee, Oshie, Toews, Kozek, Duncan, Watkins

6 upperclassmen. My evaluation is that Prpich played his game and played well. The 5 juniors did not play very well. Porter and Fabian didn't throw their weight around, Parise was not at his best, Stafford disappeared at times and Smaby did not stand out over the other frosh D.

Let's be realistic here. We all knew that with this many freshmen playing we would struggle early and we all hoped we would come together as a team and be very good by the end of the season. These guys did not play as a team this weekend but as individuals and lyou lose when this happens. . We've lost 5 games in a row at home against the upper division of our league. We won five of six on the road against the bottom of the league. This is what I expected but I hoped for more.

If we can reel off 6 wins or 5 of 6 against Bemidji, Harvard, and Achorage before going into Minnestoa we'll be fine. We have the lower division teams at home the second half and play Minnesota, CC, and Denver on the road. So 20 games left to go. I'd be very happy of we went 14-6 the second half. Heck that would put us at 24-13-1. That's pretty dang good for a freshmen laden team. So I'm like the rest of you who hated to lose to Minnesota but when I look at the season so far objectively I am pleased.

[shep]

Look, I'm TRYING to be optimistic, but most of those who are hopeful acknowledge the team hasn't been really good but they keep pointing out that the Freshman need time to mature.

I agree.

It's just that I'm not as accepting of waiting till next year as some, I guess.