SIOUX vs HUSKIES

[UNDPUCKS]

Great win boys. My daughter is there for a visit this weekend with my wife. We are hoping she decides to dtich Wisconsin and get to ND. They were at the game and finally she will stop whining about me going to the Ralph without her!! Stay out of the box tomorrow and let's get another 4 point weekend.

[Smoggy]

Good start to the weekend. They had me nervous in the first, but Grieco kept them in it against all those mini odd man rushes.

The biggest difference from the last couple weekends was our penalty kill.

[redwing77]

Only limited commentary tonight. I think dagies and PCM do better recaps anyways.

The Good:

1. Sioux PK

2. Grieco

3. Brian Lee

4. DOT line (all players involved)

5. Taylor Chorney

The "Bad"

Ok, not a lot of bad things, just not great things:

1. PP got progressivly not as good as the game wore on. Especially when it comes to passing.

2. Blame me if you want, but I don't think Fabian had a very good game. He wasn't "bad" but he wasn't good either.

3. The camera work at times. During the third period, the camera went purple some times (Why does that happen? Anyone know?) and once the camera man must not have been told he was on because he stopped following the puck.

The "Ugly"

1. 8 penalties, some of them BAD.

2. Diggler's mug on the screen.

[mygarske]

What an amazing save by Grieco coming across!! That is a series winning save!! That kid is the real deal!! He was the difference tonight. What a huge show of depth by the Fighting Sioux!!! Lose a 2 time frozen 4 goalie to the pros. Fill that no problem. Starting goalie goes down middle of the week. Freshman recruit comes in and stands on his head barely a month into the season. That is serious recruiting depth and amazing coaching.

This team has a great feel to it, this is going to be a wild ride to March. They aren't full stride yet, see first period penalties, but they are coming together a lot sooner than last year and against a lot better teams. This tough first half schedule will pay off as the season plays out.

Great win!! Great defensive effort! Great to see The Oshie get a really nice goal!! AMAZING goalie performance!! Let's bring it again Saturday night!!

[Smoggy]

The "Ugly"

2. Diggler's mug on the screen.

Thank goodness I missed that.

[Siouxdonyms]

The "Ugly"

The 1st period! But at least it was better than our past 2nd periods!!!!

[redwing77]

The 1st period! But at least it was better than our past 2nd periods!!!!

I missed the first period, hence why my commentary is so short.

If that was the case, though, perhaps I should add "The 2nd Period" to the "Good" list?

[redwing77]

Humorous TV moment of the 2nd and 3rd period: Scanlan's calling of the PP that ended the game.

Porter, sitting in the penalty box, evidentally ran out into the concourse, around to the Sioux bench, switched into a Grieco jersey, donned his pads, and switched with Greico in the speed of light with enough time to make possibly the save of the night!

I love it when guys are so new that they can't distinguish between a skater and a goaltender in the thick of things. If he had called Grieco Lamoureaux, it would have just been a shoulder shrugger if you will.

[AZSIOUX]

bemidji beats msu 4-3, they own msu

umtc wins 3-2 over umd

cc 3 tech 1 end of 2nd

uw uaa ,later

[AZSIOUX]

uaa uw webcast

http://portal.gci.net/gcisports/uaa_hockey

[andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!!]

AZSIOUX, does the UAA video feed work for you? Because I can't get it to work.

Well a nice win by the Sioux tonight. I thought they play pretty good. Nice job guys.

[hrkac]

We need to find a place on the blueline for #5. The Sioux had too much trouble getting out of their zone in the first 1/3 of the game. Genoway is already better than his bro and needs to be put in a situation to make plays.

[Diggler]

The "Ugly"

2. Diggler's mug on the screen.

What was I doing?

[Goon]

Lammy is going to have an obstacle to overcome when he gets back...the name...GRIECO!!

If Grieco keeps playing like that its going to be Phil Who? Seriously that was a pretty good performance in goal. I wan't all that impressed with Bobby tonight either.

[Tommiejo]

Good game guys now let's go for the sweep.

SIOUX FAN SINCE 1973

[Siouxman]

Observations from the game:

1) Toews was not himself. He appeared stiff and not very fluid. Made me wonder if he was wearing some type of harness or something to prevent injury. He was clearly not himself, but maybe it was rust. He had some great plays on the penalty kill late in the game.

2) Whole Sioux team looked slow and unprepared for the game, except for Grieco. St. Cloud has a lot of skill, but don't appear to have the horses to finish. The Huskies outhustled the Sioux for 75% of the game.

3) Sioux were called for two penalties on very obvious dives.

4) Grieco seems to have great awareness of what is taking place around him. He appears to be able to anticipate the play. The outstanding leg save in the third was a beauty. Look for him to garner playing time, even when Lammy is back. He looked solid.

5) The reaction of Oshie when he scored was priceless. Hopefully this gets the monkey off his back and the puck will start going in. In all reality, Goepfort really blew that one. He could easily have blocked the puck from Toews and kept it from going in front of the net. Instead he just stood there and watched it. He did not impress me.

6) Sioux gave up waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too many odd man rushes. Better teams will kill us on those.

7) 4th line was just not in it at all. Third line at times created more pressure than any other line, especially in the 2nd period.

8) Porter's goal was a knuckler worthy of the best in baseball. It was in the air, dove to the ice, and bounced back up over Goepfort's pads. He was clearly frustrated on that one.

9) Sioux had some outstanding chances with great passes across the front of the net, but guys just couldn't quite finish and drive the puck home. Early in the game Sioux controlled on the power play quite well.

10) Bottom line: Sioux won when they clearly did not play well. 2nd and 3rd periods were better than the 1st, but the Sioux can do much better than that. Hopefully it was a learning experience without losing the game.

And now for Saturday night's game. LET'S GO SIOUX.

[Siouxdonyms]

Humorous TV moment of the 2nd and 3rd period: Scanlan's calling of the PP that ended the game.

Porter, sitting in the penalty box, evidentally ran out into the concourse, around to the Sioux bench, switched into a Grieco jersey, donned his pads, and switched with Greico in the speed of light with enough time to make possibly the save of the night!

I love it when guys are so new that they can't distinguish between a skater and a goaltender in the thick of things. If he had called Grieco Lamoureaux, it would have just been a shoulder shrugger if you will.

I thought it was Sweeney who said, "Porter with a BIG pad save!"

[redwing77]

What was I doing?

Staring blankly at the ice while the person next to you did all the cheering I believe it was right before the second period began while they were playing that song where the students chant "HEY Go SIoux!"

[redwing77]

I thought it was Sweeney who said, "Porter with a BIG pad save!"

My mistake. Regardless of who said it, it was pretty funny.

[redwing77]

Observations from the game:

1) Toews was not himself. He appeared stiff and not very fluid. Made me wonder if he was wearing some type of harness or something to prevent injury. He was clearly not himself, but maybe it was rust. He had some great plays on the penalty kill late in the game.

2) Whole Sioux team looked slow and unprepared for the game, except for Grieco. St. Cloud has a lot of skill, but don't appear to have the horses to finish. The Huskies outhustled the Sioux for 75% of the game.

3) Sioux were called for two penalties on very obvious dives.

4) Grieco seems to have great awareness of what is taking place around him. He appears to be able to anticipate the play. The outstanding leg save in the third was a beauty. Look for him to garner playing time, even when Lammy is back. He looked solid.

5) The reaction of Oshie when he scored was priceless. Hopefully this gets the monkey off his back and the puck will start going in. In all reality, Goepfort really blew that one. He could easily have blocked the puck from Toews and kept it from going in front of the net. Instead he just stood there and watched it. He did not impress me.

6) Sioux gave up waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too many odd man rushes. Better teams will kill us on those.

7) 4th line was just not in it at all. Third line at times created more pressure than any other line, especially in the 2nd period.

8) Porter's goal was a knuckler worthy of the best in baseball. It was in the air, dove to the ice, and bounced back up over Goepfort's pads. He was clearly frustrated on that one.

9) Sioux had some outstanding chances with great passes across the front of the net, but guys just couldn't quite finish and drive the puck home. Early in the game Sioux controlled on the power play quite well.

10) Bottom line: Sioux won when they clearly did not play well. 2nd and 3rd periods were better than the 1st, but the Sioux can do much better than that. Hopefully it was a learning experience without losing the game.

And now for Saturday night's game. LET'S GO SIOUX.

1) He did not seem to stiff to me, but I missed the first period. Maybe he was tentative then? If he was indeed stiff, he still had a good night.

2) They didn't look too slow in the 2nd period and up to the point where Porter scored his goal. They seemed to be downright dominating at times. And I don't think SCSU had much success other than the last part of the 3rd period. Even their goal was a result of a flukey turnover and not dominating play.

3) They aren't dives if the official doesn't call it. WCHA doesn't call diving as a stand alone penalty. This is nothing new. Expect more diving tonight from SCSU. No, not saying SCSU is necessarily that cheap, but if you figure out you can dive and get away with it, what's to make you stop?

4) and 5) Agreed. I think my apartment neighbors think I'm crazy because of the yell I let out when Oshie scored. Grieco looked REALLY impressive. I was VERY impressed.

6) I agree, but one thing I notice this year is that this team seems to play a VERY aggressive offensive style. WHen that is the case, with the D running up into the play, I think there are going to be more odd man rushes. THat being said, SCSU only scored on a turnover that resulted in an odd man rush. Toews fell down (did anyone see this? The camera angle made it appear that an SCSU player got him on the skate and tripped him up) and that sparked the odd man rush. That being said, I think the PK's success needs to continue more than an increased prevention of odd man rushes. We seem to have fairly good success in stopping those.

7) I agree for the most part. I think Vandevelde tried hard, but he was really ineffective because he didn't use his size to take the puck to the inside. He made his one shot from the boards just in front of the red line. Not many goals are going to go in at that angle.

8) Agreed

9) Some of that was timely defense by SCSU. Others was just slow reaction (Miller's 3rd period opportunity). Now, in MIller's case, I have to stipulate that Miller had VERY little time to get the shot off and he couldn't do it. It was a great chance, but one that I didn't feel too badly about not working. Our Power Play in the 2nd period was good. OUr PP in the 3rd period was not so much.

10) I think this was a good win. Yes, Grieco was the best player on the ice for the Sioux, but I don't think they played too poorly.

That being said, a good recap.

[SiouxTupa]

Observations from the game:

1) Toews was not himself. He appeared stiff and not very fluid. Made me wonder if he was wearing some type of harness or something to prevent injury. He was clearly not himself, but maybe it was rust. He had some great plays on the penalty kill late in the game.

2) Whole Sioux team looked slow and unprepared for the game, except for Grieco. St. Cloud has a lot of skill, but don't appear to have the horses to finish. The Huskies outhustled the Sioux for 75% of the game.

3) Sioux were called for two penalties on very obvious dives.

4) Grieco seems to have great awareness of what is taking place around him. He appears to be able to anticipate the play. The outstanding leg save in the third was a beauty. Look for him to garner playing time, even when Lammy is back. He looked solid.

5) The reaction of Oshie when he scored was priceless. Hopefully this gets the monkey off his back and the puck will start going in. In all reality, Goepfort really blew that one. He could easily have blocked the puck from Toews and kept it from going in front of the net. Instead he just stood there and watched it. He did not impress me.

6) Sioux gave up waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too many odd man rushes. Better teams will kill us on those.

7) 4th line was just not in it at all. Third line at times created more pressure than any other line, especially in the 2nd period.

8) Porter's goal was a knuckler worthy of the best in baseball. It was in the air, dove to the ice, and bounced back up over Goepfort's pads. He was clearly frustrated on that one.

9) Sioux had some outstanding chances with great passes across the front of the net, but guys just couldn't quite finish and drive the puck home. Early in the game Sioux controlled on the power play quite well.

10) Bottom line: Sioux won when they clearly did not play well. 2nd and 3rd periods were better than the 1st, but the Sioux can do much better than that. Hopefully it was a learning experience without losing the game.

And now for Saturday night's game. LET'S GO SIOUX.

1. I somewhat disagree. I understand how a person could think he looked stiff, when normally he's making crazy moves. St. Cloud, like Wisconsin, isn't a team that you can make crazy moves against (typically). You have to win by scoring crap goals or by moving the puck. I think he went after it very hard, and much harder than I expected after three games of no action... with little or no apprehension.

2. I completely disagree. I think both teams played very quick. By the 2nd period St. Clouds feet began to give way, and UND started to "gain momentum". In reality, UND never stopped relentless pursuit, and skated hard all game long. What caused all the odd man rushes, I think, was relentless (over)pursuit. During a lot of the game guys were pressuring the Huskies so much that they'd over pursue and leave somebody open. As you said, a better team would capitalize on those chances.

I was very pleased with the work ethic of the team. Aside from a couple dumb penalties, they really went after it hard. Everybody was skating during the game. The dumb penalties allowed UND to show what the PK can do, and it's really starting to come around. I think St. Cloud looked much quicker than they have in the past. I don't know if its wise to get in a foot race with UND, but I applaud them for playing a solid game even though they don't have any firepower. That Motzko is really turning them into a respectable team.

[PCM]

3) Sioux were called for two penalties on very obvious dives.

This is turning into one of my officiating pet peeves this season. Calling dives is supposed to be a point of emphasis. But in the games I've seen so far, the WCHA seems to be calling diving less. Maybe that's where UND gets its "you can't tell us what to do, NCAA" attitude.

[PCM]

Staring blankly at the ice while the person next to you did all the cheering I believe it was right before the second period began while they were playing that song where the students chant "HEY Go SIoux!"

So the boring crowd was Diggler's fault. When Diggler's having a bad game, it brings the whole arena down.

[The Whistler]

They aren't dives if the official doesn't call it. WCHA doesn't call diving as a stand alone penalty. This is nothing new. Expect more diving tonight from SCSU. No, not saying SCSU is necessarily that cheap, but if you figure out you can dive and get away with it, what's to make you stop?

Didn't the NCAA rules video this year make it clear that you can call a dive without an underlying penalty?

You're exactly right if they don't call the dive people are going to keep diving. (I thought Porter's last penalty was an embellishment. It's clear that Porter hooked him but I didn't think he was pulled down. It should have been a two-way penalty IMO).

The other related problem is if you don't dive they don't call the hook. My example would be the time in the second period that Brian Lee took the puck from the behind the net into the offensive zone. He was hooked several times along the way. It looked like when he crossed the offensive blue line that his upperbody was twisted 90 degree's from the hook. Lee didn't fall and there was no call.

Just for discussion purposes of course. This was one of the better officiated games IMHO. (And we won the game)

[Sioux_Hab-it]

Didn't the NCAA rules video this year make it clear that you can call a dive without an underlying penalty?

You're exactly right if they don't call the dive people are going to keep diving. (I thought Porter's last penalty was an embellishment. It's clear that Porter hooked him but I didn't think he was pulled down. It should have been a two-way penalty IMO).

The other related problem is if you don't dive they don't call the hook. My example would be the time in the second period that Brian Lee took the puck from the behind the net into the offensive zone. He was hooked several times along the way. It looked like when he crossed the offensive blue line that his upperbody was twisted 90 degree's from the hook. Lee didn't fall and there was no call.

Just for discussion purposes of course. This was one of the better officiated games IMHO. (And we won the game)

I agree that Lee got hooked and I believe I commented on it during the game. I also thought that St Cloud got away with one against Toews that created their 3 on 1 for their goal.