SIOUX VS MICHIGAN TECH

[Godsmack]

I just read all 23 pages as I was unable to listen to the game last night. I came up to Grand Forks from Denver to see the Sioux last week against Wisco. Here are my thoughts about that weekend and probably the season as a whole:

1)Lee is one of the most over rated defensemen. He didn't skate in the 2nd period of the Friday game against Wisco and he doesn't seem to hit enough. I think the press clippings have gone to his head. Someone on this board correctly opined how our current team do not block shots at the rate that Schneider, Fuher, Greene, Prpich, etc. did.

2)Due to the fact that Hakstol is married to the daughter of the President of the alumni association, there will always be controversy surrounding his promotion to head coach. Having personally spoken to John Marks, who was a candidate for the head coaching position, the word among all of the candidates and in college hockey in general was that Hak got the position in part because he is O'Keefe's son-in-law. I don't know if that was sour grapes on those who mention this or if there's truth to it; afterall, Blais did give his public support to Hakstol and we all know that Blais has a TON of credibility due to what he did for the program and its many successes. I personally think Hakstol knows the game and is due a huge amount of credit for the team's successes when Blais was coach but I do get tired of hearing his post-game commentary which is beginning to sound like a broken record ("we didn't have puck luck," "the bounces didn't go our way", etc.).

3)I went to Sioux boosters last week and Hakstol stated that Oshie broke his thumb about 7 weeks ago and it was never publicly announced. This is likely why his goal production is down (you try shooting with a sore broken thumb). I give Oshie props for staying in the lineup. I give Oshie props for not using that as his excuse for not scoring.

4)Goaltending. Lammy goes down too early/too often. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a majority of Wisco's goals were up high. Opponents have scouted him well and they know his weakness. In his defense though, a little back checking in the 3rd period of Saturday's game by the defense and forwards might have prevented the game tying and go-ahead goals.

5)Lack of consistent shot production. 18 shots on net in the 1st period of Friday's game against Wisco. Outstanding. Followed up by 4 shots in 2nd period, the first shot not coming until about mid way through the period...not going to get it done.

6)Stupid, untimely penalties. Lack of shots in 2nd period due primarily to spending a majority of the period killing penalties. I can't remember who, but a Sioux player took a dumbass elbowing penalty when they were in the offensive zone!!! Blais would've benched his ass.

Hopefully I won't be accused of ragging on the Sioux. I love the Sioux and my friends in Colorado always state that despite not liking the Sioux (they're DU or CC fans), they admire how, over the years, the team has that never-say-die work ethic and attitude. Win or lose, there was never any quit in them. The teams under Blais' reign garnered much respect from both opponents and opposing fans because of their discipline and hard work. I didn't see that fire in either game against the Badgers. Is this the coaching staff's fault? The players' fault? Both? Anyone, please weigh in.

[Goon]

Lee is one of the most over rated defensemen. He didn't skate in the 2nd period of the Friday game against Wisco and he doesn't seem to hit enough. I think the press clippings have gone to his head. Someone on this board correctly opined how our current team do not block shots at the rate that Schneider, Fuher, Greene, Prpich, etc. did.

2)Due to the fact that Hakstol is married to the daughter of the President of the alumni association, there will always be controversy surrounding his promotion to head coach. Having personally spoken to John Marks, who was a candidate for the head coaching position, the word among all of the candidates and in college hockey in general was that Hak got the position in part because he is O'Keefe's son-in-law. I don't know if that was sour grapes on those who mention this or if there's truth to it; afterall, Blais did give his public support to Hakstol and we all know that Blais has a TON of credibility due to what he did for the program and its many successes. I personally think Hakstol knows the game and is due a huge amount of credit for the team's successes when Blais was coach but I do get tired of hearing his post-game commentary which is beginning to sound like a broken record ("we didn't have puck luck," "the bounces didn't go our way", etc.).

4)Goaltending. Lammy goes down too early/too often. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a majority of Wisco's goals were up high. Opponents have scouted him well and they know his weakness. In his defense though, a little back checking in the 3rd period of Saturday's game by the defense and forwards might have prevented the game tying and go-ahead goals.

Hopefully I won't be accused of ragging on the Sioux.

I agree with a lot of what you said. It's pretty accurate, I think Lee is a decent player but is he worthy of a number one pick, good question. I know that there are some fans in the stands that would be happy if the Sens picked him up next year. I am not going to complain either. Lee is still a good player though.

I have heard the same scuttlebutt around town about Hak before (Grand Forks) then to top it all off there were some people that were upset that Hak didn't pick Johnson for the assistant job, So Hak is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He is never really going to win, half the crowd is going to question him because he followed Dean Blais. A coaching legend. I am also sick of his post game comments, I want him to be upset, last year he called out some players publically.

[dagies]

I'll start ragging on our goaltending as the problem when we consistently score 3-4 goals a game and consistently lose. Until that time, when we score 0-2 goals every game and lose, a great goalie who steals a game is only going to make you marginally better.

Score some goals. Play some D.

[Snake]

I'll start ragging on our goaltending as the problem when we consistently score 3-4 goals a game and consistently lose. Until that time, when we score 0-2 goals every game and lose, a great goalie who steals a game is only going to make you marginally better.

Score some goals. Play some D.

Exactly.

I find it kind of funny most of the talk revolves around goaltending when it's pretty obvious the other 5 guys on the ice at any given time are making way too many mistakes. Obviously goaltending mistakes are easier to notice and are much more magnified, but it wouldn't be so bad if we could actually build a 2-goal lead again sometime this season.

[Irish]

I just read all 23 pages as I was unable to listen to the game last night. I came up to Grand Forks from Denver to see the Sioux last week against Wisco. Here are my thoughts about that weekend and probably the season as a whole:

1)Lee is one of the most over rated defensemen. He didn't skate in the 2nd period of the Friday game against Wisco and he doesn't seem to hit enough. I think the press clippings have gone to his head. Someone on this board correctly opined how our current team do not block shots at the rate that Schneider, Fuher, Greene, Prpich, etc. did.

2)Due to the fact that Hakstol is married to the daughter of the President of the alumni association, there will always be controversy surrounding his promotion to head coach. Having personally spoken to John Marks, who was a candidate for the head coaching position, the word among all of the candidates and in college hockey in general was that Hak got the position in part because he is O'Keefe's son-in-law. I don't know if that was sour grapes on those who mention this or if there's truth to it; afterall, Blais did give his public support to Hakstol and we all know that Blais has a TON of credibility due to what he did for the program and its many successes. I personally think Hakstol knows the game and is due a huge amount of credit for the team's successes when Blais was coach but I do get tired of hearing his post-game commentary which is beginning to sound like a broken record ("we didn't have puck luck," "the bounces didn't go our way", etc.).

3)I went to Sioux boosters last week and Hakstol stated that Oshie broke his thumb about 7 weeks ago and it was never publicly announced. This is likely why his goal production is down (you try shooting with a sore broken thumb). I give Oshie props for staying in the lineup. I give Oshie props for not using that as his excuse for not scoring.

4)Goaltending. Lammy goes down too early/too often. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a majority of Wisco's goals were up high. Opponents have scouted him well and they know his weakness. In his defense though, a little back checking in the 3rd period of Saturday's game by the defense and forwards might have prevented the game tying and go-ahead goals.

5)Lack of consistent shot production. 18 shots on net in the 1st period of Friday's game against Wisco. Outstanding. Followed up by 4 shots in 2nd period, the first shot not coming until about mid way through the period...not going to get it done.

6)Stupid, untimely penalties. Lack of shots in 2nd period due primarily to spending a majority of the period killing penalties. I can't remember who, but a Sioux player took a dumbass elbowing penalty when they were in the offensive zone!!! Blais would've benched his ass.

Hopefully I won't be accused of ragging on the Sioux. I love the Sioux and my friends in Colorado always state that despite not liking the Sioux (they're DU or CC fans), they admire how, over the years, the team has that never-say-die work ethic and attitude. Win or lose, there was never any quit in them. The teams under Blais' reign garnered much respect from both opponents and opposing fans because of their discipline and hard work. I didn't see that fire in either game against the Badgers. Is this the coaching staff's fault? The players' fault? Both? Anyone, please weigh in.

There's no doubt that Hak was basically anointed as coach. Whether he was the best man for the job remains to be seen. Most of us don't have enough information yet to make that call. What upsets me most is not that we are losing (although that burns too), but the type of play we are getting lately. We have had it taken to us physically, are making stupid mistakes, and don't show up for all 3 periods - this has been going on for way too long. In my mind, my biggest question about Hak as a coach is in player development. When you look at our talent on paper (number of drafted players, expectations of level of play when signing etc) there is no way on God's earth that we should be playing like this. This is basically the first year that we are Hak's team as opposed to Blais' recriuts - I'm worried. No one seems to be getting better or playing above expectations. Usually someone unexpected has a breakout year - not this year however. We seemed incapable of scoring 5 on 5 last night. If the play doesn't pick up soon we're in for a long haul and not only for this year. Relying on nexy year's recruits seems iffy - We are basically a team made up of the last highly praised recruiting class (this year's sophomores) and look at how they are developing. We need some fire. We have for the past month - nothing yet. I hope tonight's the night (although I am tired of saying this)

[Godsmack]

Exactly.

I find it kind of funny most of the talk revolves around goaltending when it's pretty obvious the other 5 guys on the ice at any given time are making way too many mistakes. Obviously goaltending mistakes are easier to notice and are much more magnified, but it wouldn't be so bad if we could actually build a 2-goal lead again sometime this season.

Why is it Wisconsin consistently recruits consistent goalies and puts out winning teams when they usually lack goal scoring power? I think it's fair to say that North Dakota has not had a history of recruiting top notch goalies over their years like Wisco, CC, Michigan, and others. We've had Goehring, Belfour, Casey and others but look at the long list of inconsistent net minders-Brandt, Siembeda, Kolar, to name a few. I think the Sioux have been successful with average goaltending because they've always been able to put the puck in the net and they had strong defensive play. Lammy's play this year has been spotty, I think everyone can admit to that. The D has been soft and the forwards don't back check.

[AZSIOUX]

Why is it Wisconsin consistently recruits consistent goalies and puts out winning teams when they usually lack goal scoring power? I think it's fair to say that North Dakota has not had a history of recruiting top notch goalies over their years like Wisco, CC, Michigan, and others. We've had Goehring, Belfour, Casey and others but look at the long list of inconsistent net minders-Brandt, Siembeda, Kolar, to name a few. I think the Sioux have been successful with average goaltending because they've always been able to put the puck in the net and they had strong defensive play. Lammy's play this year has been spotty, I think everyone can admit to that. The D has been soft and the forwards don't back check.

yeah brandt holds some goaltending records for the sioux, he got the short end of the stick but jpar was a hell of a goalie as well, he is not in that category with siembida, not even friken close.......jake and andy are in their own area.

jake was 32-12 in career, didnt get a chance his senior year....4-4 freshman, 11-4 sophmore, 14-4 junior year, 1-0 senior year then not another chance. pretty consistent

kollar was 41-14 in career and won some big games but fizzled senior year..10-1 freshman year, 11-2 sophmore year, 13-02 junior year. pretty consistent to me.

siembeda, no need to show any stats

[buckysieve]

Why is it Wisconsin consistently recruits consistent goalies and puts out winning teams when they usually lack goal scoring power?

Wisconsin has one of the best goalie coaches you'll find anywhere in Bill Howard. I don't think UND even has a goalie coach.

And you're right about Oshie, he did break his thumb. It happened during the Maine series.

[Goon]

Why is it Wisconsin consistently recruits consistent goalies and puts out winning teams when they usually lack goal scoring power? I think it's fair to say that North Dakota has not had a history of recruiting top notch goalies over their years like Wisco, CC, Michigan, and others. We've had Goehring, Belfour, Casey and others but look at the long list of inconsistent net minders-Brandt, Siembeda, Kolar, to name a few. I think the Sioux have been successful with average goaltending because they've always been able to put the puck in the net and they had strong defensive play. Lammy's play this year has been spotty, I think everyone can admit to that. The D has been soft and the forwards don't back check.

Good question I just hope Hak has enough sense to decide that goaltending is an issue and address it in the off season before its too late and we lose another battle to one of our rivals. Anyone that thinks we don't have a problem at goaltending need to look past their love for Phil.

[Godsmack]

yeah brandt holds some goaltending records for the sioux, he got the short end of the stick but jpar was a hell of a goalie as well, he is not in that category with kollar and siembida, not even friken close.......those guys are in their own area.

Sorry-I'm just so frickin frustrated right now. Lammy's play hasn't been "bad" I was simply referring to our inability to get a big save at a critical point of the game. That PP goal Wisco got-the soft wrist shot taken from the point that squirted under Lammy's arm is what really made my blood boil. I'm more frustrated when you sum everything up. It's even harder to stomach when you watch teams like DU or Minny (who I can't stand) play-those teams are very consistent and seem to have all the pieces together. I wish the Sioux well tonight. Let's get the 2 points tonight, go out to Dartmouth and win that tourney in honor of that stupid athletic director out there, and then look at the second half of the season as the start of something great.

[Goon]

I find it kind of funny most of the talk revolves around goaltending when it's pretty obvious the other 5 guys on the ice at any given time are making way too many mistakes. Obviously goaltending mistakes are easier to notice and are much more magnified, but it wouldn't be so bad if we could actually build a 2-goal lead again sometime this season.

I actually think it would be easier to recruit a goalie than can stop the puck than trying to replace blue chippers Stafford, Zajac and Spirko.

[AZSIOUX]

yeah brandt holds some goaltending records for the sioux, he got the short end of the stick but jpar was a hell of a goalie as well, he is not in that category with siembida, not even friken close.......jake and andy are in their own area.

jake was 32-12 in career, didnt get a chance his senior year....4-4 freshman, 11-4 sophmore, 14-4 junior year, 1-0 senior year then not another chance. pretty consistent

kollar was 41-14 in career and won some big games but fizzled senior year..10-1 freshman year, 11-2 sophmore year, 13-02 junior year. pretty consistent to me.

siembeda, no need to show any stats

[AZSIOUX]

Sorry-I'm just so frickin frustrated right now. Lammy's play hasn't been "bad" I was simply referring to our inability to get a big save at a critical point of the game. That PP goal Wisco got-the soft wrist shot taken from the point that squirted under Lammy's arm is what really made my blood boil. I'm more frustrated when you sum everything up. It's even harder to stomach when you watch teams like DU or Minny (who I can't stand) play-those teams are very consistent and seem to have all the pieces together. I wish the Sioux well tonight. Let's get the 2 points tonight, go out to Dartmouth and win that tourney in honor of that stupid athletic director out there, and then look at the second half of the season as the start of something great.

i hear ya, we all are..................it needs to stop tonight

[Coolshot]

I actually think it would be easier to recruit a goalie than can stop the puck than trying to replace blue chippers Stafford, Zajac and Spirko.

It becomes dificult to recruit a goalie to come in and take over as your #1 postion, it becomes a crap shoot if you take a look throughout the league all of the freshmen goalies have about the same GAA and save percentage. It looks like the coaching staff had Lammy being the go to guy and plans to integrate Greico and have Walski as backup. If you take a look at the freshmen goalie recruits that came in this year they were all top players in their league, some will develop quicker then others, and it will depend on how much playing time they get to develop.

[fushie]

I agree with a lot of what you said. It's pretty accurate, I think Lee is a decent player but is he worthy of a number one pick, good question. I know that there are some fans in the stands that would be happy if the Sens picked him up next year. I am not going to complain either. Lee is still a good player though.

I have heard the same scuttlebutt around town about Hak before (Grand Forks) then to top it all off there were some people that were upset that Hak didn't pick Johnson for the assistant job, So Hak is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He is never really going to win, half the crowd is going to question him because he followed Dean Blais. A coaching legend. I am also sick of his post game comments, I want him to be upset, last year he called out some players publically.

There is one major differance between last yaer and this year, and it is not on defense, forward or Goaltending. We let the wrong coach leave for greener pastures. Boomer is the missing link as to this teams struggles.

[AZSIOUX]

There is one major differance between last yaer and this year, and it is not on defense, forward or Goaltending. We let the wrong coach leave for greener pastures. Boomer is the missing link as to this teams struggles.

berry was a great coach, it could be a huge difference but hes gone so we need to work with what we have now....lets hope it turns around FAST, or we will be praying to win the friken final-5 just to gte in the NC$$'s

[Coolshot]

There is one major differance between last yaer and this year, and it is not on defense, forward or Goaltending. We let the wrong coach leave for greener pastures. Boomer is the missing link as to this teams struggles.

So true

[Sioux-cia]

.....lets hope it turns around FAST, or we will be praying to MAKE the friken final-5 just to gte in the NC$$'s

Fixed your post.

[Snake]

I actually think it would be easier to recruit a goalie than can stop the puck than trying to replace blue chippers Stafford, Zajac and Spirko.

I disagree. I believe the point was made in an earlier post that if a forward or D recruit doesn't pan out it's not as magnified as if you "miss" on a goalie recruit. Finding a guy that's 6-foot plus and takes up a bunch of the net is one thing, but finding a guy that knows how to stop the puck is another. Everyone's after stud goaltending - it's rare. Sure, as one of the elite programs in the country we should be able to land a stud now and then, but perhaps it comes down to those who are evaluating potential goaltenders. Maybe we're just not that good at picking the "right" ones. UND has certainly done a better job picking up blue-chip skaters than blue-chip goaltenders.

The Sioux I'm used to watching win games and championships by playing a style with a balance of speed, finesse, grit, and power. They win by scoring goals, cycling the puck, carrying the play in the opponent's end of the ice, and punishing the opponent while in their own zone. They also do it with TIMELY goaltending. Right now it seems like we're missing all of these elements.

If we fix the timely goaltending does that mean we're going to score more? Will that take the pressure off the rest of the team so they can let loose and start scoring? Maybe the goaltending sees every shot as critical because they're not getting any offensive (or defensive) support? Chicken or egg?