Ziggy

[Goon]

Siembida looks like he's lost his confidence. He turned toward the net twice on that first goal Sunday. (Confident guys turn away from the net because they just know the puck won't be in there.) A year in juniors somewhere (similar to what Fylling did) would probably help him get the confidence back.

Sofie eats up pucks in practice but hasn't been able to crack this season's starters list. I'm starting to wonder if some of the pucks he takes in practice shouldn't be going to other guys to help them improve.

I had hopes for Ranfranz. Then came that Saturday Mankato game. (Five goals on 21 shots.) I don't know what to think now. Which was "the real" Marc Ranfranz: the one that dueled DU's Dubie for 59:58 or Saturday in Mankato?

Jake Brandt? He has the best numbers in conference games (0.901, 2.50). He just doesn't seem to put together solid back-to-back performances.

I think that is a great idea Sica. I think going back to Juniors has done wonders for Quinn Fyling. I don't know how anyone else feels but I think Fyling has played well this season. In fact I have noticed his play has improved no matter what line he plays on. I think he played well in this past weekends games, he probably could be a 40 point a year guy his next two seasons.

I posed the question earlier why not bring Phil next season? Phil has shown he can play at the Junior level.

[anthony]

Reality check #1 .. You want to continue playing musical goalies with a bunch of little boys,, when you have a man named Ranfranz who has all the talents to be a superb goaltender...

Reality check #2 .,. THIS team has not improved this season and the rest of the teams have... That is the bottom line...

[ScottM]

I'll cut him some slack on that one, PCM. I don't remember a lot of stuff back from when I was 4 myself. 1997 was a long time ago when you are a 10 year old today.

Frankly, technology amazes me. The have wireless computer setups on the short buses now. Wow.

[forecheck]

Besides Moreland needing to get some experience in the USHL, has anyone considered that his brother is a goalie for SCSU? It just seems to me that brothers tend to stick together and go to the same schools, and that Kasey might follow Jake's footsteps, kind of like Ryan Potulny is following Grant's.

[The Sicatoka]

forecheck:

That's far from a given. It's situational.

Naumenko? Nick, defenseman at UND; Gregg, goalie at Anchorage.

Or better yet, Durno: One's at Tech and "the love of your life" is at Canisius. ;)

[PCM]

Or better yet, Durno: One's at Tech and "the love of your life" is at Canisius.

I'm shocked. How could she possibly forget that?

[dagies]

Besides Moreland needing to get some experience in the USHL, has anyone considered that his brother is a goalie for SCSU? It just seems to me that brothers tend to stick together and go to the same schools, and that Kasey might follow Jake's footsteps, kind of like Ryan Potulny is following Grant's.

I have a co-worker who is a SCSU fan. We were talking about the Morelands and he said jake would probably tell Kasey to stay AWAY from SCSU. He could have been joking, but you don't see a lot of brother combo's there either.

[amn5hol]

Take it or leave it, but here's my take on the goalies being discussed:

Lamoureaux: I've seen him play for the last 2 years in Lincoln and I love his heart, but he needs another year of seasoning in the USHL. He's really good at stopping the low shot, but needs work on his glove hand.

Sedevie: Looked like he was coming into his own this year finally. The only question mark seems to be the injury bug.

Ziegelmann: Was having a great year until he started hearing the praise. When he has his head in the game and remains confident, he's hard to beat. But Lammy has pretty much taken over the number one goalie position in Lincoln because lately Ziggy can't make the clutch save in the big game.

Brandt: He was inconsistent when he played here in Lincoln and I never understood why Blais recruited him in the firstplace.

Siembida: His head was never in the game on Sunday. What was he thinking when he came that far out on UMD's last goal?!?! He was a stopgap when Blais lost confidence in the goalie situation last year, but hasn't work out.

Ranfranz: Haven't seem him play since his USHL days with Rochester, but he seems to be a student section favorite. With how dead REA was on Saturday, why not start Ranfranz on Sunday to get the crowd (at least the student section) into the game?

Moreland: Saw this kid play in the Championship game on Saturday and was impressed with his poise. I read in the Herald on Sunday that he's planning on a year of Juniors before college. I hope he comes here to Lincoln to work on his game because he seems to have tremendous potential.

[skateshattrick]

Amn5hol--Thanks for the analysis. How is Jordan Parise? Are there other good goalies in the USHL that are not committed to a college?

[forecheck]

forecheck:

That's far from a given. It's situational.

Naumenko? Nick, defenseman at UND; Gregg, goalie at Anchorage. 

Or better yet, Durno: One's at Tech and "the love of your life" is at Canisius. ;)

Of course not every sibling plays together on the same team, I didn't say 100% of them do. It just seems to me that more often than not, they do play for the same team. It all depends on how close the brothers are, how much of a need there is at his position, and how talented the younger brother is. I just thought that might be a factor in how obtainable Kasey Moreland is to UND when his brother plays for SCSU.

And shame on you for thinking I'd forget about the object of my affection at Canisius!

[amn5hol]

Two good goaltenders that I don't think have committed anywhere are Joe Fallon of Cedar Rapids and Jan Chovan of Sioux City.

Jan Chovan (6'0" born in 1983) was the Slovakian goaltender in the WJC this year, so he has pressure game experience. He has also shown great athleticism in the games that I've seen him. He has been drafted, so there is the possibility of going straight to the pros.

Joe Fallon (6'3" born in 1985) has some maturing to do, but he definitely has the size that I think UND might be missing.

Jordan Parise (5'10" born in 1982) reminds me a lot of Lammy, especially in stature, but is also 2 years older.

[Siouxrock]

i think UND is doin just fine for D and F but no goalies

i think htey should get a goalie coach

they dont have one naymroe and they suck

[cutter]

Moreland needs to play juniors before anything is proven. Blais took a chance on Brandt going off his HS stats and performances and offered a scholarship. Maybe waiting to see his unimpressive #'s in the juniors would have changed his mind. Hopefully Brandt's future play will change my mind.

I also think Ziggy walking on can only be a good thing. His chances seem far better of starting right away at UND compared to Duluth and CC.

[cutter]

It is a lot better indicator than HS.

[StarzUND]

Uh, could you repeat that please, Sioux rock, in english? Maybe you should spend some more time in High school english and learn how to form a complete thought or sentence, maybe then what you are saying wouldn't seem so ignorant. I'm just not following how Jr's is a joke. In the Jr A leagues they play more games than in High school and with higher level of competition. There are players who can go right from HS to College and never miss a step, then there are players who perform great in HS but once they get to college they see the level is a step higher than when they were in HS. Jr's is a stepping stone for players to hone their skills and get more time to develop. Minnesota does have an "elite" league that was for the "best" HS players in the state. I don't know much about it, but I'm sure if you did some searches you'd find out more information. Is that the best route for the players? I don't know. You'd have to see how many gained scholarships after playing in that league, Or if anyone improved. Or what ever your critieria is for a successful program. Seems that more and more coaches want or expect a kid to go to Jr's first before offering them a scholarship. Maybe it's a result of getting burned one to many times by offering a scholarship to a kid straight out of HS and not having him perform as good as they had hoped.

On the note of Ranfranz, I remember when he was the goalie for Billings (?) During Nationals in Lincoln, during one stoppage of player he started clapping his hands and enouraging all of the fans in the crowd to do the same. He seems to have great character and a love for the game, or at least a love for attention

[Siouxrock]

ok

[The Sicatoka]

i dont think JR mena nothin

I guess your lack of knowledge extends beyond spelling and grammar and communications and into the realm of hockey.

[The Sicatoka]

i dont think JR mena nothin

Hold it, upon re-reading that, is 'siouxrock' talking like the beloved Jar-Jar Binks of Star Wars.

"Me-na al-mo thinkah so!"

[sprig]

First the Wookie, now Jar-Jar?

[forecheck]

First the Wookie, now Jar-Jar?

The Wookie... *sigh* I just saw that icon and was waiting for the opportunity to use it.

Regarding Ziggy, Blais said on the coach's show tonight that he has in fact turned down scholarships and wants to walk on at UND. Blais hasn't talked to him in a month I think he said, but every time he has seen Ziggy play he looks good, and Blais thinks the plan is still that he will try to walk on at UND next year.

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

I'll say the same thing I've been saying since St. Cloud State last season...if Brandt calms down, he could be a very good goalie. He just looks too nervous when he is in the game. I think he did that when he had 3 shutouts at the beginning of the season, but the pressure may have been two much for him since then.

I think that we all agree that something needs to be done about the goaltending situation next year. I want to know why Blais didn't go after Issac Reichmuth, Kevin Reiter, or Cam Ellsworth, or if he did, how he didn't get them.

Also, Goerhing and Schweitzer were the exceptions that prove the rule...we need big goalies Chovan and Fallon sound like their just what we need.

On the "juniors are a joke" note, I went to high school with Troy Riddle of the Gophers. He left a year ealry to play for DesMoines, the amount that he improved from his MN State Championship junior year of high school to his fresman year with the Gophers was unbelievable. Also I hear that Andrew Alberts of BC (also on that state championship team) has improved a ton too.

[jk]

forecheck, anything else from the coaches show that you heard? If not, no worries, as you, PCM and kr have done way more than your share this year.

MNS, I remember that Wisconsin was looking at Ellsworth, McIlhenny, Sedevie and McKenna (SLU) two years ago when they were goalie shopping. I think they then got an idea that Bruckler would be available and zeroed in on him, although he was the last to commit. So Blais was shopping then in the group that was considered among the elite prospects for the year.

He probably didn't go after Reichmuth because he had two sophomore goalies in Brandt and Seimbida and another commitment for the next year in Sedevie.

The disclaimer would be that all of the above is just my recollection of the ever-accurate message board discussions of the time.

[forecheck]

jk (and everyone else), sorry I thought PCM was going to post the show. My roommate was talking to me so I ended up missing part of it, but I'll remember what I can.

After talking about Ziegleman, TH and CB went on to talk about how fans are absolutely trashing the goaltenders, and they don't deserve it. TH mentioned the only game he thought where there was a bad goalie performance was the second game in Mankato that Ranfranz started, and the team lost 5-4. Other than that, the goalies have been average to good, and Blais joked at one point that he doesn't want to hear anything about the goalie situation for the next 5 years. (of course, I still called in to ask about Ziegleman. ) They mentioned that you should be able to let in 2-3 goals and still win, and they did that at the beginning of the year, but now suddenly the scoring has dropped and they're not winning games. TH asked if you go to the players like Parise, Bochenski, Notermann, Lundbohm, etc. and tell them they need to start scoring more, and CB said no because they know what they need to do, and they're doing it, the pucks just aren't going in. Parise had 6 SOG just in the first period Saturday (I think). TH also said if you go back and watch the replay of the 2nd goal Siembida let in, the one where Greene turned over the puck, that Siembida was in position to make the save and thought that the Duluth player was going to take a slap shot. But then Greene hustled back and forced that player to the outside, causing him to take a different shot instead of the slapshot. TH and CB mentioned that the player (I can't remember his name) is the scoring leader on Duluth and probably their best sniper, and it was a good shot, but had Greene let him take his initial shot, Siembida could have smothered it and gotten a whistle.

I also asked about Parise's trend of getting goals waved off, and they said he should probably have 3 more goals. Parise hasn't scored as much in the second half of the season because he and Bochenski are getting paid attention to, and it's hard to play with all the interference going on. JP Parise just tells Zach to keep playing hard, and that he has to play through it.

TH asked Blais if he thought Zach, being 18, was getting tired. He always goes after everything hard and isn't afraid to go into the corners, and he wondered if Zach's production has faltered because he's physically tired from all the abuse he takes. Blais doesn't think so. He says Zach takes care of himself and is in the weight room lifting weights, and he attributes the lack of scoring to the attention he's been getting from other teams. They also mentioned that Greene is his roommate and personal body guard, then TH mentioned something about there's a few other beauties in that room too. I don't know if he meant those two get a lot of girls or what, but it was funny.

I believe he said today was the worst practice the team has had, and he wasn't happy about it. Some players are waiting too long for plays to happen, then they don't get a good shot off and hit the pipe, so it's not just happening in the games, it's happening in practice too. It doesn't bother the team in practice, though, it's during games where it gets frustrating.

They talked a bit about how the team is outshooting teams, but they just can't get any goals. Someone asked if those shots weren't good scoring opportunities, and TH said that if you look at the SOG stat sheet (whatever that thing is where they mark where shots are taken) that most are happening down in the slot, so they're getting good shots off. Blais agreed and talked about the bad luck this team is having, and quote Parise as saying something like, We're not playing bad hockey, right? The team just wants to win the games at hand. They're focusing on Wisconsin this weekend, then they'll take it from there.

They mentioned how Wisconsin is close to selling out again this weekend, and how arenas always seem to sell out no matter where the Sioux play. Blais joked that no one is feeling sorry for little ol' North Dakota right now. With all the success the Sioux have had in the past and recent years, and now with the new REA, no one is losing sleep over the slump that the they're in. But other teams still know that the Sioux are a good team, regardless of the record lately, because teams are still saying they don't want to face the Sioux in the playoffs. They mentioned the possibility of the Sioux getting sent out east for the NCAA regionals, maybe playing UNH (?) and then Cornell, then they're in. They like that situation better than going into Michigan or Minneapolis and playing teams on home ice.

That's all I can remember, sorry. If something isn't accurate, feel free to correct it anyone who listened to the show.

EDIT: Nevermind, I see Pat did a recap, it was just late.

[PCM]

Nevermind, I see Pat did a recap, it was just late.

Sorry for the confusion. Right after Blais got done talking, I had to help my daughter with her homework and I wasn't able to get back to this right awy.

[forecheck]

That's ok, after reading your recap it's obvious I wasn't quite accurate with everything. Oops. My memory is already shot.