Wow. Last night's game was exciting. I was literally on the edge of my seat most of the game. A couple friends and I watched the webcast of the game down here in IA. From start to finish the boys actually played like they wanted to win. They didn't wait until they got behind by a couple goals. Finally. Our forwards were always pressing the puck, the defense was making smart plays by pinching at the right times, other players were covering and dropping at the right times. Finally. We have a goaltender now too. Eidsness played amazing with some huge saves at crucial times. Finally. The Sioux weren't always looking for the perfect shot, they just got the puck to the net. Finally. I was even surprised by Hakstol, he showed some emotion and talked/yelled at the players. Finally.
One downside...I see Corey Fienhage sitting on the bench tonight. Yeah, he's young but he made too many mistakes last night. Multiple times he turned over the puck in bad spots or missed assignments on players. We're luck that only the one behind the net ended up a goal. It could have easily been more.
Anyway....looks like the Sioux are waking up and it's not even January yet. :)
Showing posts with label WCHA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WCHA. Show all posts
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Woohoo....it's finally here
Hockey season is here again and since Goon has been harassing me about posting, I suppose I should get around to it.
I spent Friday night with hockey overload, as it should be, watching 3 to 4 games at a time at the local pub. It was a good time to see some of our UND Fighting Sioux hockey alumni playing in the pros. Porter and Oshie playing for St. Louis. Toews for Chicago. Stafford for Buffalo. Parise and Zajac for New Jersey. A bit disappointing to not be able to see our rookies score their first points as pros, but that'll happen.
UND also had a disappointing weekend, but they're young. Not that it's an excuse but they also have very high expectations. Also, I've been a bit curious how they would fair when Hakstol finally got to his own recruiting class. Even though he's been successful the past four seasons, he really needs to perform or I think he may be out soon. I've always questioned his coaching style. He seems to rarely show any emotion and I think that somewhat rubs off on the players. Last year it they didn't appear to make much effort until they were behind in the game.
Well anyway...
I'm hoping to get more time to blog this year, but since school is in full swing again....we'll see. I'm also working to get started with a bit of an alumni tracker, so people can check in on how our boys in the pros are doing. Obviously, it'd start with UND first and then may morph into more of a WCHA list. We'll see how that goes since I'm not sure how much time I'll have.
That's it for now....stay tuned.
I spent Friday night with hockey overload, as it should be, watching 3 to 4 games at a time at the local pub. It was a good time to see some of our UND Fighting Sioux hockey alumni playing in the pros. Porter and Oshie playing for St. Louis. Toews for Chicago. Stafford for Buffalo. Parise and Zajac for New Jersey. A bit disappointing to not be able to see our rookies score their first points as pros, but that'll happen.
UND also had a disappointing weekend, but they're young. Not that it's an excuse but they also have very high expectations. Also, I've been a bit curious how they would fair when Hakstol finally got to his own recruiting class. Even though he's been successful the past four seasons, he really needs to perform or I think he may be out soon. I've always questioned his coaching style. He seems to rarely show any emotion and I think that somewhat rubs off on the players. Last year it they didn't appear to make much effort until they were behind in the game.
Well anyway...
I'm hoping to get more time to blog this year, but since school is in full swing again....we'll see. I'm also working to get started with a bit of an alumni tracker, so people can check in on how our boys in the pros are doing. Obviously, it'd start with UND first and then may morph into more of a WCHA list. We'll see how that goes since I'm not sure how much time I'll have.
That's it for now....stay tuned.
Friday, March 28, 2008
So much for my brackets
I think I'm learning that I have no business predicting games. With 3 of the 8 games complete, I have just 1 right. I'm guessing I should have expected some upsets, but wow. I'm still a bit in awe that UNH went down so easily. The game was a lot closer than the score shows since there were a couple empty-netters at the end. The coach knew it was all or nothing, go big or go home. I'm hoping the WCHA fairs a bit better tonight and tomorrow. I really don't want to see them go down like SCSU, except maybe Minnesota. :D I think they are just one of those teams that people love to hate.
Another irritant....how is it that the east teams get the ESPNU coverage? It's really frustrating that if they aren't going to cover all the games, that they can't share it with someone else. What's the point of watching UND on tape delay at 3:30 on Sunday, when the regional final is at 7 that night? I just don't get it. I guess it's really hard to compete with all the college basketball at this time of year, but still. If you don't want to cover it, then give it up to FSN or some other broadcaster.
On another note....I still haven't gotten a chance to go through the hundreds of pictures from the WCHA Final Five, but hopefully that will happen Sunday.
Another irritant....how is it that the east teams get the ESPNU coverage? It's really frustrating that if they aren't going to cover all the games, that they can't share it with someone else. What's the point of watching UND on tape delay at 3:30 on Sunday, when the regional final is at 7 that night? I just don't get it. I guess it's really hard to compete with all the college basketball at this time of year, but still. If you don't want to cover it, then give it up to FSN or some other broadcaster.
On another note....I still haven't gotten a chance to go through the hundreds of pictures from the WCHA Final Five, but hopefully that will happen Sunday.
Way to snatch a loss from the jaws of victory
Damnit St. Cloud. Way to take a page from the book of the Sioux. Learn to shoot the f'in puck. 3 shots on net in the 3rd with 5 minutes left. Are you kidding me? Quit looking for the pretty play and just shoot. They didn't play like they wanted it until those last few minutes. Too many lazy passes, too many missed opportunities to shoot. They just didn't deserve to win that game, but it just upsets me. They should be ashamed of the way they represented their school and the WCHA.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Holy Upsets Batman
Well....I'm not sure anyone predicted the games to go like this. SCSU losing to the Gophers. UND losing to DU. And then CC losing to the Gophers in OT. What's up with this?
I'm not going to make any predictions for the last 2 games since I couldn't get any of the other games right. Although I am going to hope that UND can get back on their game against CC this afternoon in the consolation game. And I really don't want to see the Goofers win the title. I'd rather see them trounced by Denver.
That's it for now...have to start getting primed for the games.
I'm not going to make any predictions for the last 2 games since I couldn't get any of the other games right. Although I am going to hope that UND can get back on their game against CC this afternoon in the consolation game. And I really don't want to see the Goofers win the title. I'd rather see them trounced by Denver.
That's it for now...have to start getting primed for the games.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Final Five Predictions...at least the first 2 games
Ok, here we go, it's just about that time.
For the first "play-in" game it's SCSU vs. U of M.
With the Gophers coming from behind in dramatic style, the injury to Tom Pohl, and them still trying to prove that they should be in the national tourney, the Gophers are going to come out hard. They've definitely got some potent offense, but are rarely scoring a lot of goals. I also think Kangas is mediocre in net. He seems to make a lot of initial saves but gives up some juicy rebounds. With both Saturday and Sunday games going almost 2 extra periods each, they are going to be tired.
SCSU is coming in off a sweep over the weekend, but they played for their life against the Sioux in the last weekend of regular season. They too have a potent offense and also having been scoring in big numbers. Again, they also have some great netminders. Weslosky has been solid lately with a good defense in front of him. With the longer rest, the Huskies should come in hungry.
This is a tough one. I'd have to go with SCSU. They're playing better hockey lately and I think their offense is going to be just too much for the Gophers. That is unless the referees decide to let all the clutching/grabbing/obstruction go.
Next game will be Friday afternoon with UND vs. DU.
Denver has been mediocre in the second half of the season, but usually firm up for the playoffs. They swept their first round of playoffs, so they may have a bit of momentum coming in. Goaltending has been good enough to keep them in the close games. Even though nobody is in the top 50 of the nation in scoring, they have a pretty balanced attack. The only concern is that their top 4 scorers are underclassmen, so how they handle the playoff pressure should be interesting.
The Fighting Sioux have been nothing short of amazing in the second half of the season. Their offense has been potent and goaltending has been great. One concern lately has been the play of their defense. With the defensemen constantly jumping up into the play, they have been allowing odd-man rushes the other way. As long as JPL can handle that, they should be okay. Big Joe Finley has been anything but stellar lately. He's been lazy on the backcheck and making bad decisions with the puck. If coach Hakstol can get him straightened out, that should help out a bit.
I'm going to have to go with my Fighting Sioux in this one. Even though both have great goaltenders, I think the Sioux having been crashing the net and following shots really well lately. I don't think Denver has what it takes to stop this train right now.
For the first "play-in" game it's SCSU vs. U of M.
With the Gophers coming from behind in dramatic style, the injury to Tom Pohl, and them still trying to prove that they should be in the national tourney, the Gophers are going to come out hard. They've definitely got some potent offense, but are rarely scoring a lot of goals. I also think Kangas is mediocre in net. He seems to make a lot of initial saves but gives up some juicy rebounds. With both Saturday and Sunday games going almost 2 extra periods each, they are going to be tired.
SCSU is coming in off a sweep over the weekend, but they played for their life against the Sioux in the last weekend of regular season. They too have a potent offense and also having been scoring in big numbers. Again, they also have some great netminders. Weslosky has been solid lately with a good defense in front of him. With the longer rest, the Huskies should come in hungry.
This is a tough one. I'd have to go with SCSU. They're playing better hockey lately and I think their offense is going to be just too much for the Gophers. That is unless the referees decide to let all the clutching/grabbing/obstruction go.
Next game will be Friday afternoon with UND vs. DU.
Denver has been mediocre in the second half of the season, but usually firm up for the playoffs. They swept their first round of playoffs, so they may have a bit of momentum coming in. Goaltending has been good enough to keep them in the close games. Even though nobody is in the top 50 of the nation in scoring, they have a pretty balanced attack. The only concern is that their top 4 scorers are underclassmen, so how they handle the playoff pressure should be interesting.
The Fighting Sioux have been nothing short of amazing in the second half of the season. Their offense has been potent and goaltending has been great. One concern lately has been the play of their defense. With the defensemen constantly jumping up into the play, they have been allowing odd-man rushes the other way. As long as JPL can handle that, they should be okay. Big Joe Finley has been anything but stellar lately. He's been lazy on the backcheck and making bad decisions with the puck. If coach Hakstol can get him straightened out, that should help out a bit.
I'm going to have to go with my Fighting Sioux in this one. Even though both have great goaltenders, I think the Sioux having been crashing the net and following shots really well lately. I don't think Denver has what it takes to stop this train right now.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Weekend Wrapup
Thank the stars....UND made it to Final Five. So the weekend will be that much more enjoyable. So the field is set with CC coming in as the top seed, UND at #2, DU at #3, SCSU at #4 and UM at #5.
Thursday nights game should be an interesting one. Another big in-state rivalry. I don't do quite as much research as some out there, so I can't tell you how the games this season ended up between the two. Either way it'll be interesting since the Gophers are still fighting to go into the national tournament.
On a sad note from last night, the gophers Pohl experienced a hit that caused serious injury. His helmet came off and his head hit against the dasher and boards on the way to the ice. Last I heard he was in the ICU of St. Marys hospital (Mayo Clinic) in Rochester. Even though I'm no gophers fan, you never want to see that happen to any player. Our thoughts go out to him, his family, the team and the doctors/nurses.
Thursday nights game should be an interesting one. Another big in-state rivalry. I don't do quite as much research as some out there, so I can't tell you how the games this season ended up between the two. Either way it'll be interesting since the Gophers are still fighting to go into the national tournament.
On a sad note from last night, the gophers Pohl experienced a hit that caused serious injury. His helmet came off and his head hit against the dasher and boards on the way to the ice. Last I heard he was in the ICU of St. Marys hospital (Mayo Clinic) in Rochester. Even though I'm no gophers fan, you never want to see that happen to any player. Our thoughts go out to him, his family, the team and the doctors/nurses.
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