Gophers/Sioux (part 1)

[buzzsaw]

The Gophers came out on fire, the momentum we had going evened out a bit and in the end the better team (this night) won. I wish Minnesota wouldn't have taken dumb penalties to give them hope and 5 on 3 goals!! Oh well, alot more fun to watch then last weekends games. I'd say both teams had alot of great scoring chances and both goalies came up big at times. I look for another entertaining game Saturday... I only hope we can match the Sioux's intensity! I was impressed with a few of the Sioux's players! Fun teams to watch play each other!! I like this statement by North Dakota product/Minnesota Gopher Danny Irmen. Do you think he's glad to be here?!

[PierBridge]

They looked pretty good tonight and I believe the Gophers have now won 5 of the last 8 meetings at Engelstad.

New one Buzzy....

[buzzsaw]

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New one Buzzy

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Nice work you little "Frenchman"! Where did you Google up that one? It's str8 sweet! I was unable to have any cake last night, were you able to choke any down?

Fun game to watch last night eh? and the icing on top was the fact that Michigan TECH went into Madison and beat the BADgers.

[Hooked On a Feeling]

..."And they thought I wouldn't look good in Maroon & Gold...Well, look at me now...Look at me now!"

Great celebration and Deke out of the box for Irmen.

[redlake]

May a camel with a weak kidney find your jellybean jar.

[Hooked On a Feeling]

Hope Chest... Not jelly bean jar. You almost had it right.

We Shan't misquote "Carnac the Magnificent".

[Quackaddict9]

Sweep...

[buzzsaw]

I heard that the Walmart in Grand Forks was offering up a special on brooms?! Can you say whooped dat A$$!! Can't wait to hear from the ND fans, I'd like an honest assesment. I don't know if the Sioux outplayed Minnesota in any of the six periods this weekend. Nothing like having your buddies and their families over with everybody routing for the Gophers and having them do the Sioux in their own building... TWICE!!

[Hooked On a Feeling]

The back-up goalie for the sioux looked good!

I believe he had a French last name.

[buzzsaw]

Phillipe Lamaroux!! He str8 stoned the Gophers atleast twice on GREAT scoring chances! Parise played good against us all weekend as well... I like watching the Sioux play, they are ALOT like Minnesota! They just wear those ugly green jerseys. But the logo is SWEET! (for now)

[Shorelunch]

Congrats to Gophs and their fans on a very impressive sweep at the Ralph. I was expecting a split, but the Gophs came out of the gate charging and capitalized on their opportunities. I was very worried about them coming to GF after getting swept by Wisconsin and the Don certainly had them fired up - not that it took too much to fire up Potunly and Irman. Like what's posted above, champiionship's aren't won in December, but it was definetely a nice weekend for the Gophs!

[redlake]

Gophers. They look better this weekend than they have all season. Am I right? They won every period. I just wish I could watch hockey like this every weekend. It was fast. Goaltending was good for Minney and defensively they didn't break.

The sioux are young. They played like it this weekend.

Danny Irman lives to play the sioux. I like the way that kid plays. He is the Darcy Tucker of the WCHA. North Dakota kids did in the sioux this weekend.

I see Wisconsin woke up on Saturday night as well. 7-0

We meet again in January (13-14) It might get worse before it gets better.

My hats off to the golden gophers.

[buzzsaw]

I can't get too excited since it's early, just like I couldn't get to down after last weekend... but It sure was nice to see them play hard all weekend. Both teams should continue to improve as they are both very young and we'll see what the second half of the season brings.... it will be hard to catch Wisconsin.

[fasternu]

The Gophers are the best team ever! In fact, after they win the NCAA title this year, they should be allowed into the Stanley Cup Playoffs (after all, they are better than a bunch of the Crappy NHL teams). I think they could even win that. Then, bring on the Olympics. We could have Team USA and Team Minnesota! I can see it now, the Miracle On Ice II featuring Team Minnesota over the dreaded Russians!

Sioux Suck, Yes, I am a cake eater (but I don't fly on planes, lol), No, I am not french, and yes, I bleed Maroon and gold (except during football season when I throw up Maroon and gold because of all of the lost expectations).

Sorry, Red Lake, I just had to rub it in! By the way your pool game suffered on Friday as well as your homies!

[PierBridge]

Are you Red JR...?....

[buzzsaw]

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Sorry, Red Lake, I just had to rub it in! By the way your pool game suffered on Friday as well as your homies!

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Are you egging on your friend? I was confused for a minute there. What did happen to bemidji this weekend? What do you predict vs the Sioux next weekend?? I say Sioux sweep in convincing fashion... lets say 6-2 and 5-2.

[redlake]

Fasternglue and I work together and Sioux Gopher games don't get any better. Well, they get better when the sioux win.

I see the Beavers stealing one from the Sioux this weekend. The sioux are fragile and sure could use a Dean Blaise a$$ chewing right now. Instead they get a freindly pat on the back.

Actually I predict a sweep.

Beavers win two close games 2-1 and 1-0.

[Shorelunch]

I expect the Sioux to "be a little hard on the Beavers" this weekend - they darn well better. Friday 5-3 Sioux in Bemidji and Saturday 7-3 Sioux at the Ralph. I may have some green goggles, but they better come out strong instead of how they started out both games vs the Gophs. Plus, I'll be in attendance both games, so they'll even have more to play for

I do agree, right now would be a great time to have Dino saying "again." Hak isn't doing too bad of job though - they're skating 13 Freshmen.

[buzzsaw]

Drum roll please.................. The college hockey player of the week was........

DANNY IRMEN

Minnesota

His Statistics: 2 GP, 2-3—5

His Impact: In a crucial series for Minnesota on an archrivals' home ice, Irmen turned in a pair of multiple-point games. His efforts led the Gophers, who had lost two in a row and were winless in three straight, to a pair of 4-3 victories at North Dakota. He had 1-2—3 on Friday night, and his goal and assist on Saturday included the eventual game-winning tally.

Memories!!!

[Skitterpop]

I hate to point out the fact that UND is in Grand Forks, not Fargo so Sioux fans are buying those sweep brooms in Grand Forks. Plus, there is no Costco here in Fargo or Grand Forks. Otherwise, I get the humor, not the facts used in the joke . P.S. the Sioux are a young overated team this year.

[Dotch]

Ah, ya gotta get up purty early to put one over on youse ND fellers. You gice know your broom suppliers! The UND faithful are just wishing the Gophers had swept NDSU, or the Bucking Fison as my Fighting Sioux buds once referred to them...

[buzzsaw]

Hey Dotch! Glad you made it over here! It gets interesting from time to time.

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P.S. the Sioux are a young overated team this year

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I agree they are young, but NOT overated! They have some very talented guys on that squad! Like I said, they play like Minny and I like that!!

[Skitterpop]

I like how ya fixed your post. Yeah, Sioux fans are cheap, they'll shop at Wallyworld. I spoke in haste. Yes, they are a talented bunch but it seems that they tend to produce very good future NHLers and then they leave before their senior years (Parise cough). Lee was the man when he was here in Moorhead and I see that he is going to play for the junior's USA team again. That is just more exposure and more opportunity. I would be shocked to see him finish his senior year as a Fighting TBA. The dreams of $ really steal kids away from graduating or working towards a national championship where the payoff is not about the $, at least not initially. I would love to see those pesky BSU Beavers do some more damage in the playoffs. Gotta love the small school fish in a state of huge fish.

[buzzsaw]

I just came across this....a little after the fact, but I like the last sentence!!

We know how that worked out.... he he

Right Where He Wants Them

Youthful Fighting Sioux Progressing Under Hakstol

by Dave Starman/National Columnist

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Dave Hakstol likes his team.

The second-year coach of the Fighting Sioux feels that despite their youth, and the significant turnover of players from last season, his team is where it should be — and that is in the hunt for the WCHA regular-season title.

"We feel pretty good about our expectations this season," said Hakstol after his team finished a pregame workout in preparation for their clash with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ralph Engelstad Arena. "We set realistic expectations, and we are just trying to get better each week."

HAKSTOLThe Sioux have had some ups and down so far this season, which is expected with a young team. Winners of five of their past six against Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State (their only loss in that stretch) and Michigan Tech — with all of those games on the road — the Sioux return to the Ralph, where they have lost three of their last four. They knocked off Denver 3-1 on Oct 28, and then lost the following night. The next weekend, they were swept at home by Wisconsin.

"We're hoping to do well this weekend, which would keep us on track for what our goal was this half of the season, and that was to hang around and be in position to make a run in the second half."

In their way this weekend are the Golden Gophers. Swept by the aforementioned Badgers last weekend at Minnesota, Goldy arrives in Grand Forks with a bit of revenge in mind, despite not talking about it very much.

As the team dined at the home of the Potulny family here in Grand Forks Thursday night, in the back of their minds is the fact that their season was ended by the Sioux last season in the Frozen Four.

The Gophers bring high-end talent, a ton of speed, and a team that despite playing its home games on an Olympic-size rink, competes quite well on the smaller NHL-sized sheet (200x85) as well.

Hakstol has done a remarkable job in molding this group. Everywhere you look on this roster, you see freshmen playing key roles. Next to them you see veterans molding them in the winning tradition of Fighting Sioux hockey.

"Our kids are improving, and they are getting comfortable at this level," said Hakstol. "What I like about these kids, especially the defensemen, is that they do not play the game afraid to make mistakes. They try things, to make plays, and that is exactly what we want."

Those kids include Andrew Kozek, who after scoring 67 goals in juniors last season, reached the scoresheet for the first time this past weekend when he netted three against Michigan Tech. T.J. Oshie, who has brought the same tenacity and competitive nature to the ice that Zach Parise did, has been every bit the player the scouts raved about in the preseason.

However, we are only at the midpoint, and how many young teams have fans seen hit the wall? Growing pains are part of success. One remembers the young Edmonton Oilers in 1983, after losing to the Islanders in the Stanley Cup finals, remarking how that loss set the tone for their run of five Cups in seven years.

North Dakota has felt that already. Hakstol, in his freshman year behind the bench, guided the Sioux all the way to the title game last season before losing to the defending champs from Denver.

Those who remain remember that loss, especially forward Drew Stafford.

"The past two seasons, Denver has ended my season," he said. "Don't think I've forgotten that."

Hakstol's challenge was to build a routine with his new team. Now that the practice plan is in place, and a lot of teaching has been done, it is time to guide his team into an area where it can continue to improve through repetition in practice, and experience in games. The challenge for Hakstol is to be prepared for the eventual wall that his young kids might hit.

And speaking of hitting, along with Minnesota State and Wisconsin, no team physically pounds teams like North Dakota. That also factors in: how much can the body take when it is constantly in collision mode?

Hakstol realizes this, and yes, it is a concern.

"Our physical maturity — we are not as developed as, say, a team like Wisconsin," said Hakstol, who was not shy about using the body in his own playing days. "We have quite a ways to go there. You are talking about 18-year-old kids against 22-year-olds, and that can be a physical mismatch because the 22-year-olds are better developed,"

What Hakstol wants is to be in a spot where it's 60 minutes to glory in the WCHA.

"There are very good teams in this league; we just want to be in a position where it's one game versus a great team. We think we can win that."

Their performance against the hated Gophers will go a long way toward proving if they can.

[buzzsaw]

Memories..... misty water blah blah blah...