Alright, finally, it's time to play DU. The matchup I think a lot of Sioux fans had circled on their calendars. I know I did. Cause I'll be at the game tonight!
Anyway, we know Genoway is out. He didn't even make the trip. However, the DU side of things is a little more sketchy. Supposedly now Cheverie is "probable" and is apparently 100%. I get this completely, I just think it's uber shady. I get the mind games coaches want to play, but I also think it's poor sportsmanship. Not that I should be surprised by a DU program that has a coach who jumps on the ice when a call doesn't go his way.
What a joke! A clean hit by VandeVelde and George flips his lid!
Check this out too...
Again, classless. You're losing, so what do you do? You go after little Hextall. Way to pick on the little guy on the ice. Did they go after Finley last year? Of course not! DU players are classless and a bunch of cheap goons. I can't wait to see what kind of crap they pull tonight.
Bottom line is, this will be a hard fought series. Unfortunately, I see a split coming out of it. UND Friday, DU Saturday.
Editors note: I have met Coach Gwozdecky and have a tremendous amount of respect for him. He's a good coach and a nice guy.
Big series starts tomorrow in Denver. The Sioux are playing Denver. The clash of the titans. The battle of the best. Call it what you want. It's going to be an epic series.
Or it should have been...but both teams are dealing with some serious injuries. Cheverie and Wierciosh are both out for Denver while Chay Genoway is still out for UND. Without these players, both UND and DU are hurting real bad. Let's hope it's still a good series.
I'm mad. And it has nothing to do with the Sioux losing. In fact, I think they played a nice game on Saturday but unfortunately were on the wrong side of the scoreboard. That's about it. Nothing you can do about that. That's why a few losses aren't going to kill you. No, I'm angry at some events that happened in the series.
First, you saw my post about the goal on Friday night that should have not been a goal. The same thing happened Saturday night, except this time it was against the Sioux and it was a no-goal. The video is below.
I'll break it down as I see it. At :41 into the video, Hextall fires the puck into the leg pad of Dunn. I'm guessing the puck is under his pad. At :43 Hextall is swinging at the puck. At :44 seconds, the puck is in the net nowhere near the leg pad. This clearly should have been a goal. As it was explained to Hakstol, the ref said he wanted to blow his whistle and that renders the play dead. I know this is a new rule this year; the referee can say he intended to blow his whistle and that is the law. Obviously, this can be skewed in many ways if a ref has disdain towards a team...but I digress...
The second thing is the hit on Genoway Friday night. Take a look at the highlight...or lowlight below.
It's clear to me that Aaron Marvin was keying up on Genoway and hit him with intent to injure. How do I know? First, he's coasting towards him. He's not looking at the puck, he's looking at Chay. At :15 seconds into the video, you can see this. The puck is bounding around the boards and while Genoway is going to get the puck, it's obvious Marvin has no intention to play it. Secondly, take a look at the way he actually hits Chay. He actually rears up. Instead of throwing a clean shoulder check, he is winding up so he can inflict more pain. Finally, he went for the head. Any time a player is hunting for the head, I'm going to call him a dirty player.
This should not be tolerated at any level of hockey, and I think anything less than a yearlong suspension of Aaron Marvin is terrible. Of course, he was suspended for one game and that will be all that happens, but if this kid gets hurt, I will not be sad. Scumbags like that do not belong on the ice.
The Sioux beat the Huskies last night in a hard fought, gritty game 4-2. It unfortunately came at a price, as Chay Genoway was on the receiving end of a CFB and left the game, not returning and leaving his status for tonight up in the air.
Since I wasn't able to watch the game, I'm breaking down the highlights on YouTube. One thing I'm noticing here is the 1st goal for SCSU. Initially, in real time speed, it appears Eidsness never has control of the puck and Ryan Lasch did a fine job of getting to the loose puck and poking it in. However, if you watch the video, you'll notice at the 2:47 mark that Eidsness clearly has the puck under his glove and brings his goalie stick in to protect the puck. At 2:48, Lasch is crashing the net. At 2:49 his stick slides under Eidsness's glove and appears to knock the puck loose. He then is able to put it into the net. What baffles me is how this goal can go to replay and the refs are unable to determine that Eidsness clearly had control of the puck and froze it, therefore rendering the puck dead. The whistle should have been blown. The goal should have been no good. This has been called against North Dakota plenty of times, so you can understand my frustration here.
From what else I'm seeing, Baby Toews is really coming into his own this season. He's my definition of a true grinder. A very hard working player that gives 110% on every shift and makes things happen out of nothing. Of Sioux players in the past, some other grinders that come to mind are Erik Fabian, Chris Porter, and Quinn Fylling. Sure, these guys weren't exactly the best talent on the ice, like David Toews, but they were certainly hard workers who were able to make things happen. Baby Toews is making things happen out there. As are other guys like baby baby Lammy and Baby Zajac...notice a trend here?
Anyway, it was a hard fought game, a "character win" as Coach Hakstol put it. Looking for another good effort tonight from our beloved squad.
First, Schloss had an article about how popular college hockey is in the midwest. It really is impressive the numbers that the F5 puts up. I know it's an event I plan on attending every year, and have since 2003, only missing 2006 due to airline training.
Anyway, the Sioux play the Huskies of St. Cloud this weekend. I think while it should be a lock for a sweep, it won't come easy. The Sioux may be without Hextall for some injury reason. However, St. Cloud won't have Roe tonight for violating a team rule.
Bottom line is, the Sioux should come out this weekend with a sweep. That's my call.
I learned a couple days ago that Sam Lofquist left the Gopher program early. This is the 4th Gopher to depart the program early in the last three years (Kyle Okposo in 2007, Jimmy O'Brien and Jake Taylor in 2008) and you have to wonder...is this just on the players, or is it on the coaches?
Granted, I know there are players that leave programs early from every team in every league, but you have to wonder why so many players have departed the Gopher program early. Are some of these players coming in with unrealistic expectations? Is the coaching staff making these players roles unclear? Or are the players just selfish, looking out for their best interests and not the teams?
I think in the case of Lofquist, it's just selfish. He didn't play a lot this year (3 of 8 games) and didn't register a point. It's pretty clear to me that he had one foot in and one foot out of the Gopher program. You all know how much I hate the college player leaving early, but to leave in the middle of the season? Inexcusable. And ultimately, it has to fall on the coaching staff. Don't recruit guys that are flight risks. Make sure every player is understanding of their role. And if you think they are going to leave, yank their scholarship so you can give it to a player that is deserving of it and wants it.
Obsessed with the Sioux and hockey in general. Played the game nearly my whole life and love it. Sure, I'm a homer, but I give credit where credit is due, except to Wisconsin.
