Gopher Hockey

[PierBridge]

I don't consider Finley a hack at all but that Bickel was nuts! Cant Believe the Sioux let him slide through the radar...LOL

How about instead of putting Ness with some goon partner to protect him...maybe a year of Juniors "70 games" and some protein shakes along with weight-training may have been a better option?

Yeah the kid, at thats what he is has talent but this was BIG waste of a year for him/us..

I'm right on this one also in case you guys were wondering.....

[Bear55]

The thing about Ness is if you don't bring him in this year some other team will. It would have been nice to see him bulk up in Jr's for a year or two but even then he is alwasy going to be small. He is just going to have to learn on the job and make some mistakes along the way. Leopold and Paul Martin looked pretty green at times during their freshmen years too.

[fishingMN4eyes]

You guys can argue about Ness all you want, but I don't think he is a guy who will ever be able to go "bombs away" from the point. That is what the Gopher have lacked since Vanelli left. They have no one with a rocket that can score from the blue line. Ness is a great player and I think he is a great "quaterbacking" defenseman but he is a major disappointment in the scoring department. I hope I'm wrong and we see him bulk up a little during the offseason, but I just don't see this guy becoming a big time scorer for the Gophers like he was supposed to be.

[PierBridge]

Good points guys... I just hope this a lesson to other HIGH SCHOOL Jr's and the coaches who recruit them..You are not as good as you and your followers think you are...STAY in school or play Junior Hockey and Start College when you are the CORRECT age like everybody else did/does...

I guess the good news is we'll probably get 3 years out of Ness and if we do he'll be an all WCHA player by that time IMO !

[so haaad]

On a side note, it would be interesting to see how good Roseau would have been this year with Ness there.

[Bear55]

Don't sell Ness short just yet. I agree that he probably won't be a big time shooter but I think before his time is up he will put up some nice points.

Freshmen Numbers

39 7 16 23 - Leopold

38 3 17 20 - Martin

41 10 13 23 - Ballard

32 5 15 20 - Goligoski

32 2 13 15 - Ness

Ness might be a little behind the curve but he did come in year early. I try not to judge the freshmen too harshly because its a big step up to D1. It will be nice to see if he learns anything once next season rolls around.

[yakfisher]

Ness will be just fine. While one more year in high school or juniors might have been good for him, he has learned a ton this year. And for those of you who don't know Jonathon Towes was 17 when he laced up for the Sioux, he turned out alright and so will Ness. It's too bad the Gophers went south the second half. And it is really too bad they lost the players they did. It would have put a lot less pressure on both Ness and Schroeder, and given them a year to grow and develop without so much fan pressure.

[PierBridge]

And ALL of those players Bear55 mentioned played on far Superior teams than Ness is playing on right now.

I see Ness Being an awesome player. It wouldn't surprise me if he lead the Team in scoring before his days are over here in Minny.... his passing instincts are tremendous and if and when he gets stronger along with a better supporting cast he may turn out to be the real deal we were hoping for...

[Quackaddict9]

Quote:

On a side note, it would be interesting to see how good Roseau would have been this year with Ness there.

well yeah a better team for sure, and probably beat Moorhead tonight but they'll need Mike Lee in net too.

Quote:

How about instead of putting Ness with some goon partner to protect him...maybe a year of Juniors "70 games" and some protein shakes along with weight-training may have been a better option?

nah, don't need a year of Juniors, shoulda stayed in School and play his last season as a Ram with his teammates he grew up with but he is a nice addition to the Gophers, only if he had the size...man that would be a player right there!

[Quackaddict9]

Quote:

I don't consider Finley a hack at all but that Bickel was nuts! Cant Believe the Sioux let him slide through the radar...LOL

well well that puts TWO gopher fans who do not think He's a goon at all! Yes, Bickel went a little 'syco against the Sioux but it was funny!

[yakfisher]

well well that puts TWO gopher fans who do not think He's a goon at all! Yes, Bickel went a little 'syco against the Sioux but it was funny!

I was at that game Bickel was hilarious and Wheeler was a close second. Talk about a complete lack of composure.

[PierBridge]

No offense Quack but there is no-such thing as a combo Sioux/Gopher Fan... its just plain wrong and not comprehend-able ...so please cease and desist all such non-sense...

[Quackaddict9]

with all this waiting...you finally said it!

I'll always like the Sioux and the Gophers, grew up in the area not far from Grand Forks! So that won't change anything You know how it works, when they play a series, I hope for a win for each team but when it comes to playoff time, I'm nuetral and cheer for whoever team moves on to the next round!

[Bear55]

Wow I thought the Gopher/Sioux fan was a myth, its like we just discovered bigfoot.

I can pull for UMD, St. Cloud, Mankato and even Bemidji when they aren't playing the Gophers, heck I might even pull for one of those Colorado schools if they are playing a team from the East but I just can't bring myself to ever cheer for the Sioux or Wisconsin, too much hate there.

[Bear55]

Looking at the pairwise I think the Gophs need to win the next 4-5 games to have any shot at getting into the NCAA tournament.

[yakfisher]

The best bet would be to win the Final Five. Don't think it will happen though.

[Wapiti]

Originally Posted By: Quackaddict9

well well that puts TWO gopher fans who do not think He's a goon at all! Yes, Bickel went a little 'syco against the Sioux but it was funny!

I was at that game Bickel was hilarious and Wheeler was a close second. Talk about a complete lack of composure.

How dare anyone ever consider Finley a hack! I hope for Bucky's sake he/she stays at least one "Christian Bros" length away from Finley this weekend or he/she might end up with sore legs...again! Yep, that guy reminds me a Lady Byng!

Talk about losing composure...my mistake, I think that technically you have to have actually had something in order to lose it!

[yakfisher]

I meant Wheeler more so than Bickel losing composure. Too bad Wheeler wasn't willing to work as hard for the Gophers as he is for the Bruins.

Is it just me or is Woog becoming more and more like John Madden with his stammering and pointless remarks. Too bad they have the race for 5th place on tv and not a team with the chance of winning the McNaughton Cup.

Oh well, go Huskies!

[Wapiti]

Just to get the facts out there, it could be a race for 3rd, not 5th. And the race for the McNaughton Cup is covered by FSN Rocky Mountain...they play tomorrow night CC vs. Denver. If you are referrng to the susies, you probably have to live a little further north to get coverage of the home town boys...I think stations out of Winnipeg and possibly Saskatoon carry it!

[PierBridge]

4-2 Tech..we're just really bad. Kangas is yanked!

[Bryce]

And the Sioux have the most recent MacNaughton Cup within their grasp.

[cbrooks]

The fighting Sioux have taken the MacNaughton Cup! Go Sioux!

[yakfisher]

Just to get the facts out there, it could be a race for 3rd, not 5th. And the race for the McNaughton Cup is covered by FSN Rocky Mountain...they play tomorrow night CC vs. Denver. If you are referrng to the susies, you probably have to live a little further north to get coverage of the home town boys...I think stations out of Winnipeg and possibly Saskatoon carry it!

Sorrythe race is over Sioux win again for a record 14th time. Fox Rocky Mountain is now an FCS station too. Found a Badger webcast, for free I might add, and watched the 3rd. Sounds like it was a good close battle. Sorry about the loss boys!

[Quackaddict9]

Hey!!! Gophers still have hope to get home ice after SCSU, Wisconsin, and UMD losses! Gophers will need to win tomorrow! and losses for the others as well! UND wins the Conference title after beating the Badgers tonight 2-1!

Go Sioux and Gophers!

Minnesota State 5 St. Cloud State 1

Alaska-Anchorage 5 Minnesota-Duluth 4

Minnesota 5 Michigan Tech 6

North Dakota 2 Wisconsin 1

[redlake]

North Dakota 2

Wisconsin 1

.

The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

The 14th MacNaughton Cup!

(All you sum-na-biches can grab a spoon...)