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The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

I think Melrose uttered Sioux a couple of times. Plus, what was ESPN going to do, not show any crowd shots as Sioux logos and signs were everywhere including the painted chest students?

Not sure which player was interviewed after the game, but he got a "Let's Go Sioux!! in at the end.
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

Congrats to the Fighting Sioux. You played a great game and outdid our "ECAC" brethern. Two best teams in hockey in the finals and the Sioux proved to be #1. Terrific offense and excellent all round effort.

Congrats from a "Red" Raider fan ;)
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

A few thoughts on last night's game from someone with no horse in the race...

1. The first period was one of the most physical periods of college hockey I've seen. Unfortunately, physical led to cheap shots and a couple of injuries/re-injuries. The Anas cross-check wasn't as bad as it looked but it was the fact that it re-injured him that got the call. Number 22 in green (I just got off a plane, not looking up the name) also took a hit that I believe hurt his shoulder. The refs had to do something but it showed as inconsistency.

2. In the pregame, a lot of folks, myself included, said this game was a battle of 2 similar teams except ND had the CBS line. The ECAC had a couple of teams with strong first lines, though not the caliber of CBS. The one thing the really upset me from the start is the way Pecknold handled that line. I don't know if it was their skill of the gameplan ... someone that knows more about hockey probably will ... but without exception, QU's game is to play aggressive, trap hard in the neutral zone, and make teams fight for the blue line. From the very start of the game, the QU defensemen were on their heels and skating backwards when the CBS line entered the zone. If they were comfortable with playing a tight checking, don't take chances, defensive style of hockey, that may have worked. However, that isn't who QU was all season and it showed. I understand hockey is a lot about match-ups, but changing who you are for one line is just a disaster waiting to happen.

3. With all the chippy play, I thought a most of it was strong, aggressive hockey. However, the one thing that I couldn't believe is the amount of contact they let ND put on Garteig. He was knocked down probably 10 times, four of which were blatant and illegal, the others were or could have been called incidental contact. The cross-check should have been a major penalty.

4. The Sioux fans. The entire city was a sea of green all weekend. I'm glad they were there to support the *** Hawks and college hockey. They're always a big draw, even if the Sioux aren't there. They're like the anti-BC. The 4 Eagles fans in the arena on Thursday were barely heard.

5. The QU fans. Mind you, I hate the QU fans as their rink is the closest ECAC rink to my house, so I go to the CCT game at QU every year. They came out in numbers, considering their size and young program. They were also loud and proud. They were great representatives of the ECAC/maybe soon to be HEA.

The final was a bit disappointing in the end but all 3 games this weekend were worth the price of admission. Tampa did a great job, despite the stupid NCAA arena clear. Seriously, it's 2016. Can't they scan the tickets on the way in and out and verify that it isn't being used twice?
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

Not sure which player was interviewed after the game, but he got a "Let's Go Sioux!! in at the end.

Yeah he also let an Fbomb out right before that interview something about Fing 4 years
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

Congrats to UND.

Didn't watch them much this season but what I did see was impressive. Definitely the best two teams playing for the title.


Seems that I missed a little fun in here last night.


The way I see it, while not ideal, the Sioux winning another title will chap the **** out of Gopher fan *** and is therefore a good thing.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Especially when they're chapping my enemy's ***.

:D


Well done Sioux. And Sioux fan, don't hold back on Gopher fan. You know they wouldn't.

This is not the time for good sportsmanship or being magnanimous.


And finally, while I know that UND has us by a couple...


6 is still > than 5. ;)

:p:D

Meh. Most of the Gopher fans I know are disappointed, of course, but *shrug* UND won, and in a dominating fashion. Oh well.
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

1. The first period was one of the most physical periods of college hockey I've seen. Unfortunately, physical led to cheap shots and a couple of injuries/re-injuries. The Anas cross-check wasn't as bad as it looked but it was the fact that it re-injured him that got the call. Number 22 in green (I just got off a plane, not looking up the name) also took a hit that I believe hurt his shoulder. The refs had to do something but it showed as inconsistency.

3. With all the chippy play, I thought a most of it was strong, aggressive hockey. However, the one thing that I couldn't believe is the amount of contact they let ND put on Garteig. He was knocked down probably 10 times, four of which were blatant and illegal, the others were or could have been called incidental contact. The cross-check should have been a major penalty.

I felt like the refs were too lax at the beginning of the game, which led to both teams getting frustrated and angry. Fortunately, the game settled down later on in the 2nd and 3rd period; I was worried after the first that they were going to lose control of it. (Still not a fan of lax officiating generally, but in this case, it's hard to say that a team unjustly benefited from it.)
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

IMO, the fast-skating style of the east got punched in the face from the physical style from the west. Generalization? Yes. I don't think the Q knew what hit 'em (no pun intended). UND just dominated, flat out. I liken it to the Greatest Show On Turf (StL Rams) facing the Pats in the Super Bowl. /twocents
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

IMO, the fast-skating style of the east got punched in the face from the physical style from the west. Generalization? Yes. I don't think the Q knew what hit 'em (no pun intended). UND just dominated, flat out. I liken it to the Greatest Show On Turf (StL Rams) facing the Pats in the Super Bowl. /twocents
UND was physical and fast last night. It seemed there were a number of occasions that UND forwards hustled back on defense to neutralize QU rushes that initially looked like they would result in odd-man rushes at the UND net. UND forwards, especially the CBS line, were also able to get behind the QU defense on a number of occasions and create odd-man rushes. And UND seemed to get to a lot of open pucks more quickly than their QU counterparts. There admittedly might be some UND bias in this analysis, but I thought UND looked like the faster team.

And on the other side of things, I was a bit surprised by how physical QU was especially in the first period. They got some really big, and for the most part clean, hits on UND players. The hits seemed to back off a bit in the 2nd and 3rd, probably because the hitting was so hard in the 1st both teams had guys limping off the ice (both from taking and from delivering hits).
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

UND was physical and fast last night. It seemed there were a number of occasions that UND forwards hustled back on defense to neutralize QU rushes that initially looked like they would result in odd-man rushes at the UND net. UND forwards, especially the CBS line, were also able to get behind the QU defense on a number of occasions and create odd-man rushes. And UND seemed to get to a lot of open pucks more quickly than their QU counterparts. There admittedly might be some UND bias in this analysis, but I thought UND looked like the faster team.

And on the other side of things, I was a bit surprised by how physical QU was especially in the first period. They got some really big, and for the most part clean, hits on UND players. The hits seemed to back off a bit in the 2nd and 3rd, probably because the hitting was so hard in the 1st both teams had guys limping off the ice (both from taking and from delivering hits).
Given this analysis, I'm wondering if the east/west teams are finally starting to adapt to others' play, (although at this point, still on a game-by-game basis). Again, going back to generalizations.
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

Given this analysis, I'm wondering if the east/west teams are finally starting to adapt to others' play, (although at this point, still on a game-by-game basis). Again, going back to generalizations.
While UND is stereotyped as a physical team, and not without some reason, over the last 20 years they have also prided themselves on having speed on the roster. The mantra of the 1997 national championship team was "speed kills", it is printed on the championship rings. And while we always have some big physical guys on the ice we've also consistently had some speedsters on the ice as well (Drake Caggiula, Rocco Grimaldi, Evan Trupp, Ryan Duncan, Rastislav Spirko, Tyler Palmiscno, Jeff Panzer, etc.), and even some of the guys who were not necessarily flagged as speed guys had pretty good wheels.
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

While UND is stereotyped as a physical team, and not without some reason, over the last 20 years they have also prided themselves on having speed on the roster. The mantra of the 1997 national championship team was "speed kills", it is printed on the championship rings. And while we always have some big physical guys on the ice we've also consistently had some speedsters on the ice as well (Drake Caggiula, Rocco Grimaldi, Evan Trupp, Ryan Duncan, Rastislav Spirko, Tyler Palmiscno, Jeff Panzer, etc.), and even some of the guys who were not necessarily flagged as speed guys had pretty good wheels.

I was thinking more generally, like east/west styles of hockey, with MI being the most eastern western school, if you follow.
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

I was thinking more generally, like east/west styles of hockey, with MI being the most eastern western school, if you follow.
True enough. And we've certainly played some top eastern schools who had more speed, even with the speed guys on our roster. The best of the BC teams over the last few years come to mind. But I think the very top end teams have a reasonable blend of speed and physical regardless of whether they are east or west. As a trend though, you are correct that western teams tend to be characterized (or stereotyped) as being more physical (with some of the high end CC teams of a few years ago coming to mind as an exception), while top eastern schools are characterized as being more speed-focused (again, with some exceptions).
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

Well congrats to ND. And you guys will ALWAYS be the Fighting Sioux despite what those wimps running the NCAA say!
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

Given this analysis, I'm wondering if the east/west teams are finally starting to adapt to others' play, (although at this point, still on a game-by-game basis). Again, going back to generalizations.

I think there is truth in that. There always seems to be a concern, among fans at least, going into the FF and even the whole NCAA tournament, that HE officials call a closer game and that the western teams will have to adapt. Berry was very candid during and after the championship game that his guys had to stay out of the box to keep Q's power play off the ice and roll 4 lines. Also, BC has become the model of success in the modern college game, and programs tend to emulate his philosophy (recruit first round draft choices :)).

I'm OK with this. Some degree of violence will always be part of the game, and that is good, but with safety concerns and an overall emphasis on speed, passing and skill, heavy physical play is becoming a bit of a liability. The majority of western schools, like MN, UND, DU, UW, SCSU, UNO, UMD, etc. recruit well and will continue to do well in a less physical game.

As you say, generalizations. I'm sure guys like Gurth, who see more hockey being played at a developmental level, will have a more informed opinion about how the game is changing.
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

I think there is truth in that. There always seems to be a concern, among fans at least, going into the FF and even the whole NCAA tournament, that HE officials call a closer game and that the western teams will have to adapt. Berry was very candid during and after the championship game that his guys had to stay out of the box to keep Q's power play off the ice and roll 4 lines. Also, BC has become the model of success in the modern college game, and programs tend to emulate his philosophy (recruit first round draft choices :)).

I'm OK with this. Some degree of violence will always be part of the game, and that is good, but with safety concerns and an overall emphasis on speed, passing and skill, heavy physical play is becoming a bit of a liability. The majority of western schools, like MN, UND, DU, UW, SCSU, UNO, UMD, etc. recruit well and will continue to do well in a less physical game.

As you say, generalizations. I'm sure guys like Gurth, who see more hockey being played at a developmental level, will have a more informed opinion about how the game is changing.

I'd say the evolution of the game and the old "western" style of play is less affected by big dangerous hits being penalized a lot more than it is by the change they made some years back in the way they call interference. During the heyday of the old WCHA a casual fan probably had no idea there was such a thing as interference because they had never actually witnessed it being called.

Any advantage gained by having a handful of violent and reckless players roaming the ice sending opposing players to the locker room or the hospital, or at the least, carrying with them a certain intimidation, is largely out of the game as a strategy, and rightfully so. (As is the corresponding cheap fan thrill of getting a loveable powerhouse thug of your own to light up that goon bastard that's been hammering your guys the last two years.) To me what's really changed the balance is that speed could be neutralized by simply pounding down guys or muscling them out of the play. Now it's interference all the time. The old WCHA was a smothering, physical slugfest every weekend and when they got in against the quicker eastern teams they just put them on the wall or the ice and kept them there until the puck was going the other way. They often made it game of survival and will, and having been through the wars, they had the advantage. Small guys out west? No thank you.

I think it's good for the players and good for the game and much better all around. But that's not to say I don't sometimes miss the old style. It was something to see.
 
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Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

You have to admit the UND player cross checking Anas good shoulder was pretty lame, even the Mullet took him to task.
 
Re: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. The Quinnipiac Braves

1. Denver was a tougher opponent than Northeastern, Michigan and Quinnipiac in our NCAA tournament field. Denver was faster, smarter and better organized than any other opponent. They played hockey the right way.
2. Quinnipiac was in this game only because of the officiating. Their goalkeeper rips off his own mask while laying down; at least a minor penalty. Their defensemen lay on top of our forwards after a check; no call. Their forwards don't get called for obvious charging penalties. Cam Johnson gets cross-checked while laying down with the puck late the game; no call.
3. Quinnipiac had no answer for speed and skill. I was looking forward to playing them as I thought they were better than BC, UML and RIT; the teams they beat. Quinnipiac would finish mid-standings in the NCHC.
4. Cam Johnson was spectacular this weekend. He gave up 3 goals; one inadvertent tip off a Sioux player (Asmus), one on a 5-on-3 and one off of a blown face-off coverage by a Sioux player.
5. Sioux defense won the game against DU. By that, I mean all 6 guys on the ice. How many blocked shots? DC was deadly that game, deadly, deadly, deadly. What a FF for him.
6. BB - may be the best player on the ice at the FF. Him or DC.
7. CBS >> CCM, Pacific Rim, QU.
8. QU vs. UND officiating crew should retire or go torment PeeWee hockey players. No room for that level of competence in college hockey.
 
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