Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Question of the Day

Are you motivated? Pile!

As I have gone through this home thingy, I keep hearing the buzzword "motivated". I just found out that motivated means in debt and unrealistic. Now most of you know that the market has gone south. Houses that were over 300K in the spring are now down in the 250 range.

So I did a bit of trolling today. Put in an offer on a house that both Bean and I were luke warm on. The property started at 375 a year ago. NO I'm not loaded. Houses are just way over priced. It is down to 299. That is still 22,000 over the tax base. I offered accordingly. They countered. NOT EVEN HALF the way. No way.

This is my rifle, this is my gun, This is for fighting and this is for FUN!

Saturday, November 25, 2006

PWNED!

Well so much for a challenge. Michigan was pasted tonight. They were in the game for about 10 total minutes tonight. 8-2 final with 3 shorties and 52, yes 52 SHOTS on goal.
This follows a hard fought battle with Michigan St. The Goof's prevailed 5-4 on Friday night. They looked a little out of it. State was not noted for a lot of scoring.
It's great sweeping TNSoH but one savors a Michigan ASS WHOOPIN!

Next up for the Goof's, Minnesota's Jr. College. Da Mavs. The whiner Jutting brings his bottom feeders to Mecca and they head to....Ah Montiv...ahhhhh....Mason City....Nah Medford that's it.

In other news, The Flickertails split with a weak CC team and St.Clown sweeps fUMD. The WCHA take 3 of 4 from the CCHA.

NEXT!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Will the REAL Jeff Dahmer please stand up...

There is a funny story HERE about the "unspeakables" continuing meltdown and speculation to it's cause.
No not the hockey gods, just a shitty program with shitty coach and shitty recruiting. PERIOD.
They have since changed the sign back (pictured above) to try and turn around the season.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Would I.......

Could I.....


Live Here?
I hope so. Looking at 5 houses this Friday. The race is ON! Jan.15 is not that far away.
Basic strategy is to look for properties that have been on the market for 4 months or more. Look at tax value and then offer accordingly. I am going to put offers out there and see who bites with a counter. May have 5 offers out there as of Friday! May have none.

Bye,Bye

Not sure many of you are aware(or care) that my house has been for sale since May. If you go back to HERE you'll find my reason. Now the fun begins! Not only do we need to find a NEW house, we need to find Daycare and a school for LB! Not to mention hockey has just started for him.

Word to TwinCity home owners looking to sell:

Think of a price. Then take that price and SLASH it by 20K, then be prepared for tire kickers and brokers looking to steal your house. Then sit back and keep telling yourself "don't worry we'll screw the next folks who's house has been on the market for six months." Ahhhh.... the American dream!

That will give you solace when you sign that purchase agreement.

That's ok, we get to move back to the MAJORITY!

Monday, November 20, 2006

GRIT!!!!!???????

ARRGGGGGGG!!! I hate when a word gets plastered to a team. Last year was lack of heart. This year the "buzzword" is GRIT. No, how about recruiting players who KNOW how the game is supposed to be played.

Before I spew about the SWEEP of BECKY I want to talk about the D for the goof's. Why can't they take the man at the blueline? I watch time and time as a becky player just skated into the zone and was not challenged until the top or middle of the circle. Mr. Johnson had better pull his head out of his ass in a hurry.

For being the overall number 1 pick he still has yet to impress me.
Now I shall touch on tDon's boy. I was very skeptical when I heard Tony was joining the squad. As you all remember the last "son of a coach" was a TOTAL WASTE OF A TENDER! Just think of the kids that could have played instead of the hack from SSP! This Lucia kid works hard, hits anyone close and has had some bad luck in terms of scoring chances. It seems as though he makes a play and then gets the return pass in the skates or gets handcuffed. I am definitely a fan of this kid. Nice game winner "son of a coach"!

tDon stated, "I'm going to put it right on my desk and take a peek at it every day probably. It will remind me what hard work does."

How proud to you think he is?

OK now for BECKY. SWEEP the fuck out of here!! That's all I have to say about that.
Man, no wonder the fans are so crazy in mad town. They have to be in order to STAY AWAKE DURING THE GAMES! Man is that a shitty/boring style of hockey to watch.

In other action. Alaska State spanks the Flickertails twice for the sweep. Itsalltherefsfault.com board was full of ref and goalie whining per usual. One person, Redwing? even got chastised for his/her constant DRONING about the ref's by other SUZIE fans. The bottom dwellers are coming to life this year.

And speaking of bottom dwellers I see the GR3 got pwned by an average CC team. CHANGE YOUR LOGO clap clap clap clap clap CHANGE YOUR LOGO......Won't make a difference.

DU squeakes out three over DHC's (drunkhockeychick) mighty YUPPERpoodles. So it seems there is parity in the league this year. The POI next face a REAL challenge. Fellow Big10 teams Mich.St and Michigan head to MECCA for a couple. Going to be nice to see them bitch slap becky and send them tumbling down the pairwise hole to early retirement!!! BWOHAHAHAHAHA BahBYE!



GRIT!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Stooping................................................ to their level?

OK it was a good thing. The Goof's showed patience and persistence in tonights game. Not flashy, but solid boring BADgers hockey. Yes, we beat them at their own game. Briggs matched tElliot save for save. OK I take back my previous comments for now. I do like the way the game was played. Just HOCKEY! No BS, no cheap shit.

The ref's looked the other way at 2 Goof infractions. Not good! Call it even! We owe you 4 minutes Sunday. Being the sabbath, please forgive us oh great "State of Hockey!"
The BADgers need someone to score. Plain and simple. Great D, GREAT GOALIE and ZERO offense. I have been reading whinercentral.com's board and the majority of the REAL fans predicted a sweep by POI. At least they are realistic and can see their team for what they are. Average. This is unlike the Flickertale fans who blame the ref's and then blame the goalie right after that. No, it's not the other 20 players. Yeah it's scripted!

So my question is: Does WCHA hockey follow WWE and boxing productions?

YES, According to italltherefsfault.com's board! I digress....

PCM, you are a fan and appreciate your candor and honesty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow will be a bit more spirited IMHO. I certainly hope so. Tonight was subdued and controlled compared to last weekend.

In other action so far. The Flickertails got PWNED by AA last night. Yeah the ref's did it. They actually accounted for ZERO goals and ZERO assists. Not to mention their sieve let 6 go by! Oh Lammi would have stopped them all. RIGHT?

GR3 got beat by 3. They got beat by an average CC squad. Nothing more to say about them.

Tech held DU to 1 goal thankfully. Thankfully, UPpRINCESSES scored..........................

NADDA.

DU holds on. Are they for real? Could they be in position to make the F5 in St.Paul? GOD, I hope not. Then the "band" has a reason to be there. I have lobbied the WCHA to BAN the MT band. No reason for the league to "sponsor" a competitors team who never attends the tourney. Can't get their during league play, TOO FUCKIN BAD! Stay HOME!

Thursday, November 16, 2006

First Jan now Becky?

Will the jealousy ever stop?

Do you notice how red the back of his neck is getting?

The "mighty" defending champions roll into town for a rare Saturday/Sunday tilt at MECCA. TNSoH boasts a stellar 4-6-2 record. After two consecutive home sweeps the RED Menace look to rebound at a place that has not treated them well.

They have a 5-26 record, including last years sweep at MECCA. Look for 5-28. Yeah you read it. Hey, if the poll on whiner central has the Goof's sweeping, I'm going with them. The BADgers have a bit of trouble scoring goals. D has been OK, but you still need to net a few for tElliot to have a chance.

Skille may play, not that he is a huge offensive threat. This team lacks fire power.

As for the POI, RJ is out for a few weeks after an appendectomy! OWWWWY! Mr.Pohl has moved to D to cover. Now to this teams weak point. Goaltending. Both have looked OK. Frazee has looked better. KB seemed out of it last weekend against JBSU.

Answer this question for me. Why can't Minny pick up a goalie that stands on his head and makes HUGE saves when needed? It always seems that Goldie's netminders are second class.

Humfff......

If this team can not get up for Becky and pummel them this weekend, we are in for another heartbreaking season. All the talent in the world and ZERO grit.

3-1 / 5-3 BECKY is swept out of the ORIGINAL "State of Hockey".

94 West Paint Thinner Nation!

...and yes, 6>5, you went to UW grad school to figure that one out ehhhh?

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Change of face!

Different colors, different layout, same BULLSHIT!

This is the only known pic of the HOT Goofer cheer chick. The blond on the right was FAB. VERY HEALTHY!

OK enough of my fetish spewage.

So.....BECKY is on the way up 94 West. I have no idea what to expect. Again, their most heated rival (but then again who does not want to beat us?) I have watched all of their games, when on FSN/Alt. Boring, Western Clutch and Hold Association hockey. More later...

Now to revive a lil something...

Why Follow Gopher Hockey?
- Jon Marthaler

Why follow Gopher hockey? I think that question can be decomposed into three questions: Why hockey? Why college hockey? Why Gopher hockey?

You ask me why I love hockey. The Sporting News columnist Dave Kindred once said about hockey, "It's like basketball, only with a thousand turnovers." And five baskets per game, presumably. But hockey is much more than Kindred's description, which makes hockey sound like a ten-year-old girls' basketball game; it is odd-man rushes and penalty shots and power plays, rink-wide passes and wraparound tries, and tens of thousands of fans standing in unison as if pulled upward by the invisible hand of adrenaline. The NHL bills itself as "The Fastest Game in Town," but it's more than that-- it's a game that's both the fastest, and the slowest, in the world. It's a game where it takes the blink of an eye for three passes to make it the length of the ice, followed by an eternity as the goaltender slides from one post to the other and the wing tries to one-time the pass into the top shelf of a half-empty net.

English author Nick Hornby wrote a book called "Fever Pitch," an autobiographical tome based on half a lifetime's worth of experience in his travails following the Arsenal soccer club. Watching his club score a late goal in the last game of the season to win the league title, he wrote, "So please, be tolerant of those who describe a sporting moment as their best ever. We do not lack imagination, nor have we had sad or barren lives; it is just that real life is paler, duller, and contains less potential for unexpected delirium."

Hornby may have been writing about soccer, a game that does not tickle the fancies of most American sports fans; but all hockey fans know just exactly what he's talking about. When your team's winger beats the goaltender top-shelf... When a two-on-one rush produces a goal like no other goal you’ve ever seen... When your favorite player slides one five-hole in overtime to win the biggest game of the season.... that's delirium, that's maybe the best feeling legally producible in real life. Day-to-day life produces none of this. Hockey does.

You ask me why I love college hockey. It’s a question that’s been asked for many years by professional leagues, owners, players, and the decision-makers associated with the professional game: why, when given the chances to see the best athletes on earth compete at the highest possible level, do so many otherwise rational people choose to watch their local college team instead? (And why do so many of those otherwise rational people act so rabidly about that college game?) I believe the answer lies in the dynamic between institution and team and fans. We know, as sports fans, that what we are getting when we attend a professional game amounts, most basically, to a voyeuristic experience. We go, we watch, we cheer, we scream-- but at the end of the day, we have no real connection to our team. Even if we were at the game, banging on the glass or on the seat in front of us, exhorting our favorite team’s players on to greater heights, what we are doing still amounts to cheering at people in a bubble. When we leave the arena, we may feel a sense of pride in our team, but our only real belonging to that team is from the $75 we gave their organization for the privilege of sitting outside that bubble. College offers a different experience entirely. When we leave that arena, we feel not only a sense of pride in our team--we feel a sense of pride in ourselves. It may come from our affiliation with the collegiate institution, whether as a student or alumnus or longtime follower; it may come from our participation at the games, chanting the same things that have been chanted in the same situations for maybe a thousand years. What University of Minnesota fan never chanted, "Let’s go Go-phers!" accented in the same places and on the same notes? What University of Michigan fan never chanted, "Let’s Go Blue!"? Professional sports take place in the bubble, and try as you might, you never can quite grasp the feeling, and you never can quite touch the action. In collegiate sports, you’ve not only broken through the bubble; you’ve reached out and grasped the action, felt it build up inside your soul, and the action has reached right back, grasped you and pulled you in.

You ask me why I love Gopher hockey. I ask you if there was any other choice. Maybe if I had grown up in Detroit or Boston or Orono, Maine; then maybe I would not be a Gopher fan today. But I grew up in Minnesota, and despite what North Dakota or Duluth or Mankato fans would have you believe, there really was no other option than to become a Gopher fan. North Dakota may be a successful hockey program. Duluth may have its rabid fans. Mankato may be very important to people who hail from that city. But Gopher hockey is so much more than that, has meant so much more than that to me. It’s watching the first two periods of the game on MSC, then straining to pick up the third period on your alarm-clock radio after your parents have sent you to bed. It’s attending games in the new Mariucci Arena while wishing that you could have attended a game in the old Mariucci Arena, wishing that you had memories of the old arena when it was still Williams Arena Ice Rink. It’s John Mariucci, and John Mayasich, and the photos of teams going back too many years for anyone to have seen them all. It’s Herb Brooks, prowling the bench, leading three teams to titles. It’s Doug Woog, leading the team first as a player and then as a coach, leading them to a period of sustained greatness the likes of which today’s program can maybe only dream about. It’s Randy Skarda, hitting the post in overtime, and just how the heck did that weak backhander beat Stauber? It’s Neal Broten and the Hobey, Robb Stauber and the Hobey, Brian Bonin, and yes, Jordan Leopold with the Hobey. It’s the murals, where Leopold skates next to Crowley and Stauber makes a save on Woog. It’s the fact that nobody’s going to be wearing number 8 in maroon and gold on the ice anytime soon. It’s Broten chipping one over Iwabucci, Potulny sliding one under Yeats, it’s all the trophies in the concourse, so many that nobody knows exactly what they’re all there for anymore. It’s five gold banners, hanging over the east goal, spanning sixty-three years of Gopher champions.

But maybe most importantly, it’s the five-year-olds I see at the rink on Saturday mornings, when no one’s in the building except me and them, and all they know me as is as the kid who’s driving the Zamboni. They play their games, have their practices, and I see them warming up, skating the length of the ice (taking far too long) and faking this way and sliding one in and, hey, just maybe, if they were a little bigger, they would have looked just like Tyler Hirsch beating Wade Dubielewicz. And then maybe they make their first visit to the rink later that night, getting their first close-up look at the arena. Wow, Dad, how many guys are on that wall? Why are they up there? Dad, who’s going to be up there next? Hey, Grandpa, how many of these guys did you see play? How many banners are there up in the rafters, anyway? There sure are a lot. Why do all those kids say the same things after the other guys get a penalty, why do they all point at the goalie and yell? What are they saying? What do you mean you can’t tell me? Hey, Dad, we scored! What did everyone just say after the band stopped playing?

And then maybe Dad leans over to his son, as my father did to me, and maybe he wants to tell him about all the goals he’s seen, all the great players he’s watched, all of the championships he’s watched when he saw his team play this game, and what a game it is. Maybe he wants to teach him the words to the Rouser and the Minnesota March, and tell him just exactly how his dad reacted when Grant Potulny picked up Jordan Leopold’s shot after it deflected off Johnny Pohl, how Grant picked it up and slipped it under Matt Yeats and the whole state of Minnesota went berserk. But he doesn’t have time for all that. He knows that his son will pick that up in time, that soon, for his son, the game and the team will be the son’s and not just the father’s. Instead, he just sums all of it up in one sentence, with one word.

Instead, he just leans over and teaches him how to spell M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A.

The Colbert Report : WoD : Sigh


If you have not seen the Colbert Report, it is a must! Ranks right up there with the Daily!

Enjoy.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

One final thought

I read a statement in the fish wrapper east today about batteries being thrown on the ice and at the POI players. I asked myself, "why batteries?" Well it seems as though JBSU's marketing department decided to give their children something to play with during the game.

A battery operated fan that lit up and said GO JBSU and Huskies. I didn't connect the dot until I watched the game again and saw Wooger with one between periods. First off WHY a fan in MN in the winter? What was it 25 last night here?

Can you see the dufus's at the Shag Carpet after the game going "Cool DUDE watch when I put it in the dark" Dahyeee!

Hey it's Dave, Dave's not here man! No this is Dave! Dave's not here mannnnn!

Hey Mots, teach your children some manners or has Stearn Co. corrupted you already?

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Aretha shouts....R E S P E C T!

A well deserved split in my opinion. St.Clown showed guts this weekend. The Goof's showed they can forget to play defense. I thought for sure this team was solid in their zone. They're not. The D again was pinching and getting burnt AGAIN. Too many give aways AGAIN. Mr. 1st round was average AGAIN.

On the bright side: Frazee played well. Better then Briggs last night. Bariball, GASP Lucia and Stoa were solid. Lucia showed the grinder role he has been assigned. Now if the D will be more heads up...

The game gets turned up a bit in the next two series. TNSoH comes to town fresh off a SWEEP on home ice by DU. Looks as though the magic has left Mad Town. Do they chant sieve when the goalie makes a save? Back to the middle of the pack RED MENACE! After the sweep by the POI, comes Mich. and Mich. St. Yes I'm looking ahead but TNSoH is way OVERRATED. The second half of the season is on the road so...you do the math.

In other action GR4 takes the game 3-2. Drunk Chick's TECH team may be for real. Beating fUMD 4-1. They may not need to be the official band of the WCHA. They may actually HAVE to be there. So much for my letter to the commish about how shitty that band was at the F5 last year. Thought she was taller also. Was Suzie off this weekend? Or did they play under another name?

The Clowns bring circus to MECCA

This game was as disjointed as a sideshow freak. By far the worse defensive/attitude/effort of this young season. Both teams were sloppy, hesitant and generally lacked any attitude. You come to expect a high energy, hard hitting game against St.Clown. Both were lacking.

The Mighty Maroon and Gold blew 2 two goal leads. Briggs played his worse game since last years loss to St.Clown in the F5. It did not help that the D played with their heads up the ol ARSE! Vanelli was sleeping most of the game.

Bariball finally came back to life. Okposo was on and off. Mr.1st round looked in awe of St.Clown at times. I would not have wanted to be at the team meeting with tDon last night!

In other action TNSoH LOST to DU 2-0! They are in for a L O N G season I think. DU has dominated the BADgers on their home ice. something like 10-1! SWEEP the red menace!

Alaska St. beat GR4 3-2. Hummmm......is MN.St in for a TECH season? Heading that way is seems. Too bad! NOT!

fUMD skated to a EXCITING 0-0 OT thriller. WOW TECH may be for real.Real average.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Jan's in the house!

Stearns Co's finest make their way 94 East for a home and home tilt with POI! JBSU (GR3) comes to Mecca tonight boasting a lackluster 2-3-1 record. They head to National Cement Center on Saturday night. Bobby, Jan's savior, is 1-3-1 with a 2.95 GAA and a .899 save percentage! The Flickertails peppered him last week and St.Clown escaped with a point.

Leading the way for JBSU is Andreas Nodl (3-5--8) and Ryan Lasch (4-3--7)

The Goof's own a 40-20-9 all time series lead. Of course who can forget their last meeting in St.Paul. A wild OT thriller won by St.Clown.

They enter tonights game on a 8 game unbeaten streak. tDon will continue to platoon the netminders with Briggs tonight at Mecca and Frazee at the Cement Center. I like the fact that Frazee get the nod for the "away" game. He still tends to be a bit jittery at the start of the games. Mr.Bostrom may return this weekend for 1 game after sitting the last 4 weeks with a knee injury. He has been full strength at practice this week.

I'm not going to bore you with Goofer stats. If you are interested here is a pdf put out every week on GS.com.

Look for a fast start tonight. I see a blow out. 6-1. From reading therefshateus.com forum posts the JBSU team lack decent D and scoring punch. The latter I witnessed against TNSoH a few week back. (in case you are stupid "The New State of Hockey" as crowned by the talking eyebrow from CSTV)

At the Nat'l Cement Center the crowd may have an effect in the scoring but not the outcome. 5-4 Goof's with an empty netter and the SWEEP!

I have the RARE opportunity to visit MECCA tonight! Myself and LB, will be in the friendly confines of the house that "Maroosh" built. Time to get LB that jersey we have been talking about. Hey, start brainwashing them young I say! I just hope he doesn't break out the "Huskies Suck" chant tonight. At least Beaner (who hails from Stearns County and is Alumni) will be spared the pain of that.

Oh...before I forget, no news on the "great Suzie name debate" as of yet. The judge said he will make his decision as fast as possible!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Fetish?

I've picked up on something recently. North Dakanada has some kind of fixation with MN.
I have been following the whole nickname flap. In trying to read as much as I can about both sides of the story.
I ventured over to the Grand Forks Herald web site. One thing that struck me as odd is the coverage that MN in general gets. From the main page, there are no less then 5 reference to MN news and stories. Last time I checked the map Grand Forks was on the west bank of the river. They cover MN like St.Paul covers MURDERAPOLIS!
Now it's obvious that the close proximity to the border has a LOT to do with this but man....

Is MN like the big brother that get's looked up to? Or is it deeper?

While looking over at FlickerTail Central I saw this post. Nearly 34000 views! Yes the Gophers lost to Holy Cross. Man it's like a kid who just discovered his dad's stash of Playboys. How can this still be a big deal? Are they so out of things to do or think about that they need to constantly remember a single game? Are their lives so uninspired that they fixate on a competitors loss? Hummmm......I have only watched Grant's OT goal 3 times and that was for a Nat'l Championship. No we don't forget our players DOPE!

Do they load the clip on their Ipod vanish to the bathroom and pop one off?

Now granted, our friends to the west have NO pro teams. So they need to focus on college sports for their shot of rah rah pride. Maybe that's why they are the most hated fans in the WCHA.
They have so little to cheer for and pour their guts out for them.

Another thing. Is it me or do they blame the officials for every loss/bad game? I read the game day posts and keep up with the scores (as I do with most WCHA teams) and inevitably the ref's always are against them. FERCHRISTSAKES they are human and make mistakes and sometimes are not on top of their game just like hockey players.

For a school that is so worried about losing their name. Say it's not derogatory, even when the schools namesake says they do not like them using it. Is totally out of whack. The argument that "Florida St. gets to keep their name but WE don't", doesn't hold water. That tribe is called by their correct name. Most Siouan deem "Sioux" as derogatory. Lil etymology for ya:

According to the late Dr. Frank Siebert, MD, analysis actually originates with the eminent Algonquianist Ives Goddard. Under this analysis the forms Na:towe: and Na:towe:ssiw mean essentially 'barbarian' (i.e., speaker of an incomprehensible language) and 'lesser (or miserable little) barbarian', for the Iroquois and Siouan peoples, respectively.

How offensive is it for the fan base to yell "SUE" at the end of the National Anthem?

Oh...excuse me... I have to go to the bathroom. Now where is that pesky Ipod with the opening night video from the RALPH?

Yes 7 is greater then 5. Tool! Break out that Flickertail (Ground Squirrel) logo!

Signed,

^i'c^uN

Here!

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

The wonder....

In an effort to be a bit more varied, I give you these two links. The first one shows our solar system cousins compared to a few Sun's out there. I first saw these pictures on GPL and managed to track down the source. HERE!


This next series of pictures is AWE inspiring! No that's FAITH. HERE!

Enjoy.

and up next the JBSU/GR3/St.Clown joke fest.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Not that it matters.....

I found some inspiration today.

I started this blog as more of an experiment. I was inspired by PINHEAD Nation. I was inspired by the fact that it was done in humor! Some of the content is questionable, yes, but taken in context it is fun and the reaction by most who visit it is...well all in fun. I will NEVER claim to be an expert at recruiting (anybody can surf and find recruiting news) I will never claim to be a Historian (anybody can use Google) I will use my 21 year hockey career to base my opinions. I will give my biased view about the Maroon and Gold. As will others about their respective teams. I do not live for "links", ya link to me I return the favor and allow the 4 people who come here (mostly friends and family) to read other informative/funny/serious College Hockey Blogs. You decide what to take in, comment on and take to heart. I will not force my opinions on you. But if you come here and read you are subjecting yourself to poss...errrr....probably negative talk about YOUR team. Not malicious, but SMACK! I started this blog shortly before my green goggled friend to the west. Yet, his blog is far more informative and fair then mine. Sure we share barb's, but hey that's why "I" started it.

Hated by many, love by few and feared by ALL!

Oh yeah. It's the HOME OF THE BRAVE!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

NEXT

Nuff said!















Ohhhh one more thing....

SWEEP!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Can GR2 get more then 2?

A trip to GR2ville......

whilst reading the dribble on USCHO and skipping over every other post on GPL (every other post about is about "tFATBOY" drinking, again bring back the IGNORE function on GPL) I decided to look into fUMD's stats. 2-2-2 overall. Goals scored in their last four games (which they are 1-2-1) 2 in each game. Their leading scorer is a D-man. As a matter of fact, in the top 10 point getters for fUMD 4 play the blue line. The team is fairly young and I'm sure they will be pumped for the Rodents return to the DUMP errr.......aaaaa DECC. I had a chance to catch them on FSNA when they were playing "the new state of hockey", I know it was early but they were sloppy in their own zone and try a ton of LONG passes. Mind you TNSoH is not a offensive machine and they managed a tie and a win. Next was DU. A mere shadow of who they were and they managed a split.

As for the Goof's. The last four games have been nothing short of flawless hockey. Can this keep up? Not sure. But compared to last years team, this squad gets it for team play, physicality (is that a word?) and pure drive. I re-watched that Saturday nights tilt with CC. They were relentless in their pursuit of the puck. It didn't matter where or who, somebody was on them. Have they been challenged this year. NO not really. Maine was the first game AHOLE!

They will be challenged this weekend. I look for the fUMD players to do a lot of chasing and end up getting a bunch of dumb penalties. You can forget the "small" rink advantage you claim to have. This just gives them less room to skate you down, paste you to the boards, take the puck and stuff it behind the JBSU rejects back.

Outlook:
Close game Friday. 5-3. Blowout Saturday. 6-1 Goof's break the DUMP's hex and send fUMD towards another, I repeat another, bottom of the pack finish.

New and Notes:
Goof's junior defenseman Alex Goligoski (Grand Rapids, Minn.) was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and freshman forward Kyle Okposo (St. Paul, Minn.) was named WCHA Rookie of the Week, following the Gopher’s two-game sweep of Colorado College at MECCA last weekend. Goligoski tallied four-points on the weekend, while Okposo scored three goals in the 8-1 win over the Tigers on Saturday night.

The Goof's lead the all-time series against fUMD with a 122-66-11 (.641) record in a series dating back to 1952. In Duluth, the Goof's are 50-38-4 (.565), including a 5-6-1 under Don Lucia. They went 2-1-1 vs. fUMD last season, going 0-1-1 in Duluth before wrapping up the regular season with two shutouts of the dogs at MECCA. Six of the last seven games have been decided by two goals or less. The Goof's have not won in Duluth since a 5-4 victory on Feb. 21, 2003. The Goof's have not had a road sweep in Duluth since Feb. 4-5, 2000.

Head to head stats:
Goals per game: Goof's 5.14/fUMD 3.00
Power Play: Goof's 25%/fUMD 28.9%
Penalty Kill: Goof's 92.5%/fUMD 86%
Goal Allowed a game: Goof's 1.57/fUMD 3.00
Shots/game: Goof's 38.4/fUMD 34
Shot allowed/game Goof's 19.3/fUMD 26.7
Top scorers: Goof's Bariball (6-5--11) fUMD Niskanen (2-9--11)
Goaltending: Goof's Briggs 1.00 .951/Frazee 1.60 .914/fUMD Stalock 2.76 .893

Streaks:
14 game road unbeaten streak 11-0-3
Bariball 7 game scoring streak
Goli 6 game scoring streak
Gordo 3 game scoring streak
Wheeler 2 game scoring streak