It's Game Day!! (by LGM)

It’s game day people! YEA!!

As promised, here is another post for the week of my thoughts on the Sioux/Maverick game and what to expect from the Mavericks.

Let’s start out by the most important thing….who’s hot or not on the UND team. Goon’s probably going to beat me for putting this on his blog, but I just can’t resist. Normally I do a run down of each player. This time, however, I’ll just point out who’s the #1 hot and #1 not. While I’m not going to comment on every player, I must point out that UND has an abnormally high number of red haired players. What’s up with that?!? It significantly brings down the hot factor!

Drum roll please……………

#1 HOT

#1 NOT....it's Lurch's long lost nephew!
#2 NOT…woah, nice hair. No wonder this kid wears his goalie mask all the time!

I was pretty tempted to pick Mario Lamoureux or Brett Hextall but I figured my opinion was jaded from “Brad Miller Time.” I’m not going to lie, I’m a closeted fan of that show. It cracks me up on a regular basis and Lammy and Hextall are pretty good hosts. I especially love it when they have Ben Blood on the show. Seriously, how many hits to the head has that kid taken?!? (Sorry Sioux fans…but we can all agree he’s not that bright!)

Moving on from Hot or Not, let’s talk about the Mavericks and what the Sioux fans can expect to see this weekend.

Tonight in goal you’ll see a new goalie, Phil Cook. Cook’s been hot in goal as of late and I really like his style of play. He’s aggressive, quick, and doesn’t leave a lot of fat rebounds. I’m hoping he has an excellent night and gets the nod again tomorrow night. It’s not that I have anything against the other goalie on the trip, Lee, but I just don’t think he’s as good of a goalie and that the Sioux players will take advantage of his weakness. I’m sure they’ve watched lots of films on the Mavs and know exactly how to easily score on Lee. Hell, at this point in time I think that even I could get a few goals against him!

Forwards to keep an eye out for are #11 Mike Louwerse. He’s small but fast, feisty, and talented. I think UND fans will probably be reminded of Ryan Duncan with his ability to play at this level with his size. Next to watch is #10 Zach Harrison and #15 Jerad Stewart. They’re the team leaders in points and both play an intensive and quick game. Stewart is much more physical than in past years and will give the Sioux players a run for their money. Other forwards to take note of are #25 Eriah Hayes, #9 Kael Mouillierat, and #19 Geoff Irwin. All play a pretty intense game and are capable of scoring at any given time.

A standout forward freshman to watch it #7 Tyler Pitlick. Make all the jokes you want about this kid’s name….the end story is he’s damn talented. He’s got some sick moves and will make the Sioux D look silly at times.

The main defenseman to keep an eye on is #28 Channing Boe. He’ll be a favorite of Goon’s since he’s a home grown Bemidji boy and I think most people have become a fan of him, especially since he was attacked by Gopher hack Brian Schack. Boe is a good defenseman that is 100% committed to playing defense. He’s not worried with scoring goals or afraid to be hit or give hits (ala #22 Kurt Davis). He takes his role as a defenseman and Alternate Captain seriously and does a great job. Plus, he’s a LGM favorite so you all have to love the kid!

The other D combo to watch is Mosey and Elbrecht. They’re a new freshman D combo and as of late they’ve been looking very good. The Mavs will need them to bring their “A” game this weekend to pull off a win for sure.

So, there are the Mavericks in a nutshell as seen through my eyes. Most Sioux fans are calling this an “easy sweep” series and seem to have the attitude that there is “no way” that the Mavericks can win at the Ralph. Granted, the stats show that the Sioux have had the Mavericks number in the past years. However, I’m saying this weekend will be a split with the Mavs winning tonight.