The Fighting Sioux are peaking at the right time and have won 8 games in a row, tonight Brad Eidsness was rewarded for his good play and got his third shutout of his Fighting Sioux hockey career. The thing that makes this win so much more enjoyable is that it was against our heated and hated rival the Golden Gophers. The Sioux have now shut out the Minnesota Golden Gophers two of the last three times they have played in the Ralph Englestad Arena. The Sioux have now hung six goals on the Gophers three out of the last five times they have played in the REA. I am beginning to expect the Sioux light the Gophers up at home every time they play.
I also think my new favorite song is Chelsea Dagger, because I heard it so much tonight… I don’t know if Alex Kangas will want to hear it again this season. The Sioux cannot take the foot off the gas they must keep playing that song. I don't know if I could explain in words how big of a thrashing tonight's game was. It was a slaughter at the OK Corral, tonight’s win was a text book old fashion ass whooping. The Sioux literally skated by and around the Gophers all night like they were standing still and putting up little resistance.
Frattin the Ringer
When Matt Frattin was kicked off of the team last summer for his run in with the law I didn’t think much of his dismissal but in retrospect, the loss of Frattin during the first half of the season was more significant and had a bigger impact than I had originally thought. When Frattin returned to the team in January it took a few weeks for Matt to get his legs and touch back but now he is scoring some high light goals at big times.
It would not be an understatement to call Frattin a power forward, Frattin is a very strong skater with a howitzer of a shot. The past two weekend he has been unbelievable. On Frattin’s second goal of the game he blew by the Gopher defenders like they were skating in slow motion. Also, Frattin has been destroying people since his return to the lineup. Tonight Frattin absolutely lit Aaron Ness up at the blue line.
Links to the game
Sioux make it look easy in beating U 6-0 [Star Tribune]
The Gophers had no such excuses for not showing up for the first period. No. 5-ranked North Dakota scored early, late and short-handed in the first 20 minutes. By hockey's rules, the two teams had to return for two more periods, and the Sioux rolled to a 6-0 rout in the opener of this best-of-three, first-round WCHA playoff series.Official box score [Click to open]
It was the worst postseason loss for the Gophers since Wisconsin beat them 7-1 in the 1990 WCHA title game.
Sioux blitz Gophers 6-0, take opening game of WCHA playoff series [Fighting Sioux]
Notes: UND's defense pairing of juniors Derrick LaPoint (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Jake Marto (Grand Forks) combined for a +7 and four assists. LaPoint, who was playing in his 100th career game, had a career-high three assists and is now a +15 and has eight points (1g, 7a) during UND's current eight-game winning streak ... Eidsness has allowed two goals or fewer in every game during the winning streak. He also joined Karl Goehring (1997-01) as the only Sioux goalies to win 20 games in each of their first two seasons ... Kristo extended his career-best point streak to eight games. He has six goals and five assists during that time.
TSIOUX-NAMI! Go Sioux! Go Blue Ox!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I was subjected to listening to the entire game with Fank and The Rug Woog. It was fun to watch tonight but I was going crazy in the first period listening to those two homers. According to them, at least two of the Malone penalties should have been 5 minute majors. Although they did have a great quote at the end of the first. It was:
ReplyDelete"Well, the gophers had a good opening 30 seconds, and a good final 30 seconds...and in between it was all North Dakota."
Then after the fourth goal they started showing highlights from Sunday's game against Wisconsin, making a case of how great the rodents have been playing. Classic!
Actually, I disagree about Frattin's dismissal. I think it's what he and the team needed. Yeah, it may have contributed to our slump just before he arrived and our struggles to score at times as well, but... look at it this way:
ReplyDeleteFrattin gets into trouble with the law. Hakstol gives it the ole Gwozdecky (IIRC, though it might've been Motzko or Lucia) treatment ("We talked to him and he agreed that it wasn't a good choice on his part and we came to an agreement that he would not do such a thing again") and Frattin misses the opening weekend against Manitoba. What does that prove? Nothing.
Frattin is kicked off the team for half the season (maybe a bit more). He's faced with two choices: Turn pro and possibly shorten is career as he is what he is coming in. Or go back to UND and try to right the wrong and rededicate himself to towing the line. He started working out and focusing on cleaning himself up and was prepared to give up this season entirely to right the wrong. He comes back and bingo... he's huge for the Sioux. Sometimes the long roads prove the most fruitful.