Orwick's Sioux Hockey Blog

It is Gopher Weekend!!

2009-10-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

Well the snow is still falling this morning, there is going to be a white-out at the Ralph, and rumor has it that Grand Forks has been invaded by pesky little varmints. The snow we can put up, I will wear white, but putting up with rodents that is not acceptable. I have put out a call Carl Spackler of Bushwood Country Club, it is time to eliminate the GOPHERS!!!!!!!!!

This is always one of the biggest weekends for Sioux hockey fans, we love to hate the Gophers. I think it comes from two things, a respect of a great NCAA hockey program and the lack of respect shown by some of their fans at times.

When we first started watching Sioux hockey, Minnesota did not seem like the biggest rival, it was the Wisconsin Badgers. Thanks to Cary Eades and others this rivalry is legendary. Now I think Minnesota is one, Denver with the Dasher Dancer number two and some team out east number three.

Aaron and Lisa are coming back for the games and it will be great fun. The only down side to the weekend is that Dee and I will need to watch Saturday’s game from FLA. I guess if that is the only downside it is not so bad.

My predictions for the weekend:
1. On the ice: A split and at least one fight each night
2. In the student section: Nasty spelling chants, lots of swearing and standing (we don’t like the standing unless it is an important part of the game)
3. In the arena: Super energy even from those who don’t usally show any and lots of white (this is white-out weekend, show your support and WEAR WHITE)
4. In the crowd: At least one scuffle
5. Before and after the game: A few adult beverages
6. After the weekend: Great memories

Sioux swept Merrimack

2009-10-16T10:27:00.000-05:00

Last weekend the UND Fighting Sioux swept a team they should have, Merrimack from Hockey East.

Friday night I thought the Sioux looked great and the score showed it with a 5-2 victory. The freshman looked good and although Merrimack scored two, they were really outmanned for most of the game.

On Saturday, the Sioux won the game but it was close all the way to the final buzzer. It came down to Warriors pulling their goalie and the Sioux holding off the extra attacker to win 3-2.

UND should have completely dominated the team from out east but instead, just took care of business. That will need to change once they get to WCHA play.

Freshman Mike Cichy was named WCHA Red Baron Rookie of the Week for his debut, scoring a goal and two assists, leading the team with a +4 plus/minus rating. Congrats to Mike, keep up the great work.

Even with a solid, but not great performance, the Sioux moved up to #4 in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll. Not bad for a team with ten Freshman, hopefully they can prove the polls right and move on to the WCHA with a sweep against the Gophs next weekend.

The First Killing Frost and Official Game of the 2009-10 Season

2009-10-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

The long wait is over, the first official game of the 2009-10 season and killing frost of the season come on the same day. What are the chances? I know hockey is a game for the cold weather, but it would be nice to catch a couple of games in the front part of the season without snow flurries in the air. The white stuff has been floating here today and I am not as ready for that as I am for what I hope is another great season of Fighting Sioux hockey.

Tonight the Sioux take on Merrimack from Hockey East and this is a team from what I understand the Sioux should take care of in easy fashion. This is very important for the end of the year when it comes time for playoff selections. Wins outside the conference are huge and I hope all the WCHA teams take care of business the entire season when playing other conference teams. Even the Gophers!

It will be fun to see the new jerseys tonight and very special to see Derrick LaPoint back on the ice after his severe injury last season. We have seen and talked with him and his family several times since last season and it sounds as if he is "good to go"! I hope he has a fantastic season, he is a great role model showing that with hard work and good ethics you can be successful both on and off the ice. Good luck Derrick!

Well it is almost time to put on the green and white and head to the Ralph!

Let’s go Sioux, LETS GO SIOUX, LET’S GO SIOUX!!!!!!

Manitoba Exhibition Game

2009-10-09T13:55:00.000-05:00

We were not able to attend last Sunday evenings exhibition game against the Bisons from Manitoba do to a family commitment. Our niece and godchild was married last Saturday and their gift opening was at our place on Sunday. We did however get constant text message updates from those in attendance and it sounded as thought the Sioux looked good.

With balanced scoring and strong play from the freshman UND was just to much for Manitoba to handle. It was very close going into the third at 1-1 but the Sioux showed that conditioning and depth on the bench can win you games in the final period. The end result was a very solid 7-1 win that will not go into the official record books. Hopefully this team can finish everyone off in the third.

This was the first time the team wore the new Reebok jerseys and from those at the game they thought they looked good. I am reserving judgment until tonight as on the internet and TV they did not seem to be as distinctive. This may be the very last version of the "Sioux" jersey so hope they look great!

2009-10 Version of orwicksioux.com Published

2009-09-15T22:40:00.000-05:00

Just published the new version of our website. Hope everyone will enjoy the changes and additional information available this year.

Aletha sent pictures of their campout for tickets. They will be posted soon.

Looking forward to the 2009-10 season!

2009-09-13T18:23:00.002-05:00

The season unofficially began yesterday with the UND men and women's hockey Fan Fest.

We attended the Fighting Sioux Club event prior to the Fan fest and found it enjoyable. Muffins and coffee were provided along with a chance to have your picture taken with the MacNaughton Cup.

Coach Hakstol, Captain Chay Genoway and Assistant Captains Darcy Zajac and Chris VandeVelde were on hand to show off the new Reebok jerseys and answer questions from those in attendance.

I have been working on updates to the orwicksioux.com website and it will be published to the web prior to the end of September. This season we are joining the social network "twitter" and will be posting "tweets" on a regular basis throughout the season.

Less than a month to go and it's getting time to "DROP THE PUCK"!!