On Fri, 30 Jan 1998, Paul Gentile wrote:
 
> Ok, Steve. Not bad! But, you left out any
> justification for North Dakota's #1 slot.
 
 
Don't worry, Steve.  This is the same guy that ranked the Sioux 9th in
his own preseason top 10 this past summer.  Whatever justification that
you would have given wouldn't have been good enough.
 
> Any according to your cirteria, there is no way N.
> Dakota should be #1. They have two losses and a
> tie to unranked teams.
 
 
Very Misleading!  Let's look at North Dakota's two losses and one tie:
 
Loss #1: At Minnesota.
---------------------
Marriucci is a very tough place to win, and it was UND's first game of
the season (not counting a home exhibition against Manitoba).  Also, the
Gophers hadn't gone into their tailspin yet, they were nationally ranked
at the time.
 
Loss #2: Minn-Duluth.
---------------------
After bombing the Bulldogs 8-0 on Friday, the Sioux came out flat and
lost 4-3 on Saturday.  No excuses here.
 
The Tie: at Colorado College (Cadet Ice Arena).
-----------------------------------------------
The Tigers are tough at home and were the #2 team in the nation at the
time.  The Sioux tied on Friday 3-3 and won on Saturday 4-2.  Your "tied
an unranked opponent" doctrine doesn't apply here.
 
 
> I'd just like a little
> justification of why you have UND on top. I do
> like UND's non-conference showing...very
> impressive ... but not a large enough gauge.
 
What the heck are they supposed to do?  Win every game 10-0?  Let's look
at the facts here:  The Sioux throttled both Cornell and Ferris St. at
the Pepsi Invitational, then came home and swept Western Michigan.  That
adds up to a 4-0 record vs. non-league competition (and with Mankato
State coming to Grand Forks this weekend, you can make it 6-0).  They
have the #1 goaltender in the nation (Karl Goehring), best line in the
country (Jeff Panzer, Jay Panzer, David Hoogsteen), and one of the best
defensemen in the nation (Curtis Murphy).  And we have a young group of
defensmen who are getting better with every game.  Need I say more?
C'mon Paul, accept the fact that your little pre-season poll was way off
the mark and give North Dakota the R-E-S-P-E-C-T that they never got last
season.  Thank you and good day.
 
Brian.
(GO SIOUX, LET'S REPEAT!)
 
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