Maybe we could do this without pictures and pro-wrestling rhetoric.
Lee objected to this...
Sorry, I left Lee out...
Johnson, Grand Rapids and Duluth East.
1993 was a great year, but we cannot sum up the Pioneers' history in a single night!
but let me continue on from where I was so rudely interrupted...
1991 was even a better year with the Pioneers scoring 23 State Tournament goals against the Governors, Indians and Hounds to win it all.
Of course, 1993 found Hill-Murray in the State Championship game again, but sadly for the Pioneers, they were not facing Johnson, Grand Rapids, or Duluth East in the Final.
With the amount of talent that the Pioneers have had through the years, curious as to your thoughts Pistol as to why they don't have more State Titles to their credit. Further, do you think "pretty boy" Rohlik will ever be a head coach in the WCHA?
AngusYoung wrote:With the amount of talent that the Pioneers have had through the years, curious as to your thoughts Pistol as to why they don't have more State Titles to their credit. Further, do you think "pretty boy" Rohlik will ever be a head coach in the WCHA?
AY
I'll tell you, Rohlik was the best high school coachHill has had since Skrypek. He had the boys doing things that were a steap ahead of anyone else. I was very sorry to see him leave for the WCHA. I imagine he'll get a chance someday, whether he starts at Bemidgi St or something similar I do not know. Are we disappointed with only 2 titles, I'd say yeah, but on the bright side we've had such a strong tradition over the years it speaks for itself. Losing 2-1 to Grand Rapids while undefeated in 80, it hurts, but hell it was Grand Rapids. Losing in 93 to Jefferson, there wasn't anyone going to beat them. So taking 2nd was what the state tournament was for. Hill actually played them well for being shut out. The loss in 88 to Edina hurt, but Edina was an extremely solid team. Losing in to AHA a few years back, they were a much better team. Hill had an extremly good tournament that year to get that far. They were a huge underdog to even make the tournament and stood on their heads to the finals. Then they played an a great game against Holy Angels only to have a goal called off and a high sticking goal for AHA to count. That said, AHA was the better team and did deserve to win. It's like the Gophers, you give them enough chances, they'll win some more. I'm still waiting for Hill to pass Roseau for most appearances overall, which will be a fantastic accomplishment seeing they missed out on some 20+ years...
AngusYoung wrote:With the amount of talent that the Pioneers have had through the years, curious as to your thoughts Pistol as to why they don't have more State Titles to their credit. Further, do you think "pretty boy" Rohlik will ever be a head coach in the WCHA?
Next season should be (will be?) the make-or-break season. It's been disappointment and mostly underachievement since the 2004-05 season. At some point, blaming the lack of a newer facility no longer works. At some point, you have to take a hard look at the coaching staff (starting with the head coach, of course) and ask if the mediocrity will ever change.
But Duluth is fickle. Get them into the NCAA's, and even better, win one game in that tourney, and this town will love Scott again. How else could it be?
UMD is playing pretty gritty this year without much in the area of natural offensive players. Tough defense, anyone who thought they would be tied for forth in the WCHA right now, might be streching the truth . After losing Raymond and Niskanen without much warning I would say they are doing better then anyone should have excpected this year and some of the recruits that are coming will help them in the offensive zone. Go Dogs!
Penalty Shot wrote:UMD is playing pretty gritty this year without much in the area of natural offensive players. Tough defense, anyone who thought they would be tied for forth in the WCHA right now, might be streching the truth . After losing Raymond and Niskanen without much warning I would say they are doing better then anyone should have excpected this year and some of the recruits that are coming will help them in the offensive zone. Go Dogs!
I agree. Regardless of the excuses-- UMD has and will continue to have a difficult time landing blue chip players away from MN, WI and UND. With what he has to work with this year Sandelin is doing a respectable job. He might not be the most media friendly guy but he is very thorough in his preparation and is one of the few honest guys left in coaching. What he says, he does.
Scott is one of the last "Class Acts" left in the college hockey coaching ranks and UMD is very fortunate to have him. He has a tough job recruiting to tUMD but will do very well despite Duluth being a less than desirable place to play or live.
That's all you people have? State Tournament Flukes, Rohlik bashing, and Erskine libs? This thread is only for great Pioneer hockey stories (you guys make me miss even Slappy's bitter stories of defeat at the hands of the Pioneers).
Truth be known, in a world where there seems to be passwords/codes for almost everything, it sometimes is difficult to recall which words/numbers are used to access which information. I suspect AP, away from the site during the off-season, struggled to remember "who he was" & how to hop back on this "bored". Since he he views himself as a "straight shooter" kinda guy, why not just create a new moniker & password, and resume his role on this site. As a Pioneer, I'm happy to seem him return & always enjoy seeing the response he receives form those that aren't so fond of our program. Keep up the good work...."pistol".
Napolean might have escaped WaterLee by changing his name and IP. Who knows? Who cares? You all came here to read about the Pioneers great tradition, so let's get started... right after we hear from some more bored illiterates (you'll recognize their lack of command of the English language and liberal use of pictures or smiley faces).
Last edited by pistol on Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1983 was my favorite HM year. They looked great on the Civic Center ice with the trophy in hand, finishing the season with an unblemished record. I believe that team still has a school record for number of goals scored in a season. Mr. Todd Norman was a team leader as a junior. Further, any if memory serves correctly, didn't that team start the Cooperall fashion that, of course, all would try and emulate(but none could pull it off like the Pioneers). Great season. Any others?
As Charley Walters would say, Those in the know or a little birdie told me that the 83 team might go down as one of the best in many ways on and off the ice!!!. Good thing forums such my space and you tube was not around back then. Most of them would have been suspended over and over and over again for their off ice extracirricular activity...
Here is my favorite '83 story coming from the Jireles' dad:
In 1983, history seemed poised to repeat itself as the Pioneers headed to Graham Arena for yet another annual test. Twice in the previous decade, Hill or Hill-Murray would grind through undefeated seasons only to lose in State Championship Final games. Two other Seventies Hill and Hill-Murray hockey teams actually had won State Championships in spite of losing regular season games, so some in 1983 thought the Rochester trip might be a good time to get a loss out of the way. RJM seemed to think so, too, building a five goal lead by the end of the second period. Legend has it that the Pioneer coaches and captains let the locker room go silent... no H-M player made a sound... instead they listened... they just listened to the sounds coming from the RJM locker room... the RJM players saying the Pioneers were over-rated bums....
