The Sicatoka

Yes, Saunders will have better defense in front of him as a benefit; however, and conversely, he'll be facing better offenses and shooters which could work against him. That's why my assumption was that the save percentage holds (no better, no worse).

if the NCAA was as pragmatic as some believe, it never would have implemented the anti-nickname policy to begin with. That would have been the best way to avoid lawsuits. They could've avoided lawsuits by telling any court that a school's moniker is an issue of local school control, not NCAA control. Nor would it have enforced its allegedly RENO policy in such a one-sided (arbitrary and capricous?) manner. That appears to be an open invitation to lawsuits. It's not pragmatism. It's condescending, arrogant, "we know what's best for you" academic elitism and hypocrisy at its finest. However, the NCAA is getting away with it by living a line from a Mel Brooks movie: "It's good to be the king."

Saunders at UAH this past year. ## Goaltending (Overall) | GP Minutes GA Saves Shots Save% GAA Record Win% GS SO %Time 33 Clarke Saunders SO | 27 1534:16 95 918 1013 .906 3.72 2-23- 1 .096 26 0 82.2% [/code] The save percentage looks great; some will be down on the GAA. However, do the math on the GPA: He saw just under 40 shots per game this year. If his save percentage held and he only saw the roughly 27 shots per game UND goalies saw his GAA goes to 2.54. What would 0.906 and 2.54 get you in the WCHA this year? The 0.906 would be 10th, just ahead of UMD's Kenny Reiter. The 2.54 would be 5th, again, just ahead of UMD's Kenny Reiter.

If you mean they didn't find a word or logo at the West Regional, yes, you are correct.

I'm seeing folks not remembering Mitch MacMillan. Some may write him off as forgettable based on his time at SCSU. I'll just point out how Mitch played with Mark as his center for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in 2009-10: Mitch MacMillan 59 61-32-93 Mark MacMillan 59 26-54-80 I'd take three semesters of performance at that level from those two playing together.

Pragmatic? On the one hand, Myles Brand once made the statement that stereotyping is wrong, which seemed to imply that it's wrong in general. So why implement a policy that applies to "race, ethnicity and national origin" if you never intend to apply it equally to all NCAA members that use stereotypical mascots? Some might conclude that it was a case of the NCAA merely pretending to be fair when it really wasn't. On the other hand, you also had Brand once proclaiming that the Fighting Irish nickname and logo were okay because "leprechauns are not people." But wouldn't the same people who look at the Fighting Sioux logo and think "The Sioux people are savages who still live in tipis" also look at Notre Dame's logo and think "The Irish are violent, ornery little green men"? If someone is dumb enough to think one thing, why wouldn't they also be dumb enough to think the other? The NCAA isn't pragmatic. It's the modern version of "Animal Farm" and they're picking who is more equal.

Just a lot of bitterness toward JT {bleeping} Miller.

No, they are a team of undrafted players. Surely Bob Daniels recruited most of them to play in his system. (Walk-on means not recruited and has nothing to do with draft status.) PS - Anyone else notice how much Bob Daniels looks like the FSU logo on their jerseys?

Dell, assuming he returns, will be pushed by Gothberg and Saunders. That's good.

In late July/early August we expected … Rodwell, O’Donnell, Grimaldi, St. Clair, and JT Miller to play a total of 200+ games. We expected Panzarella, Senkbeil, and Pattyn to maybe see 30 total. And Gaarder? Who’s that? Instead, Rodwell, O’Donnell, Grimaldi, St. Clair, and JT Miller play a total of 40 games in a UND jersey. Panzarella, Senkbeil, Pattyn, and Gaarder play 145 games combined. And we're still talking about a loss in a regional final.

You know what this season taught me? Believe who is returning/coming-in when you see them skating warm-ups on opening night. JT {bleeping} Miller ...

"Icky"? I guess I didn't have you pegged as a 7th grade girl.

My only asks for 2012-13 are: FIRST: - go the the WCHA Final Five as either the #1 or #2 seed (so they have no more than two games in two days) or - focus less on winning the Final Five if it means three games in three days LAST View the NCAAs as the post-season tournament to three-peat from now on.

FAIL. 1963-1980.

The Mario Lamoureux streak ends. They finally lost a game he scored in.

What I'd really like to see changed isn't number of teams but seeding What I'd change: - if they are using pre-determined sites you have to be a #1 or #2 seed to be at home, otherwise you get no guarantee of being at the site your school is hosting - seed using KRACH, not PWR

I picked 7000 because if implemented it'd get negotiated down to 6000 in committee. Even then, teams like Yale and Fairfield would declare DCS Center (where they hosted a regional this time). Tech would declare Resch in Green Bay. The Bawhstan schools would declare The Gawhden or some other venue that holds the requisite number. This year I'm guessing the top four would've looked something like (and using the 6000 minimum number): BC - Conte Forum Michigan - Yost Arena Union - Pepsi Arena in Albany (biggest rink around there, hosts an AHL team) UND - uh ... Engelstad Arena ... (stop here, that's a whole other forum to discuss)

The only two days all season this team left me feeling empty were Sunday afternoons: - a loss at Bemidji to make the record 4-7-1: I had no idea what to expect next at that point. - a loss in the regional finals to end the incredible ride And it was an incredible ride in between. To the team: Thanks for the incredible ride. And please, please, please always remember what hard work brings. Remember it. Teach it. Use it to go where you've been, and further next time.

PS - Why 16 teams? Because over the last handful or so years, the #1 seeds are barely over 0.500 against the #4 seeds (teams 13-16 in the tournament).

I gave my thoughts in a different thread: Why not let the #1 seeds host with the requirement that they must host in an arena that holds at least 7000 people. Before the season every team would have to declare where they'd host if granted a #1 seed. If your home rink holds 7000, host there. If not, a team would have to declare where they'd host.

Why not let the #1 seeds host with the requirement that they must host in an arena that holds at least 7000 people. Before the season every team would have to declare where they'd host if granted a #1 seed. If your home rink holds 7000, host there. If not, a team would have to declare where they'd host.

The question I have to Nelson and Kristo: Were you as dominant this year as Gregoire was last year? Gregoire hasn't stuck with his NHL squad. And MacWilliam and Forbort? MacWilliam needs to work on his offensive game or he'll never see the NHL. Forbort needs to figure out how to play at his highest ability level consistently. (Mattson and Simpson were getting power play time in front of him. That doesn't say "NHL ready".) Dell? He's the wildcard. He could go. He could stay. All I know is that I've seen a lot of very good WCHA goalies leave early and that I've never seen them since.

So on April 5 it's Union and Ferris State and then the night game is Minnesota and BC. Brad Schlossman's Tweet on topic is ... Dead. On.

Attendance at these regionals is embarrassing. There's nobody in GB for Corn/FSU. The eastern rinks are as bad or worse. And the X was not even completely full today. The sport and the teams deserve better.

That was the mask Dell has worn all season.