SiouxSherm94

I hate to be a thorn in your a$$, but you appear to be 100% certain that Anchorage is going to be getting the ax. There's talks about the consolidation of hockey programs in effect to not eliminate the sport completely, but we can't say, at least right now, that they're going to give one the cut and keep the other. Alaska's budget issues are very real and it's unfortunate to see what their universities are facing as a result, especially in respect to their athletic programs which have been a part of the national hockey landscape for decades. They need our support now more than ever, even if it isn't possibly enough to save.

That was something that I forgot to include was Gersich, it's a big split between him and Pogo on 1st. Great points though.

CBS line was among the best in the country. The way I see it is last year's Schmaltz on the new top line will be Boeser and last year's Boeser will be Tyson, coming in and killing it. I have a very strong feeling that Pogo is going to be on the top line too. He's made great improvements year over year and is a great staple; we're going to have another line that teams around the conference and country will need to constantly watch. Personally am really not concerned there.

ASU is a good chance. Not sure it'd be safe to bet on the former though.

It's a brand new HOCKEY conference SiouxFan, I'd hope there'd be a crystal clear expectation for member teams to have a strong commitment to hockey......

The only two sports that SCSU predominantly has going for them are men's hockey and wrestling. Grappling program is an absolute powerhouse, and as we know they've definitely made a case for being strong contenders in the NCHC since the conference opened and placed its teams on the ice. It was definitely bold to extend invitation to them, but since they've proved themselves, I, too, see nothing wrong with it. Bobby is doing big things there and will continue to if they recruit high caliber athletes. For Mankato, their two big teams are hockey and football. The latter is usually at the top of the NSIC and has been for a great majority of the last decade. I remember being a student at Winona State for a year, and when they came in, they wiped the floor with us. Same thing happened on a visit to WSU's homecoming a year later. Educationally, things seem to be firming up there too. My initial reaction to seeing Mankato applying to the NCHC was "Why?". That's it. It can most definitely cut travel costs, especially when traveling to the Alaskans or UAH, but it simply gives me a funny feeling. It'd be fun to see Bowling Green get thrown into the mix but that too feels silly. As we know there are many things that go into membership.

I'm a die-hard Sioux fan. I've hated everything about the new nickname and logo process. What I hated even more, though, was being a fan in the seats at the Ralph and hearing the booing when Looker announced "..Fighting Hawks.." in any capacity. We got attention for it and while most see it as the resistance and slight rebellion against the adoption of the nickname, it makes us look terrible. Some people are never going to be okay with the Fighting Hawks deal. I'll always have a bad taste in my mouth because of how poorly everything was handled. But what we need to keep in mind is that there's nobody forcing anything down anybody's throats. Our public image is important, and we are blessed to have the diamond in the rough that the Ralph is. By putting the new logo at center ice, along with Fighting Hawks around the faceoff circle, branding can take off. It's as simple as: if you don't like the nickname, don't support it. Many have preached this from the beginning, but it speaks to the volumes of crowds that have dropped their support completely from the University. Continue to support the traditions that our historied sports program have built for over a century. It'll never change. We're still going to recruit high-class athletes, especially so with the hockey program (because it is part of the mission of North Dakota hockey) and build off of what we've made thus far.

Just another way of UND losing tickets away from home. We'll still be roaring louder at Mariucci than they will.

Haha, drive about 7 miles and you'll find one in Mesa. Just curious to know if Tempe has a specialty like we do Red Pep.

Can we get back to the topic here?

The guy at AT&T is not wrong, but he isn't completely right. I work for the company. Midco has majority coverage for UND hockey games, and as said before, CBSSN (which DirecTV does offer) carries a few games here and there. NCHC.tv is a good side subscription for all UND games. That two year price lock with DTV is rad. Pretty much the best reason to jump ship from the expensive Midco cable.

Needless to say, it's a part of conference membership. Big question that ASU needs to ask themselves is what's going to place their program in the best spot in the long run. It's clear they had the funds to jump into the NCAA ranks and maintain the program, regardless of what conference they join. When it comes to competition, the NCHC no doubt will be the better fit for them. As I've said before, the skill (no offense to the WCHA) that we have will help build their program. It might take time but ASU has the potential of being a very good program with the athletes that they have and will bring in the future. Also, the overall structure of our conference is sound, especially financially. It would make more fiscal sense for them to join us, considering Fenton and the other higher ups agree to it. I REALLY hope they join us.

Can relate to this 100%. I'm a third gen UND student from the Twin Cities that also paid attention to the Goophs during the Woog days. Family influence is the reason that Sioux pride runs so deep and I'm damn proud of that.

No doubt with his work ethic. Nobody can question that whatsoever. He has what it takes to be a leader, but at that point we shouldn't be tossing out patches for the sake of tossing out patches. Quality over quantity when it comes to a captain corps.

I'm a huge fan of these lines. One person I really want to see have a good training camp and remainder of the offseason is Danys. Kid really needs to break the line-up and I feel that he will develop enough. The one thing I can't get past, though, is seeing an "A" next to Boeser's name. He's talented, respected, and all around a stand-out guy but we really shouldn't be holding the expectation of pinning assistant captainship on the young gun already. Don't care if he's probably only got one more year left; it just isn't logical.

Direct confirmation most likely to come next month as training will be picking up with the squad. Awesome news though without a doubt.

You bring up a good point. In three years of existence the NCHC has established itself as a powerhouse in NCAA hockey already, but even IF we were to add ASU into the mix I feel that our already-member teams would continue to go about their business as they have. Don't have an arena? Not right now. One's coming. The one thing I know is that if a team is being added into the NCAA ranks from the club system, they need development. We don't want to cast team out as a weak link (as if CC isn't experiencing that already), but by adding them to our conference they would most definitely get some development in gameplay, and on the ASU side of things, being attached to the conference might help with their recruiting. They have talent, but in order to keep bringing more to the program, this can help. Greg Powers and their AD have done incredible things in the last couple of years and I only wish the best for them going forward.