Kevin G

BU just buzzing at the end of regulation. Northeastern fortunate to get to OT.

At the moment, it looks like the at-large cutoff for the NCAA tournament will be at least PWR 14--worse if there conference tournament upsets. You probably need to be no worse than PWR 12 to guarantee yourself a spot in the tourney. This is relevant for a number of NCHC teams near the bubble. Presently WMU is 12, SCSU is 14, CC is 17, and Omaha is 18.

Right. Omaha is the real wildcard. Where UND ends up will depend largely on whether UNO makes the tourney and if they do, what seed each team gets. I have to say, it’s good to be thinking of UND as a virtual lock for the NCAA tournament again. Not to take anything for granted though. As Caggiula was fond of saying, “Leave no doubt.” And just getting in isn’t the end goal.

Klee and Boisvert each with 2 goals tonight for Muskegon. In the same game, Strathmann was a -3 for Youngstown.

Interesting. I didn't know that conferences could choose another way to select their AQ. I suppose if a conference used its regular-season champ for its AQ, the conference tourney would be irrelevant.

Just to clarify, in your system, every conference-tourney champion would get home ice in round one?

Michigan-Michigan St on B1G Network right now. Halfway thru second period, Sparty leads 2-1.

ST. LAWRENCE WINS! HOLY COW!

Same score. Less than a minute left. St. Larry's goalie is Ben Kraws, who backed up Ludwig for a year in Miami. Do you believe in miracles? Will the fans rush the court rink?

About 3 minutes left. Same score. Rand pulled his goalie.

In case you're wondering, it's about a six-hour drive from Quinnipiac to St. Lawrence, which is in Canton, NY.

Upset alert St. Larry 3, Quinnipiac 1 About 12 minutes left in 3rd period. That's PWR 55 vs PWR 6.

I was today year's old when I learned that there actually exists an award for "the best American-born Division I college hockey player in New England." It's called the Walter Brown Award. That's so oddly specific. There's provincial, and then there's northeast provincial.

Definitely want to stay out of the box against these teams.

And...CC has now won at least 10 conference games for the first time in the NCHC era. 2013-14: 6 2014-15: 2 2015-16: 4 2016-17: 4 2017-18: 8 2018-19: 9 2019-20: 4 2020-21: 6 2021-22: 6 2022-23: 8 2023-24: 10 and counting

If BU beats BC on Monday, the top three would be (1) BC, (2) BU, (3) UND. If BC beats BU, the top three would be (1) BC, (2) UND, (3) BU (which is the current order as of Sunday night).

Apparently broadcasting from the shower.

Too bad they don’t get a pronunciation guide…

You just know that if we’re talking bowels pre-game, we’re feeling loose.

Fri - Gaber Sat - Berg

When Kunz is aggressive hunting pucks and aggressive screening the goalie, he can be a legitimate x-factor.

I'm ready for some more hockey. Is it really just Tuesday?

If I'm not mistaken (feel free to check), every team in the NCHC has won 10 conference games in a season at least once--except for Colorado College. (Yes Miami achieved the feat in 2014-15 with 14 conference wins). CC currently has nine conference wins and will almost certainly join the 10-Conference-Win club soon. So pre-congratulations to the Tigers.

The defense and goaltending have exceeded my expectations. UND is currently tied for eighth in the nation at 2.4 Goals Allowed/Game. And it seems like they're getting better. Offensively, the defensemen have scored just seven goals so far this season. Seven of the 100 goals UND has scored. Two seasons ago, defensemen scored about 26% of UND's goals. Last season, 20% of UND's goals. This season, 7%. But it doesn't seem like it's holding the team back.

Miami is currently PWR 43. Even though it could be a hangover weekend, UND needs to take care of business. It doesn’t have to be pretty.