NoDak Fan

The boys have some work to do next year!

Anyone know what the average age of Minnesota State's team is? The have 1 NHL draft pick and Minnesota has 14. Looks like a very good commercial men's team playing the kids just right out of high school in beer league!

The NCAA basketball tournament showed us the excitement and heartbreak of the one-and-done format in the NCAA Tournament. I just wonder if hockey was played in the same fashion as NCAA baseball with best two-of-three regionals/super regionals would UND have a few banners hanging in the Ralph. No way som of these talked-about teams like 2003-04, 2010-11, 1998-99 lose two of out three. It won't happen since best-of-three series cost money and money is something the NCAA doesn't like to spend on niche sports with low profile on the national sports scene. My two cents

Yes, that 2019-20 team was a good one and cheated out of a chance to win a title.

As we gear up for the NCAA Tournament I'm thinking back to some of the great UND teams that never did reach the pinnacle. I apologize if this has been kicked around before, but I was curious to get others' feedback on some of the great UND teams that didn't win the title. As we know you sometimes need some good fortune to win a title. I think of the 1997 team not having to face Michigan in the title that year as an example. Or the 1999-2000 team that faced Niagara instead of New Hampshire in the region final in Minneapolis. But there is always some misfortune that goes along way. Like the 1997-98 team that had Karl Goehring sidelined and the tough task of facing Michigan on its home ice in the West Regional. Or, the 2003-04 team that couldn't get a goal over Denver in the West Regional in Colorado Springs. But I digress. Here is my top four UND teams not to win a title (in no particular order). 1998-99: Didn't lose more than a handful of games. Perhaps ran out of steam in the final few weeks. Lost to BC in the regional, 3-1 in Madison (That team was loaded: Jason Blake, Jay Panzer, Jeff Panzer, Lee Goren, Brad Williamson, Mike Commordore, Karl Goehring and had great depth in Ulmer, DeFauw, Armburst to name a few. 2000-01: A year after winning in 2000. The cupboard wasn't completely bare. Had Jeff Panzer, Ryan Bayda, David Hale, Travis Roche, Bryan Lundbohm and Karl Goehring. Didn't have the scoring depth as other Blais' teams, but were entertaining. Rallied to force OT vs. BC in the title game. Had some great scoring chances early (I believe Lundbohm had a breakaway) in the first. 2003-04: Zach Parise's 2nd year. Brandon Bochenski. Of the games lost that year, not many were my more than one goal. 2010-11: The Pony Express. Chay Genoway. Danny Kristo. Had to face Denver in back-to-back weekends to get to the Frozen Four in St. Paul. Could play fast, could play heavy. Outshot and mostly outplayed Michigan in the semifinals, but couldn't score. Ran into another hot goalie. Honorable Mention: 2006-07: The DOT line. Rallied from a miserable start against Michigan in the region semifinal. Defeated rival Minnesota a week after the Blake Wheeler game. Had a second period lead over BC in the semifinals, but couldn't close it out.

With Omicron being a big concern now and the Eastern schools propensity for shutting down at the drop of a hat, is there a concern that Cornell will pull the plug on its trip on Jan. 7-8? I see they are also scheduled to play at Arizona State (Jan. 1-2). Wondering

Wonder just how effective Caufield would have been playing in a league where checking in the corners is encouraged. He's talented, no question, but aside from power plays, just how much time and space would he have gotten having to play fast and talented teams that are hard on pucks week-in-and week-out in the NACHO? We'll see how the next level goes for him.

Too bad Pinto didn't stay. I could see it now. The Ford-Pinto Line!

UMASS shorthanded for Frozen Four. Losing top goalie and top forward due to contact tracing. Later today we will learn that St. Cloud State and Minnesota State's charter planes are grounded due to mechanical failure. Why doesn't the NCAA just drop the national championship trophy off at Amsoil Arena and save us the trouble.

Should've had the tournament in one city and had enabled some flexibility for a team on stand-by to fill a spot in the bracket. Or, they should've just taken the top 4 teams this season and place them in the Frozen Four (like the old days). Hopefully, the NCAA gets its right when the next pandemic hits. Hopefully, I'm not around to see it

Here is hoping Lake State can win so Bucci has to broadcast a WCHA game tomorrow night.

A few observations. Did Wisconsin do any conditioning this season? Looked awfully tired and lost a lot of races to pucks. Tony Granato has some good video next season on what being "hard on pucks" means. With no non-conference play (outside of ASU) the Badgers never saw a team that played a 200-foot game for 3 periods.

Wow! One tournament game in the books and 3 Big Ten teams are done.

Yes, Michigan isn't used to playing hard in the corners, so if it's bad in the trenches we know it's Duluth

We'll see after Michigan-Minnesota Duluth chew it up. Hopefully, it's not an issue.

What makes this even more of a bad situation is there is no day off for BU and SCSU to recover. At least in the bouncy ball tournament there is a day off between rounds. Now you have team that gets the benefit of moving on and then play a team that has to play the day before. But, perhaps that's not a bad thing for the winner, providing there are no injuries.

I still find it vexing that Notre Dame is still getting a look at getting into the tournament. I get they have 2 wins over Wisconsin and Michigan. But you have to look at the fact they lost to ASU twice, Ohio St and Michigan State. I just don't see how they get it over others.

We look like a team that played a late semifinal game and just running on "fumes" at time. I have question regarding some of our depth players (8, 11, 13) that seem to riding the bench game after game with not much expectations. Well, this would be a good time to show the coaches and the fanbase maybe you can be more than just a bench player on a good team. Like in the movie Hoosiers. "Ollie, we need you. We need you now!"

Give Denver credit. That was the performance we expected from them all season. They were the hungrier team. They were fast, physical and their goalie showed up. A misplay leaving the zone led to the first goal. A defensemen losing his footing and a backchecker not picking up the trailer at the net led to the second goal. missed coverage A lucky rebound bounce gave them the third goal. Only goal that was bad on Scheel's end was the fourth, but not sure if it was tipped or screened. But again a misplay leaving the zone led to Denver holding the possession and eventually scoring. Lots of video work to show tomorrow morning. Power play had moments, but the first opportunity was a train wreck I agree with an earlier post about switching up the lines after 2 periods. Don't think it was necessary. We'll see if Thome gets the start. I would think Scheel can bounce back but we'll see. It's one game and we were likely do for one of those performances. We weren't sharp, and they were, and that is how you build a sizable lead and eventual win over a quality opponent.

It's a sweep, but certainly not a very good effort for 6 periods. You would think a team that has been off for so long would have played with more jump, but maybe the altitude is really a factor. UND is not well suited for the big ice. Can't be aggressive in the corners. Can't activate the D much. The last two or so minutes was not very good game management. The power play should have just played keep away in the final minutes, but it seemed like they were ill prepared for what they should do. Coaches should have been more clear on what they needed to enable CC to get some chances. Gaber ices the puck with no pressure on him. Pinto ices the puck with no pressure on him. Adams was the best player on the ice. Lots of guys just looked sluggish. Lots of little turnovers and reckless play at times along the blue line. It seems odd to be somewhat disappointed in a sweep, but this team is better than this. On to the next opponent -- whomever that will be

A few observations. I thought we dodged some bullets early in the second period. It could've been 3-1 or even 4-1. Scheel was steady. I thought we had a good push back midway thru the second and didn't let Denver's speed keep being a factor. We were struggling with it early in the second. Eventually, we got that late period goal, thanks to putting some good shifts together. I think Tim Hennessy said at one time shots were 20-9 Denver and were tied 22-22 in the first minute of the third. I would have been happy getting to overtime, but as it was said before, you can't take bad penalties against a good team. Eventually, it will catch up to you. I'm happy with the progress of our PP. It's early but we needed it tonight and it came through. That bodes well moving ahead. It's a hard situation this season. We don't have the luxury of an exhibition game and a few non-conf. series to work guys in. I know every team is in that boat, but playing a team like Denver twice in four games is a challenge. It doesn't get any easier on Thursday. The goal is to keep improving, win the games you're supposed to, stay healthy and we'll be fine come NCAA time.

Saw on the Western Fan site a few days ago they were discussing how they need to make the move to the Can't Cut It Hockey Association (CCHA). And that was before the beat down today. No need to be the punching bag of the NCHC anymore, I guess. I understand they are in a tough spot with their starting goalie hurt, but is it too early to give up on this. A move isn't going to guarantee they are going to be the class of the CCHA. I don't think talent like Wade Allison , Mattias Samuelssons and Dawson Diepietro will be coming to Kalamazoo to face the likes of Ferris State, LSSU and Northern Michigan on a regular basis. I hope they understand you need about a .700 winning percentage to have a chance at an at-large NCAA bid if you are in that conference.

Anyone having issues with NCTV? I can watch games just fine with my subscription on the computer, phone. I can't watch on Roku. The site has games listed at the wrong times. I can't access live games. Trying to watch Duluth-Denver. Bizarre?

Thanks, Blackheart, for posting the 1998 Final 5 game vs. SCSU. Missed that one, and appreciate getting a chance to see it!!

Thanks, Blackheart for posting! Always remembered this Saturday afternoon game from Mariucci. It was three long years between trips to the Frozen Four. I think UND would have dominated more had this game not been played on an Olympic sheet. I think that kept their O-zone attack a bit more conservative. I think there was some grumblings by Wisconsin fans/team about the fact UND got to play No. 6 Niagara while they had to play BC which was the 4 seed. They believed they should have gotten the easier opponent. That season Wisconsin fell victim to what had happened to UND over the previous two seasons. Win the reg. season league crown and then sort of lose its game. That was a good Badger team, but finished with back-to-back losses. Yes, Panzer was the difference maker in this one.