If this tournament had been played in a pod, with teams 17, 18 and 19 present in voluntary reserve, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. If a team fell out in the first round, *boom* replacement! In the second round, the loser to the COVID team in the previous round goes in their place and so on through the championship. It might sound awkward, but at least the credibility would be higher.
Actually, I think UNO would have preferred WMU. They match up much better skill-wise with them. You can’t make mistakes against Denver but you can get away with some smudge against Andy’s boys...
And more so than that, look at the fan bases that suffer the years upon years of missing out. Middle of the pack guys (and put your bias aside for a moment) like Western and Omaha and Bemidji and the like. Their pain is different and nothing they can control. At least we have that culture and draw and fan base to pull the best recruits and carry that swagger into any rink in this country confident that we will play the game at the highest level..
I think he tries to be the Brad Marchand of the Midwest. It’s too bad, the kid does have some skill. Last year he was on a tear. Hard to help from the box and his numbers show it. Looked on EP and he has 1 goal.
Deep in the heart of a abandoned Cold War missile silo, our hero goes to work. With the clock ticking, and fingers flying across the keyboard, can he do it?!