Snake

Just win, baby...I don't care who we play! If we're scared of getting past last-place Miami in a best-of-three at home, then what hope do we really have for the rest of the playoffs? Every team is "desperate" in the NCAAs.

Having a string of high draft picks has allowed them to draft the "power arms" they have been lacking. Re: Sano - Unfortunately, he is having season-ending Tommy John surgery this spring. Well, Punto does have a WS ring on his finger...

It's really of no consequence because the games that really matter are officiated by refs from the other leagues.

I haven't been following them as closely as I usually do the past couple years for obvious reasons; but I actually like the fact that the Twins have tanked. They're getting a chance to reload their farm system. It seems that every MN sports team just hangs around the middle of the pack and then never gets the chance to draft potential superstars. With the recent drafts, it sounds like the Twins have been building one of the best groups of prospects in baseball. Look at what the TB Rays have become after years of last place finishes and top draft positioning. Free agency is definitely not the way to go in my opinion. They neither have the money nor the nucleus on the team to have a free-agent acquisition make much of a difference.

I'm pretty sure we're not the only fan base that thinks the officials in their respective league are substandard.

Fri - Rocco

I got this same email today, unsolicited. I guess my tickets are "commemorative," whatever that's all about. I've seen a lot of posters mentioning their seats in the upper level...anyone with lower level seats have their tickets in-hand yet? Just wondering if that's where the "commemorative" distinction comes from. Edit: never mind, I see some in the lower level have theirs. I just don't remember choosing "commemorative stock."

Still waiting for my 6 tickets. Booked at the Marriott also.

Mike Parks

We made it in about 3.5 hours from Elk River (normally 2-2.5 hrs) this morning. Got here about 11:15. Gotta think the roads have improved since then.

...because they were down two goals. It's pretty easy to be in "attack mode" when you have nothing to lose. The question is...would they have done the same thing as the US had they been up 2 goals? Did USA "play not to lose" or did Canada "have nothing to lose?" Desperation is a funny thing.

I saw some internet/twitter chatter about the idea of going to U23 rosters for the Olympics. Whether or not that included U23 players in the NHL was not mentioned.

Here is what Brad posted in the comments about UND's offensive rank by season: Irony? Hak's "worst" scoring team is the only one to make the title game.

I'm curious to know the trend, not just what the slug of data from the past 10 years tells us their overall ranking has been. I asked Brad on the blog, so maybe he can provide the information. I'd like to see a chart of "Offensive Rank vs. Season" to see if our #3 ranking has held steady over the past 5 seasons, or if there is any indication of a trend downward. If it is indeed trending downward my guess is it would be more indicative of a relative talent decrease rather than the system all of a sudden not producing results.

But...now that there are 16 teams, isn't it easier to "just get in and see what happens?"

My buddy and I have two extra tickets for Friday night's game in Duluth. The seats are in section 222, row 6. I believe this is the end/corner where the Sioux will shoot twice. Face value + fees came to about $40/ticket, or $80 for the pair. PM if interested. We will be in Duluth by noon Friday so we can meet somewhere to do the transaction.

They're a disaster in front of their own net. Pretty easy to see why they've struggled this year.

Ha ha, whew! I'm usually on top of this stuff, so I thought I may have missed something with the RPI changes. Wouldn't surprise me if thy decided to throw a new ranking system in the mix and involve Mexico somehow.

What's the PRI?

Although it's less aesthetically pleasing than the Penrose Cup, I like the one the NCAA gives to its champion better.

Wow...I feel really bad for the kid whose parents got their whole team thrown out of the tourney. He's only 7 or 8 and he's got a tremendous amount of baggage to lug around the rest of his hockey playing days!

It's the same old posts, and the same old replies. I can't figure out why some don't just put gfhockey on "ignore."

I love hockey, but an 80 minute game with three intermissions on a regular season night is likely going to be too much for most people. Plus, if you ended up with two ties on the weekend the teams will have played 2 2/3 full games. It's just not feasible. I like the 4x4 format in the NHL, but I dislike the shootout because it's a team sport. 4x4 and 3x3 at least keeps it more like the standard product, but with an increased number of scoring chances. I was completely fine with calling a tie after 5:00 of 5x5; but if the powers that be need to decide a "winner" for every game I feel shorthanded play is preferrable - just not for a full 20 minutes.

I like simply letting ties stand, but a full 20 minutes would require a full intermission to do the ice. Who wants to wait 15 min for them to do the ice in a reg season game just to have the game potentially end in 2 minutes? 4x4 for 10 min max would be acceptable IMO. I also like the idea of 5 min 4x4 followed by 5 min 3x3 if necessary.

On the bright side...the PK has been decent. That, plus we've been winning with a horrible PP.