skiumah2

Tremendous game! Fitting last game for a great rivalry. We'll meet again though and before the 4 year hiatus is over. Good luck all, I'm out for now.

In overtime? No way unless its blantant. That wasn't.

I can't blame you for hoping for that. Please excuse me for wanting a different outcome.

Fitting for the final game in the series for a while.

This is a really good game!

I am not disappointed in my team's play tonight.

Big chance wasted for my team there.

That was an easy call based on replay. I can understand how they didn't see that live action though.

Thank you. For people who seem to be interested. The reason I'm here is because it's interesting. I know my team. I don't need to hear about what I already know over on GPL. It's interesting for me to read and post here because I can get a different perspective from a different fan base. I go to the Frozen 4 every year and meet fans from all over the country. I like doing that. I don't plan on coming to your site to start crap. However, I'm not going to be walked on either. If someone tells me I'm blind because I don't agree the refs stink, I may respond a little Richard-ish. If the moderators ban me for that, nothing I can do. Again though, I'm not here to start crap.

I guess I didn't know nor did I think it wasn't normal. What's wrong with it? I believe I commented on that play already. That is if it was near our blue line during our PP. I thought it could have been called and wouldn't have argued if it was. However, I did not think it was obvious. If it wasn't that play, I didn't see it.

Why is it garbage? Am I not allowed here? I'm not being a Richard. If I disagree with you am I not allowed to post my thoughts?

What is it that you expect to happen? Are you really serious with this? The game is up and down and has been a very good game so far. The score isn't what I would hope for but calling the officiating garbage? I'm sorry...I don't see it. You guys are the ones that like to say hockey is a physical game. Warning didn't contact the head. He didn't charge, board or elbow. The trip at our blue line during our PP could have been called but it wasn't obvious. Again, saying the officiating is garbage is way over the top.

Honestly its Hunt that I think is the worst. Shep is guilty by association but I don't think he's that bad. Differing opinion between us I guess.

Trust me, I think Hunt and Shep are the worst pair in the league. I just don't think you can criticize them tonight. Last night was a little more questionable but I don't think they were awful last night either.

Didn't see it but to say the officiating is bad tonight is inaccurate.

Not tonight we don't.

So if you put your hands up to protect yourself from a check, that's 5 minutes for head contact? Are you really serious or is this just a heat of the moment in game thing? In 1,000,000 years you will never see a referee anywhere give 5 minutes or even 2 minutes for that. You can hate Rau all you want. if he wasn't on my team I would too, but don't be ridiculous. Both guys deserved a penalty. I don't think either did enough to warrant a double minor but calling for a major? Get serious.

Responding to my post indicates differently but I won't lose any sleep if you don't. As for the rest of your post, how in the world do you have any idea why he did what he did. Your little story is perfect for you because it makes a Gopher look bad but in the end you don't have any idea what's going on. Calling him a crybaby is fun for you but the facts that are known suggest you are probably wrong. Like I said in my last post, I don't know why he did it, but I have strong doubts that his 3 game absense had anything to do with punishment or suspension. Any player, much less the leading scorer, is not going to be held out of 3 games for what he did. However, he would be held out if concerns existed whether it be mental, physical, or personal. By the way, I am one of the few Gopher fans who feels the Hirsch reaps what he sows. I don't have any problem for people ripping on him for what he did. After all, it was pretty bizarre and I hate to admit it but kind of funny too. I just think it's laughable for anyone to claim to know why he did it and/or claim he owes an explanation for it.

Who are you to demand an explanation from Tyler Hirsch? He is choosing to keep this to himself. Yet that causes you to like him less. I'm sure Hirsch will be distraught that a Sioux fan likes him less now. Has anyone thought of this? Do you really think a coach would sit his number one scorer for the 2 biggest games of the season (West Regional)? I can understand sitting him for the 3rd place game to teach him a lesson. While it may have been important to play well and put up a good showing against their rival, in the grand scheme of things the 3rd place game wasn't life or death. Every game is important, but it was a gain little if won and lose little if lost type of game. If Hirsch's meltdown wasn't nervous breakdown or mental health related then why didn't he skate in the West Regional? If Hirsch's absence for 3 games was simply punishment for his post game antics against CC then isn't that a little harsh? After all, Greg Paukavich only got 2 games for potentially ending someone's career. I have no idea why Hirsch did what he did, but he doesn't owe me, Federov or anyone else outside his family, teammates, and coaches an explanation for what he did. If you like him less for not telling us then go ahead. Just keep in mind very few people will care what you think about that.

I think the biggest problem is referees don't want to penalize the team for the actions of a player. Think about it, if you're the ref working a game late in the 2nd period with the score tied in a conference final and a checking from behind occurs. You can either put that team a man down for 5 minutes with unlimited PPGs or you can call boarding while still penalizing the play. For some refs in some situations, that major call can be hard to make when there is a lesser alternative. Instead of penalizing the team with a 5 minute major, what if a standard 2 minute power play is given but the player who committed the foul gets severely penalized. What if the player gets a DQ plus a 2 game suspension. Remember, the intent is to stop the infractions. If a player knows he's out for the game plus two more he's going to think twice about laying a hit from behind. Also, it somewhat takes the ref off the hook. He doesn't have to worry about putting a team down 5 minutes. He only has to issue a 2 minute minor to the team while he's escorting the guily player to the locker room. I really think that's the biggest hangup for refs. You take that out of the equation and guilty players will learn their lesson everytime they hit from behind. Not just the time they put someone in the hospital.

I am a Gopher fan and I agree with all non-Gopher fans that this rule is a very poor and unfair rule. To be honest, most Gopher fans I talk to think this rule is horrible. Not for the #1 seed who is forced to play an afternoon game instead of the marquee prime time game, but rather for the winner of the Thurs night play in game winner who is required to lace 'em up barely 14 hours later. IMO that is just insane. The Excel is supposed to be a neutral site without giving any advantage to any team. The "Minnesota" rule completely goes against that. The first year of the rule was 1997. The idea for the rule came about after tallying attendance totals from 1993 to 1996. In 1993 the Gophers (#3) played Wisconsin (#2) on Fri afternoon. The attendance was o.k. but a lot of tickets went unsold. The night game between UMD (#1) and Northern Michigan (#4) played in front of mostly empty seats. 2 years later in 1995, the Gophers beat the Sioux in the Thursday play in game and took on CC in the Friday night game. The Friday afternoon game between DU and UW drew the same small crowd as the non Gopher game in 1993. The Gopher/CC game later that night was a packed house. When the tourney was in Milwaukee in 1994 and 1996, the Badgers played the Fri afternoon game both years. The results were pretty much the same. The Badger game could have sold more tickets and the night game was almost empty. At that point the league decided that Minnesota would play on Fri night in St. Paul or Minneapolis to boost attendance, while Wisconsin would do the same when it was played in Milwaukee. Since the Final Five hasn't been in Milwaukee since 1996, the Badgers have never taken advantage of that rule. Since the rule went into effect, Minnesota has been a #2 or #3 seed in 5 of the 8 Final Five's played and the last 4 in a row including this year. I don't think the rule makers thought it would happen this often but that's no excuse. Oddly enough, the Gophers have only won one Final Five (last year) since that rule went into effect. That being said, I'm a firm believer that this rule is a major reason why the winner of the play in game has never won this tournament. The time has come to abolish this rule. It's hard enough for the play in winner to play the best team in the WCHA. Having to play a rested team 14 hours after a hard earned victory is ridiculous. I would have to believe that this rule is living on borrowed time. Common sense needs to prevail here. The Gophers and Bulldogs should be playing on Fri afternoon. It's not right.