Jackson

http://home.nycap.rr.com/mlewin/ I think you will need to choose the CC broadcast as Denver is a paid subscription.

They worked OK for me. Do you have Real Player installed?

I am pulling for CC in this one. I would hate to see Denver "taint" our back to back What I am really hoping for is that we don't get a repeat of the Final Five title game. I brought some friends to that game who are not really in to college hockey and that was not the way to introduce them to it. I had to keep pumping beers into them so they wouldn't fall asleep!

Good luck to both teams. this one is for bragging rights all summer! Go Gophers.

Thanks, wasn't aware of that.

Resident hack Pat Reusse in the Sunday Minneapolis Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/5325813.html You will need to register to read the article. Or try this, www.bugmenot.com

Info on the Gopher charter. http://www.creativecharter.com/gopher_men_hockey.htm

I believe both Thursday games are on ESPN2 while the title game is on ESPN.

Bruce Mcleod: ADAM YOUR FIRED! Don Adam: WHY? Bruce Mcleod: I JUST MAKE $#!& UP AS I GO!

I don't know if you can say getting to play the winner of the CC-DU matchup is fortunate. I think this time of year the team that brings it's A game is going to win regardless of who they play. Make too many mistakes and all these teams will make you pay.

Gophers-Sioux, title game berth on the line. Woo Hoo, it's on baby! Should be a great game. As a hockey fan I can only hope for a game like the Final Five title game last year, not because Minnesota won but because it was a fun up and down game (unlike this year's snoozefest). Going into the game NoDak certainly has all the momentum and despite being a lower seed I would call them the favorite. Minnesota needs to right the ship despite winning their last two. NoDak just needs to maintain. Good luck to both teams. Go Gophers. Rah.

Good luck against BC NoDak. Shudder. Must go wash off now.

I agree with your idea PCM but I would like to see it tweaked a little. You are right on point with the statement that fighting is an automatic major yet there seems to be little risk of SERIOUS injury, unlike boarding which we unfortunately know all too well carries greater risk. The problem is, fighting is cut and dried. Nothing left to the imagination. A boarding call in some instances is a grey area. What if the player being boarded was actually turning up ice, and had since left a vulnerable position but the ref didn't catch it? If you want to make it an automatic major, fine. With regards to keeping players out for the rest of seasons or even careers I think the league should step in and review the tape. If after reviewing the tape the league deems it was in fact worthy of a major then that counts as a strike in your system. This would satisfy your idea of penalizing players like Paukovich (even though you did not single him out) and wouldn't jeopardize the season or career of players who were simply victims of a bad call (there's been a few of those in the WCHA, eh )

For most Gopher Fans the old adage is true. Our two favorite teams are the Gophers and whoever is playing the BADgers I love to see the Gophers kick everyones tail in the WCHA, but if we are out I will pull for certain WCHA teams in the NCAA's as long as you aren't Wisconsin or SCSU.

Why? I hope and pray there will never be such thing as the Big Ten conference for Hockey. I know as a Gopher Fan I am not alone in the fact that many of us buy Final Five packages and go to every game. Last years tourney had almost 13,000 in attendance for the Thursday night game between UAA and CC. Would even 10,000 fans show up at REA or the Kohl Center if the Sioux or Badgers weren't playing? I do agree with The Don that the winner of the play in game should play the number 1 seed in the night game. If the Gophers were in the afternoon game they would get a huge turnout and very likely that would carry over into the night game.

Show me where it says the Gophers get to choose when and where they play in the WCHA tournament. Point is, the dissatisfaction with the current system should be directed at the people who govern it, the league.

If you want to make the case that the game times favor the Gophers, fine. But you make yourself look ignorant when you blame it on the U as if they get to pick when they play. If you have a gripe with the WCHA say so but to imply there is conspiracy is just sour grapes.

On the Fabian goal, he was bringing the puck into the zone and the BADger D-man (Piskula?) took him into the boards but didn't finish his check so Fabian squeezed through and was then able to go in on Bruckler at a sharp angle (just above the red line) and he made a great move to get it by Bernd. Seeing the move I was quite surprised that was his first goal of the year. I am hoping you guys can finish the sweep, that will put the Gophers two points out of third with 2 games left.

Unfortunately, yes. I think the issue they need to address first is the situation where the play in game winner is forced to play the Friday afternoon game when they would normally be in the night game but were bumped so the Gophers would be on TV at night. The X is a neutral building but the crowd is pro Gopher. I am all for rotating the Final Five between different venues. However if other venues don't draw the same crowds then they need to look at keeping it in St Paul for a while.

In the same vein that the Final Five is held at the X for financial, in addition to logistical reasons, the Gophers play at night because TV wants its biggest draw in prime time.

I was thinking about NoDak last night after watching the Gopher game. I was thinking after seeing some of the boxscores and recaps where the Sioux outplayed and outshot their opponent but still lost. It is definately frustrating as a fan. I guess both teams just have to take it for what it is (I have no idea) and trust that these are two top programs who will see bumps in the road but year in and year out will be near the top. I didn't mind seeing CC fall but it would have been nice to see someone other than SCSU do it. Dagies- I agree with you about Dahl, it would be nice to see a good coach come in there and make SCSU and hence the WCHA a better league. I would think that job would be very desirable because there is a lot of in state talent to recruit and they have a fanbase ready to pounce on a winner.

While the standings reflect the number of points accrued in league play it is not always an indicator of how a team is playing and where we can expect them to end up. I think a better way of reflecting the standings is to group teams into tiers. So here goes. Tier 1. CC and Denver. Both of these teams have played and beat quality opponents on the road and have also for the most part beat the teams they are supposed to. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see one or both atthe Frozen Four. Tier 2. Minnesota and Wisconsin. Minnesota has played and beat good teams at home and on the road but has also struggled, specifically the CC and worse MTU sweep at home. Wisconsin has a nice, pretty record but hasn't played the caliber of teams those grouped by them have. They also lose in the pairwise and more importantly the head to head when compared to Minnesota. Tier 3. Nodak and Duluth. Most people myself included had these two teams at the top of the league in their preseason predictions. Due to a number of factors both teams have struggled to meet expectations. However, there is a lot of talent up and down both rosters and could be trouble in the playoffs if they get hot. Tier 4. Michigan Tech. While their record is terrible they have put together a sustained run of quality play against quality competition on the road no less. Could be a spoiler in the WCHA first round. Tier 5. Mankato, St Cloud, and Anchorage. Anyone can beat anyone an any given night blah blah blah. It would give me great pleasure to see Tech finish above Jan Brady

FS#1 I don't care if you agree with my opinion but I won't apologize for it just because it isn't in lockstep with you school's administration.

I think the fact that the coaches and administration pulled the trigger on a punishment tells me they had all the facts they needed in order to act. As far as the penalty itself I think this was a serious infraction and that 2 games was too light. I would not agree with removing the C. Four games would have been more appropriate in my opinion.

I believe American citizens with a DWI need to get what is called a Ministers Permit to enter the country. Aside from that, I think everyone on this forum and others like it need to take a step back, we are college hockey fans and I say criticize all you want his play on the ice but be a little more careful about things like this. Most people have made some bad choices growing up. I hope for Matt's sake he learns from it and gets on with his life.