SiouxFanInBoston

End of 1st, still 2-1 BC. Niagara will be on PP to start the 2nd.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaah/audio It's the Minnesota feed.

And now BC scores to lead 2-1 (2:57 left in the 1st).

BC ties it up on a PP, 1-1 with about 5:00 left in the first. Niagara had really gotten their offense going (couple good chances and a shot off the post) and then was called for a penalty.

Still 1-0 Niagara, with about 7:20 left in the 1st.

BC's buzzing like crazy, but Niagara struck first. Niagara 1, BC 0. 16:25 to go in the 1st. No one's in the seats there, either...

Schmitzzz beat me to the punch! I wanted to add to my prior post about Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market being just a few blocks from the Fleet Center. That area is where there are a lot of bars and late night activity. It's a fun area, but I don't know how soundproof rooms might be. If you're up amongst the crowd, though, you might not care! [Also, don't mistake Quincy Market for Quincy, Mass. -- completely different.] There's a Wyndam Hotel (@$169 on Expedia) in the Faneuil Hall area (4 stars), which could be fairly reasonable-- and it would be a few blocks away from Faneuil Hall. Expedia also lists a 3-Star hotel on Devonshire Street called "Club Quarters" in the Quincy/Financial District/Waterfront which I don't know much about but it's only $107 per night (4/7/04 - 4/11/04). The Harborside Inn and the Millenium (both 3-1/2 stars) are practically on top of Faneuil Hall. Run a search to read reviews, though, since it looks like 1/2 the people loved those hotels and the other half couldn't sleep because the parties at the bars were too loud. I think I read on USCHO that a bunch of fans got deals at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel (that's in Back Bay a little farther away -- but definitely a location you could travel to and from by train/subway (the Green Line) or even walk if you feel up to it. This is another fun/nice area of town). It's listed at $149 on Expedia (3 stars). Hope this helps. EDIT: How could I forget to mention that the Hobey Baker Award will be presented at Faneuil Hall.

The Royal Sonesta Hotel is across the Charles River from Boston and in Cambridge, Mass. It's not in any of the areas I mentioned last night, but I've heard it's a nice hotel. I don't know how far it is from the Red Line, which is part of the subway/train system, but Sonesta's website says it's within walking distance of it. You could take the Red Line back over the Charles River to Park Street Station in Boston and either switch over to the Green Line and take that directly to North Station (where the Fleet is) or walk from there. It would take about 10 minutes or so to walk from Park Street Station if you knew the most direct route. I'd estimate the whole process would take about 25 minutes from start to finish. I'm sure you could also get a cab from your hotel. For me, it would be a little (and I stress that it's just a little) out of the way to stay in Cambridge, but it would be an okay choice if the price was right.

Yes, and Boston is such a walking town, too. Boston's actually a very small city area-wise. I don't even own a car -- the "T" or walking is the way to go. I did check out Expedia.com and there looks to be some good hotels in the area for around $150-$160/night (Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market is just a few blocks from the Fleet. The Fleet Center would be in what Expedia.com says is the "Quincy [Market]/Financial /Waterfront" area. The "Back Bay" part of town is a little farther away -- not too far away, though, and is a very nice area to stay. The trains go right to the Fleet from there or you could walk if you enjoy walking (or take a cab). "Beacon Hill" would also be a great area and close to the Fleet.

I think it's going to be pretty tough to find a decent hotel that doesn't cost an arm and a leg close by, unfortunately. I will check around tomorrow to get more ideas. Actually, I wouldn't overlook Priceline, though. I was able to get a good deal when I got some rooms here for family a couple years ago on Priceline. I got a 3 or 4 star hotel room for quite a bargain. You just have to pick the right part of town. (I'll go on Priceline later and see how they split up the city and get back to you on which areas would be fairly close to the action.)

I was wondering where they'd stay, too... I don't live far from the FleetCenter. I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll (the message board fans) get to meet in a couple weeks....

Thank you, everyone.

I had the fortune of inadvertantly sitting right next to Mike Euzione at a local BU hangout (T's Pub) before a BU game last season. We spoke for about 3 minutes (tops), but when I mentioned I was from North Dakota, we started comparing arenas. Mike (who is on the BU arena committee) said that a big consideration for their plans was making sure they had an arena at BU where the fans seemed to be on top of the players for the intimidation factor. He said that he had visited REA in his tour of arenas, and that they wanted to have a lower ceiling and more fans closer to the ice to make sure the home ice/sound factor helped the home team. He obviously had many complimentary things to say about UND hockey fans in general and REA, but I think he thinks the bigger rink sort of takes away from the intimidation factor for home ice advantage. He finished by saying that, after BU's new arena is finished, North Dakota would have the best arena in the West, and BU the best arena in the East -- without saying which one he thought would be best overall.... (Of course, I drilled him on .... "Will there be leather seats?" "No." "Marble floors?" "No." "TV's in the bathrooms?" etc., etc.) It was fun meeting him.

I posted this on the community site, but I'm still dealing with today's events. I hope you all bear with me for posting a link to the community site about a former UND alum, and my colleague here in Boston, Otto Rogelstad. He passed away suddenly this morning in Boston. While not as much of a hockey fanatic as I am, Otto and I always exchanged North Dakota sports information and were both proud as could be to be from North Dakota. I'll miss Otto, and I just want to make sure anyone who knew him (UND Law '72 , '73 or somewhere around there) knows what happened today. I'm quite a bit younger than Otto -- but we had that North Dakota connection -- I think you all know what I'm talking about. http://siouxsports.com/forums/index.php?sh...t=0entry54556

I've known Otto for nearly 5 years. By complete coincidence, two native North Dakotans ended up working in the same legal department for a company in Boston. Otto and I had that North Dakota commaraderie that you don't find anywhere else. Otto also had that North Dakota humor that you just can't miss if you're from North Dakota yourself. Sadly, Otto, at 57, passed away suddenly this morning in Boston. Otto graduated from both undergrad at UND and Law School ('72 or '73). He was at his favorite coffee shop this morning and collapsed. It's a very sad day for me. It was very unique to be working in an office with another North Dakotan -- we had that North Dakota connection you won't find in many places outside of the midwest. He also had that wonderful "punny" North Dakota sense of humor. Otto grew up in Carrington and his mother passed away about a year ago. He is survived by one sister. I do not know what funeral plans are being made at this point, but will post them as I learn about them. Please keep Otto, who always had a smile on his face, in your prayers, A fellow native North Dakotan and colleague of Otto Rogelstad.

I'm not sure I'd call NESN the "Holy Cross feed" since there won't be Holy Cross announcers or anything, but if you mean that there might be a New England "bias" so-to-speak on NESN, you're probably right about that (since it's a New England station). At any rate, it's great that the local Grand Forks Sioux fans can watch on your local station anyway... [Here's a quote from this morning's Boston Globe -- before the announcement was made that the game will be shown on NESN for sure: "ESPN is producing TV coverage of all games in the NCAA men's hockey tournament, with NESN scrambling to fit this weekend's regional coverage of local teams around Bruins and Red Sox commitments. So far, it plans to do Friday's 5 p.m. Maine-Harvard game from Albany and is hoping to follow that with the Holy Cross-North Dakota matchup from Colorado Springs and the Denver-Miami (Ohio) game that follows HC. Channel 56 plans to pick up Saturday's BC-Niagara game at noon with NESN planning to pick up the UNH-Michigan game that follows, after Sox-Phillies at 1 p.m. . . . "] [We love our Red Sox here -- even in the pre-season!]

I don't have HD capabilities, but from what I've read, NESN does have HD capabilities, but in order to broadcast HD, the arena they are shooting from must have fiber-optic wiring and the location needs mobile HD production trucks. (See link to article from when HD was first made available for Red Sox and Bruins games: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...overage?mode=PF I admit I'm not up to snuff on this stuff...

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/082/spor...the_race+.shtml

From the Holy Cross website: http://www.holycross.edu/departments/athle...information.htm

Holy Cross takes it from top By John Connolly (Boston Herald) Tuesday, March 23, 2004 The journey sometimes exceeds the end result. A Cinderella season in which the Holy Cross hockey team qualified for a first-ever berth in the NCAA Division 1 tournament began with a 7-1 exhibition win over St. Nick's of Manhattan. St. Nick's once featured the considerable talents of legendary Hobart Amory Hare ``Hobey'' Baker, after whom college hockey's most prestigious prize is named. The storybook ride gets even better Friday night (7:30) in Colorado Springs, Colo., when the fourth-seeded Crusaders (22-9-4) play top-seeded North Dakota (29-7-3) in a West Regional contest. ``We'll see what we can do out there,'' said Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl, a Winthrop native and ex-Crusaders player. ``We're in a fact-finding mode. Obviously, we know what everyone else knows (about North Dakota). They have some future NHLers on their team.'' The Fighting Sioux are led by junior forward Brandon Bochenski (26 goals, 21 assists), sophomore forward Zach Parise (22 goals, 31 assists), freshman forward Brady Murray (19 goals, 25 assists), junior blueliner Nick Fuher (10 goals, 15 assists), and the goaltending tandem of junior Jake Brandt (16-4-0, 2.25 GAA, .906 SP) and freshman Jordan Parise (13-3-3, 2.21 GAA, .903 SP). The Parise brothers hail from Faribault, Minn., the same hometown that spawned Boston College star siblings Ben and Patrick Eaves. The Parise's are the sons of ex-Bruins and Minnesota North Stars skater J.P. Parise. ``We just have to defend well,'' Pearl said of a Fighting Sioux offense that has rung up 179 goals in 39 games this season (4.5 average). The Crusaders face the monumental task of trying to unseat the top-seeded team in the entire tournament. Pearl believes the tournament will soon see a top seed fall in the first round, and he hopes it happens this weekend. ``Absolutely, it can be done,'' Pearl said. ``Why not us?'' Holy Cross arrived at the coveted tourney by dispatching Sacred Heart, 4-0, behind a pair of goals by junior forward Andrew McKay and 28 saves by sophomore goalkeeper Tony Quesada to capture the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament title. That earned the Crusaders the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. ``We played about as well as any team I've had before,'' Pearl said of the victory over the Pioneers. Holy Cross was buoyed by huge crowd support at the AHA championship game played at Army's Tate Rink. ``We had 500 people come on buses and then about another 300 people come on their own,'' Pearl said. ``It was an excellent turnout.''

HC fans are also commenting on how they've read the Grand Forks Herald articles and think UND players are not showing HC any respect -- and how they hope the "over-confidence" they think the Sioux have will help HC.

WORCESTER - The Holy Cross hockey team was in new territory yesterday afternoon - gathered 'round the big screen on the lower level of the Hogan Campus Center anxiously awaiting the official announcement of their NCAA Tournament date and destination. The anticipation was great, even though the Crusaders already had a pretty good idea of just whom and where they'd be playing in their first NCAA appearance. The clapping and hollering rang out when ESPN2 confirmed the Crusaders' hunch and revealed Holy Cross would indeed be heading west, to the West Regional that is, in Colorado Springs, Colo., to play North Dakota, the top-ranked team in the country and the No. 1 seed in the 16-team tournament. "I told the guys at 8 o'clock this morning we'd be playing North Dakota, there was no question," HC coach Paul Pearl said. ""We're the 16th seed and they're the first and that's the way it should be." The Crusaders (22-9-4) will face North Dakota (29-7-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at World Arena, Colorado College's home rink. Denver and Miami (of Ohio) will play in the second game at 11 p.m. HC will depart on Wednesday and this will actually be the Crusaders' second trip to Colorado Springs this season. They played two games at Air Force in February. Holy Cross earned the automatic NCAA berth by defeating Sacred Heart, 4-0, in the Atlantic Hockey championship Saturday night at Army's Tate Rink. It was HC's second conference tournament title in the last five years. The Crusaders won the inaugural Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tourney final in 1999, but the title did not come with the automatic bid then. The Crusaders, who returned to Worcester after the game on Saturday and celebrated into the wee hours, prominently displayed their Atlantic Hockey championship trophy at yesterday's get-together and wore their ""Atlantic Hockey 2004 champions" hats. "It's incredible," senior defenseman R.J. Irving of Marlboro said. ""Just to see everyone's faces when your name pops up on the screen, it's pretty cool." North Dakota lost to Minnesota in the WCHA final on Saturday, but the loss did nothing to shake the Fighting Sioux' No. 1 standing. North Dakota had won nine straight before the title game defeat. Led by sophomore center Zach Parisi (22-31-53) and junior right wing Brandon Bochenski (26-32-58), both Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalists, the Fighting Sioux top the nation in scoring offense, averaging 4.62 goals a game, and scoring margin (2.41). "Obviously they're real good," said HC senior forward Greg Kealey, the Atlantic Hockey tournament MVP. ""They have skilled players and we're just going to have to play excellent defense. (Goalie) Tony (Quesada) will shut the door and we have to hope we can sneak in a couple of goals. We'll see." There was an outside chance Holy Cross would stay close to home and possibly play Boston College in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H. The Eagles are the top seed in the Northeast, and No. 2 overall, and will play Niagara on Saturday. Maine, which beat UMass in a thrilling triple-overtime Hockey East final, is the top seed in the East (East Albany, N.Y.). Minnesota is the top seed in the Midwest (Grand Rapids, Mich.). The Northeast and East brackets were announced first yesterday, so the Crusaders deduced their fate. "I kind of hoped we'd be playing BC because I know a bunch of kids on the team and it would have been fun," Irving said. ""I don't know much about North Dakota, other than the fact that they have two of the best players in the country. We don't get to see teams from the west that often. It will be great, a great experience." The Crusaders will have their work cut out, but it's a challenge they're looking forward to. "Our main goal was to win our tournament and go to the NCAAs, win a ring for our class and for everybody," Irving said. ""That was the main goal, everything else is just icing on the cake. We'll go out there and that's why we play the games. Maybe we'll take them down. That would be great, but we're just happy."

I sent an email to Dataflix and got this prompt response: "The staff at UND is working to get any games they can, but as the playoffs progress, it gets more likely the games are carried on the networks and if so, they will not be able to webcast any of them."

HC faces tough first test By Jamie Pote (Boston Herald) Monday, March 22, 2004 WORCESTER - The Holy Cross men's hockey team captured the first Atlantic Hockey Association title on Saturday with a 4-0 whitewash of Sacred Heart. Less than 24 hours later, the Crusaders collected their prize - a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time in the 34-season history of the program. The team gathered at the school's Hogan Campus to watch the live televised selection of the 16 teams that will compete for a spot in the national championship game April 10 at the FleetCenter. About 15 minutes into the telecast, the Crusaders learned they will face No. 1 overall seed North Dakota in the first round of the West Regional on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``This is huge,'' Holy Cross senior forward Matt Conway said. ``It feels like I'm on top of the world right now. It's been a long four years for us seniors, and (Saturday night) was the best. We're still all tingling, and we're just floating on clouds.'' Holy Cross is one of five New England teams to make the tournament, along with Maine, Harvard, Boston College and New Hampshire. The 16 teams - placed into East, Northeast, Midwest and West regionals - dwindle down to the Frozen Four, which begins April 8 at the FleetCenter. The Crusaders (22-9-4) technically are the bottom team in the tournament. They are the last No. 4 seed and will face the top-seeded Fighting Sioux (29-7-3), who split a pair of games against BC early in the season. The winner of Friday's first-round game will face the winner of a matchup between second-seeded Denver and third-seeded Miami (Ohio) in Saturday's quarterfinal round. ``I told the kids (yesterday at 8 a.m.) that we would be playing North Dakota,'' Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl said. ``They know we got in as an automatic bid and they know that we are the 16th seed. They know their roles. It's the first time in school history that we're going to the NCAAs so obviously we're going to be the underdogs. Like it or not, we're the underdogs - so be it.'' Pearl's team finished 17-12-5 last season, and the coach knew he had the talent to improve. The Crusaders began this season 3-3-1, including a miserable 7-0 loss in the Maine Tournament to the host Black Bears, but they responded to the mediocre start with 10 wins in their next 11 games. Holy Cross breezed through the Atlantic tournament. The Crusaders pounded American International, 5-0, in the first game, beat Canisius, 4-1, in the semifinals, then blanked Sacred Heart in the title game. They scored 13 goals in the tournament and allowed just one. Senior forward Jeff Dams leads Holy Cross in scoring with 14 goals and 25 assists in 35 games. Senior captain Greg Kealey (15 goals, 19 assists) and sophomore Pierre Napert-Frenette (16 goals, 17 assists) combine with Dams to pace the offense. Physical seniors J.R. Walker and R.J. Irving lead the defensive corps, and freshman Jon Landry (three goals, 12 assists) has been an added force on the blue line. Sophomore Tony Quesada has handled the bulk of the goaltending duties, compiling a 17-5-2 record with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. ``We just have to keep doing what we have been doing,'' Conway said. ``Our offense will come, and we just have to keep up playing strong, both offensively and defensively.'' North Dakota is led by a dynamic forward attack of Brandon Bochenski (26 goals, 32 assists) and Zach Parise (22 goals, 31 assists). ``We know they are a good opponent and it'll be a good test, but it's going to be a lot of fun,'' Dams said. ``It's been four long years and for us to get a NCAA bid is so huge, especially being a senior. We just want to make the school proud.''

I like our chances, too, but don't want to overlook anyone. Let's keep our focus...