BlackBear

No question that Hakstol is deserving of the reward. If anything, he's a victim of the expectations game. Since the Sioux have been so successful over the past 10 years, people start to downplay the effort that goes into recruiting and coaching just to remain at the top level of the sport. In this case, Jackson wins because he took a dormant program with a high school rink to prominence - *not* because Notre Dame played the toughest schedule or because they lived up to their potential in the postseason (they didn't). I don't want to suggest that championships aren't important. But you have to see that there's an element of chance involved. Two weeks ago, who knew that MSU had the right team to win it all? Who knew that DU had the right team at the start of the '04 tournament? Really, all you can do is put your team in the position to have success, and nobody's done it better than Hakstol in his limited time at the helm of UND. For the same reason, I tip my cap to Jerry York for consistently bringing BC to the Frozen Four - even if the results aren't always what he'd like. Same goes for Maine's Whitehead. It's rare when the consensus #1 actually wins the NCAA title. All you can really do is prepare your team and get there. By that measure, Hakstol, York, and Whitehead don't have to apologize to anybody.

Thanks. You folks have a cool site here. I used to visit just to use Jim Dahl's stat-geek tools, but I've started looking at the message board to get a view from the west. Lots of respect for the Sioux, from one hockey school to another, for the Walsh sweater benefit auction (of course), and for good times almost every April over the past several years. BC was probably over-hyped by ESPNU last weekend. But not by that much. They'll be a tough out. Good luck on Thursday.

The 1999 FF was the last that didn't have the extra week.

I think he accomplished his goal. Now that it's tied, I'd look for Bennie to swallow his whistle, if the past 15 years are any guide.

Not sure why Toews tried to keep possession there. Almost better to send it back and then ice it back out. Lots of time to kill.

Weak. Checked the replay via DVR - definitely good for 2-minute minor, IMO, but he didn't charge him.

Great power play!

Not sure anyone actually wants to know - but since you asked: http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/aboutus/onair/bobnorton/ Former UNH coach and broadcaster. Now a H.S. principal in suburban Boston. Famous for knowing which H.S. or junior team *every* player on every team played for - at least when broadcasting Eastern schools. Actually knows a lot of hockey, but as he's gotten older he's gotten comfortable. Explains why he knows so much about Boston area kids, and not so much about the rest.

You're joking, right? Norton's a UNH guy. That's like expecting Woog to start acting like a UND homer because they're from the West.

How exactly does the crease rule work again? I thought it was changed following the 04 DU-Maine title game. Good luck tonight, btw

Didn't see the sweep coming. At all. But I'll take it. And you had it coming, after that sweep at Alfond a couple years ago That was 04-05 . . . but you're right - the point stands. They still made the tournament, taking the Gophers to OT @ the Mariucci regional. FWIW, the start to 03-04 was a bit more promising, with a sweep of the Badgers and Gophers in one of the eraly tournaments. Personally, that season was more fun, even if it did end painfully: with a waved-off goal that prompted an offseason rule change and an eye-popping 6x3 that seemed to last an hour and a half but didn't amount to anything. No excuses that year, though, as we had the FF in our backyard, as opposed to the X or Wisconsin. Crazy to think how close 02 and 04 were. Thankfully, this team has a couple more scoring threats than the 04 BlackBears . . .

Ask any Maine fan over the age of, say, 25, and they'll tell you that the rival is BU. Some of us just got bored when the Terriers recently took a 6 year vacation from being relevant . . . so we diversified a little bit, dabbling in BC hatred and Gopher spite . . . but Jackie's ratdogs are, and will continue to be, public enemy #1 for most Blackbear fans - or at least for all of us who learned college hockey watching the showdowns between Jackie Pahkuh's great early-mid 90s teams (with Tony Amonte, Keith Tkachuk, Shawn McEachern, Chris Drury, etc) take on Kariya, Weinrich, Carney, Pellerin, Dunham, Snow & co. The shocking loss in 02 notwithstanding, the gophers have had about as much luck with maine over the past few years as maine has had with the sioux - very little. No reason to fear 'em when most of the time you beat 'em

Wasn't a problem for Karl Goehring when he pitched a shutout vs Maine at the Providence (2000) frozen four.

My angle is obviously from the northeast side of things . . . that does make a lot of sense. My point was basically just that the old arrangement was not so much a "clash of the titans" as a strategic decision to serve some specific needs (and it did). A rivalry-type series between the two today wouldn't be the same thing as it was back in the day, when (no offense to BC or UNH, but) some folks saw Hockey East as BU and the Seven Dwarves.

1984-1989, iirc The driving force behind the interlocking schedule was hockey east commish Lou Lamoriello, to try to lend credibility to the new conference. The games counted in the official Hockey East league standings. It was discontinued (again, iirc) because it was a major financial commitment for everyone involved and because by 1989/1990 it had basically served its purpose.

Yes, the previous coach at Maine passed away before the 01-02 season. He was already very sick the year before. UND played Maine that year and had a whole set of special hockey sweaters done up for the occasion. All the sioux splayers wore their regular numbers, but evryone's name was listed as Walsh (the Maine coach's last name). So the Sioux started Walsh in net, with Walsh centering Walsh and Walsh, with Walsh and Walsh on defense. They auctioned the jerseys and donated the proceeds to a coaches vs. cancer charity in Shawn Walsh's name. Class move that many Maine fans won't ever forget. Go Sioux - get 'em next year. And if by some chance the same teams get to the FF, let's have a Maine-UND title game next time Cheers!

There are a bunch of us every year We've been a little bit snakebitten lately (and if you're in St. Paul, you don't need me to tell you!), but the team keeps getting to the FF (99-00-02-04-06) and we keep buying tix. I don't know if Maine has a great shot this year. But there's always hope. It seems that the years you expect to do well (2004) don't always go as planned, and other times your team wins it when you didn't really expect it (1999). So who knows. Either way, it's my favorite weekend of hockey each year. Jim Dahl, if you're lurking, this is a great site. Wish one of us was as skilled (and motivated) to do something similar to siouxsports

I'm not sure about that. I can't speak for all Mainers, but I'm going to all 3 sessions no matter what happens. A lot of people have group travel arrangements that can't easily be changed. I could pay the airline to change my ticket, I guess, but I wouldn't be willing to pay through the nose to do it. Most of us are in Milwaukee no matter what. And, seriously, no offense intended, but if you're a hockey fan, and you're stuck in Milwaukee for 3-4 days (and you've already seen Chicago several times) . . . what are you going to do EXCEPT watch the games? If Wisco loses, that eliminates the #1 market for ticket buyers. So even if you are a ticket scalping loser type, you'll be lucky just to break even. Wisconsin losing is the #1 scenario - by FAR - for folks looking to swoop in at the last minute and get tix. $.02

It's been formally sold out for months. But there''s always a secondary market for the frozen four tickets, just because people are forced to purchase as many as they think they might need, almost a year in advance. If Wisconsin wins, I'm guessing it'll be sort of like 2002. Just be glad if you all get in, and try not to think about what you spent to do it! Which is why you, in particular, should root for Maine. Not only will you 5 be sitting together, but you'll have your choice of which 5-seat block to buy

Hey now. You absolutely should root for your team. Just work on having a longer memory. If you saw Maine before the Jimmy Howard years (03-05), you wouldn't be mentioning them in the same sentence as Cornell. If you think Maine is playing the same 'system' with a rookie goalie that they did with an NCAA record-holder - well, I can only imagine how badly you must think they're playing it You play to your strengths. When your best player is your goaltender, you get the '04 title game (DU-Maine). But this is a different Maine team. If the final score is 1-0 badgers, it's because Wisconsin dictated the game. Not Maine.

Comcast bought the rights to this one. Which won't help dish owners. It's on one of their cable-only channels.