sagard

GWG is a fine stat, but I think it should be calculated the way it is in baseball. The GWG should be defined as the goal that gives the team a lead it never relinquishes. If a team scores 1st and cruises to a 7-3 victory, the person who score the 4th goal (maybe giving them a 4-1 lead) should not get the GWG in my opinion. Of course maybe it is like the baseball GWRBI and then I'm happy.

Every Minnesota fan has now come around to the idea that it would be best to avoid REA. Sure we have some front runners like you all did in '03-'04, but they don't count. While the Gophers should have nothing to fear heading into the GF regional, their chances of beating UND in the regional final would be about 50/50. I don't like those odds one bit. Neither should you. I don't see any other team beating UND in the GF regional so I wouldn't be too jazzed up to face the Gophers either if I were you. These two teams should collide in the WCHA championship and again at the Frozen Four. Not a simple week later.

I haven't looked at it closely since before the weekend, but I think UND can only lose 12 comparisons, and will probably lose a lot fewer. That probably makes them at worst a #13 overall and would need two conference tourney upsets to keep them out. Considering conference upsets would hurt some teams competing with UND for PWR position, I'd say they are a virtual lock. Wierd things happen so I wouldn't breath easy until they close out MSU.

The WCHA has a history of teams losing in the first round, but making the tourney. The will probably make the NCAAs, but losing tonight combined with some other wierdness in the other conferences could make them sweat out next weekend if they are not playing. Ironically to get the highest seed possible the Sioux needed to beat MSU in three. Recently SCSU, UW and DU have all made the NCAAs while skipping the Final Five. DU of course used it to get healthy and win the NCAAs. UW was an OT goal away from the Frozen Four and of course SCSU was one and done. I suspect tonight will be a battle to the finish.

This is my belief and Wodon somewhat alluded to the Gophers being in GF isn't written in stone. I feel PWR can often is predictable, but anyone who believes the NCAA hockey committee is predictable or that they will ALWAYS follow their own guidelines is mistaken.

That really puts a damper on a great day of hockey. I left after two periods, after 10 periods of hockey today I had to hang em up. TRF looked to be far superior, but they must have worn down without their top guy. Seeing the TRF crowd turn out in strength has to have made his decision to return well worth it. Making the state tourney is an incredible achievement in itself. Single "A" state tourney is a lot of fun. The teams all went for broke all day long. Heartbreakers in both games this evening.

It's going to happen at some point, I just hope not to the Gophs. BSU and Mercyhurst gave their 1st round opponents all they wanted and more last year.

If you really want to avoid the Gophers in the quarters, just pull a Ferris in the 1st round.

You got me. It will probably be 4-2. I really want the Gophs to avoid the REA. They certainly could win there again, but it would not be the path of least resistance by any stretch. If the Gophers do as well or better than UW at the X they will get the number one overall. Then I think the Sioux would need to finish either #8 or #9 overall to get the Gophers in the second round. The main thing many fans don't realize is the Sioux are truly better than their current PWR would indicate. The Sioux TUC record includes 12 games vs. the top seven RPI teams. Just about every CCHA team is racking up games against five CCHA TUCs in the 17-27 range and in my opinion they just don't compare.

I think the matchup is going to be two weeks later than you project and hopefully with a different result.

OK, all his assists are rebounds off the end boards of plays where Kessel missed the net with his shot. The value he has brought to the Gophers is the basically the guys who is in charge of carrying through the neutral zone and establishing posession in the attacking zone. He then typically dishes back to the point and awaits a return pass that he can shoot wide. He does get the assist though when Irmen gathers the puck and dishes to RP. Truly it will come down to whether the voters want goals and a physical game (Oshie/Toews) or goals and a great power play distributer (Kessel). There really isn't a bad choice despite what some on both sides are saying.

I think your over playing the NHL angle. Toews has potentially gone past Kessel, in other words moved from the #2 forward to the #1 forward. Kessel has potentially dropped one spot. It's not like he is playing himself out of the 1st round. Oshie has been superb, he is now likely going to get is contract offer by the end of his freshmen or sophomore year vs. his Junior year. Toews and Oshie deliver goals and a physical game, Kessel delivers goals and is a superb power play distributor. Like the Vanek/Parise contest, the voters don't have a bad option.

I'm virtually certain the Sioux are in the tourney with a single win vs. MSU. They would still have a decent shot if they get swept. The way the Sioux have been destroying teams (barring the DU meltdown), I wouldn't be surprised to see them sweep MSU.

I don't think five teams should be involved. If it must be, have the playin game on Tuesday at someones home ice. The regular season is unbalanced and can unfairly reward a 1st, 3rd, or 5th place finisher. In '04 UW had eight games with the 9th and 10th place teams and only four with the top two teams. The Gophers had eight with the top two and four with the bottom two. That typically would equate to about a 4pt swing due to schedule. Basically I don't think the huge reward for finishing top three can be justified by the unbalanced schedule. That said I do love the single knockout format for the hockey tourney.

He likes the Gophers now.

It's a really good question, but I suspect the single knockout format has hurt the Sioux more often then it has helped them. The '97 team benefitted from Michigan losing, but the '98, '99, '01 and maybe even last years team might have faired better in a best of three.

I like this list if it's NCAA title chances, but as far as the WCHA title goes UM/DU/UW have to be considered far more likely than UND. It's simply a numbers game. By being stuck in the playin game a teams chances are theoretically cut in half. Realistically I think it's probably far worse.

The only thing I don't understand is why Kessel gets no love around here for what he does on the power play. The difference in the standings and really several of the games between the Gophers and the Sioux was power play effectiveness. As good as Oshie and Kessel have been it seems that Toews and Stoa are playing every bit as well as either of them right now.

I think if they lost in three they'd squeak in, but I'm going to take a much closer look later this evening after the SLU/Brown game.

We complained so much in '97 because we should have faced the Sioux or been sent further east where CC breezed into the Frozen Four. It was a quarter final matchup between #1 PWR vs. #4 PWR. Water under the bridge now though. Woogs preparation or lack of for the Michigan game was the beginning of the end for him and the Gophers are a lot stronger program now. UND needs to take advantage this year due to not knowing if they will ever get another regional as long as they remain the Sioux. Good draws and bad draws are what makes winning NCAA titles so tough. Some years you have a great team and get a tough draw and other years you get the good draw and don't really have the team to go all the way.

Just like Parise right? Forgotten five days after his last game right? Grant P is a Minnesota hockey legend. As they say on K-Fan he will always be able to find work in Minneapolis. Ryan P. will be on the mural. If for some reason the Wild are so stupid to let Irmen come back next year he would likely make the mural as well.

A teams RPI can not drop, but if there opponent is no longer a TUC after the series their PWR standing can fall.

You guys should care a lot. Playing MSU and sweeping them probably drops them from a TUC status. The Sioux also won't get as large of an RPI bump by beating them and they truthfully seem more dangerous than SCSU right now.

I watched that game on TV and they looked like the teams switched jerseys after the 1st period. This game is huge because you have to figure the winner has a decent shot at winning the state A tourney.