sagard

Without a strong showing at the Final Five the Gophers will not hold onto the last #1 seed. Depending who finishes as a TUC and what the RPI bonus ends up being, they could easily still lose comparisons to UMich, UW, UNH, Cornell and BU. Granted they probably won't lose all those comparisons, but I'm guessing they won't win them all either. The Gophers have a lot more to worry about than their NCAA seeding right now anyways. They now appear to be healthy, but their performance has not improved. If I'm a UND fan right now, I'd actually consider rooting for the Gophs. The Gophers getting the last #1, would give the Sioux their only chance at staying in the Mariucci regional where I assume you'd all be thrilled to have them.

Sorry all, I have to do it. UND will take care of their defensive responsibilities and get two low scoring wins. AA doesn't clutch and grab and gives up plenty of chances. As long as the UND goalie pays attention, UND gets all the points. Sweep away, if the Gophers can't get enough points from their SCSU/MTU series to finish fourth UND deserves it.

Now, now. You can probably count on one hand the number of two goal leads the Gophers have blown heading into the third @ Mariucci since the place opened. There was no reason to expect that collapse. That's why I was so upset last night.

I thought the Gophers were awarded the Virg at the new year? That it was base strictly on 1st half excellence. That or it's jk's kharma thread.

All five AA goals were within three rows of me. 1. Briggs failed to fight through a mild screen or didn't react to a tip that was at least twenty feet out. Bad start. 2. Briggs somehow over commits to a fake shot from the point. Then fails to recover in time to stop the wrister top blocker side. Bad play by him. 3. JJ goes down early, puck pops off Gopher defender's stick over his shoulder. 4. JJ provides no resistance on breakaway. 5. Puck goes all the way behind net, JJ leaves near post. AA player makes nice pass back to the original side of the net and player taps it in. JJ did make a nice stop late in the OT to preserve the tie.

The odds of both the Sioux and the Gophers winning their first round game aren't very good, plus I don't see the Gophers holding their #1 seed as I'm sure either MTU or AA will be a TUC when it's all said and done. Tonight was the absolute low point for me. The Gophers have been absolute buffoons in 4x4 play since the MTU series. Tonight, they waste a lengthy 5x3 that would have put AA away and then let them tie it with two 4x4 goals to start the third. That leads to the ultimate collapse. Miss the empty net and provide no resistance in the neutral zone or blue line with literally under 20 seconds left in the game. Pathetic.

Don't blame AA for style. The didn't clutch and grab and stayed out of the box the last two periods. The Gophers top line has been getting outplayed consistently during many of the games since the BU series. Last night they failed to backcheck on a rare AA chance and took one of the stupidest penalties ever during a 4x4 leading to a 4x3 and an AA goal. I've now written third place place off. Six game personal losing streak for me at Mariucci. Trying again tonight.

POI was a great site. The icetime feature was absolutely unique to message boards and actually created many friendships off the 'net. This is a fantastic site as well. JD has put in an incredible amount of work on this board and his PWR break downs, and "what if" are the absolute best available on the internet. JD- I hope if you ever lose the passion for running the sight, you reach out to the ss.com community for help before shutting down.

It's true that had I seen Parise play night in night out, I may have appreciated him more.

I tell you what if I had "sudo" on the board there would be alot of changes around here. Thanks for the recap dagies, classic stuff. On the serious note, sincere condolences to the Hakstol family.

Now we now PCM's pen name is "Tom Douglis". Nice article.

I truly don't care that much. UND needed Harvard to lose to both NE and BC and the hard part is complete. Now if they lose to BC and the UND passes them in RPI (which is expected), UND will get that comparison and move a little closer to the tourney. This was one comparison that I didn't expect UND to get back due to HU having to lose to both NE and BC and they weren't even guarenteed a HU/BC matchup.

Is DU the best team you've seen all season? I still think they are the best team I've seen due to more scoring depth than CC.

Sweeping UW will be crucial. That alone would likely get the Mich St. and UW comparisons back to the UND side of the ledger. Making the Final Five and winning two games at the X would help the Sioux RPI immensely as well. Small things. Root for Harvard to lose @ Beanpot to NE and or BC. Hope for a strong Maine finish to ensure UND claims their RPI bonus. Stumbles by the ECAC leaders help UND alot.

I don't think you can really predict next year. It seems like players are entering NCAA Hockey at a playing higher level than in years past and freshmen are contributing right away. The only draw back is that I'm not seeing the dramatic improvements over a four year career that we used to see. Players come in and their scoring increases corresponding to their ice time as they mature.

So it will be kind of like the weekend after the Final Five then, when the Gophers are @ Mariucci and the dogs are home crying? You really need the Sioux and UW badly tomorrow if you want any shot at the Gophs in the 1st round. Might as well not even watch the UMD/Tech game eh? Sorry to all for cluttering up the game thread. Good night an good luck to all tomorrow, even the Dogz.

While the Gophers aren't playing well and may get swept, there is only two Minnesota teams with a shot at the tourney. And only one in the WCHA. So tell me again, who is it that is done?

UW dominated the special teams and goaltending battles tonight. Hopefully better for everyone tomorrow night.

I don't think I would blame a guy like Bruckler (or Vanek) for representing his country. Tough break for UW if he does leave, but I won't shed a tear for them.

I think you all would be better served with "BringDougBack".