Siouxman

Here we are with just one weekend to go in the regular season. I wondered how the league standings would compare on a 2 points for a win and one point for a tie system, compared to the current three points for a win, 2 points for a shootout win, and 1 point for a shootout loss. This is how it stacks up. Team - NCHC System - Two Point System UND - 47 - 32 MU - 41 - 27 UNO - 39 - 25 DU - 38 - 25 UMD - 36 - 25 SCSU - 31 - 21 WMU - 24 - 15 CC - 8 - 6 Under the two points for a win system, UND would already have clinched sole ownership of the Penrose Cup. More interestingly, UNO, DU, and UMD would all be tied for 3rd place heading into the final weekend. You could also point out that if UND had won any of the shootouts, it would have clinched sole ownership of the Penrose Cup at this point under the current system. I think the three way tie for third under the old system would add quite a bit more excitement to the race.

I feel sorry for those who could not attend last night's game. The team absolutely laid it all out on the ice, every player. While the plays may not always have been there, that was a full 60 minute effort. It was a pleasure to watch. Thank you Fighting Sioux. And for those who left the game early, I never could understand that mentality. Last night was a classic and you chose to leave.

On a Sioux scoring opportunity, Lindgren had frozen the puck by the post, the whistle had blown and there was a group of players bunched up there. Oliver was jabbing the Sioux players in the calf from behind. He needs a Ben Blood beat down, but Sioux cannot afford to put SCSU on the power play.

This needs some consideration of an asterisk with an explanation. The junior/senior years are typically the most production. Where would Toews, Parise, and Oshie have been if they played all four years. Toews was only 17 when he came to UND with an April birthday. He didn't turn 18 until after the end of his freshman season. Another year for the DOT line would have been phenomenal.

They've been slumping. They come into tonight at 26.3%.

Sioux women defeat Gophers 3-0. Way to go.

Lots of seats dressed as empty fans at Mariucci tonight again!

We went with the same mindset. It was a no brainer that it wouldn't match the WCHA Final Five for a few years and maybe never. But we did have a good time. And I used the NCHC feedback process after the tournament to provide them with some tips and suggestions. We will see what changes they have made for this year.

Nope, we had tucked it in by then.

Another classic trip to Omaha. Two great games, either team could have swept the weekend. 1. The radio station's North Dakota Hate Week didn't pan out. Talked to many very friendly Omaha fans, happy to see us there, comments about how well UND travels, and some plan to come up to UND next year. 2. Massa played outstanding. He is the reason UNO won on Friday and the reason they didn't get blown out on Saturday. 3. UND was tipping off their zone entry point on the PP way too early on Friday night. UNO was pinching the puck carrier on Friday night. Saturday night they did much better and were able to carry the puck into the zone. The PP has become too predictable, opposing teams know where the puck is likely to go. 4. UNO's blackout promotion was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It didn't go. 5. Left Omaha about 9:15 am Sunday morning and it took about four hours to make it to Sioux Falls. I pushed hard right away, but numerous vehicles in the ditch, most still with occupants convinced me to back off and play it safe. A lot of 35-45 mph driving with zero visibility at times. And some idiots driving way too fast. Driving conditions began to improve just north of Sioux City and really improved just north of Sioux Falls. 6. Had good time at DJ's Dugout Saturday night after the game. Had to be 90% Sioux fans. 7. Nice to see you Ice Arena Man at The Mattress Factory and at the game. Glad you made it home safe.

Forecast is for 6-10 inches of snow in Omaha tonight and 20-30 mph winds through 6 pm Sunday. Yup, it is Omaha weekend.

Mr. and Mrs. Siouxman will be there.

How the times have changed. We have been to Omaha every year since UNO joined the WCHA. That first year the UNO fans were friendly, made a point to welcome us and talk to us, just so happy to have UND come to Omaha to play hockey. That attitude is long gone. Now it is North Dakota Hate Week. That is not a bad thing. It just shows that they are not satisfied with simply being in the same conference. See you in Omaha,

Mix it up a little bit. It seemed that for a while CC knew where the puck was going before the Sioux player passed it.

CC came into this game very well prepared. They obviously knew UND tendencies and anticipated quite well. In the first period and a half they played excellent defense. Anybody looking for a rebound or coming up the slot was covered. They did not give UND a chance to get to very many rebounds. They couldn't sustain it for the whole game but that was a significantly improved CC team from when UND played them in October.

In your case it doesn't explain everything Dagies.

Really? 7,000 UND fans made the trip to a regular season series at Omaha in February 2013. A regular season series, not a regional, nor a Frozen Four. A distance of 499 miles from Grand Forks, just 9 miles less than Minneapolis - South Bend. I guess there is quite a difference between the two fan bases, much more than the mileage difference.

It is 315 miles from Grand Forks to St. Paul. It is 508 miles from Minneapolis to South Bend, IN. Sioux fans inundate the Xcel Energy Center when a regional is held there. That is not local. It is only about 3 hours further from Minneapolis to South Bend, but Gopher fans can't be expected to show up? There is something more to it than cost, since it is only about one tank of gas difference round trip between the two sites.

I was at the regional in Grand Rapids in 2013 with a potential Sioux-Gopher matchup. Gopher fans didn't show up then. What has changed or is different that they would show up in South Bend? I guess South Bend has the alma mater of Lucia. That will draw his son and maybe a couple of friends.

BC beats Merrimack tonight 2-1. Helps some and hurts others. The PWR is now: #15 - Michigan #16 (tie)- Colgate #16 (tie)- Merrimack #18 - Boston College #19 - Minnesota So it moved Michigan up from a tie for #16 (but they were listed in the #17 slot) to #15, so the B1G now has one team in the top 16 but not in a safe position. That would help MN if they can beat Michigan when they play them again.

That is it. Unfortunately, you can be over the tiredness part but not the enlarged spleen part at the same time. And once you have mono, you always have mono. It can rear its ugly head any time you get very tired. Even years later. Mine reactivated about a year after I had it the first time.

The dangerous part of mono is that it can cause an enlarged spleen and make it very susceptible to injury, which is extremely serious. That would be of more concern than the tiredness part.

I am not a Gopher defender, nor will I ever be, but the most classless move in this whole mess was the initial head shot.

Never mind Mariucci. I found a video that shows the start of the altercation (after the initial penalty) and yes, clearly a Gopher player was surrounded and being closely escorted by three Badger players. That certainly justifies other Gopher players coming to his aid. It does not justify leaving the bench or going 2 on 1 on a Badger player, but things happen quickly at such times.

If you have a link to a video clearly showing that, please provide it. None of the videos I have seen show anything where that is clearly visible. All of the clips I have seen start with a pile of players with a linesman in the middle of the mayhem. Is that the specific instance you are referencing? If so, I would like to see a video that that shows things prior to that specific point in time. Not saying it didn't happen, just that I haven't seen a video showing that.