Siouxman

Wow. I forgot this cheer until I saw these words. The circling the arena with the flag was great. I remember a game against UMD (their fans were across the ice in the left corner from the students) where UMD scored. One of their fans ran around the arena with the UMD flag. They scored again, and he repeated the flag trip. Only this time when he got behind the penalty box area, a UND student on the end of the seats in the very top row of the lower seat section did a spin around move with an orange traffic cone. He nailed the UMD fan in the gut and folded him up like flip cell phone. Both were escorted out and the UMD flag waved no more. Appreciate all of the stories. It gives some great historical perspective.

My very first game in the fall of 1975* when Bjork Rubeman was coach. I had just been discharged from the USAF and transferred to UND. Over the next three years at UND I did not miss a single game (of course I didn't miss a single game of basketball or football either) and I was hooked on hockey. I was there for the UND-WI pre-game fight, gophers on the ice, a dead badger hanging from the rafter, The Farce, and a certain electrical engineering grad student named Dave who wore a trench coat and harassed opposing players in the penalty box. I have had season tickets since the new Ralph opened, rarely miss a home game, have been to every other WCHA opponents barn except UAA, attended all of the WCHA Final Fives at Xcel, attended the Frozen Faceoff at the Target Center, been to regionals in St. Paul, Grand Forks, Grand Rapids, UMTC, and attended the last four Frozen Fours in which UND played. And when I retired I received a UND hockey stick autographed by the UND team and coaching staff (the year of the infirmed 2011-2012) that was arranged for by my boss through Gino. I also got a hockey stick autographed by fellow employees (guess which one is in the closet and which one is mounted on the wall). *It was October 24, 1975, an 8-1 loss to St. Louis University

You blatantly and shamelessly start your own personal thread just to pad your post count.

Just like UND, I think that it depends which MN team shows up for the game. While MN played very well against SCSU, they have had games where they have not played at that level. Likewise, UND has had games where they have looked absolutely dominant. The second period at SCSU they potted five goals and made SCSU look ridiculous. They also embarrassed Miami 9-2 in a game at UND. Yes, Miami had a tough year defensively but offensively they could also be extremely dynamic. WI swept MN one weekend this season and UND seemed to handle them pretty well. Although the score was close until the end, UND outplayed WI for much of the game. MN also seemed to struggle against MSU, who had a good goaltender. UND has good goaltending. Both teams have scoring depth. Both teams have mobile defensemen, but UND has had a little more scoring from the defense. I think it will boil down to the first period. If MN does not jump out front with a couple of goals, I like UND's chances. Even if MN gets the first goal, that isn't such a big deal. MN getting the first two or three goals would be a big deal. MN often times seems to live or die by the power play. If UND stays out of the box, that could be a key. The final key could be the third and fourth lines. I don't know about those lines for MN. For UND, there have been times where one or both of those lines has dominated in a game and set the tone. There have been times those lines have skated against the other teams top lines and absolutely shut them down. This one is a real toss up. If the MN team that played SCSU shows up, the edge may or may not go to MN. If they don't, then the edge may or may not go to UND, depending upon which UND team shows up. Hopefully, it will not come down to the skill of the officiating crew. This one could truly come down to the reason why they play the game.

It is a backhand after all. btw, I did the Fan Fest puck shoot thing. One shot each way. wrist shot = 35 mph, slap shot = 34 mph. I am not awaiting a call from Hak.

You actually think you could hit it that hard?

I would agree that on an individual talent basis, UND has had teams with more talent. On a total team concept and talent basis, this team ranks above some prior Sioux teams with more individual talent. It doesn't have the high end scorers, but the scoring and offensive potential is deep and from all over this team. It is the same for MN. Both teams have 14 scorers in double figures.

Every Sioux and Gopher fan should be happy how this turned out, playing each other at the Frozen Four. Ignore the jerk fans from both sides. The game history between these two teams is the stuff of stories and legends. Both sides have triumphed, only to lose to the other a week or two later in the NCAA's. (Cue Holy Cross, Wheeler, Porter, and on and on and on). UM looked good against St. Cloud, but I don't think St. Cloud ever fully recovered after UND potted five goals in one period a few weeks ago. That simply had to bruise their ego and confidence to the core. RMU also gave UM more of a run than people expected once they got going. It was simply too late by then. UND looked very good against Wisconsin, but not so good against Ferris State. It could have been hangover from the Wisconsin battle or it could have been Ferris State or both. Both teams should be well rested, focused and ready to go. Both teams have highly mobile defense, and both teams have good goaltending. Both teams have earned the respect of the other. Let's hope the fans do the same. Go Fighting Sioux! Beat the Gophers.

Don't worry, they are already sold. Champions Club members get first shot at the tickets and have until tomorrow to notify UND if they want tickets. The tickets will then be awarded based on Champions Club points until they are gone. Unless you have been sending some of your W-2 stuff to the Champions Club, you won't see any of those tickets.

Junior Dman Oesterle leaves WMU to sign with Edmonton Oilers.

Rocco is in a tough position. He came in with a lot of hype, then suffered terrible knee injury which caused him to lose a full year of playing time and experience, and also hampered him for a while last year. His style of play did not fully translate to the college game, and his linemates were not accustomed to seeing passes come out of places and at times they did not expect. He makes ill advised passes. I too think he has not lived up to the level that I anticipated when he came to UND. He also gets frustrated when things do not go his way. However, I also feel that he has progressed tremendously this year. His motor is now at a pretty high compete level almost 100% of the time. He has learned somewhat that his passes need to be tempered to the situation and to his linemates, although he still does make some ill-advised passes. His speed has absolutely changed games and how opponents play. His speed has caused opponents to take penalties (the UND power play is another separate issue) He has become adept at stripping the puck and anticipating passes. He still has a lot of improvement to go (especially in his shooting) and I think he will make even further strides next year. Luke Johnson has shown that he has the potential to become a Ryan Duncan type sniper and to be able to play with Rocco. They could make a dynamic combo next year. At this point I would prefer that he hang around, as I think he will continue to adjust and improve. It seems like he has been here a long time, but this is just his second year of skating at UND.

BC 4-3

3-3

UML!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-2

Blocked shot bounces to open BC forward. 2-1 BC Top BC line scores again.

After good BC pressure, UML is getting some good looks but just can't bury it.

They absolutely were unprepared for some reason. Even RMU made a better effort.

Period break. 19 of the last 24 BC goals are from the top line. Shut. Them. Down.

Wow. BC player wraps his arms around UML player on a semi-breakaway, throws him to the ice, and then complains about the penalty.

UML PP goal! 1-1

He just came back out on the ice to try it for a shift. It is a knee.

Top UML defenseman hurt and hasn't skated a shift for about 10 minutes. Another one hasn't played much this year, so they are down to four D at this time.

It is that top line. They have scored every BC goal in tourney so far. The rest of BC does not look that special, but that top line is incredible.

1-0 BC

Boy does BC have some slick stick handling forwards.