Walsh Hall

Yep - AA (Bantams only), A, B1, and B.

Not sure if Bismarck could field (3) teams. In looking at numbers of bantam and peewee teams by city (not counts actual kids as the roster sizes vary) GF - 6 Bantam, 7 peewee - 2 high schools Fargo - 8 Bantam, 11 peewee - 3 high schools Bismarck - 4 Bantam, 5 peewee - 2 high school Minot - 3 Bantam, 4 peewee - 1 high school Number of HS teams in proportion to bantam teams Bismarck is at the bottom.

Mandan has 2 Bantam teams and 2 peewee teams. Williston has 1 Bantam and 2 peewee. Mandan is building a new facility with 2 rinks which should open next year. It's a bottleneck in Mandan with only one rink. Limits potential number of kids and available ice time. I can't see either of these schools having a JV squad in the next 5 years.

By Dave's logic the Ivy League is clearly the best football conference. It can't be disputed.

I really thought a Pogo, Gardner, whoever, line would be a dominant line and great compliment to the top time. With an added year I thought they would be as good or better than the "heavy line" from last year and be physically dominant. That just hasn't happen. Maybe Johnson should get more credit for last year. With the Boeser, Jost, Gersich line, and 3-4 lines that can at least hold serve, I see that second line as the big disappointment. No need to break up the top line if the 2nd is producing.

The math doesn't factor anything but points. Guys like Greg Johnson and Dixon Ward were incredible two way players for a LONG time. Not a shot at any other player mentioned, but we're talking rarified air. I'd have to put Johnson, Ward, and Taylor in the top 5 for guys in the last 40 years. In the end, Boeser can just stay 4 years and put the argument to bed.

The 2011 Michigan goal got deflected up in the air and nobody tracked it. It landed in the slot on a Michigan players' stick. I think that could be characterized a good puck luck. Also, Nelson got stretcher off the ice in the first. That game was a mismatch, but that's hockey.

The only reason Ladue is gone is his age. If he is getting the $ he should go. Thompson is 3 years younger than Ladue. He has lots of time to develop. I think losing Stecher would be by far the biggest individual blow to the blue line.

Hard to argue with that. The true measure of a city is the number of HS championships held therein. I hear Fargo will be hosting all HS state championships outside of tennis. A source indicated that Fargo is pushing hard and the smart money is the tennis championship also being relocated to Fargo in 2021. The project tennis gate of $17 for Fargo dwarfs the $12 for GF.

Did those teams (V.C., Shanley...) have an option? Looks like there are 16 AAA teams and 16 AA. There has to be a break somewhere.

Bismarck could field two girls teams. It's just a matter of having one stacked team or two competitive teams. l know kids that have quit because with only one HS team the writing is on the wall. With two HS teams the 14u numbers would be higher. If the interest is in allowing more kids to play and grow the sport they should have 2 teams. If the interest is to win titles keep one.

Is there a mandate that the WCHA playoff teams practice on the same ice, or that they practice at the game facility? If should make zero difference for the Sioux, but I could see the Huskies wanting to skate on the ice, ring pucks around the boards...

I think it was Erik Westrum

I would hope we all want success, but there may be a difference in how success is defined. Is winning a DIII title more of a success than being an also-ran at the highest level? Would you rather be a lower level powerhouse or middle of the pack up a level?

I personally always looked at the lower divisions of a sport as just that, a lower division. Not a shot at them, that's just the way it is. I was very pleased when UND won a DII championship. It's a nice accomplishment. What NDSU has done is very impressive. It's great for the University and the State. I personally prefer to watch the best competition at a given level. If a team wins a 9 man state championship that's the peak of what they can do. When a youth hockey program wins the Bantam B state title I'm not going to be bragging. They are the best of the lousiest. It's nice that you're the best of the folks that couldn't cut it at the A level. I guess I look at the lower levels of all collegiate sports that way.

I just think that is a bad thing, even if we are in the "have" side of the equation. The FCS playing field is already incredibly unbalanced based on the committed from the various institutions. That is just going to make it worse. I wish there was a gentleman's agreement that FCS school don't do FCOA, but FBS do. This will be like having 3 teams in the NFL that don't need to abide by the salary cap. There will definitely be a competitive advantage for a very small number of schools, and that isn't good for the long term viability of the system.

It's tough with the FCS thing. There are relatively few FCS programs that will have the institution commitment to pony up for the FCOA. FCS is already incredibly unbalanced in the level of commitment from the institutions. I fear with FCOA implemented the difference between the haves and have nots will be huge, and the group of haves will be vastly outnumber the have nots. The hockey team absolutely needs FCOA. Not having them would be like Alabama or Ohio St. not having them in football.

I can't see LaDue signing. He just isn't anyway near an NHL player at this point. He needs to improve his skating to stand a chance. He doesn't win footraces at the college level. I won't put him in my top 4 pro prospects from the D-core. As an aside, I can't wait to see Poolman back at D next year. He will be an absolute beast.

Congrats to Minot, but their draw as a #3 seed could not have broken better. I believe they beat one team with a cumulative record over .500 to win the state championship. Seems like the key to winning these days is having the best players that aren't quite good enough to go play elsewhere. It appears that the east still has more top end, potential college type players, but if they ain't wearing the sweater of their HS it doesn't equate to championships. Bismarck's team last year was carried largely by non-Bismarck kids that weren't quite good enough to cut it in juniors. As a college football coach told me in regard to local talent with the change to play at a higher level, we want them to be good, but not too good.

Past Champs - Girls 2003 Fargo South 2004 Fargo North 2005 Fargo North 2006 Bismarck 2007 Bismarck 2008 Fargo North 2009 Fargo North 2010 West Fargo 2011 Fargo North 2012 Fargo South 2013 Bismarck Blizzard 2014 West Fargo

In looking at the past girl's champs, and the past records, it doesn't look like Bismarck has been overly dominant. It is surprising that GF, with only one team, hasn't been better.

Looks like Caggiula is at 0.634 pt/gm for his career. Hrkac was 2.024. I wonder what that would have been if he played 4 years. Had it not been for Kristo's incident his pt/gm would likely have been higher, as usually the last two years are better than the first 2. Any which way, I'll take Kristo and Caggiula on my team any day of the week.

I'd be curious to see the number of MIP/MIC's issued in the 50's, 60's, 70's... compared to today. For better or for worse things are handled in a different manner. I know for a 100% fact that if this happened in the mid-90's there would have been no police involvement, and depending on the RA, possibility no write-up. (Whether it was a hockey player or a typical student.) Again, there was no party, loud noise.. etc., just what appears to be a nosy RA.

So in this situation an RA saw an alcoholic beverage in their room and called the police. By the looks of it, nobody was disorderly or drunk. Everyone was polite and cooperated including taking the preliminary breath test. Is this standard policy now to call the police if an RA sees ANY alcohol? When I was around they'd take the alcohol and "read you up." I by no means condone their consumption of alcohol, but wow things have changed. These guys have to know they have a target on their backs.

I completely agree. If you are older than the player it seems creepy to me to have their name on your back. If there is anything on the back of your jersey you better be a kid.