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What does a tie against a #2 team do for our pairwise?

I felt good about our chances tonight, but am not shocked or saddened in the least. That's not where I want to be after a Sioux hockey loss. But the last decade-plus has conditioned me not to put too much emotional investment in them. A person just expects or gets used to losses in big games when it trends this way year after year. A couple of times it may have been on Hakstol in the past; tonight it was on Zane, sketchy officiating & not being able to buy a goal on multiple chances. Whatever. Blind luck would have us winning at least one of these FFs the last 11 years; seems almost like a curse has been put on this team bc I'm running out of rational reasons.

Hakstol has nothing to do with this meltdown. Zane just can't stop a beach ball tonight.

It seems like it's a combination of mishaps: officiating, not converting close-in by our guys, getting beat to the puck, soft goals, same tired coaching strategy of chipping it off the glass..

This media coverage is as slanted as the officiating..

Omaha hasn't looked the same since mid-February. Maybe they overachieved early-on & their youth just caught up with them as it got late into the season.

I'd say with at least 5 minutes left.

Omaha played well in the regular season, but in the playoffs not so well: weak against RIT & now they're getting clowned/schooled by Providence. Didn't see this happening, the Friars look like world-beaters.

Some alcohol to soothe the nerves along with the Pepto to quell the gut may help. A double-pronged attack so you are not a nervous wreck by game time.

The pepto. : ) Cool that everyone here is optimistic. I also think we got this one.

This is hilarious. Sending + vibes.

Wow, you either have a lot of talent or a lot of time on your hands. I guess you've found your calling.

You guys are hilarious. MM technically had the right answer as the poison was in the ice cubes, & the one who drank her 5 iced teas quickly didn't absorb any poison. But since he is on a self-imposed boycott until another poster does something, SWSiouxMN wins. Thanks for playing. : )

A little brain-tease to divert any anxiety for awhile (disqualifications for Googling): Two girls ate dinner together. They both ordered ice tea. One girl drank them very fast and had finished five in the time it took the other to drink just one. The girl who drank one died while the other survived. All of the drinks were poisoned. How did the girl who drank the most survive?

If they're focused, on their A game & determined to win with losing not an option, I think the atmosphere doesn't matter that much. I think MN fans would cheer strongly against UND, but they may do things a little differently back east so we'll see.

Grayson Allen's got a nice ring to it ..sounds like either an upscale fashion boutique in Scottsdale or a Beatnik author in early 60s NYC. But yes, if Murphy can stay at least even on the +/- or even steal an assist or a goal, I think that would take a lot of pressure off the other lines. He's playing hungry now & it seems like there's a lot of self-imposed urgency in stepping up as he's not guarannteed a roster spot next year. I consider him & St. Clair my main X factors and, maybe more importantly, the officials as they'll play a big role in dictating whether or not the Sioux can physically wear down Eichel.

Thanks. You come up with some good media finds. This radio show is out of Edmonton. I didn't think they would know that much about college hockey, but the interviewers are very knowledgeable about UND's playoff history & stateside hockey in general. When Hakstol was asked about Zane, he said, paraphrasing, that Zane is dedicated to becoming as good of a professional as he can possibly be someday, whether it's in a couple months or next year ... not letting the cat out of the bag or maybe he knows as much as the rest of us. .... called Poolman the best athlete on the team.

I think UND is as they have a very slight advantage in the PWR.

I just called & confirmed that the Sioux game will be shown at the Stapley location on Thursday night. It will also be shown at the RT O'Sullivan's on Power Road, but the lady said that most of the UND alumni goes to the one on Stapley Road.

Really? Are you going there & will the game be shown there this Thursday?

Agree & then some. I'm just looking forward to Thursday & look forward also to celebrating (a hopeful) Sioux victories with you guys.

I don't know, man, I wasn't even arguing about Hakstol's release last night, but some informant from the Central Committee must have read my words wrong & informed the authorities that I had gone rogue & was showing tendencies towards non-conformist thought. I needed to go to Lowe's like 2 hours ago, but am tied to my laptop replying to all this stuff.

The point of whether or not people are laughing at me & those who think like me is irrelevant. I don't doubt that some are, but to claim everyone is shows you to be full of exaggeration. I never claimed I wanted the Sioux hockey team to lose, where did you come up with that one?? Good lord, man, I was talking with another poster last night about how a coach's success can be perceived differently, & all of a sudden I have this sadistic drive to see the team lose on Thursday?! I can't believe I'm reading this crap. And that I can't celebrate when they finally do win #8? What in the world are you talking about? I've been following this team -- religiously & with tons of passion -- since the early 1970s. But now I want them to lose because in your mind you see my difference in opinion on how a coach should be perceived with hating the team. There is no reasoning with certain people, you being one of them. It's not about agreeing with my position on a head coach or anything else, it's about respecting it if it causes no one else any harm & isn't of a psychotic or schizophrenic nature.

So you determine when it's just a difference of opinion and when it is flat out-wrong & insane? LOL. How is my interpretation of the sunset any different than or more wrong than my interpretation of a head coach? Oops, I forgot, my bad, you're the arbiter of such. Of course I'm not schizophrenic or psychotic & don't see or experience any hallucinations, that's completely irrelevant & equating someone's opinion to be so just demonstrates how rigid & intolerant you are in your thinking. Like I said, you seem incapable of tolerating any opinion which deviates from your standards. You couch your reasons with different analogies, but it all boils down to you not respecting what someone else thinks on as basic & inane level as that of a hockey coach. To compare my interpretation on how long a coach's leash should be with a schizophrenic who thinks the sun is warm cheese is just too weird. If you want to continue digging a hole, a backhoe is more efficient than a shovel.

I was talking with "burd" about how coaches are perceived & wasn't implying anything about Hakstol being fired. If I want to bang my head repeatedly, that's my prerogative. It's also your prerogative to ignore me, which I highly encourage as you seem easily irritated. In fact, I really would like for you to put me on ignore so you don't stroke out over some stranger's words before the big game. My guys are also playing in 3 days & I'll be cheering them on just as you are.