tnt

When there are avatars out there that are better, it is frustrating that this is what they come up with. If you wanted the nickname to take hold, this was the blandest way to try accomplish that. Not horrible, but is that what we set out to do. Apparently, that is what we set out to do for this whole screwed up process, find the least offensive logo and name. None of their criteria was met with either the name or logo, but then again, that is what we were told from the get go that we would get.

What about the WHL or OHL?

Couldn't he play in Major Juniors?

... and I don't like agreeing with Johnboy, but I will in this case. Sportswise, Minnesota isn't exactly a pillar in the Big Ten. When you can point that UND is better than Minnesota in hockey, NDSU is better than Minnesota in football, and both UND and NDSU are better than Minnesota in basketball this year, then it hardly holds up an air of superiority. If that was a one year circumstance it's one thing, but that has been the case frequently lately. Tim Hennessy and Scott Swygman who are both from Minneapolis can't believe that Minnesota can be so consistently bad when they are in the market they are in, and I agree. You would think you would hit a great recruiting class that develops here or there and have a magic season, but it doesn't seem to happen. Hockey is the only sport that really is consistently good, and that has taken a short term hit the past few years.

Well they sure weren't won as part of the vaunted Big Ten conference.

I can say this now, but the 37 second mark says it all concerning your reflection on schools that were in the old WCHA. Brad Beutow called, he wants you to make the leap to the present.

Maybe you should practice what you preach.

Even if there are those that aren't as familiar with the rivalry, the extra juice from those of us waiting for the resumption will more than make up for it and create an intense atmosphere. If that were true, you probably would see a 3/4 full Mariucci instead of half full, but I guarantee you many people wanting to get in won't be able to. That will be a testament to the strength of the rivalry.

Yes, this will be a huge game for both teams. The rabid hype that will go on before this series will be the biggest buildup since they last played at the Frozen Four. You can bet that passion will carry over to the ice and I believe you will see a gopher team with more jump than we've seen in a while as well. You will see by this series that they still consider us their biggest rival, and vice versa. Throw in our National Championship, and they won't be lacking for incentive.

Yeah, I would use that as an angle to get out of the contract. The NCHC could simply say that the ice has been unsatisfactory as it pertains to the safety of our players, and the conditions make it less than ideal to display the talents of the top-end talent of the league. Probably wouldn't get far, but in general I think the Target Center hasn't met much of what they said they would do when the contract was signed.

I think the huge new scoreboard and a few more minor things are supposed to be done by the next time the tourney is there.

UND missing the Frozen Faceoff a time or two, sure would make it a possibility, although that is probably why they have that reserve fund set up. Part of me wishes the Target Center wouldn't be making some of the improvements they are this coming year, because the NCHC could say they are in breach of the contract in which they said all of those improvements would be coming before the NCHC signed the agreement. Hopefully they don't buy into anything the Target Center tries to sell them going forward, as the NCHC should know that many UND fans have already stated they wouldn't attend at the Target Center anymore. Don't think I ever heard anyone say that about the "X".

True, but I still wouldn't mind if Denver lost Moore or Gambrell on top of already losing Heinen. Has Butcher said if he was staying or not?

I could see JJ plugged into the Gardner, Poganski line since he is so responsible on the defensive end. Don't know if they will be looking for them to be the exclusive shutdown line, because they certainly have the potential to put up numbers on their own.

... and at one point we were supposed to get a Sonic, Old Chicago, and King Leo's too. Wonder if Pepperjax is going to find somewhere else to build in town, or just move on.

You think Vancouver is going to win 3 Stanley Cups?

The ironic part is that for North Dakota, Minnesota, and Boston College, the current system will favor them most, because they always seem to be the ones to outbid the other places. If the NCAA wanted to really be fair, the regionals would rotate without regard to dollar amount, but they only want to be fair to a certain amount. So why not be fair and make more money? Teams that earn the right to host on campus seems fair to me.

Evers could be a possibility instead of Bast, simply because Bast sat out most of the year due to injury and Evers played a lot of minutes in the USHL. But Bast is older so who knows, as I have only seen Evers play in an All-Star game and never seen Bast. It will be interesting to see who the coaches think is ready for the next step.

Was interesting that Schlossman was offered a job writing in the NHL somewhere last year. He said it was good he didn't take it because they have since had layoffs.

It's not a done deal yet, so it could change a bit, and perhaps they only have initial rounds on campus sites. For our purposes, I hope they have their whole tourney on campus sites. Of course, it would take a year or two without UND at our conference tourney, and campus sites would be looking good to NCHC administration as well. As SJHovey said, it might even look good to them now. It is just depressing how we went from the best tournament and a spectacle to everybody needing to scramble to make something good of the situation. Thanks Big Ten!

... and for UND fans, are you going to invest in that, or are you going to hold out the hope the team will make it to the Frozen Four and spend your time and money there instead.

But the B1G is going to campus sites as well. http://www.gopherpucklive.com/campus-sites-coming-to-big-ten-hockey-tournament/

Why alternate at all? Just finish out the contract and play at the "X" every year.

True, but at least in circumstances like that, you will know a year or two ahead what his plans are going to be.

It's funny to watch Adam Wodon react to the conference tournaments going back to campus sites and his need to defend his position on the NCAA tournament staying at sites where no fans show up. Red Berenson said that they have important games being played in front of nobody at the conference tournament, but some people think it is o.k. to play even more important games in front of nobody.