tnt

I think it would be justice, considering how the Sioux and others have had to try win in St. Paul as a #1 seed.

If Blais leaves, he is done. An assistant coach spends a lot of time on the road recruiting, and I don't think Blais would want to do that anymore, and I think UND would want guys who are young and ambitious out on the road. Don't even know if Blais would entertain the head coaching job at UND if it was open, but who knows.

Will the people with unrealistic expectations please take another look at this list, and be sure to add one to the North Dakota Final Five Streak, and end Duluth and Denver's streaks. So now we have North Dakota at 11, then Minnesota and SCSU at 2. Hmmm!

Don't forget that Tech also throttled St. Cloud when they were fighting to win their first ever WCHA title.

Actually Crosby did make an unofficial visit with Duncan. http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/189974/

Simpson would surprise me a bit, simply because he isn't a top draft pick, and he still just turned 20. I think he is a great student, and his family values education, so why leave to play in the AHL? I really think there are some guys who would love to have their own Senior day to reflect on, and from an outsider's view it seems Simpson really has a real sense of the program.

I say win what you can. Don't think I would ever hope for the Sioux to lose a game. I guess I don't subscribe to the theory that if you win one you can't win the other. Things have to go your way anyway, even if you lose the Final Five.

If Saunders plays tomorrow, it would be going against what Hakstol said earlier this week, that if someone steps up, they have a chance to take over.

Hope it's not! If it is, it means we finished 3rd. Rather have a chance at being a #2 seed if Minnesota loses and ties and we win.

Not nearly as nice as a present as the game tying goal that should have been whistled for icing!

True, STA should be in AA, but if East Grand Forks has some prospective college recruits, they should have competed a little better, even though some of that talent is quite young. Knew it would be an uphill battle, but had no inkling they would get pummeled the way they did.

I personally don't think that Mankato would ever get invited to the NCHC. I think if they are going to expand, they will be looking for new markets.

The website says that Stecher doesn't turn 19 until April. Hopefully he turns out like another BCHL guy who decommitted a few years ago -- Joey LaLeggia!

Anybody know what happened with his commitment to Omaha?

Mitch Slattery of Hill Murray seems like the prototypical Fighting Sioux player, skill with a good bit of grit and edge to him. Would like to see how he develops. I know Luke Voltin played for Hill Murray, but who is the last Sioux player from Hill Murray anyway?

Gotta be Goehring.

I think they said it was on Channel 14, and channel 323 on Midcontinent in Grand Forks.

It pales in comparison to the downright ineptitude of the WCHA year in and year out under the current "administration"!

Was thinking the same thing as well. It might just be that the people that get the seats they want, or indeed the best, might just be people who wait.

Yeah, just to have the playoffs here for 11 straight years is quite nice. Then you look at all the other factors that Schlossman has pointed out, like our 5 game winless streak which only included a few losses, and how the other programs all had multiple stretches like that. I love it when he points out factors like that because it makes a lot of the chronic complainers look so petty.

I would welcome playing Minnesota as well, because it will mean we beat Wisconsin. I assume they don't play 3rd place games, do they?

I think it comes down to UND staying out of the penalty box this time and continue their great powerplay this weekend. The fact that eastern teams don't have an automatic 4 losses added to their schedule like WCHA teams because of a team like Minnesota really skews the records.

I'd take UAA first, but after that, I wouldn't mind playing Bemidji again. I think Kristo is ready to break out against them. Of course I thought that this weekend too!

Just thinking though, what are the tiebreakers in three or four-way ties? Maybe those are the scenarios Brad is working through.

Are officials already predetermined who will officiate the Bemidji / Gopher series next weekend? Be very interesting to see how they call that series in Bemidji's arena, as far as the obstruction goes.