nodakvindy

Maybe not the MVFC, but the Missouri Valley Conference is absolutely an opportunity.

UND sitting a solid #6 in pairwise. A win tomorrow night would really make that top 4 position possible. Other key games Saturday night are Robert Morris vs Mercyhurst and Vermont vs BC. Mercyhurst is barely ahead of UND in the RPI, so a loss by them would be a big help. A Vermont win over BC would flip the common opponents category and position UND to win the comparison with the Eagles. Staying firmly in the top 6 is big as it protects against being bumped by an automatic qualifier, which could happen in either of the Eastern leagues or possibly even Duluth.

Jakobsen wins it with 35 seconds left in OT. HUGE win for the program.

UND going on the PP with 1:15 left in OT against Minnesota. A win here would be huge for NCAA purposes!

Game goes to a shootout, which UND takes 4-3. Bemidji takes out UMD 2-0, locking up #3 for UND and confirming a playoff rematch with the Beavers. I'd say if UND can split with the Gophers they are definitely in the NCAAs, and even if they get swept, as long as they sweep Bemidji they are in pretty good shape. Home ice ( or at least, Fargo ) probably requires a sweep or a WCHA playoff title or a serious collapse by BC and Mercyhurst.

Heading to OT in Game 2 against Mankato. Need to win this one. It locks up the #3 seed and could go a long way toward making and getting a decent seed in the NCAAs. A loss to the last place team would be painful.

I would have liked to see the league go with a 21 game schedule to keep it balanced. For the single games you would have travel pairs of of DU-CC, UND-UNO, SCSU-UMD and Miami-WMU. The Colorado and Minnesota trips could stay on a traditional Friday-Saturday series. For the other two you would likely go Thursday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday. While breaking away from the usual, it would also give some additional TV timeslots for getting more games on CBS College Sports. This also gives you 13 non-conference games to play old rivals and still have room for eastern teams. A larger number of non-conference games also ups the chances of getting more teams into the NCAAs.

Wait until Gloria Allred shows up on campus for a Title IX lawsuit. Right now, the only team subject to the NCAA sanctions is the women's hockey team. As of right now, they would be forfeiting a home first round game that they have earned on the ice. Pretty unfortunate that the first ever UND's womens hockey NCAA tourney game is now guaranteed to be on the road. Nice way to treat those that have helped build that program.

I'd rather have a non-deserving team in than leave deserving teams out. And the regular season matters plenty, look at how the seeded teams did. Home field is huge.

Bad blood and sending messages is just childish. It's in UND's best interest to continue playing USD, so just buck up and make it happen. We are still in the BIg Sky. Yes, it would have been great if USD was too, but they aren't. South Dakota Mines won't sell any tickets, doesn't help toward making the playoffs and reeks of desperation. What better way to start our first playoff eligible season that with what is our only true active rivalry game.

No, bag the Mines game and sign up another home and home with USD. They'd have to agree to playing in GF in 2012 and Vermillion in 2013 but I'd hope they do that to keep the rivalry going. Then play at Vermillion again in 2014 and GF in 2015. Continuing the series with the Yotes makes too much sense. It's a good draw and will also bring in some opposing fans and ensure on drivable road trip every other year. If the Mines game were cancelled, UND still has open dates for all four of those seasons, so you can sign a four year deal with South Dakota if the open dates match up.

Appears we are just trying to set up for a field goal try. Pretty risky.

They can't go to the WAC since that league sponsors FBS football. Air Force and Boise would have to put their other sports in a league that does not offer FBS football. Only real options are the WCC, Big Sky, and Big West.

I'm not sure I see the value of allowing Boise State and Air Force into the Big Sky for non-football. I don't think their other sports will drive the needle for any expanded TV contract and they aren't good enough to make the Big Sky a two bid league in hoops. In reality you are allowing in two schools that will have BCS resources and likely take away tourney appearances for your core members. It's a totally different situation than BYU and the WCC, because that is a much stronger basketball league and BYU is a school that can get an at-large bid and help the conference coffers that way. I also think that you will see that Boise State is somewhat of a mirage if they go to the Big East. They have been able to beat up on very weak schedules with an occasional big name. In a tougher conference, the staying power just isn't there.

I wouldn't be surprised if the WCHA lets the Broadmoor go. That is a tie to CC, which will no longer be in the league. Whatever happens I hope the regular season title stays meaningful and is viewed as the "true" conference championship. The NCHC will be a real grind and the r.s. title will be hard earned.

Pretty baffling move. There was no need to do a panicky expansion. If there is a commitment from the schools, six teams is enough for a conference. And with a easy system to work like PairWise, you should be able to get 4 of 6 teams in to the NCAAs almost every year. The key to getting bids as a conference is to do well in non-conference play. As a six-team loop, that would have meant 14 noncon games, and as "have" schools, that breakdown would likely have been 8-6 or 10-4 for home games. The conference tourney could have been a series of best of threes for all three rounds over three weekends. That would have been very distinctive and given a little extra luster to the NCHC playoffs.

Ohio State moving would be good for the WCHA. It will open up a few extra non-conference games, which are sorely needed. Also, gives a nice advantage to the regular season champ getting the week off before the Final Faceoff.

Forward Alexander Galimov was on the Russian team for the 2005 World Juniors at the Ralph.

I'd love to see the league hire Thor Nelson to be head of officiating. Don't know if he would take it, but he might want something with less travel. Base that part of league operations out of Grand Forks, along with PR and marketing. That way you can also make use of the Ralph's broadcasting capabilities.

That's just brutal if it isn't on a Saturday. You probably cut the attendance by half, at least. What should be a huge revenue producing game for UND now isn't. Really disappointing, if true.

It's a fair question and one I would guess will be answered Wednesday. Conference leadership is a big difference. Also likely to see tighter nhl style officiating. Also get a round robin schedule. Hope notre dame joins and league stops at 7. That will allow 10 nonconference games plus exemptions.

With the Blashill departure, I wonder in Western is out of the new conference. If that is the case, I'd support Michigan Tech as an 8th team with Notre Dame. Would further the academic reputation of the conference, bring along the MacNaughton Cup, and keep the remaining "Core 4" original WCHA schools together. Tech has a larger barn than Miami, and with the hiring of Pearson has shown a reaffirmed commitment to their program. That would allow the following new conferences to form. Midnight SUN Conference UAA UAF MSU-Mankato St. Cloud Bemidji MSU-Moorhead Thought about Minot State, but believe the flood has put that potential program on the back burner for now. Compact travel for the Northern Sun schools and you can make a single trip to Alaska, playing back to back weekends. (Do it around Thanksgiving and in early January to minimize lost class time.) Great Lakes Hockey Conference CCHA Division Northern Michigan Lake Superior State Ferris State Bowling Green Western Michigan New Division Alabama Huntsville Niagara Robert Morris Mercyhurst Lindenwood Play own division 4 times, opposite division twice. Minimizes travel for CCHA schools to Alabama and preserves remaining rivalries. Gives emerging programs a full scholarship conference. Lindenwood could potentially go Midnight SUN if another eastern school emerged for Great Lakes conference.

I'd hesitate to say that the Big Sky doesn't care. The difference is that the if the Big Sky has concerns they are tending to them behind closed doors as a professional organization does, rather than playing things out in the media. I would be shocked if the Big Sky didn't have some misgivings or concerns about a member that is put at a competitive disadvantage in the playoffs for what is the marquee sport of the conference. That said, the future looks bright for UND in the Big Sky and I'm looking forward to the matchups we will be seeing in upcoming years.

I hope Ohio State gets the death penalty. The lack of institutional control is every bit as much as what went on at SMU and I would love to see the smug president get his comeuppance. Tressel should be slapped with a show-cause order, but I doubt the NCAA has the balls to do that.

Just bumping this as folks along the Missouri and Souris are facing a serious flood threat this holiday weekend. There is water all over our great state and no one is immune this year.