nodakvindy

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.

Yes, I'm aware of the Arizona shooting. I didn't even make that connection to this "threat", but that makes sense in the timeline when the email was sent to Carlson. As I read the police report , I thought this individual had done something in Arizona as well, since it referred to driving records in both North Dakota and Minnesota.

Bingo!

Seems the Patrol just wanted to be done with this. Why didn't they investigate further how someone has valid licenses in two states? I'm pretty sure that's a no-no. Also, the statement about wrath meaning not voting for Carlson, not sure how that's even possible with this joker living in Minnesota. Finally, wonder what the "Arizona incident" is. Seems to indicate some sort of history of this behavior. A little perplexing.

BINGO!

Benedictine College in Kansas. http://basketball.victorysportsnetwork.com/article.php?articleID=14045

You wonder if UNO thought at all of going non-scholly and joining the Pioneer league. You at least keep the sport going and utilize the facilities, plus keep 100 students on campus. Fan interest has never been great in Omaha anyway, and names like Butler, Davidson, and Valparaiso probably would draw as well as the MIAA schools, due to their name recognition from basketball.

Yes, I'd love this type of schedule. I could also live without FBS games every year. We should be looking to max out every other year with a big name school rather than middling paydays from low level FBS teams. That would allow for a six game home schedule, alternating an FBS game away with a home guarantee game with a lower level school (hopefully a Pioneer League team).

#9 and #10 - Third team to win 3 straight MacNaughtons, getting above .500 against Minnesota before the series ends. Lots of things to shoot for as a team. Also a Hobey, breaking Ryan Miller's records (shutouts season and career, season Save Pct., etc.) Sticking around didn't seem to hurt Miller any. I think the tutelage of Karl Goehring for two more years can't be underestimated. I'm guessing maybe Eddie the Eagle might be in during the summer to offer some lessons as well. That's like becoming part of the Tretiak goalie family tree.

I'd say after this weekend, I'll be shocked if he isn't the West 1st Team All America.

If Frattin wore 22 instead of 21, you could already engrave the MOP trophy for him.

Didn't really wanna touch that one, cause I'm hoping that doesn't repeat itself. (Although technically I don't think 50 feet was projected in 1997 and that was a big part of the problem).

Atkinson was a junior, so actually he was a 3 and done.

There are beginning to be a lot of wacky coincidences piling up for the 1997 and 2011 season. In Sioux/NCAA hockey 1997........................................................................................2011 Surprise goalie named Aaron claims starting job ........Surprise goalie named Aaron claims starting job Sioux win MacNaugton Cup (share).................................Sioux win NacNaugton Cup (outright) Sioux have 21 conference wins and 43 points...............Sioux have 21 conference wins and 43 points UND gives up one goal in 1st round sweep of Tech.....UND gives up one goal in 1st round sweep of Tech Sioux win Broadmoor Trophy.............................................Sioux win Broadmoor Trophy Sioux defeat CC in WCHA semis......................................Sioux defeat CC in WCHA semis Sioux defeat #2 seed for Broadmoor in OT.....................Sioux defeat #2 seed for Broadmoor in 2OT Dean Blais WCHA Coach of the Year...............................Dean Blais WCHA Coach of the Year UND has 3 1st and 1 3rd team All-WCHA........................UND has 3 1st and 1 3rd team All-WCHA New Conference two years away (CHA)...........................New Conference two years away (Big Ten) Sioux open NCAAs scoring 6 against ECAC foe............Sioux open NCAAs scoring 6 against ECAC foe Frozen Four location in WCHA territory.............................Frozen Four location in WCHA territory Frozen Four includes Michigan..........................................Frozen Four includes Michigan Frozen Four includes WCHA 4th Place (CC)...................Frozen Four includes WCHA 4th Place (UMD) Frozen Four includes Non-Conference............................Frozen Four includes Non-Conference Team Sioux Beat and Tied at home (BU..........................Team Sioux Beat and Tied at home (Notre Dame) UND scores 6 in each NCAA win.......................................UND 6 RPI 0, UND 6 DU 1 Outside NCAA hockey 1997..........................................................2011 Packers win Super Bowl 31.................Packers win Super Bowl 45 This one seem appropriate since the Sioux won the '97 title in Milwaukee and have started their tourney run in Green Bay.

I'll admit I've never seen a game there, so don't know about the sightlines. However, the location is very good and that's what matters for a regional. Manchester and Worcester aren't the newest facilities, but they have hosted numerous regionals. Sioux City would be another option for a western regional. Both it and Sioux Falls would be very drivable locations for many WCHA schools.

Who said anything about making the tournament? Pre-selected means prior to the season. You do know that Mariucci and World Arena hosted games even though Minnesota and CC did not make the tourney in those seasons. The presumption that I'm some kind of Big 10 fan/backer is laughable.