nodakvindy

I think at this point, the NHL has to be hoping for a final four of Montreal, Boston, Detroit and Chicago. Sure it would mean losing Crosby, but that's more than overcome by having four of the Original Six competing for the Cup. Boston and Chicago have both been experiencing hockey Renaissances in the last couple of years and no one can question the hockey cred of Detroit and Montreal. A Montreal-Chicago final would be ideal, ensuring either a Canadian Stanley Cup winner of the end of Chicago's lengthy drought. Either outcome (or even a Bruins win) would be a huge jolt for the league - much like the Red Sox and White Sox World Series wins in '04 and '05 were great for baseball. After nearly a generation of trying to move into new markets under Bettman, making hockey relevant again in core market cities is just the tonic the league needs.

What makes you think the Governor would veto the board? Each and everyone one of them was appointed by him.

USD drew Creighton in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Good luck to the Coyotes and represent the Great West well against a long time mid-major power.

I have wondered this aloud several times. It's a recognition that is long overdue at the new Ralph to be honest.

Huge difference. Denver made the league playoffs and lost in the first round. There is usually at least one team a year that this happens to and they still get in. Vermont would finish in 9th place in the scenario I mentioned. Only the top 8 make the hockey east playoffs. Yet because of the extreme parity in hockey east and Vermont's strong non-conference record their PWR will put them in the discussion.

This is truer for the WCHA since more teams play four game series and more comparisons are lopsided. In the east where there are fewer head to head matchups, the playoff games can be decisive in flipping comparisons and have a much greater impact. On a side note, if Vermont splits this weekend and Merrimack and UMass both sweep, Vermont will not even make the Hockey East playoffs, but have a decent shot at still getting into the NCAAs due to their Pairwise Ranking. That would be a shocking development.

I don't want to put words in fightingsioux4life's mouth either, but I saw this article in USA Today last week and I think it summarizes his point and even has science to back it up. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/va...ts-silver_N.htm

Won't directly impact us this week, but a Vermont win could keep them ahead in their comparison with St. Cloud. Those comparison losses to far lower ranked teams can be costly. It certainly helps open the door for the Sioux to get by them if we keep winning.

Zajac

The state should look at instituting something like the Alaska Permanent fund. We should also be developing some sort of commuter bus system to encourage people to repopulate small communities. These communities has exising infrastructure that is able to support larger populations and if commuting were made simpler, I think you would see more people taking up the opportunities.

I think it may indeed be Poulin. Check out Brad's latest blog post. I wonder if he's giving us a hint.

For UND and CC the next tiebreaker would be total goals in all league games. UND is currently +21 and CC is +8, so barring some crazy results, UND would have the tiebreaker with a split.

Looking like this is how it will end up. USA heading into the playoffs with a lot of momentum. That's not a bad draw, but you still have to win the games. 1 USA 8 Switzerland 9 Belarus 4 Finland 5 Czech Republic 12 Latvia 2Sweden 7 Slovakia 10 Norway 3 Russia 6 Canada 11 Germany

Yes it was. Very entertaining. Norway's top line isn't bad. The little guy is very fun to watch and Thoresen is one of the leading scorers in the KHL. They just don't have the depth to hang with the stronger teams.

That also puts pre-games favorites Sweden, Russia and Canada in the opposite half of the bracket and would likely have the USA facing the Finland=Czech Republic winner for a berth in the gold medal game. So yes, for tonight I'd say Go Sweden, or at least Go overtime!

That's why they need to get rid of Bettman. This should absolutely continue. I also like this 12 team format. It's nice to get the Norways and Belarus into the Olympics along with the big guns. It's the only way these other countries can improve and make for an even more competitive event.

If top seed US would play Switzerland-Belarus winner, if #2 Slovakia-Norway winner. With only the Sweden-Finland game left, seedings nearly set 1 2 3 Russia 4 5 6 Canada 7 Slovakia 8 Switzerland 9 Belarus 10 Norway 11 Germany 12 Latvia For the 1-2 seeds If Finns win in regulation they are 1 and US is 2 Swedes must win by 6 to get top seed If game goes to overtime - USA 1, winner 2, loser 4 Czechs 5 Other 4-5 scenarios Even with loss Finns get 4 seed and bye unless they are shutout and give up at least seven goals. For Swedes to get 4 seed with loss, they must score at least four and can't lose by more than one goal.

USA wins and gets the bye. Canada falls to the #6 seed and faces Germany with the winner to face Russia in the quarters. Pressure definitely on the Maple Leaf now.

Ditto that!

KESLER ENG 5-3 USA!!!

What a great stretch of play. Three straight breakaways alternating to no avail. Gutty effort from team USA.

The little leaguer with the Big goal. Drury puts USA up 3-2 late 2nd.

And Rafalski puts USA back up 2-1 Only took 22 seconds. Early on, this has the makings of a classic. Lots of pressure and up and down the ice action.

USA up 1-0, Rafalski scored 41 secs in.

That's how you start out, BABY!