nodakvindy

The problem is that road games aren't theirs to sell. If Michigan and Ohio St. decided they wanted to do a separate TV deal apart from the Big Ten (becuase they are the ones people want to see.) the other schools would scream bloody murder. Why is that so difficult to comprehend? Again, the Gopher TV contract kills the possibility of a league-wide deal and that is to the detriment of the league. It would be great to have a league wide deal with say Jim Rich doing play-by-play and then getting color commentators from that week's home school. If the Gophers wanted to do a side deal to get games on more power to them. That is what Boston U. does to supplement the Hockey East contract.

If this meant the difference between the league making or losing money, you might have an argument, but that simply isn't the case. Minnesota shouldn't be rewarded because its fans are too lazy to go to afternoon games. It's pretty galling to call out fans of UND, UW, etc. when it is almost universally excepted that Minnesota is one of the worst schools in terms of travelling fans. It's a big reason that even with decent records that they go to dog bowl games. The TV situation is an even bigger joke. As I said in another post, the other league schools should bar Fox Sports from their rinks. What benefit to they get with Minnesota's homer announcers. Minnesota has a Notre Dame-football style TV contract with all the benefits of being in the conference. That deal is a big reason there is no league-wide contract, which would benefit all teams. The WCHA should have a game of the week deal with both Fox North and Fox Rocky Mountain (and possibly Fox Northwest, if that is what is seen up in Alaska). Maybe open up the bidding for the Final Five to CSTV. I'm sure having the best conference tournament would be of interest to them.

The funny thing is that if Duluth loses they lock up a #1 seed in the NCAAs, but if they win, they must be Minnesota again.

Penalties expire and Michigan gets an empty netter to make it 5-2

3 min left in Ann Arbor. UNO has a 5-on-3 PP and has pulled the goalie. Still 4-2 Michigan.

This is why the other league schools need to stand up to Minnesota. They get all of the benefits of being in a conference but then have their own TV deal a la Notre Dame football. The other league teams should quit allowing FSN in to do games. What benefit do they get? Forcing the issue might result in a long overdue league TV deal or at least a nice chuck of change from Minnesota and FSN.

The Gopher-Bulldog game will decide the final #1 seed. Michigan scores again on the PP to make it 4-2.

59 seconds and another Michigan goal to lead 3-2. Timeout UNO.

Michigan scores with 13:00 left in the third to tie UNO at 2-2.

or the BU team of 1998, that as the #1 seed fell to #8 Merrimack in the Hockey East playoffs and then made a quick exit from the NCAAs as well.

You are right sagard, but after Minnesota broke the #1 West jinx and the back-to-back drought last year, perhaps now is the time for the overall #1 curse to go down.

Interesting about Vanek not being nominated by Minnesota, but not entirely surprising.

Bingo!

Actually the BU win really helps Maine, as it will keep them a TUC and help Maine hold on to that comparsion against UND. There is a chance that the best thing that could happen to Maine would be to get swept by Merrimack. It will hurt their RPI, but not enough to likely lose any comparisons. They also wouldn't have to face any more TUCs that could beat them and hurt them in that category. UND will probably have to win the Final Five and have Maine lose to a TUC to win the head-to-head comparison. Otherwise, they will need to stay in a three way tie or have Maine lose a comparison against someone else to get the overall #1 seed.

#8 BU 3 #1 BC 2 Also, New Hampshire and UMass pick up game 1 wins. BC is slumping at the worst time. However, some great UND teams were pushed to 3 games in the opening round so the Eagles certainly aren't done for.

Good call Maine fan. I had figured BU or Northeastern would loose and drop out as TUCs, which would have kept the Maine-UND comparison on UND's side. The current TUC definition is a joke. Northeastern is a TUC and didn't even make the conference tournament. To me that is far worse than having AHA and CHA teams in with above .500 records. The current rule is a huge benefit to Hockey East since they have more non-conference games and can build up a better RPI. I think it should be revised so that a TUC must have an above .500 winning percentage AND and above .500 RPI. Also, the Yale games will count as losses.

A nice history of the cup can be found here - http://www.uscollegehockey.com/m/19981999/macnaughton.html

Maine 2 BC 0 End of 2

While UND has a solid #1 position in RPI and that has aided their position in the Pair Wise, it never hurts to solidify that even further. Much like the Notre Dame-Syracuse influenced the BCS title game, other NCAA games will impact the the Sioux RPI. Why is this important, since UND seems a lock for a #1 seed? Well, the overall #1 seed is the home team throughout, meaning they have last change in all games and that is a huge advantage, one coach Blais has been able to exploit during previous NCAAs. So, here's who to pull for this weekend UAA and MSU-Mankato - both are in non-conference action, so winning adds to our Opponents Winning Percentage for both schools and also Opponents Opponents Winning Percentage by helping all other league schools. Denver - Since we played them four times as opposed to twice for CC, a Denver win is twice as good for Opponents winning percentage. UM-D - Same thought as Denver, having played the Dogs five times. St. Cloud - Doesn't have much of an effect either way, but pulling for the Gophers is morally wrong. Yale - The ECAC playoffs open this weekend and Yale can add some wins, helping our Opponents Winning Percentage. They are at home this weekend, so have a good chance of winning. The farther they go, the better for us. Wayne St, Findlay - Same reason as Yale, although these CHA bottom feeders are less likely to win. Maine - This one is addition by subtraction. BC wins would benefit our RPI, but losses hurst theirs much more. BC is the only team close to us in RPI. And obviously we watch the Sioux take it to MTU in the most important series of all.

See you next week! Spring Break Plans UND - Final Five at the X MTU - Weekend in Flint On a more season long note Bulldogs... No Cup For You! (Would have been even better last week) Sioux tickets - $20 Sioux jersey - $75 Englestad Arena -$100 Million Claiming the Cup - Priceless

I am on board with the I-29 corridor. I think the state should shut Mayville state down and sell the campus to the feds for a Homeland Security training facility. There are a lot of tie-ins that could be used - the School of Aviation at UND, the nanotechnology programs at NDSU, etc. The proximity to the border is also an advantage. The National Fire Academy is on a former college campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland, a town similar in size to Mayville, so there is precadent.

Here's another side of the story. Ironic that it also ran today. http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/20...state/sta01.txt As for Grand Forks not matching Fargo and Bismarck in growth, the flood is the decisive factor. The fact that the community did not hemorrhage population is nothing short of amazing. Working in the disaster business, you see the emotional and mental scars on a community. Grand Forks is a textbook study on how to recover. Sure there are the occasional missteps and the typical local government quabbling, but the recovery of Grand Forks-East Grand Forks has been remarkable and the rebuilt infrastructure is a huge leg up for the future.

Dogs up 4-3

You are right NDSU = Fargo's college = modest local interest UND = North Dakota's university = considerable regional interest