nodakvindy

I'd say Serratorre is a dark horse. Guided the Beavers to their first ever NCAA DI tourney and in hindsight gave the NCAA champs their toughest game of the tourney.

I have a feeling we will get a quick strike like we did on Ryan Miller in the semi's in 2001. It will be someone like Fylling or Massen. Wonder if any enterprising Sioux fan will try to smuggle in an octopus.

He can't be Bourque, cause little Chris never got a sniff of the Frozen Four

ESPN has seen the light

Baylor just won the NCAA women's basketball championship. Their road to the title has a lot of similarities to what the Sioux face. Beat a #1 seed to reach Final Four Beat three #1 seeds to win title Lone #2 seed joining three #1 seeds in Final Four Beat tournament's overall #1 seed Beat Minnesota in the tournament Hopefully the Sioux can follow path blazed by the Lady Bears!

You need to make a fix. The Minnesota bracket and BC bracket are paired in the semifinals, as are the DU and CC brackets.

In light of the Tyler Hirsch situation, thought this merited a bump. There is some fairly ugly stuff being posted on USCHO, but I know most Sioux fans here are above that. I hope that Hirsch is able to find some peace, with or without hockey.

Yes, they are the host in Worcester.

My guesses Amherst BC vs Mercyhurst, UND vs Harvard Minneapolis Minnesota vs Colgate, New Hamphire vs Ohio State Worcester CC vs Bemidji, Cornell vs BU Grand Rapids Denver vs Maine, Michigan vs Wisconsin This kinda hoses CC, but the natural seeding puts BU and Minnesota in the same bracket and that can't happen - which sets off a chain of problems. However, the top seeds all get deserving 1st round games for their overall seeding, intraconference matchups are avoided as long as possible, and Michigan is in the Grand Rapids regional, preserving attendance. I based on the following overall seeding: 1-BC 2-CC 3-Denver 4-MN 5-Cornell 6-Mich 7-UND 8-UNH 9-Harvard 10-OSU 11-Wisco 12-BU 13-Maine 14-Colgate 15-Bemidji 16-Mercyhurst

I guess that's my whole point. The member schools must come forward and say enough is enough. Shepherd and McLeod serve at the pleasure of the membership, and if the schools no longer have confidence in them, they should be shown the door. I'd like to see something strongly worded coming from the University. They should take the same type of action St. Joseph's took after the ugly incident with Temple and John Chaney's goon player. While the situations differ slightly in that I don't believe that Gwozdecky urged Paukovich to hurt Bina, I think Paukovich's penalty is not yet sufficient, and Adam has faced no penalty. Right now, public opinion has reached a position where positive change could occur, but if nothing is done that chance will quickly disappear.

Don Adam's performance in the last two weeks has been nothing short of pathetic, and while there has been plenty of criticism (and deservedly so) of Adam, I think the biggest culprits have gotten off somewhat. Both Greg Shepherd and Bruce McLeod should be relieved of their jobs. The primary reason they should be dumped is the open defiance the WCHA has shown in disregarding the NCAA's point of emphasis on interference and holding. All of the other conferences have gone along with this and the game is the better for it. More importantly their decision has created an environment of increased risk of injury for student athletes. This is simply unacceptable. Unfortunately, this won't happen on its own. The schools must take back some control. I hope Phil Harmeson has had some private conferences with Michigan Tech AD Rick Yeo and the AD of Wisconsin. Wisconsin saw the poor work of Adam last week, and Yeo was among those who decided on the post-game suspension of Paukovich. If the schools won't stand up for the best interests of their student athletes then no one will. The best way to send a message is to send McLeod and Shepherd packing and bring in a new sheriff to clean things up. Someone who cares about the college game and knows how to make it better. And if the NHL lockout continues to drag on, I know of a perfect candidate - someone who has a nearly 35 year relationship with the league as a player, assistant coach and head coach, has the respect of his peers and isn't afraid to speak up when need be. You guessed it - Dean Blais.

Actually, UAA is a TUC, and that is why Bucky jumped the Sioux. Bucky is 5-1 against UAA this year, and that made a huge improvemet in their TUC record. Sioux fans should actually pull for Bucky to win. This would drop UAA from the TUCs and I'd actually rather play Bucky than UAA in the play-in game. Bucky is really slumping right now. Also, pull for Ferris State over Ohio State, which would probably knock out the Buckeyes. Then as long as Michigan wins the CCHA tourney, only one CCHA team will get in. Canisius losing in the AHA playoffs deprived the Sioux of some potential cheap TUC wins. The only way the Sioux are hurt is if Mercyhurst wins AHA, as that would give Wisconsin two and UNH one TUC win. Even with only one weekend left there is still a lot that can happen. The Sioux have little chance of flipping the comparisons with any of the current PWR top 5, but the Harvard, Michigan and Wisconsin comparisons are all winnable. There is also the possibility of winning the Boston U. comparison. Of comparisons the Sioux currently win, most are pretty solid, with New Hampshire the most at risk, and Ohio State or Michigan State being a slight possibility if either can win the CCHA. So it looks like UND is a solid #3 seed, with a fair chance at moving to a #2 with two wins or even a single win over Wisconsin if UAA isn't a TUC.

Canisius could also play a role. If they win the Atlantic Hockey autobid they become a TUC regardless of RPI and that would give the Sioux two critical TUC wins.

PCM, that's a pretty intriguing statement, care to elaborate at all.

Things I miss - the scoreboard scrolling current league standings - recognition of the first retired number at UND and our 1980 Olympic Hero - the friendship broom (bonus points if you even know you competes for it) - player buttons - the Siouxper shot at intermission - a single zamboni - the old dasher boards (pucks would circle the whole way on the rail) - going to the john on the season ticket side and being able to hear Dean or Gino make the paint on the walls blister during an intermission - having the opposing team have to make its way through a mob of Sioux fans - the old school banners for the WCHA schools

A loss to Canisius would be as shocking as the loss to US International over the holidays during the 86-87 season. Although if it resulted in the season ending the same way I would gladly take it.

Those numbers are interesting. First, becuase a large portion of NDSU's revenues and expenses were lumped in the vague "unallocated by gender" pot. This seems like it could be some accounting trick to make things appear better than they are. I think the opposite is happening at UND, with Betty construction costs being absorbed by the athletic department. More importantly NDSU is no where near complying with Title IX, with men receiving 66% of scholarship funds and making up 70% of all athletes despite making up only 55% of the student body. Those scholarship numbers will be further skewed this year with an additional 20 football scholarships. But hey, good luck with that.

With the Big Sky looking as a truly viable option for UND athletics I thought I'd pull out my crystal ball and see what the future has in store should we move ahead on that path. I'll also offer some thought on our neighbors to the south. Sport offerings - Both UND and NDSU have nearly all the required Big Sky offerings, UND would need to add tennis for men, while NDSU would need to add it for men and women. Of course, this requirement could be lifted. Several teams would also be left without a conference. For UND, baseball, softball and men's and women's swimming. For NDSU, baseball, softball and wrestling. Title IX - This has seemingly been glossed over in the NDSU move. They have added a ton of scholarships for football, but no mention has been made of scholarship additions for women. UND is in a much better position in that they offer more women's sports, which can help counteract the extra scholarships of football. Both school seem poised to move up and in short amount of time, be competitive at least on the conference level. Travel budgets would certainly increase, as it nearby opponents are few and far between. However that is increasingly becoming the case in DII. This could also be made up with a few "guarantee" games in basketball and football. The biggest challenge is for the teams with conference affiliations, for swimming this isn't a big deal as the team already travels extensively and this year is competing against a lot of Division I schools. Softball and baseball would be far more difficult. In fact, I believe baseball would be cut if there is a move to DI. Kraft Field is substandard and it is virtually impossible for northern schools to be competitive in baseball. Softball would also be a logical cut, but would likely survive due to Title IX. NDSU would have a more difficult choice as I think they would also need to cut a sport, with Wrestling and Baseball the only options. Wrestling is a highly successful program, but the sport is dying at the collegiate level. The baseball team has a fantastic facility, but again it's nearly impossible to succeed in DI. One other likely outcome of the DI move is the loss of local kids making up a large portion of teams. I don't think you can underestimate the importance of having local athletes in terms of media attention and attendance. If future Sioux teams are populated by athletes from Milwaukee, Chicago, California and Texas then it could be difficult to keep fan interest if the losses start piling up. Finally, while I think it is prudent to stay aware of the fiscal challenges of the move in the short term, a long term view is also needed. The gradual downward spiral of DII makes it almost certain that UND will need to move to DI. While it might be hard now, it will likely be just as difficult later and the likelihood of a good conference match is slim. For that reason I think the time is now for a DI move.

The road playoff demons are exorcised. On to Houghton!

It's heart attack time again

UGH! terrible play calling. 5 wides on 3rd and 2. How can you not at least make them think about the run.

I'll go out on a limb and say that if those are indeed the regional pairings, get ready for Sioux-Lakers III at the Alerus on Nov. 27

UND had some solid clubs during that time, especially the mid to late 60s. 1970-78 and 1990-95 can fairly be described as lean periods in Sioux hockey history. Both ended with the arrival of news coaches, John "Gino" Gasparini in 1979 and Dean Blais in 1994. The recent arrival of coach Hakstol is the first time a new coach has taken over the program in good shape since a spate of coaching changes in the 1960s. I know in a previous message you mentioned the Sioux playing Army or Princeton. It doesn't look like they will play at either any time soon, but if you haven't done so, you should take the opportunity to go to a game at Princeton. Their home, Hobey Baker Rink (also the namesake for hockey's version of the Heisman Trophy) is college hockey's equivalent of Wrigley Field. Every fan should see at least one game there. The place just oozes history, and the hot chocolate is good and very cheap. Roads trips are one of the real joys of college hockey and if you get a chance to see the Sioux on the road, you will see how rabid and passionate Sioux fans are in following their team. Welcome aboard!

I've watched both dataflix and last night's Maine broadcast. When dataflix is on, like it was at the end of last season, they are quite comparable. I think dataflix is fine, they just need to make sure all the equipment is up to par. The Maine product certainly wasn't worth twice as much.