XCheck

I did get caught up in the emotion during this game and made some posts that were too harsh and I regret them. For those that were offended I apologize, especially to any of the players that may read this board. All of us fans can't thank you players enough for all that you have done for this team and program. Especially want to thank the Seniors that will be taking off the jersey for the last time tonight....can't imagine how emotional that will be. However, the fact that you just won the national championship is going to make it easier. I have followed this team for years and watch every game I can....just because I am not posting on this board doesn't mean I am not reading it. However, from now on, I will leave the posting to the regulars. Again, sorry to have offended some of you.

When they work hard, good things happen.

Showing some life! Unbelievable!!!!

Why did you?

Can't blame this on the refs. Our team is playing like a Div. 3 team.

It is one thing to lose if you play your best, but when you play like this, they should have stayed home. Now a stupid, mindless penalty!!!

This is the worst effort ever....they don't deserve to win.

What is wrong with our team???? They look terrible!

I thought both MI and Notre Dame looked weak compared to North Dakota's performance yesterday. Especially earlier in game...but obviously the Hawks can't relax at all for the next 180 minutes left in season. ND just needs to stay as sharp as they were yesterday. I hope they destroy Michigan!

HHound....all fans ought to ge be as gracious and knowledgable as you. Good luck to your team next year.

I have had an uneasy feeling about this game all week. The teams are all so good it seemed like going to a Frozen Four. UND is high octane but so are those other three teams. Any one of the four could have won it. There were no doormats in this tournament. Secondly, beating UMD five times in a row is a tall order, especially when they have more at stake and are out to regain some pride. They were far and away the more motivated team...they were on a mission. ND did not play the way they are capable of. Playing relatively easy opponents the previous two week ends may have made us ever so slightly complacent and that is all it takes against high end NCHC. I have followed our Fighting Sioux hockey team for years and what really made me admire those NCAA championship teams and even a couple of the teams that lost in the final was their work ethic. You may have beaten one of those teams but it wasn't because you out worked them or had more intensity. Those Sioux teams played with tremendous intensity for 60 minutes or as long as it took. Nobody wanted to get paired against those great teams because of their speed, skill, smarts, and work ethic. The Fighting Sioux never, ever gave up....they were relentless. Those teams were simply too big, too strong, too fast, and too good for any opponent, but they didn't win all their games either. I didn't see the feared and most respected "Fighting Sioux" hockey played yesterday. All the competition is going to be good the rest of the way and UND has as good a chance to win it all as anybody. Whether they do or not will come down to character....do they want it more than the other teams and will they play up to the required level always that is always expected when you play for the best Division I hockey program in the country. Think like champions, act like champions and play like champions and you will become champions.

Anyone know the extent on injury to Schmaltz? I hope it isn't serious.

Like many others, I have been very frustrated about having our nickname taken away. It has been hard too accept. However, we owe it to UND athletes that lay it on the line for their team and school to get behind this new name. It can't inspire the athletes to hear the new name denigrated. They keep putting up the W's and that is what counts.

All three of the choices were weak and the Fighting Hawks nickname is lame at best. Of course having had the best nickname in college sports for decades, we had nowhere to go but down.

What is the score??

The part about the hard work will get you a 5 to 3 win.

What has us all upset is not the fact that a North Dakota team lost, but it was the way they lost. They didn't come close to matching the enthusiasm and intensity of Yale. It used to be that you may beat the Sioux, but if you did, you went home with a huge sigh of relief and a lot of ice packs on your bruises and cuts. If you did beat them, it was rare that it was because you outworked the Sioux. The Sioux were a hard nosed, hard hitting, fast skating skilled team that never gave up. Those loses hurt but you could accept them easier. Watching a Sioux team get out hustled, out worked and not seemingly synched at all is what is hard to take. In the better years, we were still most proud of our team even when they lost. Everybody feared the Fighting Sioux. I imagine that when they used to post the NCAA brackets and teams found themselves in North Dakota's bracket, they were a really disheartened knowing they would be facing the Sioux....and disheartend for good reason. Not so much anymore. Again, it's not so much that we lost, it was how and why we lost that stings. If the Sioux had taken Yale to the wall and still lost, that would be a lot easier to accept.

You have a point there....that may be exactly the root of the problem.

Yes, the O'Keefe mafia is running the show up there.

During Hakstol's tenure, the Fighting Sioux have been carried by inertia built by coaches and teams of the past. And we are finally running out of inertia. Next year the team looks like it will be even more of a challenge than this year. Hak moved into a new building, but he can't close a deal. It's not that his team lost as much as they way they lost....the looked unprepared and unmotivated. When a team performs like North Dakota did today, the head coach, who has the ulitimate accountablity has to be scrutinized. His team was totally lethargic and lackluster in a situation where they should have been totally amped up. They were outplayed nearly the entire game by a team that isn't any better than the Sioux are. If North Dakota keeps Hak around for 10 more years, he still won't bring home the hardware. We should have taken Eades instead of Hak. Eades personifies the Fighting Sioux Spirit. Hak is just a guy always trying to say the politically correct thing. He isn't and isn't going to ever cut it. North Dakota hockey has been in decline and it is only going to get worse unless some changes are made. You people that love him haven't noticed that the skill and depth of our teams has been eroding over the last several years. Sure we have made it to the NCAA's, but the quality and skill of our teams is not near the level of the teams that were able to finish. Hak should be hacked.

Why is everyone so certain that the NCAA could not be persuaded to change their position if the majority vote from SL and SR are in favor of keeping the nickname. (Conversely, if SL and SR vote against the nickname...end of discussion.) If the vote from those two reservations is in favor of the name, the NCAA would have a difficult time explaining why their policy should not be reversed. How could the NCAA rule that the name is hostile and abusive if those two groups (Spirit Lake and Standing Rock) voted in favor of keeping the name. The NCAA would be offending the very people they were thying to "protect". This has alwasy been about what Native Americans in North Dakota think about the issue and theirs is the only real opinion that counts. This board is full of opinions both for and against the name, but nobody has tried to find out definitively what Native Americans think. Some tribal members indicate feel left out of the process....the Tribal Councils do not necessarily reflect the opinion of their members (a fact lost on the ND delegation that signed that agreement with the NCAA). One or two opponents on the Council can decide the whole issue which affects so many people. Even the referendum is flawed...somehow we needed to get the the tribal members vote, not all the white people that includes a bunch of hostile Bison fans. the while people shouldn't be telling Sioux tribal members what they should consider "hostile and abusive". It will be great to have this settled because this debate is really getting stale. The referendum, as it stands, is a lose, lose situation for UND. The way this issue was handled from day one by all the key stakeholders was most unfortunate....they did not come up with a plan and execute that plan that gave UND the best chance to keep the name. I think all of us could accept dropping the nickname and logo if we feel it had been handled more thoughfully and skillfully. There was a lack of effective leadership on this issue. If the UND athletic teams competed with game plans this weak, they would never win any games. Boy do I miss Tom Clifford...he wouldn't have let the ND delegation get painted into a corner that left UND with few cards to play. However, that is old news...the process used to respond to the NCAA policy was not very good at all and we can't go back and change that. A University, in part, teaches students effective problem solving, but UND did not set a very good or convincing example in this case. It sounds like the name is pretty much dead and the school will have to make the very best of a bad situation.

Thanks for the explanation. It sounds like the delegation representing UND and the State of ND were inept in allowing themselves to get painted into a corner like that. Those representing UND and the State of North Dakota needed to be a lot more shrewd and savvy to avoid being out-maneuvered like this. I thought North Dakotans were smarter and tougher than that. Too bad Tom Clifford isn't still around....he would have resolved this, one way or the other, using his many capabilities and determination. ("By the light of knowledge, men read the laws of life". Better change that to "In the shadow of ignorance and arrogance, men read the laws of life".) No wonder there are many at Spirit Lake that resent the fact that they weren't sufficiently included/involved in all the decisions that were hypocritically made on their behalf. However, ultimately, the NCAA is the most hypocritical of all. Without knowing what the majority of tribal members thought about the issue, they issued a policy that very likely is deemed "hostile and abusive" to the very people they pretend to protect. In the end, the Sioux people were treated most disrespectfully by all the above as well as the Tribal Council at Standing Rock that chose not to find out what their people really wanted. Don't worry, I won't post again on this issue which certainly won't go down as one of the proud moments in UND's history.

Assuming that the majority of votes from the reservation is in favor of retaining the nickname and acknowledging the fact that many tribal members at Spirit Lake are outraged by what the NCAA has done, it seems "hostile and abusive" to ignore their wishes. Clearly, everybody seems to have very strong opinions with regard to what should be done, but when it gets right down to it the opinions that count are those of the tribal members themselves. They are the ones that need to indicate whether or not the nickname is truly "hostile and abusive". Let the tribal members vote decide this. If the majority of the tribal members don't consider the nickname "hostile and abusive", then no one else should worry about it. If the majority tribal vote is opposed to the nickname, the discussion/debate should end immediately and the Fighting Sioux nickname forgotten. Whether it should be dropped is up to the tribal members and they should decide what is offensive to them. So let's show the Sioux people some actual respect and see how they vote. The white vote shouldn't even count. White people are truly disrespecting the real Sioux by taking strong positions one way or the other. The NCAA is right by simply requesting proof positive that the majority of tribal members approve of the continued use of the nickname. So let's give the people at the true center of this discussion a chance to vote and support there decision one way or the other. We owe it to the tribal members to let them decide and resolve this controvery one way or the other. If they vote in favor of it we should take the NCAA to the mat if necessary to do right by the Native Americans. The current path being taken by UND administration/Alumni Association may be easier and more expedient, but not doing all we can to get a clear picture of the tribal members opinion is most disrepectful and truly "hostile and abusive". If UND is truly an institution built on integrity and honor, it will aggressiverly defend the tribal members wishes one way or the other.

Perhaps this has already been discussed, but my question is if the vote is in favor of the nickname, including votes from Standing Rock, wouldn't that be enough proof to convince the NCAA to reverse their position? They said if we can get the approval of the nickname from both Spirit Lake and Standing Rock, that we could continue to use the name. Well a majority vote from the reservations would fulfill that requirement would it not? How could the NCAA continue to impose sanctions on UND when there is proof positive that a majority of both the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Tribes support the continued use of the nickname? It would certainly be difficult for the NCAA to justify maintaining their current position with regard to UND. Thoughts?