farce poobah

Michigan brought him back the next year. Sioux swept the series, so they had agreed to return if we did. He had sustained a few injuries, which got healed up quickly by the Farce Fysishun. Maybe we should challenge Michigan to a Battle For Kermit. “traveling trophy”

Thank you! It’s been a great journey to be a UND fan, starting about 50 years ago.

I'm getting a feeling of deja vu all over again. In Fall 1994, Dean Blais came in as Head coach. This followed a few lean years of no championships. Just a few games into the season, Blais had us hustling all over, protecting our goalie, getting bodies on opponents, and creating chances with smart play. I remember watching them early that season and thinking "We're Back". Already in Fall 2025, with Jackson at the Helm, we are doing all those things (*not perfectly) But I just gotta say it: "We Are Back!"

The football fans probably went home thinking their hockey team won 2-0. Opponent goals aren't shown on Twin Cities broadcasts.

Nice clip - thanks for sharing. That was the UMD series, which was a couple weeks after Michigan, so yeah Kermit Held Hostage Day 14. That Friday vs UMD, it was so da## cold that UND canceled classes, with strongly worded advice to stay inside. Minus 40 with 30 mph winds... call it 70 below wind chill. But what really happened? We had extra time to go stand in line early. Along with around 2500 more students. Madness. To prevent frostbite, they let students in an hour earlier than normal. Good times.

Kevin Maxwell is still my hero. True 18 yo freshman, scores 82 points. Intense on the ice. Pretty relaxed guy off ice. EDIT: Also: he came to UND 5-9, 150 if that, and played straight up with the bruisers of the day. no face masks, much lesser protective gear.

Short plexiglass helped a lot. Stand on the front row seats, do mind games with opponents. But yes, the 1970s were more like “Slap Shot” than would be allowed today.

Also, and more importantly, thanks for supporting UND hockey since you were 5. Don't ever slow down!

Long story short.... In the 78-79 season, we let Kermit the Frog (mascot in a little Farce helmet and ref jersey), sit on top of the glass during warmups. When Michigan visited, they stole Kermit. Whisked him off to the locker room after warmups. Much negotiating between us and the Michigan locker room ensued: They offered to return him in return for a sweep. We replied "give us back the Frog and we'll only beat you by 9 goals". And so on. During pre-game, and during the game, Kermit was tied up and hanging from the backup goalie's stick. Then they took him back to Ann Arbor. In the following days, media picked up the story. Virg Foss interviewed the Grand Exalted Poobah and several of us lesser Poobahs for a story. Which got picked up by Associated Press syndication. The Herald followed up with a contest for a bumper sticker slogan and "Kermit's Luck Guides Our Puck" was the winner. The next season, we swept the series and got Kermit back.

A less-publicized change from years past is 26 full rides. That makes a big difference in what your "depth guys" can get.

UND counts the all time series record as 136-143-16 .488 (the difference is a few games in the 1930's vs a UND club team (maybe even a frat team? predates me) GF-GA amazingly 1008-1005 https://fightinghawks.com/documents/2025/10/1/2025-26_UND_Hockey_Media_Guide.pdf

Anyone have Zakreski leading the team in plus/minus after week 1? No more doubts about whether our CHLers are ready.

Kudos to Omaha for upgrading the broadcast. It’s now watchable. With replays even.

That 97-98 team is top candidate for Best UND Team Not to Win the NCAA. i don’t recall the outdoor locker room part… wouldn’t put it past them since there were two Elite Eight games there that day.

Before 1983, the UND-UW vibe was nearly as bitter rivals as vs the Gophers. After the disppointment of losing to UW in the 1983 playoffs, UND fans supported UW at the 1983 Frozen Four in Grand Forks (instead of Gophers), including ticket exchanges in town to get tickets to Badger fans and not Gopher fans. I went to the Dane in fall 1983, and the PA guy even welcomed the visiting fans "who cheered for us last spring". Big shift in vibes, and very quickly. Ever since then its "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". They struggled by hiring only Badger alumni as head coaches for a long time. Hiring Hastings was a fascinating decision.