farce poobah

I wish I had interchangeable parts.

The great equalizer in college hockey is the 18 full rides. Every night, there's guys out there playing major minutes that must be on partial scholarships (basic math, right?). That's a big reason for Penn State getting competitive quickly (plus facilities and coaching). And if ASU does it right, they can do it as well.

The guys are firing high and that makes a lot of sense on the Lake State goalie.

BU vs Merrimack is on ESPN3. Didn't know ESPN did hockey ... well now that I think about it its not lacrosse season yet. Merrimack up 1-0 early 2nd period.

I think that WIsconsin will win the Big Ten Easy conference tournament and knock UND out at the last minute.

Here's one view of it. People can decide for themselves whether its patriotic or not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmyatm0t3Bg

Bemidji State with 2 quick goals to go up 3-1 on St Cloud ... middle of 3rd.

3 of the last 6 goals we've conceded have come off UND defenders. We're due for a little puck luck. I'd love to see Poolman playing defense tonight. The question would then be which other defenseman gets moved up front to cover his spot .... Mattson? (I can't see Schmaltz getting moved there, despite his recent weak play.) There was also a message sent by coaching staff in dropping Mattson from the top powerplay unit in favor of Poolman. Would love to see Stecher in that spot. I thought Stecher had another solid game. And Ausmus still reminds me of James Patrick at the same age. Terrific lateral quickness ... I liked that he played with a chip on his shoulder, especially during the early part of the game last night.

Let's reminisce about Bloomington Jefferson some more, shall we?

It just seemed like we had too many men. Great period.

Well.... Michigan State and Ohio State are bad enough that NOT having games on TV might help recruiting, compared to making their games available. ... just sayin'

So except for playing vs Tech, they are only four games under .500.

I get a vision A vision of another road game (this time in Tempe) where the home team needs to score first to take the crowd out of it. I am all for it.

Every time they say "Austin Czarnik", I hear "Al Czervik" This game needed a Caddyshack reference ...

I think "Bell-beep-i-do" is WAY better than boring old "Belpedio".

Nearing half way through the 3rd in Minneapolis, and the 3,000 fans in attendance are still witnessing a 2-0 Duluth lead. Morgue-like.

Tech with a first goal ... shorthanded about 4 minutes into the second period. Kinda nice to get Bemidji on TPT here in the Twin Cities.

What's the percent of games we win when there's a marriage proposal on the big board? Just trying to find any kind of good omen ...

Has Enrico been at Miami 16 years already? Geez, I AM gettting old.

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2014/11/11_michigan_legend_renfrew_passes.php He coached the UND Fighting Sioux for one season, taking over from the legendary Fido Purpur. I knew he played at Michigan, and the article does a nice job of filling in gaps in my knowledge. His links to Red Berenson and John MacInnes in particular were something I didn't know. Mr Renfrew, thank you for your contributions to UND hockey, and college hockey in the USA. Condolences to your family, and may you rest in peace.

Certainly. Plus Miami comes in with an extra month of rest, since their 2013-2014 season ended a few weeks before UND's.

Title 9 may not govern coaches' pay, but the Equal Pay Act of 1963 would. Basically says you can't pay members of one sex more (or less) for doing the same work. Since the actual work of coaching ice hockey at UND doesn't differ that much whether its the mens team or women's team (and since statistically womens' teams are more likely to be coached by women), the difference in pay is probably limited ... to other permissible factors which include the greater revenue from men's hockey and team performance factors (frozen four appearances, other championships). I have no idea how one would compare mens basketball to women's hockey. I'll stay at a Holiday Inn Express and report back.

To this point, UND has played a lot of weaker teams (bottom half of the 59 in D-1). And except for 1 night against Bemidji, its been a series of solid performances, including a road sweep at Madison. This weekend, we get a top tier opponent for the first time. Its a good time to see just how good UND is.

Kohl Center would have been really quiet at the end if not for a great turnout of noisy UND (Sioux) fans. Well done.

NCHC went 2-0 vs the Big Ten Six Twelve Fourteen Ten tonight.