farce poobah

Everybody except Sioux fans will have a soft spot for Holy Cross come Friday 6:30.

After all the flak the Committee got last year for giving Cornell, the #1 overall a tough first round draw, I hope they don't send UND to play CC in the Springs... I'd rather go to Grand Rapids and play HC .... but I have a sinking feeling we may be seeing the Tigers in 5 days.

One other note - without checking the entire WCHA record book, that it would be a championship game record for the number of North Dakota natives starting (5): Irmen, Potulny, Massen, Bina, Schneider.

I was very surprised at the Sioux lineup tonight. It was a surprise to see Massen play, and he looked a tad rusty. Prpich looks a bit slower than usual. At a point in the season when most squads are going with the same roster and line combos, the Sioux are still changing pretty much every night. OTOH, I was not surprised at the way the Sioux coaches used their roster tonight... we didn't see extra shifts for Zach and Bo in the last 5 minutes, like we would in an elimination game. I was also surprised that we didn't try to pressure U-MN's defensive corps with a heavy forecheck. Its a strategy that worked for UMD, and worked for us earlier this season. The only reason I can think not to would be if you didn't want to show your cards, save something for a possible frozen four semifinal. All of which hints that the coaches took the attitude of using the game as a tuneup talent-evaluation game, rather than a win at any cost. Next game, tho, starts the lose-and-its-golf-season routine. I expect the tactics to be quite a bit different.

I have a good feeling about this night. The last games we really NEEDED to play well were against UMD, and we got a strong defensive effort and good goaltending. Plus, we get last change, which means Prpich McMahon and Fylling (Note, I expect Blais to add more speed to counter Riddle and Koalska) will be able to bump Vanek and co. Final: UND 3, MN 1.

Yes indeed - count me as someone who won't be happy until the Gophers win another title.

I think Minnesota gets sent to Grand Rapids. The NC$$ would expect Minnesota to be a better ticket-selling draw than UND. And the Selection Committee guidelines hint (but don't promise) that they will place the #1 seeds in order, in which case UND as #1 or #2 overall gets slotted first. Its not a given that Michigan stays in Michigan, either. Its possible that the brackets will fall out with 2 other CCHA teams in Grand Rapids (#3 and #4 seeds could be Michigan State, Miami, Notre Dame or Ohio State ... in which case MI could get sent to face BC or Maine in Albany.

Sportscenter showed two goals. The first was classic Blake, skate thru the entire opposing team and whip it past the goalie, and the third he left a defenseman unjocked at the blueline before hitting the ENG. Star Tribune has a nice writeup for those interested ...

Tallackson. What an enigma. Tonight, he showed flashes of a pro prospect, the big hits you noted. He also showed some excellent speed on a couple rushes, nearly scoring on one break in the 3rd period. If he gets going, MN will be very tough to beat.

I would agree with your MN keys. The first goal will be huge.

I posted this on USCHO, but I thought the tide turned late in the first when Minnesota started hitting. UMD got tentative with the puck, turned it over, and the rest, as they say, is history. I don't think MN will be able to physically intimidate the Sioux. In fact, I see the opposite - we'll hit Vanek and we'll hit Ballard. Neither will be on the scoresheet, except if we take a string of penalties. KEYS for the Sioux: 1) Discipline. Don't get caught up in the chippy stuff. 2) Move the feet. 3) Penalty kill. Stop the diagonal pass, stop the Ballard one-timers.

JPar made a handful of mental mistakes, which I think is what Dean is ticked about. Way in the corner, he high sticks a guy when there's 3 Sioux back to cover; he got away with another good slash in the crease; he iced the puck for us on a powerplay. Today we were better than the opponent by enough that it didn't matter, but tomorrow or next week ... To Jpar's credit, he did make some good saves. I hope Jake gets the nod Saturday tho. Zach Brady and Bo looked like pros against the colleges out there ... geez for chances, basically every shift. Overall, it felt lackluster the last 25 minutes, but it didn't bother me very much since we can use the extra energy tomorrow. We stopped forcing the offense after the 4th goal, which was a beauty. Nice Fan turnout ... lotta green and white. Well done Sioux! Now, finish it off tomorrow.

Count me as one more fan, just back from the game. I thought Glencross-Fournier-Kootenay was their best line tonight. Glencross laid a body on a bunch of Tigers tonight; more physical than I remembered. Green played well for UAA ... logged a lot of minutes, and I thought he was noticeably better than the other UAA defensemen, several of whom had a hard time finding the puck with their sticks. King was the story. The rest of CC's roster beat UAA's roster tonight, quite handily. It was fun to see the 'Wolves leap off the bench at the end. Its been a fun ride for them, to be sure. And it lasts 15 more hours.

Sorry Deano, but USA sucks! GO SIOUX! Also cool that Sandelin will be an assistant coach.

based on USCHO's "you are the committee", it looks like we can sew up a #1 or #2 overall with one win this weekend. Which means a shot at a cupcake; after last year's Cornell flak there's no way the committee would set #1 against anyone but #16....

Uh.... because Nader can find a conspiracy anywhere he looks?

Hope that Bo and Zach don't split the Western vote ...

On the BRIGHT Side: 4 games with Wisconsin. Revengex4. 4 games with CC. Love playing them. 4 games with Hockey East. Woofing rights x 4.

Seems very likely that Sandelin and Co will be conservative with bringing back players who are dinged up ... ... other than bragging rights, the real stakes for the UMD-UM game are last change for their quarterfinal game at either Grand Rapids or Colorado Springs. (Hard to concoct a scenario where they aren't seeded #4 and #5 overall, with the winner getting the #4 overall seed, and a #1 regional seed.) Hate to say it, but if I'm Sandelin, I'd trade a loss Friday for a full roster in 10 days. But then I'm just a backseat quarterback.

[Doing my best Doug Woog imitation] "The only reason the NoDak goalies have such good records is that they don't have to stop shots by Parise, Bochenski, Murray, Stafford, and company. Of course those forwards aren't as good as Minnesota's." [/Woog off]

Nice. Beating Tech makes it a one dog night. Beating St Cloud and Tech makes it two dog nights. Beating Duluth St Cloud and Tech makes it Three Dog Nights. Some of us remember ... ======================================= If you can set a USCHO Recap to rhyme next year, I'll ... I'll ... I'll do something really great if I can just find my Parkwood Bus schedule. (Does it go by the Xcel Center?)

Donde esta de vomitorium?!?

At this point, the only way UND falls to #3 is for the secret bonuses to be absolutely huge. Even with a worst case, we lose to UAA and then UMD, we still win the comparison with BC (unless the bonuses are large). What worries me more is the seeding. If CC makes it in, it would probably be as a #4 seed. So, either we play CC in the first round (some reward for being #1 or #2 overall!) or we head to Michigan. Neither is that appetizing. Hate to say it, but "go UAA".

Probably not, its just a division 2 game.

Lots of laughter in my section when that one was up on the big screen. Well done.