farce poobah

Maine kills the harvard powerplay. Halfway thru 2nd period... still 3-1

3-1 Harvard leads Maine gets one off a faceoff. 15 min left in the second

OK, but this David boppin' Goliath stuff stops in 80 minutes.

Frozen Four Picks: UMD (if their roster is full; otherwise, they don't have the depth to match with the Gophers on Sunday) Wisconsin (their style of play is well suited for their draw) New Hampshire (BC injuries, rust, slump) UND After that, I have no idea.

Predictions: Sioux roll four lines all night long, resting the #1 line in the 3rd period once the game gets out of reach. Zach - Bo - Brady combine for 4 goals in the first 40 minutes. Ryan Hale notches a goal and an assist, playing with Fylling and McMahon again this weekend. Parise in goal, resting Brandt for Saturday. HC gets a late goal, on the PP, against UND's last unit of penalty killers. Final - UND 7, HC 1.

I can't believe it ... INCH said "the nation's two best players". [faint]

As a bonus, that SHG started when Zach Parise outhustles Vanek to the puck and pokes it toward the blueline and Bochenski. Just another day at the office for Mr. Parise.

OOPS! There's two things about getting old that I hate. One is my memory is going, and ... and ... I forgot the other. Jordan played both games vs. DU at the Ralph in January, and stole the Saturday point with excellent 'tending. That said, I still think its Jordan Friday and Jake Saturday.

I think its Jpar on Friday. Brandt on Saturday. Reasons: * Jpar is good stopping the first shot and HC won't get any (many) rebounds. * Brandt stoned Denver the last time we played them. Would like him to be fresh on Saturday.

Actually, you can vote for Tony Voce twice. Wonder how long before anyone notices the fix is on.

I don't pretend to know what has been up with Massen this year. Like most Sioux fans, I admire any kid who can make it from Bismarck into the WCHA. Even last night, he showed flashes of what the pro scouts see - flashes bright enough for my amateur eyes. He blasted Taylor and Ballard with hard clean hits, he dangled the puck, he unloaded a heavy snap shot that caught Briggs by surprise (hit his stick). And last year, there was stretch of games where he was better than point-a-game for 8 weekends plus. Gotta feel for the guy, whatever's going on it must ave been a tough year. Hopefully its something to learn from and build on.

If UMD is healthy, with a full roster, I like their chances. They learned a lesson Friday about how not to play the Gophers, and IF they have a full roster, they have the horses to win. Prediction: UMD over MN. UND, WI and MI also advance.

Maine is a matchup that favors Wisconsin. Maine doesn't do a lot of the things that cause problems for the Badgers ... high pressure, heavy forecheck, forwards with a lot of speed. And if you don't make the Badgers make mistakes, they may find a way to win. BC would have been a much tougher draw for WI. Still, Maine has to be a big favorite.

Do we get to vote on who he rocks?

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 ...