farce poobah

We were as airtight as possible against a pretty good Denver team. Proof of point: Denver with zero SOG in the last 12 minutes of the third period. They went almost 6 minutes without possessing the puck in their offensive zone; our neutral zone play either forced a turnover or a dump-in that we got to first. Excellent display of team defense on our part.

Denver got away with a major cross check to the head.

SOG 46-10. Faceoffs 34-20. Looks like a game where Mankato had the puck all night long.

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2021/02/09/lamoureux-twins-retirement-from-hockey-passes-the-torch-to-next-generation/

I think 2013 may have been the only time. They are unbeaten in the first round since 2017. (3-0) Of course, they have St Cloud to thank for most of that.

To the discussion above about the 16 teams in the field, I can't see a scenario where there's only 6 Eastern teams in the field and 10 Western. Hockey East in all probability gets at least 3 and probably 4. If there's 4, I hope it comes at the expense of the 4-team ECAC, and not from NCHC or WCHA teams. Two for Atlantic Hockey seems probable, and their entrants have been more than credible historically.

In a year without the objectively determined rankings to select NCAA tournament entrants, it comes back to subjective determinations by the NCAA D-1 Men's Ice Hockey Committee. Mike Kemp, Omaha associate athletic director (chair) Michael Cross, Penn State assistant athletic director Bob Daniels, Ferris State coach Mike Schafer, Cornell coach Derek Schooley, Robert Morris coach Jeffrey L. Schulman, Vermont athletic director

Three games for that hit seems about right. http://www.wcha.com/men/articles/2021/02/wcha-announces-three-game-suspension-for-bowling-greens-will-cullen.php

The best part of this broadcast is the Blank screen during commercial breaks.

All their guys came back tired from the World Juniors. (That is the perennial excuse for January, I believe.)

He also coached at UND.

https://fightinghawks.com/news/2021/1/13/mens-hockey-strong-und-flavor-on-nhl-opening-day-rosters.aspx Brock Boeser, still in Vancouver, still scoring key goals. Got the GWG tonight and an insurance goal in their 5-3 win. Those guys, well all the Canucks but especially The Canucks, are in for an **itload of miles. Hard to stomach the travel in that division setup.

Given the potential for infections or quarantines ... ,,, Seven might not be enough. This is a year for all hands on deck, and to be ready to become the Next Man Up.

He's the only USA forward with negative on his plus-minus stats.

I think that Kawaguchi's GWG in overtime is a school record, for the fastest goal to start overtime. I think the prior record was from 1957 at 12 seconds. (Correct me if I'm wrong, please.) https://siouxsports.com/hockey/history/individual.htm

Hobey Gaber!

The NCHC pod is looking smarter all the time. Here's hoping they can pull it off successfully!

He bats it out of the air and my first thought is Evan Trupp, In Overtime, GWG vs MN. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0au3sixxGyg

So many punchlines possible ... so little time. My top ten tweaks to their announcement: 10. "There will be no 2020-21 hockey season tickets, as if anyone cares." 9. "If fans are permitted to attend home hockey games, we're pretty sure a limited number of tickets will be plenty." 8. "You guys have been great at social distancing ever since we left for the Big Ten" 7. "If fans are permitted to attend home hockey games, we're pretty sure nobody else will be close enough to risk getting infected." 6. "There will be no 2020-21 hockey season tickets, just like in 2019-2020." 5. " Even if the general public isn't allowed in, we will still allow NHL scouts .... BWHAHAHA! Sorry almost got that out. Okay they might be scouting the visiting team." 4. "Gopher Athletics is taking the following steps /blah blah blah ... Requiring all fans to wear a full face shield." 3. ".... Goldy Gopher will be handing out free hand sanitizer as well as mouthwash to get the taste of losing out of your mouth." 2. " ... even though there will be fewer of you, and contrary to everyone's understanding of supply and demand, we're raising ticket prices since hockey has to fund a whole bunch of other sports." 1. "If fans are permitted to attend home hockey games, ... PLEASE .... SOMEBODY .... SHOW UP!!!!

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2020/09/11/pittsburgh-penguins-trade-nick-bjugstad-minnesota-wild/ Offering my condolences to the Wild fans.

Troy Stecher the #1 star as VAN beat STL in game 1. Given what that young man has been through lately, a tip of the cap to him.

Tough choice: The 150 days between March and August where they were still in contention, or The fact it is the longest playoff run in franchise history. Or, The fact that Boeser and Stecher still have a chance to lift the Cup. (Slim chance, but still ...)

Duncan Keith is still >>> any Oilers defenseman. He logged 28 minutes in game 4. Oh, and the Blackhawks are undefeated with Caggiula in the lineup.

I saw the Poolman injury. I'd be in a hospital for a month. Players of lesser sports would be out on their injured lists. He was back a few minutes later. Amazing.

So a former CC and NCHC player will become the answer to a really good trivia question ... Who scored the first NHL goal in the month of August? Jaccob Slavin.