farce poobah

So it appears the attendance - Thursday B1G - was 4,283. http://www.collegehockeynews.com/box/final/20160317/msu/osu/ My math says: 4200 --> Each school bought 700 tickets = 6x700, but those were all lost in the mail and nobody came. + 83 --> Another 83 outside paying customers came. =4,283.

Traffic?

People are moving to sit in obstructed view seats.

They are trying to get Denver's players to transfer in?

Kudos to the peeps that are wearing Sioux jerseys at the B1G tournament .

Which draws greater fans today: B1G games in St Paul NCHC practices in Mpls

Its been a "long" time since we had a home postseason game. Nice to have basketball still playing ...

Ditto and Ditto. NHL.com got a lot harder to find information ... harder to navigate ... just awful. Siouxsports.com remains pretty much perfect.

So this year (again) they are emphasizing bracket integrity. I find that last sentence intriguing. Reading between the lines, might we see a "North Dakota Rule" that means we always draw the night game? It would help attendance (i.e., be worth money for the NCHC), and a number of commenters on this thread have expressed a preference for UND to play evening on Friday. I would vote for bracket integrity over revenue, but then I'm not running a D-1 hockey budget.

This IS the non-UND thread after all. Next year: both goaltenders are back, all the defense except Jutzi, so you start with a solid base. All that needs adding is some scoring which as you note is on the way.

Went to Mankato tonight. One of the least suspenseful Game 3's ever. Lake St. looked leg weary. Mankato looked solid, although I think they will be better next year than this year.

Day 4 of the NCHC Plays of the Year Tournament. Don't forget to vote for your favorite(s). Couple of good goals up today: http://www.nchchockey.com/news_article/show/624587?referrer_id=767342

In Madison, against BC. The longest drive home ever.

For all the criticism our nonconference schedule has gotten, this weekend has been pretty good for them so far: Vermont - at BC. Won Saturday. Game 3 tonight. Lake Superior - at Mankato. Won Saturday. Game 3 tonight. Bemidji - at Bowling Green. Won Saturday. Game 3 tonight. Wisconsin - at Minnesota. Won Friday. Michigan State got a tie and an overtime loss at home against Ohio State (not impressive). (Huntsville and Maine got to play golf.)

Well, given the above, here is hoping we get our Captain back next weekend.

Minnesota is up one point coming in to tonight, so they would each have 41, making them co-champs. Dunno who would win tiebreaker for playoff seeding.

In the last 6 games, CC has been outscored 7-29. If we come out hard and play a good first 20, get the lead, they might just fold totally. Let's go boys. Through these doors walk champions.

Thanks for forwarding. Fascinating tidbit - Wisconsin with 12 freshmen on its roster. None drafted yet (according to collegehockeynews.com; i note that Kunin is not yet draft eligible). A big change in recruiting strategy, and one that "has yet to pay off". http://www.collegehockeynews.com/reports/roster/Wisconsin/58

Every time the announcers say "Fighting Hawks up by 30", my first reaction is "oh crap". Then a second later I realize that's us. [Sigh.]

"This one is tight as a new boot!" At least I can enjoy the announcers ...

I think the NCHC top three all have a good shot at the Frozen Four. And since defense wins championships I gotta put UMD (who led the NCHC in goals allowed) as a strong contender. Looks like some great matchups. If it plays out as a Denver vs St Cloud semifinal, I would definitely stay to see (or come early). Two of the best hockey clubs I've seen in a long while. Just not as good as UND.

Given how good our nonconference opponents have done tonight, collegehockeynews.com has us sitting #1 in the Pairwise. At least for the next half hour.

And now a 3rd SHG on the same major PP. That must be a record.

I don't think it helps the B1G more than the NCHC, but it definitely helps the B1G against a lot of other leagues. The average age of B1G teams (and a lot of the NCHC) is lower. By chopping some of the older players off the teams they compete against, they expect to gain a competitive advantage. If you sort the link below by Average Age, you can see which rosters are generally younger and older. http://www.collegehockeynews.com/stats/?season=20152016

I like that we started the third period with 3rd and 4th lines.