farce poobah

I caught some comments from Lou Nanne about "he's a sound two way player" and "he's going to North Dakota and they like that kind of player". High praise from one of the Gopher faithful. 30 years ago, it was the opposite. "Player A takes a roughing penalty. Good thing he's going to North Dakota where they love guys who like to fight." Etc etc., it was often negative and never positive. Interesting that the opinions about UND hockey have changed so much over the last 35 years.

I'm personally hoping that there's not a first round matchup of Notre Dame vs Michigan. If that happens, I'll bet ESPN ignores everything else.

http://www.startribune.com/st-cloud-state-dropping-6-sports-programs/370796061/

Have been to Manhattan a lot on business, and a few times personally. What's it like getting around ... Car: fuggetaboutit. Subways are solid and run often (late night I would avoid unless I'm with a group that includes BodyGuards). Taxis are everywhere in Manhattan, fast and reliable. I've got friends that Uber and they've had good experiences at lower costs than taxi. Personally, I love walking Manhattan (again, not late night). Build your schedule with extra time so you aren't disappointed (leave early, etc). If you're bringing family, and money is no object, lodging around Times Square is entertaining. MSG is about 1/2 mile walk from Times Square (or a couple subway stops). If you need a more budget-friendly choice, pick something that's close to subway or trains and you can get to MSG (and the rest of what NYC has to offer quite easily). My first experience with that part of Manhattan was in the 1980's and it seemed a lot like Crocodile Dundee to me. But the area around MSG and Times Square has cleaned up well and is a lot safer now. (Safer than Fargo?) The old adages and common sense still apply (stay in a group, etc). Hope this helps.

A very well-written viewpoint - another writer who loved the outdoor game in Minneapolis: http://www.thepostgame.com/daily-take/201602/san-jose-minnesota-outdoor-hockey-nhl-stadium-series

UMD up to #15.

Collegehockeynews.com has a decent app as well

Agree. And through 40 minutes, our puck pursuit has been excellent.

My concern about UNO is that their goaltending might improve to average. Last night 2 of the 3 their sieve allowed were long unscreened shots. Granted we had a lot of other good chances, but my point is that their 18 skaters are pretty good. Put Cam Johnson behind them and they are a top 10 national team. That said, I think we continue the trend of strong Saturday performances. F'in Hawks win 5-3.

In modern history, I agree. If I go back to the mid 1980's, Jim Archibald. Fabulous offensive skills and an incredibly nasty disposition.

Really bad line change on that first goal. Ugh. Puck wasn't even into UNO zone and we try to pull off a change. Thompson and Wolanin were on the ice, but just barely, and didn't get enough support from the forwards. Lot of fundamental mistakes on that first UNO goal.

NCHC refs would never have called Guentzel for unsportsmanlike conduct if Wolanin hadn't flattened him a second later.

Yeah. Gotta lay off the Lime.

If Pominville starts scoring, the Wild will be in good shape.

Jon Casey played D for Team Minnesota

That kneeing penalty was complete horsebleep. Unless they are going to start calling the 1000 times that occurs each game.

Excellent video coverage by USC. Unsurprising, given their status as college baseball powerhouse.

I agree. I was wondering how the heck UMD's record is not a whole lot better. (Last night, anyway,) They play good team hockey, they possess the puck well, they force opponents well meaning they get it back, and they are generally tough to play against. Before the game, I thought "goaltending!" must be their weakness but Kaskisuo was solid last night. I'm totally perplexed. All I know is I would rather play just about anyone else - ABD - in the playoffs.

Well, that IS sexist!

And the cupcake budget was already spent for the annual Mariucci Classic, which left just a weekend off.

I'm just a little surprised that the Gophers are not playing at TCF Bank Stadium while its set up for hockey with the Wild-Blackhawks game next weekend. I guess Notre Dame couldn't make it, so Lucia just said no.

In 1980, at old Williams (Mariucci) Arena, the Gophers did the same thing ... centering pass that missed everyone. But - it hit the post. Sioux were up 3 at the time so it didn't influence but it was a great moment to be in the stands.

[Sigh.] Yeah. I'd love it if there were a way for the 1960 and 1980 jerseys to be on display at the Ralph.

Dave Christian's 1980 Olympic Gold Medal is up for auction: http://sports.ha.com/itm/hockey/1980-us-hockey-miracle-on-ice-olympic-gold-medal-presented-to-dave-christian/a/7155-80074.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 Also in the same auction, other items from Bill and Dave Christian: http://sports.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?No=50&N=55+793+794+1577+2088+4294949370

Thanks for the recap. Sadly, those parts of the history of Hockey Day in Minnesota will simply vanish. It's happened before and will happen again. In the week leading up, they revisited past Hockey Day's. In one year, "the Gophers defeated Denver, and the Wild took on the Dallas Stars", which is code for "the Wild lost" but our fans are so insecure that we can't tell our fans that's what happened. And in the next year, "the Gophers took on Denver" (code for "they lost"), while "the Wild defeated Dallas". So very strikingly insecure and two faced. It used to happen every time the Sioux beat the Gophers ... the evening sports cast would show 3 Gopher goals and 1 Sioux goal but somehow the Sioux still won 4-3. Donde esta de vomitorium?