jimdahl

Other interesting statements (not quite quotes) from other coaches: To CC: Q: Is there a concern that since you're already in the NCAA tourney you might just drop two to AA? A: We've never won the Broadmoor, so we still have a goal. To Jack Kowal (assistant coach at AA): Q: How do you recruit when you haven't won since October? A: We tell recruits that they'll get a lot of playing time right away. Wisconsin, on going to Mankato: If they'd gone up to Minnesota, they would have been smoked, this team at least they can play with. Unknown person responds: At least the Holiday Inn is close to that strip bar.

I guess the right thing to do is to write this information into some sort of article, but I'm the particularly lazy type of reporter:

u l4m3rz r nt l33t like uz

As former DC resident who didn't own a car, I feel compelled to mention that walking in G.F. in December isn't like walking in NYC. It's almost guaranteed to be below zero at some point. In this thread, forecheck mentioned a few of the hotels closest to the Ralph. You could probably use Mapquest to determine actual distances from REA. As usual, other people may have better advice -- I haven't lived in G.F. in years.

Bump! My UND prediction is looking a lot better now than it did Jan. 1. Swap SCSU & Mankato and it's not bad at all...

Moving the other direction from Kohl Center (toward State), you hit the Nitty Gritty (very popular pre-game, but not really much of a sports bar). On State St, State Street Brats is probably the best sports bar. I can't really think of anything else I'd call a sports bar near the Kohl Center. UPDATE: I asked my wife and we came up with Babe's on W. Washington as the place by the train car. If you go half a mile further down Regent toward Camp Randall, Oakcrest Tavern is a good sports bar (runs a shuttle to the Kohl Center for events). Of course, State St and University are full of plenty of bars. I think somone student-age would love living in Madison. I had a blast living downtown when I was at least a few years older than student age (though the town is actualy a bit smaller than I like, personally).

Sic- Don't forget his point about "crazy" Dale Lennon daring to be good enough to be the choice for a D-IAA coaching job in the conference that slammed the door in NDSU's face, but turning it down because he'd rather be at UND.

Umm... the entire point of this thread (and others that have preceeded it) is that many Sioux fans think it's ironic that NDSU is commenting on racial issues outside of its control while its own house is in such disarray. After years of having no complaints, NDSU is suddenly wringing their hands over UND's nickname right as NDSU is suffering highly publicized racial sensitivity problems among its fans and on its own campus. NDSU has no control over UND's nickname or logo, but it's sure an easy way to try to look tough without addressing NDSU's own problems. It's stunningly similar to the situation at SCSU -- when racism on your campus get out of hand and embarrassing, speak out against Native American mascots/logos.

If you haven't seen it before, check out the penalty list. 205 mins total -- looks like an all-out brawl at the end, though only one "leaving the bench" penalty. Guess some Mankato emotions were running a little high.

For some of us, the team for which we cheer is unaffected by standings or win/loss records. In fact, in a situation such as UND's (a talented team with a great record but in a current slump), fan support at home can be even more important than when the team is on a winning streak. Regarding the original poster, it's hard to imagine that your loyalty is really split between the teams. I suspect you wish one well because of your relationship with that team, but more deeply yearn for the other to succeed. For example, this UM alum is always happy to cheer for the Gophers (particularly in sports other than hockey), but if it came down to UND vs. UM, there's no question which team I would prefer to see bring home the NCAA championship trophy. My advice would be ignore which team you think needs the support, deserves the support, or stands a better chance of going further, and cheer for the team you actually really desire to win. Go with your heart.

It jumped out at me, also, that all the exhibition series and the holiday tournament are at home. I guess it's payback for this year when the Sioux traveled for an unusually high 18 games (4 NC).

Did someone here rent 8-Mile last night?

This discussion already occurred in the hockey forum. Not really a better place for it, but hopefully we can confine it to one thread.

Actually, it's weck. Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck. However, a couple years ago they changed their name to just "Buffalo Wild Wings", but people still call them BW3 out of habit.

I think he was joking. The thread just down the screen has some local bar tips. A little further away (but nothing is far in G.F.), I'm also personally a fan of the new BW3 on Columbia (though I've always been a BW3 fan so like to see one in G.F.) If Gopher fans feel more comfortable hanging out in Minnesota, there are some good bars just across the river in EGF, Whitey's and Blue Moose, in particular. Some of us have had luck getting tickets from UND/Fighting Sioux Club for UND road games in the past, not sure if there are any similar opportunities from U of M. There's a Hilton Garden Inn right by campus. It's pretty new so I've never stayed there, but I've never seen a bad Hilton (I use them all the time for work). No hotels in G.F. are particularly expensive. Others who visit G.F. more probably have better hotel advice than I.

From the WCHA web site:

Well said. The Sioux still have a great record, are on track for an NCAA tournament appearance, have only 1 home loss, and played very competitive games against some tough teams on the road the last couple weeks. This is the same team that put together a 16-game undefeated streak just a month ago and that clearly has a lot of talent. Hopefully the home crowd can be the 6th man and give the team that extra edge. Blais is working on the psychological impact of the past month on the players; hopefully the home fans will rise up and help rather than fall off the bandwagon.

I was at the game, too, and I think the shot count was pretty accurate. The Sioux owned the 3rd period. It got to the point that Mavs fans were cheering when they cleared the zone (5 on 5). I'm a little surprised UND got off 17 in the 2nd because it felt like MSU was getting continuous odd-man rushes, which was the only time I remember thinking they were getting off lots of shots. One thing that may trick people not accustomed to the stats of the game is that MSU fired a lot of pucks to the side of the net, which don't count as shots. As far as criticizing Ranfranz, everyone messes up, and I think he did last night. There were a few ugly rebounds he gave up, at least one of which directly resulted in a goal. MSU had some quality goals, such as the top-shelfer on the two on one; but on the other hand, Jensen made the save on a nearly identical shot on the other side of the rink. You can't necessarily say Ranfranz lost that game, but I also think he didn't do anything to win it. It's nothing personal -- he got the second start because he had a great game on Friday. I just think he didn't play very well Saturday.

I believe there is no TV coverage because Mankato doesn't televise it's games (road games are only televised when we can get a feed from the home team).

I was in Mankato that night but not the next. Of course, the next night was a 6-1 victory. I'm going to *try* to swoop into Mankato for one of the games this weekend. If we split, it'll be my fault and you'll know which night I managed to make it As much as this series has been overhyped by Mankato, it's pretty key to the Sioux. Like PCM said, 0 or 1 points pretty much kills any playoff momentum we might have been able to build. Generally in these situations, they overhypedness in Mankato should work to the visitor's advantage. Of course, even if true, that would still require UND to show up and play to win. Sounds like Ranfranz get the start tonight. Should be a good one.

From Dean Blais (via Virg Foss): Hear that Mankato? You should WANT to lose now so you don't have that annoyingly tempting streak hanging over you.

As expected, no decision was made but the leaning was unfavorable about accepting NDSU/SDSU.

So, to bring the thread back around to the topic: How will Big Sky's reaction affect UND? I've personally always thought it was about a 90%+ chance of Big Sky saying, "thanks, but the time isn't right, now," so I'll focus on that potential response. That could be a bit of a stumbling block to SDSU because they HAVE to find a conference affiliation to move. If they don't find one by the end of the summer, they may not resign from the NCC this season and would no longer be on the same timetable as NDSU. In that situation, NDSU may explore Gateway/MidContinent/independent (I wonder if SDSU is allowed to join a conference that's not all-sport?) Those schools being in a weaker conference position actually makes it more likely that UND could easily choose to join NDSU and/or SDSU at any time, but is not likely to provide UND a compelling case to move. Particularly if NDSU ended up independent and SDSU couldn't move, I can't imagine UND would find that attractive. On the other hand, I think that NDSU and/or SDSU being accepted to Big Sky would be long-term positive for UND moving up. Though UND likely wouldn't be able to follow NDSU as easily in the short term, NDSU's position would be a much more compelling long-term draw. Further, Big Sky would be stacked with 1-2 more schools interested in adding Dakota teams than it is now. As a fan wanting UND to move up, I guess I'm cheering for the (unlikely?) acceptance of NDSU/SDSU into Big Sky. On the other hand, things will change so much in the next 5-10 years (2004, Montana DIA?, etc...) that any such analysis is inherently short-sighted.

More fun scoring stats: 1st Period Lead UND leading after 1st Period, 13-2-0 Mankato trailing after 1st, 5-3-5 UND's trailing after 1st, 2-4-3 Mankato leading after 1st, 3-2-1 Scoring First UND scores first, 15-1-1 Mankato's opponent scores first, 7-5-8 UND's opponent scores first, 7-5-3 Mankato scores first, 7-2-1 And a few more of my favorites: * UND outshoots opponent, 22-3-2 * UND is outshot by opponent, 0-3-2 * UND gives up 3 or fewer goals, 19-1-1 (both the tie and loss were Denver last weekend) Shoot often and score early to win, who knew?