MinotBison

Yes it would get ugly, but it's how they used to do it, and it would only be one game at playoff time. I've often thought of having a division of hockey for larger schools, and one for smaller, but there aren't enough teams for that. I also thought about setting hockey up like the Europeans do for soccer, with the better teams staying in the top division, and the not so good teams dropping down to the lower division, but again, not enough teams for that.

Bingo. The only way for Minot (or any western team for that matter) to get better is by playing the eastern teams. The eastern teams however, are reluctant to play the western teams and why should they, when good quality Section 8 teams are right next door? That is why I would propose that the NDHSAA expand the hockey season by 3-4 games, with the provison that those games be played against teams from the other half of the state. Also, for a long time the eastern teams have wanted to have a cross bracket system (#1E vs. #8W, etc.) to determine who gets into the state tournament. I say, give them that in return for playing more games against the west as I just outlined. Yes, I know that men will walk on Mars before the NDHSAA would ever consider this, but something has to change. I would be more than happy to listen to anyone else's proposal.

Why is it that Minot seems to have good talent many years, but is unable to get out of the first round of the state hockey tournament??? It is a question that people in Minot have been trying to answer for the last 15+ years. So far, with no answer.