MafiaMan

I've been arguing for this change for a long time...it would be nice to finally see something done about it. It would also be nice to eliminate teams playing each other in consecutive weekends in conference tournaments and then regional tournaments (which has obviously happened to North Dakota and Minnesota several times over the past few years in addition to Denver as well). Can you imagine the outcry if North Carolina played Duke in the ACC basketball tournament final and was promptly stuck in the same regional for the NCAA tournament a week later? Exactly...#1 seed or not, there's a huge disadvantage to being seeded in someone else's backyard (also see: 1998 North Dakota vs Michigan @ Yost Arena).

I own a print from circa 1980's that shows the championship banners (old ones, obviously), Hobey Baker winner Tony Hrkac, previous coaches and All-American and Olympic players...who has information regarding that particular print?

What print was that?

LOL fightingsioux4life...are you referring to the 3-game smackdown that the Sioux put on the Gophers in 2010? The one that saw the Sioux win game 3 by a score of 4-1 after getting a PPG and an ENG in the 3rd period? The one where not a single Gopher fan even thought their team had a chance to win that series and very nearly pulled off a huge upset? Obviously I have never gotten into it with Gopher fans? Come see me at this year's FInal Five and I will share some stories with you - starting with Gopher fans presumably being responsible for keying my truck to the tune of $3000 worth of damage a few years ago. I have had PLENTY of run-ins with their kind - usually the ones with personalities of European soccer hooligans after their team loses a big game.

The truth X 100.

Where have you heard of any Gopher hockey fans screaming about Big 10 hockey 'superiority' as compared with the WCHA? I don't know a single Gopher hockey fan IN FAVOR of moving to the Big 10 Hockey Conference. As part of the Sioux 'thorn in the side' of the Gophers for the past ten years, you cite as an example HOLY CROSS beating Minnesota? If you're still using that as proof of Sioux hockey superiority over Minnesota...well...that argument is quite simply beyond being yesterday's news. In case you forgot, UND also played Holy Cross in the NCAA tournament...and looked rather mediocre in defeating them a few years before the now-famous Minnesota game.

You're preaching to the choir...but the choir is getting smaller by the day. It's not just college hockey where traditional rivalries are dying...it's college football and basketball. C'mon...Boise State now wants to back OUT of its deal to leave the Mountain West and stay? San Diego State in the Big East? Maryland in the Big 10? Kansas not playing MissourI? Texas not playing Texas A & M? Maryland not playing Duke or North Carolina? College sports is a mess rivalry-wise...and hockey is just a small part of the problem.

What planet were you on last season? I saw UND play Minnesota six times. Regular season: 2-0 Minnesota 3-2 Minnesota 2-1 Sioux 6-2 Minnesota Post-season: 6-3 North Dakota 5-2 Minnesota I can honestly say that in my opinion, UND outplayed Minnesota in exactly ONE period of hockey last year: the 3rd period of the WCHA Final Five.

LOL...you're probably the same type of fan who thinks Alabama would be a .500 team if they played in the NFL. How is UMass enjoying the bump-up from FCS to FBS?

LOL...so you're basing the Big 10 on how Illinois and Iowa have done this season? I'll call that bluff and raise you Tennessee and Auburn in the SEC and Washington State, Cal and Colorado in the Pac 12. Last time I checked, UCLA just beat the pre-season #1 team USC...and handily at that. Oregon State has been in the top 12-15 all season long. And you're considering those embarrassing losses for the Big 10?

Yea, I'm just a dumba** Sioux fan with 25 years of going to games under my belt. Stupid is as stupid does...

Were we talking attendance? Attendance won't suffer a bit, however, UND hockey fans continue playing 'little brother' to Minnesota. Why can't we be like Texas A & M? Texas wants to bully the Big 12 around and A & M says 'hell with you guys.' Do you think the Aggies regret leaving UT behind in the Big 12 now? Hmmnnn.....

Sioux fans look silly for crying and moaning about it...that's my angle. "Hey Gophers, we got rid of our nickname...come play us....please? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

LOL...another football 'fan' who wants to base the entire Big 10 Conference season on how Michigan played against Alabama in August. Arrogance in scheduling or not, why are Sioux fans gnashing their teeth and wetting their bed over Minnesota's decision to not play the Sioux? Move on.

Why is no one at Minnesota complaining about not playing North Dakota every year? Could it possibly be that North Dakota NEEDS Minnesota on the schedule while Minnesota simply feels it can just schedule another big-name opponent to replace the Sioux and no one will lose any sleep over that decision? And seriously, are people arguing why Minnesota could possibly want Notre Dame or Boston College on the schedule? Really? Who WOULDN'T want those two teams on their schedule?

Gee, hard to imagine why Don would want to put Notre Dame on the schedule, isn't it?

Dislike X 1000. Go to a St Cloud State/UND game while wearing a black Sioux jersey and you'll blend into the crowd with 6,000 other people. Wear a green Sioux jersey to the X for a Final Five game against the Gophers and you'll be part of an avalanche of green pride. Go green...it's the right thing to do. That being said, I preferred the black jerseys from two seasons ago when the numbers were green outlined in white as opposed to white outlined in green like they are now.

It's not all Don Lucia's fault, folks. Don't think for one minute that Minnesota-Duluth, St Cloud State, Bemidji State and Mankato aren't all busy lobbying to keep Minnesota on the schedule as often as they can. Mankato even moved a HOME GAME last year to the Xcel Energy Center as a Maverick revenue-generator. The State of MN has always had a "Minnesota-first attitude" with respect to things and I for one am not surprised at all that UND will disappear from the Minnesota hockey schedule for probably quite some time. If you believe that Don Lucia is happy about playing North Dakota once every ten years or so, you probably also believe Dave Hakstol REALLY feels the Sioux nickname had to go.

Um...they do. The ones you see with "the void" haven't been personalized.

Someone's head should roll over any Nickelback song being played in pre-game warm-ups!

Really? His team fared pretty well against UND last season. My guess is that the powers-that-be in Minnesota will certainly favor scheduling in-state teams like St Cloud, UMD, Mankato State and Bemidji State over UND. I spoke pretty clearly a while back on this board that those fans who expected to see the Gophers come to Grand Forks every year or every other year were dead wrong. And I was right. They'll be a non-conference opponent just like Maine, Michigan, or Boston University...and you'll see the U of M in Grand Forks once a decade...at best.

Like x 1000.

Seriously...that would have been an awesome jersey...last season! LOL! Nice work!

I don't know...I kinda like GoalieMask's idea of big jugs. We are still talking hockey trophies, right?

Imagine the uproar if this was 1995 and Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all decided they wanted to go form their own conference...and leave UND behind. People who look at only the financial commitment to the program as a sure-fire sign of its future success are prety narrow-minded. You can't ignore the history of college hockey and pushing Michigan Tech to the back-burner is a mistake. That program is on the rise...and Mel Pearson and BIll Muckalt are the primary reasons why. The MacNaughton Cup is a classic...it's a shame it won't be around any longer as far as North Dakota is concerned.