MafiaMan

A conversation I had with a Gopher fan in my section at the 2001 WCHA Final Five before the St Cloud/Sioux title game: "Go Huskies! Minnesota pride!" "You're cheering for St Cloud because of the number of Minnesotans on the roster?" "Yep." (As I hand him a program) "Here, count the number of Minnesota kids playing for the Sioux and compare that with the number from St Cloud." (as he hands the program back to me) "So what."

I stand corrected, Buckysucks, the 1997 regional was in Grand Rapids. I'm glad to know some Gopher fans agree that hosting of regionals is just wrong. Frozen Fours, well, those happen and 2002 worked like a charm for Minnesota. However, I get tired of ridiculous comments, particularly from Gopher fans, about the X being a neutral site. Even Donny Lucia mentioned before the NCAA title game that he expected a "50/50" crowd Maine/Minnesota at the title game. I'm not sure what Don was smoking that weekend, but it wasn't Malboro Lights. Had Minnesota been anything other than a #1 seed in 2003, they would also be on that infamous list of 1997 Michigan and 2002 Michigan. Assuming (and it's a big assumption) that Minnesota goes to Grand Forks and the Sioux end up knocking them off, UND will be on that list instead. It's taking advantage of hosting a regional and I agree, the system isn't right. Whatever happened to higher-ranked teams hosting a best-of-three series in their own buildings. That seemed fair, in my opinion. The small schools and those never able to host a regional are clearly at a disadvantage. This is exactly the reason why the new REA came to be. Fair or not, it is what the NCAA has made it to be.

I was gonna say that, too, AZSIOUX. "We shouldn't have to...," "it doesn't seem fair," blah blah blah. The Denver 2001 issue was the most ridiculous seeding I have personally seen. Again, 2001 conference and conference tournament champs, including beating the Gophers at Xcel, and the seedings were like this: Minnesota vs Colorado College/Michigan State winner Denver vs Michigan/St Cloud State winner Any way you slice that regional pairing will tell you that a French Olympic ice skating judge must have made that bracket up. You can practically throw out the rankings when you're talking regionals in a host facility, whether it be Yost, Mariucci, or REA.

Here we go again... Maybe if the Gophers get upset in Grand Forks by the Sioux or anyone else, the NCAA will step in and eliminate schools hosting regionals. After all, It's bad enough that Minnesota was sent to Kalamazoo back in 1997 (hardly U of Michigan country, but their fans cried about how ridiculous that seeding was anyways after they were eliminated by Michigan). 1998...UND overall #1 seed sent to Yost Arena...and loses to Michigan. 2001...Denver #1 overall seed sent to Yost also...and loses to Michigan. Those are two instances of host schools who defeated higher-ranked teams en route to the Frozen Four because of the distinct advantage of playing in their own building. Denver wins the WCHA regular season outright and wins the Final Five and the reward is a meeting with Michigan in its own barn? C'mon, NCAA, you can do better. Funny, but I didn't hear any Gophers crying about the seeding in those years. Denver losing to Michigan was huge because it meant Michigan playing Minnesota in the Frozen Four at the X and not Denver. Think Minnesota wanted to see Denver again that season after getting outplayed and outworked in the WCHA Final Five a few weeks before that? Not a chance. While not playing teams ranked higher than them to create a situation like UND and Denver found themselves in above, Minnesota was able to use Mariucci to its advantage in 2003 and 2005. In fact, I'm not sure they would have beaten Maine or Cornell anyplace outside of Mariucci last year. Had the Gophers made the NCAA tournament in 2000, they could have again taken advantage of home ice. What goes around comes around, and if the Sioux take advantage of the situation by hosting the regional, my response will be "it's about damn time."

I'll pay for the pizza and see you at 7:37 pm.

How true. If I had boobs...I'd never leave the house. Or maybe I would for my night job...dancing at the Platinum Fox?

That joke's older than my grandma's buckskin bra.

I have taken Amtrak several times out west to visit my parents in ND. My four year old and I typically board at 10:30 pm and arrive in Williston the next morning around 11:00 am. I believe the two of us travelled last time for about $75 and $50, respectively, one-way. Glad someone could help you out, NorthDakotaHockey.

Bloomington, I presume? I'm tinkin' aboud it.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, there'd be plenty of treats for all the kids. Just win, baby.

I give Roseau credit for staying with AA. At the same time, I respect Warroad's decision to stay in A. Again, like I mentioned earlier, the loophole is rather silly. Imagine a "small school" winning the state title in AA, then deciding because of their small enrollment, that they'd drop back down to A the next season. That's kind of like the Yankees winning the World Series, then deciding that since a couple of players retired, they should be playing AAA the next season. That's not a shot at A hockey, it's just an analogy, but you get my point.

Kwality Minnersoda edukashen rears its uglee hed again. The term "big boys" would have no apostrophe in this case, class. While I too wonder why Roseau competes at Class AA while Warroad sticks with A, one can make the proximity-to-opponents argument pretty easily. I didn't hear Gopher fans saying that Red Wing should move to AA back in the days of Johnny Pohl.

Let the chips fall where they may. The ONLY game UND should be worrying about tonite is the one against Michigan Tech. Tomorrow, the only game to worry about is against Michigan Tech. Beat Tech, beat the first-round WCHA opponent, beat Minnesota in the Final Five semi-finals, and advance to the championship game, then win the Final Five championship. No more worries about PRI.

Kind of like the South St Paul girls program? Anyone ever heard of winning your state's highest class state hockey tournament, then dropping DOWN the next year because you meet enrollment requirements and you're losing a couple of seniors? Nice!

The RCMP has turned the case over to Bruce McLeod for review.

Pretty quick, aren't you, BleedGrn? Excellent work, Watson!

Good story. I'm glad Phil Kessel wasn't hurt.

The Pizza Factory jerseys are ready and waiting!

Assuming people got downtown early enough, I have two suggestions for time/location: Before the 7:35 pm play-in game at Wild Tymes. Obviously, Gopher fans have little interest in the Thursday night game this year and this game always has plenty of seats available. Given the scenario that the Sioux could easily be in this game, sometime between 5-6:30 would be good. Before the 2:35 pm 3rd place game on Saturday, also at Wild Tymes. You avoid the monster rush Friday for the St Patrick's Day parade in St Paul and the between-games crowd waiting for the 7:35 pm championship Saturday night.

I'd be interested...in the meantime, perhaps people heading to or living in the Twin Cities area could meet for the Final Five?

I was pondering purchasing an authentic home Sioux hockey jersey and having it personalized. I've heard from a friend of mine that he has seen several "authentics" and that the REA personalization kit is beyond bad. Can anyone back this up or say otherwise? I also heard that authentics are on sale at Scheels. Any better luck with them? I'm hesitant to purchase an authentic only to ruin it with shoddy personalization. Thank you for your help.

Not exactly what I had in mind, Sioux-cia.

I believe Mariucci Arena has now hosted three regional tournaments. In 2000, the Sioux were there and Minnesota was not. In 2003, both teams were there, but the Sioux were defeated by Ferris State and didn't play Minnesota. Last season, Goldy had Cornell, Ohio State, and Maine to contend with while the Sioux were out east. Frankly, I've spent more time whining about that '98 regional in Ann Arbor than any regional in Minneapolis.

Now that's just wrong! Men were not put on the earth to be glorified for their bodies. Now the Swedish bikini team, on the other hand...

SHOWTIME!