MafiaMan

Turk77, You're incorrect. Your 1997 Gophers played Michigan in Grand Rapids, about two and a half hours from Ann Arbor. If you're going to say the Xcel is "neutral" ice and not Gopher territory, I'd hardly consider a two and a half hour drive from Ann Arbor as Wolverine country (except in football).

I don't give a hoot what Don Lucia says about the Sioux. What I do care about is how he belittles the whole tournament and the seemingly meaningless third place game. What does that say about the FANS who pay to attend those 3rd place games? I know the NCAA is just hoping Minnesota pulls thru and packs Mariucci Arena and they can pat themselves on the back saying "nice job on selecting Minnesota for a regional." My hope is that it's a Maine/Cornell or Maine/Ohio State final and that there are 500 people in Mariucci and that place doesn't see a regional for another 20 years a la the Great Dane fiasco of a few years back (1999).

At least we don't have to hear the word "upset," which is what you'd get if a #4 seed Gopher team lost at Mariucci to a #1 seed Maine. I heard enough of that to last me a lifetime w/the 1998 Sioux team and the 2002 Denver team. I would hardly consider it Jets over Colts or Villanova/Georgetown when a top-ranked hockey team loses to a slightly lower-ranked team that is playing "host".

Maine is 6-4-1 in their last 11. Hardly setting the world on fire, Turk77.

But if you weigh out the whole season equally, Turk77, and throw out that playoff game against BC since it didn't matter anyways and really had no effect on the Pairwise, Maine has been pretty mediocre. Let me check and see how they did in October and November...

You're making my points for me, Couteau. MONTHS ago was before the tournaments even started. Again, if all games are rated equally, how can it be that losses later don't matter? So on the basis of winning games in October and November, teams can afford to tank games in February and March and not worry about a #1 seed? Gimme a break. How about a team that loses a few players due to injury (and I'm not talking about the Sioux here), goes thru a tough spell, and turns it on at the end?

Again, my feeling is that "current play" should be added back into the equation. Who wants a team on life support finaggling its way into the tournament (see also: St Cloud 2002, Wisconsin 2005) while someone hot at the right time sits at home? The fact that a Gopher/Sioux game was of little or no importance (or so he says) to Don Lucia should be enough to tell you that something is wrong. Let's be serious here, Gopher fans. If the Sioux had had this happen to them this year and were playing a home regional at REA as a #1 seed, you'd be screaming like a baby with a messy diaper. Or picture the ACC tournament where Duke and North Carolina battle it out for the title and watch Georgia Tech garnish a #1 seed on the basis of finishing 3rd in the conference and being eliminated in the conference tournament semi-final round. It's a joke! And before you call me a homer, let me be the first to say if the Sioux finish 3rd in the conference and 4th in the tournament, there is no way in h-e-double-l that they should get a #1 seed. Ever.

sagard, How could the Gophers earn a #1 seed "'MONTHS AGO" if the PRI rates all regular season games equally? Hmnnnnnn...that's a mystery.

BigGreyAnt41, Think about that... Let's talk about three years ago then when St Cloud and UMD had similar records. UMD beats St Cloud on the road in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and finishes third in the Final Five, having lost a very close game in the semi-final. St Cloud finishes the season on an 0-6 slide, while UMD was the hottest team around. St Cloud gets picked for the tournament and promptly gets spanked by BU. Meanwhile, UMD sits at home wishing they had won an additional game or two back in October?

Yea, yea, yea, the Gophers always have the odds stacked against them. Frankly, it's quite stunning if you really think about it, that they've even been able to win as many titles as they have. I mean, with gift-wrapped #1 seeds, playing games at the X, game-times being moved to accomodate the fans...It's a damn miracle this team can even compete with the likes of a Boston College, Michigan, or North Dakota. Here's a great comment I heard from a maroon and gold fan as I left the X after UND's 4-2 win. "It doesn't matter anyways...you're goin' nowhere." I asked that dumb*** to put some money where his mouth is and make a bet. He looked at me stunned and I told him to give me a business card and I'd mail him a check for $50 if the Sioux didn't make the tournament. Still stunned, he turned around and I asked, "cmon, back up that talk." He walked away. Overheard Friday: "Shepherd 3, Gophers 0." Yea, he scored 2 of CC's goals and assisted on the 3rd. "That no-goal took changed the momentum. You can't have the team standing around like that." Gee, did you see the guy skate right behind the goalie as the shot was being taken? Gimme a break. That no-goal was painfully obvious to anyone not wearing maroon and gold. Frankly, I give the officials a thumbs up for getting that right. If Don Lucia and co. want to de-emphasize the 3rd place game, let's de-emphasize it totally and scrap it.

A tough first game? Maine has been barely skating by all season, Turk. You're basing them on reputation alone. Kinda like the computer did with the Gophers. Again, go re-read the article. 3-7 in their last 10 games against teams in this same tournament. #3 in the conference (tied) and #4 in the conference tournament. This is what it's come to? A 1998 Colorado College team that lost, what, all of 3 games that year, doesn't make the cut for the final twelve because they lost to Michigan Tech in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and seven years later, we award a #1 seed to a team with a winning percentage in the .600's?

How fair is it when it's all but decided before the games are played, WPoS? Go re-read Reusse's article, would you? Bogus, bogus, bogus. I might even buy a ticket go the regional and scrounge up a Maine jersey somewhere.

Wow! I didn't realize anyone in Mpls/St Paul agreed with me on that fact. Even fans at the arena knew that Saturday's game didn't mean a thing to the Gophers since they were certain they had locked up a #1 seed. On the basis of WHAT, can I ask? Since when did a 3rd place regular season finish and a 4th place conference tournament finish mean a #1 seed?

Like I said, I was so livid at her comments, I decided to just turn my head and walk away rather than say something stupid. They don't just strap guys to a board and secure their head and neck, only to let them walk out of an ambulance ten minutes later.

I realize this will be tossed around as heresay, but I spoke with a DU player's mom during the title game Saturday night. I asked her if she had any "inside information" and she gave me a line about how the DU players heard rumors that Bina was not even taken to the hospital and was in the locker room watching TV during the rest of the DU/UND game. She also mentioned that it was "too bad" because Paukovitch is the "nicest kid around." Blah blah blah. I was so steamed I couldn't even muster up a reply, which, if you know me, is quite a rare occurence. Frankly, I don't think there was much concern at all over on Gwoz's bench. I enjoyed watching DU's run to the title last March. Now it makes me sick to think I cheered for that bunch of goons to beat Maine. Robbie, good luck. You are in my prayers. I pray that even if you never wear a Sioux jersey again, that you are able to live a normal and full life. Hockey is secondary to everything else right now, but God willing, you'll be back skating soon, too. All the best. MafiaMan

Good to hear, Bigchief! Glad I could help you out since I'm not known for my skating. Five games of hockey and three games of broomball...I'm spent. I forgot to give you some keychains to pass out. Dangit anyways. Was WPoS there? I wandered over to section 114 Saturday to introduce myself, but he was up in the nosebleeds for some reason.

Bigchief picked up my Pizza Factory broomball jerseys last night...did SS.COM actually wear them?

I have no problem with instant replay if they get the call right. Problem is, I'm still fuming at the goal SCSU won the 2001 Final Five on when a Husky forward clearly knocked down Andy Kollar just a second or two before the "game-winner" went in. Frankly, I thought every call that went to the booth this weekend was correctly called, including the Gopher "goal" against CC.

Apparently Sioux fans aren't the only ones whining about officiating. I heard many Gopher fans in our section crying about the "no-goal" against CC that "deflated the team." In fact, a fan by the concourse yelled "Shepherd 3, Gophers 0" as I walked by him (I was wearing a CC hat). What a bunch of homers...I only wish I could have heard Whiny Woog and Melancholy Mazzocco griping about how it's a gigantic conspiracy against the Gophers leading all the way to the top of the Bush administration.

Curiously, Frank and Doug can't see real well when they're wearing their maroon and yellow "no-call" goggles.

That wasn't my point, Jamestown. Gophers score two goals in two games in their own backyard and everyone says "doesn't matter anyways, 'cuz we're a #1 seed?". I have five words for you: GO OUT AND EARN IT! PRI aside, the Gophers did nothing to impress me this weekend and frankly, they're lucky they will be playing in Mariucci Arena this weekend or they would St Cloud State themselves right out of the NCAA tournament!

I find it interesting all the comments on here about the officiating, yet no one mentioned the obvious spear dished out by Harrington on Stafford with 26 seconds left in the game. Stafford took a shot from the slot that deflected off of Harrington's stick, hitting him just under the mask, and Harrington immediately jabbed his stick into Stafford's gut. All while Anderson was standing about 4 feet from the two of them. Honest to goodness, it was 4-2, the game had been decided, call the da** penalty.

Gotta love those Gopher fans...#3 in the conference and #4 in the conference tournament, , worst winning percentage amongst the top teams in the PRI...and they STILL think they deserve a #1 seed? Gimme a break.

I've got about 20-30 of these things to get rid of, Reformed. You turned it down and 01grad ate it right up. I'll have plenty to give away this weekend. Just look for the bald guy in section 102 row 11.

Any Sioux fan stranded in Mpls/St Paul because of the weather is more than welcome to camp out at my place if necessary. The more fans at the X this weekend the better!