Dave Berger

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Denver Discuss. Dave

Heavy Metal Hockey Ian Kidd wants to go to Detroit, too! Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth Discuss. Dave

Here's something regarding the atmosphere at the Ralph that hasn't been mentioned in this thread: The fans of the University of North Dakota men's hockey team have an identity crisis. Some fans will only participate in chants and cheers that have the word "Sioux" in them (Sioux Yeah Yeah, Fight On Sioux, Let's Go Sioux, Sioux Forever, etc.) and boo every "Fighting Hawks" usage they can. Some fans are trying to move on from "Fighting Sioux", but there are no "Hawks" or "Fighting Hawks" chants or cheers for them to participate in. We are all trying to exist in the same space and cheer for the same team, but we're definitely not all moving in the same direction or working together all of the time. Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Western Michigan Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Western Michigan Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota at Miami Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota at Miami Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Wisconsin Discuss. Dave

What to do in Vegas? Read these three articles about tonight's matchup.... Minnesota and North Dakota: A Look Back At 13 Titles North Dakota vs. Minnesota: A College Hockey Rivalry Like No Other U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game Preview: North Dakota vs. Minnesota Now go and have fun! Dave

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game Preview: North Dakota vs. Minnesota Discuss. Dave

North Dakota vs. Minnesota: A College Hockey Rivalry Like No Other Discuss. Dave

Article Discuss. Dave.

Everyone knows that 8>5, but how did we get here? With three days remaining until UND and Minnesota square off in Las Vegas, here's a look back at these two storied programs and their thirteen combined NCAA titles: Minnesota and North Dakota: A Look Back At 13 Titles Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Minnesota State Discuss. Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Bemidji State Discuss. Dave

NCHC Frozen Faceoff Preview: North Dakota vs. St. Cloud State Discuss. Dave

NCHC Frozen Faceoff Preview: North Dakota vs. St. Cloud State Discuss. Dave

Jim can certainly shed more light on this, but this is how he explains his methodology on the website: Each forecast is based on at least one million monte carlo simulations of the games in the described period. For each simulation, the PairWise Ranking (PWR) is calculated and the results tallied. The probabilities presented in the forecasts are the share of simulations in which a particular outcome occurred. The outcome of each game in each simulation is determined by random draw, with the probability of victory for each team set by their relative KRACH ratings. So, if the simulation set included a contest between team A with KRACH 300 and team B with KRACH 100, team A will win the game in very close to 75% of the simulations. I don’t simulate ties or home ice advantage. I'm assuming that CHN runs their simulations as a "coin flip" (i.e. the two teams in question have an equal chance of winning the game), but I haven't done any digging into that. Dave

What was the committee supposed to do? Wisconsin was the #1 overall seed and thus were placed in the closest regional (Resch Center in Green Bay, WI, with Michigan Tech as the host school). Cornell took the Badgers to three overtimes in the regional final before falling 1-0. The 2006 Frozen Four was played at the Bradley Center (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). Incidentally, North Dakota hosted the 2006 West Regional at Ralph Engelstad Arena that season. The other participating teams in Grand Forks? Minnesota, Michigan, and Holy Cross. Dave

That was in 2007-2008. The Badgers went 15-16-7 but were still high enough in the Pairwise to get in as an at-large bid. They were placed in their regional (Midwest Regional at the Kohl Center) as the host school and were a #3 seed (which tells you about where they were in the Pairwise). Granted, three of the #4 seeds were tournament championship autobids - Princeton (ECAC, 21-13-0), Niagara (CHA, 22-10-4), and Air Force (Atlantic Hockey, 21-11-6) - but Wisconsin was still ranked higher than at-large Notre Dame (CCHA, 24-15-4). The committee changed the rule shortly after that season to only consider teams with a .500 record or above. Dave

And here's a real-world example from 2008-2009: #3 Minnesota (10-3-5) came to the Ralph on January 9th and 10th, 2009. North Dakota crushed the Gophers (6-3, 6-1) and sent them into a tailspin (Minnesota went 7-10-2 down the stretch and lost the WCHA Final Five Thursday evening play-in game at Xcel Energy Center). By the time the weekend's games had all been played, Minnesota was tied for 15th in the Pairwise with Ohio State and Wisconsin. The only auto-bid that took away a spot that year was Bemidji State (CHA), so the top fifteen teams in the Pairwise were going to make the NCAA tournament. According to the Pairwise, Ohio State won the tiebreaker over both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Oh, and did I mention that the University of Minnesota was hosting the West Regional at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis that season? There were plenty of people who were suggesting that the committee would move the Gophers ahead of Ohio State for financial/attendance purposes, but it didn't happen. This is why I believe in the system wholeheartedly. Q.E.D. Dave