Dave Berger

UND/SCSU Challenge Cup Hope to see all of you at Brothers in St. Cloud (119 5th Avenue South) for the pre-game social on Saturday afternoon. The event will run from 3:30-6:00 p.m. and is open to all fans 21 and older. Dave

Sounds great, meeting in St. Cloud would be fine. Text me your number (I'm at 218.779.9872) and we'll meet up on Friday. Dave

I still have tickets available for the series in St. Cloud this weekend... Dave

Weekend Preview: North Dakota vs. Boston University Discuss. Dave

We've got a few extra tickets in our block this year. Reply to this thread, send me a personal message, or call/text 218.779.9872 if you're interested in tickets. Price will be $39 per ticket ($35 face value + fees). Thanks and we'll see you in St. Cloud! Dave

Thank you for stopping by, Jayson! We appreciate it. Dave

Weekend Preview: UND vs. Alaska-Anchorage Discuss. Dave

We have extras available in my block of tickets. Send me a pm or call/text 218.779.9872 if you still need tickets. Dave

I'm working on an article about pregame rituals for coaches, fans, and players. I would like to hear from you regarding what things you do (or have to do) before every game. Before the start of the period? Leave your responses below and the best, most interesting rituals will make it into my article. Thanks! Dave

I also heard that Wild Hog will be starting up a bus this season, but I don't know any specifics. Dave

Well, here's my look at how all twelve teams will fare in the final season of the WCHA as we know it: WCHA Predicted Order Of Finish Feel free to comment directly on the blog post or leave a reply below if you'd like to post your predictions. Dave

It's official: twitter.com/DBergerHockey Follow me @DBergerHockey! Dave

Brice Alaska Goal Rush Preview: UND at Alaska-Anchorage Discuss. Dave

My top five April Fool's columns on SiouxSports.com Discuss. Dave

Link

I don't think that sounds harsh, and I appreciate the comments. The intent would be to find new ways to reach members of SiouxSports.com, with some tweets providing links to content I generate for the website and other tweets sharing information/analysis in a more succint, timely fashion. The poll is a helpful measure of how many SiouxSports.com members use Twitter already. I actually didn't expect to have a thread/comments/conversation about the topic (I expected votes but very few posts), but this is helpful, too. Dave

I understand where you're coming from, and sorry I misunderstood what you were saying earlier. I think it's a difference between the president/faculty members faction and the group which includes the athletic director/departments/coaches. But that's just my read, I could be wrong. Dave

St. Cloud State athletics had no choice but to put UND on the hockey schedule - they were (are) both members of the WCHA for men's and women's hockey. Dave

That's what I came up with, IF the NCHC decides to designate schedule partners (which I think they will). If they don't, we'll get everyone at home six years out of seven. Dave

I will disagree with the phrase "man crush". What I have is a respect and admiration for the SCSU Center Ice Club and their members who have been the most hospitable fans in the league for the past ten seasons. I am not making an argument for or against any particular pair. I think some make more sense than others from a geographical standpoint. I guess I would rather hear which of these options you would be for, rather than simply what you're against. Dave

All of the talk in another thread about the last season of the WCHA rotating schedule got me thinking about future schedules and road trips.... Here's what we know about the NCHC schedule, beginning in 2013-2014. There are eight teams: Colorado College Denver Miami Nebraska-Omaha North Dakota Minnesota-Duluth St. Cloud State Western Michigan The teams have agreed to play a rotating schedule of 24 conference games, leaving room for 10 non-conference games. Link So that means that each school will play home-and-home with five other league members (20 games), host one league member for two games, and travel to another league member for two games. The question is: Will the schools simply rotate through all seven opponents, or will schedule partners be implemented like we've grown accustomed to in the WCHA? If there are schedule partners, the first obvious choice is Denver and Colorado College. After that, it's speculation. Will Miami and Western Michigan be partnered up as the only two league members from the fomer CCHA? If that's the case, then we are left with four: North Dakota, Duluth, St. Cloud, and Nebraska-Omaha. I'm torn here. I like the partnership with St. Cloud State but I think UND and UMD have a great rivalry also. Aside from the Dean Blais connection, I'm not sure there's much with Nebraska-Omaha yet. It may come down to travel. The pairings that add up to the least total travel for the schools involved is: North Dakota/Nebraska-Omaha (500 miles) + St. Cloud State/Duluth (145 miles) = 645 miles This next arrangement is very close: North Dakota/Duluth (267 miles) + St. Cloud State/Omaha (380 miles) = 647 miles Forcing Nebraska-Omaha and Duluth to travel to each other every year (533 miles) seems a bit much, but it would preserve North Dakota/St. Cloud State and the Challenge Cup. Sorry this got long. Thoughts? Dave

Great, thanks for the info! Dave

I really think it's the other way around. The NCAA needs to line up schools/venues in advance to host the tournament games. The incentive for teams to bid and host is that, should they advance, they are guaranteed to be placed in that regional. From the NCAA perspective, it would be plain silly for them not to place host schools at their "own" regional. It guarantees them a local fan base, and allows them to sell tickets in advanceto fans hoping that their team will receive a bid to the tournament. Dave

Two game total goals... ugh. Dave

Just curious if any of you would be interested in signing up for random musings, predictions, and thoughts about the world of college hockey... Dave