Siouxtimestwo

I tend to agree with you. I doubt Lucia flat out said, "Fire Frank and Doug!" and that is the sole reason for this decision, but I can imagine he wasn't happy with their comments toward the program this year. Considering the number of posters on here who cite anonymous, inside sources, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to believe that a high profile Twin Cities journalist has sources, as well. I will miss Woog, but not Frank. Wooger made some outrageous statements over the years, but those statements were always trumped by his hockey knowledge, at least for me. Frank never had that hockey knowledge and was a bit too arrogant for me.

Thank you FSN!

I don't know, I'm still covered in the stink of last years Great Lakes Invitational. I'd rather watch them win on TV than watch them lose in person. From what I've heard from people in the area, even if I went I wouldn't be able to actually see the games anyway as a result of the way they're configuring the seating at Ford Field. By the way, thanks for serving our country and providing us with the freedom to cling to such irrational superstitions.

I live an hour from Detroit and there's no way in hell I'm going, even if the Sioux make it. That should tell you what terrible luck I have with the Sioux. As a matter of fact, I haven't attended a Sioux win since I was in college and they played in the old arena (granted, I haven't been to a game in Grand Forks in 3 years, but I've seen them play at least once every year).

According to the PairWise Predictor I ran, it doesn't matter whether RIT or Sacred Heart lose. We win and BC loses and we're #4, assuming Wisconsin holds on. I admit, I am a rookie at this, so maybe there's another scenario I missed.

I'm going to take the blame for the weekend. I don't get to watch all the Sioux games, but the ones I do watch are terrible. The only games I got to attend last year were the Great Lakes Invitational, so I think that sums it up. I know Eidsness has good stats, so he's obviously a good goalie, but I have never once seen him play a great game. I can't remember the last time he was the best goalie on the ice. This is pretty much par for the course when I watch. I know that is not an accurate or fair sampling and is purely coincidence, but even so, it makes it very hard for me to think he's anything more than mediocre, at best, as a result. Considering he was leading the league in GAA or save percentage for awhile I believe, he's obviously played much better, so the next time he has a game indicative of that, someone please record it and send me a copy. I'm not trying to be a jerk towards Eids, I just want to see what the kid is capable of. Also, I'm getting a little sick of these brawls at the end of periods and games. If we don't other schools to bitch about what about bunch of goons we are, then let's not continue to give them ammo. I realize it's going to happen occasionally, but not every game against every school. I am able to watch a lot of CCHA games here in Michigan, and while the hockey isn't as good, as least they can skate to the locker room without acting like a bunch of little bitches. The reffing in the WCHA is terrible, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the refs didn't have to babysit in addition to calling the game. While WCHA hockey is the best conference out there, the hockey on the ice is the worst product between college hockey and the NHL. How about we stand up for our team and protect home ice by putting one in the net and worrying about the scoreboard? We won a lot more national titles when we focused on the scoreboard and not the scorecard.

Gregoire

Gregoire (Fri) & Hextall (Sat)

I guess only time will tell. I'm not too worried about health of UND athletics or academics. If the rest of you want to play Chicken Little about it, have at it. I'll be enjoying the games this weekend, just as I'll be enjoying UND hockey for all the remaining years of my life.

The only games that get their own highlight segments are Frozen 4 games. We continue to play Sioux hockey, we'll still make SportsCenter. I very well could be wrong, but I've never once seen a Sioux-Gophers regular season game get it's own highlights and analysis on SportsCenter. The only regular season game I can recall making SportsCenter was the Michigan-MSU game played outdoors. They use segments of regular games for top plays, but they take any top play from all over the county at all levels. They use high school sports for these segments, as well. If someone from UND makes a play worthy of being featured on SportsCenter, it will still make it. And how often does this happen? Once every 2 years, maybe? You think our fanbase is going to take a hit because we might not get an 8 second clip on SportsCenter once every 2 years? If that's the case, maybe our fans aren't as loyal as we make them out to be. Regarding ESPN.com, I agree they're more likely to post articles about the bigger schools. Scores, I'm not so sure. If they post scores for a sport, they typically post scores for all games in that division, not just a select few. They post all NDSU scores now that they're a full fledged division 1 team, not just the games against larger schools. (I don't check for UND scores, since I already know who won). Anyways, people don't just stumble unto the college hockey segment of ESPN's website. If they're looking up scores for college hockey games, they already know all about UND's college hockey team! I agree that the Sioux would get less coverage by the local media in Minneapolis, Madison, or Milwaukee. It is free public relations, but IMHO, you vastly overrate the impact it has on converting Minnesotans and Cheeseheads into Sioux fans or drawing students to our university. When you read a paper or browse a media website, do you read every single article they post? Neither do I. People who don't care about hockey aren't reading the current articles about the Sioux on the StarTrib right now, so what is UND losing there? Most people living in these states already know about the University of North Dakota. Those who don't aren't going to be swayed just because we're playing UM in hockey. Seeing a headline about a college hockey game isn't going to make someone who doesn't care about college hockey choose UND for med school, for crying out loud! People don't choose universities based on a headline in a newspaper or a box score on TV. Hockey fans in Minnesota that do follow the local media's coverage already know about the Sioux. The guys from MIB aren't going to come and zap their brains. I'm assuming you've read hundreds of articles put out by the Minneapolis media. Do you think any casual fans are going to read them and decide to become Sioux fans? Do you think listening to Frank and Doug or PA and Dubay will make the little boys in Minnesota want to play for the Sioux? You know what makes people want to play for the Sioux? Grand Forks, ND, the coaches, the program's history, the success of the program, family ties, and the ability to put top flight players into the NHL. I will concede the fact that the Sioux would get absolutely no media coverage in Minneapolis and Wisconsin if UM and UW left the WCHA, if you're willing to concede the fact that prospective college hockey players in those areas will still know all about UND's hockey program. I'll also concede that UND would lose out on free PR by not being in the Minneapolis or Wisconsin media as much, if you're willing to concede that the effects of this on the general population are extremely minor at best.

Maybe, maybe not. Regarding ESPN, the only games they televise on their main networks, ESPN and ESPN2, are the Frozen Four. UND still has the opportunity to play in those games and get the exposure. The Sioux-Merrimack game was just televised nationally on a secondary sports network, so it doesn't take the Gophers to get us on national TV. If anything, losing games with Wisconsin and Minnesota would open up the door for us to play games with more teams out east. If you're going to make the argument that the university needs more exposure, more games against BC and BU would have a lot better chance of being televised by ESPN and familiarize a lot more people with UND than games against UM and UW. Again, I keep going back to this, but potential college hockey players in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Timbuktu are going to still come to UND as long as we compete for national titles. College hockey fans in Wisconsin and Minnesota aren't going to magically forget that UND or the state of North Dakota exists just because we don't play them anymore. Most people on this board can name just about every hockey program in the country and we don't play all of them regularly! The average sports fan, but non-college hockey fan, doesn't take notice until the hockey team makes a run in the tourney, if at all. If fans around the country stop noticing UND because we're not making the tournament consistently anymore, then those problems will have nothing to do with not playing Minnesota and Wisconsin. It will have to do with what is happening in Grand Forks, ND, not Minneapolis or Madison. UND is a well-respected academic institution in the Midwest. The hockey isn't the only reason people in the surrounding states know about UND. Let's face it, most of the people from around the country and world come to UND for it's world-renowned aerospace department. Those people could care less about the hockey, football, basketball, or ping pong teams. They might become fans when they get here, due to the great atmosphere, but that's not what draws people to our campus. Our hockey team is what it is as a result of its own successes and failures. Our school is what it is as a result of its own successes and failures. UND is a national power in hockey. UND is not a nationally acclaimed university, save aeronautics. It almost certainly never will be. If by some slim chance it does become a Michigan, UCLA, Ohio State, etc. academically, you can bet it won't be because the hockey team played the Gophers.

I see your point, but you're right, it isn't the best example. NCAA hockey isn't anywhere comparable to March Madness, one of the most popular sporting events in the entire country. Davidson was seen across the country by nearly every single person who follows sports. We're not talking about the Sioux playing a regular season hockey game vs. the Gophers or Badgers in front of millions of fans that otherwise had never heard of the school, like your Davidson example. Most people in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan already know all about UND, and the ones who don't aren't going to be swayed academically by a hockey game, since they obviously don't watch hockey. Also, gopherz, since you brought up Davidson, without googling it, can you tell me any major conference teams they played in the regular season that year? It didn't matter who they played in the regular season, once post-season play started, as long as they kept winning, they had a shot at the title, just like UND would. That's the point, I'm trying to make. Some people on here make it seem like if the Sioux stopped playing the Gophers and Badgers in the regular season, but kept competing for national titles, fans would stop showing up for games and students would quit applying to the university. That's insane and moronic. We have a rivalry with the Gophers, not an obsession, or at least we shouldn't.

I'm sorry, but I just don't see how the hockey team playing Minnesota makes the chemistry department more prestigious. I don't know if you're an alumni or not, but the university itself has many other legs to stand on beside who the hockey team plays. If it didn't, maybe it would be time to shut the whole school down, much less the hockey program. Is UND anymore of a prestigious school this year compared to last for having played Texas Tech? Of course not. You think the law school's applications are going increase 5% if we schedule a game against Michigan in the Big House? UND hockey has reached the point where it doesn't need anyone else, including Gophers in the regular season, to make it successful. The boys in green make their own destiny every year. We are a Division 1 hockey powerhouse! You seem to have the opinion that we are on the same scale in hockey with Minnesota as NDSU, for example, is in football. The Minnesota games are not, nor should they be UND hockey's Super Bowl. If the team plays Fighting Sioux hockey and brings home a national title, are we going to be bouncing our grandkids on our laps lamenting how the title and our degrees mean a little bit less since we only beat the Gophers in the tourney and not in October? When we only play the Gophers twice instead of 4 times, does that somehow diminish the team's accomplishments? As much as college sports shouldn't be about money and empty suits, it also isn't about the fans. It's about the players and the coaches. The ones that actually put in the hard work, not the ones who go get drunk and swear at little kids during the games. Playing Minnesota and Wisconsin means much more to the fans, myself included, than it does to the players themselves. If you go ask every single player on the team whether they'd rather win a national title or beat the Gophers this weekend, I sure as hell hope they all take the title or else we might as well forfeit the rest of the games. A Big 10 hockey conference would be a bad thing for fans of the rest of the WCHA teams, but it wouldn't impact the Sioux's ability to compete for a national title one bit. As myself and other people have said, it would probably enhance it under the current system.

How much time have you spent in elementary schools lately? I'm not saying hockey is king, as I was a basketball player myself. I'm just saying it's on the map and not hanging onto the ledge anymore. I was an elementary teacher a few years ago in a small town in the middle of the state that has (obviously) no hockey program. Sioux hockey was by far the most popular North Dakota college sport. I'm not saying every kid can, but the fact that some can do it at all is a lot more than you could've said 20 years ago.

Anything is possible, but let's look at what's probable. Hell, NDSU could start a hockey program and join the WCHA if we're going to consider all possibilities. The difference between the Sioux in the early 90s compared to the Sioux going forward is UND hockey has established itself as a brand, not just a college hockey program. Despite the success of the program in the 80s and before, the Sioux remained a regional product within North Dakota, much less the country. North Dakota was and probably still is very much a basketball state, but hockey is by far more popular all across the state than it used to be even 20 years ago. When the Sioux were winning titles, casual fans took notice, but never really became true Sioux hockey fans. Now, kids from small town North Dakota can tell you every single player on the Sioux. That was never the case back in the 80s. UND hockey has become popular because more people in the state are growing up hockey players, in addition to the success it's had. I think you give way too much credit to Minnesota and Wisconsin for making UND hockey so popular. It's the players and coaches who deserve the most credit, and I don't think they came to UND so they could play against the Gophers or Badgers. Hell, now half of them are Canadian and could care less about UM or UW. UND puts players on the pros on a regular basis, so they're still going to get top flight recruits. Back in the 80s, that wasn't the case, despite all the great teams they had. College hockey has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Who knows how long college hockey will last with the money grabbing NCAA trying to destroy every sport, but I think it's a safe bet that UND will be there till the end.

I do agree with your last statement that any of the remaining WCHA schools would jump at the chance to play the Big 1o schools. That said, I'm with nodak regarding UND hockey's popularity. If UM and UW left the conference, UND would still be playing against the big boys on a regular basis. In fact, they would have the opportunity every year, just as they do now, to knock off the big boys like Michigan, Minnesota, BC, etc. in the NCAA tourney every year and win a national championship. You can't get anymore big time than that. This isn't football where you play Texas Tech or Minnesota in a regular season game then each go back to your own division. Are you suggesting that playing Minnesota in a regular season hockey game would enhance the program's reputation more so than playing Colorado College for the national championship?

By the time the Big 10 conference is actually formed, that issue will be long gone.

I also don't believe that losing UM and UW would kill the Final Five. Obviously, there are a lot of fans of both schools that the FF would be losing, but I think there are several other factors to consider, as well. I think with UM and UW out of the conference, Mankato, Duluth, and St. Cloud would be more regular participants in the tourney, so you'd get more fans from those schools. There are also a lot of UM and UW fans who have great seats reserved for the FF. Once those seats become available, I think you'd get even more UND and St. Cloud fans auto-renewing every year, not to mention fans of other schools. For example, my cousin is a UW alum and has 5 seats on the glass with his friends. I don't go the FF every year, but if I was able to get seats like that, you can bet I'd be there. Also, I hate to break it to Gophers fans, but the Big 10 conference tourney wouldn't be in Minneapolis every year. I think there would still be college hockey fans left in Minneapolis who would buy walk up tickets. Plus, you'd have Bemidji fans new to the table. If you add all those factors up, I think the WCHA would still be looking at a strong post-season tourney. One thing to surely draw consideration would be having the tourney in Denver on a rotating basis, too. Denver and CC are 2 very good hockey programs. They don't have the history of filling opposing stadiums like UND, but they also have a lot farther to travel than every other meaningful team in college hockey (I'm obvious excluding the Alaska teams). Who's to say that the fans wouldn't support a tourney in Denver? Besides Minneapolis, Denver is the second largest city for UND alums, so you know we'd show up. I don't think it would draw as well as the Cities, but I also don't think you'd hear crickets if you had to move the tourney to Denver every couple of years.

VV for me.

What would the arguments be against an 11-team league? I understand that once conference play begins, one team would always be left out, but teams already schedule non-conference games and have bye weeks once league play begins, so I don't see how that could be a gigantic problem. The conference schedule is already unbalanced, so it's not like BSU would mess that up.

I think even if VV stays, it is not a given he'd have an All-American type season. Remember, he was dominant at the end of last year as well, but it didn't seem to carry over consistently to this year. At least, it didn't seem to from listening to radio telecasts and following the commentary on here and from Brad. This isn't intended to be a knock on him by any means, just an observation that we shouldn't automatically expect him to be all-WCHA first team if he stays.

Well, look on the bright side. Now that annoying North Dakota team is out of the tournament, we can get back to the Duluth love fest. I find it ironic that many of the people questioning the fanhood of fellow posters who are pissed at the manner in which UND lost are some of the exact same ones who were equally elated when Duluth won in the exact same fashion. Nothing shows your true Fighting Sioux fanhood like not showing any emotion when UND loses and jumping for joy when Duluth wins! Seriously now, I've never understood the whole 3 Musketeers attitude when it comes to college sports & conferences. In football, I can understand it to a point, since if you are able to create the illusion that your conference is superior, it will help your cause for getting a title shot. But in hockey, there is a playoff. Who cares if every other WCHA teams sucks, as long as UND wins? If you win your conference and win 4 games in the tourney, you are the champs. That is all that matters. Quick, off the top of your head somebody tell me who had the strongest strength of schedule in 1958. Now tell me who won the title. In 40 years, how many Sioux fans are going to be looking back gloriously on the 2002-6 seasons and reminiscing about how even though UND didn't win, at least a WCHA team won the title 5 straight years! Maybe we can even invite those teams back to Engelstad for a 25th anniversary celebration! If the Vikings are eliminated, do you immediately start cheering for the Bears, Lions, and Packers? When a fan of a team in the NFC East starts giving you crap about how terrible Tarvaris is, do you snap back with a remark about how the '85 Bears were arguably the most dominant team in modern NFL history? The Packers are the next closest team geographically, and aside from Vikings fans, I know more Packers fans than any other team in the NFL, so shouldn't I want to keep the Super Bowl title within the old NFC Central? I can understand rooting for another team once UND has been eliminated, but I just don't understand this attitude about how if a CCHA or Hockey East team loses to a WCHA team it somehow makes UND's loss seem "better". And I also don't understand all the hatred toward Melrose about East Coast bias. Have you listened to him call games in the past? He is in love with UND. He was gushing about VV, Duncan, and Malone the whole game. He was even waxing poetic about Genoway, for crying out loud! Face it, there is quality hockey outside the WCHA, and I think that makes UND's 7 national titles even more impressive. That's something we as fans should be proud of, not complaining about.

I'm going to take the blame for this one. The only other time I was able to watch the Sioux play this year was at the GLI. Evidently, ever since I left ND I only get to witness all-time rollovers. I guess it is sort of appropriate for the game to end the way it did, with Finley standing like a cone while the game-winner is being sniped behind him. He never was as bad as he was made out to be, but he wasn't as good as some made him out to be either, and today he played horribly. Eidsness wasn't terrible today, but he sure seemed to play his worst at the end of the year, which isn't the progression you want to see from your freshmen goalie. Let's hope he wasn't getting a headstart on pulling a Kangas. To be honest with you, this team exceeded my expectations, so for that, I can only say congratulations on the regular season crown. There were many great players who had their college careers ended in a fashion they didn't deserve today. Best of luck to you in whatever you do. The foundation is there for another great season next year. Let's hope it ends better than this one did. GO SIOUX!

Honestly, do you get some sort of bonus for having the most passes in a lacrosse game?