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CC stealing points from a good UNO team has me a little concerned. Strong starts are a must - don't let them believe they can pull off an upset!

They sure can't be too bad.... We split with UMD and won/tied with UNO. And I think we're pretty damn good.

What I was most disappointed with on Saturday was that there were about 14 fans in the building (excuse my hyperbole) when the seniors and their parents were announced. Everyone was still getting their last beers and chicken strips. It really was embarrassing. Not sure what one can do about it in the future, but it really was too bad - especially for what this group of kids has dealt with over the past few years. They, IMO, deserved a little better send-off than what they received. (no... I don't have a kid on the team)

I think they look at the stats, realize they haven't gotten s**t for offensive yards with the "pound it up the gut" offense, and decide to open up the playbook a little more. Maybe some adjustments here and there, but IMO, the play calling takes on a different look entirely once we are at crunch time. As others have mentioned, I'd like to see that a little earlier in the next game.

....and a defensive touchdown.....

Keeping it within 20 would be nice to see...

Frozen Four - against your biggest rival - GWG with one second left - shorthanded. It's the best way to win a game, and the worst way to lose a game. Heartbreaker. Thanks for another good run, boys.

Holy crap - I had completely forgot about this cheer! Thanks for the refresher!!

Back in the fall of '86, my family moved to Grand Forks. As a young teenager in a new school, I had trouble fitting in and pretty much hated everything that was Grand Forks, ND. That was until my dad scored a couple tickets from his co-worker and we went to a UND hockey game just before Christmas - my first ever. I can't remember who we played, but we won. Handily. The band had a drummer and guitar player that were going crazy. The crowd was absolutely nuts. The unified chants from the student section were something I had NEVER seen or heard before in my life. I was hooked immediately. We went to a few more games that season, and I'm still pissed that I couldn't get my dad to buy me one of those authentic Hrkac jerseys that they were selling in the concourse. Sure wish I had one now! Fast forward to '91. I was now one of the student section. Most of you know the drill: Party before the game Continue the party all the way to the attendance line (although in the early 90s, there wasn't much for lines - you could pretty much get in at any time) Stash your booze before walking in Get your student ID out and give to the door guy. If you didn't have a student ID, have a buddy circle around after he got in and you could use his. It was a MUCH simpler time. Secure seats just to the right of the penalty box. (lots of great interaction with penalized players - some players were really cool and fun. Others were definitely not.) Go to the concession area and get a large coke. Dump half of your coke in the water fountain and return to seat to mix your drink. (later on we wised up and ordered half-cokes. The concession folks happily obliged) Yell like crazy - cheer on the Sioux. Post-game party. In '96, my (at that time) boss got season tickets. He was a super cool guy, and invited me to A TON of the games over the next few years. Basically, it was like having season tickets on my own. This was the time when I discovered the fun of the "away games" and the "final five". Throw in a couple of Natty's in '97 and 2000, and my conversion to fanatical UND hockey fan was complete. Some simply awesome game memories during this period - too many to list. Great years to be a UND hockey fan - the ralph was always rockin. (I should add that I got a chance somewhere in these years to do the center ice shot. You basically shoot the puck at a board covering the net which has a slot at the bottom just big enough for a puck to fit in. Didn't matter. I missed the whole effin' net.) '01: The "New Ralph" opens - my wallet is a few bucks lighter, and I'm in the 5th row. Now my kids like to bring friends to the game. Pretty soon, the kids and their friends will be going to the game while I sit at home. But after that, it will be the wife and I watching Sioux hockey once again. I can't wait. So when did I get hooked? Game #1. December of '86. It was the Hrkac Circus. I didn't have a chance.

Biblical passages on Siouxsports.com....... it must be the playoffs!

Our PP DOES suck. Much. Very frustrating to watch at times. Now that said - I would've lost a bundle of cash in November if you would have bet me that we'd see this squad in the Frozen Four. I'll agree with those that said this is probably Hak's best coaching effort to date. I'd love to see two more wins, but probably won't bet the farm on that either. Hopefully the men in green will continue to throw my skepticism back in my face. I'm starting to really enjoy it. Good job coaches, and good job team. Best of luck in Philly.

Trupper - on my favorite Sioux players list since his goal in OT against the rodents back in '08(?)... there's a guy who always played with lots of heart. I predict Sioux win in two against Ron Jeremy and his Tigers.

MM makes a good point, but I think even he will agree that the '97 team was a team that nobody saw coming. Kind of a perfect storm of talent and timing. FWIW, I loved the chances of the '07 team. Seriously - they were good enough that I hauled the wife and little kids all the way to St. Louis to watch them win number 8. In the end, we got no championship, and a long drive home with a Hobey consolation prize. As others said, you just don't snub a blue chip player - so I think it's unreasonable to try to make a team out of 4 year committed players. That's just not UND hockey right now, and I guess I'm not sure if we want it to be. Just the same, I think it takes a good mix of both types of players to get it done. 2011 was another year where we had the team to do it - a virtual lock. But a good Michigan defensive game plan doused those flames too. So is a good coaching scheme the missing link? I'm not calling for Hak's head, but we just can't seem to get over the hump even with great squads on the ice. That's frustrating sometimes. In the end, I have no answers. I just want another banner. A green one.

I'd throw the "Southgate" in the mix too - always had fun watching away games there.

$100 for my 4 seats. Section 107 Row E Pick up tickets in GF between 8am & 5pm tomorrow. Text 218-779-8696

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w4miGEYK60

Does Bollinger fit the "deep ties" statement? Would think no, but he has ties nonetheless....

Yep. Joel has issues because he's not at the top of Hak's important people list. BFD.

Fair enough. But I didn't see it, actually. I was still in facepalm mode.

So we should dump it even when we are on a 5 on 3 power play like Friday night?

I was thinking this too - Shay was fun to watch. Definitely not a "say nothing/ quietly supporting" assistant. I like that!

I think the total attendance and average attendance are misleading. They actually paint a much brighter picture than what really is happening. A much more telling stat is the actual attendance per game - and the fact that it dropped at an alarming rate as we progressively urinated the season down our legs. From undsports.com: Valpo 9269 (of note: we win, and next home game's attendance goes up) SDSU 10038 (of note: we lose, and next home game's attendance goes down) Montana 9726 Mont. St. 8899 E. Wash 7951 Sac St. 6634 N. CO 5984 Yes - winning, IMO, is directly proportional to attendance.

To those that question whether attendance is based on winning and losing - I skipped the last home game because I wasn't enjoying UND football games at that point of the season. I went to every other home game this year but sat the last one out. I blow quite a bit of cash every year to go to these games for the sole purpose of having fun. When it isn't fun to attend, I sure as hell don't feel guilty about finding something better to do on any given Saturday. Do we have to be perfect? - of course not. I've watched more than my share of losses while cheering on UND football. But I, along with PLENTY of others, got sick of watching the train-wreck that is the 2013 football season.

I drank about that much this season. And I still, unfortunately, remember some of the games.

UND plays this weekend?