The Commodore

no goal ... game over When's the last time a team who failed to make the WCHA final five made it to the NCAA championship game? When's the last time that happened in any conference?

Regardless of whether or not Taffe and Potulny were/are jerks, shooting pucks into groups of fans with deliberate intention to injure is a criminal act. I was at the opening game and walked in when the doors opened. I didn't see anything like this. Keep in mind this game is also after the girl in Columbus was killed by an errant puck. If they had been doing that during warmups, someone would have seen it and there would have been hell to pay. Debate all you want about their personalities, but don't accuse them of intending to injure fans. Incidentally, I'm surprised if you believe they actually did this that you woudl only call them "p**cks" or "a$$holes," rather than criminals. And it's also strange that the first mention of these incidents comes 2 full seasons after the fact. Give me a break.

I have an incredibly hard time believing that any college hockey player would intentionally try to injure a fan by shooting a puck into the stands. It aggravates me that you'd make this accusation. If GP and JT were doing this, they'd be seen by hundreds of fans as well as officials, media, and building staff. There's no way it would have gone unmentioned. If anything, they may have been flipping pucks over the glass so kids could pick one up. What a bunch of BS.

Anyone else think it's funny that the name of the square in this picture is "Vanak?" I suppose it would be more humorous if that was the name of the dude strapped to the pole.

I don't follow. It seems like resurrecting a program is a better accomplishment and more worthy of the HB award than failing to live up to expectations, as you imply ZP did in your post.

I think the votes ARE already in, the "hat trick" is just done for publicity and interest. That being said, I still think Junior will get it-- the only category he trails ZP in is PPG, and then only by a tenth of a point. Oh, he also has one less assist than ZP. Sandelin certainly deserves all the praise he's received for turning the Bulldog's fortunes around, but you've got to place some credit on the players. Junior's the leader and has stuck around four years. I imagine that ZP lost some potential votes to Bo and also to the fact that most voters (assuming voting was completed before ZP left) believed he'd be around for another year... or a good portion of them, anyway. And as we've heard on this board numerous times in the past couple of days, compare the impact ZP and Junior have had on their respective teams during their tenure. UMD's gone from the cellar to the Frozen Four, while UMD has maintained a competitive program. They were good before ZP, they'll still be good next year. The wild card: UND defeats UMD 5 times in one season, handing the 'dogs half of their team losses. In those games, Junior had 3 goals and 2 assists, while ZP had 2 goals and 3 assists. Head-to-head, they're even. If the voting is not yet completed, Junior wins in a landslide. Dogs unseat the defending champs, blank Michigan State 5-0... ZP leaves the NCAA... no contest. Remember when the final three were Panzer, Gionta, and Miller? It seemed to me like everyone here and on uscho kept arguing how it would/should be either Panzer or Gionta and then Miller ended up winning it. Doubtful it would happen again especially considering that Denis plays for Brown... but there's the Eastern bias and crazier things have happened. To sum up: I wish ZP would win it, I hope he wins it, but I'd be less surprised if either of the other remaining candidates takes the HB award. It'll be Junior.

The Star Tribune, ever in search of hard-hitting news, reported in one of their blurbs on the Gopher-Notre Dame game that Lucia put a black sock on the neck brace. I guess he thought it looked better or something.

I've always liked "Tequila" when the band plays it at games. They used to play it all the time during the 1987 season so it reminds me of that. I haven't heard them play it in years, though.

I think it's likely that the FF will consist of Holy Cross Ohio State Colgate Miami Colgate will take it in a very poorly attended FF. JUST KIDDING. It seems like Wisconsin, Duluth, and Michigan could all likely be in Grand Rapids. I hate to pick against the WCHA here. It's not Yost, but Michigan is Michigan when it comes to tournament time. Casting better judgement into the wind, the fact that UMD and Wisco have played in a tougher league and have less to lose paves a difficult road for the Wolverines. I'm saying UMD here, though this seems like it may be the most competitive regional. In the West, I'd rather face Denver than Minnesota, and my guess is that of the WCHA teams to send East, Minnesota would be the most marketable as the 2X defending champs, so I'd say there's a greater chance of UM going East than stacking 3 WCHA teams in the West. So I say UND advances. BC will almost certainly come out of the Northeast if no WCHA team is sent here. The NCAA wants them in the FF. They won't be facing the same kind of obstacles other teams will in their regionals. The East is tough to call. I don't like Minnesota's chances against Maine, as Maine will have extra incentive to eliminate the gophers. Briggs is reeling and if Notre Dame ends up as MN's first round draw, there's a chance for an upset as ND has pulled off some big wins against the Michigans. Grumbling, I'm guessing Maine is still standing for the FF. So while UND/UMD and BC/Maine doesn't look very daring in terms of picks, I do believe that in the unlikely event that UMD pulls off a win against the Sioux, they'll beat BC or Maine. Half of UMD's losses this year came against UND. If they manage to end our season, they'll be so jacked up for the championsip.... plus the fact that BC and Maine will be breathing a sigh of relief to see the Sioux eliminated... that Duluth would take the enchilada. So that's as far of a risk as I'll take there. But I don't think that UMD has the depth or the defense to compete with the Sioux this year. Things look good for UND. Possible upset teams to get a win in the NCAAs: Notre Dame Wisconsin Michigan State As the rest of you have said, however, I think UND, UMD, BC, and Maine are a cut above the rest-- the distance between 1st and 2nd, 3rd, 4th seeds in these regionals are greater than they have been in recent years. I would much rather face UMD than Michigan in the FF, however... half because I'd like to see as many WCHA teams as possible in the FF and half because facing Michigan in the NCAAs sucks no matter which year it is. Additionally, if a miracle (or disaster, depending on your viewpoint) occurs and it does end up being Colgate, Holy Cross, Miami, and Ohio State... I had better get some props for my brilliant prognostication abilities.

I'm as much of a Sioux-homer as most people on this board, but if any state in the US is to be termed "the state of hockey," it's got to be Minnesota... and it doesn't stem from media coverage (newspapers are owned by national conglomerates anyway). It comes, primarily, from the strength of youth hockey in the state. Things grind to a halt while the MN state high school hockey tournament is going on. There's MN players on every team in the WCHA and on most NCAA and NHL teams in the country. Kids around here dream of one day playing in the high school hockey tournament more than winning the Stanley Cup (or at least just as often). Put the MN Wild in just about any other market in the country and you would not see sold out crowds every night (of course, a lot of that has to do with the Xcel center as well). MN is the home of the US hockey hall of fame and most people in the state know how the game works. To suggest that North Dakota is "the" state of hockey or at least that it deserves the title over Minnesota is totally absurd. Go 150 miles or more westward into the state and see how many people give a flying fart about the sport. From an NCAA perspective, Minnesota has five D1 hockey programs compared to one in ND. Like it or not, UND's best players this season hail from Minnesota. Deano himself grew up in Minnesota. The fact that they chose to play/coach for North Dakota only takes away from claims that UM is a superior hockey school-- but there's no denying that the term "state of hockey" would belong to Minnesota over just about any other state in the country and certainly over ND. It's a breeding ground for hockey talent and has been for decades. As for the "most storied program" argument, what's the basis for this title? National Championships? Program longetivity? All-time winning percentage? Seems like neither UND or UM can lay claim to the title under any of those criteria. I do know that at one point (late '80s or something) UND had sent more players to the NHL than any other school, that may now have changed. One could make the claim that the WCHA is the most storied league in college hockey based on cumulative national championships, non-conference record, and longetivity... but that's about as far as one can take most of these arguments. Tossing around claims to greatness only serves to reveal the speaker's inherent insecurity. Let UND's performance on the ice speak for itself.

Is there a "Tech crowd"?

Anyone else get sick of the jumbotron technique where the camera shows a fan of one team (UND for example), and waits for the ND fans to cheer, then shows a UM fan and waits for their fans to cheer, then alternates between the two over and over? It's fun during the first game of the weekend, but after 6 years of the same "I cheer, you cheer" game at every single break, it has started to irritate me. I should lighten up but you'd think they could come up with some more creative ways of entertaining the crowd during breaks. I also just had a random thought-- remember "Thunder the bleacher creature?" What a lame concept that was. I can't even refer to it as a mascot since most people disliked it.

111 row 20 or thereabouts.

My dream for this year is to see 4 WCHA teams in the frozen four in Boston. The NCAA will never allow for that possibility and is more likely to group 3 WCHA teams in one regional along with Bemidji State before they'd send one to the Northeastern division. But how great would it be to have UND, UM, UMD, and UW in the Frozen Four??? Let Boston have the Beanpot.

Right. My point exactly. Don't waste everyone's time being stupid. As I said before, I want to make sure everyone knows that the aforementioned activities are stupid and illegal. Of course, there is a good possibility this would all be irrelevant... once Denver eliminates UM in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. I'm just trying to head these problems off at the pass.

I had a little epiphany today... I had to find an E-mail address for a U of M student so I was using the UM directory on their website. While most colleges keep this information private, I was surprised to find that I only had to enter the first and last name of a current student and was rewarded with an E-mail address, home address, and phone number. I came to the startling realization that anyone who wants Vanek, Ballard, or Potulny's home address and telephone number has only to go to www.umn.edu, click on "people search," and start entering names. Please don't use this information to harass these players the night before a big game, and ESPECIALLY not before UND and UM play at the Final Five. Concerted all-night calling efforts and driving through neighborhoods with bullhorns can be illegal and we don't want anyone breaking the law. Piling dead gophers at anyone's doorstep can be a violation of harassment laws. I just wanted to share this information to make sure no one was using it for unsportsmanlike purposes.

I actually have a friend who knows Gregg Wong well and I ran into him at her house one time. One of the main reasons he retired was because of the Pioneer Press' administrative problems and also that it was a constant battle to get them to devote significant space to college hockey on the sports page. He felt that the number of college hockey fans in the cities justified more in-depth coverage of more teams than just the Gophers. He's a cool guy, just based on the 20 minutes I talked to him. Bruce Brothers gets his reports off of INCH. He'll devote his weekly column to women's hockey occasionally instead of the men's league... nothing against women's hockey but it seems like they were the only people he could get on the phone. His column sucks.

I love Sioux hockey because I grew up near Grand Forks and my dad (a UND alum) brought me to numerous UND hockey games from when I was 4 until I graduated from high school and left for college. He's a season ticket holder now and I get back for as many games in the REA as I can each year (usually about 4), go to the final five tournament every year, and try to see the Sioux in a new road arena each year (I started this in college and I'm getting down to the wire where I'm going to have to truck up to UAA). So, though I never attended UND and have lived in MN for over 10 years, I guess I'm such a fanatic because Sioux hockey is inextricably linked in my mind to my relationship with my dad. And I love the sport as a whole.

A guy I work with who happens to be a UM season ticket holder just stopped by and handed me two tickets to Saturday's game! Didn't want money for them or anything, just thought I'd enjoy the game seeing as how I'm such a huge Sioux fan. Granted, I've never had a problem with Gopher fans in general, so my topic title isn't really accurate, but I figured a selfless gesture like this shouldn't go unmentioned. There'll be two more green jerseys in the stands on Saturday night and two less cheering for the Gophers! WOO-HOO! Go Sioux! If only ALL season ticket holders at Mariucci could be so generous, we'd have a green majority in the stands.

Incidentally, who gives a rip if Gopher fans consider UND to be their biggest rival? All that gripe says to me when UND fans complain about it is that they need some kind of vallidation. Even when UND is having a sub-par year, there's not a team in the league looking forward to playing the Sioux, home or away... except out of a desire to see some quality competition. If they don't consider the team in the WCHA with the most championships, best arena, and most players who have moved on to the NHL to be their top rival, it's because they don't regard themselves to be in UND's class. Year in and year out, UND boasts THE top program in the WCHA and arguably in all of college hockey. Who needs a rival when every single team is gunning for you, looking for bragging rights? It makes sense for UM to consider UW their biggest rival, and I have heard that comment from many Gopher fans. Madison is closer, the schools have more athletic history in other sports, etc. It doesn't mean that Gopher fans consider UW to be a more worthy opponent or a better-run team than UND, just that they hate them more. Let them be satisfied with beating Wisconsin. In the meantime, we'll take the McNaughton cup and sneak off to the Frozen Four.

Not that it changes the sentiment of whomever posted this comment, but German franks have never existed-- their currency used to be Marks and now uses the Euro.

Michigan is the only school to hold more NCAA championships than UND... for that reason alone, I'd prefer anyone to win it before them. Anyone.

I've watched a lot of games by both UND and UM this year and my analysis of the situation is that next week's series will come down to depth and conditioning, as long as special teams doesn't kill UND. The reason BU was able to hang in there with UM for an entire weekend hinged on depth and conditioning. There were 3 minute stretches of the second half of the game where UM was struggling to find their legs and BU, a fast/scrappy but decidedly less talented team, was able to put some shots on net and maintain pressure in the offensive zone. I couldn't tell if the Gophers found ways to cope with these problems in the CC-UM series or if CC just didn't expose this weakness as well as BU did. Probably it was a little of both. As good as things have been this year for UND, the most remarkable difference I see between this year's team and last year's team is an incredible increase in team endurance and the ability to maintain a game-pace and intensity for 60 minutes that makes it difficult for teams to keep up. Despite all the hype about UND being a 1-line team, they've shown that all four lines can put points on the board. Jason Herter was interviewed recently during a visit to Grand Forks and he was amazed at how intensely the team trains after on-ice workouts. He said this was one of the most well-conditioned college teams he's ever seen. Prediction: UND puts 25-30% more shots on goal than UM in both games, but power play goals by UM and the lack of PP goals by UND balances the scale. Towards the end of both games (especially on Saturday), the Gophers legs are going to turn to jelly and we'll win the races to loose pucks and be able to generate offensive pressure and odd-man rushes. Provided Briggs doesn't *completely* stand on his head, UND is going to come away with at least 3 points. That's all probably better said in the UM-UND series thread, but it fits here in that we're only interested in whether or not Sonmor's comments are fact or fiction in relation to how the Gophers are going to stack up to UND. In my opinion, UND is a deeper team and a more well-conditioned team. UM is making their second-half run. They're a better team than UND saw earlier in the year, but so is UND... a fact that no one seems to mention. I'm glad that UM has rebounded a bit, actually, just because as much as I dislike the gophers, I dislike the Eastern conferences (meaning, East of us... so all of them) more. Few things would please me more than seeing 7 or 8 WCHA teams in the NCAA field. A sweep of the Gophers on the 23rd and 24th is one of them.

Someone in GF needs to call the Moon and track down this video.

One of my first experiences watching Sioux hockey in person was this very UND-Wisconsin game (unless badgers were thrown on the ice on more than one occasion). I was 6 or 7 years old and in the same game, a badger was pitched over my head onto the ice (and the fan removed by security), an older man was absolutely creamed in the head with a stray puck in the first period about 7 or 8 rows above me and CAME BACK TO HIS SEAT for the third with a huge bandage, a massive fight broke out... oh yeah, and the Sioux rallied to win in the last 3 minutes of the game, followed by everyone throwing their plastic cups onto the ice. It was one of the most glorious experiences of my childhood. Remember in '87 how the fans would throw their cups on the ice after every win? There were hundreds and hundreds of those things on the ice. I also miss the taunting cheer when an opposing player was sent to the penalty box. Everyone would make these alligator chomping motions with their extended arms as the trombone and tuba section played the Jaws theme. Not sure what the reference was... maybe that UND was about to go on a feeding frenzy or something... but it was fun to do as a kid.