NorthDakotaHockey

Great shots Johnny!! Thanks a million for posting. We have long appreciated great hockey action photos and these are indeed great hockey action photos. Get yourself a pass in the photo well next year and shoot with the big boys and girls. Go as official Siouxsports.com photographer. If some guys I know can get press credentials, you can, and should, too!

From a group who was there half hour before each session, and stayed from opening drop to final whistle of all four games (with probably no more than 500-600 others tops), we thought that the NCHC and the Target Center did one heck of a job. We arrived early for the Fan Fest on the Target Plaza. Great tent with some NCHC exhibits and history. Good outdoor hockey games and activities for kids and adults alike. Reasonably priced draft beer at I think $3.00 each. Live music. National Guard booth. Other vendors. Sun was shining but cold. Sucks for them that the weather was a bit chilly but hey, after this winter, it felt like 50 degrees plus. In fairness, with kids and not having alcohol or titty bars as our top priorities, maybe we found the Fan Fest to be more inviting and comfortable than most. Inside, the display with the NCHC trophies was great. Some very impressive hardware. Entry first day and second was a breeze. Target Center has that goofy single entrance deal which could have been a problem had there been 15,000 instead of 7,000. Coming back from a between game snack (and drink) for the Championship Game found some dickweed security guy being difficult on the pat down. Luck of the draw. They were just doing their job. No contraband, no problem. As for the complaints about upper/lower bowl and the ticket nazis, the difference in ticket prices was substantial. You buy cheap, you sit cheap. I've no problem with that. Made for some room for us legitimately in the lower bowl to move away from the glass and stretch our legs. Sure, Target Center is dated. It is old school after thirty years or so. Folks might say the same things about The Ralph twenty years from now. I'll be in my grave. The Target Center was built for basketball. Still, It has a history of some fine hockey having been played there. Interesting how they raise the entire floor up five feet for hockey. That it does not have tempered glass boards sucks, but it gives a nice old school feel. And plexiglass is much more forgiving for the players. The concession prices were fair, at least for arena food. The souvenir stands were sufficient in number, although they ran out of a few items. The lines were manageable. The latrines were sufficient. Of course, all of this comes with a somewhat skinny crowd. Three bands were present and fun. Guess which school did not have one. Todd Anderson and crew called fair and tight games. The old boards and glass made for some interesting and entertaining bounces and caroms. The ice may have sucked but everyone had to skate on the same sheets. The building was chilly. The Zamboni drivers need to leave less water. They'll get these things figured out. The banter and games during timeouts and period breaks was everything that one always get. Lame at times, but good parts of the crowd were always into it. Free t-shirts. Plenty of pucks into the crowd gives rise to one of my bigger peeves. Hey all you strapping guys diving over three rows of seats to get a piece of vulcanized rubber . . . . GIVE IT TO THE KID. Cripes almighty. The games were what they were. They were on time and there were no equipment failures to delay anything. The power did not go out. The exit between games was a nice touch, and easily handled. Downtown Minneapolis is what it is. Pretty damned safe for a big city downtown. The riff raff is not going to mess with you if you do not mess with them. Safe walks. Good transportation. Plenty of bars and restaurants. We deliberately went off line a few blocks and found a good place where tables and service were plentiful. Why stand ten deep in the Pourhouse? I'll see my fellow fans in the are Perhaps the best part of the tournament was when the "Let's Go Sioux" chant broke out in a tense championship game after Wisconsin finished off Ohio State in OT. By then, of course, many of the ND fans who came for hockey had long left even though there was hockey still being played. That is your choice, of course, but I was long taught and always remember to be in the seat for the Anthem and stay until the final horn. One misses too many interesting things on and off the ice otherwise. The all-tourney team should and could have included a ND player or more than one Miami player. Would have been nice if everyone was in the concourse by the time PU grabbed its trophy. Section 106 had plenty of "entertainment" with some boneheads getting in pushing and shoving matches, especially after the Friday game. Alcohol is a good thing except in the hands of grasshoppers who cannot handle their alcohol. Plenty of those grasshoppers in attendance. Of course, the highlight outside the arena was the Hoggsbreath Brunch. Good seeing a solid raft of fine folks there. Thank God this tournament is signed for five years at Target Center. Nothing wrong with the experience. It just needs to go through some growing pains and establish a bit of the pedigree. The NCHC will be fine. It is already the premier college hockey conference in the country and it will produce the 2014 National Champion in Philadelphia. This is all.

I have a NDH SS.com hat to donate for the drawings.

Yes. Let's see some Hogger apparel MafiaMan!! There is nothing to see here folks. Move along. Catch the news on the new stuff in person. At the Hoggsbreath. Saturday. 11 AM.

Seven to eight TOTAL for me, including NDH. I know Tom is shy. Just giving him a hard time.

You'll likely be able to get them on the street for a song. Street buyers beware. Single ticket for both games each day. Target Center allows folks to leave and re-enter between games. I suspect that that might involve a scan out/scan in procedure. There could be some trouble on re-entry. Perhaps. They sure as heck are not going to allow an unchecked re-entry.

Good thing that you make the big cake there gfhockey. Those dancers are gonna eat grasshoppers like you alive. Make sure you save enough money to buy yourself some cotton candy inside the arena.

MafiaMan. NDH and his posse should be solid for seven, maybe eight. 11 AM Saturday. Tell Tom to work the tables. If not in thanks, then taking orders. As always, thanks for your leg work on this and on other things. We oughta give you a Certificate of Appreciation or something like that, eh? Tim.

Same here. No problem at all. I thought several times, great picture, no freeze. Of course, I watched on my desktop and do not bother trying to patch my computer into my television. Full screen desktop was all I needed. Of course, with no friends, I did not need a big crowd to gather round. One gets what one pays for. I was lucky to feel like I got a whole lot of something for free last night. Except the victory. That cost me some finger nails.

Still more proof that I might indeed not make it out of the fourth grade . . . . This said, watch for the Saint Clown Rebound!! I need them to do well so I can watch North Dakota dismantle the Goofers in the West.

Interesting stuff Dave. Always appreciate your previews and history. I don't say this often enough. You are a refreshing breath of air on threads that often get clogged with too many fourth graders playing on the internet when they should be studying the games and remarking on your analysis. Of course, this remark does not apply to the great percentage of posters who do weigh in with reasoned remarks. Now, I must get back to class so I can hopefully move on to the fifth grade next year myself. Let's drop the puck and see what happens!

Geez. I hate to see so many empty seats. Except in the home arena of the main campus university in the so-called State of Hockey. UNO 6 DU 2 Another thought.

The Gophers can't even sell out The John on a Friday night when they are playing rivals like the Badgers or the Wolverines in a Big Ten tilt. What makes you think that they'd sell out a Friday afternoon game at a much larger venue? Or are all those empty seats I see on television just my imagination? Or chairs for late arriving or of early departing fans?

CLS. It's called a joke. The whole thing. It's all one joke. They all sound the same.

The Capital Grille is pricey. Was mainly putting it out there for the high rollers. You know, gfhockey and his breed. First Avenue, the legendary rock n' roll club, also now has a bar and grill adjacent to the main room. Frankly, there are restaurants and bars most everywhere and they all pretty much suck. Just because it is Minneapolis, and not St. Paul. For those of you without the lady friends, and who are searching for a soul-searching experience, don't forget to experience the exotic dancers in Augie's. 5th and Hennepin. They'll scare you silly and back to the right side of the thin white line.

The Capital Grille is the cock of the walk. Eighth and Hennepin. O'Donavan's is an Irish joint right across the street. Big. Good chow. McKenzie's is a fine hole in the wall on Hennepin and Ninth. Right next to the Orpheum Theater. The Loon on 5th and 1st Avenue North has great chili and other things. Of course, not far away is the holy trio of Murray's Steakhouse, Lyon's Pub, and Ike's. Go to Ike's for morning brunch. Best yet, of course, go to St. Paul and the Hoggsbreath for brunch there . . . . These are just a few of your options, but probably some of your best options.

The Clown is going to kill the Redhawks. Not even going to be close. Besides, who can respect a team that didn't have the gonads to stand up to the NCAA and keep their Indian nickname come hell or high water? Let's just hope that The Clown does not prove to be the feared NCHC's only entry in The Dance. Time for the boys to take their nuts out of the jar on the shelf and screw them on tight for a run to Philly and The Crown.

Wow. Overtime in the Pig Ten on the BTN. Followed by that fierce rivalry between PSU and Minnesota. Snooze City. Meanwhile, at the National Hockey Center, two teams are getting ready to tee it up for a run at the Penrose Cup. Before a packed house. I said it then and I'll say it again now. Those who claimed and cried that St. Clown did not belong in the NCHC were fools then, and still remain fools if they still adhere to this belief. St. Cloud is the premier program, right now, in the so-called State of Hockey. Let's play hockey. NCHC style.

Damned straight Goon. These boys have as good of a chance as any squad out there to grab the Big Banner in April.

Section 110, Row G. $150 total. Must pick up in GF near Valley 4000. SOLD

My calculations show that North Dakota is either going to make the tournament or not. It all depends on how they play between now and then. The best route? Earn home ice. Win first round. Take two at the Target Center before a very partisan crowd. In.

Yes, MafiaMan. 'Tis funny. And probably true. Handshakes after the first game of the series? Really?

Perhaps not. Perhaps. Pig Ten hockey is, however, painful to watch, especially on television. Dolts for color. Dolts for play-by-play. Dolts in the studio. Besides, who in the hell is arrogant enough to think that college hockey games oughta be played on a Thursday night? And sappy enough to make their players shake hands after every game? Cripes.

Single seat ticket for tonight. Section 110, Row G. $20.23. Must pick up near Valley 4000. Call 612.201.3239.

SINGLE SEAT LEFT. $20. Pick up in Grand Forks. Section 110, Row G. Looking across to benches. End that ND defends twice. Call 612.201.3239.