NorthDakotaHockey

Nothing against JPar or Lammy, but we would prefer to see Jake get the start on Senior Night, stand on his head, and take every game from here on in. He's got the experience, and the mettle, to pick this team up and lead them to the Ex, lead them to a win Thursday and Friday night at the Ex, and get them into the NCAA's. From there, let him play it out. Storybook ending. Why not? Every Cinderfella needs a story line. Where else is one gonna come from?

Cripes almighty all you naysayers . . . . . If the season is over, can you spare us your knashing of teeth and cries for Hak's, and apparently Bina's heads, here? This is the WCHA. Finest league in the land. Top to bottom. Seawolves are no slouches. What ever happened to being content with a split on the road. Big, Big, BIG series next weekend. Be there, or be square.

Wow. The box of the MTU-NMU game from Thursday night, a 3-3 overtime tie, shows that there were nearly 50 penalties for almost 200 minutes whistled. The teams play again in Houghton tonight.

Don't mind saying that I have always found the NHL to be boring. That game, and league, has problems far beyond the labor issues. Geez, can I watch some more clutching and grabbing, and a goalie wearing pads that are more fitting for the Singing Fat Lady, to another 2-1 finish . . . . And pay $100+ for the so-called privilege of doing so? Maybe the players will actually play with some fire in their bellies all the time for this so-called "season," what with the short stretch run to the Lord Stanley. That might be hard to do as over half of them are probably in some donut shop watching ESPN reporting the resolution right now. Once the Frozen Four has been settled, hockey is pretty much done for us. The NHL can go implode themselves. A reincarnation, featuring more college kids and less prima donnas, would be much preferred from this camp. Geez, maybe they could bring ticket prices down to a degree of reason as well. Besides, this probably means that Bettman and Goodenow will be hailed as some kind of saviors. What a joke. Cancel. No cancel. Integrity. No integrity. Game-o history.

Gopherssssssssssssuck are off this weekend. Exhibition against the youngsters on tap.

Yes.

Some reasonably solid SeaWolves announcers, I'd say. Color guy sounds like an old time hockey guy from somewhere north of the border. Sure beats listening to some league announcers. Too bad Hennessey is rarely up on the waves.

Atta boys. Atta boy DamStrait. Way to bring the karma. Member, Gopherssssssssuck were up 5-3 at this stage last week. It ain't over . . . .

Gopher goal waived off. Bochenski scores!! Tied at 2-2, halfway through. Brandt in the nets.

That Final Five game between the Sioux and Gophers that is on Fox right now was probably the best college game of the entire season last year, bar none. That game was a great game. Bochenski scores. Game tied 2-2. Little did we know then what we know now. A great great college hockey game it was.

As I recall, there was an article on this in the not too distant past in either Sioux Illustrated or the Alumni mag. Long and short of it, the article stated that North Dakota had the interlocking "ND" first, neither side has exclusive rights to it, Notre Dame grads are, by and large, a bunch of worthless louts, and the Gophers' "M" remains about the lamest letter logo of them all.

Is the Pope Jewish? I, for one, would never cheer for the Gophers, under any circumstances. Tried that once as a young man and now I've got a 500,000 year Purgatory sentence to show for it. It's preordained that the Sioux will be rocking The John on March 25, and again on March 27. It'll be doubly special if we get the Reelin' Rodents in either of the two games.

It's a safety thing. Ever since Drew Pearson of the Cowboys got hit with a whiskey bottle at the old Met in the mid-70's, things just ain't been the same in the big sporting arenas.

Fun game to watch. Bo and Zach sure did look great out there together. Their warm-up jerseys, being auctioned for charity, are also hot ticket items. Who are the high rollers? Find them here. The jerseys, that is.

I don't know much other than the fact that I don't know much. This said, I do believe that this is an NCAA "governor" on a new program, not part of any business plan. Can't have the new kids growing too fast, too quickly, and beating up on the old sisters. NDSWho is facing the same "step increases" as it moves to DI, albeit miserably so. I am sure that the Sioux would ramp up the womens' scholarship offers now, but for the NCAA and its idiosyncratic and oftentimes archane rules. Sioux will be a womens' powerhouse as soon as they are allowed to do so. Rivard, and The Ralph, not to mention the great education, will be sure to draw recruits from the top shelf.

Yet another NCAA rule that seems to make little or no sense other than to keep the proletariat in check for as long as possible before the womens' team rises up and dominates the world of NCAA Division I womens' ice hockey.

I couldn't be so lucky as to have someone run over my dog right about now. And I ain't got much money, what with my ex with most of it. As for wearing that brown-and-yellow stained abomination that some call a Gopher hockey jersey, make sure you dribble a whole lot of beer and sauce down the front of it at the game. As for Denver, sure they are playing well. It scares me, the thought of George the Goliath Gwodnobnoxiousozky leading Denver to a back-to-back. The big heads on those present prima donnas will end up haunting them in the end. I'd take some of your money MafiaMan, but I can't gamble anymore. For money, at least. Care to wager anything else??

We were gonna go to that game, but didn't maybe tomorrow. Could be a near historic win, but I do not think that the Gopher women are as prone to choking on the big one as are their men. Went last year. That one was something like 10-0. We told the girls heading down the runway to remember the feeling of getting whipped bad, and to remember to return the favor next year. Well, maybe next year will have to wait until tomorrow. Rivard is a sharp coach, and maybe the next AD as well. Girls High School Hockey is getting better all of the time. Just like the boys and young men, the top- tiered young women, or at least many of them, will be licking their chops to play for North Dakota. It won't be long before they are competing for the top echelon of the WCHA. Gophers have gotten many of their blue-chippers over the years just because there were few other programs around at the time. Won't be long. In the meantime, we'll have to settle for Anchorage laying another hurt on the Golden Chokers tonight.

I'd take some of your money there MafiaMan, that is, if I were still a betting man and if you could afford to drop some of it while popping off your mouth. Go shelter and feed the wife and kids, and sit back and enjoy the late season/post season run my friend. No reason to stay home and watch the NCAA's on TV on the off chance that we don't make it. We've got a fistful of West Regionals and will be there with the Sioux, hell or high water.

This site really is the cock of the walk when it comes to team game board sites. Not a competitor in sight. Thanks to those making the commitment to keep it up. As for Pride on Ice, there were a few fine folks over there. Most were typical Gopher fans. Slow. Dense. Arrogant. Condescending. Ranging in age from eight to eighty. I could really care less that their site is toast. Surely someone will resurrect it if anyone really thinks that it was worth the bytes on which it once existed. RIP POI. Bye-bye.

I have said it all season long. This league is strong, top to bottom. Many just refuse to believe that. There really are no surprises. The top teams are not all that dominating, like the Sioux were last year, and the bottom teams are not all that weak, like Tech was last year. Do you think that it is time now that we can all stop hailing the Gophers? They really are nothing. Why else would they shut down Pride on Lice in the middle of a stretch run. Those guys aren't stupid, or committed for that matter. If the Gophers, CC, and Denver all garner No. 1 seeds, and judging from history this season, I think that it is time for the wagon jumpers to start climbing back on board for the stretch run. Who wouldn't want to play the Gophers in The John. They are stinking that hole up!

If it is true, as some have often said, that the true measure of a man's life is the quality of those that he leaves behind, then judging by Coach Dave, his daddy was a fine, fine and good man of solid stock and sound judgment. Our condolences to the Hakstol family. We are sure that there is a rousing game of hockey going on right now somewhere in Heaven, and that old man Hakstol is right in the middle of it. Skate in Peace.

I wanna see the Sioux in Mariucci. It will be our easiest road to the Frozen Four. Cry and complain and say it ain't so if you wish. We know the Gophers, we match up well with the Gophers, the Gophers can be had, we know the arena and the ice, and we would have a whole raft of fans there. Sioux to the West. I've been saying it all year, and I remain supremely confident that that is where we will be. Call it part of the conspiracy against the WCHA if you must.