NorthDakotaHockey

Ditto. It is a great building, that was filled with a rabid crowd, that was cheering with fervor, and passion, for teams who are clearly the best in the country right now, who played a yeoman's game. Blais showed his brass with the 6X4. Even the Gopher fans we were near with giving him kudos for that. Parise is one hellofa hockey player, and an even better kids. Of course, you can say that about all the players who were suited up last night, except for maybe that Gopher hack, Jake Taylor. A couple of mental lapses by both squads. I would love to see a rematch this year. I'll go with our Sioux nine times out of ten with the present rosters. Ok, maybe only four times out of five. Time to Spring to Boston.

It'll be a memorable night . . . . Sioux have the motivation, the rest, and the crowd. Not to mention the goaltending. 6-2. At least. Can't wait to see all of the long faces dressed in the brown and yellow. Took a bs parking tag from a St. Paul patrol this afternoon. Commercial spot on a Saturday. Obstructed plates because of my Fighting Sioux plate cover. I'm fighting it baby. Get that officer there, and have him admit that the only reason he wrote it is because he is a Gopher fan who suffered, however momentarily, from a lapse of good judgement and sound reason, and a small case of penile envy. Go Sioux.

It's funny how the knees of Gopher fans always seem to start knocking at the mention of Michigan. First, in ain't in Yost this year. Second, why not beat the good teams on the way in? They're bound to pop up on the screen regardless. You oughta be thrilled with the No. 1 slot, if you get it. Third, the Gophers have had some recent success with them. Fourth, Michigan really isn't much of anything this year. The Gophers should be thrilled that they MAY be going to Michigan to get through Michigan. The Sioux will likely go to Colorado, and have to get through a tough and readied WCHA power, not a CCHA wannabe. I think that the Gophers will have to beat UMD again to get to Boston. Here's saying the Dogs will be healthy, and hungry, by then and send the POI Boarders hawking Frozen Four ducats at bargain pricing.

I suppose that it is improvident for the NCAA to name two Sioux in the group of three finalists. The East needs their boy. Saviano will be he. The storyline need its boy. Lessard will be he. The best player in hockey needs its boy. Parise is he. My daughter wears a Bochenski for Hobey hat, and in most years, he would be deserving. Unfortunately, most years do not have a Zach Parise. After seeing the way Parise scored that goal against UAA today (we had the pleasure of being just off the glass in that end), there is no doubt left in my mind. Or in the minds of many. The effort even left a crowd of overweight Gopher fans near the Sioux bench shaking their heads. To boot, Zach was roaming the upper decks of the X tonight alone, and with some team mates. I stopped him briefly to thank him for the blast the my family and I have had following Sioux hockey this year. He was more than gracious. Then, some boorish fat slob Gopher fan, a friend of mind, cuts in on our conversation. The fat guy didn't have a clue who Parise was because that is the way of many Gopher fans. Started giving Parise flak about how he knows me. Hilarious. Put an Old Milwaukee in the hands of many Gopher fans, and they think they know their game. Zach is a class act. He later saw me slicing the throats, in reasoned debate, of three other Gopher fans in gravy-stained jerseys that were too small for their frame. Granted, these guys were little challenge. Parise just looked at me and smiled. Had I been in a situation that I could not have handled (not ever to happen when debating Gopher grasshoppers), he would have jumped in and given me all the help that I needed, in a courteous and friendly, yet firm, way. These are the signs of a great hockey player. Work every shift. Great scorer. Great playmaker. Great leader. On and off the ice. Fan favorite. That is what they are looking for in Hobey Baker. Zach will get the Hobey. Hands down. Anyone else will be a downright shame, no dis intended to Bo, who is a heck of a goal scorer, and who, some say, used to do a pretty good job with the Hamiltons as well. Tomorrow night will be a war. It will probably be the best college hockey game for the remainder of the year, factoring in crowd, intensity, and disdain. I pretty much figured it out tonight. I hate the Gophers. Granted, they are largely non-factors. That said, I still hate the Gophers.

As Johnny Prine once said, if CC did not have bad luck, it'd have no luck at all. We were there, and in the minority pulling for CC. Sioux-Tigers would have made for a better game. We had a score to even with CC. CC needed a run to host their own regional, and it would have been sweet to tune for the Frozen Four by beating CC in its own building. Now, they are SOL. Thankfully, the loss does clear the way for a trip to Colorado Springs. We have had our tickets since October. I said it then, and I'll say it again. See you all in Colorado Springs. The Sioux are the best travelling fans in near all of sport.

Course, no changing the fact that he is a dyed-in-the-wool Gopher fan. Automatic 600,000 years in Purgatory for that infraction.

I'll vouch for WPoS as well. He turns a mighty good corn liquor still down by the railroad tracks before Gopher home games, so I've heard. Of course, they do have plenty of corn to distill in Minnesota. As I said long ago, in Minnesota, they grow corn and raise hockey players. Here in North Dakota, we are smart enough to grow sugar beets, and raise banners. WPoS knows his hockey, and will be there for every game this weekend. Not many of us, perhaps, have that degree of affinity for the league, and for the game. While WPoS is full of it on many fronts, he is more often just plain full up, and a mighty friendly, and knowledgeable guy, when he is full up.

Yeah. Bo Knows.

True. True. However, the NCAA will want to do anything it can to assure big sales to the World. The best way to do that will be to put the Tigers in the tournament. On the other hand, didn't the Sioux get knocked off the bubble a good handful of years back when the Ralph was hosting the West? Tigers win two of three this weekend, and they will be a lock. Beat AA and lose to the Sioux, and they will be on the bubble. This, of course, all assumes few upsets in the conference title bouts.

7>4. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have been stressing out on this one, thinking that CC would become a #4 seed at home, moving the Sioux to Michigan. Seeing how the kids and I bought our West Regional plane fare and ducats back in March, it would be a bitter, yet still palatable pill, to swallow if the Sioux Legion is in Grand Rapids instead of the Springs. Your rationale is right on, Sir Swami. As for the hair, I am sorry to hear about the Helsinki stuff. I doused my scalp regularly in a mixture of vinegar and 7-Up. Alas, still a solid crop of hair, but most of my other muscles have atrophied. Sioux-CC, in the Springs on March 27, for the proverbial trip to the Big Skate. 10-4. 'Tis booked. PS. As an aside, I speculated that the Sioux would be playing the Gophers on Friday night, and cornered a couple of extra tickets for my Sioux friends who would be looking. Now, I am sitting on a few, and I am finding out that Gopher fans do not travel nearly as well as Sioux fans. Last year's West Regional Final. Beautiful day. Gophers with a chance to return to the Frozen Four. I had a handful of extras, and I couldn't give them away. The building was not full. Amazing. C'est la vie. We are headed West.

Kids and I will be there for all games. I think that some folks will be surprised at the attendance. Here are my predictions. Thursday night: 11,250 Friday afternoon: 15, 800 Friday night: 19,000 Saturday afternoon: 16,500 Saturday night: 19,000

You are correct sir. Don't know what I was thinking. I meant to suggest that IF things had gone per plan, and IF the Gophers had to play Thursday night, they would get the benefit of the Minnesota Rule to get more rest than the winner of the play-in game will this year. The Minnesota Rule makes for an unlevel playing field tilted in favor of the Gophers. All in all, BFD. Let the Gophers get their corporate body politic into the seats Friday night. The real hockey fans will be in the building on Friday afternoon. This, of course, includes all of the many fine Gopher fans who are astute enough to buy tickets for games other than those in which only the Gophies play. We'll be there all week, all games. Here is my dilemma. We long ago bought West Regional tickets for many reasons. I am concerned that a CC run will put the Sioux into another region. Cain't be having that, now kin we? Go Seawolves. Go Sioux. Go Gophers. What could be better than a Saturday night clash of the titans, with not quite everything yet on the line?

This is the most sense that I have read on this thread, MKSioux. Damn straight. Would be no problem for the league to make this stipulation. It makes perfect sense, and draws the near perfect compromise. Besides, as Sagard notes with mild concern, we are going to kill the Gophers if we run into their sorry tails again this year. This is consolation enough. Moreover , I get to pull the kids out of school and skip out of a miserable job to watch the Fighting Sioux. Minnesota Rule ain't so bad from these eyes, at least right here and now. Gophers are pumping their chests. Minnesota Rule saves them immensely. Two games instead of three. That is huge for a team that is long on bumps and still short on confidence. Four straight over SCSU. Big deal. Geez. What are we all gonna do when the puck stops sliding? PS. Hockey1, go home and lie down by your dish.

Saint Cloud State - Gophers will be a real interesting matchup. Add to that this possibility. It is no secret that JBSU has been a miserable failure in the post season, having only a Final Five banner to go along with their banners from the Pizza Hut. Despite Craig Dahl's recent contract extension, the powers that be are getting tired of him. Now that Herbie, God rest his soul, is no longer around to lobby for him, Dahl's head is near the block. A little birdie told me that if the Huskies do not beat the Gophers, make it to the Final Five and the Regionals, he is gone. Guentzel and that other fine Minnesota assistant are the leading contenders to replace him. Of course, Dave "I'm Learning at the Feet of the Master" Hakstol should also be given consideration. He is a heck of an assistant from my view. I can't say that I know much about Brad Berry one way or the other, although he is a friendly guy, especially to boneheads like me.

Thanks for the clarifications and information on this one PCM. You are a veritable font of information and knowledge. Due, at least in part, to your advancing years? I think that it'd be tough to do regular season replay. I don't think that all arenas are as well equiped as The Ralph, or that all teams are as widely televised. It'd make for too much of an uneven playing field. Besides. Human error. I love human error. Makes me feel less lonely.

Take anything you can get. The ref was quickly adamant that the Fuher's shot was a goal. His angle was not that good. Top corner. Who are we to say anything else, although I did not see any TV slo-mo replays. From where I was sitting, I saw some rubber twitch the twine. That's a goal in my book. Or does the entire puck need to be inside the cage? What surprised me most is that they did not immediately drop the puck. Although it has already been said here earlier, I thought that there is no replay in the regular season. Tech sucks. If we keep our focus, and look to jump on them early, we'll take two in relatively business-like fashion and hit the road for the real wars. If we take them lightly, and I do not think that that will happen, it could turn into a struggle. I don't want a replay of that nail biter from last year for the right to go to the Final Five.

Here's a public hats off, or on, to YaneA. She made hats for anyone asking. She made a "Bo Knows Goals" for my daughter, and she loves it. Thanks a million YaneA. We missed the Friday celebration, but were there Saturday. No luck next week. With some hard work, the Sioux will soon be in Saint Paul and in Colorado Springs. So will the "Bo Knows Goals" hat. For giving a big, and generous, boost to fan spirit, hip hip hooray to YaneA. And to all of the fine fans who made our regular road trips to The Ralph this year memorable ones.

Mr. Genoway has quietly become the soul of this team. Of course, I am biased, in that I will soon to become president of the 29'ers Club. That said, it is my perception that Genoway always delivers 110%. How big was that goal 65 seconds into the Friday night game in Duluth? Huge, that's how big. Took the air right out of the Bulldog blowharts before they could turn around in their seat, shut up, and watch the game.

Hey WPoS . . . . Great Gopher win last night. What a see-saw for awhile. Better shore up that defense and goaltending yet. Have fun at The Still today, and next weekend. We are soon off to Grand Forks. Hope they skate the trophy again tonight.

If things hold true to form, the Final Five will be unbelievable this year. Hopefully, the Huskies and Gophers will hold serve, or steal a playoff series, and that there will be no upsets of the top three seeds. I wouldn't mind seeing CC make a run either. Hate to see them not host their own regional. The NCAA Trophy is, of course, the granddaddy. With all the money that the NCAA reaps, I always have been a bit disappointed over their chunk of wood and metal. It is a HUGE trophy, but it is an ugly one from a design and asthetics standpoint. Just my opinion. I'll take about eight more in my lifetime anytime.

As long as we are on this topic, anyone have the history on who McNaughton was, and why the ties are especially close to the crumbling wreck over at Michigan Tech? I think that arena is named after a guy named John McGinnis or something.

Ditto here PCM. Your wisdom, your spirit, and your generosity has taken you far in this life and, in that it appears that you claim to be an old man, will take you even farther in the next. Keep the great shots of Sioux hockey coming our way please.

What is Denver's record?

Here's a bit of sweet history. When Tech left the WCHA in '81, it held The Cup, and took the Cup with it!! Didn't give it back. They brought it back when they rejoined the league three years later. Geez. You think they are gonna be jinxed for years? Besides having a mediocre team. Great town though.