Slap Shot

You earned the halo and I played h.s. varsity.

Exsqueeze me? To date in threads regarding this series I have complimented your program, I have complimented your players and I have complimented your win. However, if objecting to someone calling the entire UM roster selfish cowards = smack talk then the definition of the word needs to be changed. Yes, I did have the audacity to say we like our program too so for that please forgive me kind sir. Now I remember why I had you on ignore in the first place. Next time I'll not make the mistake of revealing what you write.

Here's your halo.

UND has an awesome program no matter where the recruits come from and you can tell them a Gophers fan said that. As far as which program is better I don't think that argument will ever end. You guys like yours, we like ours. In some respects, yes I think it is. There are very few metro areas in the country with a pro franchise in MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL and also a Div I college, and possibly none with as few people as the TC area.

All of them? No. Many of them? Yes. The fact is the entire team sleptwalk that series last year and that embarassment should be motivation to at the very least play with some fire in their belly. To what degree that translates on the ice remains to be seen but this is a bigger and more experienced team than the Gophers have had for a long time. I think if one were to evenly critique these teams based upon what they lost/bring back that one should expect a very entertaining and more evenly matched series. Good luck.

Sad, ain't it? btw - think of the game these two teams could have today if no one had left early? It would the be the NHL in Grand Forks.

UW is the better rival overall, but nothing beats UM-UND hockey imho. This series seems like it's been a long time coming. The December break is almost worse than the summer break. Go Gophers!!

Tim Harrer.

Smart crowd. Mankato didn't have to do this - they agreed to do it. They could have kept the game in Mankato but chose the money route.

That was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Sioux have started slowly before and typically recover as the season progresses. In fact year in and year out it's the only program that I usually feel no better than 50/50 when the Gophers play them. You guys will be fine.

I guess they're right. Gopher fans, though slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose.

Unless Hak has consistent losing seasons and/or mixes in unethical behavior there's no reason to get rid of him any time soon, and I don't see any of that on the Sioux horizon.

UND won't make the NCAA's - which based upon their play before the regionals - because of where the regionals will be held? Call me crazy but UND still looks like an NCAA qualifying team to me next year.

Oh how the mighty have fallen - UND used to measure itself by NCs, not by its final WCHA standing. Certainly not with respect to UAA. btw - I am not suggesting that UND fire Hak. Personally I think he's done just about all you can ask save for the FF woes. If he continues to run a clean program and get back to the FF a NC will eventually follow. Unlike Denny ****** Green.

Because I don't - no matter the outcome. We give each other **** and at the end of the day does it matter? "OMG - He just said that seven is greater than five. Whatever shall I do?!?!?" It's college hockey sprig - lighten up.

The frequency isn't even close but that said I just don't care. This is a fun rivalry and part of what makes it fun is that we give each other ****. The other part is that the hockey is more often than not competitive. And I'd still rather sit down with a Sioux fan and have a beer with him than get upset about their tossing out, "7!!".

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/outright ..........Synonym Collection v1.1 Main Entry: outright Part of Speech: adjective Synonyms: absolute, complete, dead, direct, entire, flat, forthwith, instantly, openly, sheer, thoroughly, total, unconditional, undeniable, unmitigated, whole

Probably not. btw - my comment wasn't intended to defend Briggs in total. His post-season results speak for themselves and as such they were lousy, but that is different than calling him an outright sieve.

You are somewhat correct after a Google. It happened twice, once for 400 and the other for 1,000 tickets. That said they still sold nearly 62,000 tickets to fans to have the privilege of watching them play indoors against two really bad teams (Atlanta and Oakland). If selling 99% of available tickets in that circumstance makes MN fans fair-weather so be it. Although for a bit of perspective I offer the following: http://www.minnpost.com/jayweiner/2007/11/...erest_is_waning

Briggs was far from great, but he was good enough to win more games than any other WCHA goalie ever, all while playing for a team that was never known for its defense. Besides, the minors are filled with marginal players. I say more power to anyone that gets paid to play.

The answer is, "0". It's true a few games went down to the wire, but no TV station purchased tickets to avoid a blackout. More to the point I don't believe the Vikings have not sold out a game since at least 1997, despite that they play in a dump, had a ten-headed monster ownership at one time that demonstrated they didn't care to put a winning product on the field, repeatedly lost at home in the playoffs under Denny Green, and followed that up with the Mike Tice/Love Boat years with no playoff games at home. Are MN fans more fairweather than Bucks or Brewers fans? Rangers fans? Tigers fans? Sabres fans? That list could go on and on. And your comment about CO being less fair-weather is interesting considering the Aves have won 3 Stanley Cups since they moved to Denver, the Broncos have had very few losing seasons and the Rockies have only been around about a decade. When those teams consistently suck and/or alienate the fans come talk to me about how their fans react attendance-wise. Should the Wolves expect sellouts for the crap product they've put forth lately? Should the Gophers football team expect consistent sellouts when the team plays indoors, off campus and gets their *** handed to them on a Saturday afternoon when the weather is gorgeous outside? Let's face it - when you don't give the local base a good reason to spend hard earned money on a product, why is it considered fair-weathered to be discerning and spend your money elsewhere?

Red - your disdain for MN pro sports notwithstanding, the following points are true: The Wild, Wolves, Vikings, Gophers football/basketball and the other 4 Div I hockey programs still draw hundreds of thousands combined per year regardless of their lack of recent championships. Those tickets in fact cost money which in fact spreads the local entertainment dollar around and you're not going to get a non-hockey fan to convert just because they're favorite team may have the lesser record during a particular season. Of course most importantly none of that matters since the Gophers can't sell more tickets than they already do without rebuilding. Either way this does nothing to disparage UND's attendance record - your fans have proven their loyalty so there's nothing to worry about.

Those 6 teams account for the entire top 10? And isn't UND also routinely ranked amongst the top recruiting classes? btw I agree with redwing - The Gophers' achilles heel last year was their PP and if they want to move up in the standings next year they have to improve that production.