bale31

I didn't realize it was quite this dominant, but msu is 31-0-4 against uah since 2002. That's crazy considering that goes well back into the jutting years.

Pretty much....the ugh goalie was pretty good until he got hurt. Msu didn't score until the 2nd and then the dam broke.

It was such a weird way for that game to end. Admittedly, the mavs dominated the entire weekend, so frustration had to be running high. It was a relatively clean game before that. There was a cfb on the mavs before that that was a big player turning at the last second and the msu player hitting him. Not malicious, but one that has to be called. Not even much pushing and shoving after the whistle prior to this. The mavs looked extremely good. I actually said at one point that they looked as good or better than last years team. Granted, a stud goalie like mckay can make the whole team look better. I hope that kid gets some real end of year accolades this year rather than being beat out by someone just because he faces more shots.

Hey...leave us out of this. We have a trophy series that we play against them...and I still don't give a damn about them.

McKay was just getting the night off. We also had a 4 other guys sitting out for injury. Hastings said I'd it were the playoffs we would likely have seen a different lineup though

3 straight shutouts for dryden mckay.

My guess is the sentiment wouldn't be the same if und was ranked #2.

Those 2 teams are near the bottom of funding in the NSIC. Unless there is a leadership change, I can't imagine that changing much especially in the current environment.

Frankly, that's a non-starter. St Thomas makes sense for the CCHA schools, but LIU expands the footprint even more for a group of schools that is scrambling to save money. I'm not trying to start an argument on the merits of anything, but the formation of the Big 10 and subsequently the NCHC destablized college hockey in the west. I don't like saying this, but the WCHA isn't worth saving at this point and it doesn't have anything to do with the competitiveness. Think about it from the perspective of a Mankato or a Bemidji. The 3 teams that are left out legitimately don't know if they are going to exist. It's not even about the direction of the conference like it was with the NCHC, they legitimately may not exist. All three of those programs have had conversations about scrapping their programs in a single calendar year. When you look at what that means for each of the 7 other teams, they could be on the hook for trying to schedule 12 more games in a season (which isn't going to happen) and with the Alaska schools it was less than 2 months before the season started. That's financially catastrophic. I get the reasons the NCHC was started in the first place. Knowing what we know now, do those reasons stay the same? Has the situation changed enough to warrant a change in the way that the schools are thinking? I'm not sure. Maybe it hasn't, but sure does seem like a good time to re-evaluate.

Realistically, that doesn't work though. NCHC wants an even number of teams. From my understanding, that's what kept Kato out a couple of years ago. ASU wasn't ready so they told MSU that it wasn't going to happen since it would put the conference at an odd number.

So, this makes a very interesting situation for the conferences. As it currently stands, the only option that makes sense for St Thomas going into a conference is the CCHA with the caveat that that could change if they figure out a new arena. The NCHC has proven that they are not going to admit someone (no matter their profile) without a legit arena. That realistically leaves the CCHA as the only option other than going independent. My bigger question, though, applies to what does the NCHC want. I see a lot of options. To me it comes down to 3 schools, ASU, St Thomas and Mankato. I know a lot of people roll their eyes at Mankato being included, but I have been told that all signs were pointing toward Kato being in when they applied and they were shocked it didn't happen. So, grant me that the schools (not fans) wanted Mankato. If that's the case, does the conference pursue Mankato and St. Thomas? Do they pursue St. Thomas and ASU? Or do they stick with ASU and Mankato? Frankly, I'm not interested in what people want. I'm more interested in what the schools want from an administrative standpoint. Of course, there is one other possibility. Do the conferences take a step back and look at things through a new lens in a post-covid world? Do the conferences look at things from a more geographical standpoint? I know that the "trading teams" aspect has been a non-starter for a multitude of reasons, chief among them being the $1 million buyout. Does all of that change knowing the financial pressure that athletic departments are under now? Do the conferences get together and say that for the good of everyone, we need to restructure and not have any penalties for schools? Normally, I throw out the "good of college hockey" argument as I don't think any school actually worries about that any longer. In this case, I think all or most. schools are financially worried, so they are actually concerned about themselves and not everyone else. Would WMU and Miami be interested in that? Would the NCHC? I certainly don't have any idea on what administrators are thinking. I have to believe that they are all at least thinking about this. If not, they really aren't doing their job. Thoughts?

I mean....those were basically Dryden mckay's stats this year. 30-4-2...actually a better winning percentage .941 save percentage 1.31 GAA 10 Shutouts

Well...that's just dumb

I'll say that I haven't seen or heard a single msu fan claiming anything. Everyone is either in the boat of a) upset that we still cant get the first tournament win or b) sick for the seniors that passed up pro contracts for the chance to win the tourney. This was probably the best of all the hastings teams. I would have loved to see msu and und square off one more time. It would have been a good one.

Damn....3rd line center, but a team leader/energy guy that's developed into a good player. Plus a guy that a few peeps here like to keep an eye on. Spooner out

I'm pretty sure if we meet in the post season, it would be so far in that I'd be so happy that I'll be blasted enough that I won't be allowed to touch a computer or phone.

Ha, no worries. I just like needling people like they needle me. In all seriousness, MSU will get taken seriously when they can win a few in the Tourney. It's just as simple as that. If I didn't get to see the team on a regular basis, I probably wouldn't take us seriously either.

Man....you guys are rough on the Mavs. Up until this last week, we had the #8 SOS this year. Playing UAH dropped us to #15....granted, there were other results that caused that as well, but UAH was the big one.

I figured. I've heard some of the stories from that time. Apparently, the first year MSU was in the WCHA we played UND in the first round of the conference playoffs. The coaches were so convinced we were going to get swept that they didn't book hotel rooms for the night after the second game. When we won, they were scrambling to find hotel rooms. I know those teams weren't very good, but we were always a team that was a pain to play against at the very least.

I hate to break it to people, but this was the inevitable conclusion when the Big Ten/NCHC/WCHA/CCHA power consolidation took place. There was zero possibility that 6 D2 schools and Bowling Green could prop up the Alaskas and UAH with the instability that they have. Yes, the Alaska schools partially subsidized travel for the other schools, but with the oil boom gone, the state budget of Alaska is failing and athletics are going to be hurt at universities. All of the potential to have big paydays from large D1 institutiions (and UND in hockey) are gone for these schools and that was able to prop them up for a long time. That's gone and if the larger schools weren't willing to step in, this was going to be the result. Look, I'm not blaming the Big Ten or NCHC for what they did. I'm saddened by it, but I don't necessarily blame them. Many of the WCHA schools were their own worst enemy. They didn't/don't make the financial commitment needed and the top schools got sick of it and said goodbye. It spurred on some schools like Mankato and Bowling Green and Tech to make some bigger investments, but it was too late. Any facade that "college hockey works together for the good of college hockey is gone". Once the initial split happened, it was not going to be possible for the smaller budget schools to continue the way it was. As for what happens going forward, I suspect at least one of the Alaska schools will shut down their program within 3 years. UAA has already broken bylaws of the conference (without approval from the other schools, mind you) and moved into an arena that has capacity of less than 2000 and UAF is considering doing the same thing. Those type of changes signify unhealthy programs. UAH has an outside shot of being invited to the group of 7 as they have approval on a new arena, but we've heard that song and dance from them before. Until there are shovels in the ground, I'm not sure anyone should believe anything that's being said. Atlantic Hockey will absolutely not take the Alaskas. They are a bus league and trips to Alaska would decidedly not be a bus trip. MAYBE they would take Alabama, but that's also doubtful as that's not really a bus trip either. It's sad. The one thing that all of the conference shuffling has made crystal clear is that it's every school for themselves. It's not necessarily right or wrong, it just is.

Really, we're going to bring up something from 2 coaches ago (and 20+ years)? That was honestly before my time, so I don't doubt what you say, I just never saw it. I've only been a fan from the Jutting era on. It's never been slow down, trap style hockey since Brose. Jutting's want to play up-tempo without the talent needed to play that way is part of why we were so god-awful for so long. He was very open about never teaching the trap in his career because no players wanted to play that way.Think about it we had a 10-24-5 record on a team that had Shane Joseph (All American), David Backes (very accomplished NHL player) and Travis Morin (scored 550+ points in his AHL career). Frankly, looking at a couple of those rosters from that time frame is depressing. They had so much individual talent, but they had no depth that it all got wasted.

They were pretty impressive a couple weeks ago in kato. Surprisingly, they weren't playing the stereotypical bemidji game of slowing it down, stalling and just striking when they had a shot. They still played a slower game, but much more offensive than I'm used to from them.

Yeah...that was a pretty big egg. We seem to have one of those every year in big game. Hopefully, we got it out of our system and dont do it during the tourney this year.

Very true.....I know hastings has been trying to do this so he can prop up that sos. It's not his fault that mn and but pissed down their legs the last couple years. Edit: and UND last year, I guess.

I think that was kind of expected. I'd venture to guess that unless UND drops 3 of the next 6 games or something ridiculous like that, they have the #1 seed wrapped up. At the same time, MSU would need to sweep the next 2 series and sweep all the way through the conference tournament. Honestly, the thing that caught me off guard and I'm sure surprises most people is MSU's strength of schedule. It's #8 in the country. People can't really bitch and moan about MSU just piling up wins against horrible competition this year.....of course, they will, but they shouldn't. Of course, unless we move out of the first round, the perception isn't going to change.