InHeavenThereIsNoBeer

Thanks Jim, this stuff really interests me and I hope UND doesn't show up as making the tournament in one site's predictions and out in the other or Selection Sunday could be a nail-biter this year! Which day will you put out UND's PWR predictions for this weekend? Made a nice jump while dormant last week, moving to #15.

Denver would be good, it's tough to keep it local I suppose. There would be so much bad blood in that tournament a cage match might break out. I just like how SCSU has been playing lately was why they came to mind for me.

The "make fun of their fans" was said in jest so no that's not the reason. I think every one of the other teams has a stronger rivalry with SCSU than Michigan and there is a ton of history and bad blood. Also, the regional perspective I mentioned that you conveniently ignored is another reason. SCSU is building a better program every year lately whether you'd like to recognize it or not and the Sioux have a good rivalry with them. Also, Michigan has the GLI.

No, you didn't. I was looking more from a regional perspective like the Beanpot(or at least as close as we can get in the midwest). I like what SCSU brings to the table and it's fun to make fun of their fans. Then I thought about it, and we did have this tournament before. It was called the Final Five and it was great.

Imagine if UND, UMN, SCSU, and Wisconsin had a similar yearly tournament. Attendance numbers would put the Beanpot to shame. But it will never happen because it would be awesome...and we can't have that.

That team was playing with house money anyways, short-handed due to injuries it was amazing they made the run they did and won the Broadmoor Cup. Only so much you can do when your team is decimated like that. My only point was that a win against BC is far more overdue than one against the Rodents.

I don't think the Gophers are playing like a team to fear either, but we owe BC a good butt-kicking for the last few times we've played them in the tourney. We've kicked the rodents up and down the ice enough in the last 5-6 years

My pick is BC, we owe our friends from Massachusetts a season ending loss after them ending all of ours in the last 8-10 years.

Starting with a team that hung 8 goals on SCSU, not going to be easy but we can do it!

It's sad the arena is so far south in Colorado Springs and away from their campus because a lot of students aren't allowed or don't have cars at CC. Then again, they're all probably too busy finding they're spirit animal to go to a hockey game on Friday & Saturday night.

In your scenario I'm saying there's 90% UND fans at the games, maybe 95% against Denver. I remember the championship game a couple years back and there was only a few Denver fans cheering when they sco... oh wait, we shut them out

Haha beat me to it, just saw that he had a 59 save shutout and thought back to this thread. Yup, great college goalie. A damn good NHL goalie too it appears...

As a 3 year downtown Minneapolis resident the best driving advice I can give is if you turn down a street and all of the cars are facing you...turn around. Oh, and 7th street runs right into the Target Center.

They still show all goal replays, home or away team, which is how it should be.

I'm happy you picked up what I was putting down

Yeah, the only conclusion I can draw is that he didn't go to The Ralph...

I almost think with Kristo and Knight, you could also argue last year's team was "better". Now obviously this doesn't always matter come tournament time (See: Michigan in 1997, Sioux in 2011).

That's bold. Don't misinterpret me, I love the optimism and believe this team is looking better each series though. Just curious, what are the different areas that you see this team has going for them over the past teams?

Yeah someone could make that argument about the revenue, and I would have a counter for it but since we won't go down the road it's not much of a point. Passionate may have been the wrong word then: dedicated, loyal, diehard. And by the way, all of these are a result of college hockey being THE game in Grand Forks. I've never met a Gopher fan that is close to the level of dedication of many Sioux fans...and I live and work in Downtown Minneapolis so I've met more than my fair share of rodent supporters, including having a friend that's a Goldy mascot. I often know more about their own team then they do and when we get down to friendly arguments about the programs they always pull the "we have all these other sports teams and ND only has college hockey" line. And honestly, that does make us that more passionate, dedicated, and loyal. The Sioux are "The Game" in Grand Forks similar to the Packers being the only show in town in Green Bay. I think that makes us embrace the team even more since we know they are what puts Grand Forks on the map in the sports world and that makes us proud to call the team our own. So call it whatever word you want but Sioux fans and Gopher fans are very different.

Yeah it does matter, because the fan I referenced would not drive to Omaha in a blizzard to watch an outdoor game and cheer the team down the tunnel after the sweep. That fan would not spend his disposable income on finding any way to get to UND games and he would not spend tons of money on UND gear and contribute funds to the UND hockey team. I don't think there's any shame in admitting the population difference either, which is why I did in my previous post. I simply pointed out that while we may be smaller we seem to be more passionate about following our team in general. You think Gopher fans take over Magness Arena or World Arena when they play there? I'd say the quality of the fan is extremely imporant in that regard.

In sheer volume you may be correct however defining a "fan" may be a whole new debate. I met a Gopher fan last weekend. He used to be a Bulldog fan because he went to college there, but he moved to Minneapolis so he considered himself a Gopher fan now. Btw, his favorite UMD Bulldog of all time was Jack Fontaine...

If you're referring to in the morning, you have Hell's Kitchen(might want to make a res), The Local has a good brunch buffet, Key's Cafe has some solid omelettes and lastly Devil's Advocate has Bottomless Mimosas for $6 if you're looking for an early buzz to start the day. They're all about 5-6 blocks from the Target Center.

We are about 3 spots out if being in the tourney, why would we have to win the NCHC tournament?

I didnt see the play and don't doubt your take on it at all. I was watching the game on FaceTime which isn't the best quality

Yeah, I'm sure most coaches do want to coach fast and physical hockey but no one pulls it off like the Sioux, which is why our program, specifically, is known for it. People don't say that about Minnesota or Boston College, they say it about us because we do it the best. The key to our program is riding that line and when we're able to, we have a good team. When we let our emotions get the best of us is when we take bad penalties but I don't think our problem is the "old style fighting Sioux" hockey that makes some people cringe. Thts actually our strength and gives us a mental edge before even taking the ice. That's my only point.