siouxfan512

Not sure MN really had much of a choice in the matter. I'm pretty sure all the B1G teams were pretty much told, "this is happening". Which is fine. But, to your point, UND had to reasses their situation and did what they believed was best, AND I'd say it has worked out just fine for them. They can hardly look at the last handful of years and regret their performance.

Agreed, that is part of it. Most (obviously not all) fans, miss the old, historic, rivalries. Wisco definitely got the worse end of it with Eaves and some terrible years. BUT, even when UND went down to Mariucci there were some open seats, because they just charge too much. Tough to charge that much for a college hockey ticket, when you also have to pay for parking down there. Especially when there are so many other shows in town. Multiple factors at play, but I'd say lower your ticket price a bit, bring some of the fans back, then you can reassess any future raises. Gotta build that fan base back up though. I know the fans are there, but I think you would get more to watch in person instead of TV, if you made it more affordable.

Haha, I know, right! Don't want to wish away the rest of the season, but the weather had me in NCHC Tourney, College Hockey Tourney, and College BBall March Madness mode.

ok, I'll take the bait. First, you're absolutely entitled to your own opinion, and you can prefer to watch the Goofs play whomever. You may like the new teams that you are playing, BUT ticket sales, or lack their of, shows that Mariucci does not. Pretty evident that MN/UND is still a big ticket in terms of college hockey in Mpls. Living in Mpls, anyone I've talked to who followed college hockey misses the WCHA rivialries because their were so many historic games. Heck even in recent history, the Gopher/Sioux rivalry has had almost nothing but thrillers ... Frozen Four games, Bina's goal, Trupp's goal, Wheeler's diving goal, Porter's wrap around. more NCAA tourney games, .6, etc (This is the kind of stuff that thrills fans and builds up future games). The move to the B1G made sense, purely because there were enough teams to align the conference, and when it comes to TV and network deals there is more money to be made. Let face it, the main factor in any of these schools decision making is $$$MONEY$$$. They operate as a business, not a charity. For this same reason, you should be able to recognize why UND, DU, and a few others would try to form a new conference. Some of the biggest rivals and competition (at the time) left the WCHA (No denying MN and Wisco are hot tickets, at least in NoDak). Why wouldn't a school try to ensure they are positioning themselves to consistently fill their arenas and provide the strongest levels of competition. As much as I enjoyed watching some of our series against Mankato and Bemidji, there is no doubt they were not always a hot ticket. You also want to position yourself in a strong conference from a recruiting standpoint. UND already has strong recruiting assets in facilities and tradition, but you want to have consistent strong competition to pull some of these kids away from other conferences or Canadian leagues. So you can call it a knee jerk reaction, you can call it sour grapes; but in general, business, school, team and athletic leadership don't make their moves on an emotional basis, as much as they do on generating revenue, increasing or maintaining fan interest, and competition. So far, I'd say it has worked out well for the NCHC as they have been a powerful conference since they started. It has worked out for UND winning multiple league titles (in a tougher league that the WCHA would have been for us) and a National Championship. UND has no obligation to remain in a conference, just as the Gopher would have no obligation to remain in the conference. UND and UofM may have left the WCHA for different reasons, but it all comes to the same end. Schools need to do what is in their best interest to strengthen the position of their program, financially and for future success. *drops mic, steps off of soap box*

Ugh, this seriously bothers me. I'm by no means a Gopher fan, but i did grow up as one, and I can remember when that place was packed, almost every game. It sucks to see what is happening there. I will give it to their student section, they seem to still pack those sections and they are a pretty vocal bunch. But they need to make the games more affordable for the others. Particularly their younger alumni. Hard for people in their late 20s or early 30s to afford those ticket prices when they are just starting out, or raising young families. At that point, people will just watch on TV. Even without being a fan of the team, there is no doubt they have, and can still recruit talent. No reason they shouldn't be able to fill that place better than they do. Obviously they are not the only show in town, and the success of the Wild, and maybe even the Gopher Basketball team has something to do with it. But the U needs to take a hard look at their ticket prices, and who they schedule for non-conference opponents. As a team that has one of the larger arenas in college hockey, and having a pretty historic program, they could definitely do a better job that they are a filling seat and attracting crowds.

And this has me laughing pretty good!

Pretty excited for this series, but it is HUGE for UND. This is a chance to bounce back a bit in the pairwise, and start a run for a good seed in the NCAA tourney. After Union and smoking Omaha, I though this team was close to where they needed to be, but I really wanted to see another home sweep against Miami to solidify UND's progress. Not to discount Miami's play, because they were relentless last Friday, but UND should NEVER give up 5 goals in a period. Especially when they are leading, with valuable points on the line. Miami took a page out of our playbook from Omaha, and did whatever they wanted, and nobody prevented it. That game, and that period, certainly don't dictate the story of our season, and the guys bounced back nicely on Saturday to not let it happen again, but they need to continue that this weekend. A home sweep against the ugly dawgs would huge, but more importantly, I want to see the team play 2 full games. They pretty much did everything else that they needed to do last weekend, except they took a period off. Looking for a much better series than we saw in Duluth. Anyone else feel like the NCHC, and NCAA tourney should be starting up, with all this warm weather? Feels more like early March than January. I'll take it, but its kind of a bad tease since it isn't even Feb yet.

Anyone know when Ott was supposed to visit the U? Has this already happened?

I'd assume MN, not sure why you would want to go to Rutgers. They are pretty awful. At least MN, has has "some" success over the past few seasons. It'll be interesting to see what Fleck can bring to the table. My biggest concern at this point is getting some more O-Line in. Hopefully that will be the story of the weekend for the football program. Not sure who will be on campus, but looking forward to some good news.

Great hudl. He'd look great playin in Grand Forks!

For what it is worth, Deyon Campbell and Malik Lofton both committed to SDSU. Mafe appears to be uncommitted, though continues to hold an offer from SDSU (per 247). Either he is waiting to commit, or he is seriously looking elsewhere. Looks like the UofM and Rutgers are both looking at him (appears to have offers from both).

The series in Duluth was some of the most lopsided play I've seen against UND. I've never turned a game off midway through and I almost did because it got so boring to watch as a UND fan. That and the color commentator sounded like a drunk fan. Regardless, Duluth has looked really solid this year. I look forward to a competitive, back and forth, type of series.

It looks like Israel Adeoti (WR) will be visiting this weekend. http://www.hudl.com/profile/2874190/israel-adeoti

Way to quiet out here. Still no word on who was visiting this past weekend?

Like we did against the Bison?

Wasn't about Tomek. It was about trying to get the rest of the guys to wake up and kick it into gear. Had UND still had their TO, they would have taken that and Tomek may not have seen the ice. First goal he let in wasn't his fault. Second was a little soft. BUT Tomek was cold, and UND D and O was falling apart. Goehrig will settle him down. Shoot, maybe you even give Tomek the start tomorrow. I don't think the goalie will be the difference in tomorrows game ... Defense needs to play MUCH better. Forward need to backcheck better. Credit to Miami for their comeback. They play a terrific 3rd, and their goalie kept them in it, when UND could have stuck the dagger in. Poor team effort tonight. The sloppy D that was mentioned in Omaha, cost us tonight. Some bad turnovers, and just letting Miami reel down the slot. One of the ugliest period of hockey I've seen in A LONG TIME!!!

The team should try changing jerseys between periods. It worked for those Mighty Duck guys.

Not sure anyone is really getting worked up. The article is pretty funny though.

They had some good years in the CCHA, and were ranked fair high, even in those days. We just didn't play them all that much until the NCHC days. They came to the Ralph in 2009 for the Subway Holiday Classic ranked #1, lost to #6 Bemidji, and tied with #4 UND. (Thats a heck of a tourney)

Wow, I don't know who I blame more for that piece of trash, the author, or the editor. Credit where credit is due, Miami has had some solid years (when they were in the CCHA), but they have been completely inconsistent ever since. I think they had 1 nice year in the NCHC. I don't mind Blasi as a coach, but they are by no means a dynasty type program. Not saying they can never get there, but the writer even states it (No Nat'l Championships). Meanwhile you have UND, Michigan, Denver, Minnesota, BU, BC etc. Who have far more history and can be considered more of a dynasty status. Loved watching us beat them in 2014 ... 9-2!!! That was a fun one. I believe they had been ranked #1 earlier in the year too.

Based on what I've seen from this team, they SHOULD win. That being said, I could see them winning by 20 or losing by 20. Unless we start seeing consistency over the next few weeks, it could be another up and down season. Took a nice step this past weekend, just hope we see more of that and less of the team that played against NAU.

I was talking about O-Line recruits that had committed, not current players...kids that are still in HS. I know there was an O-Line that had been recruited to the Gophers, who Fleck decided he didn't want. Kid was pretty upset, because Fleck didn't call him to tell him they were retracting his offer, some recruiting assistant told him. Given how late it is in the recruiting process, the kid certainly has reason to be upset, never know what else he may have passed up to take the initial Gopher offer. I agree, I would question the integrity or character of some of the Gopher players (on a case by case basis), but not a kid that was recruited and caught the bad end of a coaching change. http://247sports.com/Player/Jimmie-Terry-23713 https://www.landof10.com/minnesota/minnesota-doesnt-want-2017-ol-jimmie-terry-two-recruits-decommit-gophers

Would love to see us pick up another one though. Stars are just projections of potential until the kid proves himself at the next level, but I'll take as many good projections as I can get. I'm pretty sure MT just picked up a 3 start recruit yesterday, over 2 or 3 FBS offers. Who knows, maybe there is still hope for Flowers (probably wishful thinking) but is listed as 3 star on the Wiki

Still waiting for some more OL guys. Really hope we hear something soon. With Rousenmiller only having an offer from us and a PWO from the Goofs, I was hoping he would having committed. I wonder if he will be visiting soon, and we may hear something the. I also wonder if the coaches have reached out to any of the recruits the gophers have recently let go. I know there was a big OL who's offer was pulled last weekend.

UND incoming QB