fightingsioux4life

What do you have against St. Thomas? They are not just another MIAC school anymore. They have a large, successful and loyal alumni base. They have excellent academics. They are in the Twin Cities media market. They are building a new arena for basketball and hockey. They moved up to Division I when they could have moved up to Division II and settled for life in the NSIC. They are a sleeping giant that won't be asleep for long. They have GIGANTIC upside and I am sure the B1G would love to have them as their 8th member for hockey. That is why the NCHC has to get to them first. They are a great addition to the Summit League and would make a great 10th member of the NCHC. So far, the only complaint you have come up with about UST is that they are in Minnesota. Do you have anything else to your position than that?

All we've clinched so far is home ice for the first round.

I am surprised Western Michigan doesn't have a better won-loss record.

Not to mention the dozen or so timeouts both coaches take at the end of close games.

I watched part of the 1998 comeback game vs Minnesota on YouTube before coming here. Great memories.

That's right. Just play solid, consistent hockey and put together wins.

The people responsible for the neutral site regionals are probably the same geniuses who came up with 3x3 overtime and shootouts.

Good point. Warroad was one of the the first high schools to do it, but they are hardly alone anymore.

Not for long.

Must have had a great recruiting class this year.

Okay, enough negativity about past playoff failures. Let's focus on the present, which is anything but negative.

Wonder how @DL Sioux will spin this?

This team has made serious strides this season. They are young and need to learn how to close out games, but they are much more competitive than last year.

Always loved Cole Smith. Good to see him having success in the big leagues.

Speaking of The Farce, I am watching the 1980 NCAA title game on YouTube now, and they showed The Farce on television down by the glass and mentioned their presence at UND home games. Prairie Public Television was broadcasting this; they were raising money between periods to cover the costs. I turned 6 years old on May 13th that year!

The 2016 team was dominant in three of four games, the exception being the semifinal vs. Denver.

I am a huge advocate of St. Thomas in the NCHC. I also think we should cap the number of teams at 10. If Miami leaves (which some people in Oxford have suggested), we could add Mankato or Lindenwood.

Bad move IMO.

Thanks for posting this. Powerful stuff!

The only way to expel the demons is to beat them in the NCAA tournament. It's a different decade and our team is built differently than it was in the mid to late 2000's.

How about non-conference? Several G5 FBS programs in the state.

I was thinking of NAU as a potential addition as well.

Nothing is preventing them from recruiting California if they were to do this. And as FBS programs, they'll be recruiting California and a lot of other areas anyway.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Questions I have are: Would Idaho want to move back into FBS? They dropped down to FCS because they were winning 1 or 2 games each year in FBS. Would Idaho State want to move up to FBS? They might be willing, but could they afford it? Would Northern Colorado be able to upgrade their programs to compete at the level of the others? They have been a non-factor since they left Division II.

Then why don't they just dump FB now?