fightingsioux4life

Three points: 1) UND ain't going anywhere. Leaving a conference made up of institutions where hockey is a priority sport for a conference that treats hockey like a red-headed stepchild is just plain dumb. 2) The NCHC is not going to add members. If it does, it risks becoming bloated and watered down. Eight teams is a nice, round number. Let's keep it that way. 3) Arizona St. is better off in the WCHA. In the WCHA, the Sun Devils can build their program and not get the crap beat out of them every weekend. Also, we are not sure the level of commitment that ASU will put towards their hockey program. That is one of the hallmarks of the NCHC.

Schlossman is missing the point. The point is that the Xcel Energy Center puts on a first-rate, first-class production, whether it is a college post-season tournament or a Wild home game. Plus, the X is, first and foremost, a hockey arena also used for other events. Not a basketball arena that sometimes is used for hockey. Of course it won't be the old Final Five; that took years of work to build up into what it became. But it will be much better than the crap hole that is Target Center. I also am open to the idea of moving games on-campus. But if we insist on having a neutral-site tournament, it should be at the X.

They aren't liked by the fans.....even fans of the teams in the conference!

What a crock! The SEC of this sport is the NCHC.

We did have some 11 seeds win this year. And Duke is done!

To be "fair and balanced" here, the same could be said for the 1964 election between Goldwater and LBJ.

I said IF they don't care. Apparently, you skipped over that word, which takes my post entirely out of context. I agree with you that the NCHC is seeking our opinions and will use them as best they can.

I think REA cares about the fan experience. They have to fill that arena on a regular basis to pay the bills and provide UND athletics with the revenues they need to fund the department. And overall, they do an excellent job. The NCAA, on the other hand, continues force-feeding us these neutral site regionals which attract sparse crowds. Don't know how they make money doing that. And cable companies will get their comeuppance when more people start cord-cutting and switching to online streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. No way would any network (broadcast or cable) touch The Man In The High Castle like Amazon Prime did (great series, btw). I am afraid the era of the conference tournament is almost over. And that is sad.

Maybe it is time to follow the lead of the B1G and WCHA and get rid of the conference tournament concept altogether. The realignment has fractured the various Midwest fan bases into three conferences. This makes it difficult to attract enough fans to create the fan experience every conference wants to create.

"Improved" is a subjective term. I am simply finished spending money on that event in its current form. I would rather fork over money on season-tickets to REA, which provides a good fan experience for the most part. Or regional tickets. Or Frozen Four tickets.

Really? I don't think so. He talked up how much better the vendors and ushers are, contrary to what others have reported on here. He then says our opinions don't matter because of "economics" and that it is our loss if we don't go in the future. He was basically carrying water for the Target Center and telling those of us that don't like the tournament being there "too bad, deal with it". If he wants to keep paying good money for a subpar experience, that's his choice. But don't act like everything is just fine and then scold the rest of us for not sharing his opinion, especially that little remark about "solid North Dakota fans" still showing up. Sorry, but no apologies or retractions will be forthcoming.

But according to NorthDakotaHockey, you are supposed to put up and shut up and be grateful for what is put in front of you.

You have just confirmed my suspicion that the consumer has basically ZERO influence on how 21st century businesses run. They do what they want, when they want, tell us to take it or leave it and still rake in the cash. That type of perverse system will always yield negative outcomes. And if they don't care about my opinions, but still want me to fork over large sums of cash for hotel and tickets and over-priced concession food, then they can take their event and shove it. You can kow-tow to them and kiss their collective a$$es all you want, I refuse to. You cannot be taken advantage of without you giving someone permission to do so. And I have decided to revoke my permission. I think I'll save my money for season tickets, NCAA regional tickets and Frozen Four tickets.

That would be AWESOME!

He should wait until we find out if the program will even have another season.

Maybe the coaches have to bite their tongues, but we fans don't have to. And we haven't. And I hope the NCHC brass pays attention.

I really hope the NCHC will listen to the comments the fans have made about the Target Center and how poor of a venue it is for this tournament. Now that the B1G and the WCHA have abolished their postseason tournaments, it will be easier to book the Xcel Energy Center for our tournament.

Nope, just your perennial rabble-rouser Fightingsioux4life! #dirtyjob #someonehastodoit

Wait, I thought they were going to cancel the tournament this year because they were going to just hand the title to BU because of their precious "diaper dandies"? At least that is what it sounded like in pre-season. I relish the opportunity to play and beat them.

In the 2000 West Regional at Mariucci, a Niagara player ran our goaltender on purpose. Mike Commodore then ran him into the boards before the refs came over to break it up. If fighting had been legal at the time, I suspect Commodore would have ended that guy's career. As it was, the punk only got 2:00 in the box. It should have been five and game. And I think the referee was Don Adam. Not surprising.

Where it belongs......

Never, EVER, say Never:

I welcome this match-up. We'll get to send their precious "diaper dandies" out of college hockey in style with a loss in Fargo!

If eastern refs are still the eastern refs I remember from past tournaments, Duluth will be facing 5x3 penalty kills for half the game. And it will cost them their season.

Hard to believe that when Blais took over in Grand Forks in 1994, his right-hand man was Sandelin. Together, they rebuilt a fallen dynasty and make the eventual construction of the current version of REA possible in 2001. And when Duluth hired him away to replace Mike Sertich in 2000 after winning our 7th NCAA title, we were sad to see him go. Now he's no different than any of the other toolboxes in this sport that we have deal with on a regular basis. Sad when you think about it.