fightingsioux4life

I am afraid we are just what the doctor ordered for St. Cloud.

Starting TJ in net greatly increases the probability of a loss tonight.

With the current disappointing state of our program, I thought it might do all of us a little good to go back to a great weekend for our program. It was 28 years ago today (January 31, 1997). North Dakota was hosting Minnesota in a key WCHA series at the Old Ralph Engelstad Arena. Both teams were fighting for first place. A buzz built up on campus during the week leading up to the game. People started standing in-line outside the student entrance on the north side of the arena around 1:00pm. People who had cell phones (a new thing back then) had pizzas delivered to them in-line. People would bring firewood with them to put into the trash cans and set them on fire to keep warm (this was the infamous 1996-97 winter preceding the 1997 flood). Gopher fans who were UND students got snowballs thrown at them and were serenaded with "Gophers suck" chants. The fervor built to a fever pitch as we got closer to arena opening time. Inside, the tension and passion was thick enough to cut with a knife. The student section was as rabid as it had been in a long time. Our program was in the process of being resurrected after struggling for several years. Gopher fans considered us nothing more than a flash-in-the-pan who would go back to the bottom of the league sooner rather than later. Twin Cities media personality Dark Star gave a commentary ripping UND's program and history. Our fan base, obviously, took exception to those things. The rivalry was about to be put into overdrive. The games did not disappoint. UND won 6-4 on Friday night and completed the sweep on Saturday night 6-2 behind Jason Blake's hat trick. Blake's third goal sent the arena into total bedlam. The chippiness was evident throughout the weekend with plenty of pushing and shoving after the whistle. It was an extremely satisfying and emotionally exhilarating weekend after all the struggles of previous years. Especially against one of the most arrogant and self-absorbed programs in collegiate sports. Everyone knows what happened next. UND beat the Goofs in OT in the Final Five title game in St. Paul, then went on to win the program's sixth national title in Milwaukee. The rivalry with the Goofs was also raised to a white-hot temperature, where it would stay for years to come. May we go back to those days sooner rather than later. Let's Go Sioux!!!!!

I think the magic from those died out some time ago.

Reinventing it is a great idea. That is just too much land being misused and/or being severely underutilized.

Columbia Mall needs an owner that cares about it being successful.

The second night against WMU was the worst hockey I have seen in several years. But you are right, I don't think we'll lose that many games.

That's one more point than I think they will get.

Eight?

So now you're going to dispute that it was ever said?

It seemed like a lot of the kids we offered before had a lot of D2 offers or none at all

Chaves is the root of our problems. He has made it clear with his actions that wins and losses don't matter. And the results speak for themselves. And those results are ugly. Very ugly. We are the Rutgers of the Midwest. Something has to change.

Your ability to shill for this athletic department is what's hilarious. Hakstol was a master of coach-speak, but I don't think he ever said wins and losses don't matter. Neither did Blais, Roebuck, Glas or Lennon.

Which flows from the top (Chaves). Which is why Chaves has to go.

Maybe Mallory should coach high school if she doesn't think wins and losses matter.

I don't think we'll have to hope for that.

So that's what we are reduced to now? Revisionist history to make the current regime look better? Perpetuating the idea that this program's failures are nothing more than bad luck? Cripes, I never thought we would ever see that crap here.

And how well is our current offensive strategy working?

NIL contributors can also be fans of a particular school who didn't go to school there. It doesn't have to be limited to just alums.

What qualifies as a "chipper"? Being picked in the first half of the first round of the NHL draft?

I really don't believe the coaches are recruiting solely on facilities and tradition. The problem is what happens to players once they get here; they get worse not better. Berry and his staff are clearly not getting the best out of what they have.

I have been warning people about this for years now. And nobody wants to hear it or they make excuses as to why it "doesn't matter". SMH.

I don't think that group represents most of our fanbase. It's social media, it always attracts the craziest and nuttiest.

And all that money doesn't guarantee that their kid will ever make it to the NHL.

Whatever the problem is, we better fix it. If that means replacing the man at the top, then that is what must happen.