fightingsioux4life

That rule only applies to our program. No other program ever seems to have a problem drawing fans on that day.

Then why didn't the Spartans "steal" the GLI title tonight? Because the Wolverines have the players up-front who can create and take advantage of scoring opportunities and we (for whatever reason) don't seem to. Michigan outscored both Michigan Tech and Michigan State by a combined 10-1 this weekend. I can't stand the Wolverines, but they showed all of us how to get it done against teams you are supposed to beat. At the midpoint of this season, we still haven't figured that out. I am not suggesting that we capitalize on every single scoring chance (that's not realistic), but I do expect that we can and should beat two mediocre teams that are not going anywhere, regardless of how good the goaltending is. A couple of weeks ago, Denver lit up Tech in back-to-back games. That is what good teams do when they are playing mediocre teams. Forget Hak's coachspeak in the Heraldo this morning; Michigan State is NOT "a good team" and neither is Michigan Tech. A lot of teams in our conference have good goaltenders and good lineups to go along with them. What kind of chance do we have in the second half if we "can't seem to get past (insert name of opposing goaltender)"? The answer is obvious, slim and none and I think slim is on vacation in March and April. And our team will be on vacation during those months because I don't think we'll be playing hockey. End rant.

Michigan leads Michigan State 4-1 after two periods. Why isn't Jeff Lerg "the difference" tonight? I think we all know the answer to that question.

You are right, what was I thinking? We have just one championship during Hak's reign. Not the standards we are used to around here.

That's right and this year, there is a banner at one end of REA showing all of our league playoff titles and another one showing all our Frozen Four appearances. We have hung two banners total during Hak's regime (2004 for the MacNaughton Cup and 2006 for the Final Five title). With the talent we have had in this program, we should have more than that.

The bigger question here is how the heck did Kazakhstan even qualify for this tournament in the first place? Was it a fluke or something?

A Final Five without the Green and White just won't be the same. It's starting to look like winning the Final Five will be our one and only ticket to the NCAA tournament.

New year.....same underachieving team.

Home ice for the first round is looking more remote with each passing week. I might be getting a discount on my season tickets next year!

One thing I don't want to hear after this weekend (assuming we lose again today) is talk about "hot goalies" or "not getting the bounces" or how these are "good teams we lost to". Other teams don't have problems scoring on MTU or MSU, so why do we? Because too often, we don't go to the net with the puck, we don't shoot on the power play enough, we don't get a stick on the rebounds that are available, we shoot into the goalie's chest (which just doesn't work) and we spend too much time cycling the puck without generating any scoring chances. The games we have won this year, we have been good at these things, but we aren't doing them consistently enough game in and game out. And until we start doing them, this team is going absolutely nowhere.

I think their staff was a little too "professional" (a.k.a. snobbish). Go to Texas Roadhouse and you'll be served by a staff that is down-to-earth and easy to relate to. The food was good, if a little pricey. I think a less formal, more laid-back atmosphere would play to the college crowd and the Grand Forks culture in general.

None of the players you mentioned won an NCAA title during their time here. Not that it was entirely their fault that we didn't, but having a team full of first round draft picks doesn't guarrantee you a championship of any kind. The 1997 team wasn't loved by the Central Scouting Bureau, but they were loved by us because they worked hard, had great team chemistry and had a coaching staff that demanded excellence every shift, every period and every game. Those are things that are missing from this year's team. The talent is there, but those other crucial elements are missing.

Please, I haven't eaten yet.

Okay, good point. I just always automatically think of Fairbanks when I think of bad hockey.

I want to believe in this team as much as anybody, but every time they look like they are developing some consistency, they go back into mediocre mode again. Until they develop some consistency from one week to the next, I will remain a doubting Thomas.

I didn't get to listen to much of the game, but there is no excuse for losing to a craphole team like Michigan State. I don't want to hear "Well, they're a good team, you have to give them credit, blah, blah, blah" because they are not a good team. This is the cosmic equivalent of losing to Alaska-Fairbanks or one of those mediocre EZAC teams. And I really don't want to hear about Jeff Lerg, either. If we can't beat a lousy team who has a good goaltender, how are we going to beat a good team with a good goaltender? The answer is we won't. These games are absolutely critical for our NCAA tournament chances and we are squandering those chances with losses like this. It looks like we will have to win the Final Five to get an NCAA bid. Assuming we even get there. End rant.

Let's just hope that nobody gets hurt and that everyone gets some playing time, including all three goaltenders.

The individual you are talking about, Bob Gallagher (not the guy that smashes watermelons), is retiring. I remember Kendall Baker closing UND on numerous occasions.

It was also raining in Minneapolis/St. Paul with temps in the upper 30's. That is not a northern winter, that's more like an Oklahoma or Kansas winter. At least when we get snow, it sticks around until March or April.

Well, the Chester Fritz Library is closed today, but I can't make any predictions about tomorrow. I suppose some of the morning finals could be postponed if the blizzard conditions last long enough into the morning.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the latest Forecaster Discussion from the NWS in Grand Forks as of 3:14pm CST today: Here is a link to the full discussion Simply put, if you don't have to travel, don't. I for one am staying home watching the Vikings kick some Cardinal butt (14-0 Minnesota right now).

How do you even measure the snow with all this wind? Outside my apartment building, I have patches of bare ground with big drifts up against buildings. Good luck trying to measure that.

This is a little bit different. We have lost the last four Frozen Four semifinal games, not championship games. It's almost as bad, but not quite. NW Missouri is now the official "Buffalo Bills of Division II Football". They had a young team this year, so hopefully they'll get another chance to win one. There is not much worse in sports than to finish "Runner Up". I have heard NHL players say that it's better to miss the playoffs than to get to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose. I would have to say I understand that sentiment completely and I might feel the same way if I was in that situation.

It's over, UMD wins their first ever Division II title of any kind. FINAL UM-Duluth 21 NW Missouri State 14 It also marks the fourth consecutive title game loss for the Bearcats.

Idalski will get the top-end prospects, it's only a matter of time. This coaching staff has turned the program around in just two seasons and I think they will be able to sell the school and program to top-end talent even with the lack of a tradition and the disasterous Rivard regime still casting a shadow. This year's team has a chance to finish in the middle of the pack in the league. The next couple of years, with some recruiting success, they could do even better. One step at a time.