SiouxTupa

First time ever as a head coach, at any level. That's how highly he was thought of and trusted by staff, alumni, players, and fans. Thank you Coach Berry, Jackson, Shaw, Goehring and the rest of the staff!

Greatest fans in sports! I love this place, and our teams. So many words, head spinning right now.

They left no doubt tonight! National Champs! So amazing to finally type that one out. This board might just be a happy place for a bit!

Strangely enough (or maybe not, this year) I found QU to be much more entertaining than BC yesterday. They were all over BC in the first 10 min. I was telling a friend that QU let Lowell score first and took a long while to get into that regional game. They were fine once they did, but I thought if BC got up early they would win. Good for the Bobcats.

The loss of LJ, if he can't go, is big because you're down a good faceoff guy. That made a big difference with all of the icings. That being said, the faceoff numbers were quite even for the game, and UND won the big one when it counted. Everyone in the press conference acknowledged that they didn't play their best game. Part of the credit goes to Denver. But you could see the relief and excitement on their faces after this one. I'm optimistic they'll be more like the team we remember from the regional on Saturday.

Loosen up the grips a bit, take it home! QU won't give it away, they have the past in their minds as well. Two teams that have been ranked #1 the most this year. Totally fitting.

Isn't it a yes-brainer though, because they become a free agent quicker this way? Understandable to see what he's got, if you do plan to keep him long term.

I've heard stories of coaches staying out of things between periods during the final games and letting the players in the locker room motivate each other. I think captains might make the most difference in these big games, at least when discussing leadership. Good thing we have more captains than any other team in the field! Monty has done a great job at Denver. I remember when Gwoz was canned, they were not doing well and for the coming season they only had a third string goalie on the roster. Berry, at least from what the players say, brings a calming presence to the team. There was a great quote from Ausmus in one of the recent articles out there, where he said with Berry you know he cares about you so much and it makes you want to do right by that. Maybe this demeanor is the tweak UND needed. Edit: In this article: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/colleges/frozen-four-how-a-first-time-head-coach-kept-und-hockey-rolling/2271818

Just like every team in the Frozen 4, Denver is peaking at the right time. They play a pretty good team game, are getting reliable goaltending, and scoring in bunches. I don't believe they're too heavy on upper or lower-classmen, so a good balance. They had been rotating goalies, but Jaillet has been their guy lately. They also have some great firepower from the D in Butcher and Zajac. ETA: The D and G weren't too great against Ferris, but I'll attribute that to a traditionally weaker opponent that may have surprised Denver. They'll be ready for UND, and I expect an entertaining game. ETA2: Screw DU

As much as I was not a fan of Jutting as hc in Mankato, I agree that it seems drastic. They were a pretty young team this year. They had one decent line, and then not much else. The second half collapse was pretty epic, but I doubt many expected them to win the league either.

Maybe not for you... If you're not gassed at the end of a playoff game, then you had more to give.

It's more than just goalie play, though. Zane was stellar against Ferris a couple years ago, and very good against MN (but the last goal was rough). Aaron Dell was solid in 10/11. Combining all of those playoff success ingredients has been a problem. But there's always time to remedy that, and they can start this weekend.

Well, most years I don't fill out a bracket...and when I do, I end up picking the good guys. This year, I took a different route. I officially have St. Cloud over BC for the title. Other than a couple blips, they've been the most consistent, and have the depth to do it. Plus, even though they have a really tough regional, it will be friendly territory.

Thanks, and welcome! I should have guessed, it just seemed early. I wasn't familiar with how the 12-team conf sets up the tourney.

They played 4 in a row against Maine in a non-playoff situation. That's interesting. But they did get the job done!

True, but they were also at or near the top of the polls all year, and didn't start the season 1-12.

I love hearing from opposing fans, welcome Hhound! Teams that come in on that long of a winning streak are often the ones that run out of steam. That's a ridiculous run, but it does remind many of us of some Sioux teams over the past decade. It's quite the Jeckyl/Hyde season. My big concern is how many open looks we've given teams over the last month or so. Open guys in the slot have burned us. I'm hoping it hit its peak at the DU series last month, but it hasn't gone away completely. Now that the games are do or die, I'm sure we'll see harder back-checking. The good thing is that we've played a couple solid defensive teams after several weeks against weaker ones. Personally, I think I'm more excited for this first round game than I have been in a while. NU is definitely not your typical 4-seed (that's probably not a thing anymore.) Given that it could be a toss-up, this will be a fun one!

Lots of posts for UND. Good to get those out of the way this weekend, I guess.

Whoa, whoa...what happened to haughty? Perhaps unwarranted, it was at least entertaining. I'm sure we're all hoping for a better effort than we've seen in UND's past Frozen Faceoff appearances. It should be a fantastic tournament with no clear favorite.

Hoping Ausmus will be back soon, but both freshmen have impressed me. I don't feel nervous at all with either of them out there. The one exception might have been early season at Western where they weren't quite ready for the punishment. Wolanin has been steadily good, but Shaw has clearly improved in the second half. Best time of the year, bring it on!

That's the scary thing is that we could have a 3rd (I think) round draft pick ride the bench an entire year then have to battle against a top-3 statistical goalie for possibly two more years. Yes, Matej was recovering from surgery, but it sounds like he's been good to go since the start of the new year. It's seriously doubtful he stays long enough to be clear of Cam. I guess it's a good problem to have. Let's just be happy we have presumably three very capable goalies, rather than a situation like the 01-02 team had after Karl left.

Whatever, Sic is clearly saying he's happy with "a point." One of those settler type fans.

WMU has been passable at home, at least compared to their road record, which is terrible. Sweep them back to the 'zoo. I'm sure the upperclassmen remember a couple years ago when the Broncos won a game and Cloud took the cup outright. Keep the momentum building from the last couple weeks. The forecheck has really been on-point lately.

A win is rarely, if ever, a letdown. They allowed 1 goal tonight. UMD is a veteran team and played a very hard road game. It's a big deal that UND was able to grind out a full 3 pt win.

I think they have been. Wilkie was out on the very first pp Sat in his first game back after his injury. I think most players have gotten at least a bit of pp time when they're not quad-shifting the CBS line.