TNF

Tomek saw the future since this helmet design was posted on Marcus Power's website back in June.

The administration better be praying Nodaks doesn't win. Can you imagine the outcry from the non-nodak crowd since it should have been eliminated according to the original rules? While the sensible crowd might be okay with it knowing it most likely had to survive two run-off rounds, the non-sensible crowd will blow a gasket. These final rounds of voting need to finally bring closure to this whole thing (after a brief morning period for the fallen names).

It is the World Junior syndrome all over again. The Ralph hosted the WJC and it was so popular that it attracted bigger fish to compete with it and now the tourney is simply too big for Grand Forks. Fargo hosted the regional and proved that it easily could have doubled ticket sales and it attracted bigger fish to the marketplace. The difference is that Fargo is lucky enough to host it twice.

My guess is capacity. Sanford Center in Sioux Falls has a capacity of 10,678 for hockey. This change would allow in the neighborhood of 40% more Sioux fans to attend. Of course the town will have to be renamed SoDak Falls for the weekend in order for the NC$$ not to deem it hostile and abusive.

Here is a pic of the Pepsi Center setup. I know the Tampa Bay Lightening have a similar setup as do several other NHL clubs.

What if they updated the Ralph with the new Pepsi Center style scoreboard and moved part or all of the "old" scoreboard over to the Betty? I have only been in the Betty once or twice so I'm not sure what kind of space constraints would have to be taken into account. This would allow the Ralph to keep up with the current arena trends while providing some much needed technology to the Betty.

12 of us coming from 3 states staying in the suburbs.

I thought NS upped his play in the defensive end during the critical stretches of the third period. He won a few puck battles right in front of us and seemed to be making a conscious effort to work harder in that end of the ice. He will continue to grow defensively next year but I thought it was great to see him take a step in that area heading into the FF.

I could easily see this happening but to play devils advocate by placing both in the same region it is highly likely that one of the Boston schools makes it out of that region. If you split them up you could get both there but you also increase the risk that both miss out.

Ticket has been sold!

I have access to a single All-Session ticket to the 2015 Frozen Four in Boston. The seat is located in section Loge18 Row 8 Seat 7 (only 8 rows from the glass). The ticket will be sold for face value and will be adjacent to two other Sioux fans. Let me know if you are interested.

Dean likes to prevent entry into the offensive zone and gives his D full permission to hit anyone as they come across the blue line as long as numbers are even. I'm afraid this is the series we learn the hard way how beneficial Stetcher's ability to gain the zone is to this team (assuming he is officially out). With that said, it is a great opportunity for Poolman, Ausmus, and even Mattson to take a step forward in this area.

I miss when college athletics were more about the competition than money/politics. Back when rivalries meant something. When you anticipated the year you crushed your closest rival and sent them home with their tails between their legs. Back when fanbases' petty arguments were settled on the field when the teams faced off head to head. Sadly we are to a point where money, power, and satisfying your own agenda are the most important things to most programs including our own. This isn't just an UND/NDSU thing either but just the latest example. We might as well start paying the athletes because money is already the main driving force behind most decisions in collegiate athletics.

I'm getting the same on both CHN and USCHO. Wisconsin has to win or we are the last one out.

The USCHO pairwise predictor is showing us as the last ones in if Wisconsin wins, last ones out if Ohio States wins. In the scenarios I ran the NCHC final didn't have an impact at this point.

They should include "NCHC hockey games shall not be interrupted by a lacrosse game under any circumstance for even a second nor should the word lacrosse even be mentioned during a broadcast" to all future television deals just to cover the bases. Too bad they won't be able to get ESPN on board for the NCAA tourney.

I'm still a little confused on how we have clinched home ice. Denver is in fifth currently with 29 points. If they were to win the next four games (worth 3 points each) and we lose the next four; they finish with 41 points to our 39 points. We would still finish with more conference wins but I thought points were the main deciding factor only going to conference wins in the case of a tie.

Bismarck had an indoor football team called the RoughRiders for a short period of time. While I think the logo could be better, it could serve as a starting point to generate ideas.

"It's a chip-it-along-the-wall-then-dump transition. Most often, it's a chip-it-along-the-wall-to-covered-winger-and-play-defense transition." That is what had me the most frustrated. Stetcher was the only player on the ice that seemed to resist this temptation consistently. He was the bright spot on Saturday and it had as much to do with the little things in his game than the fact that he scored.

My biggest concern is that the same patterns emerge each year and we have not evolved as a program which falls on the coaching staff. In the Frozen Fours of the past, BC taught the college hockey world that UND is dreadfully awful against a neutral zone trap. Now UMD and St. CLOUD have taken note and use it very successfully against us.

Well at least the BIG 10 well have some extra time to prepare for their inaugural season.

They were in Section 315 but were sold last night as well. Thanks for your inquiries. Good luck finding tickets!

Tickets have been sold.

I have two tickets in section 315 for the Saturday Denver Game. The tickets are currently in Bismarck however we will be in GF for both games. We are hoping for the full face value of $116 obo. Message me here or text 701-400-0013.