Dustin

Someone give me a brief synopsis of this kid.

I had not heard of Brent Brekke before today. Bio says he was born in Minot. He's been coaching at the collegiate level since 1999, currently head coach of St. Lawrence.

Found what I was looking for here: https://teamusa.usahockey.com/page/show/721947-world-junior-championship-all-time-roster

A little off topic, but have there been North Dakota-born (or claimed a ND hometown) players on the WJC Team?

Yikes!!

I knew that was coming. USA looking lifeless so far.

I had never heard of the WJC until 2004 when Parise helped win USA's first gold and then the Ralph was set to host starting later the same year. Ever since then, though it's been a highlight of the Christmas / New Year's period when the colleges are on break. I don't follow the NHL much.

Yep, no doubt.

I was told by someone that the event has gotten too large for Grand Forks to be the primary host, so I figured a city with an NHL arena and fan base (Winnipeg) would help make the case. But perhaps Fargo and Grand Forks would do, too.

I was probably at one of those games!! That is awesome. All the more reason to get the WJC back to Grand Forks.

I understand. But they tend not to be off by a factor of 10, either.

I think I say this every year, but I would like to see Winnipeg and Grand Forks team up to host a WJC. Put USA's group in Grand Forks, put Canada's group in Winnipeg. Other pairs of cities that are about the same distance apart have hosted together (Regina/Saskatoon, Halifax/Moncton, for example).

Not that I am defending Minnesota and their claim of "State of Hockey" but not sure what you were expecting for games not featuring USA or Canada. On TV, the atmosphere seems great for USA games, and the Canada games have more attendance than you claim. https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/wm20/schedule Click on "Game Centre" 12/26 - USA vs Germany - A: 14,276 12/26 - Canada vs Czechia - A: 5,502 12/27 - USA vs Swiss - A: 13,984 12/27 - Canada vs Latvia - A: 4,146

Yes, I love this tournament.

entertaining game, for sure

Mackenzie

Czechia scores a goal on a delayed penalty call. Been a while since I've seen that.

For streaming, it looks like you need Fubo or IIHF.tv

So no Verhoeff? Who is the UND recruit playing for Canada?

I too was suprised.

I foresee Spunar in goal for UND for a while....

I never stated or suggested that his son was involved with the FDU volleyball program or any sort of nepotism, just posting what is the most plausible explanation of how UND caught “nguyend” of a D-1 coach with a history of turning around a program.

For the Nguyen

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/college/und-hires-david-nguyen-as-volleyball-coach "UND has a tie with Fairleigh Dickinson. Chaves' son, Derek, is a graduate assistant at Fairleigh Dickinson this year."

Folks, folks.....volleyball.