jk

If UND at 2 draws an autobid 15, I'd rather it be an ECAC team than OSU, who is used to going toe to toe with the big boys. Or BC, which wouldn't be a treat either.

I know it seems crazy, but I think if they lose next week, Duluth could fall to 8 or 9. We'll see the updated probability matrix soon enough to see if that's right.

Does anyone know if the illness running through the team is real, or just a handy excuse? I do see that Kernan was out sick today, but that doesn't tell me anything about the rest of the team.

UST and Mankato is an elimination game. Whoever loses looks to fall off the cutline. I think.

Knowing how Sandy coaches, he could have the ingredients for another run. Stellar goalie most importantly, but also top-end skill to bury chances, even if they're rare, and a good skating balance of the roster that's hard to come back against. That was UND in 2000 and 2001, but this year UND was assembled to be higher octane. We'll see how it works out.

All the things I've liked about this team are still there. They skate well, share the puck, forecheck aggressively. Not that tonight was all the goalie's fault, but he'll have to be better also.

Mankato has 7 goals on 12 shots.

Duluth settled right down after the James goal, and even before their goals, the third was Duluth's best period.

Not until June.

I will say this is a tough team to miss a pinch against. We will be pinching.

Still don't think UND's actually playing that bad. Duluth's playing well, but UND has had the puck a lot.

Thought UND had good jump. Duluth's first goal was two hockey bounces, gonna happen. The second was an odd-man, and they're a dangerous team. The problem is that's a decent sized deficit against a good goalie. Just keep playing and get a bounce of your own.

You never know, BU might go on a run with Sacha out of the lineup. It's happened before.

It was tragic for us that he was hurt in his sophomore year, as he was good enough to have led us on a run, but this comment seems like a bit of a cheap shot. In his four NHL years, he's played 77, 79, 80 and all 62 games so far this year. This will be his first significant injury since getting his hand stepped on in GF. This year he's first among NHL D in loose puck recoveries, completed stretch passes, 35km/h bursts (tie), and fastest skating speed. Just having a brilliant year. I think he'll end up alongside Belfour and Toews as UND's best players.

The ECAC (3) with more top ten NPI teams than the Big 10 (2). Some wicked cherry picking by me, as 11 and 12 are Big 10 teams, but true nonetheless.

I tend to respect the opponent and its storylines, maybe too much at times, but sometimes you just have to make that irrelevant and go write your own story. I'm looking for some third and fourth line scoring, as that is where I think UND has the edge. Every game.

I've just been enjoying the ride and haven't even considered such things, but I suppose it's reasonable to expect Smaby to get a shot soon. What if he pulls a reverse Blais?

I could live with CC winning just for what it would mean to the Denver fan. Also for Godsmack's wife.

It feels a little like when the vikes played Detroit at the end of the Darnold year. Winner won the division and got the first overall seed in the conference, along with the bye. Loser went on the road as the five seed. With two points, UND can lock up favorable conditions for the next few weeks. Hoping the hard charging version makes the trip.

It's quite easy to see UND finishing third in the league, with DU likely harvesting six points from ASU and UND playing at WMU. I might not care quite so much if the playoff structure hadn't changed, but that would be a devastating result now, with home ice at stake. They just need to play better defensively. Tight checking wins big games.

Going into tonight, any of the top five teams could still finish first in the league.

This one I know. Hrkac was 2-5-7 on Friday and 3-5-8 on Saturday. Gino said: 15 points, that's a career for some guys. I don't recall which of those nights Joyce scored all his goals. Edit: it was Fri, Jan 23.

We've seen plenty of teams peak in February. Will this be one? Time will tell. They could just have needed a wake up call. All the talking in the world can't teach you the lesson you'll learn getting worked over on the rink.

McKenna finished 1-7-8. That's some Hrkac sh*t.

McKenna 1-5-6 through two periods.