jk

Given that WMU is the heaviest team in college hockey, it was a particularly bad game to be without UND's two biggest defensemen.

If I had identical twins, I'd name them correlation and causation, so I could say they are equal. For hockey, I leave the fourth line together. They're not heavy, but they are pests, always causing havoc. Good momentum changers.

Or UMD for me.

They played earlier in the year.

Q with the slight edge in shots 42-12, including 18-1 in the third.

UND fans lead the nation in up/down ratio over the last 40 years. And 30 years. Over 20 you could argue they're in the top 3. Over 10 in the top 3. We've been blessed.

I think WMU was impressive and could win some games. They play a heavy, heavy game, and UND could not handle it in the last half of the second. It was men against boys, physically. They will be a load, tough to handle for a lot of teams. Including UND. That said, UND has beaten them, so it can be done. Wow, this UND team plays the least skilled game I've seen from the program in a long, long time. They seem built for a north south, in your face, aggressive, chaos-causing game. But the PPs really highlighted the lack of finesse. They're going to have to dial it to 11 to make it work next week.

Actually playing just fine 5 on 5.

UND without one of its most noticeable players in the second half. Carson Albrecht. Always stirring things up.

If UND loses, I've seen several scenarios where they fall to 8. I was surprised.

So tired of them winning, but someone's in for an unpleasant surprise when they draw them next week. Good luck with all the fancy moves when there's no space.

Denver looks slick as hell. Duluth looks like they always do this time of year.

While Sanderson's injury is still terrible news (and for him more than us; we just watch, he's living it; and this is not a guy with one foot out the door, as evidenced by the fateful crease dive), the good news about the way it played out is the team had February to learn to play in his absence. The team learned they can do it, and individual guys got better with the ice time. So lfg.

My concerns aren't media induced, they're straight from my own head. When Frisch and Sanderson were out, the prospect of adding them back for 25 minutes meant setting Kleven and Jandric up to dominate in their reduced minutes, and helping Moore and Bast hold their own, and putting the fourth pair on the shelf. All is not lost, but beating a bunch a good teams in a row, no losses allowed, will be tough without him. They've proven they can win games, but they'll have to be close to flawless to beat some of these arguably more talented opponents in the big tourney.

No forward has put up dominating numbers, so it seems pretty open, especially given a couple of the netminding performances. Sadly, the way was paved for Sanderson, if not for the Olympics and injuries.

He's the best D I've seen at UND (missed Patrick, but since 83 anyway) and it's not close. I think he's going to be a great pro as well. Its very unfortunate that he's missed so much of the year, but he chose to come back to have a great year at UND when he could have very easily stepped into a top 4 role and big paychecks.

I think the absence earlier in the year was for illness. That means his first injury was in the Olympics, and the second was not so much due to bigger, faster opponents, but a fluky result of his late game swan dive. Edit: I think I'm wrong and there was a late first half injury as well.

I don't really think it's a big deal. It hasn't been a secret to anyone. He could have been cashing the big checks all year but he chose to be here.

Also regarding injuries, if UND is fortunate enough to advance this weekend, WMU would be a risky opponent, given how heavy they are. But most of all I'd worry about facing UMD, where page one of the playbook is run the other team's best player. Ask Tucker Poolman.

Reminds me of 2011. Totally different type of team, but the coaches were ultra cautious with injured guys down the stretch, wanting to be full strength when it mattered. It worked for the regionals anyway.

While I generally agree, I'd just note that some teams have won, or nearly won, the year after they were supposed to. Exhibit A would be UND 2000. After the three-year run of domination, they lost a lot of important players, and I never imagined they would win it all. UND 2005 lost in the title game in the first year post Parise and Bucks, on sheer will. Also, UMD 2018 won it after turning over a ton of its title game roster and playing 5? freshman D.

Speaking of needs at defense next year, one potential unpleasant off-season surprise would be another of the top four getting a nice offer. They have all been pretty impressive down the stretch.

Gonna quote myself to shine a light on my bad call on UND. I felt like sweeps were practically impossible without the entire Senden, Hain, Jammer line and with Sanderson in China. I thought even the CC series was iffy. Pretty much had the rest of the league in the right order, but UND's shorthanded sweeps of UMD and WMU were amazing, reflecting great coaching, effort and goaltending.

It seems pretty likely that UND will finish a 2 seed, somewhere in that 5-8 overall range. If so, it's just a matter of which 1 seed's regional they would end up in. If UND managed to advance to the regional final, none of those would be a picnic. But then, I doubt any of the 1 seeds would be thrilled to see UND there either.

First of all, I disagree that they're not trying. It's just not working out yet. Second, just keep playing and you never know what'll happen. It's hockey. Third, take the top scorer and top D pair off a team and see how it goes. The results the last few weeks have been miraculous. If one of these games finally goes sideways, it should not be a surprise. That means D 7 and 8 are playing. But if you don't fully trust them, then 3 and 4, and 5 and 6, are playing heavy minutes. Which leads to fatigue, and then mistakes. It's not an excuse, just reality. Fourth, I'm not sure who the better draw is between CC and Miami. They have both had their moments and they will both be playing for their seasons. Seems like a push.