jk

The big story from last night is that UND outgoaltended Omaha. Scheel with a few huge saves and the Mav goalie wishes he had a few back.

Perhaps Gabinet wasn't upset with the officiating because he had nothing to complain about. I doubt he was going to complain about getting five minute PP's to start and end the game.

Gaber got a 10 minute misconduct, and 4 of the minors were coincidental, so it was 18 minutes shorthanded. And one of the minors was during a major, so we really had a guy in the box for 16 minutes. Which is still a lot.

How bout we be armchair hockey experts rather than epidemiologists. I'm liking Caulfield's step up and think it could go a long way to giving us the coveted two genuine scoring lines.

It's too easy to play CC right now, and then you suffer the next week, as we saw against Denver. It will be tough to get them ready for next week.

It might be because they're playing cc, but 25, 26, 27, and 28 all appear to be taking a step.

How much are we going to miss Kierstad next year? So composed.

Jamernik might be getting up to speed, which is good.

If UND wants to do better, they should try to touch the puck this period.

UND's top line struggled, but the Adams line was good. Getting them both going would make the team tough to play. I'm not sure Budy is ready for that spot yet, but also not sure who else would fit. Caulfield has tantalizing vision, but you'd be losing Budy's motor in that swap.

I'm a big fan, but it might have been the worst game for Pinto I have seen. Hands weren't there.

A breakaway with the goalie on the bench.

While I hate the big ice, one guy who loves it is Adams.

16 and 18 look like seniors.

Maybe they really miss Cruikshank, but how has CC beaten anyone? (Paying for this later, I'm sure.)

UND looks rusty. Maybe it's the big ice, but the pace of this game is hard to watch after the WJC.

Sanderson settled down and was back to his old self, moving the puck smartly.

This is why it was crucial to not lay an egg in the pod. Who knows how many games will be played?

The last thing I want to do is defend MN, but they are unbeaten, and they have three regular defensemen at the WJC. We have an idea what that feels like. I think Motzko has built an NCHC team there, as they've gotten older and their talent has improved. We're basically seeing now how a top NCHC team would fare in the Big Ten. Faber and Johnson have been terrific at times in Edmonton, and I think they are going to be a tough out. Normally NCHC teams would gain an edge by being battle-hardened as a result of going through the NCHC schedule, but without playing UMD and SCSU in the second half, I'm not sure that advantage will be there this year. I think the sensible folks who would prefer MN not do well may have to rely on the fact that Motzko has had great teams struggle in the post-season.

Obviously Pinto's health will be the main story. The team's best player by a mile.

Maybe Miami is just tired, but it would not be good to play them to get ready for the end of the year. Too much time and space. You play Duluth for 60 minutes and barely see a decent chance and Miami hands them out like candy at a parade.

Nice assist by Moore earlier and he's promising, but also a giveaway machine right now.

I gather we're not supposed to talk about it much, but missing three regular D changes so much. Not only are they not there, but JBD and Kierstad are not real effective because they're so gassed. Add that to the fact that UND is usually a not-yet-very good team in the first third of the year, and this what it looks like.

Besides the dumb penalty, Budy seems to be getting up to speed, by the eye test anyway. Also, Mismash with a couple nice setups for tap-ins. For the freshmen (and Budy isn't really one), hard to believe they're only 12 days into their college careers. Baptism by fire.

We have no idea how they're even picking the tournament field, so I'd prefer they win a lot of games between now and then. I'm not freaking out, but the cushion we're usually afforded by the conference's outperformance may not be there this year.