jk

There are times when I've thought the team was too tight. The Frattin Michigan game for example. I don't really feel like that was the problem last weekend -- they were just "off" for some reason. They weren't good enough this weekend to be tight. As to whether tightness is a result of a coaching philosophy, I'd just point to last year, when the team played both the Wisconsin and Minnesota games like they wanted to win (!).

With respect to the dedicated fans of other teams, the old WCHA Final Five was an exercise to distribute money from two fan bases to the rest of the league. Now, the Frozen Faceoff exists to spread UND fans' money across the NCHC. While it would be nice from an atmosphere and fan and player experience standpoint, I can't see NCHC schools being willing to share their portion of the UND fanbase gold with WCHA teams, unless they somehow got a sweet deal. You can debate whether UND has the best team or the best program, but there's no doubt that UND's massive cult following, and the money they spend, is unmatched in college hockey.

I'm not sure on these, but wasn't UND/Michigan in the super regional days, where everyone was in one Western regional? In that case, they had no choice. Also, UND/MN wasn't a first round #1/#4 matchup, it was a second round. Which is different.

Apparently people think Providence won't be there because it would be unfair to the #1 seed to have to play a #4 in their territory.

Thanks to both you and SiouxScore for clarifying.

CHN (Wodon) prediction: Midwest Region, South Bend, Ind. 1. Minnesota State vs. 16. RIT 8. UNO vs. 10. Minnesota West Region, Fargo, N.D. 2. North Dakota vs. 15. Providence 7. Michigan Tech vs. 12. St. Cloud State Northeast Region, Manchester, N.H. 3. Boston University vs. 14. Quinnipiac 6. Duluth vs. 11. Boston College East Region, Providence, R.I. 4. Miami vs. 13. Yale 5. Denver vs. 9. Harvard

Curious how people get SCSU in Fargo, when it's so easy to go chalk 7-10 and put MN there.

I'm not sure on this one, but he may have been kicked out for running Caggiula, perhaps resulting in an unreported injury still impacting his play. If so, then I won't feel bad for him getting suspended.

That's not really a trend.

It looks like there is one spot left. If Michigan wins, they get it. If they lose, they're out. Then, a Miami win puts their old rival Bowling Green in. A St. Cloud win puts Providence in instead. If the committee goes strictly 1-16, 2-15, etc., UND would draw whichever of those three teams makes it in the next hour or so. Edit: Now the YATC is kicking out a different result. It looks like it is either Michigan or Providence.

Let me preface this by saying I'm a big fan of the program, including the coaches and players. I also think it's possible they can win two games next weekend. That said, just using my eyes and head, it looks like they have the fork stuck halfway in them already. Teams should be parachuting into Fargo hoping to play them. They went from, as Brad said, very hard to beat, to very hard to lose to. I think the teams that got beat in the first round are in a much better situation, as they got a week to rest and get a bit surly. This team looks heavy-legged and unfocused. It's hard to see the focus returning in six days. I think sometimes teams peak emotionally and can't get back to that level again. I felt like it happened in the Michigan game that followed Holy Cross, when the Sioux were extremely dynamic and energized. They didn't play quite that way again in either of the two games that followed. I wondered if it happened during the emotional outdoor game in Omaha, which was such an unusual event. And this year it might have happened in the wonderful effort against St. Cloud that featured the 3-on-5 PK that finished Mac's career. Didn't Caggiula get crushed from behind recently (Miami?) and struggle to get off the ice? I have to wonder if he is hurt, because for most of the season he was often one of the most noticeable players on the ice, and I haven't noticed him. I thought LaDue had a pedestrian first half plus this season. I expected him to be the team's best all-around defenseman, and he wasn't. This weekend I thought he was. I don't know if he was dinged up, but he appears to be over it. I liked Nick Schmaltz this weekend. I thought Murphy got better as the game went along. I'd go back to him. If the team can rediscover backchecking, they have a shot, because they have a great goalie. The two positives from this weekend. 1) It isn't next weekend. (Although I understand it could well turn out the same.) 2) If they go down in flames, it won't be a dagger to the heart (for fans) like it would have been just a few weeks ago. Let's face it, the dagger's already a few inches in, and one last push wouldn't be a shock. It feels like it would be an upset for the Sioux to get through to Boston at this point. But we can hope.

Threads like this help me freshen up on some message board features, like: Click on your username at the top, select "Manage Ignore Prefs", type in any one of about six new ones today (with names that could just as well be "Siouxmoron1", "Siouxmoron2", etc.), and add them to your ignore list. Takes a minute, but helps you catch up on threads quicker!

Denver showed amazing restraint after that boarding, which was completely unnecessary at that point in the game. I left that game thinking Miami is now cheaper than Denver.

Lots of BU fans next weekend.

Say what you want about MN, but they wouldn't be the first team to go through a rough stretch in the middle of the season and come on late. Penn St. has had a pretty good year, but they've just gotten worked this weekend.

Here is why single elimination is so tough in hockey. Although this particular game isn't single elimination, it can happen at any time. MTU and UAH are scoreless late in the fifth period, with MTU outshooting UAH 64-21. That's a lotta shots with nothing to show for it.

Mankato up 6-2 in the second against LSSU. Shots 42-10.

Pattyn is actually a fairly clever offensive player. Witness some of his assists to Rocco last year and (was it just last week) to Johnson.

I don't know if they can win four in a row getting outshot like that, but they are hard to beat, that's for sure. Hopefully they'll find line combos they can roll with. It's no surprise the one non-fluke goal on the night was by the intact line.

I disagree about Hennessy. He credits good plays by the opposition and notes poor plays by the Sioux as much as anyone. He also very professionally gives the score and time, which is a lost fundamental in the business.

Looks like two even teams. The Sioux got a break. The forward lines, perhaps understandably, seem out of sync.

Do we know which players made the trip to Miami?

stoney, Like you, I'm pretty sure the reports are true and Mac's season is over, but I also generally hesitate to take message board posts as gospel. I also appreciate when people post their information, and understand they can't divulge sources. It's up to me to believe what I want.

Just from reading the tea leaves, it seems almost certain that Zane and J. Schmaltz are moving on next year. A high profile guy like Tomek is not coming in to sit on the bench. Likewise, all those committed defensemen are committed because they will need numbers, with two seniors graduating, Schmaltz leaving, and LaDue (big risk) and Stecher (medium risk) maybe leaving.

Having seen UND's play and results against the other top NCHC teams, it's easy to imagine UND losing to any of them. The teams took turns looking impressive, and Zane was the difference more than once. This is a very good UND team, in a league with other very good teams. Zane and the unusually mobile and skilled defense could set UND apart when it counts. In MacMillan's absence, though, someone is going to have to win faceoffs, especially on late-game PKs in the defensive zone. You just cannot repeatedly hand them possession.