jk

Time Machine, baby. Go back and tell Cichy and Bruno that not all of those freshman forwards will make it onto the roster, and as a result they will be fixtures in the lineup all year long. The roster is a disaster this year, from a depth standpoint. Cichy, Bruno, Miller and St. Clair. A couple of them would have helped quite a bit. Add in the early injuries to Grimaldi and O'Donnell and you see where they are. I'm not sure the coaches could have done much. Thank goodness for Dell and Blood. Their presence in the lineup is crucial.

I think it's a stretch to call UND's top six forwards as good as anyone's. Two juniors, a sophomore with a ton of promise but who isn't there yet, and two freshmen who are question marks until they prove it. That's five, and we don't even know who the sixth might be. I'm excited to see it play out, but I'm not thinking one of the nation's top forward groups. (That was last year.)

Despite my starting this with discipline as a virtue, I admit I have considered whether being on the PK might have gotten the team going. Not necessarily with a shortie, but just changing the rhythym of the game away from the trapfest.

OR maybe he's working hard to catch up from his health-related absence and the internet rumors are baseless.

1. Culture: This is more strategic than tactical, but the coaches have built a culture that has encouraged players to stay in college longer than they may have at other schools. In almost all cases, staying an extra year is beneficial, but it's hard for players to resist the money and pressure to leave. Players will still leave, but there are numerous examples of Sioux players who stayed longer than we might have guessed, and also numerous examples where staying longer helped their careers. 2. Dell: When Eidsness struggled and they went to Dell, they didn't hesitate to ride him the rest of the way when he shined. It seems straightforward in hindsight, but putting a two-time all-conference goalie on the shelf could not have been easy. 3. Preparing the depth: With 8 capable defensemen, playing time was at a premium, but the coaches managed to get the two freshmen ample icetime throughout the year so they would be prepared when needed. Special thanks go to Marto and Gleason, as their flexibility allowed this happen. 4. Health and fatigue: The coaches did a masterful job managing the team's injuries down the stretch, so the team was rested and healthy for the postseason. Injuries are of course good or bad luck, but it's the way they managed the injuries that was key. When Genoway was out for 3-5 weeks, they kept him out 5, and when he returned he was extremely dynamic, with very fresh legs. Likewise keeping Gregoire, Rowney and Rodwell on the shelf for the Final Five allowed them to play in the regional with a ton of energy. Kristo's legs were also fresh. I'm guessing if an NCAA berth had been in question, these guys would all have played earlier. Special thanks here go to Marto and Gleason (again) as well as Dicken and Bruneteau, who filled in and kept the train rolling while guys rested and healed. 5. Discipline: Several of UND's NCAA exits could be tied at least partially to untimely penalties. This year, UND only had to kill 1 penalty against Michigan. How much of this is due to the coaches or players I don't know, but it was a welcome change.

Congrats to Sandelin, former Sioux standout player and assistant coach. It hasn't always been smooth in Duluth, but he's now a legend there. Also to the Dogs. Schmidt couldn't have seemed like a nicer guy in the interview on the ice right afterward. The celebration was tough to watch, though, and my budding recovery has been stunted.

Moron season on the message board has begun, and it's not going to be pretty.

Great effort by a great team, but hockey is cruel. This is Michigan's payback for 1997.

Agree. The only time they looked rough was on the PP. 5-on-5 very much in control. Gotta score pretty soon though.

You have to be good and lucky, and the four finalists all caught breaks to advance. UND was fortunate Denver was dragged to 2 OTs in the late game against WMU. They couldn't win a race or a battle in the third period. Michigan is thankful Howe played out of his mind against BC and Muse played without his in the same game. (Not really fair as Muse didn't play terribly.) What I saw from BC in that game was a team with a ridiculous amount of offensive ability. I'm still surprised they didn't come back and win in the third, because they created enough chances for it to happen. Michigan also arguably caught a break with the curious OT goal call against UNO, although I think it was probably both a goal and an incorrect call. Notre Dame was 1-2-2 against Miami this year, including a 6-2 loss a week before the Regional. Getting placed in Miami's bracket seemed unfortunate, until UNH took Miami out of the picture. UMD had to go through Union and Yale to get to the Frozen Four: the nicest regional placement ever for a #3 seed. In addition, Yale's best player was questionably booted from the game in the second, with the ensuing two PP goals burying the ... er, Bulldogs. So everyone caught breaks to get here, and to their credit they all jumped on them. Who will have the good fortune in 10 and 12 days, and will anyone be good enough to overcome the bad breaks?

I guessed first, then checked, and it's INCH's list of the top forward recruits for this year's group of seniors. #19 on the list is having a big senior year.

Drove straight through from GF to Detroit, via the UP. Good memories.

This worked for me, a Comcast Twin Cities customer. Outstanding, as I didn't know how I was going to watch otherwise.

UND should not act responsibly (considering the health of various programs in the WCHA and CCHA) to be "nice." They should do it selfishly, because keeping college hockey healthy is ultimately in UND's own best interest.

Looked up the top goal scorer each year in the last 10: 01 33 Gionta (next was 32, Lundbohm) 02 37 Hartigan (34, Taffe) - how did they not win an NCAA game? 03 36 Sejna (35, Kunitz, Bochenski) 04 32 Lessard (29) 05 34 Sterling (27) 06 38 Potulny (34,Collins) 07 32 Cook - Niagara (31, Duncan) 08 35 Gerbe (33) 09 33 Lamoureaux (26) 10 30 Atkinson (29) 11 35 Frattin (30 Atkinson (back-to-back 30-goal seasons; what a stud)) Only 3 players in the last 10 years have scored more than 35 goals. If they want to give a career award, Atkinson's 30/30 is pretty compelling. If Meile loses, Miami fans will think of it as Panzer-style robbery (nation's top scorer by a good margin).

Does UND have an obligation to do the right thing for college hockey? Just because the Big 10 schools don't care that they might be undermining several programs, should UND not care? UND should consider doing the "right thing" not because it might help those other programs, but because it will ultimately be beneficial to UND to have a healthy college hockey landscape. Conference power grabs don't offend me in the bigger sports, because football and basketball programs aren't going anywhere. College hockey is fragile, though. If UND pushes for and gets a superconference, several programs could struggle and fold. Also, a superconference that competes with the Big 10 would have the same strutural flaw the Big 10 risks: not enough weaker teams to balance out a schedule.

One small point. Strictly from a travel cost standpoint, remaining in a league with Bemidji, Duluth, St. Cloud and Mankato makes sense.

Was thinking during Saturday's game that UND needed some of its forwards back. The whole roster has stepped up in the absence of injured players, but we started to see during games against better teams that the injured players are missed. Getting Gregoire back would be big of course, but also Rowney and /or Rodwell would help round out the lower lines. I have no idea of their status, but it would be nice to get at least one of them back.

The Sioux are now, and for the next few games, taking a journey to a place where the climate is perfect for the cultivation of bad habits. Provided the Sioux advance to the Final Five, the first period of play there will be a huge eyeopener for the team.

What scores are you predicting for the second and third periods?

Agree wholeheartedly.

I want to agree, but I don't think things like that should be written or said aloud. I remember when Goehring got hurt the week of the NCAA regional at Yost and the team just wasn't the same with the backup in there (despite the backup being the defending national champion goalie). So officially I'm going with: Dell is an OK goalie.

I'm shocked, shocked I say, to find UND's outstanding play attributed to Genoway's absence. Actually it's true that both Genoway and Kristo are somewhat responsible for the team playing so well, because their absence is an adverse situation, and Hak's teams respond to adversity in the Spring by coming together. Going back to Brady Murray and then Robbie Bina going down, when the going gets tough, Hak's teams get going. Did the other 18 guys catch passes they've been bobbling lately because Genoway made the team unbalanced? No. They were intense and focused because they were in a tough spot, missing two of their most talented teammates. Brock Nelson showed his growth Saturday, when at least twice he was back covering when the puck came back the other way with Marto caught deep. It was outstanding for a freshman to recognize when his offensive defenseman was doing what he is supposed to do, push the play forward. Marto is playing as well as I've seen him play; just a wonderful senior defenseman. I'd say he was the best player on the ice, but not with Frattin there. Frattin's playing at a level that I have to go back to Jeff Panzer to see in a Sioux uniform. Earlier this year, it was the shot. Now it's seeing the ice and making the pass. And all the way through has been the physicality and speed.

One other reason to keep Blais on a pedestal: He was instrumental in getting UND the gift that keeps on giving - REA. I'm not sure the arena would have been built if he hadn't revived the program as he did. As to this weekend, UND may be just what Omaha needed, a team that will skate with you, rather than play conservatively. I expect both teams to get up and down the ice. Omaha will pressure the Sioux defense, but in doing so they will also leave opportunities the other way. At the very least the games should be extremely entertaining. I think UND sweeps, but I wouldn't be surprised or offended if they didn't.

Normally when a player skates a long shift, it's selfish. But when Robert Morris stays on the ice for 60 minutes, it's OK because he doesn't have any teammates. Also, he must have been the number one recruiting class the year he started, what with his immense versatility and stamina.