UND schedules home & home with Maine

[jimdahl]

UND will go to Maine in 2004-05, Maine will come to Engelstad in 2005-06.

Maine press release

[sioux fan in phoenix]

Well, certainly good news for the Sioux to secure

top competition like this. A few more Maine-like teams on our schedule & a few less Canisius', Niagaras, Browns & BSUs can only help our boys in the long run. Playing much less talented teams serves real no purpose & doesn't adequately prepare them for the playoff stretch.

[~SiouxHockeyLover~]

But those games are so much fun! Come on, you can't tell me you don't like to go to the games where a boys just womp on the other team!! I know I love those games!

[sioux fan in phoenix]

But those games are so much fun! Come on, you can't tell me you don't like to go to the games where a boys just womp on the other team!! I know I love those games!

Yeah, massacres are a joy to behold.

It bodes better, imo, for the Sioux to lose a

close game to a team like Maine than to

wallop some pseudo team like Concordia.

[Diggler]

Sure creaming a crappy team is fun. But if the Sioux beat Maine or a team like them, it is way more satisfying. And if the Sioux cream Maine, it is absolutely great. There isn't much better than that because the arena would be rocking much more than it would be beating Concordia.

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

While I do agree with you Siouxhockeylover that it is fun to watch the Sioux massacre the Canisius' and the Niagra's, being a hockey purist, I love a great hardfought game. The kind of game Maine has given us and will continue to give us. One reason the Gopher games are always soldout. Being our #1 rival, you can be sure we are in for some good, no no great, old fashioned, Old Time Hockey. There is also something to what Diggler says about beating a team like Maine with a good tradition. It's a lot more satisfying than beating Little Sisters of the Poor Community College (they just moved up to D1 ).

[ScottM]

From my own perspective, I think the team benefits more from playing top-tier talent, like Maine, Michigan, etc., even if they lose, than if they fatten up on the Canuisus' of the world. In fact, given the normal ECAC/HE competition, I don't really mind when they play the Ivies, who have been known to have some pretty solid teams over the years. My own opinion is that the team got a bit lazy with their inflated record from the first half of the 2002-03 season and it cost them down the stretch.

[Diggler]

One exception of course is playing Canisius. The Wookie coming back to Engelstad would be great. If UND was smart they would build up the games around the Wookie and have Canisius make some Wookie mechandise. People would buy it by the boatload and the two schools could split the profit. There could even be a "Meet the Wookie" autograph session after the games.

[sioux fan in phoenix]

...If UND was smart they would build up the games around the Wookie and have Canisius make some Wookie mechandise...

Like long-haired bobbleheads & Wookie trading cards?

Hmmm, I smell M-O-N-E-Y!

[skateshattrick]

This is great news. The Sioux want to play the best, and Maine is one of the elite. Hockey East is pretty close to the WCHA in terms of strength top to bottom. Outside of the Minnesota series, the best series I can remember was against BU in 1996 (the same year that the Sioux beat BU in the National Championship). The crowd was on its feet most of the 3rd period in the game that the Sioux came back from 3 goals to win.

[Riverman]

UND will go to Maine in 2004-05, Maine will come to Engelstad in 2005-06.

Maine press release

Hmmm don't they play D1AA football??