The Frozen Four-Viva Las Vegas!

[burd]

Best case:  Denver beats Michigan and we survive Wisconsin to CLOBBER Denver.

With all due respect to Swami.  

[Blackheart]

1 hour ago, fargosioux said:

I asked the AI app on my phone to predict the scores of the Frozen Four:

UND 4, Wisconsin 2

Michigan 5, Denver 3

Michigan 4, UND 3 (OT)

Screw AI!

2026 - DU beats MIGHTY Michigan in upset and lose to Sioux in final.

1997 - BU beats MIGHTY Michigan in upset and lose to Sioux in  final.

 

[Dustin]

7 hours ago, hawksfan12 said:

This is about the biggest possible Frozen Four you could come up with. Destination city. 3 MASSIVE fanbases (UND, UW, UM). UND and UW for instance have been #1 and #2 in college hockey attendance for years with prideful sports cultures. Michigan probably has the most iconic college sports program across all sports (Maize and Blue, Big House, alums everywhere).

The only bigger line-up would be exchanging Denver for Minnesota (large fanbase & MN) or BC/BU (to get the east coast & MA engaged).

If you said, come up with the biggest possible F4...it's UND, Michigan, Minnesota, and dealers choice of Wisconsin/BU/BC. 

Dealers choice is definitely Wisconsin.  Bigger alumni and fan base, plus they will TRAVEL.  Maybe those New Englanders would travel to Vegas, though.  Michigan fans might be a little fatigued with Men's BB in the Final Four.  Women's BB went to Elite Eight before losing.

[Sioux90]

2 hours ago, fargosioux said:

I asked the AI app on my phone to predict the scores of the Frozen Four:

UND 4, Wisconsin 2

Michigan 5, Denver 3

Michigan 4, UND 3 (OT)

Grok has UND and Michigan and it’s 50-50. I’ve got a good feeling about this one. 

[nascar99]

16 minutes ago, Dustin said:

Dealers choice is definitely Wisconsin.  Bigger alumni and fan base, plus they will TRAVEL.  Maybe those New Englanders would travel to Vegas, though.  Michigan fans might be a little fatigued with Men's BB in the Final Four.  Women's BB went to Elite Eight before losing.

Michigan Hockey fans are bit of a different demographic than Michigan Basketball fans. The Michigan fans who will be there in Vegas are hockey diehards, the types who are at Yost most weekends and/or show up at road games. In terms of pure number, not completely sure how many they'll have, but it'll still be sizable regardless.

[SiouxFan100]

We have as good of a chance as any team. Wouldn’t be surprised if we won it all or not.

[Dustin]

53 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

We have as good of a chance as any team. Wouldn’t be surprised if we won it all or not.

Agreed.  And I think there would be more pressure on other teams, especially Michigan.

[SIOUXFAN97]

I hope lv really gets into this....I remember a golden knights game a few years ago iirc but they had a band in the bellagio pond doing a song....really cool stuff....hope they pull out the stops for the FF 

anything UND can do to make some noise nationally?  fly 100 und planes into lv's airport? 'josho duhamel doing some north Dakota stuff around town?

get burgum to get djt wear a Sioux jersey in the oval office...or go to the game together????

[cberkas]

5 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

I hope lv really gets into this....I remember a golden knights game a few years ago iirc but they had a band in the bellagio pond doing a song....really cool stuff....hope they pull out the stops for the FF 

anything UND can do to make some noise nationally?  fly 100 und planes into lv's airport? 'josho duhamel doing some north Dakota stuff around town?

get burgum to get djt wear a Sioux jersey in the oval office...or go to the game together????

They have a drum line that marches through a casino

[brianvf]

Practice times in Vegas.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/2026-frozen-four-practice-times-set-in-las-vegas

[hawksfan12]

2 hours ago, brianvf said:

Practice times in Vegas.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/2026-frozen-four-practice-times-set-in-las-vegas

how is Brad on top of everything? 😂

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2026/04/03_1982-North-Dakota-Wisconsin.php

Wodon beat Schloss to it.

[Oxbow6]

Me catching up on the last couple pages........

[Oxbow6]

I'm going with a UND/DU final after reevaluating the four teams left.

[Dustin]

I do believe UND will be in the championship game but will have its hands full regardless of whether playing Michigan or Denver. 

[RedFrog]

4 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

I'm going with a UND/DU final after reevaluating the four teams left.

What did your evaluation reveal that brought you to this conclusion?  Genuinely curious.

I believe we got a good draw with Wisconsin taking out Michigan State ... I thought the Spartans were the team to beat, however, I think this the Wisconsin matchup is very similar to our Quinnipiac game in the regional final ... we are theoretically the better team and need to bring it out the gate and not let up.

That other side scares me, regardless if it is Denver or Michigan.  Denver has won 11 in a row and hasn't lost in their last 15.  Michigan seems to have momentum and is creating a lot of puck luck.  Their offensive prowess is obviously elite, the question is if their defensive play is as good as it needs to be.  I think Denver is a nightmare matchup for them.

[burd]

Four damn good teams in an intense battle affected by tips, bounces, deflections, and goaltenders.    Enjoy the ride.  

[Dustin]

9 minutes ago, RedFrog said:

I thought the Spartans were the team to beat

After seeing them play their last few games of the season, they didn’t scare me.  It’s maybe a little surprising that they didn’t get to the F4, but even if they had, I think UND would have beaten them in the semifinal. 

[Oxbow6]

14 minutes ago, RedFrog said:

What did your evaluation reveal that brought you to this conclusion?  Genuinely curious.

I believe we got a good draw with Wisconsin taking out Michigan State ... I thought the Spartans were the team to beat, however, I think this the Wisconsin matchup is very similar to our Quinnipiac game in the regional final ... we are theoretically the better team and need to bring it out the gate and not let up.

That other side scares me, regardless if it is Denver or Michigan.  Denver has won 11 in a row and hasn't lost in their last 15.  Michigan seems to have momentum and is creating a lot of puck luck.  Their offensive prowess is obviously elite, the question is if their defensive play is as good as it needs to be.  I think Denver is a nightmare matchup for them.

Tarot cards plus my wise guys Polly and Nicki at the Flamingo Sportsbook.

[nodakgirl93]

Wisconsin has some good wins to their record but also struggled at times. They have a much higher SOS than our last two opponents so you know they have been battle tested. 

They went through a stretch in January where they were swept by Penn St, Michigan St, and Minnesota. Did split 2 weekends with Michigan. 

Get the dub on Thursday and find yourself playing for a natty on Saturday. In a one and done anything can happen. Good or bad. 

 

[SIOUXFAN97]

if spunar gets the shutout on thursday...you wonder how much that will get in the heads of the wolves/pios...a guy riding a three game shutout streak into the final game...

lfg spoons

[fightingsioux4life]

1 hour ago, Dustin said:

I do believe UND will be in the championship game but will have its hands full regardless of whether playing Michigan or Denver. 

I think Denver or Michigan will have their hands full with UND. We deserve to be here just as much as they do. I really don't think the reigning NCHC Penrose Cup champions are necessarily huge underdogs against either of those teams.

[Dustin]

Just now, fightingsioux4life said:

I think Denver or Michigan will have their hands full with UND. We deserve to be here just as much as they do. I really don't think the reigning NCHC Penrose Cup champions are necessarily huge underdogs against either of those teams.

Oh yeah, I definitely agree.  Will be an epic battle for the championship if UND is in it.

[Cratter]

The DU/Michigan side is the real championship game

Just like in 2016 the DU/UND semifinal was the real championship game.

[90siouxfan]

2 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

if spunar gets the shutout on thursday...you wonder how much that will get in the heads of the wolves/pios...a guy riding a three game shutout streak into the final game...

lfg spoons

If you jinxed it, I swear I will shove your entire bicycle up your bum