# College hockey



## Vtgunner

Its a little early but things are starting to take shape, Goldy your boys are looking pretty good! Its almost time to rumble! Whos your pick?


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## Goldy's Pal

:beer: It's been a fun year, I've missed a grand total of 1 and a half periods. (the other halfs b'day dinner and a missprint in the paper on a start time.) :lol: Yeah it is a little early, Wisconsin is not that good without Elliot, and I see tonight with him back they tied 4-4 at Mich. Tech. If he gets it together though Wisconsin is pretty tough to beat. Denver surprised me a little up here, tonight they were hit with 2 goals by the gophs in the opening 2 minutes and pretty much just rolled over. I'm still worried about the Sioux getting their act together for a late push. They should have plenty left in the tank and hosting the regional gives that extra incentive, besides, they could get some revenge on the gophs in their building when it matters the most. I'll have to leave it at that for now, I'm just getting fired up for the Final Five/3 day vacation/party. 
Gooooooo Gophers!!!! :beer:


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## fargodawg

once Wisc. goalie is good they are (Ibelive) too tough to beat and better win it all. I think that hte Sioux are 2 years away if eveyonne stays, which they wont. the goofs look good though(cant believe I just admitted that)

Go FIGHTING Sioux


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## zwohl

I agree with Goldy, the Sioux are a scary team. After completing their sweep of UMD tonight they go on the road to Denver, a good showing there could give them the confidence they need to make a run. Another important note is the fact that IF they make the tourney they will be at HOME. Paraise played well and if he gets hot the Sioux could play with anyone.
Enough about the Sioux.....glad to see Irmen back and getting a couple tonight. Kellen Briggs continues impress and most important... #1 in WCHA
Go Gophers!!!! :beer:


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## Travery

I was at the game last night, and I am really impressed with the gophers. Wisconsin is a new team, with or without Elliot, they are on their way out. I think the Sioux are much more threatening than the Badgers. Denver was surprisingly poor. Got a great feeling about this year...

Go Gophs


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## Draker16

gopers are playing unbelievable hockey, and the badgers are going down the tubes right now, that seems to happen alot in college hockey I remember the Sioux doing a couple times years back where you peak to early in the season and its all down hill from their. I think you can put a fork in Wisconsin, i know bla bla their in the touney and still have a chance obviously but i'm going by what I have seen the Sioux do when they where number one for most of the year, but at the end of the year they started slipping and end up loosing in the first or second round.


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## Madison

THe Doggs are playing some terrible hockey this year!! Hopefully they get Wisconsin at the end of the season if they have any hopes of getting to the WCHA tournament this year..

GOphs are looking tough!!

Few weeks and we'll be at the Xcel cant wait!!


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## Vtgunner

At this point we(MAINE) still aren't even in the big picture, but are putting on a really big push now. Hope if Maine doesn't make it the Sioux will push there way to the top!


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## zwohl

VT, right now looking like Maine will be in G.F along with the Gophers, Cornell and Alabama- Huntsville. I would rather see Maine there instead of UND.


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## Vtgunner

Yea I hadn't look at the pairwise situation since last night, but its hard to figure out anyway. I know we made some head way taking out BC both games this weekend. Me and Goldy might have a rematch from last year after all! :beer:


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## Shu

Madison said:


> Few weeks and we'll be at the Xcel cant wait!!


I'm heading down this year too. Anybody else going??


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## gooseboy

Not much of a college hockey guy but i like pro. Is it ever on tv? Because i usually like college sports more than pro sports.


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## RonaldTrump

Gophers got off to a bad/slippery start in '05 and have steadily improved for the second season. Given that Don's boys stay healthy and B. Elliot of the Badgers comes around, look forward to a two way race to the WCHA championship, X-cel and Forzen - 4. I hope the Sioux and Pioneers would move up a level and maybe the WCHA could dominate the Frozen Four. My two cents.

Go Gophers :beer:


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## Draker16

Shu said:


> Madison said:
> 
> 
> 
> Few weeks and we'll be at the Xcel cant wait!!
> 
> 
> 
> I'm heading down this year too. Anybody else going??
Click to expand...

I'm only going if the sioux make it their


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## jd mn/nd

Hey don't forget the St.Cloud State Huskies they been hovering between 4th and 6th and with our new coach have put on one heck of a show this year. They are finally starting to make some moves, and probably would have beat MSU both nights had it not been for some absolutly terrible reffing, they reffs did not make many calls against MSU that they should have. I guess we will have to wait and see how they finish out the year however we are expecting great things for next season, as we have had season tickets for the past 17 years we have seen the some of the best of their hockey and some of the worst as well. Good luck to all of the teams this year!!


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## Vtgunner

Wow Wisconsin got thumped last night and I am watching them get thumped again tonight, your right Goldy they do not look like the number two team in the nation. North Dakota is in I hear ,at this point!


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## Goldy's Pal

Yeah I have them on now too, the sky is falling, pulling Elliot has to the desperation move of the college hockey season so far. They have more problems than just goaltender though, Eaves can't figure out how to pace a teams' mentality for the long haul. I don't know if he'll ever figure out national championships are won in April, not January.
:beer: 
DU was up 2-0 on ND last I heard tonight.


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## jd mn/nd

ND is not " in" after the beating they took this weekend, howeve it is now a battle to see if SCSU does anything in WI this coming weekend they need to whoop on WI in order put ND back and move ahead themselves this coming weekend will be the determining factor as to who's going and who's season is ending. SCSU beat Michigan Tech on Friday 6 to 1 but boy did MT come back on Saturday night they tied the game up at 2-2 and no one broke the tie in OT. This coming weekend will be interesting to say the least seeing as how SCSU lost to WI when they had Elliot now that he is not performing as well since the return from his injury I hope that we win both nights seeing as how we have an oppurtunity now to do that, if he performs like he did this weekend we should win both nights, state has been steadily improving with our new coach this year, it has been a much improved season over the past few, GO MOTSKO!! and STATE!!


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## Goldy's Pal

> ND is not " in"


Did you see that on USCHO? Last I checked they were in but still riding the fence. Playing Tech. this weekend won't help them at all, but the Final Five could be a big factor for them if they are in it. I don't count out the Sioux just yet by any means. They are a thorn in my finger until it's officially over.


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## jd mn/nd

what I meant was that they are not guaranteed a place in the final five that is what I meant by "they are not in" Also if they tie with SCSU, SCSU holds the tie breaker, not that means a whole lot just that we have edge over them if it comes to that. Besides Goldy what are you worried about the gophers are in good position they haven't had to fight for much this year. This is the best part of WCHA hockey right now when everybody is fighting for position and the best battles are always the ones that are close like ND and SCSU only being one point apart and all. As for my prediction on the ND and MT game is that ND will win on friday and tie or lose on Saturday, only because SCSU and ND are very similar teams and that has also been the track record of MT. Like I said before this weekends hockey games will determine a lot with the 3 to 7th place teams, seeing as how the gophers and WI are so far out in front in points anyone behind them can not possibly catch them even if they sweep their prospective serires. Good luck to all of the teams and I hope everyone enjoys the next few games as it will be some the best hockey of the season, this is what all of us die hard hockey fans have been waiting for.


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## Goldy's Pal

> Besides Goldy what are you worried about the gophers are in good position they haven't had to fight for much this year.


I'm worried about playing the Sioux in Grand Forks in the NCAA. Could happen, even though the NCAA doesn't like conference match-ups in the first round it looks likely to happen. Plus sitting on top at #1 the pressure is on to finish the tournament that way. I'd almost rather sit at #'s 2,3, or 4.

Haven't had had to fight for much this year? :lol: I disagree, 8 pts back a handfull of weeks ago and to be where we are now was an impressive fight for the McNaughton. Sweeping at Wisconsin, Nodak, UAA, and home sweeps against Denver and CC. 

Motzko has the Huskies back where they belong (in the picture), it's good to see, we sit and party with St. Cloud people for the Final Five so hopefully for a change of pace the Huskies will be in St. Paul so they can have some well deserved fun with us. Always like to see those Sota teams in there anyway. :wink: 
:beer:


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## jd mn/nd

Hey Goldy, Looks like if St.Cloud is going to make it, it's going to have to be back door, it sucks that we have to throw away our play off tickets againg, for the fourth year in a row!! Next year is looking brighter though we should have a little recruting power now, hope fully we should beat CC this weekend, no question that the gophs should win this week not that it matters as they can afford a loss, we have to whoop on CC this weekend both games is we want to keep playing my guess is that we will not win and our season will be over. Man did ND do some damage on saturday night last I heard 5-0 over michigan tech.


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## Madison

Goldy's Pal Always like to see those Sota teams in there anyway. :wink:
:beer:[/quote said:


> I dont think the doggs are gonna make it this year  They have been playing Mich Tech style hockey since christmas and dont think they have chance against Denver.
> 
> I'll be the guy still wearing the UMD sweatshirt though! :thumb:


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## R y a n

Goldy's Pal said:


> I'm worried about playing the Sioux in Grand Forks in the NCAA. Could happen, even though the NCAA doesn't like conference match-ups in the first round it looks likely to happen. Plus sitting on top at #1 the pressure is on to finish the tournament that way. I'd almost rather sit at #'s 2,3, or 4.


Are the Fightin Sue still gonna face the Gophs in the 1st round? Is that how the current matchups still look? Wow that could be upset city... or at the least they'll really need to expend valuable energy to make it to the next round...


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## Goldy's Pal

Ben Elli, It looks like ND will play Harvard in the semi and the gophs get Niagra. This is the USCHO projected bracket which is always updated. here is the link, go to the left of the page and curse down till you see projected bracket and then just click. http://www.uscho.com/pdf/general/2006bracket.pdfit it will keep everyone updated on the entire bracket's pairings. I've said it before but Nodak is still very scary, sneaky scary as I like to put it. when you get into the tournament the records get thrown out the window, especially when you have conference rivals like Minn. and ND going at it. The easiest road is through Green Bay and you would think the number one seed in the entire tournament would get that, but because Wisconsin is closer to home they put them in it instead, that's just the way it goes, money/ticket sales talk when it comes to the NCAA. Either way the best team always has to pass some tests somewhere along the road to the title, hopefully the gophs can get a little revenge of their own after last years loss to nodak. :wink:

Don't count those other Minnesota teams out just yet guys!! :beer: Anything can still happen. Gotta love this time of year!!


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## Vtgunner

Things changed alittle for us at Maine too, we played ourselves into a different bracket, I like it a little more, Colorado first, then Dartmouth or Miami, I think we can take any of these matchups :beer:


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## USSapper

as long as brian lee doesnt pass to the opposing team right in the slot, the sioux should be alright-dont know if anybody caught that came about three weeks ago in GF--WWWOOWW!!!


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## Ranger_Compact

Lindberg9 said:


> as long as brian lee doesnt pass to the opposing team right in the slot, the sioux should be alright-dont know if anybody caught that came about three weeks ago in GF--WWWOOWW!!!


I'd say Lee is one of the most over-rated hockey players out there right now. There were many better high school hockey players than him, that just didn't get noticed for some odd reason. I'll admit, Lee has hit great moments-but that's exactly what they are...moments. I've never seen any hockey player (besides one I played with in high school) lose the puck as much as he does at the blue line. It seems like three out of four pucks slide right by him, maybe he'd be better off playing offense? I don't know, just know I wouldn't have recruited the guy, there is a lot of lost talent out there, that could have been playing for the Sioux right now. But I guess Lee has a few more years to prove himself, but as of right now, I'm not the least bit impressed with the so called "defenseman".


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## Quackkills9

well I dont know what I am missing here but I have played against and seen Lee play for the Sioux and I think he is playing well and not scare to step up to take some shots but I have seen him make a few mistakes but didn't cost the game or anything. If Lee was not good and if there were more talent than Lee out there, coach Hasktol will take the better talents than Lee and Lee wouldnt be playing today for the Fighting Sioux. He is the top scoring Defence on the Sioux as with 19 points.

But, I see alot of talent players out there during High School and they dont play any hockey after HS or play a year in Juniors and get hurt then they are done for the career. They just dont want to work hard to get to the top level. They just want to have fun after playing hockey for years.

Anyways... Loooking forward to the WCHA FINAL 5 and NCAA tournament. Have a great day!


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## USSapper

anybody catch that pass against the bull dogs?


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## Madison

Lindberg9 said:


> anybody catch that pass against the bull dogs?


Lay off :lol: :lol:


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## Vtgunner

Hey Goldy, you guys color blind at UNIV MINN or what, Them uni colors are just awful!


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## Goldy's Pal

Vtgunner said:


> Hey Goldy, you guys color blind at UNIV MINN or what, Them uni colors are just awful!


 :rollin: Don't you know anything about fashion? I think they go well with Walnut and bronze. :rollin:


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## Travery

Vtgunner said:


> Hey Goldy, you guys color blind at UNIV MINN or what, Them uni colors are just awful!


Them is fightin words there! :x


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## Madison

Nice comeback Goldy!!!! :lol: :lol:


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## Vtgunner

Colors fit perfectly I agree, I would also bet that is the photo when you beat us, wasn't it? 
I wouldn't mind adding another of them gold and walnut mantel pieces to our cabinet this year also!


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## Goldy's Pal

Vtgunner said:


> Colors fit perfectly I agree, I would also bet that is the photo when you beat us, wasn't it?


You guessed right, but that was not intended, :wink: actually the year after against New Hampshire would have required some extra digging to scrounge up, besides I was actually at this game and I'm a big Leopold fan. 



> I wouldn't mind adding another of them gold and walnut mantel pieces to our cabinet this year also!


Good luck to your guys, actually at the regional last year in Minn. we were at Sally's Saloon on the campus before the game and a fleet of Maine fans came in, I gotta say they are all very good fans, respectful and dedicated to their team. We sat by them at the game and had a good time. Unlike Cornell, all I can say there is wow. :eyeroll:

The one thing though that I noticed about Maine is that their band only knows one song. :wink: What's up with that VT? :lol:


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## USSapper

Goldy's pal- I think i can see u in that picture-next to the guy in the yellow


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## Goldy's Pal

Lindberg9 said:


> Goldy's pal- I think i can see u in that picture-next to the guy in the yellow


 :lol: Actually not kidding, I was next to Jerry York from Boston College. I think he thought I was nuts when I kissed my hat autographed by Neal Broten for good luck. :lol: I guess I figured for what our tickets cost I was entitled to do pretty much whatever I felt like doing, and did. :lol: With about 19,000 in Maroon and Gold I figured I was safe. Man that was something else to be there though, unbelievable.


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## Vtgunner

That is funny I noticed that too, Maybe if we would have tied it up, the would have changed their tune!

There is a bunch of great places to watch hockey, if you ever get a chance to come to Alfond arena Goldy, I'll show you a wild time, its an unbelievable place to watch hockey. Maybe we will open with Minnesota next year!


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## Goldy's Pal

That sounds like a blast VT, Maine does pop up on the non-conference schedule now and then. 
:beer:


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## USSapper

who scored the game winner in minnesotas win? Where was he from :wink:


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## Goldy's Pal

Lindberg9 said:


> who scored the game winner in minnesotas win? Where was he from :wink:


Grant Potulny, Grand Forks, North Dakota.  Not a problem with that either. :wink:


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## Vtgunner

Tournements start tonight for some, good luck to all this weekend and...

LETS GET IT ON!


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## HUNTNFISHND

Go Souix! :beer:


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## Madison

Friday night is here and the WCHA tourney is a week away!!

Here is a little video clip to get you into the hockey mode..

http://media.putfile.com/0738

Its an old video clip, but worth it!


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## Goldy's Pal

Let the post season party begin!
:beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

Madison, maybe I'll hunt you down at the X next week and we'll suck down one of those $6.00 cold ones, or any bev. of your choice and talk some hockey, Minnesota style naturally. Hopefully both of our clubs will be there, I'm root'in for da' dogs all the way, we sit by great Duluth fans.
:beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

Holy cows and dogs tonight!!

Huskies, Bull dogs, and Mavericks on the road.  Gophs were way too close for comfort too. Hat trick for Potulny.


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## zwohl

Went to the game in GF tonight. Neither team deserved to win. The Sioux were dominated in the 1st but played well enough in the final 2 to get it into overtime. The extra session had MSU in UND's zone the entire 3 min. Didnt make it back to my seat before o.t. was already done. hope UND can comeback and manage to make a series out of it but losing Drew Stafford hurts. MN fans are smiling as a loss by UND all but keeps them out of tourny contention and OUT OF THE REGIONAL. Should be a fun rest of the weekend :beer:


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## Vtgunner

The state of Minnesota showed up last night all at once, Hey Madison, you must be happy so far. :beer:

ZWOL, I must have missed something, is ND out if they loose in this tourny? I thought they were locked in at this point!

If that is the case, lets hope they kick some butt tonight!


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## Madison

Goldy's Pal said:


> Let the post season party begin!
> :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:
> 
> Madison, maybe I'll hunt you down at the X next week and we'll suck down one of those $6.00 cold ones
> :beer:


You Bet Goldy!! I am sure I'll be having a FEW of those $6 beers this weekend..We ususally go to Allerys in between games for beer and "scenery".

I am PUMPED right now.. Just watched the gophs win the 2nd game and didnt even want to know the score of last nights UMD/Denver game so I decided to check out the WCHA website and just about crapped myself!!!

GO DAWGS!!!


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## zwohl

VT, its not a "for sure". if they were to lose this series it would be tough to convince the voters that they deserve a shot at the Frozen Four. As it stands now they would be in but the brackets can change after every game in the nation. Was at the REA again tonight and they looked good. J.P looked sharp again in goal and they are a scary team to have their backs against the wall (without Stafford as well) and the reason I dont want to see MN face them in the Regional in 2 weeks.


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## Madison

Goldy's Pal said:


> Holy cows and dogs tonight!!


You can say that again Goldy!!

DAwgs win 5-2 over Denver!! and were heading to the excel!! :beer: :beer: :beer:


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## HUNTNFISHND

Sweet! Bring on the Badgers! Go Souix!! :beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

Goldy's Pal said:


> Don't count those other Minnesota teams out just yet guys!! :beer: Anything can still happen. Gotta love this time of year!!


 :wink: :lol:

Thursday play in game>>SCSU vs. UMD
Friday afternoon>>>>>>Nodak vs. Wisconsin
Friday night>>>>>>>>>Minnesota vs. winner of SCSU/UMD

Ohhhhhhhh baby! :beer: I see Nodak pulled one out of the gophers hat from a couple years back and turned into a #3 seed, is that something else or what? Especially down 0-1 in the series. Wow.

Should be a good time, hey Madison is that bar in the X?


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## HUNTNFISHND

Hey Goldy,

What time does the Souix game start on Friday and is it televised?


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## Madison

Goldy's Pal said:


> Goldy's Pal said:
> 
> 
> 
> hey Madison is that bar in the X?
Click to expand...

If your referring to Allery's, I think its west of the Xcel but within walking distance.

OUr seats arent too far from the Range bar inside Excel. thats usually a good place to get a beer and get updates on the NCAA basketball tourney as they have a bunch of tv's..


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## Goldy's Pal

HUNTNFISHND said:


> Hey Goldy,
> 
> What time does the Souix game start on Friday and is it televised?


The schedule for the 2006 Red Baron WCHA Final Five is as follows:

Thurs., Mar. 16: No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (11-24-4) vs No. 4 St. Cloud State (20-15-4), 7:37 pm CT 
*Fri., Mar. 17: No. 3 North Dakota (25-15-1) vs No. 2 Wisconsin (25-9-3), 2:37 pm CT * Thursday's Winner vs No. 1 Minnesota (27-6-5), 7:37 pm CT 
Sat., Mar. 18: Third Place Game, 2:37 pm CT 
Broadmoor Trophy Championship Game, 7:37 pm CT.

*All five games of the WCHA Final Five will be televised on FSN North. *


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## Shu

The fun starts tonight! Go Dawgs!


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## Madison

Shu said:


> The fun starts tonight! Go Dawgs!


Thats right :thumb: GO DAWGS.!!!!.

I'm leaving biz right now so I wont make it tonight but I will be in prime shape for tomorrows games!! It would be sweet to see the dawgs play the gophs thats for sure!!

Goldy I'll be in a hooded UMD sweatshirt with a green waxed canvas Delta Waterfowl hat.. Probably bellied up at the Range bar in the Excel in between games.. If you see me say hi..

Oh yeahhhhhhhh!!( ozzy style)


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## Shu

I'll be there tomorrow night and all day Saturday. If you or Goldy stop by I'll buy ya a beer. I'll be in 121-22-seat 11.

Dave


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## jd mn/nd

Hey goldy, Wow what an upset last night the huskies really turned it on in the first five min. The way it was going I thought that it was going to be a real blow out. After the first five minutes the huskies skated terribly, at least they came back in the third. It should be a good game today against the gophs at 7:30p.m. . I don't think any one is expecting big things from the huskies against the gophs, but then again no one thought that they would beat the dogs last night either, it should be a good game. I hope that the huskies pull it off, however, I am not really expecting it. I am sure that the gophs will do the job and win, then I have to cheer for the sioux, sorry just not a big gophs fan. Any way it goes today Good luck to all of the teams playing!!


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## swift

Well, well, well, seems the Sioux will have to wait for the national tourney to play the Gophers again this season. The St Cloud vs Minn game was awesome. I was tired from watching it at the end. St Cloud needs a big pat on the back for a gutsy performance as do the gophs. I am happy with the outcome. Now if the Sioux can get on a roll Saturday night all will be well.


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## spoiler92

4-1 Sioux 15:00 left in Second period, but Sioux being outshot!

Spoiler92


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## spoiler92

Powerplay goal, now 5-1 Sioux with about 5 min to go in the 2nd

Spoiler92


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## Shu

Congrats to the Sioux. I was rooting for the Gophers to win the tourney but St. Cloud took them down Friday night in a great game and then the Gophs didn't show against the Badgers on Saturday. I hope they can put it back together for the NCAA.

I have to say the ND fans I sat by were good people but man did they complain. The Sioux were up 5-1 in the Championship game and if they missed a pass they were whining like the typical Vikes fan. These guys wanted to win 20-0.


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## Vtgunner

This past weekend is what I like so much about college hockey, alot of great teams lost, including mine, every game is on the edge, if you can't get up for that......you don't have a pulse! Congrats to all the teams that made the tourny, and its going to be some fun! :beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

Made er back, wow.  I think I'll chime back in in a few days when I can function. :lol:


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## Madison

WOW! what a weeeknd.. Still in the fuzz myself.. I sure miss the downtown bars of St. Paul!

THe gopher vs. Cloud game was probably one of the best games i have ever seen..Overall great tourney even though the dawgs didnt go to far.. OH well there freshman and should be back to the WCHA Tourney in years to come..

Hoping to see the Gophs go far in the NCAA..


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## Shu

Madison said:


> I sure miss the downtown bars of St. Paul!


No doubt! Me and my brother had a great time at Alary's between game on Saturday. Tom Reid's took a bunch of my money too.


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## Madison

Shu said:


> [
> No doubt! Me and my brother had a great time at Alary's between game on Saturday..


I was at Alarys from 430 pm til close on saturday night.. Needless to say I didnt make it to the final game. ALary's definatley had the "A" squad working that night :lol:

I Wish we could of met up for beer!


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## Shu

4:30 till close? Man, we were there at the same time for a while. I was back by the darts holding down the bar and watching for wardrobe malfuntions 8) .......it was more fun and cheaper than the $5.75 tappers at the Range.


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## Goldy's Pal

Tom Reid opened the door for us for lunch sat.. best bloody mary in a long time. :beer: We left early thursday so I missed you guys' messages on here. Always next year. 8)


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## spoiler92

What are your predictions for this weekend. I have Minnesota over Holy Cross, UND over Michigan, and UND over Minnesota to move on the the Frozen Four.
I may have to go to Saturday nights game if Aerosmith cancels out the concert. They have cancelled the last 11 shows they had scheduled, so it doesn't look good.

Spoiler92


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## Shu

Tough call - I'm hoping for a great game between MN and ND with the Gophs pulling it out in OT.


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## Goldy's Pal

I have no idea, Minnesota may have peaked too early and the Sioux are playing pretty good hockey now, so anything can happen. Heck the way the gophers looked in St. Paul I'm not looking past Holy Cross. Briggs and the D core have to be shook up, I know I am, anything on net now looks like it will go in for the bad guys. :roll: I guess I like the Sioux's chances at home but I'll be rootin' hard for the gophs of course.


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## Madison

I'll be rooting for the Gophs as well...

As stated above though, I dont see the Gophs going to far into the NCAA especially the way the defense looked in the last two games at the xcel..

But who knows, I think the Gophers have a "1st or nothing" metality and will definatley turn it on for the NCAA..

I'm hoping for a UM vs. UND battle. I want to see the Sioux-age go down!!


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## zwohl

I can only hope the Gophers put together a string of games. UND is playing good hockey and MN is struggling, but hey its college hockey. 1 game anything can happen. Who knows maybe it will be HC and Michigan on Saturday night. (I hope not, I dont feel like selling my tickets). One thing for sure is that the Ralph will be rockin tonight. Go Gophers!!! :beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

I heard the NCAA made the Ralph remove the Sioux logo at center ice and put UND there instead to take away the hostile effect and home ice advantage. :lol: Yeah right, how fricken dumb can the NCAA be? like that will do anything other than make the crowd even more pumped. :lol: Gotta like that NCAA. 
:beer:


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## Draker16

Here is an article from the NY post about Travis Zajac, its not looking good for him staying around another year, even though he might want to stick around to play a year with his little brother but a chance to play in the show would be hard to turn down.

Subject: NY Post

Meanwhile, the Devils have hit the skids. Losers of four of five by a combined 19-7 margin, the Devils clearly need help up front, with few possibilities now that the trade deadline has passed.

If not Alexander Mogilny, on the farm in Albany, their other option is 2004 first-rounder Travis Zajac, who may become available as soon as tomorrow night. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound righty center is regarded as a strong two-way sniper.

The Devils can't go after their leading prospect until his University of North Dakota team is finished with the NCAA Tournament and he decides to turn pro. North Dakota takes on Michigan tonight in the first round of the West Regional. Then there's the region final, and should they advance, Zajac wouldn't be available until after the Frozen Four, April 8.

Devil GM/coach Lou Lamoriello is believed ready to sign up Zajac, 20, if he opts to leave college after his second season. While he usually seasons his rookies on the farm, Lamoriello might have to see what Zajac could do for his team so in need of exactly his sort of size, skill and positional help


----------



## Draker16

OH yeah and one more thing LETS GO SIOUX


----------



## SiouxperDave25

How 'bout those Crusaders?!!!!!!!!!

:beer: :beer: :beer:

C-H-O-K-E-R-S, Chokers, Chokers, Yeah Chokers


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## Vtgunner

Wow I can't beleive what I just saw for a score in the Holy Cross, Minnesota game, you called it Goldy! Its almost like you can feel when your team just isn't clicking on all cylinders> Hope to have better luck tomorrow myself!


----------



## Goldy's Pal

Vtgunner said:


> Wow I can't beleive what I just saw for a score in the Holy Cross, Minnesota game, you called it Goldy! Its almost like you can feel when your team just isn't clicking on all cylinders> Hope to have better luck tomorrow myself!


Yeah and when I heard in the pre-game tonight that the gophs practiced intense all week against themselves it made me wonder why would they beat on themselves in practice this late in the year? Why not save something for the weekend? Coach Lucia? When it was scoreless 10 minutes into the first I knew it was trouble. Let a team with nothing to loose hang around is bad enough but coming off the final five weekend like the gophs did I thought it was HUGE to get off and running tonight and make a STATEMENT. Didn't happen. I really think the players got burned out in the long haul for the leauge title, but listening to the player interviews after winning the McNaughton cup you'd have never guessed it. They simply didn't recover from last weekend on the ice tonight, maybe they did during the week but that doesn't count. I'm bummed to say the least. Wow, well I guess it's time to oil the softball glove again. :lol: Good luck all!
:beer:

Go Black Bears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## knoppers

It was sad to watch the gophers get booed from the north dakotas fans, I thought they were better than that.

I was going to root for there team tonight, but I guess I will not now.

I would think they would have rather played minnesota rather than holy cross, since they know us much better.

I hope north dakota loses, I am cheering for the other team!

at least minnesota won the division, easily, with no compitition.


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## Draker16

:withstupid:


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## zwohl

Hey simply put they did not show up tonight. MN let Holy Cross stay around too long, when they got that fluke bounce to tie the game, I knew it was over. Kellen played better, but hey when the ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, and HOBEY BAKER finalist do not score on the power play, they deserve what happened. What about coach Lucia? Hey those guys have been there before, nothing he could have done would have changed the outcome. Those guys had expierence and didnt show up to play their game. In the first they played not to lose, heisitant on the forecheck and let HC kill penaltys rather easily. I can only hope that this is not the way Ryan ends his Gopher career. :eyeroll: They have a solid returning cast and a nice recruiting class coming in, but the way ND was playing tonight was absoultey amazing, UND will be the next National Champion. Lets go WCHA :beer:


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## mntwins

I have no idea what the heck happened to the gophers the last couple of weeks? Even agaist umd and alsaska they looked like crap?. :eyeroll: What the heck is with the goaltending? Briggs is and average back up goalie and Frazee is worse then an open net? And to top this all of we had the east coast refs :******: . Granted the gophs lost it themselves, however the refs were calling it up there at nhl level. If this is the future college hockey I won't watch it. I can't remember a real goalie since stauber. In my opinion it was a unbelievable they won with hauser. And thens theres chucko, what a suck bag. In my opinion he's the reason for Guyers line sucking so bad. As far as I'm concerned they can get rid of him. To top it off kessel " I'm over rated" and potulny could not get it going on the power play. I guess I will have to cheer for north dakota (no chance in hell i'm pulling for wisconsin uke: ).

P.S> glad to see the north dakota with their true jerseys :beer: , what ever happened to them not being able to were the in tournement play.


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## R y a n

zwohl said:


> Hey simply put they did not show up tonight. MN let Holy Cross stay around too long, when they got that fluke bounce to tie the game, I knew it was over. Kellen played better, but hey when the ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, and HOBEY BAKER finalist do not score on the power play, they deserve what happened. What about coach Lucia? Hey those guys have been there before, nothing he could have done would have changed the outcome. Those guys had expierence and didnt show up to play their game. In the first they played not to lose, heisitant on the forecheck and let HC kill penaltys rather easily. I can only hope that this is not the way Ryan ends his Gopher career. :eyeroll: They have a solid returning cast and a nice recruiting class coming in, but the way ND was playing tonight was absoultey amazing, UND will be the next National Champion. Lets go WCHA :beer:


 :beer:


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## R y a n

I just read where this is being called the greatest upset in the history of college hocket! WOW 

The goph's seriously c-h-o-k-e-d this one! Noone gave Holy Cross even a slight chance!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2383111

Updated: March 25, 2006, 10:19 AM ET
Holy Cross stuns Minnesota; North Dakota advances
Associated Press

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- University of North Dakota fans might have adopted Holy Cross for one night, but the honeymoon is over for the Crusaders.

Drew Stafford's short-handed goal highlighted a banner night for special teams as UND defeated Michigan 5-1 on Friday night in the second game of the NCAA West Regional semifinals.

The win vaults UND into Saturday's regional final against Holy Cross, which upset top-seeded Minnesota 4-3 in overtime in the first semifinal with the crowd firmly behind the Crusaders. The winner earns a berth in the Frozen Four in Milwaukee.

"To have all those thousands cheering for us made it a lot easier," Holy Cross goalie Tony Quesada said. "But we know we won't get anything like that tomorrow night."

Tyler McGregor scored 53 seconds into overtime to give Holy Cross a shocking victory over Minnesota, the Crusaders' first playoff win in 36 years of hockey.

"We were pretty aware that in the media we weren't supposed to win this game," McGregor said. "But in our locker room there was a very different attitude."

It was the second goal of the game and 26th of the season for McGregor, who scored after his passing attempt was blocked by a Minnesota defenseman and the puck bounced back to him. Gophers goalie Kellen Briggs had no chance on the play.

"Briggs was playing the pass like you would expect him to, but the puck came back to me and he didn't have time to recover," McGregor said. "It was a pretty open net."

The Crusaders were seeded No. 4 in the region and had played just one team in the regular season that made the postseason. It was their first game ever against Minnesota, one of the most powerful programs in the country.

"I'm in shock and have no emotion," Gophers captain Chris Harrington said. "I can't believe it happened."

Quesada kept Holy Cross in the game during regulation, making 35 saves. His play helped keep the Gophers scoreless on seven power-play opportunities.

The Gophers appeared to have worn down the Crusaders by the third period, taking a 3-2 lead on Alex Goligoski's goal at 2:17. Minnesota then killed off a 5-on-3 Holy Cross power play.

Crusaders forward Pierre Napert-Frenette tied it at 3-all at 7:53 of the third period, poking in a rebound after the puck came to rest in the crease.

Dale Reinhardt also scored for Holy Cross (27-9-2).

Mike Howe and Phil Kessel added goals for Minnesota (27-9-5).

"We didn't play poorly," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "In fact, we competed real hard but Holy Cross was pretty good. They have a good goalie, good special teams and their top two lines are very skilled."

Five players scored for North Dakota in the nightcap. Stafford celebrated his return to the lineup by scoring his seventh short-handed goal of the season, tops in the nation.

"Drew is very important because he plays in all situations," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "He brings a certain level of calmness and good stability."

Stafford, who missed the last four games with a knee injury, gave the Sioux a 3-0 lead in the second period. A pass from Travis Zajac allowed Stafford to skate in alone on goalie Noah Ruden.

Goalie Jordan Parise had 34 saves for the Sioux. Ruden finished with 28 stops for Michigan.

"The puck seems pretty big right now," said Parise, who was the MVP of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament and has three shutouts in his last eight games. "But everyone in front of me was chipping in to."

The Sioux scored a pair of power-play goals in the first period. Ryan Duncan scored at 5:01 after a pair of nifty passes by Kyle Radke and Jonathan Toews, and T.J. Oshie scored at 7:28.

"This a great home ice environment here, so we didn't want to give up the first goal and we did," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We had to come up with an upset effort and it didn't happen.

It was Oshie's team-leading 24th goal. He scored his ninth game-winning goal of the season, a UND record.

Toews scored his 20th goal of the season to give the Sioux a 4-1 lead at 14:39 of the second period. He knocked down a high rebound with his glove before firing the puck past goalie Noah Ruden.

Travis Zajac scored the other goal for the Sioux in the third period, converting a pass from Oshie after Oshie stole the puck at center ice and fought off several checks.

The Sioux (28-15-1) killed off six Michigan power plays, four in the first period. Chad Kolarik scored while the Wolverines (21-15-5) were skating with a man advantage in the second period, 22 seconds after Stafford's goal.

"That's the best group of forwards we have faced this year," Kolarik said. "They buried their chances and we didn't."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/14183046.htm

Holy Cow! Holy CrossCrusaders pull off stunning upset by beat Gophers 4-3 in overtime
By Virg FossHerald Staff WriterTyler McGregor's little brother, Reid, was right.

"He told me the only thing we had to do was get the first goal, and it would make the noose a little tighter around their neck," McGregor said. "Sure enough, he was right. I think we kind of stunned them with the first one."

If the first Holy Cross goal was a stunner, the Crusaders' last one was earthshaking.

Holy Cross did indeed score first Friday night and parlayed that into a spectacular night in which the Crusaders upset Minnesota 4-3 in overtime in the opening game of the NCAA Division I men's hockey West Regional in Ralph Engelstad Arena.

It was a humbling ending for Gophers, who held the No. 1 national ranking the last half of the year.

Has there ever been a bigger upset in the NCAA men's hockey tournament? After all, the Crusaders were the No. 15 seed and Minnesota was the No. 2 seed.

Most likely not.

McGregor's second goal of the game 53 seconds into overtime surely put his Crusaders into the pew of believers in hockey miracles. McGregor beat Minnesota goalie Kellen Briggs (24 saves) cleanly to the short side and delivered a stunning victory over the Golden Gophers. It also delivered Holy Cross its first NCAA tournament victory ever and in startling fashion with McGregor - the Holy Cross captain - delivering the final twist of the noose. He bolted down left wing on a 3-on-2 rush, only to see his pass attempt blocked by the skate of Gopher defenseman P.J. Atherton. The puck came back to McGregor on his forehand. He had plenty of open net to shoot into, with Briggs out of position after moving to his left to play the anticipated pass from McGregor.

The upset left Minnesota, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season champion, nearly speechless. It also ended a Gopher season that closed with three straight playoff losses, none more hurtful than this.

"I have no emotion," Gopher defenseman Chris Harrington said after the game. "It's a blank in my mind."

The Crusaders, champions of the Atlantic Hockey league and making just their second appearance in the NCAA tournament, proved from the start they belonged in the game with the talented Gophers.

Dale Reinhardt's 12th goal of the season broke a scoreless tie at 8:49 of the second period, giving the Crusaders their first lead.

But the period ended in a 2-2 tie and Minnesota's only lead of the game - at 3-2 on Alex Goligoski's 11th goal of the season at 2:17 of the third period, didn't last long.

Pierre Napert-Frenette tied it at 3-3 five minutes later after the Crusaders had wasted a 5-on-3 power play for 99 seconds without a single shot on goal. He flipped in a rebound off a point shot for his 16th goal of the season, setting up McGregor for his overtime heroics.

The overtime wouldn't have been possible without some exceptional saves by Holy Cross goalie Tony Quesada, who stopped 35 of 38 shots and blanked the Gophers on seven power plays despite 15 shots with the man advantage by Minnesota.

On the winning goal, McGregor explained it this way: "I was looking for my linemate, Blair Bartlett, he was streaking right to the net," McGregor said. "My pass hit off the inside of the defenders' foot and came right back on my stick. It was just instinct, I just shot it. I didn't even know where the goalie was."

Briggs wasn't covering the short side, where McGregor's shot went, and a NCAA West-Midwest Regional record semifinal crowd of 11,153 - mostly Sioux fans pulling for Holy Cross - erupted in bedlam.

"Once I got it back on my stick ...," McGregor said. "When you get a chance like that, you just don't want to screw up."

It was a history-making play for Holy Cross hockey.

"It was pretty crazy," McGregor said. "I saw a bunch of guys coming at me, and I tried not to get killed. It was great."

It wasn't so great for the Gophers, the region's No. 1 seed despite losing twice in the WCHA Final Five last weekend.

"I'm still kind of in shock a little bit," Gopher senior Gino Guyer said. "I can't believe that happened. I can't describe it."

Reinhart's opening goal on just Holy Cross' second shot of the second period was matched at 13:15 on a shorthanded goal by Gopher fourth-line wing Mike Howe. His initial shot clanked off the goal post at 13:15 of the period, but he sent his second attempt by Quesada.

McGregor gave the Crusaders a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the game just 31 seconds later on a 5-on-3 Holy Cross power play. It was just the second shot of the period for the Crusaders and their second goal.
Minnesota tied it at 2-2 at 15:45 when rookie Phil Kessel - the WCHA's freshman of the year - came out of the penalty box to take Evan Kaufmann's feed and bank his shot in off Quesada's body.

Goligoski then gave the Gophers their only lead at 2:17 of the third period before the Crusaders stormed back.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate Holy Cross," Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. "I thought they played terrific."

Lucia said the Gophers seemed to lose their emotional edge late in the season. "For whatever the reason the last three weeks we didn't play very well," Lucia said. "I shouldn't say very well, but we lost the emotion. This time of the year, you need to feel emotion."

The Gophers outshot Holy Cross 38-28 but fizzled on the power play (0-7) while the Crusaders were 1-10 with a man advantage.

"I thought one of the keys tonight was that we played well in the neutral zone," Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl said, "because they come at you with so much speed."

The 39-year-old Pearl said he hasn't been around to know if there has ever been a bigger upset in NCAA tournament play.

He really didn't care.

"Our motto has been that we want to have something to do tomorrow," he said Friday night. "Now we do."


----------



## R y a n

knoppers said:


> It was sad to watch the gophers get booed from the north dakotas fans, I thought they were better than that.
> 
> I was going to root for there team tonight, but I guess I will not now.
> 
> I would think they would have rather played minnesota rather than holy cross, since they know us much better.
> 
> I hope north dakota loses, I am cheering for the other team!
> 
> at least minnesota won the division, easily, with no compitition.


You've GOT to be kidding? You mean to tell me and everyone else here... that if the game was down in the Twin Cities, North Dakota was a #1 seed IN THE NATION, and Holy Cross came into town and was BEATING the Sioux, that Minnesota fans would be politely clapping their hands in appreciation? Who do you think the Gophs fans would be screaming for? :roll: If anything they were cheering for the underdog?

:withstupid:

Give it a break man.... you sound ridiculous...

Ryan

.


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## zwohl

If the Gophers won it with no competition this year, Wisconson would not have been #1 for half the year, and they would not have had to sweep Denver to move into the #1 spot. I also believe that if they had no competition they would have won the Final Five last weekend. Give me a break, the WCHA is the most competitive conference in the NATION.


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## g/o

knoppers said:


> It was sad to watch the gophers get booed from the north dakotas fans, I thought they were better than that.
> 
> It was only the law students that were at the hearing, damn lawyers are pretty vocal.


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## dogdonthunt

Wait I think I here something :fiddle: Go green


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## dogdonthunt

Even though they lost I still have to root for the hometown boy for Hobey Baker award.


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## dogdonthunt

this is a college hockey game meant for the students and people always get all pc about everything. funny. not a student myself but its funny how the atmosphere in this arena is completely changed from the old ralph. I have to say I liked playing and watching at the old Ralph alot better. And yes Ive played at both arenas and the olympic rink.and my fav will always be the old Ralph. My two cents 8) [/b]


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## knoppers

congrats north dakota for beating holy cross. we need a WCHA team doing well.

sorry for my other coments, I had one or two many barley pops.


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## R y a n

*SEEN AND HEARD AT THE RALPH*

• There were some excellent homemade signs on display at the Ralph but few were better than the two-piece poster in the top row of Section 303. On one portion there was a fish with the word "Crappie" written below. On the other portion was the Golden Gophers' logo with the word "Crappy" written below. The only sign that might have been better was a very simple, "Fighting Sioux: Milwaukee's Best."



• According to Holy Cross sports information, the Crusaders had not played before a crowd larger than 4,700 this season. They seemed to enjoy the West Region-record turnout of 11,153 during their win over Minnesota. They didn't like them as much the next night, though, when a crowd of 11,492 broke the previous day's record.

• Holy Cross right wing Blair Bartlett (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) took a clean, blindside run at North Dakota defenseman Joe Finley (6-foot-7, 241 pounds) early in the second period of Saturday's game. Finley never saw it coming. Bartlett did, but it didn't help. The senior wing bounced off the freshman blueliner and tumbled to the ice as Finley looked on with amusement.

• Holy Cross sophomore left wing Matt Werry didn't bring the numbers of a goal-scorer into Saturday's West Region final, with zero goals in 20 games this season. But he looked like a sniper when he banked his first goal of the year off the pipe and in to cut North Dakota's lead to 2-1 in the second period.

*WHAT'S NEXT*

In qualifying for the Frozen Four, North Dakota secured a reunion with its long-standing rival on the national tournament scene, Boston College. The teams last met on the game's biggest stage in 2001 when Krys Kolanos and the Eagles edged North Dakota in overtime of the national championship game. One year prior, it was Karl Goehring and the Fighting Sioux who claimed the national championship by toppling Boston College in the final. Both the Eagles and Fighting Sioux qualified for the Frozen Four in 1968, 1965, 1963 and 1959 as well, although it was known only as the national tournament back then. The teams didn't meet in 1968 or 1959. They met in the semifinals in 1965 and 1963, splitting one victory apiece. In all, Boston College and North Dakota have met four times in the Frozen Four since 1948, with each team winning twice.

*All-Regional Team *
G: Jordan Parise, North Dakota
D: Matt Smaby, North Dakota
D: Jon Landry, Holy Cross 
F: Tyler McGregor, Holy Cross
F: Ryan Duncan, North Dakota
F: Jonathan Toews, North Dakota (MVP)

:wink:


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## SiouxperDave25

The Gopher's season summed up in one picture:


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## Goldy's Pal

I'd have to agree there, just when you think it's a season for them to do something special, WHAM!! right along side the head, done.  The amazing thing about it all was the focus displayed (atleast on camera) with player interviews after winning the regular season. Somewhere in St. Paul the puck forgot how to stay on the stick tape and it all fell apart from there. I'm thinking about going for the "walk on" goalie scholarship next year, I can tie my boots without sitting down so my chances look pretty good I think. Have a dandy. 

Always good to see more/new hockey fans join in the topic this time of year. :wink:
:beer:


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## Vtgunner

Oh no, we snuck into the final four, Were terible and don't stand a chance against any of them real hockey teams out west, I think we will just forfiet now, save us a trip and some gas mileage money! 

LETS GO MAINE!


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## zogman

Gophers left to wonder why season unraveled
BY BRUCE BROTHERS
Pioneer Press

Players on the Minnesota men's hockey team were supposed to be somewhere else late Friday night, not enduring a lonely midnight bus ride across the plains of North Dakota and trying to unscramble what caused their storybook season to unravel.

While North Dakota was polishing off Michigan in the second semifinal of the NCAA West Regional in Grand Forks, N.D., the Gophers licked their wounds and bused back to the Twin Cities bewildered by a 4-3 sudden-death overtime loss to Holy Cross and a sudden end to a season filled with hope and promise.

Gone was the fire that earned Minnesota a No. 1 national ranking for months, and gone was a chance to play the Fighting Sioux for a chance to advance to the Frozen Four.

After the loss left the Gophers with a 27-9-5 record, coach Don Lucia said there was a glaring lack of emotion among his players.

A coach of college-age athletes must be part strategist and part psychologist, and Lucia had his hands full with a hugely talented lineup that started its season going 7-5-4, then cruised through a 20-1-1 stretch before finishing with three consecutive losses.

Observed captain Gino Guyer: "I guess we weren't as good as we thought."

As members of the Gophers stared glumly out the bus windows at the barren landscape between Engelstad Arena and the Twin Cities in the wee hours of Saturday morning, they must have wondered why things went so wrong. As well, they must have wondered who would be around to try to put the pieces back together in October.

The certain departures are seniors Guyer, Chris Harrington, Andy Sertich, P.J. Atherton and Peter Kennedy.

Former Grand Forks Red River High School teammates Ryan Potulny and Danny Irmen, each with a season of eligibility remaining, can be expected to receive offers from the NHL teams that drafted them just nine picks apart in 2003. Potulny, a Hobey Baker Award finalist, was taken by the Philadelphia Flyers, and Irmen, who might have been a candidate for the Hobey had he not missed 11 games because of injuries, was taken by the Wild.

Freshman forward Phil Kessel is expected to go near the top of the first round at this summer's draft, and freshman forward Blake Wheeler was the Phoenix Coyotes' first-round pick in 2004.

Those four, along with sophomore forward Ben Gordon, freshman forward Ryan Stoa, and defenders Harrington and Alex Goligoski, pushed Minnesota to 169 goals this season, 15 more than any other team in the country.

However, as Wisconsin demonstrated when it shut down Minnesota in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Final Five third-place game, defense and determination can pour sand in the tank of a high-horsepower engine.

Most of the teams still chasing an NCAA championship rely on sound defense and goaltending.

Although junior goalie Kellen Briggs constructed a 17-0-1 record for the Gophers during his team's long stretch of success, he failed to come up with a big game in his last three outings, yielding 13 goals in a bit more than seven periods. If he was burned out from playing in 32 of his team's 41 games, that might be because backup Jeff Frazee battled inconsistency during his rookie season.

Briggs and Frazee will return next year and hope to get better support from a defensive contingent that includes returnees Goligoski, Mike Vannelli, Derek Peltier and R.J. Anderson plus recruits Erik Johnson of Bloomington and David Fischer of Apple Valley as well as sophomore Nate Hagemo, who missed most of this season because of an injury.

Some recruiting services rank Johnson, who plays in the same U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., that produced Kessel, Stoa, Frazee and Hagemo, as a sure-fire first-round NHL draft pick this summer, possibly No. 1 overall.

Minnesota also has recruited goalie help from Alex Kangas of Rochester, Minn., and help up front from Kyle Okposo of St. Paul, Ryan Flynn of Lino Lakes, Mike Carman of Apple Valley and Jim O'Brien of Maplewood.

As well, there are a handful of recruits who have declared intentions to enroll in 2007 unless they are needed earlier, including defenseman Cade Fairchild and forward Tony Lucia, the coach's son.

Another question mark for next season is whether Tyler Hirsch, who sat out this season for personal reasons, will come back for his senior year.

More important for the Gophers than their newcomers, however, will be acquiring improved consistency in their defensive zone and replacing kind of leadership supplied by Guyer. Leadership will come from Potulny and/or Irmen if they elect to return, with Goligoski and Gordon the likeliest candidates next in line.

However the puzzle fits together, the questions that filled the minds of Minnesota's players Friday night won't start being answered until snow begins filling the roadside ditches along Interstate 29 in November and December.


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## zogman

To all you Minnesota fans,

Minnesota had a good team, not a great team. The reason it is hard to pull for Minnesota ever........ rests in these two words........ Mozaco (sp) and Woog. :******: They make us hate the Gophers with their very bias play by play and commentary............

I do think Don Lucia is the best coach Minnesota has had since Herb Brooks.
The reason Woog dislikes ND so much is they kicked his butt for years :lol:

Fox sports really needs some objective annoucers


----------



## njsimonson

> It was sad to watch the gophers get booed from the north dakotas fans, I thought they were better than that.


You must have had too many!

A great weekend for UND!


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## zogman

Not meaning to oke: or :stirpot: but I am interested in what gopher fans think went wrong. At times during the year they looked awesome, a real powerhouse. :eyeroll:


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## Shu

They coasted at the end of the season and still won the WCHA and didn't have any fire in their game for a month or so now. I think Lucia is a great coach but the team was not motivated. I thought going to ND and playing in front of a hostile crowd would get them up for the game but it didn't happen.


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## zwohl

I honestly believe that after they won the McNaughton they had a target on their back they did not see coming. I hate to say they were satisfied with the WCHA regular season title but it sure looked that way. I do question why Kellen was benched in the Alaska Anchorage(regular season) series when he was playing so well to me it seemed to upset what he had going. Anyway whats done is done but I will say this Frozen Four should be a dandy. Brian Elliot of Wisconson is on a shutout streak of 13 periods ( I believe that UND didnt score in the 3rd of their game). Maine is hot right now and playing with confidence. Boston College has put up 14 in 2 games, while UND is riding Jordan Parise again, and their freshman are easliy the best in the nation. Ryan Duncan has all the skills of Oshie and Towes but only 5-6 145lbs. The games should be fun to watch. :beer:


----------



## Madison

dogdonthunt said:


> Wait I think I here something :fiddle: Go green


Dont you mean GO PINK!! I recall the Sioux school colors included PINK.. :laugh: :laugh:

Yeah.... Yeah.. I'm still sour.


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## Draker16

Scoring Shots on Goal Penalties Power Plays 
North Dakota 2 2 0 = 4 13 11 7 = 31 5-10 0-5 
Wisconsin 2 1 0 = 3 10 8 12 = 30 6-12 1-4

Yeah Zwol your right the sioux didnt score in the third peroid. Wow thats a rediculous shutout streak, does anyone know what the record is?


----------



## Goldy's Pal

Frozen Four:

Thursday, April 6
2:00 p.m.
UND vs. Boston College

7:00 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Maine

Friday, April 7
6:00 p.m. Hobey Baker Ceremony
6:30 p.m. Humanitarian Award 
7:00 p.m. Skills Competition
** All of these events take place at the Bradley Center.

Saturday, April 8 
7:00 p.m.
National Championship Game


----------



## zogman

Goldy,

Thanks for the info.......

Anyone of the 4 could win it all :beer:

You're insite on what happened to the gophers. They appeared to be a power house. Oh and they sure messed up my pool :******:


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## Goldy's Pal

Well zogman, I'd rather hash it over over a cold one or 12 :lol: but I'll throw ya some thoughts I have.

1) The end of their regular season schedule was weak, UAA, Duluth, (sorry madison) :lol: and UAA again in the playoffs. This presented a problem facing SCSU in St. Paul, although the gophs responded down 5-2 in the game and sent it into OT they had felt pressure in their own zone for the first time in a month, the defense was not up to par and didn't handle the bodies in front of Briggs and Frazee. But I think if they win that game they would have been still ok.

2) Loosing that game to SCSU knocked down their ego and put a dent in their run and took away their momentum. The next game with Wisconsin was a sleep walk, it was a big chance to turn it back around, and instead they chose to hammer away on eachother that next week in practice.

3) Since the gophs hadn't responded from their loss to SCSU in the Wisconsin game they decided to carry it over to GF against Holy Cross, big mistake, they took them lightly and I think they were expecting to sleep through that game and save it all for UND. The few games the gophs lost this year were because of the same reason, they thought their talent was going to be good enough and they didn't need to work. The players fully addressed that early in the season after getting swept at home by Wisconsin and turned it all around against UND the next weekend in GF and basically from then on until the final five. I think the lack of good grinding competition down the stretch of the season just had a negative affect on the guys and they lost their edge.

Anyhow it messed up a few boards I'm sure, but life goes on. :beer: I think it could have been a combination of a lot of things but I just touched on a few that I think happened. Chucko coasted in St. Paul coming back from his injury too, not the same guy we had during a lot of the stretch run. Sometimes the stars just don't line up and that's about what it takes to win it.


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## Vtgunner

The Minnesota calasp, I'll take a stab at it.

Minnesota is a great team and school, and they take Holy Cross in a two out of three or three out of five series, that I would bet on. The problem being in a one game tournement, when you wake up.....its already over.

The best team doesn't always win the National Championship, the hottest team with the hottest goaltender, its called being on a roll, or jelling at the right time. Hockey is a game where a little guy can beat a big guy, it happens in the pros all the time.

Holy Cross isn't that bad of a team, they were the bomb ready to go off in this tourny.

I personally think what can happen in Hockey did happen, thats why we play the games, instead of mailing the trophy to who we think should get it.
I think the polls throughout the year are inaccurate, and very suspect at best. Its pretty hard to prove who is the real number 1, just like in football.

I am not down playing this loss, but because its Minnesota, a hockey factory......., its MAGNIFIED BIG TIME.

My two cents!


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## Draker16

Potulny Signed with the Flyers so he's gonzo, and he didn't even make the hobey hat trick which is a friggen joke, I thought he and Karl would battle it out for the hobey but know i think Karl will walk away with it. The three finalist are Elliot From Wisco, Karl from Denver, and Collins from BC.

Here's a couple links

http://www.uscho.com/news/id,12514/Carl ... Trick.html

http://www.uscho.com/news/id,12515/Minn ... lyers.html


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## SiouxperDave25

Here's a 10 minute clip of highlights from the Holy Cross-Minnesota that's worth listening to, especially if you enjoy when the Gophers lose.

http://college.holycross.edu/wchc/files/HCHockeyMix.mp3


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## zwohl

Goodluck to Ryan Potulny in his NHL career. :beer:


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## mntwins

Good luck to irmen too. I heard he just sighned a multi year deal with the wild.

Man are the gophs going to suck, odds are they will lose kessel too. :-?


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## Quackkills9

Gophers still have a strong recruiting class coming up next year. Irmen did sign a multi-year contract and will play with the Houston Aeros for the rest of the season. Good Luck to Irmen. Lose Kessel, awesome... if he stays, well I guess I can watch him skate all over with the puck again. :sniper:


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