NCAA Hockey Tournament: Open Thread
I'm not the only one watching, right?
(1)BU tops (4) Yale, 3-2 in OT
(2) Michigan Tech chokes, gives up a goal to (3) SCSU with under a minute in regulation and then loses 3-2 in OT
(2) Duluth appears to be moving on, being up 4-1 on (3) Minnesota late in the 3rd
(1) NoDak vs. (4) Quinnipiac upcoming
Looks like I'm starting off 0–3 in my bracket
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Had BU winning at least. That's why you can never pick a bracket with any sort of logic. I had Tech winning and they probably should've but they had a brain fart and there you go
I really would have liked to see Tech make a run this year
I was pulling for them to be a Cinderella. Pissed they lost - they were the only team I cared about.
I suppose I'll just pull for someone to win their 1st title this year then. Most likely for that is probably Mankato
I think I'll be pulling for Omaha now
There's about a hundred people at this Minnesota-UMD game
Huge indictment on the current format. NH is not dense in terms of population, but it's a fairly hockey minded state and the NE is pretty big on hockey. Minny and UMD are big time programs and so is Boston and it's only a few hour drive. And they can't get anyone at the games. CAMPUS REGIONALS at the very least please.
But, impossible! Any game with Minnesota has fans in the thousands!
/s
I don't care who wins as long as it's not Miami.
Bad hockey night in the state of Michigan in general. Adrian loses in the D-3 semis as well.
Sounds like Minnesota got drubbed from the get go.
Sucks for Yale but at Duluth won
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I know North Dakota is prone to underperforming, but I'd be surprised if they won by less than 3 tonight. I'm guessing it'll be 5-1
I just saw that game winning goal for St. Cloud State, what an alful way for Tech to lose. Defenceman losses an edge that leads to a 2 on 1.
Kind of fascinating that, for how obscure North Dakota is outside of the sports and oil drilling world, that of their two main state schools one is a power in football and another in hockey
Go Quinnipiac
Serious question: does anyone in ND actually play hockey? Or is ND just a hockey school because it is next to Minnesota?
Historically North Dakota has done very well drawing from Canada where I think other schools have started to fail and/or go a different direction. NoDak always has a lot of guys from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I don't think the WHL or OHL has a strong pull there on the same level we fight with the OHL for Toronto-area recruits.
The downside to that, is I don't think anyone suffers more defections than North Dakota. They get burned often, but also hit often enough that they're solid year in and year out
March 28th, 2015 at 12:09 AM ^
Toronto isn't the only area with hockey players. London down has produced some top talent too.
The WHL is a huge pull for the top kids. It's the most NHL like in terms of schedule and style of play (or at least used to be in the rough and tumble days).
I had a couple friends that were recruited by North Dakota, and I think they do a fantastic job of selling school as a better option for late bloomers and second tier (non superstar) type guys. This was back in the 90's, so it may be different now, but I was told their presentation of the school vs the crappy CHL scholarship thing was just top notch. I actually wish Michigan would recruit the prairie provinces more heavily.
March 28th, 2015 at 10:23 AM ^
I get the impression that back in the day the prairie provinces were huge for a number of colleges at certain times. Red was the start of the 'Regina Regiment' at Michigan, no? I think Denver and CC have historically been built on guys from that region too, but I get the impression no one is as successful out there anymore
It makes me wonder if there is some outside influence on these programs to promote american hockey.
I don't know about minor hockey in Ontario, but I can say that growing up in the prairies we went to a lot of cross border tournaments (North Dakota, Illinois, Montana, Colorado, even Arizona) and actually did get quite a bit of exposure to college hockey. Being from Michigan, I always had love for U of M, but a lot of guys learned about the college route on those trips.
The WHL is a huge pull for the top kids. It's the most NHL like in terms of schedule and style of play (or at least used to be in the rough and tumble days).
I had a couple friends that were recruited by North Dakota, and I think they do a fantastic job of selling school as a better option for late bloomers and second tier (non superstar) type guys. This was back in the 90's, so it may be different now, but I was told their presentation of the school vs the crappy CHL scholarship thing was just top notch. I actually wish Michigan would recruit the prairie provinces more heavily.
North Dakota will choke. Hakstol never fails. Maybe not be against Quinny, but they will choke somewhere.
They were the best team in the country in 2011 and lost, they lost to Minnesota with 0.6 seconds or whatever it was last year in regulation.
Saw UMD beating UMTC all the way.
I wouldn't call 2011 a choke, I'd just call that Shawn MF Hunwick crushed their dreams.
And I'm surprised you haven't made a Big Ten Gymnastics Championships Open Thread.
The contrast between the environments for this North Dakota game vs the Minnesota-UMD game we just saw is a big reason why regions should go to the 1-seeds home site
Great atmosphere, sold out arena, and some actual advantage for the higher seed? Or stale library atmosphere in front of 100 people
Not sure what the NCAA is gaining financially by doing this with regionals.
THREE sports, THREE, can get away with non-campus sites and fill the house. Football, Men's Basketball and Wrestling. That goes for conference tournaments and NCAA games.
The B1G and the NCAA are both in denial having WBB and Hockey tournaments anywhere but campus sites unless it's the Final/Frozen Four.
but the Frozen Four is enough of an attraction that it'll do well anywhere. I don't see any reason to restrict it to those cities. Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, NYC, etc. Any of them would sell out.
My favorite format right now would be best-of-3, so probably hosted by the top 8 teams (being hosted by the 1-seeds in a best-of-3 would mean your 2 and 3 seeds are flying to the same city in back-to-back weekends). No reseeding after that but let the top seed in each remaining match-up host. Then Frozen Four as usual or best-of-3 if at all possible, though I have a hard time seeing how you do that without home sites again
March 28th, 2015 at 12:15 AM ^
Why would you have two best of three series at one venue? That makes no sense. If you are goin to split into series at the beginning (which I'm in favor of) you have the top 8seeds host.
And the 1 seed hosts both weekends even if they lose the first weekend? You don't see attendance being subpar for a 2 vs 4 series that stretches 3 days?
I did say all top 8 seeds should host
And I said the top remaining seed of the two teams left
I took what you had in parentheses as what you wanted and not a negative of another format.
North Dakota fans are probably fighting back flashbacks of our 2011 game with them. They should be a bit nervous that they haven't scored yet
Fuck BIG Hockey. Bring back the CCHA/old WCHA!
I wish
March 27th, 2015 at 11:04 PM ^
i have mixed feelings. Yeah, i miss the old ccha for the ferris, northern, lake state, western match ups. However, the sport has been growing much faster with realllignment. Next season, Arizona state will be joining D1 hockey. There is more momentum for starting programs than I can ever remember.
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March 27th, 2015 at 11:22 PM ^
I wish it could've been done within the confines of the old arrangement, but it just wasn't so. The sport had been shrinking prior to that and PSU/ASU are the first major schools to join D1 hockey in a long time. I forget the exact number
The refs might want to get a security detail for their exit from the arena tonight. Sioux fans are going to be displeased with them
March 27th, 2015 at 10:10 PM ^
That is every North Dakota game. They're like Kentucky basketball fans.
March 27th, 2015 at 11:05 PM ^
actually they are like ohio state football fans. no class whatsoever. complete troglodytes.
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March 27th, 2015 at 11:21 PM ^
North Dakota hockey fans, Kentucky basketball fans, Ohio State football fans. Just mindless mouth breathing super-trolls. Would be ok with Hitler being their team captain as long as it got them a national title
That should do it now that they've broken the seal
I always root against Denver and North Dakota. Don't want them getting any closer to our record 9 national titles.
Seriously, this regional environment in North Dakota is excellent. Top seeds need to start hosting.
Calling a penalty on them is some sort of violation of the Geneva Convention
March 27th, 2015 at 11:15 PM ^
Hate to say it, but our game threads tend towards the same flavor
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March 28th, 2015 at 12:19 AM ^
Along with Yost? I shake my head a minimum of 5 times when the people around me complain about calls that were correct or complain about non-calls that were appropriately not called
March 27th, 2015 at 10:01 PM ^
3-0. Game ova.
March 27th, 2015 at 10:29 PM ^
I don't know if its the Oberon or if Dakota is really that good but I'm super impressed with their defense and penalty kill. Wow.
Who coaches those for them? Mr. Hackett, are you watching? Go. Get. Him.
March 27th, 2015 at 10:38 PM ^
I still do not understand how Quinnipeak gets good at hockey.