I didn't want to reward Nathan's woof, but when I thought about it
further, I realized my observations may be interesting enough to
share, even had the question not been raised.  Maybe my perspective
will add some background to the potential championship matchup for
those of you who don't follow the WCHA this closely.  If the Gophers
top the Sioux on Thursday, well, sorry for having wasted your time. ;)

Having had the pleasure to see each of the UND/DU and UND/CC games
either in person or on TV, I recall that the Sioux played unusually
good games (unusually hard-fought for how the season had otherwise
looked at the time, although the final scores seemed pretty typical).
They went 1-6-0 in these games, but the play I observed was a ray of
hope in the middle of what seemed to be a pretty muddy season.

If you ignore the goals scored (unfortunately, goals are the point),
the Sioux were all over the Tigers, especially in the two at the World
Arena where it felt that CC only "won" one period, and no goals were
scored in said period.  The team and fans were very disappointed to
not even get a point out of the weekend @CC, when it felt like it
really could have been at least a two point weekend.  Finishing the
last two periods of the weekend with shots 29 to 7 in a 0-1 game
really solidifies one's memory of being robbed.

In the two games of hosting DU, IMHO, the Sioux had two great games.
I add "IMHO" because, at this point in the season, the Sioux were
still getting no bounces and many fans were restless and grumpy and
unable to see that the team had something inside.  UND played better
than they had been, but DU was able to hold them off and take all four
points.

Against DU in the WCHA Final Five, I had very little hope going in.
Having played a pretty tough game with the Badgers the night before
while DU went to bed early, then playing in this afternoon game, by
the second period I felt exhausted myself.  Early in the second, UND
found themselves with two skaters out for injury (and a third skater
likely coming back in only because of the shortage).  As an exercise
for the reader, I'll let you peruse the box score if interested.  In
shots, penalties and goals, the two teams paced each other right into
overtime.
http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0405/boxes/mdenndk1.m18

Even during the floundering part of the season, UND was been able to
play CC and DU very well.  I hope they get another shot, since 1-6-0
against these two is very unsatisfying.

I don't intend to debate matchup, I just think my personal
observations would be welcome on HOCKEY-L, you're welcome to take them
with a grain of salt. ;)

Kirk


On Apr 4, 2005 4:24 PM, Erik Biever wrote:
> Nathan Hampton wrote:
>
> > The championship game is on Thursday when CC plays DU.
>
> Really?  Consider North Dakota's record against CC and DU.
>
> at home against CC:
> 3-2 OT loss
> 2-1 win
>
> at CC:
> 2-1 loss
> 1-0 loss
>
> at home against Denver:
> 4-2 loss
> 4-2 loss
>
> in Xcel Center against Denver:
> 2-1 OT loss
>
> Considering North Dakota's performance in the regional, I'd say they should be
> competitive with either CC or DU should they make it to the final.
>
>
> -- Erik
>


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