Let's do a little WCHA word association:
 
maroon           gold
Hrkac            circus
hobey            Broten
hobey            Stauber
hobey            Bonin
gopher           pride on ice
Eric J. Burton   jealous
Jason Roy        O.J.
 
The reason everybody makes a big deal out of beating the Gophers is because
year in and year out they are one of the top teams in the league.  When I
played hockey in the old St. Paul league the team to beat was the hated
Pioneers of Hill-Murray.  They recruited the best players out of every
St. Paul neighborhood and made an "all-star" team.  If you beat them it made
your year.
 
Sound familar?
 
I guess if you are living in Grand Forks all you have in the winter is snow,
beer, and Sioux puck.  Everybody is a Sioux fan.  All the closet cases down
here in the Cities dusted off their Sioux shirts and can wear them in public
again because they beat the hated Gophers.  You should see all the Green Bay
stuff that got dug out of hiding.
 
What really happened this weekend?  Two weeks ago Wooger was wondering why the
heck coach Dahl didn't pull his goalie towards the end of the game with the
Huskies down by two goals.  You see the season series between SCSU and the
Gophers was going to end up tied with the tie breaker leaning towards the
Gophers by 1 goal.
 
So last Saturday after it was clear the Gophers were gonna end up tied with UND
for the year the Wooger forgot his calculator.  Remember last fall the Gophers
spanked the Sioux 10-3 and won the other game 3-2.  With the Sioux pulling
ahead Saturday night to a 4-2 lead, the Gophs were still ahead for the season.
A tie at the end of the season between the Sioux and the Gophers would have
made the Gophs #1 for the season.  Now they have to win the league out right.
And contrary to what some UND fans may think, the season ain't over yet.
 
Why didn't Woog use his time out or try to convince his Gophers to wake up?
Where was Crowley?  Rass?  Kohn could have put on an orange shirt and changed
his name to cone.
 
Lets face it.  Wooger has a monkey on his back.  He couldn't win the big one
at South St. Paul and he can't win it at the U of M.  Canadians or not.  But
like it or not, the Gophers are still THE team to beat.
 
--
- Matt Rein
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