A few things.

Wow, what an ending to the Fighting Sioux and Michigan Tech WCHA playoff series, here is some footage of the end of game three. It really was that close right down to the end.

Game ending goal

Here is the game ending goal between the Minnesota State University Mavericks and the Gophers. From what I can see on the (poor) video it almost appears that the Mankato player kicked the puck into his own net. I do feel bad for the Mavericks I think they are tough, well rounded hockey team that deserves to be in the NCAA tourney based on who they beat and their strength of schedule. There is a good chance the Mavericks will be in the NCAA tourney Cheer against Northern Michigan, Harvard and Notre Dame. If some of the other bubble teams don't win this weekend there is a good chance they are in.

The Blog that Yost built breaks it down:

-Looking very strong for Mankato to get in barring an upset in one of the title games. Making the title game isn't good enough for BU. They're going to need the autobid if they want to get in.

That being said, the 2nd overtime period last night was nothing short of unbelievable, I was sitting on the edge of my Ottoman during the whole overtime. Mankato had its own chances to end the game minutes before the game ending bubble bursting goal. In my opinion Mankato is a sniper away from being one of the top teams in the WCHA.

They said what? According to the FSN Arizona boys; Michigan super star senior forward Kevin Porter a Hobey candidate/finalist played on the defending national champions team last season. Really, I thought Michigan State won the NCAA tourney. Michigan was eliminated in the region of death last season by by North Dakota.

The Pollsters think UND is worthy of dropping in the polls. UND is 4th in the USCHO/CSTV, 5th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. The only poll that really matters is the PWR.

Here is an interesting perspective/comment that I found over on Brad's blog. I have to say I agree with what is said here.

I agree with you on Thul. In fact, a number of us were saying that about Thul when he reffed the Sioux games in Duluth. He is the only referee I can recall in the WCHA, in recent history, that seemed to have an understanding of what one team was trying to inflict upon the other with hooking and holding and calling the game that way. He did a good job of penalizing both Duluth and Tech for trying to slow us down with obstruction, without attempting to even the penalties up with isolated minor retaliations by the Sioux. To some degree he took bending the rules away from both teams. Russell definitely made the right move requesting the change. It is about time that we have a referee with the instincts and brains to ref the game that way. Especially, when it is clear well in advance of gameday that one team is going to try to use obstruction to slow the other team.

Calling games like this is the way that the WCHA is going to finally protect its star players. Anderson is a ref that will call penalties with no conscience, but he has a tendency to call a lot of legal body checks as penalties, yet let plenty of obstruction go. I do give him credit for cutting Duncan a break on his slash prior to Kerr's misconduct, knowing the beating that Tech was trying to give Duncan.

The rest of them are masters of the obvious and real susceptible to theatrics and at the end of the day go out of their way to make it even. Don Adam is one of the few refs I have seen that can take a good game and turn it into a brawl. How many times have we seen him get in the face of players and coaches? He regularly puts one guy out of a skirmish(and the wrong one)in the box or gives them the extra penalty and then frustrates the players to the point of taking it out on each other because the ref is not doing justice.

I think very few people want a game that is loaded with penalties and few want what Shepherd allowed in Mankato. I believe the true fan really wants a ref that calls infractions that stop scoring opportunities or create scoring opportunities and to penalize team's attempts to control the game through systematic infractions.

Posted by: GDeeton on Monday, March 17 9:43 PM