INCH Chat.

While I have nothing but time on my hands I am checking out the INCH Chat live in time. Still sitting at the airport waiting for my plane back to the arctic circle known as Grand Forks, ND. It is hard to believe that people actually live in an environment that doesn't include snow.

1.) I am beginning to like Joe Gladziszewski more and more. Joe is one of the east coast writers that seems to know more than the writer that is assigned to the WCHA. Of course UND should be on the radar they eat Cornell's lunch when they played them.
2.) Nice save by Jess Meyers and now he seems to have changed his tune a bit. I don't know they seem to be all over the place.
3.) Understatement of the chat; less-challenging Atlantic Hockey schedule. They should change the name of the AHA to the Atlantic Cupcake Hockey Association.
4.)I do think the GLI is going to be a big gauge of how some of these team are going to do in the second half of the season. I would love to see the Sioux and the Wolverines playing for the GLI throphy.

Jeb from Grand Forks, ND: Now that UND has gotten back above .500 and beaten some pretty good teams will they now be in the INCH Power Rankings? I mean you have Cornell in the top ten and UND beat them handidly the Friday night and put a whopping on SCSU as well. I would think they have earned a right to be ranked at least in the top 20.

Joe Gladziszewski: (2:35 PM ET ) Right now we've got North Dakota just outside of our top-20. They've been much better in the last 3-4 weeks than they were during a very slow start. Finally, North Dakota is scoring goals at the rate that most people expected. We just couldn't rank/consider a team that was several games below .500. Now that North Dakota has reached that level we definitely have our eyes on them.
--------------
Matt, East Main Street, NJ: Air Force has plenty of wins on their schedule but, as I see it, their only significant win comes against Colorado College (4-1) and is then followed by a loss against Denver (4-1). I would love to see them finish inside the top ten this year and maybe even make a run in the post season but with such a weak schedule, do you see this as being a reality?

Joe Gladziszewski: (2:47 PM ET ) Well, considering the less-challenging Atlantic Hockey schedule, Air Force should be able to rack up some wins and earn a spot in the top-10 by season's end. It's tough to judge teams that might not play a lot of other very good teams. Canisius is dangerous in Atlantic Hockey as well as RIT.
--------------
Billy (New Jersey): Has the second half hot streak starting early for the Fighting Sioux? How do you guys see them doing in the Great Lakes Invitational against MSU and UM and should we expect a continued push for the tournament in 2009?

Jess Myers: (2:50 PM ET ) North Dakota has played very well in its last four games -- clearly a result of more experience in some key places where they are young, and of getting Joe Finley and Evan Trupp back healthy. They are more
dangerous than either Michigan State or Michigan Tech right now, so I'd say that the GLI is between the Sioux and the Wolverines. As for how they'll do in March, I see them being a factor in the race for home ice in the WCHA which, by definition, makes them a legitimate NCAA tournament candidate.