Updated Vegas Odds for Division I hockey tournament

SBN College Hockey has the updated odds for the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament. Five Dimes is supplying the odds.

NCAA: Sweeping changes could be coming to NCAA

This article is worth a look. I wonder if Division I College Hockey will start giving their players a stipend as well? And if they did... That brings up another question. Then, wouldn't that negate the Major Junior argument, because now college athletes could be possibly be getting paid a stipend like their CHL counterparts? I am just throwing it out there.

Michael Marot, The Associated Press – In October 2011, the NCAA approved a measure allowing conferences to award athletes up to $2,000 more per year. Most of the big conferences quickly adopted.

Since then, NCAA President Mark Emmert has supported bringing back the stipend, though no formal proposal has been made. Emmert is scheduled to give his annual state of the association speech Thursday evening.

Last summer, commissioners of each of the so-called power conferences used their media days to lobby for changes to the way the NCAA does business. Hatch, the president at Wake Forest, an Atlantic Coast Conference school, and others heard the concerns and insist the debate is not just about giving money to players. They want schools to provide additional resources that will help student-athletes with everything from academics to health.

It's a tricky proposition. For decades, all Division I schools have played by the same set of rules.

Now, Hatch and others are hoping lower-resource schools, which often don't compete for the same recruits as the bigger schools anyway, are willing to stay in a division even if there are separate financial structures.

Some believe it could lead to a split. Hatch disagrees.

USCHO Poll: UND seventh in first poll

No problem with the first USCHO Poll, seventh place is fine with me.

How I'd Fix College Hockey and the NCHC Specifically (RW77)

Original NHL logo, used until 2005. A version of the logo features it in the shape of a hockey puck. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ok, to lead off, I wish I could claim credit for any of these ideas, but I can't.  FULL Credit actually goes to Sean McIndoe (otherwise known as @DownGoesBrown) for his blog post on Grantland entitled "How We'd Fix the NHL".  The reason why I come on out and say it is that, with the exception of the obvious rule differences between the NHL and NCAA DI Hockey, the fixes would actually cross over really easily.  Let me break down the fixes:

1.  Fix the Standings and Kill the Loser Point

In McIndoe's article, he speaks to the fact that shootouts render the loser point to be detrimental to the game stating it actually rewards a team for playing for overtime.  It inflates records and confuses all but the ardent fan (and sometimes them too).

I agree.  Why do we need 15 columns in the Standings section of the newspaper or website?  Keep it simple.  Wins, Losses, and that's it.  If you want a point in the standings for the "loser" then the only real solution is to eliminate shootouts and bring back ties as a possibility.  DI Hockey is not like the NHL yet with regards to ties, but it is readily apparent that they want to be.  So, this argument is apt.

2.  Longer OT, fewer shootouts*

In his article, McIndoe makes the point simple:  Make OT's 10 minutes long and keep it sudden death.  It isn't about reducing the number of players on the ice because it ends up being just as gimmicky as the shootout.

However, with no loser point and a 10 minute OT, it will more than likely reduce the number of shootouts we would see.  It doesn't eliminate shootouts, which will make the casual fan happy, but it won't promote them, which will be an adequate compromise for us strident hockey traditionalists.

It's at this point in McIndoe's article that he speaks to several NHL-specific problems that the NCAA has, so I'll speak to some NCAA problems that the NHL doesn't have.

3.  Change the rules regarding helmets.  Mandate visors, recommend cages.

The NCAA will never allow the freedom the NHL has at the moment regarding helmets and visor styles, but we can go a little more the way of flexibility.  The USHL requires all players wear half-shields or visors.  The NCAA right now requires full cages.  I say we go the way of the USHL and require the player to choose between the half shield/visor and the full cage.  It does not matter which the player chooses as long as one is present at all times.

This has to do with perceived security and cheap shots to the head.  Right now, the cage is pretty protective all in all so high sticking is more of a judgment call as to whether the stick actually hit the cage.  Judgment calls means the opportunity to make a situational call or non-call.  That usually exacerbates the mediocrity inherent in the NCAA Officiating Corps. 

Safety is a huge issue but much of being safe is playing safe.  I do not think the players are playing as safely as they should.  They've become too reliant upon their equipment (especially goaltenders) to bail them out.  Educate and allow them the choice.

Sadly, the best effect of visors over cages cannot be achieved in NCAA hockey as fighting is not allowed.


4.  Fix the Diving Problem

McIndoe again hits the nail right on the head.  Every team has divers on it.  Every team does it.  Why?  Because it works.  Much of the time, officials defend it by semantics (embellishment is still diving, but it's a less negative word than diving).  The best way to eliminate diving is to develop players who naturally do not dive.  However, as McIndoe again correctly states, you cannot change player psychology.  If you do, the other guy isn't, and you will be spending a lot of time on special teams.

Right now, the biggest flaw with diving is that it is RARELY called as a penalty without it being offsetting.  McIndoe suggests several fixes and I'll add one of my own:

a.  No more coincidentals.  Yup.  If a guy cross checks you and you flop to the ice like you've been shot congrats.  You're going for diving and the cross check goes uncalled.  There have been several times where a team will send a 3rd or 4th liner or bottom pairing defenseman out there to bait the other team's star.  The star runs into them, they flop.  Both go.  Who loses in that case?  Not the flopper.
b.  Rep counts.  This is a contraversial one on McIndoe's part, but in the NCAA we've already seen that the officials already practice this.  I've seen many times where Matt Greene was called simply for skating too close to the other guy.  Joe Finley got called for a high elbows and we all know (haters and likers alike) that Finley is absolutely NOT a physical player.  However, if the guy has a rep of being a diver, then call it if he does.  You make the bed, you sleep in it.
c.  The TV gloves come off.  McIndoe says to call it like it is, and I agree.  If the guy dives, then the commentator should cite Louganis.  Heck, cut to the commentators and they can hold up numbers grading the dive!  The NFL commentators already do it, so let's hear our guys do it too.
d.  Here's my add-in.  The truth is, the game happens too fast for officials to track it all.  If diving is a problem, perhaps replays of the play in question can be sent to the head of officials for review.  If it was clearly a dive and there was no call, then the offending player can sit out a period in his next game.  It doesn't do any justice for the game in which it occurs, but perhaps the guy won't dive if he knows that doing so will only cause his team to go short handed if he's caught or he won't play for an entire period if he isn't.

These changes will cause the player who dives no end of issues, but it will come with some false penalties.  That's life.  It wouldn't be the first bad call the officials make and it would never be the last.  However, diving would truly cease... assuming that the conference head of officials is consistent.

5.  Standardization between conferences in how officiating is run and the rule book interpretted

DI Hockey will never go under the umbrella of a single head of officiating for the entire DI Hockey world, but they should at least have standardized policies and procedures across the entire DI Hockey world.  In other words, if I am an official in the NCHC and I take a weekend series officiating in Hockey East, there should be no difference in how I call the game and the fans shouldn't notice it either.

I know what you're thinking:  "This rule is already in place!  They all use the same rulebook and it is the same game!"  However, I've watched so many officials from every conference officiate non-conference games and notice how different it is from the conference I am used to watching.  However, when you watch in-conference games, the games are largely officiated the same way.  This needs to be eliminated.

How?  I'm not sure how to make this work without compromising the autonomy of the existing Head of Officiating norm.  Maybe they can work as a committee to come up with a standardized Standards of Operating Procedures (SOP) Handbook?  Maybe they can have a standardized job description for officials and ARs.  I'm open for suggestions.

It seems like the most obvious solution to this:  Having a generalized pool of officials that will officiate games regardless of conference instead of the conference-specific hired officials seems to not be feasible.

6.  Accountability is more than something held against player and coaching performances.  It's held on officials and head of officials too.

Officials aren't perfect.  And Don Adam's system is great on paper.  His officiating corps, however, makes it suspect.  So, if Don Adam's system is to be taken seriously, accountability must be in place.  The HEA seems to have such an accountability program in place as far as what the fans can tell because, though the HEA has a dud or two, I've yet to see whole threads dedicated on message boards to how big of an issue officiating is (that isn't just one fanbase venting) like I've seen in other conferences.

I'm not saying that Adam come out the day after an on-ice officiating debacle and announce that he's cleaned house, but I am saying that Adam not make the same mistake McLeod and Shepherd have done year after year by announcing that the officiating isn't a problem because the ADs and coaches told them it wasn't a few months after the season has concluded.  It seems that accountability only matters during that month to those two clowns.  And those meetings are held to address far more significant issues than to think back 4 or 5 months to those two games in January or December.  If Adam and Fenton want to do this style of accountability, then they'll have to convince the ADs and coaches that an early January meeting will have to be held as well as the post season conference and the primary topic would be operations and officiating.  I don't see that happening.

7.  Make the nets bigger.

I'm not (and neither is McIndoe) suggesting drastic changes like some of the nets we've seen in the past, but I suggest 3 alternatives to the existing net:  Make the net 1 inch taller but keep the width the same, Make the net 1 inch wider but keep the height the same, make the height and width 1 inch bigger.  One inch doesn't seem like much but it was amazing last year to watch how many shots clanged off the crossbar and stayed out.  1 more inch and that puck is in the back of the net.  With goaltender equipment and the goaltenders themselves being bigger (especially since the rules are less strict in the NCAA compared to the NHL), this would give the shooter more to shoot at.

8.  Redefine late hits. 

Late hits aren't as big of a problem in NCAA as it is in the NHL, but it is still an issue.  There is nothing in the NHL rulebook (I don't know if it is stated in the NCAA rulebook either) regarding how many seconds after the player gets rid of the puck would a hit be considered late, or how many seconds after the whistle would a hit be considered late, but it should be better defined.  McIndoe asks a GREAT question:  Why is it that a hit, delivered seconds too early, is considered an illegal hit but a hit delivered seconds after the puck is gone, considered a legal hit?

McIndoe's rule rewriting is dead on.  He states:  "Any hit that is initiated after the puck is gone is a late hit. And "initiating" a hit will mean actually starting to throw it, not just gliding toward a guy who's watching his pass."  The onus will be on the guy who is setting up to hit a guy to try at all costs to avoid contact late.  I also think this may eliminate much of the cheap shots if the officials would be willing to be consistent in its calling.

Summary

Not all of my suggestions have the greatest solutions and not all of Sean McIndoe's suggestions cross over, but his article is an absolutely SPOT ON MUST READ for those who are passionate about NHL Hockey and improving the product on the ice.  Normally he's full of tongue in cheek humor, but in this case, he's spot on.  Kudos to you Mr. McIndoe.

I'd LOVE to hear solutions to the issues addressed above in the comment section.  Again, I'm not an expert and I fully acknowledge Sean McIndoe's role in the creation of this post.  If you want to speak to an expert, talk to Sean.

How We’d Fix It: The NHL. (Aug. 8, 2013). Grantland.com. Retrieved August 17, 2013, from http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9538380/how-fix-nhl

College Football: End of the FCS Vs. FBS games?

Looks like you're going to see a lot less games between FCS and FBS football teams. If you have watched college football at the beginning of most football seasons, you will see match-ups between FCS and FBS teams.

A lot of these FCS teams depend on these guaranteed games to fund their athletic departments. These games pay a lot of money to FCS team that is willing to travel to the FBS team’s home field and play a football game. Many times these football games are a lopsided game and then the FCS school gets a big lucrative pay day.

Ralph D. Russo, Associated Press --- Larry Scott said he still wants FBS to have a "so-called big tent," with more than just the top five conferences being included.

"That's why the reports of a possible breakaway and things like that are overcooked," he said. "That's not anyone's agenda."

He said the move toward more nine-game conference schedules and an emphasis on strength of schedule in the upcoming College Football Playoff will lead to fewer games between the big five conferences and the other five FBS conferences (Mountain West, American Athletic, Sun Belt, Mid-American and Conference USA). But there still will be competition between the two groups.

What likely will decrease are games between FBS and FCS teams and so-called guarantee games, when a school from a power conference pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to a school from a lesser conference to play a road game.

Some FCS and lower-level FBS programs, especially those in the Sun Belt and MAC, rely on those guarantee game payouts to fund their athletic programs and losing them could be a problem.

To me, this smacks of elitism. I understand the bigger teams not wanting to play the smaller schools. But some of the big schools are getting beat by FCS schools on a regular basis.

Related articles

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• David to get fewer cracks at Goliath (timesleader.com)

NCAA Hockey: Coaches want to keep the status quo

A couple of things have come out of the NCAA hockey meetings so far. Frankly, I am not all that happy with what has come out of the NCAA meetings. I didn’t really have that high of expectations anyways.

Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald – There was a proposal at the annual Florida meetings last week to change the NCAA tournament format to allow the top eight seeds to host a best-of-three series in the first round, but it was met with resistance from a segment of coaches, Faison said.

“Clearly, for me, I’ve always been a supporter of the top eight hosting in the first round,” said Faison, who will be a member of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee in September. “I think it’s a better way. There are still going to be upsets. It’s just better for the game.”

The primary concern of coaches with that format is that it’s not a competitively fair situation, Faison said.

In a nut shell, “certain” schools appear to want to keep the status quo, when it comes to the NCAA Division I Hockey Tourney.  But why would they want to change? Currently in its present form, the NCAA Hockey Tourney working marvelously for them.  Why would the eastern schools want to get on a plane and have to travel to say Denver, Minnesota, North Dakota or Wisconsin and play a best-of-three series when they can play a one-and-done series in their own back yard.

The same schools would also benefit from hosting their share of best-of-three series as well. So their refusal to be open to change is puzzling.

Going forward, this means, we will continue to let the schools out east drive an hour or less and play in what is basically their own back yards.

On the flip side, the NCAA will continue to have the western schools fly long distances and play in empty arenas, in unattractive cities in places that you would never dream of traveling to.

For whatever reason, the NCAA won’t make the eastern teams travel.

According to Grand Forks Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman, “BU and BC have got on a plane 3 times for a regional in the last 13 years. The teams lost by four goals in the 1st round each time.”

The NCAA wants regional games played in arenas posing as quiet emotionless mausoleums, all under the guise of the regional being held at “neutral” sites. The fact remains, these sites are not in fact “neutral” sites. All you have to do is look at Google maps to prove my point. The University of New Hampshire is 45 minutes away from last year’s regional site in Manchester, New Hampshire.

It appears that the UND hockey team is going to get a chance at hosting a regional “close” to Grand Forks, ND. Again, since the NCAA has decided in their infinite wisdom they don’t want any more regionals on-campus and want to play in empty arenas posing as quiet emotionless mausoleums, all under the guise of the regional being held at “neutral” sites. This would be the next best option, next to the Xcel Energy Center.

UND athletic director Brian Faison said the school is working on putting together a bid to host a men’s hockey regional at Fargo’s Scheels Arena in 2015 or 2016.

I know, be careful what you ask for. Right? That being said, there is going to be a problem with having a regional championship at that location. Having been to the Scheels Arena in Fargo, I don’t think it’s big enough for a regional championship. The Scheels Arena only seats 5,000 people for hockey.

What if the NCAA puts Minnesota and North Dakota in the same regional, they’ve done it on many occasions. In essence, Scheels Arena wouldn’t be big enough to accommodate both schools ticket demands. When you put a regional close to a host school like North Dakota with a rabid fan base like UND, their fans are going to show up. The same is true with Minnesota.  It will be interesting to see how this ends up.

Related articles

• NCAA Hockey: Coaches want to keep the status quo (thehockeywriters.com)
• Time to move the NCAA Hockey Tourney back on campus (thehockeywriters.com)
• Time to move the NCAA Hockey Tourney back on campus (insidehockey.com)

After further review: The ECAC doesn't really equate to the EZAC after at all

ECAC Hockey logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So as we sit here on Saturday, waiting for the championship game of the Frozen Four, and I have to admit that there are no “sexy” traditional match-ups, in the 2013 Frozen Four.

So what?

What else are we going to do today? It’s not like it’s nice outside.

That’s not saying that the hockey hasn’t been good this year, because it has. There are just no traditional matchups between historical powers like Michigan vs. Minnesota or North Dakota versus Boston College.  

Does it really matter? Nope!

Tonight, a couple of brainiac schools from Connecticut, that are about 8 miles apart, according to USCHO’s Brian Sullivan, are going to show case their conferences skills, in "pinnacle" of college hockey’s season. 

For the First time in 23 years, a school from the ECAC is going to win the national championship in division I college hockey.

Wait, what?

So in case you’re confused, two teams from the ECAC will take center stage tonight, one of them are going to be National Champions.

In the final game of the 2012-13 NCAA Division I College Hockey season, Yale takes on Quinnipiac University to determine who the best team is for the 2012-13 season. They've earned, and I must offer my congratulations.

While their playing hockey the naysayers will be eating some crow. I will take Caribbean Jerk on my crow.

The Weather map for North Dakota... 

Links of interest NCAA Hockey

Those that want to watch the games on ESPNU here is the link to the games today. [click to view]

Here is the TV schedule for the NCAA tourney games.  [click to view]

Here is the link to listen to the Gopher game against Yale on the Radio [click to listen]

Here is the link to listen to the UND Hockey game(s) on the Radio [iHeartRadio]

UND Officials Web Page

UND Official Press Guide for the NCAA Playoffs.

UMN Official Minnesota Hockey Web Page.

Yale Bulldogs Hockey Official Web Page.

Niagara Official Web Page

Related articles

• Time to move the NCAA Hockey Tourney back on campus (thehockeywriters.com)
• College Hockey's March Madness Continues: This weekend's NCAA Division one television schedule (3/29 - 3/31) (thehockeywriters.com)

This kind of makes my case: NCAA Hockey

@sunayas RT @blountstrib:Gophers-Yale NCAA hockey, and there is no one here. Can't be more than 500 peopletwitter.com/BlountStrib/st…
— Nathan Fournier (@jrhockeywriter) March 29, 2013

Hum, kind of the reason I talked about this subject here and here, this past week. Kind of makes my case doesn't it? I am sure that the John wouldn't be empty today.

Good to see there are so many people in Grand Rapids, said no one. Ever
— Matt Dresens (@TheBUHockeyBlog) March 29, 2013

Dear @ncaaicehockey horrible regional attendance! Here's a hint: St Paul, Grand Forks, Omaha, Denver. Any of those will make you $$.
— Jeremy Roads (@JRoadsreal) March 29, 2013

Looking at the stands in Grand Rapids and all I can think of is @uscho #Bracketology Blog "Attendance woes? I like it."
— Avaak (@avaak22) March 29, 2013

Judging by the attendance....Friday afternoon games should be the new norm...
— Zack Wohl (@zwohl) March 29, 2013

Plenty of good seats available, if you're just driving around Grand Rapids looking for something to do.
— Bruce Ciskie (@BruceCiskie) March 29, 2013

Time to move the NCAA Hockey Tourney back on campus

It’s that time a year again, Division I college hockey soon will be taking center stage in the NCAA regionals playing in half empty arenas, in venues in cities across the USA.

It’s a yearly occurrence for college hockey, because we can’t have anymore regionals on campus. God forbid, we can’t have playoff games in rowdy arenas stuffed with rabid fans.

The NCAA wants regional games played in arenas posing as quite emotionless mausoleums, all under the guise of  the regional being held at “neutral” sites.

But some of the sites really aren’t that neutral, for some of the schools.

Midsized towns like Grand Rapids, Michigan, Manchester, New Hampshire, Providence, Rhode Island and Toledo, Ohio, will be hosting this year 2013 NCAA Division I college hockey regionals.

There is a good chance in one or two of these regional, will sparsely attended.

This year, you can pretty much guess that Midwest Regional being held in Toledo, Ohio will be that regional that will be played in front of an empty arena or arena seats posing as fans.

Going on past history, I am betting that this will be that regional that very few fans will see live, unless it’s being watched on television. According to The Blade, a Toledo, Ohio newspaper, tickets remain for the regional. You can get your tickets to the regional for a cool $75.00. Really, tickets remain. I can’t imagine why? That’s way too pricey.

Anyone want to lay odds on the attendance numbers for that regional? If they get 2,000-3,000 fans for the weekend, they will be lucky. That’s what the NCAA want’s half empty arena’s at neutral sites.

The other western regional, the “West” regional, is east of the Mississippi River. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see how anything in the Eastern Time zone is considered the Western part of the USA, at least by my standards, but whatever.

For the West Region, tickets are still available and a little bit cheaper, there going for $65.00.  Want to lay odds, that there will be a fair number of empty seats at this regional as well. Sure, North Dakota and Minnesota are in this regional and their fans travel well.

But let’s get real.

Grand Rapids is 649 miles from the University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota is 582 away from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

With the cable/satellite television, one doesn’t need to spend money on a expensive last minute plane ticket or gas for 14 hour car trip, hotel room, and ticket package.

Of course, on the flip side of this equation, the Boston College eagles will get to travel a strenuous 50 miles south to Providence, Rhode Island.

Let’s not forget, New Hampshire has an exhausting 45 minute bus trip to the North East Regional in Manchester, New Hampshire.

For the most part the NCAA won’t make the eastern teams travel.

According to Grand Forks Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman, “BU and BC have got on a plane 3 times for a regional in the last 13 years. The teams lost by four goals in 1st round each time.”

Last time Boston College was sent west they got rolled 8-4 by the Colorado College Tigers.

So in essence, yearly, the NCAA is giving the eastern teams in the NCAA Division I hockey tournament home games. It’s no wonder they don’t want to move the regionals back on campus. Why should they? They might have to play a Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Denver at their home arena. We can’t have that, they might not have an easier path to the Frozen Four.

I believe it’s time for the NCAA regionals to move back on campus, soon. Of course, there is not a lot of support for moving the regionals back on campus. I don’t, however, think that’s going to happen, anytime soon.

This year, if anything, I think brings to light, a reason to at least explore that option.

After Notre Dame beat Michigan 3-1, to win the CCHA title, it looked like UND was headed to the East regional. Think again. Instead of going by the Pairwise numbers and putting UND in the East Regional with Quinnipiac, Canisius and Union, the NCAA instead put the Boston College in the easier bracket and doubled up two WCHA teams in the West Regional, all under the guise of Minnesota and North Dakota will sell tickets.

After an all WCHA Frozen Four in 2005, the NCAA didn’t want to have a repeat of that even again. In some fans opinion, the NCAA has pretty much handed Boston College a easy route to the Frozen Four with that regional draw.

According to Tom Nevala, chair of the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and senior associate athletics director at Notre Dame, it doesn’t sound like the regionals are going to be moving back to campus anytime soon.

According to Tom Nevala, chair of the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and senior associate athletics director at Notre Dame, it doesn’t sound like the regionals are going to be moving back to campus anytime soon.

Personally, I would like to see us move to an on-campus best-of-three series format for the first round,” Nevala said. “The top seeds would host regardless of size of its building. Right now we do it at the conference level and it works very well. There are upsets even with the home ice advantage and the atmosphere for everyone involved would be better. We have such great campus facilities that are such a part of the fabric of college hockey, it’s a shame that the national tourney isn’t played in them.”

So does Nevala see it happening any time soon?

“The coaching body is so set on having the regional games at neutral sites that before the committee would ever propose something like this we would need to work with them to try and get everyone on board,” Nevala said. “Hopefully we can put something together that they would feel comfortable with. It’s really hard for anyone with an objective view to say what we are doing now at our regionals is great,  so we need to try and do something with them because a great tournament should be our goal.”

Regional sites for the next two years have already been determined so the earliest any change could happen would be for the 2015 championship. The 2013 regionals are at Grand Rapids, Mich., Manchester, N.H., Providence, R.I. and Toledo, Ohio. The 2014 regionals will be held at Bridgeport, Conn., Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Paul, Minn. and Worcester, Mass. [ncaa.com]

I find those comments disappointing, however, maybe there is hope. Being from North Dakota, at least there is some hope in the future. Or at least, UND athletic director Brian Faison is saying some of the things that I like to hear.

“I don’t like the situation we seem to find ourselves in sometimes when we play in empty arenas in regionals,” said North Dakota athletic director Brian Faison, who will join the committee in the fall. “I’d love to be in a situation where you could play on campus sites for the first round. … I’d love to see us get into a different format, and I think it’s better for the sport. It’s a great game.

“And you want that game in the best locations that you can to showcase.” [Lacrosse Tribune]

Don’t count on the NCAA Hockey showcasing the college game in half empty arena’s in towns some have never heard of, nor would ever think of visiting, if it was for the college hockey game. It’s  time to consider moving the NCAA Hockey Regionals back on campus.

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine.

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Will UND fans cheer Holy Cross?

This past weekend, I was listening to the UND Hockey on the radio and between periods, the voice of UND Hockey, Tim Hennessy was interviewing hockey guru Jess Myers of ESPN 1500 and Jess made mention of the Holy Cross series that's coming up in January at the Ralph and joked whether UND fans would still cheer Holy Cross when they’re introduced.

So do you think that UND fans will cheer Holy Cross? Like J.B. suggested in the comments, the fans may cheer before the first game but Holy Cross will become enemy number one, once the first puck is dropped.

During the 2006 NCAA Regionals,  Holy Cross was the “giant killer”... some have likened the Crusaders to Basketball’s version of the Cinderella -- a surprise team that was supposed to have no chance of winning but somehow Cinderella finds it in their fiber to knock off that unbeatable highly ranked sending fans into a pandemonium.

This is not 2006 anymore.

The Crusaders definitely made NCAA Division I College Hockey history for their ginormous victory over the Gophers, since that day Holy Cross, has been beloved by a lot of  UND hockey fans; simply because they knocked off one of UND's most hated rivals the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Also, to this day, you still see Holy Cross shirts and jerseys in the Ralph on any given weekend. I must say that I never bought one of those shirts, but I did watch Holy Cross football when I lived in Massachusetts during the early 1990's.

This season, I don’t think UND will overlook Holy Cross and I expect UND to play hard against them. UND has an all-time record of 2-0-0 against the Crusaders, beating them during the 2004 and 2006 NCAA tourney.

Related articles

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UND Drops to 7th in USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll

November 19, 2012

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Boston College	(47)	9- 1-0	996	1
2	Denver	( 2)	9- 1-0	948	2
3	New Hampshire	( 1)	8- 1-1	865	5
4	Minnesota		7- 2-2	853	3
5	Miami		7- 2-3	781	4
6	Notre Dame		8- 3-0	731	8
7	North Dakota		5- 3-2	705	6
8	Union		6- 2-1	664	7
9	Western Michigan		6- 3-1	543	9
10	Boston University		6- 4-0	536	11
11	Dartmouth		5- 1-2	462	12
12	St. Cloud State		6- 4-0	377	15
13	Cornell		3- 3-2	322	10
14	Colorado College		7- 5-0	287	14
15	Nebraska-Omaha		6- 3-1	260	18
16	Ferris State		6- 4-2	211	20
17	Harvard		4- 3-0	201	17
18	Quinnipiac		7- 3-1	187	NR
19	Michigan		4- 6-1	160	13
20	Niagara		8- 2-3	112	NR
Others receiving votes: Alaska 79, Yale 66, St. Lawrence 57, Holy Cross 34, Providence 23, Massachusetts-Lowell 14, Northern Michigan 12, Ohio State 9, Northeastern 2, Colgate 1, Merrimack 1, Minnesota State 1.