NEWS FLASH

Assholeciated Press

WEST BEND, Wis. -
Feb. 28th, 2006

The great "Miller heist" has taken another weird turn. Police found the semi truck that was carrying the $26,000 worth of Miller Beer products today. The beer was gone. All of it!

- 384 24-packs of Miller Genuine Draft cans

- 560 18-packs of MGD 12-ounce bottles

- 980 18-packs of MGD 12-ounce cans

- 40 24-packs of Miller Light 16-ounce plastic bottles

In what might be a related story. A sheriff's deputy found two Wisconsin Badger Hockey fans in a park amongst a sea of empty Miller beer cans and bottles. The two unidentified fans have yet to make a statement.
Deputy Bert Dahmer said, "When we arrived we found both individuals face down clutching pictures of the UW Badger 2005-2006 Hockey Team photo. The faces of various UW hockey players had been covered by marker or pen. Both posters had the head coach's face deliberately cut out. We also discovered what seems to be a stuffed Goldy Gopher doll under one of the men." Asked further about the doll Dahmer continued, " it seems as though some type of ritual with sexual overtones was going on but I can not elaborate further until lab results are in on the doll."

Police are looking for finger prints to trying and connect these yet unlinked incidents.


Reporting
Red B. Menace.

Potulny For Hobey?

RyPo is coming off a huge weekend and has risen to the top of the Hobey hunt. He has quietly made a nice season for himself. Although he dismisses the recent acknowledgements you know he's thinking about it.

His numbers though 34 games: 29 Goals 21 Assists 1.47 PPGM.

In other ramblings. There is an air of caution going on with Goof fans. Most are of the opinion that the streak that has vaulted them to the top will come to and end this weekend. tUMD netminder has owned the Goofs. I am of the opinion that they sweep tUMD, Alaska in the playoff's and the lose at the X. Just a feeling!

There is an interesting post on SUZE's forum HERE! They are talking about Rookie of the Year in the WCHA. Well, just go read for yourself. Kessel just continues to grow both in defensive skills and making plays. I for one was not that impressed at the start of the season but since coming back from the World tourney he has raised his level of play. Wonder what he thinks NOW about his decision the come to Mecca?

The BADger fans all over forums are ducking for cover. Why? Because all their 1st half talk is coming back to bite them in the arse!

Bu(e)cky9 on GPL is about to get banned for stirring it up because he can't take the heat after his bout of BS.

Here is his BOLD prediction that started it:
"With an 8 point lead, we would have to try and give away the conference title."

CHOKE!

Does "W" stand for CHOKE?

I popped over to Whiner Central to check out the banter. Here is one of the posts.

"Is this the biggest collapse in Badger sports history?
I'm not trying to be overly dramatic, but is the Badger hockey team experiencing the biggest collapse in the history of Badger athletics?

A few short weeks ago the Badgers were 18-2-2. They had been ranked #1 in the country for about 9 weeks in a row, many of them unanomously. A few short weeks later they are 1-7 in there last 8 WCHA games. This weekend's series they got absolutely pummeled by a team that is not in the upper half of the league and that had a losing record.

Has any other Badger team gone from such prosperity to the outhouse so quickly? The one I can think of is the 1977 John Jardine football team that started 5-0 and nationally ranked, to finishing 5-6.

So why such a dramatic collapse?

1. Were the Badgers overchieving that much in the 1st 2/3's of the season?

2. Did the Brian Elliott injury really deflate the team that much because it caused a loss of confidence?

3. Is this team just getting tired?

4. Is there some type of internal strife?

5. Should this have been expected because Eaves' teams have a history of sliding down the stretch?

I think these are all legitimate questions. The Badger defenseman in the 1st 22 games seemed to limit the number of quality shots that Elliott was seeing. Now the opponents seem to be getting more quality scoring opportunities than early in the season. The Badgers haven't lost any defensemen to injury so I'm wondering why their played seems to have slipped.

A few short weeks ago this team seemed destined to be hoisting a NcNaughton Cup, a WCHA Final 5 Championship, and an NCAA championship. Today they seem destined to go down as the team that had the biggest free fall in the history of Badger sports."

No, just their usual end of the year el'foldo!

The cup runneth over!

After a 15 year drought the Golden Gopher capture the MacNaughton Cup. The league championship. 8 weeks ago everybody all but gave the cup to the BADgers. LOL! SWOON! More on that later. After a scoreless first the Goof's opened up and downed the Seadog's 4-0. Rypo had the hattrick. With 5 this weekend he is making a strong statement for a Hobey bid.

I had an interesting exchange on GPL about the significance of winning the cup. One guy said all that matters was the NS$$. Well in the big picture yes. He eluded to Woog winning it but never the big one. Woog was a failure. Plain and simple. tDon has not won it here. He has won 2 NC$$'s. Nice feather in his/their cap.

Meanwhile theBADger continue a meltdown of EPIC proportions! Again! The went to the Landcow's home and GOT SMOKED!!!! For shits and giggles I bopped over to the BADgers forum. All the talk has been wait til Elliot gets back. That's why we are losing. Ha what's the excuse now? The way they are playing they had better watch out or the could lose that overall No.1 seed. I hope they get bounced from the Final Five!

Here's my projected playoff match-ups:

Minne vs. Alaska
DU vs. tUMD
BADgers vs. Tech
NoDakanada vs. Landcows
CC vs. JBSU

Final 5- Minne, DU, BADgers, NoDakanada and JBSU! I'll see you there. Club Level Section 34 Row 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get'er DONE!

The Goof's survive a scare in Alaska. After skating to a 3-3 tie through 2 periods Wheeler redirects a shot from the point and the Goof's make it stick. On Saturday nite they need to come out with fire. This will set the tone for the likely playoff meeting between these two teams at Mecca in a few weeks. It will also enable the Goof's to need only 1 point next weekend to sew up the Cup! That is unless both the BADgers and DU lose again tonight. That will give the Goof's a 6 point lead with two games to go for them both.

We do get a chance to watch the BADger SWOON continue tonight. FSN will air the game at 7PM tonight. Boy the RedMenace chatter has REALLY subsided ALL of the net. USCHO crap is done, Bucky Board is ALL pissy. You see, this is what the BADgers do. CHOKE at the end of the season, ....and they chant GoldenChokers! It's not even likely they will be at the X for the Final Five. Remember Alaska taking them out a while ago? Hobey Elliot? I think NOT! Hobey Potulny?

If you want to watch the internet feed of the Goof's game go HERE!

Drop the PUCK!

Tora, Tora, Tora

There was a very interesting post on USCHO with the "Great" rendering (top) of Elliott theBADgers goalie and Hobey hopeful. It was posted by Duplo! I saw a resemblance and had to do it!

Sorry Duplo, I really think you did a nice job (better then I could do) but I just had to!!!!

Special Request

A poster on this entry commented about a certain "hot" cheer chick the Goof's had during there Back to Back championships.

While the WWW is a huge resource, this is the only picture I have of her. She is the blonde to the right. This picture DOES NOT DO HER JUSTICE!

If you have any shots of her let me know!

BTW I added DTP's AA Blog link. Check it out! Goof's are in Alaska for a two game tilt. More on that later....

She's BACK!

BroomHilda the wicked witch of Mecca rears her PRETTY head again. After a rousing game on Friday night the POI comes out and puts a hurt on DU in the 1st period. Outcome after 20 minutes?3-0! Then, after a lackluster first 18 minutes in the second DU answers with a PP goal. Only to have MINNY score about 20 seconds later.
The third saw DU start to take out their frustration a bit. A few after the whistle hits and shots. Chucko looked to sustain a knee injury after his skate stuck while being (cross) checked. More on that after reports start to trickle in. DU needs to contain the frustration if they want to three peat. It was nice to see tDon continue to pour it on because of their cheap shots. Real them in Gwoz! SWEEP!

So THE SWEEP combined with the Elliot led BADgers 4-4 tie with Tech leave the Goof's alone in first. Did POI beat a good DU team? Yes. Did they solidify their No.1?Yes. Does this matter?NO! POI heads to Alaska next weekend with a 2 point lead in the race for the cup!

As Elaine said to Soup Nazi....... NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One down, One to GO!

Well....after two dead periods of hockey they showed up! Both teams! The teams traded body shots through two periods.

Then in the 3rd, the POI were called with a second major penalty. More on the penalties later.......

After killing the major, DU was called for a penalty. RYPO nettted the game winner shortly after.

Now for the ref's. WTF are you guys doing? You call two 5 min majors. Both plays were suspect. Not from the point of being penalties, both were! But a player turning into a check does not constitute checking from behind. Look at the play that started this clusterf**k from last year at the Final Five. That was checking from behind.

Then to call a couple weak penalties on DU to "even" it up is just to much to stomach. Not to diminish the Goph's PK tonite but stop trying to control the game! LET THEM DECIDE IT ON THE ICE!

Now the question....will tDon start Frazee? I think not. But, I've never coached a Nat'l Championship team! Let's look for the "salute" at Mecca Saturday night!

BTW...... It is f**king cold here. Canceled my sledding/fishing trip for Saturday! DAMN.

Eyes on the Prize

The Fishwrap Factory East and the Fishwrap Factory West both have stories about the POI's mindset coming into this weekend. This leads me to think that tDon is not so concerned about this weekend. DU is fighting for it's post season life and will no doubt come out gunning. I just hope the Goof's are not flat and show some grit when it matters. This is gut check time for this team. I think tDon is wrong not focusing on what a huge weekend this IS! 2 time defending Nat'l Champs in your house, a chance at defusing one of the countries hottest teams, not to mention that this could lead to the first MacNaughton Cup for him in Minny and the first in A LONG TIME for the program! His ho-hum attitude is starting to rub me the wrong way.

DROP THE FUCKING PUCK ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

State of Cheer?

Well I see Minny even supplies the rest of the Nation with talent in something besides hockey. DU's "Cheer Chick" Captain (EZ, that's what WE call our Cheerleader here) hails from here! Ski-U-MahMah!!!!!!!
.....but can she skate??????? We'll see in about 30 days at the X.



Gretchen Hass, Team Captain, Sophomore
Major: International Business
Born May 1986, Minneapolis, MN
Attended Silver Creek High School
Favorite class- Chinese
Favorite sport- tennis

Battle for WCHA lead at Mecca!

The "Gwoz"(Pictured) brings his Pioneers to town this weekend. DU is coming with sweeps of the BADgers (who are in their usual swoon), Alaska who could not beat Hill-Murray HS team and the 4th string Gopher rejects from Mankato.

This is an interesting matchup. DU went into BADger land and beat them with defense. POI went in and dominated with offense. DU scored a total of 5 goals in that series. They will need to beat Briggs more then 5 times to get past the Gophers.

On the other hand the Goof's shot blanks last Saturday against an over-matched Tech squad. They are getting Chucko back but he has been a non-factor. Well not really he beat DU early in the season. The much vaunted PP has been limp of late. Going 1 for 22 in their last 4 games. DU is fairly controlled when it comes to penalties called.
This may not be the series that decides the race however. DU hosts NorthDakanada and has Home and Home with CC. Should be a great weekend of hockey. Now..........................................DROP THE PUCK!

Today's history lesson

History of the WCHA

by Kurt Stutt

The WCHA was born as the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League in 1951 by Colorado College, Denver, Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota and North Dakota. After two seasons, the league changed its name to the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League, which more aptly described its geographical location.

The league was the dominant force in college hockey throughout the 1950s, winning all but the 1954 NCAA Championship. Michigan won six titles in that decade alone. But in 1958 the conference broke up, due to a disagreement over recruiting practices. Minnesota and all three Michigan schools accused Denver, North Dakota and Colorado College of recruiting overage Canadians. This practice did not violate the league's (or the NCAA's) rules, but was not in the spirit of the league. In the end, the four 'M' schools would withdraw from the league. As a consequence, there was no league play during the 1958-59 season.

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) was officially founded in 1959. All the schools agreed that the lack of a league hurt Western college hockey. This time, though, it would be a more informal association, allowing schools to schedule whatever opponents they wanted. Denver and Minnesota, still bitter over the previous year's feud, did not schedule each other and would not meet on the ice for over a decade.

The next seven seasons were dominated by Michigan Tech and Denver, who won four and three league titles, respectively. The conference expanded, adding Minnesota-Duluth in 1966, Wisconsin in 1969 and Notre Dame in 1971. The 1960s and 1970s would see overwhelming WCHA superiority in NCAA play, with the conference winning all the NCAA titles except for 1967, 1970-72 and 1978.

The WCHA became more formal in 1973, when the league office assumed all conference scheduling. A plan was passed in 1979 to split the conference into two divisions as a cost-cutting move, but was rescinded three months later. Then, in 1981, Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and Notre Dame all defected to the CCHA. The loss of Michigan Tech was a double blow, as they took the MacNaughton Cup, presented to the WCHA Champion every year, along with them.

The WCHA survived as a six-team league, then expanded again in 1984 when Michigan Tech returned (with the MacNaughton Cup), and brought Northern Michigan with them. The same year saw the start of an interlocking schedule with Hockey East, which lasted for five seasons. All inter-conference games counted in each conference's standings.

Recent developments saw the adoption of a single-site final four (later, five) format for the tournament, starting with 1988 in St. Paul. St. Cloud State joined as the conference's ninth member in 1990. Northern Michigan won the 1991 NCAA Tournament and North Dakota won the 1997 tournament, the 30th title for the WCHA.

Alaska-Anchorage became the tenth conference member in 1993-94, the same season that Colorado College won the first of three consecutive league titles, the first team to do so and their first titles since the 1956-57 season. Following the end of the 1996-97 season, Northern Michigan departed the WCHA, rejoining the CCHA. Mankato State participated in the WCHA tournament for the first time the following season. In 1998, Mankato State was voted in as the league's newest member, beginning play in the fall of 1999.

Kurt maintains a nice site for College Hockey History. Check it out!

It's a great day (weekend) for HOCKEY!

Big weekend series against the DU Pioneers at Mecca this weekend. DU is coming off a weekend sweep of the Landcows in Denver. I caught most of both games on FSN. DU is playing good hockey right now. But, so are the Goof"s. DU better pick up the "D" this weekend or the are in for a long road.
Last year the Goof's were 2-1 against DU. This year they went to Denver and took 3 points. Denver was a much different team then. So were the Goof's. DU will be pressing not only because it is a battle for first place but they are also on the hump for a NC$$ bid.

POI sweeps DU out of Minnesota!

In other news. CC loses Aaron Slatengren! Go HERE for the full read!

More later...........................

No Joy for Drunk Chick!

Well what a wierd game. The GOOF's score in the first minute of ALL three periods, 7-4 Final. Why is that 6-7 GOON on the ice? I hope they did not waste a full ride on him. Get the brooms out!

In other games, tBIG RED lost. In front of 2500 fans, CORNHOLE loses to Clarkson.

The MAIZE continue their(well wished) spiral, and dump one to Lake State! Boy MaizeRage will whine a ton tonite!(Stick to CCHAHA coverage)

JBSU got thumped in Stearns CO. tonite 6-3! AWHHHHHH! Maybe a search for more river swellers in the AM!

Random Shit!

I just finish reading Return to Gold Country. A decent book covering the Goof's Championship.
What I most enjoyed was reading the early history of the POI! Maroosh's stand against 20 and 21 year old Canuck freshmen is what started the All-Minny kids stand.

"I am not anti-Canadian, I am just pro- Minnesotan"
John Mariucci

GPL Rant
Jupiter over at GPL has a front page PASTING of the fans at Mariucci Arena.

When will something get done about the "corpies" at the Mecca? The waiting list for tickets is like 2500 people long. No, that's not a lot of people but with about 10 or less coming available each year.... well YOU do the math!
Why don't they sell those ticket if the seats are empty? If they were to use all this technology we have they could easly scan/record the ticket ID when you enter. Then by the time the puck is getting ready to drop they know exactly what seats are available. Open up the sales to the REAL fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Shit I would pay an extra 5-10 bucks to get a ticket. You can go there now and get standing room tickets and then just sit somewhere and HOPE the "corpie" does show up!

Here it IS!
Soap Box MODE ON!

Mariucci is a joke compared to the Kohl Center!!!!
That's right... There's no doubt about it. The atmosphere at the Kohl Center during a Badger hockey game puts the "aura" of Mariucci to shame. The fans are louder, they participate and the band makes our band at Mariucci seem like a junior high band.

My wife Suzanne and I took in our first game at the Kohl Center a few weeks ago and had a great time. The Kohl center is an okay arena for hockey, but not the best. The fans are not all that knowledgeable, but it's Wisconsin, what do you expect? But one thing that I found out is that the atmosphere and crowd participation makes Mariucci seem like a morgue. It was more alive than I think Mariucci will ever be.

Let's start with the student section. The student area takes up three lower sections right behind the opposing goalie. Then two more smaller sections in the mid tier and two more in the upper deck. The students actually show up to the games!! I would guess there are at least twice as many students as there are at Mariucci. They know the cheers, they sing, they dance, they just have a great time. Even during the intermission they were singing and dancing. Are they drunk? Probably... But who cares? They make noise and have a blast!! The students at Mariucci are clueless. The only people that participate in the cheers are in the smaller section 2 and most of them are not even students anymore. I think I saw maybe 5 people do the butt dance in section 14 at the last home game I was at. The rest were busy talking on the phone or just didn't care. About the only thing they can do is the Rouser and the funnel chant. Our student section is a complete joke compared to the Badger student section... It's not even close!

How about the Badger band? They would blow the doors off of the band at Mariucci. Don't get me wrong, I love our hockey band and it would really suck not having them, but the Badger band is flat out better. I think one of the reasons is that they don't bother wasting their time with flutes, clarinets and the like that can't be heard. At least I could not see any of those instruments from my vantage point... All I could see was brass.... Loud and effective!!! I think that everyone here would agree that if the 'U' Hockey band dumped the wind instruments and added 20 more brass players, they could get Mariucci rocking! Speaking of the 'U' band... Why don't you guys get some balls and start playing "Rock 'n Roll part II" again!!!! It's actually a song that gets the crowd to participate and make some noise! It's time to stand up for yourselves!!! Don't let some pansy ass guy in a suit at the 'U' tell you what you can and cannot play!

Finally.... What about the rest of the crowd at the Kohl Center? Again, I will admit that as a whole, the hockey knowledge base there is pretty low. Yet, they never sit on their hands. I would say that most of the crowd participates like the students do. They may not dance and sing as much, but they are very vocal! When the Badgers scored their one and only goal for the game we were there I could not believe how load that place was. You may think the "Sieve" chant is lame, but the ENTIRE crowd was on their feet yelling it. In between each calling of "Sieve" there was not a sound. They were in perfect rhythm together. At Mariucci, we can't spell out MINNESOTA without rushing ahead of the band and making it sound like a garbled mess.... It's pretty sad.

So what is the deal? Why can't Mariucci be more like the Kohl Center? Can you imagine how great it would be if that was the case? It would be a much more difficult place for opponents to play in. That will never happen though.... It would mean that the "corpies" would actually have to show up to the game first. Then they would actually have to make some noise. I think that is too much for them to do. They would rather just be "seen" than participate. I guess it's up to the student section to liven things up right??? FAT CHANCE!!!!

Mariucci may not have all of the amenities that some of the newer rinks have. I think it is still the best place to watch a game for the hockey purist! The sight lines are second to none and there is not a bad seat in the house. This is something that the Kohl Center does not have. Actually, of all of the rinks I have been too, Mariucci is by far the best for watching a game. Yet the atmosphere is a complete joke compared to the Kohl Center and other arenas for that matter. Mariucci could be so intimidating if the people there wanted it too be. How can you let a bunch of Badger fans make you look so bad? It's pathetic! Yet so true!!!! -Jupiter-

Another Installment

More from the Wooger

On Tap This Week:

Minnesota at Michigan Tech
The Gophers have been practicing on the small rink at Ridder this week and leave Thursday by bus for Houghton. Danny Irmen and Kris Chucko will be out this weekend and probably will not be ready for the Denver series.

The lines for this weekend: Mike Howe, Ryan Stoa and Ryan Potulny; Justin Bostrom, Gino Guyer and Andy Sertich; Evan Koffman, Tom Pohl and Peter Kennedy and the top line of Phil Kessel, Blake Wheeler and Ben Gordon.

The Tech rink is set up nice for a player like Chucko so his presence will be missed, as will the physical presence of Irmen. It will be a physical series but I think the Gophers just have too much talent for the Huskies to handle. It is the Winter Carnival so that will add to the atmosphere and it’s a festive time in Houghton. The games are Friday night and then Saturday afternoon at 5. TV will cover the Friday game and not the Saturday game. With these different factors, game times, long bus ride, Winter Carnival, etc. the outside stimulus may be a factor. The top guy for Tech is Chris Conner who has been one of the stars of the WCHA over the past few years and this year has 15 goals and 25 points. Tech doesn’t have a lot of depth at D or a lot of scoring punch so I think Minnesota should be able to handle them.

THE CALL: Minnesota sweep

Colorado College at St. Cloud State
You would think CC has too much offense for St. Cloud but with Bobby Goepfert in goal (1.97/.929) he can be the equalizer. These are two teams on the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum as St. Cloud has sort of snuck into fourth place while CC has won just once in their last six games. Should either team sweep this weekend it would really add to their changes of securing home ice in the playoffs so there is a lot on the line this weekend up in St. Cloud.
The Huskies may be better on team defense, so look for a classic clash of offense versus defense. Last week we talked about Goepfert possible being Rookie of the Year but since he played at another college, he is not eligible for that post season award.
THE CALL: Split

Minnesota State at Denver

Denver has the toughest schedule of the teams competing for the title as they will meet up against CC, North Dakota and Minnesota before the end of the season. The Mavericks are playing well, scoring some goals and getting contributions from their third and fourth lines. Ryan Carter has been hot for the Mavericks with 15 goals.
THE CALL: Split

Will the BADger swoon continue? Let's hope so.

Bucky takes another hit to the line up. Senior captain Adam Burish left practice Wednesday in what was reported as a knee injury. He left under his own power and limped to the training room according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Bucky goes to LAME-O Field for the Frozen Tundra Hockey game. The are pitted against that powerhouse tOHIOState.

This may not be the best time for a publicity stunt Bucky. Don't you need to concentrate on the stretch run in the WCHA? Or is that also in the bag? Like the regular season title, Final 5 title and the National Championship that WAS all but wrapped up?
15 Years and counting.................

Top Ten Hockey Rivalries
CHN

6. Minnesota vs. North Dakota

Minnesota leads 132-116-11 according to Minnesota, 124-115-11 according to North Dakota
Distance apart: approx. 310 miles
WCHA tournament titles won: Minnesota 12, North Dakota 7
NCAA titles won: North Dakota 7, Minnesota 5

In another fierce border-battle, this time between two Western powerhouses, Minnesota comes out on top in the number of WCHA titles won, while the Fighting Sioux have the upper hand with regards to NCAA championships. To really get a perspective on the magnitude of where these rivals stand in the national picture, just think — one of these two schools has played in the NCAA title game in six of the last nine seasons dating back to 1996-97.

Speaking of title games, the Golden Gophers and Fighting Sioux went head-to-head in one back in 1979. Minnesota won that meeting 4-3, claiming their third NCAA title. No worries for the Sioux, though. They'd have plenty more opportunities.

Any PETA supporters reading this may want to skip this next part. Lore has it that, in the distant past, some more dynamic Sioux fans have gone to the extent of throwing dead gophers onto the ice as a welcome to the visiting Minnesota squad. From what I gather, this was a limited practice that has long since been shunned by University of North Dakota.

"The students have some interesting ways of expressing themselves during a big game," said Dan Benson, North Dakota's director of athletic media relations. "The dead gopher-tossing was something that happened a long time ago, long before I began working here. The school quickly put a stop to that kind of behavior."

And it's a good thing they did. It's all fun and games until somebody gets a dead gopher in the eye. Fortunately, no gophers were harmed in the writing of this article.

2. Minnesota vs. Wisconsin

Minnesota leads 142-75-15 according to Wisconsin, 142-74-15 according to Minnesota
Distance apart: approx. 224 miles
WCHA tournament titles won: Minnesota 12, Wisconsin 11
NCAA titles won: Minnesota 5, Wisconsin 5

Not only one of the greatest rivalries in college sports, but sports in general, the Gophers-Badgers hockey rivalry is the stuff of legend. However, it wasn't until the 1970s, under the legendary coaching reigns of Bob Johnson at Wisconsin and Herb Brooks at Minnesota, that things got really hot. During that decade, Minnesota won the NCAA title three times under Brooks, in 1974, '76 and '79, while Bob Johnson's Wisconsin teams won in 1973, and '77. We're all very familiar with what Herb Brooks would accomplish with the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team after leaving Minnesota. Bob Johnson would continue coaching at Wisconsin until 1981-82, adding one more title to his credit in 1981 when the two schools met head-to-head in the NCAA championship game in Duluth. The Badgers traveled back across the state line with a 6-3 win and a championship trophy, leaving a trail of disappointed Gopher fans in their wake.

"Essentially, what's at stake are major bragging rights in one of the most hotly contested border battles in all of sports," said Badger fan Brad Ostermann. "I'd say the UW-UM rivalry is even bigger than the Packers-Vikings. They can take their 10,000 lakes and shove 'em! Go Badgers!"

In addition to bragging rights, this long-standing rivalry now comes complete with its own hardware. Similar to the Michigan-Michigan State Challenge Cup, as of the 2004-05 season the Border Battle Cup is awarded to the school taking home the most points in head-to-head competition of 11 sports. Wisconsin won the inaugural year's competition, though the Gophers beat them in hockey with a 3-1 overall season record. Also similar to the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, Wisconsin will host Ohio State in the second major hockey game to be played outdoors on a football field in the United States. In February of 2006 the Badgers will play the Buckeyes on Green Bay's Lambeau Field, with a seating capacity of 71,000. I'm sure it'll be a great draw, but one has to wonder why Wisconsin doesn't bestow the honor of such a landmark game on their archrivals, the Gophers. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

1. Anybody vs. Gophers

Time and time again we see EVERYBODY say this is a BIG weekend. That is why it is a pleasure being a GOOF fan. EVERYBODY thinks beating the GOOF's is huge. Is NorthDakanada/CC huge? NOPE! Is Wisc/NorthDakanada HUGE? NOPE! Is BU/MN huge? YUP! Is MichTech/MN HUGE? Yup!

Ask their fans!!!!!! Oh and look at the stands. They are filled EVERY TIME the GOOF's come to town.

I added dggoddard's DU Pioneer BLOG site link! Check it out!

This LINK on Ebay is too funny! In case they yank the auction I have posted the description below!











You are bidding on a replica of the noose that Mike Eaves and the University of Wisconsin used to choke away the WCHA regular season championship last weekend.

The noose is made of 100% Manilla, which is a natural fiber. Manilla is especially resistant to sunlight which will come in handy for Wisconsin when playing afternoon NCAA tournament games later this winter. Manilla rope will burn so it is best to keep away from teams that are red hot in the WCHA such as MN, Denver and St. Cloud State. Manilla holds knots firmly and stretches very little which means this rope can be used year after year by Wisconsin's hockey team or it's fans.

This noose is also an exact replica of the one Colorado College will use during the NCAA tournament later this march. North Dakota fans can hold their bids until next season when they actually have a chance to use a noose during tournament play.

Free lunch?

Even the leader of the FREE world can F**K up a free lunch!!!!!!!!
DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
tPUTZ visits MN and even the Post-Its refuse to stick for him. 3M's invention fails and he TELL'S THE TRUTH.....

"It was my FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

WOW Jr. Telling tTRUTH!

Can you tell it's an OFF week?

OBTW....
The MIGHTY River Hawks Of
tMiamiOhio
GOT BEAT!
Image that........................................................
Look a few posts below and see the competition~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's GO SUE, Let's GO SUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekly (Off week) Notes

Can you imagine this turd a part of college hockey. Well, READ IT and weep!!!!

What a perfect fit for the EZAC ehhhh! Another way to pad the schedule.

Speaking of padding schedules. Miami of Ohio? Are you f**king kidding me?? Go HERE and look at the DOGS they have beat. Makes you wonder if PWR and Pairwise have any weight at all!

As all eyes (NOT) turn to the heated race over in Hockey Least. A report came out yesterday that UNH Hockey has suspended 7 players from Friday Nite's tilt against Maine. You can read more HERE!

At this time of year POI's eye's turn towards the Final 5 in St.Paul. With a little more then a month to go another MN team is making a name for itself. The Gopher rejects at JBSU are on a nice run. I would not normally give them even a mention if it were not for Mr. Motzko. The former Assistant Coach under tDON has turned this bunch into a team to watch. They went in last weekend and swept SUZE at "the RALPH".

You have got to love any team that makes SUZIESPORTS Board go NUTS! Oh it's so lovely to see!!!! Again you have to HATE a program that yells "SUE" at the end of the NATIONAL ANTHEM.

A silver lining? I think not!

Danny Irmen named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week

On Friday, the Fargo, N.D., native recorded his second career hat trick to lead the Golden Gophers to a 5-4 win over the Badgers. Irmen scored UM’s first, fourth and fifth goals to notch his third three-point game and second game-winning goal of the season. With his hat trick, Irmen became the 54th Golden Gopher in school history to score 50 or more career goals. On the night, he led all players with seven shots and was an impressive +4.

On Saturday, Irmen added two assists (on UM’s first and second goals) to help Minnesota to a 3-1 win over Bucky. With his helper on Ben Gordon’s goal in the third period, Irmen now has four assists on game-winning goals. With his two assists, he earned his ninth multi-point game in 19 games played this season. For the night, he had two shots and was a +2. For the weekend, Irmen had nine shots and led the team as a +6. All of his points on the weekend came during 5-on-5 situations.

Not much of a silver lining in this cloud. Irmen who has be the best player on the ice for the POI is expected to be out for 3-5 weeks with a 3rd degree shoulder seperation. I can tell you FROM EXPERIENCE, he will not be the same player once he gets back on the ice. I had the same injury while playing Junior B's and it is the MOST painful, nagging injury I have ever sustained.

Let's just hope tDON gives him time off to heal and that Danny's takes his time and get's healthy for the Final 5 and NCAA's.