Gopher fan for a day (or two)

What's a man to do when stuck at a hockey tournament in the middle of Minneapolis when his team is knocked out on the first day of competition. Well you can take one of three routes, you can continue to support your team while staying relatively neutral at all games, you can be a hockey whore (like a certain short girl I know) swaying your loyalties to whatever team fans are the closest, or you can pick a team based on whatever factors and ride with it. So as I got up Friday I was faced with a question who do I support now that I had decided that my usual college hockey attire was going to be retired.

Well let's be honest with ourselves, I'm not cheering for Wisconsin, ever under any circumstances (except maybe Wisconsin against Ohio State, in which there's a better chance of me hoping for a natural disaster to wipe the arena off of the map) I'm not cheer "Let's go Huskies" unless those Huskies are wearing Black and Gold because that's just confusing. So really I only had two options North Dakota or Minnesota. I wasn't trying to agree with Dirty, and I've always been thought to never bite the hand that feeds me, and the Gopher were literally feeding me so it was a no brainer, for the next couple days Rob Green was going to be a fan of the Golden Gophers. Besides with the level of arrogance that I already had I was a natural.

Let me tell you now, it's not easy being a Gopher fan in the middle of the Twin Cities, there's just so much pressure. From the second I walked into the parking lot on Friday morning for the GPL tailgate, I had people wanting to shake my hand and women wanting to hug me, of course that may of been more because I was me then because of the jersey I was wearing, but being the center of attention among that many people is a burden that I hope very few people have to suffer through.

Although I did wear a maroon and gold jersey I kept my reminders that I was in fact a Tech fan, I kept on my black and gold Tech hat, mostly because I didn't have a maroon and gold one, and I carried a Tech flag in my pocket, anything to keep me from becoming a hockey whore. I received a lot of interesting looks that day and I think mostly because of the mismatched jersey and hat but regardless I met a lot of people. And then came Friday where the unexpected happened when the teams took the ice there was not a doubt in my mind that not only was my team going to win, but it was in fact the more talented and naturally gifted team on the ice. I'm sorry lately I've been expecting my Huskies to win and they have been doing so, but honestly knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that they were the best team in the building is a new feelings, it's kind of creepy.

Saturday I was a quasi Gopher fan, I wore the jersey but I wore a ref jersey over the top. I even got to participate in the Gopher's pre-game march around it was definitely fun. I hate to admit but it was in fact fun and a good experience but never again. I learned something that day as Wheeler dove to put in the winning goal over Lammy's shoulder. It was an amazing goal and as happy that I was there to see it, it was nothing compared to Justin St. Louis's goal to beat Northern, or Tech winning in overtime at CC. At the end of the day I am what I am and that is Black and Gold all the way through.

Take It as You Wish

So, there's been a slight difference in opinion that has stemmed from quite a while ago, and came back up tonight, so I'm going to take a little break...Fitting that it happens this close to the end of the season as well.

The End of An Era

As I walked through the streets of St. Paul after my Huskies lost in the play-in game at the Final Five I didn't really know how to react. I wasn't sure rather to be thankful that they had made it this far or disappointed because I had such high hopes for them. This season was a good season, we've come so far from where we were last year, and next year just looks more promising.

This has a been a year where negative streaks were broken and new more positive streaks were established, and yet we fell just a few wins short of what could of been. Technically we can still make the NCAA tournament but at this point it is a long shot, so it appears that Tech's first game at the Xcel center may very well be my last hockey game as a Tech student, and this leaves me amazingly bitter-sweet.

So as I sat trying to figure out I wanted to say and what I wanted to do, and as I tried to comfort one of my partners in crime when it comes to this blog, I realized even though the game was over hours ago I still sat in my jersey. I was afraid to take it off, because once it was off it was over, not only the season my career watching Tech games as a student. I bought this jersey, which is a replica of the new home jerseys introduced this year, during the first home hockey game this year and it has brought me through this memorable season. For every game that I have wore this jersey in Five different States this year and at eight different arenas, including every tech game I've been to this year except two where I went in a toga.

This jersey has been as much a part of the season as the tickets, my seat, or my friends that I have had the honor to share the experience with. And these things are what it now represents to me.

If Tech makes the NCAA tournament, which at this point looks very unlikely, I will wear this faithful garment, but for now it is going into retirement. From now on it will be more a piece used to remember the good times then as a piece of clothing.

Thus I am wrapping up an era in my life, and as I close this area I would like to thank everybody who made it possible, to the RA who took me to my first hockey game (the greatest game I've ever seen) to the friends who gave me the chance to experience more, to my friends who stood by me as I became a fanatic, to the ones I shared memories with on roadtrips (don't worry I love you now more then ever) to the alumni who generously help to partially fund these trips when I just couldn't.

Thank you all.

MISSING: Michigan Tech Husky Hockey Team

St. Paul, Minnesota
Unassociated Press

The Michigan Tech Hockey Huskies, who were supposed to show up at the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, were reported missing on Thursday evening. The Huskies, who were to make their first appearance at the Final Five in some 11 or 12 years, and first appearance since the Final Five has been at the Xcel Center, did not show up before a crowd of 16,449. Many Husky fans who were looking forward to watching their team take the next big step were disappointed when they realized that the Husky Hockey team didn't come to play hockey. These Husky fans left the Xcel in absolute disbelief, not to mention anger and embarrassment.

The missing hockey team last night was just a shame. With all the steps forward they have been taking, this is one huge step backwards.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of this team, you are encouraged to contact MeanEgirl or leave a comment in this blog. Any information would be appreciated, although it is now too late to do anything about it. Closure is always a good thing however.

Possibly more to come later.

Just for the night

I don't know what to say, we came we skated and we walked away with a 4-0 lost. The puck just bounced in places it shouldn't have. We didn't skate all that well, we didn't move the puck all that well, and at times we just looked rusty and tired. I would post more but I'm afraid I may start crying, and I don't want to start crying tonight. Tomorrow, I'll do more I promise but for now this is all that I can manage.

Don't Stop Believing.

It's the night before play-ins and tensions are definitely high around here so here is a quick pep talk from the staff of the one and only Michi-
gan Tech Hockey Blog to the men of the Michigan Tech Hoc-
key team.

They've called up perennial doormats, and push-overs, they laughed at us and wrote us off, they petitioned to get us out of our own league, they didn't want us, they wanted to get rid of us. But the tables are beginning to turn now, now they're beginning to learn the last team you want to see standing in front of you is us. Now is the time to crawl away from the proverbial kiddie table and on to the buffet. This is the time boys to shock the world to announce this is our time and you will not take this from us.

We've fought as a team, we've won as a team we've lost as a team and now it's time for us to succeed as a team or to crumble as a team. Everything to this point means nothing if we lose another, nothing means anything if we can't step on the ice and shock the world, if we can't go out show that we are a force that cannot be over looked. We have everything it takes to beat any team they put in front of us. Bring on the Badgers, bring on the Gophers, bring on those fake wanna be Huskies, bring on the Sioux, and if they have the courage bring on the Red Wings. I have faith that we can take on anybody as long as we play our game. If we go out there, we hit hard, we skate hard, and put the puck in the net we will win this game.

WE WILL WIN THIS GAME. We will play our game, we will skate like there is no tomorrow, we will hit like we can not be hurt, we will pass, we will shot and we will score, WE WILL WIN THIS GAME.

I know you've played a lot of hockey in the last week and I know we're asking a lot out of you, but I promise you make it to the end of the week and you will feel no pain. We've come to far to give it up now, we've done to much, we've learned to much, we have to many expecting so much, we will win this game. We've done our part we supported you, we've followed you, we've believed in you when no else would, and all we ask in return is this one game. We will win this game.

Resident Midget Gives Up Hope Early

Yes Husky fans, it is true. Recently, this picture was found of our beloved MeanEgirl, apparently distraught with the effort taken to reach this point in the season, has gone and given up hope of a Husky victory this Thursday night. MEg is seen here with a newly converted Gopher fan, adorned in Badger gear, ready to cheer for the Badgers on Thursday, hoping that backing the defending national champion can save her from potential disappointment this Thursday.

What, you may ask, caused this transformation? Experts believe it was the thin Colorado air, combined with continuous cowbell ringing, which sometimes causes people below 5 and a half feet to experience dizziness and loss of memory. Apparently MEg has lost all memories back to last spring, when the Badgers convincingly took the national title. Hopefully someone in the Twin Cities area can get to her and remind her that the Huskies are on a hot streak and may win the game Thursday before any Badger fans learn of her new allegiance and complete the transformation. Even worse if the Badger fans see her associating with a Gopher fan, she may be in danger from both sides.

Further investigation has yielded this photo, apparently of Boba Fett's youngest son aprehending MEg before converting her to the Dark Side. Perhaps confronting the Badgers will be more difficult than first imagined, seeing as they have hired (the short son) of a skilled bounty hunter to aid them. Only one thing could help us now...

Get your baseball bats people

Note: All pictures were taken without permission courtesy of tDarkness

Doormats No More (or 21+25+29 = X)

It was a slap shot from the blue line from freshman walk-on defensemen John Kivisto. The puck was deflected bounced up hit freshmen walk-on forward Ryan Bunger in the facemask and eventually ended up behind Colorado College's senior Goaltender Matt Zaba. That goal came at the 12:59 mark of the first period putting Tech up 1-0, 47 minutes worth of game time later The Michigan Tech Huskies were celebrating a 1-0 victory over the Colorado College Tigers and a berth to the Final Five.

Tonight we played Husky hockey, we skated hard, we played hard, we hit hard, and even though Zaba did a great job from the first minutes of the first period Tech dominated the game. They took shots, they played the angles they picked up the extra man when on defense. And even on the odd chances when the defense did break down Teslak was there to make an awe inspiring stop. This is the team we've been waiting for, and this is the team that is going to give nightmares to any team that draws them for the rest of the year.

While this was a complete team effort and the entire team deserves the credit for this victory I would like to give a special mention for a great effort put forth on the weekend from the Michigan Tech freshmen class. Their determination and effort never failed on the weekend and in the end it only seems fitting that the series winning goal was a product of the effort two walk-on freshmen.

Next stop St. Paul from there the skies the limit. This is only the beginning not only do we have more to do this year, the future is definitely bright.

The Fifth Longest Game in College Hockey is Over

SCSU has finally scored a goal, Andreas Nodl finished off the UMD Bulldogs in the third overtime period. This result means that the Michigan Tech Huskies will be forced to face the University of Wisconsin Badgers for the third time, in a do-or-die faceoff to make it to the semi-finals. Winning that game should send them to face the Golden Gophers for the fifth time, and then the winner of the SCSU-UND Friday game, should they win that one. We won't get too ahead of ourselves, but congratulations to all the teams looking to stay alive this upcoming weekend.

Holy Crap

Wow...I really don't know how to react...I think I'll let Captain Emotion take care of this one, but holy crap. The Michigan Tech Huskies, a team that couldn't even win 8 games last year is on their way to the WCHA Final Five for the first time in a decade. This year's team has given us so many ups and downs, but in the games that mattered most, we have prevailed. I can't believe I'm actually writing this stuff. If you would have told me I would be doing this at the end of last season, I would have called you insane. I probably sound like a stupid idiot bragging about how wonderful making it to the WCHA semifinals is, but holy crap.

Enough talking about this...I don't know if I'll be very coherent any longer. Elsewhere in the conference, UAA, who forced a third game, fell to the Gophers in a valiant effort by a 3-1 final. UMD and SCSU are still locked up in their second overtime period, and I really don't want to wait to post this. I guess I'll fill you in when that ends, but as of right now, were the Bulldogs to win, MTU would defer to the Friday game vs. North Dakota, and if they lose, we would play Wisconsin in the play-in game on Thursday.

So the elation has kind of died, but I guess I need to find some Final Five tickets now. Keep on waiting for more, because I'm sure tDarkness will be wetting his pants with joy later. Good night for now hockey fans.

JUST PUT ME OUT MY MISERY PLEASE

Why can't we just play hockey the way I know we how to. So many blown opportunities, so many chances to put the puck into the net and nothing. Where was the intensity that we all have come to know and love, where were the big hits and the never say die attitude that wins games. Why are we having so many problems picking up open players sitting in front of our own goals. Come on this is not the best we can do, we can not keep doing this to ourselves.

You have made a believer out me, you made me expect something great, and now when it's all on the line this is the best you can come out with. I expect more, I've spent the last week exclaiming to every possible person who was willing to listen that Tech was going to sweep and this is the best we can come up with. Sure we won last night, but really we still were playing nowhere near our best. Tomorrow night I expect to see more from you, I expect to see the intensity and determination that makes this a team that other teams have learned to fear.

Well it's time for this collection of Tech faithful to start the rehabilitation process. A bad day is a good cause for a good night, and we would like to thank the staff of The World Arena for starting us off on the right track. Huskies if you read this I want you know tomorrow night I expect more and you better deliver.

Do or Die, or Die, or Die

So, for the first time in 9 seasons, a WCHA quarterfinal playoff series involving Michigan Tech hasn't ended in two games of disapp-
ointment. Unfortu-
nately for the Huskies, who came out strong Friday night, Saturday wasn't meant to be for them. CC goaltender Matt Zaba was unbeatable tonight, and despite a second amazing performance, Michael-Lee Teslak stopped everything sent at him except two shots. The loss tonight sends the series to a third game tomorrow night.

Elsewhere in the WCHA, St. Cloud was able to stay alive against Duluth with a 3-2 victory, and Minnesota State was swept out of any hope for further post-season play by North Dakota. The UW Badgers finished off their series as well, upsetting #3 Denver in 2 games, winning 2-1 tonight. The second overtime game of the playoffs this year occurred in none other than Mariucci Arena, where the Golden Gophers of Minnesota were unable to finish off their series with the #10 Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves, who held on for a third game with a 2-1 victory.

With these results, only the Badgers and Sioux are sitting on spots in the Final Five. Three Sunday night games will determine final seeding, and two real upsets could take place. If the Seawolves and Bulldogs can take wins, the top two WCHA teams will be out of their own conference playoffs. Not only are Final Five spots on the line, but wins or losses tomorrow, possible spots in the NCAA playoffs could be won or lost. No predictions can be made, as was shown by the results of the past two nights, so stay tuned tomorrow night. This is the stuff that makes the WCHA the best conference in college hockey.

Rocky Road for Conner

After being called up from AHL Iowa to the Dallas Stars on Thursday, Conner's perform-
ance is mirroring that of his last two callups. He started out with a bang Thursday, assisting fellow Michigander and NHL legend Mike Modano on the first of 3 goals in a 3-5 loss to the recently hot St. Louis Blues. This tally was his second of his career, bringing his point total to 3 in 9 games played. He also spent 2 minutes sitting for a hooking penalty later in the game.

After spending roughly 13 minutes on the ice Thursday, Chris's time was somewhat more limited Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was limited to slightly less than 8 minutes of total play, in a few short shifts. The Stars return home on Sunday to face the Los Angeles Kings. The Stars are caught up in a heated battle for playoff seeding. While the Anaheim Ducks have essentially sealed up the Pacific division, their 83 points leave them tied with division rivals San Jose and the Northwest Division Minnesota Wild. The Calgary Flames are a mere 2 points behind the three. With such a tight race for the final order in the Western Conference, it is likely that the 4th liners will see less and less time, but don't count Conner out just yet.

Huskies Getting it Done

The Huskies don't just score on the ice. They don't just throw themselves in front of pucks, and work hard night and day to perfect their skills on the ice. There is definitely more to these young men that make them fit to be role models to future generations of Huskies.

It's unquestioned that the thing that makes this team special is their ability to work hard on the ice. They have a certain determination that propels them to victory when very few thinks it possible. This determination extends far beyond the ice arena and into the class room.

The 2006-2007 Michigan Tech Huskies Hockey team is the proud home to eleven members of the WCHA all-academic team, including four WCHA Scholar Athletes. The members of the team who spent the countless hours which resulted in the consecutive semesters with a GPA above 3.0 that was required to be recognized as a member of the All-Academic Team are:

Ryan Angelow
Mike Batovanja
Alex Gagne
Kevin Hachey
Lars Helminen
Derek Kitti
Alex Lord
Mark Malekoff
John Schwarz
Tyler Shelast
Tyler Skworchinski

Among these eleven Batovanja, Anglow, Maklekoff and Skworchinski but in the work receiving GPA above 3.5 to be named Scholar Atheletes.

This year the Huskies may be performing wonders on the ice, but it is the work that the team continuous does in the classroom that truly makes not only the Hockey program special, but Michigan Tech as well.

Another one bites the dust (or Gone in 39 seconds)

"If they're gonna get it done, they're gonna need to do it quick." "They're not use to the altitude the longer the game goes the more CC is just gonna wear them down." As the tonights game between the Michigan Tech Huskies and the Colorado College Tigers entered a fourth period one thing was clear to the handful of Michigan Tech faithful in attendance at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, if this game didn't end quickly it was going to be a long night.



When the puck dropped to start the deciding period Tech immediately attacked, working the puck into the CC zone and applying pressure to goalie Matt Zaba. Even when CC tried to fight back and clear the puck, Tech continued their pressure keeping the puck and the zone, and before CC had time to realize what was going on, before the Michigan Tech fans had time to start a chant, and before the clock had time to turn to 19:20 Junior Jimmy Kerr was finishing off a shot by Justin St. Louis that slipped pass Zaba poking the puck pass the goal line. As the Tigers laid on the ice trying to comprehend what had just occurred, and before the Tech fans could recover from their celebrations the Tech hockey team was gone, retreating to the locker to prepare for Saturday nights game.

From the first period, the name of the game was defense and when senior Tyler Skworchinski, executed a perfect move right in front of the CC net, totally drawing Zaba out of position only to miss a wide open net it was obvious that this was going to be a long game.

The Michigan Tech defense along with goalie Michael-Lee Teslak came up big time after time blocking shots over and over and coming up with saves where the entire building was certain that the puck must be sitting in the back of the name. On the other side of the rink it just fell like no matter how opportunities the Huskies worked themselves into they just couldn't find the net, and the times they did Zaba was there to make three or four great stops to send Tech back wonder what they would have to do put a point on the board.

Towards the middle of the second period the mental fortitude of Michigan Tech seemed to break down as they appeared unable to find the puck or the Tigers while on defense giving up numerous breaks. Fortunately Teslak stood strong, and the defense always seemed to find a way to recover. But after captain Lars Helminen was forced to take a penalty in order to fend off a CC player streaking unchecked towards Teslak, CC scored their one and only goal of the game after a rebound was lifted over Teslak's shoulder and into the goal.

Tech fought back as eventually Peter Rouleau was able to find the net tying the score at one as the second period slowly reached the final minutes. This is the way the score would remain until those faithful thirty-nine seconds into overtime.

Tech's win is just another accomplishment in a year that has lifted a lot of stigma off of our backs. This win was Tech's first win in The World Arena after sixteen consecutive loses, and ended a losing streak in the WCHA playoffs that dated back to 1998. As well as crossing these two milestones off of their to do list, this wins guarantees that Tech will finish the year above .500. The next accomplishments that will erase long years of Tech suffering through their own misfortunes will come with their next win, as there next win will lead them to a WCHA playoff series victory, and no longer being the only WCHA team to have never played in the Xcel Energy Center. Here's hoping that our boys wrap this series up Saturday night.

Winless No More

Wow...What more is there to say. The Michigan Tech Huskies, with an 0-16-0 record at the World Arena in Colorado College have decimated that winless streak. Less than a minute into the first overtime period, Jimmy Kerr shoved home a puck that Alex Gange sent toward the goal line, and as easy as that, the Huskies are off to a positive start this playoff season. Oddly enough (sarcasm), referee Marco Hunt made no calls on the Tigers tonight (despite many potential infractions) while the Tigers only went on the powerplay 4 times.

I'll leave the game recap to one of the lucky ones who spent all the money to go to Colorado Springs to witness this feat. Elsewhere in the WCHA, more wows abound. 9th place Minnesota Duluth started their series against St. Cloud on the road to another 9th over 2nd upset, with a 3-1 win over the fake Huskies. The University of Wisconsin also took an early lead for themselves with a 3-2 victory in Denver, after giving up their early lead.

Not surprisingly, the University of Minnesota hanidly managed Alaska-Anchorage to a 6-2 victory, and the University of North Dakota sent Mankato back to the hotel with a 5-2 victory over the Mavericks.

The Huskies may have won this game, but with defensemen Jake Wilkens and John Schwarz absent, the fatigue factor was high, and game 2 in the mountains of Colorado may be made quite a bit more difficult. Don't look for the Huskies to give up easy though.

With the results from tonight, an interesting situation arises. After the Huskies' first playoff win since 1998, they could potentially enter the Final Five without having to participate in the play-in game. I won't speculate more, but I'd advise Husky fans to cheer for the Badgers, Bulldogs and Huskies tomorrow.

GO HUSKIES!

Cha Cha Cha Changes

So, Blogger is gay and had to redo their whole Bloggerness, so I switched us over to one of the "new" templates to see if it would work better. I just tested the comments, and it looks like it works now. I'll see if I can work on the header, but for now we'll live with what we've got. Hopefully MEg doesn't fret too much, and hopefully RWD doesn't go and send The Darkness through the Gauntlet since apparently Bruce Ciskie is cooler than me?

The Arrival of The Darkness

Ladies and gentlemen I would like to introduce the newest member of the Tech Hockey Blog family. You may have heard references of this individual in numerous post by Boosh and MEg, you may also have seen several of his pictures in their post, but we've all decided that this was not enough. We at this prestigious institution that is the Tech Hockey Blog feel that the public had the right to hear what this particular individual has to say. Besides it sounds like Boosh is the current front runner for being the hottest blogger and nobody wants that to happen.

So it is my great pleasure to introduce to you The Darkness. You may have heard of The Darkness, you may have seen The Darkness but everybody has the God given right to get to know The Darkness atleast a little bit better. So we hope you enjoy the pleasure of reading about the world according to The Darkness, probably starting tonight after Tech takes out CC.

Sorry Boosh but we just couldn't let you be the hottest blogger.

Good News Everybody!

Everybody's favorite Dallas Star has been called up from Iowa in order to assist the senior Stars in their effort against the St. Louis Blues on the road. This is Conner's third callup to Dallas, in which he has played 8 games, accumulating 2 points, 2 penalty minutes and a -3 +/- rating. Conner's first NHL goal came against Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore on December 27th. He recently returned to the Iowa lineup from injury in February, and is the team's sixth leading scorer and his 2 shorthanded goals leave him tied with Junior Lessard for second on the team.

Conner will be joining Iowa teammates Krys Barch, Joel Lundqvist and Loui Eriksson on the Dallas team, and with the callup, becomes the third best American born player on the team. In his time with the Stars, Conner used his speed to his advantage on the team's fourth line despite his small size. The undrafted Michigan native looks to continue this role as the playoff-bound Stars face St. Louis, Columbus, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. He will more than likely get his best chances during these games before the Stars move on to face Calgary and Nashville, but hopefully his performance will allow for a longer tour with the Stars.

Wow, Kinda Dumb

So, Blogger is gay as AIDS and the comments aren't working for some reason. I'll see if I can get the IT department on that, but I really don't want to bother with this crap now, so save those comments for me.

Huge Victory for the Junior College

After coming to Minnesota and playing what was to Coach Jamie Russell the worst game of the Huskies' season, the guys stepped the play up to a level that took the Minnesota Gophers off guard, defeating the newly crowned McNaughton Cup champions 5-4 on their own senior night.

What a night it was too. I don't know where to start with the ridiculously awesome play tonight. Last night was somewhat depressing, with slow, disconnected, and somewhat lackluster play, but tonight sophomore Justin St. Louis helped lead a newly revived Husky squad to a 2-0 lead in the first, scoring both goals on a sleeping Jeff "170 Foot" Frazee, including a beautifully played short-hander making Frazee take the first, and wrong move. The Gophers were able to close within one at in the first, until St. Louis finished off his hat trick in the second, followed by goals by Shelast and Kerr. The Gophers were able to respond with two more by the end of the second, leaving the game at 5-3 for most of the third.

In the nets, Michael-Lee Teslak continued his hot streak this year with a dominating performance. The only goals that made it by the second year netminder were either fired in hard through screens or dumped in after numerous stopped rebounds in front of the net. For the Gophers, Frazee, getting the start over senior Kellen Briggs seemed off for most of his playing time, giving St. Louis a full half of his goals this season in a single night. After Shelast put in the fourth, Don Lucia pulled Frazee, resulting in about 8000 cheering Gopher fans and a chance for Briggs to save the game. Briggs only allowed a single Jimmy Kerr goal on the night.

As the night drew to a close, Lucia made the call to pull Briggs with roughly two and a half minutes remaining. During that harried time, Gopher Evan Kaufmann was able to secure his own hat trick, closing the game to 5-4, but the Huskies held on for the final seconds, ending their season at 16-15-5. With the results on the night, the Huskies have unofficially clinched the 6th spot in the WCHA standings, and should be facing the Colorado College Tigers in Colorado Springs for rights to enter the WCHA tournament.

The night is getting old, and its been quite the time, so I'll humor you all with more analysis and playoff information later. Despite some of the conduct on the weekend, I think its safe to say this weekend was somewhat satisfying.
Though a sweep would have been better, we got to piss off a ton of Gopher fans, take some points on their senior night, and I got to meet Ryan Flynn and shake his hand, though those damn Gophers kept him out of the game tonight for a worthless Tom Pohl just because it was senior night. More to come later.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

So, we did get dominated last night, but the 11 or 12 Husky fans watching the game were a bit distracted from the game due to some friendly students who decided to make our stay a bit more fun. Bear in mind that every other section of the arena was not similar to this in any way, and we were apologized to by dozens of other fans, but there are three videos of some amazing conduct that only makes me more proud to be a Misfit, and I'm glad I don't have to put up with people like this at my "junior college," Michigan Tech University.

I'm about to post the links, but you must be warned, this is EXTREMELY EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. I'm not kidding about this. If you dislike vulgarity, don't even bother. Bear in mind, though, that there were dozens of families with kids about 6-12 years old less than 15 feet away. Also understand that this only represents a few obscene fans, and the majority of the fans there were sane and polite, but it only takes a few idiots to ruin a game.

Here are your videos...We're off to go tailgate with some real Gopher fans now.

Enjoy.

Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C

Note: This is in no way meant to make Gopher fans look bad, only the idiots who treated us like this last night. All the polite fans could not wipe the fact that this happened though. I am very grateful for every single Minnesota parent, student or usher who felt that this conduct was inappropriate.

Domination

Last night: Outplayed. Outworked. Defeat. Nothing much to say here.

At least tonight the Gophers have nothing to play for. The MacNaughton has been decided. Hopefully the Huskies will be able to take care of business tonight.