Showing posts with label North Dakota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Dakota. Show all posts

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Like There Is No Tomorrow (or Just for Now)

*Warning: The following post contains clichés. Not only does it include clichés, it includes desperation and the fading hope of a college hockey fan. With that being said, there is no telling the way the post will come across, but understand it is what it is.

This is it. Thirty-six games in the books. We've had some good moments, and we've had some bad moments. We've gotten bounce that went in our direction, and we've gotten bounces that have destroyed us. We've played smart, and we have made some stupid mistakes. There's been times were we've felt and played like we couldn't be beat, and there's been some times were I'm sure any pee-wee team off the streets could have blown us out of the building. Well right now none of that matters. Those last thirty-six games mean nothing, we can just call those practice. We can write those down as us figuring out us, what works, what doesn't, what we can take and what we can give.

Now matters, this moment, this second, this team, this game. Don't worry about yesterday and don't worry about tomorrow, neither matters, today matters. We can't change what we did yesterday, and tomorrow only depends on today, today matters. So tonight when you take the ice, as long as we're playing whenever you take the ice, play like there is not tomorrow, because there might not be. Every game might be your last game, so play like you don't want it to be. I don't mind if you take risk and make mistakes, but do it big, mess up trying to make a big hit, mess up trying to change the game, but make sure when you skate off the ice you skate off knowing that at that moment you gave it everything you had.

Other teams may look at you and see weaknesses, they may see a fragile team this has given up and is just waiting for someone to put their season away. Honestly if any of you see that when you look into the mirrors, please don't take the ice tonight. Instead when you look in the mirror I want you to see yourself for what you are, desperate and capable of anything.

No matter what remember this, this moment matters. There may not be a tomorrow but there will always be a now, live in the now, play in the now, compete in the now. So when you go out there, make the most of all of your nows, because at the end of the day that all that matters, now. Now is the time to get this done, now is the time to prove to ourselves that we can do this, now is the time to be who we know we our. Nothing else matters but now. There is no tomorrow, there is no next game, there is no next time. There is only now, so I am asking you and I am telling you, go play, go compete, go live, go give everything you have, go be now.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Can't we all just get along (or UND Mayhem part Deux)

[ original picture deleted to protect the midget ]

In a little over twenty-four hours from the time I post this, the Huskies of Michigan Technological University will take part in game one of a two game series against the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) from The University of North Dakota. The last time these two teams met in Houghton, MI, in the early part of the season, there was definitely no love lost from the previous year. A contest where the Huskies ran the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) out of their own barn in a weekend that included a great showing of sportsmanship as North Dakota goalie (I'll just call him Lammy because I'm not trying to go and figure how to spell it right now) was booed by the home team fans after being brought into the game on Saturday to relieve the poor goalie who had the misfortune to start against the perennial cellar dwellers of the league. This season as the two teams met, the sportmanship was taken to a new level as verbal abuse was handed down by a North Dakota assistant coach to a tech student as well as threats of physical violence by varsity hockey players who were currently scracthed from the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) line-up. I'm not saying the Tech student wasn't blameless, but you would think the assistant coach and players from a major university would have handled the situation better.

Added to all of this several fans of the (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) men's hockey team took offense to a post made in jest by this very site. (most of these facts still apply to this series by the way). These reactions eventually led to an apology (which also still applies), and more banter followed. After the way both teams and their fans have acted over the last couple meetings I think the name (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) is actually pretty accurate, if of course the North Dakotans were Native American.

So here's my point to this post, okay there isn't a point. I just wanted to put it in writing. Let's go Tech, keep our run in that marble morgue running.

P.S. Dirty you might want to try to punch something softer after the Huskies sweep your (name removed in order to comply with NCAA wishes) this year.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Rank-a-Rama

So Michigan Tech is making an appearance on a few well-known college hockey polls...

USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

October 22, 2007

No. Team (First-place votes)
Points
Last Poll
1. North Dakota (42)
991
1
2. Miami (7)
950
2
3. Michigan
794
6
4. Colorado College
777
10
5. Boston College
747
4
6. Denver
723
5
7. New Hampshire (1)
700
8
8. Michigan State
653
9
9. Clarkson
645
7
10. Minnesota
677
3
11. Wisconsin
515
13
12. Notre Dame
470
11
13. Maine
293
17
14. Michigan Tech
242
NR
15. St. Lawrence
197
15
16. Massachusetts
194
20
17. Minnesota Duluth
190
NR
18. Cornell
165
19
19. Ohio State
156
12
20. Alaska Anchorage
106
NR

Also receiving votes: Air Force 86, Nebraska-Omaha 59, Boston University 47, St. Cloud State 44, Quinnipiac 33, Vermont 33, Union 24, Western Michigan 24, Dartmouth 21, Rensselaer 13, Merrimack 9, Harvard 7, Niagara 6, Colgate 4, Northeastern 3, Holy Cross 2.

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USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

October 22, 2007

No. Team (First-place votes)
Points
Last Poll
1. North Dakota (24)
499
1
2. Miami (9)
482
2
3. Michigan
378
6
4. Colorado College
376
10
5. Boston College
353
4
6. New Hampshire (1)
350
8
7. Denver
303
5
8. Clarkson
295
7
9. Michigan State
254
9
10. Minnesota
189
3
11. Wisconsin
182
T-13
12. Notre Dame
151
11
13. Maine
53
NR
14. Ohio State
47
12
15. Michigan Tech
37
NR

Also receiving votes: Minnesota Duluth 33, St. Lawrence 27, Massachusetts 20, Alaska Anchorage 16, Cornell 16, Air Force 9, Boston University 3, Merrimack 2, Niagara 2, Nebraska-Omaha 2, Union 1.

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Michigan Tech also made #17 on the INCH Power Rankings Poll, but I don't like INCH, so I'm not going to post that poll.

They made a pretty nice jump on the polls. If they want to stay up there longer than a week, they're going to have to do something really cool against North Dakota this weekend. Coming out like they did against NMU won't cut it either. I'm still confused as to what happened there. That game will be a thorn in my side all season long, I'm sure.

It's also nice to see UAA on the USCHO.com/CSTV Poll. I don't know if that's happened since I've been a college hockey fan. The WCHA as a whole has a nice representation in the polls. That always makes me happy to see. This weekend in college hockey should prove to be another interesting one.