BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 63,691
- Reaction score
- 21,966
- Points
- 113
Per Brad:
The North Dakota-Minnesota rivalry changed when the old Western Collegiate Hockey Association imploded.
The teams moved into different startup conferences. They no longer battle for positioning in league standings.
There are no more epic Final Five playoff games in front of 19,000 fans in downtown St. Paul. Those guaranteed unforgettable moments — Thomas Vanek vs. Zach Parise, the famous Blake Wheeler goal and Dave Hakstol’s Timeout Game.
Their games now come in the season’s opening month when both teams are still going through the feeling-out process.
The familiarity is waning a bit, too.
When the teams meet this weekend in Grand Forks, only five Fighting Hawks and six Golden Gophers will have experienced the rivalry — the result of taking one year off and both teams having significant roster turnover.
While so much has changed, one thing hasn’t: There’s still nothing like it in college hockey.
Sellouts are guaranteed wherever they play, whether it’s Grand Forks, Minneapolis or Las Vegas, like in 2018.
Tickets on the resale market fetch prices similar to other programs’ season ticket pacakages.
The raucous atmospheres are impossible to replicate in other regular-season games, which is why nobody wants to miss it when it happens.
There are reasons why the rivalry has endured, despite the conference breakup.
Continuous success is one reason.
www.twincities.com
Go Gophers!!
The North Dakota-Minnesota rivalry changed when the old Western Collegiate Hockey Association imploded.
The teams moved into different startup conferences. They no longer battle for positioning in league standings.
There are no more epic Final Five playoff games in front of 19,000 fans in downtown St. Paul. Those guaranteed unforgettable moments — Thomas Vanek vs. Zach Parise, the famous Blake Wheeler goal and Dave Hakstol’s Timeout Game.
Their games now come in the season’s opening month when both teams are still going through the feeling-out process.
The familiarity is waning a bit, too.
When the teams meet this weekend in Grand Forks, only five Fighting Hawks and six Golden Gophers will have experienced the rivalry — the result of taking one year off and both teams having significant roster turnover.
While so much has changed, one thing hasn’t: There’s still nothing like it in college hockey.
Sellouts are guaranteed wherever they play, whether it’s Grand Forks, Minneapolis or Las Vegas, like in 2018.
Tickets on the resale market fetch prices similar to other programs’ season ticket pacakages.
The raucous atmospheres are impossible to replicate in other regular-season games, which is why nobody wants to miss it when it happens.
There are reasons why the rivalry has endured, despite the conference breakup.
Continuous success is one reason.
Schlossman: Why the Gophers-North Dakota hockey rivalry has endured
The North Dakota-Minnesota rivalry changed when the old Western Collegiate Hockey Association imploded.
www.twincities.com
Go Gophers!!