So this is what treading water feels like.
Last week, there were must-win games coming up for the Wild and Gopher basketball. Since then it’s been "one step forward, one step back" for both teams, leaving us in the exact same place we began. Which is to say, quite mediocre.
Well, perhaps not the exact same place, because by definition every week that passes with a .500 record puts both teams in worse shape of making a dent in their respective postseasons. The Wild is rapidly losing their "lotta new pieces, might take some time to gel" fallback position, while the Gophers move ever further from their last impressive victory, and the early season buzz that might’ve helped out their tourney seed.
As of this point, the hockey team is what they’ve been for many years, a fringe playoff contender trying to wring enough goals out of a weak lineup to eek out an 8-seed. The basketball team is better than they’ve been, but only because "abject failure" would be too kind a term to sum up their last decade.
So we’re back in that most unfortunate of places, the holding pattern. As I’ve opined on at some length in the past, Post-Super Bowl February is lousy place to be. These two teams were supposed to offer a distraction from the creeping despair of the most worthless month on the calendar. Instead, they’ve only added to it. But instead of commiserating on the disappointment, let’s instead grab onto the warm nookie-blankie of the Upper Midwest sports fan: College hockey.
The beautiful thing about college hockey is that, except in rare circumstances, your team is probably doing pretty good. After all, there really aren’t very many teams of much consequence, and the ones with broad fans support are (not surprisingly) then good ones. So even if your favorite NHL squad scores less than a Christian rock concert attendee and your college hoops squad runs an offense that would be more apropos to the pre-shot clock era, there’s always a little something called college puck to fall back on. And boy is it a good time to be a college puck fan.
This weekend features my favorite non-North Dakota series of the year, with Minnesota traveling to St. Cloud. Not only do some plucky St. Cloud fans come out of the woodwork to occasionally infuriate my Gopher-loving pals at local bars, it’s typically some very fun hockey to watch. Who can forget the epic 8-7 Huskie victory in the 2006 Final Five? Or the 8-6 Minnesota victory in 2009 that saw a 4-goal 3rd period rally from St. Cloud fall just short?
I may not be a fan of either one of these teams, but when they play, anyone who's a fan of the game of hockey should stop and take notice, because it’s probably going to be very entertaining. As a guy who picked the St. Cloud 7th in the WCHA, all I can say is "my bad!" and move on. They’ve been much better than expected, which should make this weekend’s games a lot of fun. I still think the Gophers ‘A’ game beats anyone, but I’m intrigued to see how they do in a tough road series.
Throw into the mix North Dakota traveling to Omaha to play a nationally televised game tonight, and an outdoor game tomorrow, you’ve got yourself a nice evening of college hockey action. At the risk of sounding like a traitor to my team, it’s getting tough to watch UND games at times, not because of anything to do with the team’s play, but the awful quality of the broadcast. Being old enough to remember when it was nigh impossible to even see a Sioux game on TV should make me less particular, and more appreciative of the progress that’s been made.
Unfortunately, in the era of HD, the contrast that’s observed when flipping between games is almost unbearable. Once you get used to filet mignon, it’s tough going back to rump roast. Don’t even get me started on the fact that the indoor game is the one being broadcast on NBC Sports, while the outdoor one is being ignored, not sure how that makes any sense at all.
The fun continues next week, when I’ll be posing as a Gopher fan for a trip deep into the heart of Badger country, followed by two outdoor games in Chicago, but more on that later. Again, some might question my allegiances, due to the fact I’m making that trip, and the one to Omaha this weekend, but that’s about more than hockey, believe me. I mean Chicago + Madison >>> Omaha, amiright?
There’s also the small issue of a certain traveling companion who decided that having children was more important than roadtrips, hopefully he won’t live to regret that. Now my compadre is just a padre, never forget that the decision to have children has broader consequences, more lives can be ruined than just that of the parents.
So there you go my sporting friend, if you need a respite from all the losing, college hockey is the ticket. The Final Five is 6 weeks from yesterday, the stretch run is about to start, and there’s a reasonable chance of the most popular (although eternally overrated!) team in this town might win it all. What other sport can you say that about?
But hey, if that doesn’t do it for you, at least pitchers and catchers report next week.
