It’s that time of year again, the time when most of my best friends become mortal enemies and spend much of their time disparaging the quality of my education. Yes folks, it’s North Dakota week.
Unfortunately, there’s a cloud hanging over things this time around, as it’s the last scheduled game these two teams will play for some time. While there’s always the chance of a clash in the Final Five later this year, or a national tournament game down the line, the next certain meeting of these teams has not been booked, and will be at least 3 years out under any scenario. This is a profound bummer, not only for us ND fans living in Minneapolis, but for fans of college hockey the world over.
Just over two years ago, I penned my personal ode to the rivalry in this space. Since then, plenty has happened to add fuel to the fire.
The Golden Gophers got their groove back, rising from the ashes of a mediocre three-year stretch to make last season’s Frozen Four, which of course feature both heartbreak (Final Five Semifinal) and triumph (West Regional Final) agianst their biggest rival in the span of a week. Now we’re headed into a series that’s reminiscent of the old days, with both teams highly ranked and harboring big aspirations for the future.
The only problem is, the future keeps hanging over the present.
I’m really hoping that when the puck drops on Friday, some kind of switch flips, and I get back the feeling I’ve had every other time these two teams met. An almost giddy anticipation, excitement mingled with nerves, used to take me up to these tilts, but now it’s just feeling like any other game. Don’t get me wrong, I want my team to win badly. The last thing that I need is to get trash-talked by another drunken 18-year old leaving Mariucci on Saturday, or get texted pictures of brooms for an hour after a Minnesota sweep. Points are points, and every point in this league is big, but knowing that it’s likely going to be 2017 before another head-to-head matchup just takes away that little something that used to make this more than a hockey game.
There may be one weekend left, but it already feels like things have moved on.
Some people may consider it a point of pride to win the last WCHA matchup between these two teams, but at the end of the day, the stakes of these games can’t hold a candle to a dozen of others they’ve played over the last decade. Closing out the Final Five on Saturday night would be something special, and obviously any postseason matchup with the season on the line is huge, but as for regular season conference games, they already feel hollow. The conference will soon cease to exist, and with that, all it’s great history will start the inevitable fade to black. The defending champ of nothing is...nothing, frankly.
Because despite what people might try to tell you, when the puck drops next year, Minnesota and North Dakota will begin the process of ceasing to be rivals. It won’t happen overnight, and may be propped up by a chance meeting in a big game, but eventually they will just be two teams that, although close geographically, will be light years apart in perspective. Gopher fans will be more worried about the Michigan score that evening, NoDak fans circling the weekend when Denver comes to town. Time will pass, and new traditions will emerge to bury the old ones, perhaps even a few that can measure up to their predecessors.
My apologies if this is coming across like a bummer, but the truth is I’m bummed. Rather than a glorious final year in the sun, the demise of the WCHA is striking me as just that, one long drawn-out funeral. It’s impossible to think about what's currently happening without also thinking about the things that are about to be lost, because a lot of those things are why I loved the game of college hockey so much in the first place.
Now go back and read the old piece, my heart was in it then, and it truly does this whole thing justice.
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