Todd D. Milewski

It’s the end of the world as we know it … or is it? Dean Blais isn’t mincing his words this week. Flat-out, undeniably, he knows exactly what this weekend means. "This," Blais said, "is the MacNaughton Cup." When presented with Blais’ remarks, Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer was a bit more diplomatic about the situation. … Read more

When is a tie and a loss … better than a win and a loss? When historians look back at the 1999-2000 Denver Cup, they will see the hosts came away with a tie and a loss and finished ahead of a team with a win and a loss. As improbable as it seems, Denver … Read more

On this hallowed ground Milwaukee’s Bradley Center is just a building. Seats nearly 18,000 for hockey, pretty nice-looking from the outside, has received a facelift on the inside. But, oh, the memories. Like that one weekend back in 1997 when North Dakota breezed past Colorado College and held off Boston University to win the national … Read more

Breaking news Before we get to this week’s column, here’s an update on some news — some surprising, some not-so-surprising. St. Cloud State senior forward Matt Noga has decided to leave the team for personal reasons, according to the St. Cloud Times. Minnesota freshman forward Shawn Roed, who was on suspension because he was behind … Read more

Sleepless in Grand Forks? Dean Blais can usually sense a problem before it happens. Not that he’s one of those Tarot readers on the 1-900 lines. Rather, he seems to be able to sense problems in the dressing room before his North Dakota team takes the ice. When they’re not mentally prepared, he knows it. … Read more

Assessing the freshmen It may still be early in the season, but it’s a good time to look at the impact the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s crop of freshmen has made on the teams. There may be little question as to whom the dominant rookie has been so far this season, but as a team, … Read more

Climbing the ladder When Wisconsin beat Michigan Tech at home, it could have been called expected. When it split with Minnesota-Duluth at home, it could have been called a setback. When the Badgers swept non-conference foe Northeastern, it was — interesting. But with a 5-1 record through six games, the question of the Badgers’ opponent … Read more

We don’t want to gloat, but… With all due respect to my colleagues from the East, for those of us who, in the past, have been accused of the so-called Western bias in college hockey, this weekend is going to remain in memory for quite a while. Minnesota knocks off No. 1 Boston College, despite … Read more

Sertich day-to-day And we all thought the health concerns at Minnesota-Duluth were for goaltender Brant Nicklin and forward Jeff Scissons. Those pale in comparison to what coach Mike Sertich has been going through. Sertich missed both games at Wisconsin last weekend with pneumonia. Sertich made the trip to Madison for the series but got very … Read more

Coaches trying to fit in Little things always make the biggest difference. For some, it’s a different practice time. For others, it’s a difference in scheduling. And then there’s getting used to the team on the ice. A coach coming into a new situation has a lot to learn. Quickly. And in the Western Collegiate … Read more

Denver’s Dream Home Opens You can tell the athletics department at the University of Denver has been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time. On the cover of last season’s hockey media guide, where the school most often showcases its premier player or group of players, Denver had a picture of construction workers … Read more

But then again, how many of you thought, "No way!" almost immediately thereafter? Somehow you knew North Dakota wasn’t going to go out like that. Still, it was interesting to see the Fighting Sioux taken to the limit by Mankato, and proves the Mavericks should be more-than-ready to enter the Western Collegiate Hockey Association next … Read more

This is just about the time of year when people in college hockey start wondering "What if?" What if we win our last four games and team X loses its last four games? What if we split our games and team Y wins three? It’s commonly called scoreboard-watching. Coaches hate talking about it because they … Read more

Attention, those who doubt the power of North Dakota: The Denver Pioneers have a message for you. It would probably involve their game with the Sioux on Saturday. Things looked good for George Gwozdecky’s team early. They managed to stay with Dean Blais’ UND squad through 20 minutes, and even pulled two goals ahead early … Read more

Among all the competition, the struggles in positioning for the upcoming Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs, we finally get to take a little bit of an aside. The University of North Dakota’s Student Senate has proposed legislation that would change the school’s nickname from the "Fighting Sioux." Although the students do not have the power … Read more

It’s just one of those things that always seems to happen in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Last weekend, conference leader North Dakota — also the No. 1 team in the nation — squared off with Minnesota-Duluth, the last-place team in the league. Looks like a sure sweep for the Sioux, right? Maybe in some … Read more

It seems that every week I open with something about North Dakota edging ever closer to the MacNaughton. Dang it, I did it again. Well, let’s put the Sioux aside for a while and look at some teams that don’t really know where they’re going to finish. As it has been for a while now, … Read more

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association may not have as many ranked teams as other leagues, but there’s probably a good reason for that. Other than No. 1 North Dakota, everyone is defeating everyone else. Examples? Here: Ninth-place Minnesota-Duluth earns a split with Denver, and comes darn close to getting four points on the weekend. The … Read more