This is not a vent board or any other kind of therapy. Before you hit the POST button, ask yourself if your contribution will add to the level of discussion going on.

Important notes on articles:

• Please do not copy entire articles into your post; rather, provide links to them.. We are now links-only for ALL Internet publications. If only a small portion of the article pertains to your post, Fair Use allows you to copy those one or two paragraphs, provided you cite the author's name and the publication for which he writes. Otherwise, put a link in the HTTP Link box.
• Even if you're copying a reference to an article, provide a link to the page from which the article came. We're trying to cut down on duplicate topics, and the posting process will check the link to your article to see if it's already being discussed on this board. At the very least, you'll save yourself some grief on the boards.
• If your first reaction after reading the article you're going to share is the author is uninformed / stupid / a jerk / all of the above, it's not worth sharing with anyone. Not every article needs to be discussed. The more the hair-pulling articles are discussed (e.g. ESPN Page 2), the more the authors will write hair-pulling articles.

Post being replied to

I like the optimism by ndmd99

But I still think OSU is in the driver's seat to win the regular season conf title. We really needed a sweep last weekend to have a chance.

We need to make up ground on OSU and it's not looking favorable. OSU has a much easier road. I think OSU probably ends up ahead of us in B10 standings.

OSU already benefitted from playing Mich in Dec when they were missing big guns (Bordeleau/Power/Johnson). And it looks likely they'll probably benefit again when they play both UMs in Feb (Gophers missing Meyers/Knies/Faber and Mich missing Power/Beniers/Brisson and maybe Johnson).

Irish get to face both UMs at full strength.

There should be a giant asterisk next to OSU if they finish on top of the standings. OSU will play half their games against arguably the 2 best teams in the conference while they have depleted rosters.

I'd rather face OSU in B10 tourney in the semis over either UM. So if OSU is the 1-seed, it might sound weird but I almost rather ND stays 4th. We match up better against OSU. And a road win in the semis would be a big PWR boost.

At the end of the day, I see ND making the tourney. Probably as a 3 seed but outside chance we can sneak into a 2.

Still lots of hockey to be played though. Anything can happen.