Deep Thoughts by Biddco

Thanks to Biddco for rising to the task of guest blogging mere moments after I suggested it, post-game, when most likely intoxicated. -RWD

UNO Trip:

Hello everyone, I’m Biddco, otherwise known as Biddy or @Biddco on Twitter (DO FOLLOW ME!). My buddy @DanJacobsen and I made the trip to UNO this weekend and thought I’d share some observations.

Roadtrip information:

It is 8 hours from Duluth (but all 70 MPH freeway) and 6 hours from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It is one of the shorter NCHC road trips (3rd shortest in the conference) and 99% of the drive is sweet sweet interstate.

UNO Plays at the Century Link Center which is too big for UNO and their fans. They are getting a new rink at their campus which seats about 6,500. Plus the renderings of the rink look exactly like Amsoil so UMD fans will know how to get around the rink. Even though it’s too big they do a fine job (with curtains) to make it feel just fine. The fans are a passionate bunch.

UNO fans are the nicest ever. Nebraska football fans pride themselves (who are shockingly ever where) on being the most hospitable fans in football. UNO fans are much the same. Once UMD swept there were some upset UNO fans who were talking trash and being idiots. A UNO fan came over and apologized to us. Apologized for other people he didn’t know! Plus we were invited to get some food with some Red Army fans. They paid for the food, drove us to and from [the game] and were great fun. Plus they are a great section of fans that bang drums during the games and have soccer style chants that provide noise in the arena. Shout out [to] the Red Army, you guys rule. Most dedicated fans in the rink!

Omaha is a big city with 400,000 plus people and has a plethora of dining options. You must get a steak while you’re here. A trip to the Omaha Zoo is a must as well. The zoo is better than all the zoos in Minnesota. We spent a few hours there and didn’t see everything (although many animals were not there because of the winter).

There are plenty of hotels within walking distance of the rink and bars. It makes it very easy for fans to have fun before and after games without worrying about finding a cab or ride.

Lastly, Omaha is not a hockey town. The locals know their hockey but their knowledge is limited. We [heard] multiple people talk about the wrong terms for hockey like “Quarter” or “Match.”

Hockey:

All that needs to be said about this series [is] the play of Aaron Crandall, who played out of his mind. Or as Dirty would say, “He had a horse shoe up his ass,” which is a good thing, I’ve learned. He made eleventy billion saves (actually 93 shots) and he had the help of the inanimate carbon rod (otherwise known as the post and or crossbar). UMD put up 3 goals each night and was able to come up with 6 badly needed points. This was UMD’s first sweep of the year and the first since they swept UAA in December of 2012!

Final thought. It’s funny how much the Red Mavs remind me of the Purple Mavs. Both play in an off campus rink that is too big for their fanbase and that is next to a major river. Each rink sells booze in the rink and the fans are very nice. Each team has uniform combinations that are not the best of their history. Pruprle Mavs need to embrace purple and gold and Red Mavs need to go back to the all red (although I understand how they are marketing themselves as Omaha’s team and not “Nebraska”.) Lastly both teams joined D-I hockey in the late 1990’s and haven’t won an NCAA game yet.