Crazy face-painter fan

My ma is one. Yup, she loves college hockey, probably more than she loves my brother and I. Years ago she declared that we would no longer be getting together for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Our family holiday vacation was to be the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, WCHA, Final Five hockey tourney.

So, we all go and watch the games, if our team is there or not. Of course being North Dakota fans means our team is always there. But no more, the WCHA is changing and for the worse. This was the last year of the best hockey conference since the WCHA came to be in 1951. So, best ever.

This demise is the result of the U of M and Wisconsin joining four other teams to create a Big Ten hockey conference, that makes it the Big Six I guess. The other four teams of the Big Six will be made up of Michigan State, U of Michigan, Ohio St, Penn St. Of these Big Ten teams only one is ranked in the top ten. (as of my writing this, tourney time changes rankings pretty quickly).

In the new conference, Penn State doesn't even have a real team, they have a club team. Club teams are ranked below Division 3, that's three levels below the Division 1 teams. This will make for some pretty bad hockey next year. The move to form a Big Ten conference was based on money, not for the love of the game. I feel for the frenemies that I have come to know over the years at the Final Five tourney; when the Gophers play Penn St it is gonna be a joke of a game.

I will miss the Final Five, I guess from now on it'll be the Final Six or All Six. Kinda like the kids programs where everyone gets a trophy. It's gonna be a long time before the Big Ten will be very interesting to watch.

As a North Dakota fan, well, our team is joining what many are calling the Super Conference, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, NCHC. This conference is going to be made up of some of the best teams in the country: Colorado College, U of Denver, Miami University, U of M Duluth, Nebraska Omaha and UND. All but one of these teams have been ranked in the top ten of all college hockey this year. This level of skill is a huge difference compared to the Big Ten and will make for some awesome games in the years to come. I have a bitter sweet excitement for this new conference and the it's new tourney next year.

This last weekend of the Final Five is a sad end to a conference that has produced some of the best players in all of hockey. Even though the WCHA will continue the conference will be made up of the leftovers. I'll miss the WCHA, kinda like a lost love. But I'm sure with the NCHC starting next year, I will come to love this new conference and the amazing level of talent in the NCHC even more. Go Penn State!