I'm alive!

Seriously, I don't try to neglect all of you.

I also had no expectation that I would spend the better part of six days traveling to Denver and back (the "and back" part was an adventure, as anyone who's familiar with the weather yesterday in the Twin Cities can attest).

How fitting that the team bus took I-35E out of St. Paul and just happened to pass the XCel Energy Center on the way home.

See you on Thursday, X.

The rest of you? I'll be back with general thoughts later in the week, including my take on exactly why the WCHA's #2 seed is sitting at home this week, and possibly until next season, while a team with more losses (24) than any Final Five team since 1994 (Michigan Tech had 25 entering the Final Five that year) is moving on to St. Paul.

And you know what? With the way they're playing right now, UMD has just as good a chance as anyone not named "Minnesota" to win. Apparently, UMD fans don't have to "wait 'til next year" to see a difference-maker in net for the Bulldogs.