There's no doubt that this weekend defined the season for the Beavers. BSU had lost to Mankato right before Christmas...then tied Western...and split at Niagara.

Next up...#4 UMD!

Duluth was playing their best hockey of the season...and maybe even deserved to ranked higher than number four.

BSU won 4-1 at the Glas...then won 5-4 in overtime at the DECC. While the blog this summer is about what happened OFF the ice...this weekend was all about what happened ON the ice!

Here's the recap of the game...WITH HIGHLIGHTS!

My voice is still suffering!

I have to admit...I don't really like the trip to Niagara. Once you've seen The Falls...I don't much think you have to go back...EVER!

As it turns out, there's two reasons to go to Niagara. One, I already knew about. The other, I didn't until this trip.

If you ever go to Niagara, you HAVE TO eat at the Como. I don't really like Italian food...but I do like The Como Italian food.

The other reason to go to Niagara is to stay at the Barton Hill Hotel and Spa.

Considering that the "off-peak" rate at the Barton Hill is much cheaper than a "regular" hotel...Tom did good on this find!

http://uahhockey.com/blog/2010/07/09/chris-luongo-named-head-coach-of-uah-hockey/

While I really do hate the state of Michigan, this was a fun trip. I'm not a fan of long bus rides...and this was a LONG bus ride.

Everyone on the trip came back refreshed from a few weeks away from the rink. While Western Michigan wasn't a dominant force in the CCHA this year, their D-core was really good...and big!

Game one saw something I've never seen before...a scoreless draw. It's a cliche to say "both teams had their chances"...but they really did.

The most memorable thing from this trip was on the way home. It was 30 below in Bemidji when we got home. The heater on the bus couldn't keep up with that kind of cold (I'm not sure what would keep up with that kind of cold!)...so it was REALLY cold in the bus for the last hour or so.

Ryan Marvin (grad assistant coach) had flown home to California for Christmas. He met us in Kalamazoo. Needless to say, he wasn't dressed for the cold ride home!