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What a difference a year makes. One year ago, in the first year for both the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and the Big Ten hockey league, the massive influence of the Big Ten Network and the large, prestigious Big Ten universities, carried the national media and even the post-season selection committee.

 Minnesota was ranked No. 1 most of the season, and carried that load into the post-season, where the Golden Gophers won their way to the Frozen Four and the NCAA final game, before the bubble burst and the Gophers were stunned by Union.

 Without a doubt, the NCHC was the most potent league in the nation, with the most competitive teams from top to bottom. But they were pretty much disregarded in post-season selections.

 Possibly the Minnesota loss to Union in the final caused everything to be viewed from a different perspective this year. The difference is obvious by merely looking at both the USCHO and the USA Today polls ranking the top college teams in the nation. The top six teams in both polls are identical: 1. Minnesota State-Mankato; 2. North Dakota; 3. Boston University; 4. Nebraska-Omaha; 5. Michigan Tech; and 6. UMD.

 While Boston University represents Hockey East, as the only intruder into the all-West top six, note that there is nary a Big Ten team among the top six. Michigan leads the Big Ten with an 8-2 record, 16-8 overall. Penn State -- which swept two from winless Wisconsin last weekend -- is second at 7-2-1, and 15-7-4 overall. Minnesota is third, 5-2-3 in league play and 14-9-3 overall.

 Meanwhile, the WCHA, which was pretty much written off as the college hockey remnants after the Big Ten and NCHC defectors went off on their own paths, has two teams in the top five, with No. 1 Mankato and No 5 Michigan Tech. Pretty impressive. Mankato is 19-2-1 in WCHA play, and 23-5-1 overall, while Tech is 17-4-1 in league play and 22-7-1 overall. Those two teams are for real.

 The NCHC, meanwhile, has three of the top six rated teams, with No. 2 North Dakota, No. 4 Nebraska-Omaha, and No. 6 UMD. North Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha are tied for the top in league play at 10-5-1, with Omaha 16-7-3 and North Dakota 19-6-2 overall. UMD and Miami of Ohio are tied for third at 9-6-1, but one of Miami’s ties turned into a shootout victory, so they get third by one point. UMD is 17-10-1 overall, while Miami is 16-9-1. Very close, and it goes on, with Denver 9-7 in fifth, and St. Cloud on the fringe of contention at 7-8-1. There is probably not enough time left for Western Michigan (4-8-4) and certainly not enough for Colorado College (1-14-1) to get up into contention, but they have to be the strongest seventh and eighth teams in college hockey history.

 If five teams for sure, and possibly six, are still in the running, this weekend, the fast-closing season reaches perfect homestretch fever. St. Cloud State is facing UMD at AMSOIL Arena Friday and Saturday, while Denver is at North Dakota, Western Michigan at Nebraska-Omaha, and Miami at CC. Splits may be the most likely outcome in all four series, but if anyone can sweep, it could prove huge.

 In the Big Ten, meanwhile, it is put-up time for Minnesota, which is at home to face first-place Michigan. The Wolverines rudely swept Minnesota in Ann Arbor early in the season, and if the Gophers are to make a run at the top of the league, this is the weekend they’ll need to prove it. Penn State is at fourth-place Michigan State in an attempt to maintain the incredible pace the Nittany Lions have established in only their second year of college hockey.

 In the WCHA, the top two are heading North, to Alaska. Mankato is at Flaska in Fairbanks, while Tech is at Alaska Anchorage. Third-place Bowling Green (13-4-3) has established itself as a potent contender, and plays at Ferris State, while Northern Michigan (8-8 in WCHA play), just swept by UMD, will try to get some of its five injured players back in time to take on Bemidji State (6-10-4).

 The tight races should bring the excitement in each league to a boiling point. UMD comes away from the St. Cloud series to travel to Miami, then comes home against Nebraska-Omaha, before ending at Western Michigan. So this weekend is one of only two remaining times for fans to rock AMSOIL Arena this season.

UMD Women Face Test

UMD’s women’s hockey team faces an even shorter stretch run than the men. The women are at WCHA-leading Minnesota at 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday, then come home to finish against Ohio State next weekend.

 The Bulldogs had a tough weekend at Madison last weekend, battling the powerful Badgers through a scoreless tie, before losing the extra point in a shootout. That means, however, that UMD didn’t score a single goal in six periods and an overtime at Wisconsin. Minnesota, meanwhile, went to Grand Forks and was stunned 3-0 by North Dakota before rebounding to gain a split.

 The challenge of the women’s WCHA is that UMD is third at 12-8-4, with North Dakota close behind at 12-9-3. Right now, UMD is ranked high enough to gain a spot in the NCAA tournament, but holding onto that may be difficult.

 North Dakota plays at lowly St. Cloud State this weekend, a virtual cinch sweep while UMD is taking on the Gophers. The difference, to be determined in the next two weekends, means that while the top four teams are home for the first round of best-of-three playoffs, if they all win to advance to the finals, 4 goes to 1 (Minnesota) and 3 goes to 2 (Wisconsin). In a pick-your-poison setting, that might be splitting hairs.

 But the other threat comes from Ohio State. The Buckeyes are at home against Wisconsin this weekend, and at 11-10-3, Ohio State could move close enough to challenge UMD in the final weekend. In this final season of Coach Shannon Miller’s tenure, the Bulldogs might have to beat Ohio State to secure the fourth and final home-ice slot.

More Questions for UMD

Jen Banford does a great job coaching softball at UMD, and while she also serves as administrative assistant for the UMD women’s hockey team in her “off-season,” the recent purge of hockey coach Shannon Miller and her staff included Banford -- but the report also was that Banford would continue as UMD softball coach.

 Now, that is less certain. She apparently has been offered a new contract that represented a significant cut in salary for her softball coaching job, and she decided to turn it down. That allows UMD to “officially” announce that Banford has turned down the contract offer, insinuating that it is her choice to leave.

 What is happening at UMD? The turmoil spinning off from the UMD women’s hockey program, with the announcement that coach Miller and her staff would not have their contracts renewed, gained nationwide attention when UMD made a major announcement that the move was “strictly financial.” UMD officials had to backtrack, however, after a University of Minnesota official casually declared, “There’s more to it than just finances.”

 That declaration was then affirmed by UMD chancellor Lendley Black. That meant, of course, Black and athletic director Josh Berlo had clearly lied to the Duluth media at every announcement and interview they held for two or three weeks, insisting the move was strictly financial. Nobody checked to see if they had their fingers crossed.

You get the feeling that we haven’t heard the legal end to all this. But more controversy continues.

 The UMD softball team left for a season-opening tournament in Arkansas Tuesday afternoon, and coach Jen Banford is enthusiastic about her team’s chances. Now, Banford has rolled up an impressive 273-174 record in nine years, a .611 winning percentage. Her team won the Northern Sun title in 2013 and had a 41-13 record, making her coach of the year in the league. 

 She also has taken the Bulldogs to four Central Regional tournaments, including 2007 and then a string of three straight in 2010, 2011, and 2012. So impressive has been her handling of the UMD program, that Banford has been invited to work with the Canadian national softball program.

 Five years ago, Bob Nielson was athletic director and football coach, and he reassigned Banford so that her contract would call for her to serve 75 percent of her work to softball, and 25 percent to serving as administrative assistant for women’s hockey. That continued, until a few weeks ago.

 Reports are that without being informed, Banford’s ratio of her contractual workload had been altered from 75-25 to become 50-50 between softball coaching and hockey administrating. That shouldn’t have mattered, if status quo remained, but status quo was shattered when Banford was dismissed from her hockey duties in the purge. 

 It doesn’t take a mathematician to calculate that the new contract being offered to Banford would be greatly reduced, because 50 percent of her previous salary had been wiped out.

 All Jen Banford would say is: “I’ve rejected their offer.” She is quick to add that she has informed her players of the situation and she is 100 percent immersed into coaching this year’s UMD softball team.

Hockey Hits Peak, Including the USSR

It is that time of the hockey season when we expect to get maximum enjoyment and entertainment from virtually any hockey game we might watch -- college, pro, high school, or even on a televised retrospective.

It can be the Minnesota Wild, who suddenly caught fire and surged right back into the playoff picture in the National Hockey League. Too bad they stumbled 2-1 in overtime at Winnipeg Tuesday night, but even then, former Roseau and Chicago Blackhawks star Dustin Byfuglien scored the winning goal on a self-started breakaway.

 It also can be the UMD Bulldogs, having overcome a January thaw to stand in the midst of a great race in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The Bulldogs took a break in the NCHC pressure-cooker and swept Northern Michigan 3-1 and 6-3 last weekend, and the games proved how intensely UMD fans are following their Bulldogs.

UMD spotted Northern Michigan a first-period goal, and a pretty one it was, after DJ Vandercook picked off a turnover and broke in on the right, passing to Joseph Manno in the slot, then gathering in the return feed to cross left-to-right at the goal-mouth and beat goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo. 

Vandercook was wearing No. 8, and I noticed he wasn’t on the four-deep line charts given out in the press box. I searched through the team records to locate Vandercook, who had played eight games this season, without scoring. But he scored a great goal for the Wildcats.

Coach Walt Kyle explained that he was missing his top goaltender, his top scoring forward, his top defenseman, and another key forward missed because he twisted an ankle shooting baskets in a warm-up. Dangerous sport, that basketball.

There was, of course, no room for sympathy at AMSOIL. Defenseman Willie Corrin skated up ice midway through the second period and cranked up to fire a big slap shot from a stride outside the blue line. It was a missile, and it beat reserve goaltender Michael Doan to tie the game 1-1. It was Corrin’s first collegiate goal in 59 games.

Freshman Jared Thomas from Hermantown broke the tie at 3:01 of the third, and Tony Cameranesi raced up the right boards, cut in, and glanced a shot in off Doan from a bad angle with 1:29 remaining to clinch the 3-1 victory. The nonconference game drew 6,397 fans.

Next night, 7,073 filled AMSOIL, and UMD started off much better. Coach Scott Sandelin gave Kaskisuo the night off and played Matt McNeely, who played well. After outshooting the Wildcats 46-17 Friday -- including a 21-3 third period -- the Bulldogs jumped ahead on goals by Alex Iafallo and Charlie Sampair in the first seven minutes. Iafallo tried to pass out from behind the net, then circled and came out front on the right, regaining possession back on the left side and scored at 3:35.  Sampair moved in on the left, and the only opening he had between two defenders was the perfect sighting for a shot into the upper right corner at 6:53.

Undermanned or not, Northern battled back and got a power-play goal by Reed Seckel, but captain Adam Krause was sprung on a breakaway by a perfect pass from Nick McCormack before the first period ended, and Krause also found the high right corner to his liking for a 3-1 lead. But it wasn’t all that easy. Jake Baker  somehow got loose at the crease, banged his stick several times, and converted a pass to tdrim the lead to 3-2.

But UMD got rolling midway through the first period. Karson Kuhlman, a freshman from Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, scored at 12:15, and was followed in the final minute of the period when Justin Crandall blocked the puck free and tore away to score on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 5-2 after two.

Thomas, who was thrust into first-line duty when Dominic Toninato was a surprise scratch for an injury, scored on a one-timer early in the third to make it 6-2, and the Bulldogs coasted in, despite allowing a final goal by Vandercook halfway through the final period.

Soviet Brilliance

Everybody knows the story of the U.S. Olympic team and its monumental 4-3 victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet Union team at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. The names of coach Herb Brooks and his college-kid lineup have become the stuff of legend among hockey fans, and non-hockey fans, all over the country. Heck, some of us even wrote a book about it.

But until now, nobody has really given us the full story behind the fantastic USSR machine. Despite the loss, the Soviets were the best hockey team in the world.

Now, a documentary appears as part of the ESPN 30 for 30 plan, and it’s called “Of Miracles and Men.” It was on opposite the big music awards show last Monday night, and it was fantastic.

It will be repeated, and if you are aware of the U.S. victory in Lake Placid, you will be totally captivated by this documentary. We get to hear candid disclosures from the likes of Vladimir Tretiak, the brilliant goaltender, and from Boris Mikhailov and Vladimir Petrov, as well as Slava Fatisov and his partner, Alexei Kasatanov.

Most captivating is to see old film of Anatoli Tarasov, the Father of Russian Hockey, train and coach his players, treating them all with utmost respect and turning them into the fantastic team they were to become. His greatest objective, and therefore his biggest disappointment, was to send his Soviet Red Army team against the best in the National Hockey League. It happended, but not until the Soviet federation had removed Tarasov as coach.

By the time they got to Lake Placid, the players agreed, the game had ceased to be the fun, family artistry perfected by Tarasov, and was a tedious, bottom-line chore under Viktor Tikhonov.

Also fascinating is to learn what players like Fetisov went through before they got the freedom to leave the Soviet Union and play in the National Hockey League.

It was the perfect ending to a big hockey weekend, and every player and coach who ever thought that it was OK to overstress the tedium and overlook the sheer joy of hockey needs to see Of Miracles and Men.