Oh my gosh, DQ Cup has been dropped -- and nobody said a word

Back in 2005-06, Dairy Queen, for promotional purposes no doubt, decided to start giving a trophy to the best Division I hockey from Minnesota in the WCHA. The winner would be determined by head-to-head competion.

It was called the DQ Cup. I was wondering who was leading in the competition this season, since I had not heard anything about it. And I knew the Gophers were not doing well.

So I asked Jim Strick the Gophers hockey sports info guy. He said the DQ Cup trophy has been dropped. Last season, in fact. It had a short run, only three seasons.

But, in my mind, it's interesting to look at which Minnesota school has the best college hockey team. And I took Bemidji State should be included in the comparison, since the Beavers will be joining the WCHA next season and played three of the four Minnesota teams this seasons.

When you look at all five schools, here is their records in head-to-head competition so far:

St. Cloud State 3-0-1

UMD 6-3-1

MSU Mankato 3-5-0

Gophers 2-6-0

From the Gophers' standpoint, it's good there are no DQ standings this season. Minnesota still has one more series againat a Minnesota team; the Gophers play at UMD in late Feb. so they could conceivably finish 2-8 against the other four in-state teams.

Joel Maturi, the Gophers' AD, recently gave coach Don Lucia a vote of confidence. But those votes -- with eight games and playoff still to go -- are about as valuable as $3 bills.

If the worst happens, and the Gophers lose in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and finish seventh or eighth in the standings, Maturi will be in a tough spot.

But I think Maturi will give Lucia another season. He has his best recruiting class in years coming in and there are issues everywhere else to deal with, too:

* men's basketball: team is struggling mostly because of off-court problems, legal and academic

* women's baskeball: talent level isn't there, spiraling downward

* wrestling: under investigation for real estate dealings

Hockey is still filling Mariucci Arena. Even though you see empty seats, almost all have been sold, and the waiting list is in the thousands for season tickets.

Coach Lucia also had trouble getting his players to play with intensity, especially the first half of the season.

Now that his son, Tony, is graduating this season, who knows what The Don is thinking.

BY THE NUMBERS

For those who want to check my numbers on the DQ Cup standings -- how can the Gophers be last -- here are the scores:

Bemidji State, 3-3-0 ... impressive sweep of Bulldogs

Bemidji State 6, Gophers 2

MSU Mankato 5, Bemidji State 1

MSU Mankato 3, Bemidji State 2

Bemidji State 4, UMD 1

Bemidji State 5, UMD 4, OT

Gophers 4, Bemidji State 1

Bemidji State 6, Gophers 2

UMD 4, Gophers 3

UMD 3, Gophers 2

MSU Mankato 3, Gophers 1

St. Cloud State 4, Gophers 3

St. Cloud State 4, Gophers 1

UMD, 6-3-1 .... Dogs 4-0-0 vs. Mavs

UMD 6, MSU Mankato 2

UMD 3, MSU Mankato 2

St. Cloud State 4, UMD 2

UMD 4, Gophers 3

UMD 3, Gophers 2

UMD 2, MSU Mankato 1

UMD 4, MSU Mankato 3

Bemidji State 5, UMD 4, OT

St. Cloud State, 3-0-1 ... Huskies play at MSU Mankato on last weekend of regular season

UMD 3, St. Cloud State 3, tie

St. Cloud State 4, UMD 2

St. Cloud State 4, Gophers 3

Minnesota State, 3-5-0 ... swept Bemidji State at Glas

UMD 6, MSU Mankato 2

UMD 3, MSU Mankato 2

MSU Mankato 3, Gophers 1

Gophers 6, MSU Mankato 2

MSU Mankato 3, Bemidji State 2

UMD 2, MSU Mankato 1