A Little Nookie on the Eve of SlapFest

Tonight at the Qwest Center, UNO overcame another shaky performance by Jerad Kaufman in goal to tie the Alaska (Fairbanks) Nanooks 5-5 tonight in hockey. Mr. Hobey himself, Scott Parse, had assists on UNO's opening goal as well as UNO's game tying goal with 1:22 left in regulation. Phat Dogg Dan Charleston got UNO tied the game in the 2nd period with a short handed goal followed by a power play goal midway through the period.

17 year old freshman goalie Jeremie Dupont came in early in the 2nd period in relief of Kaufman with the Mavs down by 2 and had another solid performance, following last weekend's shutout that earned him CCHA rookie of the week honors. I'm assuming that Dupont will start tomorrow night, and with another solid performance, might earn both starts next weekend when the Mavs travel to Ann Arbor to face the Weasels.

But first comes tomorrow's Husker game against Missouri. You really get a sense that the coaching staff knows the pressure is on this game. Tight ends coach Shawn Watson told the Omaha World-Herald:

"We've won some nice games, we've done some really good things. But we've got to win a big game."

And the World-Herald casts a tone on what this game means to Bill Callahan and Steve Pederson:

Win, and Nebraska likely goes to the Big 12 Championship game in Kansas City, Mo., as the experts predicted. Callahan, even with four or five losses, can claim progress - life is all about progress.

Lose, and many Nebraska fans will instinctively recall an autumn Sunday in 2003, when Athletic Director Steve Pederson, who had just fired Frank Solich, proclaimed his intolerance of mediocrity. They'll remember Pederson's words after NU drubbed Colorado a year ago:

"This is the reason we did what we did," Pederson said that night. "It's what we've been saying all along, that things will turn."

So which will it be? Will this be the beginning of something great tomorrow?

Or will it be the beginning of the end?