He has been a staple in “State of Hockey” for over a quarter of a century. Minneapolis-based sportscaster Jim Rich invented the term “Frozen Four” from his beloved former show “College Hockey USA.” He called the play-by-play of both games of the Bemidji-St.Cloud series, and shared his insights with FloHockey’s Tim Rappleye about the WCHA, the NCHC, and the state of college hockey. 

FloHockey: Jim, the country’s No. 2-ranked Huskies ran into a stubborn Bemidji squad Friday night. Was there an upset in the making?

Jim Rich: Absolutely, that game was in doubt from the beginning. Bemidji was letter-perfect in playing the layers of defense that Tom Serratore preaches — where he makes sure he always has another layer behind the initial layer of attack. And St. Cloud was confused by it; they were frustrated by it. There was a lot of guys banging sticks by the boards coming off after shifts; they were perplexed by what Bemidji had thrown at them.

Was the general consensus that this would be a cakewalk for the Huskies?

They had just come off a very emotional series against Denver; they saw themselves take the lead in the NCHC standings. Since Bemidji is in the WCHA, they’re not a frequent visitor to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center; the players aren’t that familiar with them, so there’s not that rivalry. It lacked emotion to start the game, and that played into Bemidji’s hand. They were excited, because this was a chance for them to knock off the second-ranked team and for the WCHA, because we all know how important non-conference is nowadays with so many conferences. It really helps you at the end of the year. 

Saturday you got a good story in Zach Driscoll returning to St. Cloud, but it was no fairy tale . . .

No. This one, the carriage turned into the pumpkin rather early on Zach, unfortunately. Zach is such a great story; he came to St. Cloud, they needed a goaltender, and Zach accelerated to come in early. He tried it, and just wasn’t ready for this level as of yet. So he left, went back to juniors for another year of seasoning. Then he resurfaces at Bemidji and has a tremendous start there, top-ranked goalie in the country, but he comes to the Brooks Center and I’m sure the nerves; he was feeling it. 

His old teammates know where to shoot. They knew his weaknesses from practices, they knew how to annoy him. St. Cloud really turned up the gas. They knew that their performance on Friday night was not what’s needed to beat Bemidji. So they just went after him. They had guys right in the crease, people taking away his vision, lots of screens, and quick passing. It wasn’t all Zach’s fault; his teammates didn’t help him out much either.

Here you are in the epicenter of college hockey — what do you think of the WCHA?

There’s a lot of great programs, a lot of hockey history. They took a shot when these teams defected, whether it was Minnesota and Wisconsin going to the Big Ten, or St. Cloud, North Dakota, Denver, CC, and Duluth. Five teams leaving and going to the NCHC, they left a lot of people high and dry. It’s been a battle, these teams are the real heartbeat of college hockey. Because if this league goes away, or if schools start dropping hockey, then it’s going to have a whole different effect that nobody expected when they started the Big Ten. 

They’re all about trying to grow the game, but you always have to sustain what you have. These bigger schools, like Minnesota and Wisconsin and Michigan. They need to play these WCHA schools, keep them on their schedule. And when those big schools come to those small universities, they pack the buildings; it puts money in their coffers. And they need these teams to stay alive. If they start disappearing, the NCAA tournament will start shrinking back from 16 down to 12 to eight to whatever. They’ve got to make sure those programs stay afloat. And they have to do that by going into those smaller venues and playing there, and let them have their big weekend, like they used to do back when the big schools were in with those smaller schools. 

What’s your take on Minnesota State Mavericks?

I think they’re fantastic. Mike Hastings has done a fabulous job. That program was OK before, but he’s raised the bar there like Bob Motzko did at St. Cloud. The Huskies were OK, and then Motzko raised them up to the level of national contender. Now Mike Hastings has done the same thing with Mankato. He gets dynamite recruits. He’s fundraised, he’s done a lot to have the building upgraded, they’re on the cusp of being a contender year in and year out, but they need that WCHA to survive as well. If Mankato doesn’t feel that the WCHA is a place to stay, if they leave, that’s really going to leave a big hole. 

That whole league needs to figure out a way so all these schools can have a shot at a national championship, and a chance at star recruits that you see St. Cloud and Mankato getting.

Let’s talk about the NCHC. People call it the SEC of college hockey — are they an embarrassment of riches?

It is remarkable. They all are well-funded, well-attended programs, and they all treat college hockey as their premier program. Everywhere you go, it’s hockey in these buildings that’s generated great results. Look at the tremendous coaches in this league: Jim Montgomery, being picked by the Dallas Stars to hop over; Scott Sandelin (Duluth) was interviewed by the New York Rangers for their opening; and Motzko gets picked by Minnesota to resurrect that program. Look at the respect these guys are getting. The games are fantastic; there’s no easy night. In the past, in some leagues, you play teams that are perennial doormats . . . you pick up your four points and move on. That doesn’t happen in the NCHC. Every night you scrap and fight for every point. 

They spend more on officiating than any other league in college hockey. They have supervisors at almost every game, they have video review, a first-class experience for everyone.

The regular-season title in the NCHC could be the toughest trophy to win outside the Stanley Cup . . .

I think so, because it’s nonstop. To win an NCAA championship, it’s just a handful of games. To win that Penrose Cup, it takes a year’s commitment to get yourself to the top. And you’re playing teams that are ranked in the top 10 nearly every other week. You have to slog through. What do they have now? Three in the top 10 right now? They’re loaded again, and they’ll end up with four or five teams in the top 20 almost every week.

Tim Rappleye is the author of "Jack Parker's Wiseguys" and the forthcoming book: "Hobey Baker, Upon Further Review," set for release in November. He can be reached @TeeRaps.