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Perhaps you are expecting the football team to get the A spot since their season finally is over. Typically that would be the case but the white-hot skaters are on too much of a roll to be supplanted!

Winners of eight in a row and with only one loss since before Thanksgiving, the Fargo Force are an absolute machine right now!

And it's not like they're getting lucky with 5-4 type wins, because they've only allowed more than two goals twice during the hot-streak.

With the top two goalies in the League and an offensive attack that's put it home at least five times in each of the last six contests they are raising the bar to what seems like unsustainable levels. With all the success they could have a two or three week swoon and still be comfortably ahead of everyone in the playoff positioning.

Whether hockey is your bag or not, you would do well to get this squad a look over the home-heavy weeks that remain!

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The B spot brings Fs, as in finally finished.

After rebounding from the dreadful start enough to get into the playoff conversation the Purple were able to be inept enough to squeak below several other teams and are slated to pick just outside the top-10 for the first time since 2014. With two drafts under his belt we still don't know whether KA-M is capable of building a winning roster but he will need to take advantage of this minor break in the roster management process and find more players like Jordan Addison & Ivan Pace Jr. next April.

If you actually want to talk about loss number 10 there are places that can happen, the more important part is how it impacts the offseason.

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The week also included an unexpected move by Oak Grove, attempting to co-op with Shanley for football going forward.

After being denied a bid to play 9-man they went independent and had a one-of-a-kind 2023. With only 13 players on the team this past season they would still have struggled so this could be the life-raft that they need.

If this request is also denied who knows what OG will do but perhaps it would open the door for six-man to get a foot-hold in Fargo. That's a looooong shot but would mean that the personal favorite, riverside field, would still be utilized.

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Across that river Moorhead State's basketball teams also continued their own recent heaters with the men reaching 14 straight to start the season while the ladies have won five of their last six.

The trip to Mankato in three weeks time appears to be the best test of the remaining schedule for each team as the Mavericks sit one spot behind the men at 3 in the country while their women are the NSIC's top vote-getter in the national coaches poll.

Too bad it's not in Moorhead!

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The SHAC's residents had a less enjoyable experience during their Big Sky Challenge games with the guys dropping both while the women split, beating Northern Arizona at home Saturday with a season-high output against a D1 opponent of 99 points.

It may have gone better for the men but Boden Skunberg was benched for the first game for reasons that are shrouded.

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Following their 7-0 start to the year Concordia dropped four straight. They snapped the streak with their best offensive output of the season (93 points), beating Carleton for the first time since 2019.

Following nearly a month off the women dropped their first game of the year, ending a six-game winning streak and had their Saturday showdown with Carleton cancelled.

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Not to get glossed-over because of NYE, Moorhead high continued to christen their brand-new home with the first basketball and swimming events in the last week plus.

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That's just the start of the new year!