'08 PNCLL Final Fours in Missoula

[Hi-Line Lax]

As tournament host, I thought I'd try and get some information out there for people to start to digest before their trip to Missoula. First off is hotels/lodging... please PM me if you need help booking rooms in town or are just looking for suggestions. There is no official tournament hotel (no 1 hotel had 200 rooms available) though there are areas that work better than others.

Next are fields and schedules. The main field for this year's tournament will be Washington-Grizzly Stadium on the UM campus. Both D1 semi's will be played there Saturday and both D1 and D2 championships will be played there Sunday. The field is sprin-turf and we are asking that all teams adhere to the strict no gum/sunflower seeds/ basically anything that goes into your mouth rules. One other thing to note (especially for large teams... ie UO) is that our sidelines are a bit narrow. This makes for an intense feeling at the sides, but it is a little annoying IMO... nothing we can do about it though. Saturday's field for the D2 semi's is located right outside the stadium at Riverbowl Field, which is grass. If your D2 team has a tent you might want to bring it so your fans can have an area to congregate on the sidelines.

The next issue is parking... due to some stadium construction and an event in the Adams Center, we are going to send all of our parking to the Stadium South Lot. To get there, follow the signs for UM off I-90, when you cross the bridge and see the signs to turn left to the stadium resist the urge. Instead, go straight on Arthur until you hit Beckwith at the end of campus. Turn left there and follow until the road ends on the south end of the stadium... behind the scoreboard. People going to Riverbowl will have a 1 block walk, but it's going to be easier than finding parking in the Adams Center lot.

Next up is schedules... Friday night we are going to have a "meet & greet" time for tournament staff and visiting coaches to come pick up some goodies, ask any last minute questions, and drink some beers. This will be held at The Press Box (across the river from the stadium) from 8-12 PM, so stop by any time... they've got good food too. Here is the game schedule for Saturday:

Riverbowl Field 11:00 AM Div 2 Semi #1
Wash-Griz Stadium 11:30 AM Div 1 Semi #1
Riverbowl Field 3:30 PM Div 2 Semi #2
Wash-Griz Stadium 4:00 PM Div 1 Semi #2

On Sunday the D2 Championship will begin at 11 AM and the D1 Championship at 2:30 PM... both in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Saturday night we have space available back at The Press Box for anybody who wants to come... though a little more informal than the banquet, it should be a great time for guys to get together, unwind a bit and make some new friends.

The real magic of this years PNCLL Final Four will take place up in the press box where Will Moss has been given free range. We will be broadcasting all games in the stadium live on www.GrizLax.com with commentary by Jason Stockton and Ryan Hanavan. We will also have a crew working the various websites posting live game reports for all games on collegelax.us. Please help spread the word now to family and friends who won't be making the trip to Missoula.

T-Shirts/ LS Shirts/ Hoodies and concessions will be available for purchase throughout the weekend... the concessions are football style gross stuff mostly, but there is also a grocery store across the street for people who are picky (like me).

That's about all I got for now (still kinda waking up...) but I'm sure I'll think of more later this week. If you have any questions you think everybody might like to know, post them here, if you've got a private question about your team just PM me.

It's been a great season so far and I know it's going to be an exciting conference tournament. We are pumped to be able to host for the first time and are planning on putting on a show... hope you all can make it out! I'd really like to get at least a car of representatives from every team to make the trip, not just the guys who qualify. See you all soon.

[Hi-Line Lax]

up for 10 minutes and already a schedule change/update:

Saturday:
12 PM Riverbowl Field (#1) WOU v. lowest remaining seed
1 PM Griz Stadium (#1) SFU v. Montana/Washington
3:30 PM Riverbowl Field (#2) UPS v. other remaining team
4 PM Griz Stadium (#2) Oregon v. Montana/Washington

[RefZee]

We would appreciate it if there is a separate locker room for the officials...showers included.

Thanks,
Z

[Hodgee24]

We would appreciate it if there is a separate locker room for the officials...showers included.

Thanks,
Z

What you afraid we'll give you a little towel whipping ?! Don't worry, I'll be gentle... haha

[slowbreak]

what is the weather forecast for Missoula for next weekend?

[BillyHoyle]

weather.com

[Steno]

We would appreciate it if there is a separate locker room for the officials...showers included.

Thanks,
Z

What you afraid we'll give you a little towel whipping ?! Don't worry, I'll be gentle... haha

Don't worry, Hodge, I'll make sure to towel-snap some officials in your stead.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Final Fours now set:

Saturday, May 2nd
DIVISION I SEMI-FINALS
1 PM Griz Stadium Simon Fraser vs. Washington
4 PM Griz Stadium Oregon v. Montana

DIVISION II SEMI-FINALS
12 PM Riverbowl Field Western Oregon vs. Whitman
3:30 PM Riverbowl Field Puget Sound vs. Western Washington

This will be the official weekly thread to predict, report scores and discuss the games. Let the prognostications begin!

[Hi-Line Lax]

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE!

Saturday's games have been moved to the UM South Campus due to (unbelievably enough) a scheduling mix-up. The new location of the D1 & D2 semi-finals will be at Dornblazer Fields on the UM South Campus. D1 games will be played in the women's soccer stadium and the D2 games will take place right outside on our practice field. The fields are located on the corner of South & Higgins... coming from the highway you simply pass Beckwith (where I've told you to turn for the football stadium) and keep going south on Arthur until it ends. Take a right there and the field will be right in front of you.

The game schedule for Saturday will remain the same, and in fact, we've added a high school game beginning at 10 AM between Gonzaga Prep JV and the Missoula Patriots (the only high school team in Montana). We will still be broadcasting live on GrizLax.com and the atmosphere should actually be a little better suited to our size (not like we were going to fill the football stadium...). Concessions will still be open on Saturday, similar menu as mentioned before. Set up for the D2 field will be identical (except the location) and the only real difference is that the D1 games will be on grass instead of the turf. Sunday's championships will still be in Washington-Grizzly Stadium at the times posted.

Let me apologize first on behalf of The University of Montana for this scheduling mix up... it was basically one person's oversight that booked two events in Washington-Grizzly on Saturday. I had the option to kick out the other event, but since it wasn't their fault and we were able to find another adequate facility I thought it best that we make the move. If anybody has any questions, please PM me and I'll be happy to answer. Thanks and see you soon!

[GrizLens]

[nhoskins]

Final Fours now set:

Saturday, May 2nd
DIVISION I SEMI-FINALS
1 PM Griz Stadium Simon Fraser vs. Washington
4 PM Griz Stadium Oregon v. Montana

DIVISION II SEMI-FINALS
12 PM Riverbowl Field Western Oregon vs. Whitman
3:30 PM Riverbowl Field Puget Sound vs. Western Washington

This will be the official weekly thread to predict, report scores and discuss the games. Let the prognostications begin!

I'll give it a shot...

D2:

Western Oregon 20 - 5 Whitman

Puget Sound 12 - 10 Western Washington

Final: Western Oregon 9 - 7 Puget Sound

D1:

SFU 14 - 6 Washington

Montana 12 - 10 Oregon

Final: SFU 15 - 9 Montana

I'm pretty torn about this one... I think that Montana will surprise Oregon, they've really improved over the latter half of the season, especially with that east coast OOC trip. And Oregon has done the opposite, especially with that west coast OOC trip.

That being said, I would enjoy an SFU - Oregon final as well. Both teams have a lot of fire power and I sure wouldn't trade places with either Stewart or Swanson in that final! Or Mike Ripley (That was for you, Dan )

[nhoskins]

Nice work, Will!

[Dan Wishengrad]

Or Mike Ripley (That was for you, Dan )

The burning question is who your Mom would vote for --and who she puts in her will -- Nate, you or Ripley?

[Jana]

she's voting for Moose Drool on Saturday night!

[GrizLens]

she's voting for Moose Drool on Saturday night!

Sweet, sweet nectar...