I have to admit, the word 'inaugural' has found itself blacklisted from my vocabulary. The redundancy and overuse of 'the-word-that-shall-not-be-said' this season has taken its toll.
So hang it from the rafters, applaud its retirement, starting next year there will be no more firsts in the Big Ten hockey conference.
That being said, we can now look back on what was accomplished in 'Year One' of Big Ten hockey.
More opinions will of course be decided this weekend. The Big Ten Conference Championship Tournament invades the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., providing one final measuring stick before we find out where our Big Ten teams land on the national stage.