GForks

Do you think it's possible that some of the ideas of dumpster fire, cratering, etc. are just relaying a message from those still within the program?

UND football leadership. I'm speaking to those who are pretending not to notice any difference between a young coach leaving SDSU and a young coach leaving UND right now.

Why are some acting like there is no distinguishable difference between people leaving an "ugly" situation versus an up and comer leaving because the program is in a better spot than when they found it. Stop ignoring the elephant in the room.

Call it arbitrary if that makes you feel better, but I think it's pretty easy to see that our coaches are leaving due to things not going great, and the same does not apply to NDSU currently. Also, are you implying that NDSU head coach going to LB coach at USC is a step down?

He didn’t stab anyone in the back. Spring ball hasn’t started, and he doesn’t owe anyone here anything. If this season goes poorly I sure hope he doesn’t get blamed, that would be a pretty convenient excuse. As another poster said, I think UND football leadership needs to take a good look in the mirror if they are looking for problems.

What is the commitment though? That's what I am struggling with. It is not uncommon in any sports to leave/be fired before your contract is up, or before your eligibility is up. In general, of course honoring your commitment and honoring your word is a big deal in life. BUT, where I get lost in this whole thing is what exactly is the requisite commitment in the sports contract world?

Is it relevant or not that a much better opportunity presented itself that didn't exist 8 days earlier? If he stays this year and then goes to a better opportunity does that somehow make this better or different? I'd feel different about the whole thing if the NDSU job had been open at the time he was hired at UND. But it wasn't, and there was zero indication that there would be a better opportunity elsewhere.

How long would he have to stay here to qualify as having integrity? 1 year? 5 years? I'm not applauding anyone for anything. I'm just not blaming someone for going a different route after circumstances changed.

If you think the OC at NDSU is a "similar" job other than having the same title, versus the OC at UND, I don't think you have much of a feel for how college football works. Do you think the OC of Arkansas is a similar job to the OC of Georgia just because they are in the same conference?

The NDSU job was not open when he took the UND job. Tyler Roehl didn't leave NDSU until this week. I am guessing he meant what he said when he was excited to come back to UND and that he had no intentions of going elsewhere. But things can change very quickly these days in regards to new opportunities. What is the statute of limitations on giving someone your "word"? If a better opportunity comes up at any time, whether it be your first day or 2 years into a job, a person can't be blamed for wanting to explore it, whether that be a student-athlete, a coach, or any person in the community in their normal occupation.

"Illness" doesn't always mean physical ailment...

You don't find it odd that there have been no questions or comments, or even a hint of anything, from anyone surrounding the team? Name another physical injury for UND where nobody says a word.

It seems to me that nobody is really talking about JJ that is involved with the team (i.e. players or Schlossman). Could it be something that isn't being talked about because nobody wants to touch the topic, or even ask about it, including the beat writer? That leads me to believe we may be dealing with a very sensitive subject here that is "off limits" for questions or comments...

I understand it doesn't just translate by default. They swung and (so far) missed on all four of those guys. To go 0 for 4 isn't normal. Again, the part I struggle with is it's not like UND's staff is the only staff who wanted these guys. Every top school did. That does not make it any better or easier to swallow. It makes it more confusing as to how it happened to everyone they got.

I also watched the whole game. Regardless of if the shot originated at the point or not, I would consider a rebound attempt from in the slot to be a quality scoring chance. This team is not talented enough in general to be looking for backdoor passes or beating a defender one on one to find an open forward in the slot. We don't have a Nick Schmaltz or anything in the same stratosphere. We don't have a Brock Boeser or anything in the same stratosphere. Our d are the team's best asset, why wouldn't they use that to their advantage? Based on the above, unless a player creates it themselves or it's a tic-tac-toe play, do you not consider it a "scoring opportunity"? Look, I'm as frustrated as anyone at the obvious lack of talent at forward on this team. It isn't puck luck, it's just that they aren't very good. But to suggest they should play a "prettier" style of hockey and look for backdoor passes, or creating their own space and finding an open forward...I'm sorry, I just can't agree with that for this year's team.

I'm going to disagree with you here. The USHL is the top junior league in North America. It obviously isn't a apples to apples comparison, but I would say in general if you are a top offensive guy in the ushl, it will translate into at least a fairly productive college career.

To clarify, I used those 4 names as guys brought in as "top 6" guys that don't produce like top 6 guys.

I don't know if it's just Berry on those guys though. I believe every one of them was pretty highly sought after by all the top schools. It's not like we were the only ones after them. I'm not saying that makes it any better, just adds to the mystery in my mind.

I don't know the history, only know what happened in this situation.

Agree with the fact that it's clearly a lack of talent at this level. However, I just am not sure how a bunch of the guys that were actually high scorers at a high junior level all of the sudden can't produce. Janatuinen, Hoff, Mismash, Adams all put up basically right around a point per game in the USHL.

That is correct. You see it all the time even in pro sports. The NCAA does not regulate the supplement labeling market.

Look at the shot chart from last night and tell me all the shots were from the perimeter. Especially in the first period when they dominated. I count at least 10 shots that resulted in saves in the first period alone that were from between the circles and below the faceoff dot.

I don't really think so. I can't explain it. A system doesn't cause you to forget how to pick a corner.

I don't know how you are defining "pure goal scorer" but a lot of these guys were very high end offensive guys in high school/juniors that just for whatever reason haven't continued to develop that part of the game. Also, next year we have Pinto (Tied for 6th in goals in ushl) and Blaisdell (3rd in BCHL in goals) coming in. Both high end talents so far that have shown they can score.

Last night in a vacuum: go on the road against a top 5 team, completely carry play, outshoot, and outchance them, and lose 2-1. That's just fine. Unfortunately last night is not in a vaccum. And this has happened too many times now. Sweep canisius and you're 15-10-1 and probably about 9-10 in pairwise. That series hurt them more than we can fathom.