Leaderboard

My 2 day update from the WJ tournament. A client had a suite & invited me & a buddy to both games. Being a MN company, there were several former Gopher players there, 3 of them with solid NHL careers. Listening to their take on both games was fascinating. None of them had a single good thing to say about Motzko, & a couple played for him. The main theme, he has no clue how to coach high-end talent players, and letting him coach the WJ's is the worst possible position for Team USA. One guy said the overplaying of Mooney is killing the kid personally, and the most obvious of many horribly bad coaching decisions by Motzko so far. He said all the scouts & coaches see Mooney is clearly out of his league & putting him on the #1 PP & constantly on the PK where he just isn't physically or skill-wise strong enough is embarrassing. They said the kid & his agent know how bad he looks, but Bob doesn't see it or give a 💩 because he's a Goofer. Most were convinced Mooney will cost the U.S. a game at some point. A bunch of agents & NHL scouts dropped in to see the former players. Again, consensus was Motzko seemed to be trying to coach Team USA OUT of the medal round. Every one of them thought it was the dumbest thing in the tournament to not have Zellers out every third shift, second prize, breaking up Zellers, McMorrow & Spellacy. 1 guy played defense in the pros, he said the top 4 for U.S. have been horrible. He hadn't watched EJ at UND, but what he saw in game 2, he would put EJ in top 4 over any of the returning players. The guy hosting let everyone know me & my buddy were UND grads & Sioux Hockey fans, they all said they were very impressed with this year's Sioux team & thought our boys had a chance to make a run. All of them said Motzko was shorting Zellers & scratching Emery because they are Sioux players, no question. One of the scouts showed me his Insta-Stats (SP?) account on his phone & said it is insane to not play Zellers based on all kinds of scoring metrics. He said it was more insane to play Mooney, Lee, McKinney, etc. when their numbers get worse with more ice time. He also showed me the U.S.'s "top 2 lines" data, & said if they were his players he's be worried they would be sent down to the AHL. It was a ton of data that they all knew well, the guy told me basically any coach in the NHL doing what Motzko has been doing would have been fired in less than a month. Someone said too bad Bob didn't get hit with the puck, then they could let Garrett Raboin take over & have a shot at making a medal round. 😬

Who's obsessing? Simply stating that we're at #3 now isn't obsessing, it's just stating a fact. We're still in great position...and a far better position than we have been in since the Kawaguchi days. Team looked good this weekend despite the split...deserved more than 3pts. Work on fixing the PP and a few mental lapses and all is good. As you said...chill out.

This program just caught in incredible break the last two weeks. Let's pump it up! I'm actually surprised that anyone would hold a grudge against a coach that left at the end of the Bubba tenure. That was a sinking ship. I look at these two ways, not only is Freund a step up as an OC, but with how poorly the 2nd half went last year, I don't know how the Freuchte / Kaminksi era could have been revived. Multiple factors, not all Freuchte's fault, but this is a hard reset for Jerry and the offense. The outlook for next year is different today than it was two weeks ago.

How great of a pick up was Rickwood in the portal? Was showing his worth early in the year with his experience and faceoff ability, but he has taken it to a new level after Christmas and really since coming back from his injury. Love his game, so unselfish.

Stay hungry boys. It happens. Turn the page.

Dollars to donuts that he had no idea about UND hockey before receiving that box..he either researched the history of the team & players or Jackson sent him some highlighted points that he could use for his podcast. Regardless, of all the 63 D1 teams, only Jackson or someone on his staff had the foresight to do this. It may seem goofy or just a gesture of goodwill on the surface, but it is another way of getting the UND hockey brand out to a much larger audience beyond what Buccigross can provide. Jackson isn't resting on his laurels, he's doing everything he can to get UND hockey front & center on the national stage again.

Charles Barkley is a hockey fan and did a puck drop at a club game last year. Would be cool to see him there too

Another thing. No reason Jerry should have more than 10 rushing attempts in a game. There should be some scrambles, some where he pulls to keep the defense honest, maybe a couple of designed runs. It should never get to the point where he is continuously getting beat up.

Took care of business. Gotta say, it can’t be fun being winless for the season. Good luck to Mercyhurst, hope they find their first win. Congrats to their HC on a long career.

So you are questionable with a lower body injury?

Heard from a source close to the team today that a couple big name CHL guys have "silent commits" to UND that will be announced after their seasons are over.

The way things went down for Danny to leave I have Danny’s back more than anyone. On top of that he has always and will always bleed green. I’m tired of these bums talking out of pocket.

Also have been hearing some big names giving their silent commitment. Not wanting to stir the pot with their current CHL teams.

I think UND with all of the young players that they have, has done a good job closing out game that they would've found a way to lose last season. If you listen to the UND Podcast, Schloss brought up a point that I thought was really good. UND is wearing teams down, with their depth. I agree. I saw it again last weekend against Mercyhurst. They've lost one game in 13, that's not too bad. I don't think that UND has reached its full potential, yet.

People always get indignant and ask how I could possibly root against my alma mater and in particular, cheer for North Dakota of all programs. I simply tell them that if they have to ask, there’s no amount of explaining that will make them understand.

Guess we gotta complain about something when we’ve won 12 of 13 and are #2 in the country

Maybe but he still had to get the job offer. Let's take the high road and wish him and his family well. He was the interim coach before the hiring and kept things together.

This has to be the first ever mention of a state's GDP when it comes to recruiting. It falls right after number of Hot Chicks on campus but slightly before how many Chipotle's are in town.

My wife said vacation sex is the best!! Was not expecting to read that on a postcard from Greece though. I'll be here all week folks. Remember to tip your waitress.

It's Tiger Week. Biennial Tony's Takeover starting at 4PM Friday. I'll be the guy wearing the crispy white NODAK Strinden jersey. Come say hi and put a drink on my tab. Heck, put two drinks on my tab. Tony's Bar is a walkable distance to the rink for those in town looking for a fun, family friendly atmosphere to enjoy some pregame festivities. It's been a long two years living here in Springs since the last time the boys were in town. Hearing that goofy CC goal song a total of thirteen times that weekend still gives me a headache when I think about it. I'm confident this year will be different. This team is different. Some might even say this team is nails. Bring your brooms. LET'S GO SIOUX.

Hockey is getting way too soft. Keep your damn head up!

Beck Thoreson (2009, Moorhead MN, NTDP) commits to UND!!!

There was a buzz in the arena last night. The place was hopping, and people seemed legitimately excited about this hockey team. I think this team could end up in Vegas. On a side note, I was shooting photos and got hit by a Keaton Verhoeff puck that was deflected into the stands. My first game puck.

Just eliminate redshirts, move to 5 years, and be done with it.

I think Danny really wants to be at UND. He already was here a long time, and I don't think he would have left had Bubba not hung on for too long. But, the experience he gained by leaving makes him far more valuable now than had he not left at all. Welcome back, Danny! Looking forward to you and Eric taking UND football to new heights.

Frozen Four is on the road so that’ll do

Their structure, at least when they play UND, is so strong. They don’t make positional mistakes or very few of them and when they do, Mbereko seems to bail them out with a ten bell save. Side note: We’ve met Kaidan Mbereko a handful of times and he is genuinely a really good guy, particularly with the kids. This is Kaidan with my daughter at the skate with the Tigers event.

A little bar dust up just before 2:00 am, just an average weekend in the 90's. Sounds like a JYD. It's not drug related or involve the opposite sex. I have no problem with it.

I wrote, I waited, came back & read what I wrote. I'm still going to send this. Bob's coaching failures have nothing to do with his life experiences, or if he's a good human, in my opinion. And you show your ignorance for lobbing that kind of dirty insult about posters on this site. Having lost a child of my own, I would never want any parent to experience that loss, ever. But it did not then, nor does it now, affect the decisions I make in my business or professional life. His lack of experience, low hockey knowledge, inability to learn from mistakes, being stubborn, or just aloof - is what cost those 25 young men, who have been dreaming of playing in that tournament since they started skating, a chance to win a medal. That is his unforgivable sin. The examples are a mile long. Jockeying lines non-stop every game. Matching the wrong lines against opponents. Sitting players with skills that better matched opponents. Not acknowledging, or worse, rewarding bad play with more ice time. The list goes on and on. A good coach would have given those young men an opportunity to succeed. A good human would set aside his ego, learn from his mistakes, look at the numbers and make the obvious choices to give those boys have a chance to win. He did not. He selfishly made the same mistakes, over and over. The overtime in the last game was the perfect example. He put players on the ice who had not scored and had made mistakes & given up goals. And it cost the entire team the game. And every single one of those boys knows how Bob failed them. Especially the kids he put on the ice in OT. These kids are the best in world, more than anyone they know who should be on the ice to give their team the best chance to win. But Bob knew best, now those kids have to live with letting down their teammates in the biggest game of their hockey lives. THAT, is being a dick, in my opinion.

Seriously once the quarterfinals start no more shootouts

In the radio pregame yesterday Tim asked Jax about scheduling this series and Jax said that they’d gotten to know and respect Gotkin over the past several years at the coaches meetings down in Florida. Gotkin had never played UND so they decided to get them on the schedule. Sounds like a nice agreement amongst guys that mutually respect each other and their programs. Also…they are well aware of everyone wanting the “blue bloods” on the schedule.

20th win during the 2015-16 season came on Saturday, January 23rd.

Haha ASU fan talking sh!t to EJ, he counts up the goals to the fan. 🤣

The Homer experiment should be over after this weekend. I’m fine giving him a game against his old team. Jan the man.

Who's players Dad's are calling this game?

I think you just nailed the reason for the thread. What you said is all true. That said, 7 years of history and underperformance is also true. Sather's contract is done at the end of this year - thus the Conundrum - do you extend multiple years based on a current 4-2 in the conference, or do you move on based on the 7 years of history. Obviously, the remaining games may weigh heavily on that decision.

That to me, is what made it palatable to watch Doug & the Rug on FSN. Woog brought so much to the broadcast even if we knew he was a homer. “Rusty, Sparky, Spirko.” Coached to the regionals 12 straight years. RIP Doug. Good man, gone to soon.

I'm biased, but if the trend continues its Spunar and I don't think league goaltender of the year can be out of the question either.

Gotta give Jackson/staff, the players, etc a ton of credit for what we've seen lately. Winning 12 of 13 in any season is extremely impressive. After the coaching change, players lost to graduation/portal, & clear roster holes, not many would have been able to fathom a winning stretch like this one.

Wow man, you got any bets on who wins the FCS championship this past Monday?

Hearing some very good news on the OC

Perfect showcase for FCS in a new venue/city and Monday night primetime. Like I said, can’t wait for UND to play in this game.

No reason to wish him ill will, he was all in for UND. Being able to return to your Alma Mater is how we got Schmidt to come home.

And Zellers not getting Player of the Game yesterday was a crock of horse crap.

What? Will Zellers didn't get player of the game for USA?!!!

Pretty damn cool