AJS

Ethan Bowen will be out six to eight weeks with a broken wrist.

Absolutely, if I had one word to describe this team it would be inconsistent. Inconsistent in every single aspect, I was saying it all year how weird of a year this was. It's probably pretty natural to over emphasize the most recent game, my outlook would be different depending on which game was last. It all starts on the lines. They only lose two total players to graduation (1 Offense, 1 Defense), great players, but that's about as low of a number as you could hope for. It's reasonable to expect both areas of the line to greatly improve. It's a big talker, but I really hope they scrap the idea of the O-Line being at their current weight and add some pounds. Good news is it doesn't have to be anything drastic (and will be different per player).

Since Bubba has been at the helm, I've always been optimistic going into the next season. Taking away stretches from the previous year, a couple what if player X didn't get hurt here and looking at returning players. I'm by far the most pessimistic I've been at the first glance into a next season. Taking a step back and looking at the season as a whole, I ask myself what was the 2019 UND team good at? They did have moments, but a very simplistic view of four areas Passing / Running / Stopping Pass / Stopping Run, is it fair to say that the only area they were above average in was Passing. They lose QB 1, WR 1, WR 3. What I worry about even more is you look at their biggest weakness, stopping the run and they lose their Top D-Lineman, Top ILB, Top Depth ILB, Starting OLB, Depth ILB (Hunt), Two-Deep OLB. Guys like Bennett and Rodgers (especially Rodgers) being almost impossible to replace. You can easily talk me into the D-line taking a huge step, but what about the LB unit?

This was Cochran’s 4th game, RS is intact.

Fitting game to end the year.

In the past they've set up very easy to use ways to donate to specific programs through the athletic website. I'm genuinely wondering in situations like this bid, why they wouldn't do something like that. Send out an email to the Champions Club and explain the situation. I know I would have donated like $50 and I'm sure others would have as well. I never received an email asking if I'd be interested in helping. I don't want to become a broken record and it's over at this point, when you have access to information (like what has won in the past) and you bid just below that, I just genuinely don't understand it.

Really? Chaves knows a number that won just last year and he bids below it by $5K. Unfortunately, most of my frustrations surround the Herald article pumping up the bid (when it was lower than a # that has won in the past). I think he looks like a complete clown.

Given the TM article pumping up UNDs bid, Chaves should have been humiliated when it was announced they were going on the road. @UND1983 the part you put in bold is a huge deal. IMO it makes it so much worse than I originally thought.

Road series against a solid team. I really don't know what to expect. UND is elite when you look Defensively (grouping together D-core, Goaltending, PK). Still feeling out this team offensively. My best guess is we'll see a split. Sweeping a series is tough, especially on the road.

The formula for success has always been very simple, when you look at "must haves", one the components is beating average teams at home. Although still fairly early in the season, UND would put themselves in unbelievable position both in conference and on the national stage with a sweep this weekend. Last weekend really was a coming out party for the team, this would solidify it.

Last weekend coming up and what a weird year, I've never seen anything like it. What I mean is we've seen the offense / defense / special teams be spectacular at separate points in the season, but also borderline unwatchable at other points. It's not only the consistency of the units, but they've never really played close to a complete game, where they are clicking in all three facets at the same time. I still believe that if they do, they can beat almost anyone in the country. Really hope they can find their way into the playoff field.

One thing that has really stuck out this year when following the potential recruiting class is all of their teams really struggle to score. I've been a little surprised especially in the BCHL at the pretty modest scoring numbers of Rizzo and Bowen, but when you look into it. Rizzo - 6G 11A - 17 points (17 GP): Leads the team at a PPG, the 2nd highest is .81 PPG Bowen - 8G 17A - 25 points (25 GP): Leads the team at a PPG, the 2nd highest is .91 PPG If you look at the league, a PPG puts you around 20th in that category. The BCHL isn't really the high scoring league we all remember. Rizzo / Bowen are holding their own right now on their respective teams. Hopefully we'll see a slight uptick in scoring the rest of the way.

I truly believed that as frustrating as last year was, they were really close to being a really good team. What's the difference this year? Their strengths last year (Defense / Goaltending) are better this year. This isn't a surprise, given they only lost Shaw. Currently, UND's Save % is at .924, last year as a team it was around .900. You are going to win a lot of games only averaging giving up 1.53 Goals a game. Penalty Kill is playing at an elite level as well (much improved from last year). This is a Championship caliber Defensive team in all facets (Goaltending / Defense / PK). This isn't a juggernaut offensively, but they have a solid deep collection of Forwards. Each line is capable and has found the back of the net. The difference is simply guys finally taking that step forward. Nobody took a leap, but all that was needed was guys getting a little better. The influx of new players has helped as well, it was a very solid (& deep group). Power Play is back to average, but more importantly is timely goals. Side note: What an amazing job this coaching staff does on Face offs. UND is currently at 53% which puts them 9th in the country. That was a concern going into this year losing the two top % in college hockey this summer.

What's everyones thoughts on Frisch so far? He's been logging huge minutes and playing in every type of situation.

Another NLI