AJS

Definitely Skill > what hand the player shoots with, but a lot has been made about the need for a RHD next year. I think when looking at the portal for a defenseman, I would look at that as well.

Andrew O'Neill - Windy City Storm 15O Lincoln Kuehne - Northstar Christian Academy 16U Both from Fargo

The truth is, I'm actually in the camp where I don't feel this program is in as bad of a place as some. Recruiting has been solid and the pipeline looks good. As for the shot. My frustration has been with the media has been with what I call the spin. You'll never see any push back or criticism. Never any tough questions. It's so weak. On the flip side the little bit of criticism we saw from the TV crew, we saw the reaction, so maybe I understand why you don't see it. I'm going to excuse myself from this conversation. I'm very excited for Friday night and going to keep it positive as I would love nothing more than this team to go on a run that wipes out the negativity this year has caused. It can still happen!

No, but you along with the local media (or media adjacent) might be the only people that feel like finishing a game over .500 somehow equals a successful season for a program like UND. I do understand why @Goon would leave it here though. We saw what happened to Brandt on Saturday night when he was critical of the teams play on Friday. Big mistake, Berry doesn't do criticism. Media better get in line.

I agree it is impressive and I would say an important metric. Different people put different values into different things, so it would be unfair to discount that. What I would say is currently his season would be a pretty big failure. For a program like UND, you need to at minimum make the NCAA tournament or I would call it unsuccessful, even if you happen to finish a few games above .500. Good news, things are still in play to turn it around. I hope we see it!

There's is some nuance though, no? I guess I just don't see the correlation between that stat and this thread. Genuinely don't. Clearly some do.

Nothing like playoff hockey! That third period wave gave me a lot of confidence for this weekend. I would give UND a slight advantage in this one.

Hope we see this, Moore obviously as well. UND’s depth could really be used to their advantage.

I am interested in what the roster will look like. Keying in on Farmer. He is a chosen one so I’m sure his spot is safe, but he was the weak link yesterday.

Great win. Anything can happen in Game 3, but I like UND’s chances. Seeing these two teams play all year, I think UND is better. High level / talent stepped up yesterday. Could really use one of the Chosen Ones to get on the board tonight.

3 is one of the many on this team that are a lineup lock no matter how poorly they play

3 is so brutal.

I’ll co-sign every one of @Oxbow6 posts about his feelings on roster mismanagement. I would be interested on his explanation on 5 Forwards. There hasn’t been a season ever even close to this where I genuinely have no idea what the thought process is. Not just about the Chosen Five, but outside of 9 / 17, I feel every other talented forward hasn’t been optimally developed. Edit: Forward specific post. Clearly same questions on defense as well although they’ve played well down the stretch.

How’s it working out for them? Honest question, you don’t think the Coaches own any blame for this year? Can Coaches make bad judgement calls? Are all Coaches good at their jobs?

Couple more weeks also to talk mediocre Seniors into using their 5th years and killing the development for younger players. Cannot wait to see 13 & 28 on the top line next year playing 20 minutes a night.

Two of the worst forwards on the team, probably leading the team in minutes played.

I cannot believe that 10-19-28 play as often as they do. It’s crazy to me.

Berry should give more minutes to that super talented top line

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/college/und-wildcat-quarterback-quincy-vaughn-giving-tight-end-a-try-this-spring I'm a big fan of this. Still being able to use him on 4th and short, but at the same time hopefully bring more versatility to the backup spot. This signals that they are at least somewhat confident in what they have behind Schuster.

Would this be a fair statement. I don't know why it just recently clicked. The start of the year went so sideways that Berry started coaching scared. What I mean by that is his roster decisions became more and more focused on who he felt was less likely to make a mistake on any given shift. What does that mean? More minutes to more experienced players. Low risk / Low reward became really important. Look at this years Sophomore class. They might have the worst developmental curve of any class in the history of college hockey from Freshman to Sophomore year. This year really is a shame. The name of the game wasn't who has a higher ceiling or even who the better player is, it was who is less likely to make a mistake. Low risk / Low reward.

I feel a bit like some of the Football posters, where everything coming from them is negative. I can't imagine it's fun to post and I know it's not fun to read it. Same complaints over and over. I am going to pivot a bit. This being the 2023-24 thread. I do like the potential. Of the returners, freshman class, if necessary, a small impactful group of portal guys. This might sound overly dramatic, but I think this is the most important offseason UND has had in a long time. The moves that we'll see will show if Berry "gets it" or he doesn't. Some things I'm going to watch closely. Portal (Exits): # 6: Going to happen, so not going to dwell on it. #32: Needs to happen. This would be Berry making a tough decision. The caveat here being if they are planning on carrying 4 Goalies. #32 cannot be the #2 goalie next year. #5 / #11: Guys looking for playing time. More depth guys. Hope they stay, but also wouldn't signal a huge issue if they left ANYBODY ELSE: Specifically looking at 18, 21, 24, 29. This would tell me that communication was broken between the player and Coaching staff. They should have large rolls next year. This would be an indication that Berry doesn't "get it". 5th Years: #15: Important guy to return. #28: Only if the decision was between him and going into the portal (for a player of his caliber). I would rather see 18, 21, 29 fill his spot as they could do that. This was a crucial misstep this past off season of the Coaching staff. I will never understand bringing back a player whose roll is easy filled by other guys already on roster. #13. Under no circumstance What's my hope? That UND is a program where young talent goes to develop. What's my fear? That this turns into a less successful version of Mankato. By that I mean the older the player the better. That this past year was just a speed bump and the players believe in this coaching staff. Especially the young talented ones that myself and others felt maybe didn't get the same shake as others. I'll be concerned if young talent leaves. You see those spots filled by lets be honest, average 5th years or Band-Aids from the Portal that were brought in, because the staff didn't have enough Freshman who were ready. I'm not anti-portal, I think it's important when used in certain situations. I'm very anti-portal when it's done because there wasn't foresight by the coaching staff (i.e. the defensive additions this year). Will be an interesting few weeks once this season ends.

That's completely true, but I would also ask, what do you have to lose? It would be one thing if every recruit made it to campus, but they don't. I'm not for the old Wisconsin approach either of having 40 recruits lined up, but I would say some HS players would be worth the "risk".

Do you think the D-core as a whole has played well this year? Who would he replace? Take your pick for most of the year. I would say outside of Jandric and Frisch, there have been nights where every other player has played poor enough where if the coaching staff was consistent, would have sat the following night. You see Farmer in Denver? He was a one-man lowlight that entire weekend. What I've noticed this year over any other is some players can make mistakes over and over and their roll isn't affected. Others don't get that luxury.

Johnson's developmental curve was looking good based on his Freshman year. Never witnessed a situation like his before, got so few chances this year. Where would this team be if they played him regularly? Out of contention in the pairwise and on the road for the first round? Could really use a RH defenseman for next year. At least this coaching staff can go to the portal. So unbelievably frustrated with this Coaching staff.

If you're an NHL draft pick, your goal is to play after college. Actually playing is an important part of development. Just my opinion, but what was unique about this year (there's no close 2nd either) was the roster management. The number of locks that I didn't understand. Why some players could make a mistake and not miss a shift, while others won't play another shift after. There were just so many decisions that I didn't get. @Siouxfancrazy92 you're not wrong, I would add 24 as well to the list. I thought he was really good as a Freshman. Basically hasn't played this year. I want to clarify; I don't think this has been a pattern previously for Berry. This is the first time I'll worry about young talent leaving this program for the Portal. I won't blame any of them for thinking they could develop better elsewhere.