AJS

I'm trying my best to really wrap my head around what has happened to this program since they won the title in 2016. The year after, they barely made the tournament, underachieved given they had two Top 10 players in the country (Boesers injury hurt obviously), but I chalked it up to a Championship hangover. Things got slightly worse the next year, missed the tournament by a game (after making it by a game the year before). We saw some records being broken (biggest 3rd period lead given up in a decade and a half), a string of two goal leads that they squandered the second half. They were in position going into Christmas break to make the tournament, in fact, I would have never thought they wouldn't after their last 1st half series against SCSU. This year, the ups and downs were more drastic in the first half then they have been in a long time. Still, going into Christmas break, they sat at #16 in the pairwise and there was hope for the 2nd half. I'm trying my best to be level headed about where they sit after the most disappointing non-conference series I can ever remember. This season has been a roller coaster ride and we have to hope that we are currently at the bottom. We do have a strong enough sample size to know some things for certain. (1) UND has a very solid Freshman Goaltender (2) UND has a strong defensive core (3) Worst collection of goal scorers in decades (multiple) (4) Worst special teams play in decades (multiple). We've been hit over the head by the local media in terms of SOG and time of possession, I'm with the majority, where I'm sick of hearing it, because they aren't translating into goals and wins. I'm going to talk out of both sides of my mouth, because as frustrating as it's been, it's much better (if you're looking glass half full), then losing and getting out shot / losing time of possession. Do I think things are going to turn around offensively and they'll become a high scoring offense the second half? No. I also don't think they can get any worse, that's a safe bet. Their shooting percentage is beyond ridiculous and as much as we talk about them shooting directly into the goaltenders chest (which does happen), some of their shots are going to stop hitting the post, some of their shots are going to start hitting wide open nets, or getting a lucky bounce. I'm not saying I agree with it, but Berry isn't going anywhere after this year, so all we can really do is hope they turn things around. Their backs are against the wall right now, the fans know it, the coaching staff and players know it. I'm hoping for a push back and will until the season is over. There's still a lot of time left in the season and as bad as it looks right now, they are still .500 and 22nd in the pairwise. Not good or acceptable, but also a long ways from having no shot. It starts now though, they need a sweep against CC. Do that and go from there.

Blaisdell with another hat trick tonight, second in a row (6 goals and an assist in his last two games). Pinto and Halliday with two points each as well tonight.

Culture

I'm thinking an own goal and they lose 2-1. I mean right now the best they can hope for is a tie, they definitely aren't scoring a goal.

This is so pathetic.

Keys to the game: Scheel either getting a shutout or giving up only 1 Even on Special Teams (since we know UND won't score a PP goal) Hope for two goals

There’s only 1 good team, a few mediocre and a lot of bad teams.

This is how I always thought until it became so clear that they’ll never lose, ever. It’s such a unique position, going into the season knowing there’s no chance you’ll lose.

I agree, early congrats to NDSU on their ‘20, ‘21 & ‘22 FCS titles.

The real question is how many more Championships before they move up? They’ll never lose another one as long as they stay in the FCS.

I would still take him as a true freshman over any forward on this roster (same goes for the other 4 freshman forwards next year). The more turnover the better. Edit: I wouldn’t take Donovan over the other incoming 4, but would over any forward on the current roster.

I also think they get swept.

I couldn't agree more and this is not something I would have agreed with prior to this game. There's not a single difference maker forward on this team, so the coaching staff should just play the guys who will try hard. Does it truly matter if Mismash / Jones / Kawaguchi are out there or Yon / Rieger / Johnson? I mean neither line is going to score regularly anyways.

What's Berry's contract situation like? You let this year play out and the miss the tournament for the second year in a row. Before Berry they missed the tournament once (02') since 1997. Should that be enough to lose his job? For sure, but is there any chance that happens? I do think the recruiting pipeline is stacked, but although things will probably get better next year (at least more hopeful / exciting with that freshman class), I wouldn't be surprised if they missed again with that anchor of that Senior class (no Junior) around this programs neck. Simplified question. How many years of missing the tournament until Berry loses his job?

Was tonight a pairwise killer? Yes. Do I think the season is lost? I do. Does this team lack top end offensive talent? Definitely. Even so, I still can't fully wrap my head around how they are this awful offensively. This isn't a small sample size, we know they are, but I'm just not sure how. I'm not saying they have enough talent to be an offensive juggernaut, but they should be able to at least be respectable. There are a lot of guys on this team that put up pretty good numbers in juniors, how can none of them contribute consistently? UND's power play is never good, but how is it possible to go 0-20(?) going back to the UAA series? I just don't get it.

They won't.

Pairwise killer / Season over. It's sad that I'm not surprised at all, in fact, would have been surprised if this game played out any other way. That's a huge problem.

I do love following recruiting, by far from an expert, so the following list is just a way to pass some time. I thought I'd put together a ranking of how I see UND's Top 12 recruits. These are guys that will be here in the next couple years (excluded anyone who hasn't played Juniors). For the most part, this will be guys who will be in either the 2019 or 2020 freshman classes. 1. Halliday (F) (02') (2020) - Former #1 USHL pick, stepped in right away and has produced as a 16 year old. Averaging .82 PPG in his first half of Junior hockey. Has the potential to dominate in his draft year, potential 1st / 2nd round pick. Will come in as a True Freshman. 2. Kleven (D) (02') (2020) - From all accounts, the best US Dman prospect from his age. Potential 1st rounder. Will come in as a True Freshman. 3. Bowen (F) (02') (2020) - Would have been a Top 5 WHL pick if it wasn't for his NCAA commitment. Already has 16 goals, .70 PPG in his first true half of Junior hockey. Would expect him to be a Top 5 guy in the BCHL next year in his draft year, high round draft pick. Will come in as a True Freshman. 4. Blaisdell (F) (01') (2019) - He's my #1 recruit for UND next year, having a great year in his second true year of Juniors. Tied 3rd in BCHL in goals. Phenomenal World Junior A tournament this past month. Projected 2nd / 3rd round pick in this upcoming draft. 5. Miller (D) (01') (2020) - Checks every box when it comes to Select teams, has made ever US Development team (Playing Top D-Pair), was just on World Junior A roster. I think he's going to be an outstanding college hockey player. 6. Sanderson (D) ('02') (2021) - One of the best '02 defenseman in the country, leading the U17's in scoring from the backend. Potential 1st round pick. Late Bday, so he wouldn't be eligible until 2021. 7. Pinto (F) (00') (2019) - Was a recruit nobody knew anything about when he committed. Having a great 1st year in the USHL, World Junior A participant. Currently projected as a 2nd / 3rd round pick in this upcoming draft. Has good size, great scoring ability. Carrying his USHL team in scoring. 8. Rizzo (F) (01') (2019) - Has had injury problems that last couple years, including missing about half of the start this year. Incredibly talented, holding his own at just over a PPG, but isn't producing as much as most would have thought. Still, can easy turn that around in the second half. Potential 3rd / 4th round pick currently. 9. Rowe (G) (01') ('19 or '20) - Playing for USNTDP, ok numbers (which is normal for that team playing the schedule they do). Potential 2nd/3rd round pick in this upcoming draft. 10. Caulfield (F) (01') ('19) - Power forward playing with the USNTDP, putting up solid numbers. Would be a great 3rd line type guy in college (kind of 3rd line UND needs). Potential 2nd / 3rd round pick in this upcoming draft. 11. Frisch (D) ('00) ('19) - From all accounts having a great first year in the USHL, member of the World Junior A roster. Should be drafted. 12. Bast (D) ('00) ('19) - Highly skilled offensive D-man, puts up good numbers in the AJHL, member of the World Junior A roster. Should be drafted. Overall, this is an incredibly talented pool of recruits UND has lined up. 2019 - Sure fire Top 5 class in the NCAA. Rizzo was the potential cornerstone guy heading into this year, but that's kind of wait and see. They lack the true "big name", but that being said, the depth of talent is absolutely incredible. The 6 guys I have slotted coming in will all be true freshman, all potential to be drafted (at least 3 going in the 2nd / 3rd rounds). Instant shot of talent to the roster. 2020 - Sure fire Top 3 class in the NCAA. What the 2019 lacks in the cornerstone guy (which is rare), this class currently has the potential for 3. They'll have two at the forward spot and possible the best D-man class in the country (Kleven, Miller, Reid). Also, guys like Mancinelli, Randklev and Gaber will be fun to track at forward.

With Costello there was really no step back he could have made, he only had 12 points total last year (56 games). It's true he is slightly behind that "pace", but he just hasn't been able to produce at the USHL level. Mancinelli on the other hand had what I would have considered the best '01 year out of all the recruits (Blaisdell, Caulfield, Rizzo) that played juniors at 16. Not surprisingly, he started slow last year, but was almost a PPG player the second half of the season. He parlayed that into a strong US Development camp and made the Ivan Hlinka team this year. I'm definitely surprised by his production so far, but he's also just a Senior (maybe Junior?) in HS, so we'll see how he develops over the second half / next year. Stratton also surprised that he's slightly off his mark for last year, would have thought he'd tear up the BCHL this year.

First half stats: USHL Pinto - '00 (F): 14-11-25 (22GP) Gaber - '99 (F): 10-13-23 (29GP) Halliday - '02 (F): 6-12-17 (22GP) Mancinelli - '01 (F): 5-6-11 (27GP) Randklev - '99 (F): 3-8-11 (21GP) Frisch - '00 (D): 2-7-9 (23GP) Miller - 01' (D): 2-5-7 (23GP) Schmaltz - 01' (F): 2-4-6 (24GP) Reid - 01' (D): 0-5-5 (26GP) Costello - 00' (F): 1-3-4 (24GP) NTDP U18 Caulfield - 01' (F): 6-16-22 (30GP) Rowe - 01' (G): 3.59 GAA / .879 SV% NTDP U17 Sanderson -02' (D): 1-13-14 (27GP) Kleven -02' (D): 2-5-7 (24GP) AJHL Bast - 00' (D): 5-15-20 (23GP) BCHL Blaisdell - 01' (F): 23-18-41 (32GP) Stratton - 99' (F): 6-26-32 (37GP) Bowen -02' (F) 16-10-26 (37GP) Rizzo - 01' (F): 4-14-18 (17GP) Other Kunz -02' (F): 5-3-8 (7GP) -- SSM Prep Montgomery - 02' (F): 4-7-11 (9GP) -- Sioux Falls U16 / 1-1-2 (5GP) Waterloo (USHL)

I hope this doesn't come off as over dramatic, but is Seales the worst basketball player in history (at any level) when it comes to handling the ball on a fast break?

I always like to hear everyone's overall feel for the class. My initial couple thoughts. The closing weeks this staff has had are the strongest on the D-1 era. That's taking into account losing Case. Fort, London (Transfer) and Skokna from all accounts are top end FCS recruits. These three are guys that went to the top of the class. I do look at other offers as one of the main signs, what I also liked to see overall is after the original recruits committed (all local ND / MN), every recruit from then on out seemed to have at least one competitive offer. As we all know, just because a player committed with no other offers, doesn't mean they didn't receive any after. What are the thoughts on this recruiting class? Stronger / Weaker than recent years?

Let's start taking a look at different positional groups. Offensively as we all know, it starts on the O-Line. Every positional group is clearly important, but this is the one that has the biggest trajectory on the success of either unit. Couple questions: How would you grade their performance last year? What are the realistic expectations for next year? My take: They were the #1 concern coming into last year and I think it's safe to say they exceeded expectations. My overall grade would be a C+. They dominated against weaker competition, seemed to falter like the rest of the offense at the end of the year. I don't know how much of that can be attributed to (1) Terrible QB play (2) Play calling - tough to look good when teams can stack the box. Anyways... 2019: Tackle: They return 3 players who are "starters". Mortel (JR): Only played two games, because of injuries, but was their #1 Tackle starting the year. When healthy, he's a rock solid LT. Helgren (JR): Started every game but one at RT, first year starter. Waletzko (SO): Started 5 games as a True Freshman, first year starter. Others: Russo (JR), played in a few games. Who are some others to watch? I feel good about the 3 guys who started last year, is Russo ready to take the next step? The tackle position was young last year, no upperclassman. They have a solid core coming back, if those three can improve and you get another player or two in the mix, this could be a talented, deep group. Guards: Lose one Senior, return 2 players who are "starters" Tobin (JR): Two year starter, solid LG Nguon (JR): Although he was used mostly as a tackle, he can play all positions and will be used as a Guard this upcoming year. Others: Hergel (RFR), Who are some others to watch? Center: Rooney (SR): Started every game last year. UND has 6 Offensive lineman returning that either played or have played (Mortel) enough reps that we know what to expect. It's a solid nucleus and given their age (5 of the 6 underclassman last year), there is a lot of room for growth. Is this the first year of the D1 era that they can have what I would "true depth". That would mean 4 players who aren't true returners to fill the depth chart (2 G's, 1 T, 1 C), who are ready to step in when injuries happen and they can hold their own. My expectation is for this group to take a step forward. They should grade out at a minimum of a B after next year.

That's the shot of optimism I needed going into next year @geaux_sioux @UND-FB-FAN. Even with the wheels coming completely off at the end of the year, the offense showed me enough throughout the year that with the right coaching / game plan they could be a pretty solid unit going forward.

Their execution is close to flawless. Their O-line is so dominant it makes it dare I say easy to be a positional player. You can't be one dimensional at the college level, but it's so important to get a QB that is multi-dimensional. I would take Stick and his legs, even if he can't make all the throws over a pocket passer who isn't mobile. A guy like Stick doesn't grow on trees, but as we've all noticed, the QBs that continually give everyone (as we've seen with UND) the most problems are guys that can evade the rush and run the ball. UND needs to recruit those type of guys at the QB position.