AJS

Correct.

I think the coaches did an incredible job this past year navigating the Covid year situation. The group that was hit harder than most was the RS Junior class that was able to graduate, that were not impact players. Because of that, UND has a relatively small Senior class. 11 Deep, I would break them into. Gone Waletzko (Draft) Ghadaksaz (Going over his career, I think he's out of eligibility. That being said, they classified him as a Senior) Fenelon (Depth) Specialists Hinders - Hopefully come back if there's no replacement (1 Scholarship Position) Peterson - Hopefully come back if there's no replacement (1 Scholarship Position) Other 6 Hope they all come back. I would say that the defensive four are all high priority, "need" to come back type guys. Maag / Boltmann are at a position with some depth, but still, when healthy difference makers. Getting starters and impact guys to use that extra year is so crucial.

Season on the line in Springfield this upcoming Saturday. A win and the train gets back on the tracks, the program gets back to neutral. You don't want to sound too overly dramatic, but what does a loss do? Ends almost all hope if not all hope of making the playoffs. Then you can start to go down the rabbit hole a little bit about program momentum and where that is. UND has a good team, but it's a results driven sport. They need this win really bad. The major story lines for me: Red Zone offense. They have been almost inexplicably bad at getting points at times. They can move the ball between the 20's. If there ever was a week to turn that corner it's this one. Injuries. I did write before the Western game that my hope was anyone who was dinged up would sit. Double down on the fact that you can beat Western while getting guys healthy that were banged up. The amount of players that didn't play was startling. Hope there are a handful that will be ready to go this weekend. NDSU let down for MSU. UND saw it vs USD. Maybe that just is a thing, especially if you play them tough.

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe the plan is for any FR to use their redshirt. I can’t remember the last time that has happened. Finally building depth.

Senior this year.

Blake is leading the USHL in points, Singleton is Top 5 in the AJHL.

Yes, with the possible exception of Baba. Not sure on him.

Very very important win.

Red zone issues aside, an incredible game all around. To do what they did defensively with a lot of injuries was extremely impressive.

Only this team.

The road back starts today! One week at a time!

Nice work NCHC!

Hellsten starts tomorrow and leads them to victory and you might see me singing a different tune.

Yes. UND will improve, but the NCHC looks even tougher than usual. Don’t see them as a home ice team.

Fair, still would like to see what the Freshman has to offer. Driscoll has not proven he can “steal” a game, so tomorrow is a loss with him in net. Maybe Hellsten has that.

Seeing the results of the rest of the NCHC early on and having watched this team, they will be on the road for the first round. Should have went full rebuild. Transfers are ok if they have at least 2 years of eligibility. The one year guys only work if you have a competitive team.

Give Hellsten a chance tomorrow. Driscoll has been average.

No chance they are winning tomorrow. I don’t really know what to say. They are awful. I would like to see the backup goalie play, they aren’t winning either way.

Not competitive, embarrassing to watch.

You would think the CUSA invite would have to be an all sports or none, right? I wouldn't think they would have any interest in a Football only affiliate. Is it sort of a forgone conclusion that IF NDSU was looking for someone to come along for a potential CUSA ride that it would be SDSU? This trickle down is getting very, very interesting. Is there real appeal to be apart of this version of CUSA? Edit: Football affiliate would be on the table for some teams, not all, but some.

By far my favorite lines this year.

Bowen is the last remaining member of the weirdest group of recruits I've ever seen. By group I mean, guys that committed around the same time. You had this collection of guys that all started playing Juniors the same year (I believe) or within a year of each other as Juniors in HS. You don't play USHL / BCHL as a Junior unless you are extremely highly skilled. Reid / Mancinelli / Rizzo / Halliday / Bowen. I don't think I'm missing anyone. Miller, but that's another situation all together. They all had for their age, really solid years. The expectation was that year 2, their draft years that they would all sky rocket. None of them did. Bowen is the only one that's still committed. What's odd about him is his draft year, he had a pretty solid start, but got injured. Since then, his numbers are solid, but he's seemed to have plateaued.

Must split weekend. Hopefully they win on Friday and take some of the pressure off. So far this year, they've very much looked like a team that has 14 new players. You can see the talent, hopefully they start to mesh sooner than later.

I'm not following the negative reaction to the CSS ratings at all. I've always found the 3rd to 5th rounds to be the sweet spot. More likely to get those really solid players that will be 3 year guys. 6 of the 7 are rated. I don't get how there's a negative spin to that.

Central Scouting released their preliminary rankings. No recruits with A or B ratings. C Rating: Ausmus Dunbar James Livanavage Singleton Spicer I believe the only first year eligible recruit that is not listed is Panzer. Other notes committed recruits. 3 Drafted (Benoit, Blake, Bowen) 2 Not Drafted, 2nd Year eligible. (Hedquist, Strinden) 4 Not Eligible (Klee, Perron, Slipec, Strathmann)