AJS

Preliminary round has completed at the World Junior A tournament (4 games). Canada West plays the USA in the second semi-final game tomorrow. Blaisdell: 4G 1A 5 points (Tied tourney lead in goals, tied 3rd in points) Bast: 1G 2A 3 points Pinto: 1G 1A 2 points Rizzo: 1A 1 point Frisch: 1A 1 point Miller: No points

There's reason for some excitement in the future, of next years potential freshman class, you have the following: This is under the assumption that the four forwards who we know signed NLI's come in and they bring in two defenseman (Frisch / Bast) 5 of the 6 taking part in the World Junior A tournament (other being member of the NTDP who aren't eligible) All 6 are expected to be drafted (looking like 4 of the 6 in the first four rounds) All 6 True Freshman (5 with 2 years of junior experience, Frisch with one) 3 of the 4 freshman averaging over PPG currently as Seniors in HS (Caulfied is just off that pace, but playing for NTDP)

Not that it wouldn't be a good idea, but does anyone know if that's a realistic option? I'm really excited to watch him develop.

I don't know how this train ever stops, it really does defy all logic. As long as they are an FCS Program they'll win Championships at least 4 out of every 5 years. We are really in uncharted territory, since this isn't how sports (at least at a relatively high collegiate level) work. They'll never drop off and nobody at the FCS level has a chance to catch them. Side note: I would have called this post preposterous a couple years ago, since like I mentioned, nobody stays on the top forever...until now.

Do we know how many Seniors are on their O-line?

Damn, so close.

The big question is can NDSU go 100% on 3rd downs / score every possession in the 2nd half?

Jump Around going into the 4th? They are original.

Everyone knew this was coming, nobody was stopping this team. What’s going to be really fun is fast forwarding to next when they replace 24 Seniors and we’re watching them boat racing whoever they play in the semis next year.

Hell of a job by SDSU's defense to step up after the TD.

I cannot wrap my head around what SDSU was doing on that Shepard play, incredibly bad defense.

With London in the mix, that should shore up the RB situation. It'll take a step back, given who they lose, but should still be a strong unit next year. The way I look at it, there's two huge holes that need to be addressed before next season. (1) QB Position - Yes, they return all 4 QBs on the roster, but 8's play down the stretch has me concerned. I just don't think he can be the guy next year. They are going to need one of the others to step up, my hope is Boltmann shows he can be the guy. (2) Nose guard - I hope this coaching staff's #1 goal this off season is bringing in at a minimum one guy, hopefully two.

I was thinking about this today, can someone explain to me what happened to the offense the last two weeks of the year? They went from a serviceable unit at worst, sometimes looking pretty good for large portions of the game for the majority of the season, to possibly the worst offense in the FCS the last two weeks. How does that happen?

Most NDSU playoff games are over before they begin. Games like this, where the opponent has a puncher's chance, they need to catch the breaks in the game. The kick catch interference was a bad call, which like you'll see time and time again will never go against NDSU. That was a potential game changing play. Instead NDSU gets the ball at the 30 and it's light out from there. It's gotten a lot less frustrating over the years, now these games are just a given. You have to be able to make plays to beat them, since they'll never have an off night in the playoffs, no team in FCS is capable of it (one team was, one year). Can't wait to watch Lance Moore eclipse Easton Sticks play over the next four years!

Game over.

Correct. As others have said, great job by the coaching staff, this was one of the two positions that were big question marks coming into next season. This has solidified that position, him being a sophomore next year is an exclamation point on top of the get.

I love it, the more league teams within driving distance the better.

World Junior A Update: Going into the final day (Canada West has played their 4 preliminary games, every other team will play their 4th today), Blaisdell leads the tournament in goals (4) and is tied for the lead in points with (5). Strictly looking at points, Bast (3 points in 4 games) and Pinto (2 points in 3 games), seem to be holding their own as well.

Craig Button's updated top 62 has: 46. Blaisdell 53. Pinto 59. Caulfield

World Junior A: Blaisdell - 2G 1A 3P (3GP) Bast - 1G 2A 3P (3GP) Pinto - 1G 1A 2P (3GP) Rizzo - 1A 1P (3GP) Frisch / Miller - 0P (3GP) The point leaders are at 4, so a great showing so far from Blaisdell / Bast so far.

At the break UND is 9-7-1 (3-5-0 in conference) and 16th in the PWR. Positives: Scheel: .913 SV%, but if you exclude one game against Western he's at a .923 SV%. If you take away own goals it would be even better. What has impressed me the most is his positioning, the guy always is in control. Being just a freshman, UND will be in great hands for years to come. Defensive Core: We knew they would be solid and deep going into the season and they are. Based on expectations, I would say Kierstad is the guy that has stuck out the most in a good way. He'll be an all-conference player before his time is done at UND. Senden: This guy is the ideal 4th line player, love what he brings. Negatives: Forwards: Overall, they've been the least effective group that UND has had in 20+ years. That being said, their injury situation has been ridiculous and when healthy, they will improve. Special Teams: Again, probably the worst overall (PP / PK combined) that UND has had in 20+ years. The PP is already a lost cause, but I liked the way the PK played down the stretch. That will be better in the 2nd half, we just need to hope that it can play at the level where it ends out canceling the PP. Overall, they realistically are only a game off of where I thought they'd be (10-6-1). Their non-conference record is solid and they played about even (- for Bemidji series, + going 3-0 against Big Ten). The Western Michigan series at home is only series you highlight on the conference portion. Looking ahead: You start with two crucial non-conference games against a bad Canisius team (on the road). Like UAA, those are the last truly "must sweep" weekends of the year. Their second have conference schedule opens and closes with two series against the two worst teams in the NCHC in Omaha and CC, which I like. You split the home / away weekends with the tough portion of you schedule (SCSU / UMD at home), (Denver / Western) on the road. If I were to hand pick those four series, the two I'd want at home would be SCSU / UMD, since I believe those are the two best teams. It's been a roller coaster first half, but believing two things (1) Special Teams can't be worse (2) Overall scoring can't be worse, I think this team has a great opportunity to have a better second half than first half and I think we'll see them in Fargo for the regionals.

Someone recently posted the PP stats from years past and as we all know, it's never been good, that being said, the PP this year is on a entirely different level. It's hard to comprehend how it's this bad. I can confidently say, if they didn't practice it at all and the coaching staff said to the team, you guys figure it out, it wouldn't be any worse. It's not that they just don't score, it kills the momentum they have every time. Here's a guarantee, there will be a couple games in the second half where they will go something like 3 for 5 and 4 for 8, probably against Canisius and Omaha which will somewhat save the overall percentage (from being in the bottom 10 in the country). Others have said it, but it's the timely PP goals that you really need. Not the two they got in in a 6-2 loss to Western.

That was the first gut punch of the season. This isn't the first game they've lost that they probably deserved to win this year, but that they way they lost that one was heartbreaking. Hockey can be a cruel game. It's funny that of the last three games, this one being the loss, it's after this game that I feel the most confident in this team. This team doesn't have and will always lack the top end talent offensively, but I really like where they could get to offensively when healthy. They won't ever be a great offense, but with the goaltending / defense they have, they could end up being a real solid team. The Smith / Senden / Hain line would be a fantastic 4th line. How I'd like to see it. Mismash / Jones / Kawaguchi JJ / Gardner / Adams Hoff / Weatherby / Keane Smith / Senden / Hain That's not a bad forward group.

This It's annoying that both were retaliatory, with the other guy getting nothing, but like @sprig said, slash him back them, don't spear.

It's pretty crazy that you can a quarterfinal game with 100% certainty 5 minutes into the game.