AJS

Preliminary thoughts: Seniors: I hope like last year, it's decided they will all be moving on. Not that there aren't some you wouldn't want to return of course, but the one's that would probably take them up on the offer are ones I'm fine moving on from. It's easier / cleaner just to cut the cord with all. Early Departures: Two: That's what I feel is about the best case scenario. If they can get away with JBD / Pinto being the only two, they should still be in the mix. It's critical: Sanderson, Scheel, Weatherby return. With the large Senior class, plus most likely a few others turning pro, UND needs to stop the bleeding and return those core members. Additions: This is the first time in a long time I really don't have a firm grip on who will come in. A lot of Forwards putting up Ok / Good numbers. BCHL not playing. It's just hard to get a read. Transfers: Michaud was a homerun. Is there a Top 6 guy out their (i.e. Cruikshank) that could change expectations going into next year? Always a little nerve wracking after the season ends and wait on players to decide. Each player individually is so important to the outlook the next year. Also, we've seen it over the years, you never know, each player is so different. There could always be surprises. I'll wait on expectations for next year until we get a more clear view of what the roster will look like.

This is beyond pathetic

Never expect anything differently when they play NDSU, will be humiliating every single time.

Yes

I'd up it to the best player in College hockey.

I looked into that a few weeks back, since all you heard about was how young NDSU was. They do have a small Senior Class (9) vs UND’s (15), but they have a monster Junior Class (24) compared to UND’s average sized (16). It’s very comparable between the two schools.

I would say speaking very generally. Offense: Advantage UND Defense: Advantage NDSU ST: Advantage NDSU

Absolutely the biggest game of the D1 era for UND. A win would. Boost the perception change regionally and nationally (FCS level) of UND Football. In this shortened Spring Season it would truly put UND in the drivers seat for the Conference Championship along with a potential playoff seed Put NDSU on the ropes for the Spring playoffs. My biggest area of concern this week is Special Teams. Specifically Punting / Punt Returning. Through four games that's the one area that is pretty clear that UND's opponent always has the advantage. Play even on turnovers and they should have a shot.

Looks like a real solid pickup. I'm guessing he'll be on campus this Fall as a True Freshman.

Hope you reminded him! I always find it so bizarre when somebody has to make a point to point out of the obvious. I mean who cares.

Definitely "their".

Learning more about the Spring season and the Missouri Valley Football Conference with each completed week. Western (along with Missouri State) seem to be the worst teams in the Conference, by a long shot. If UND is a true Top 10 team, this one shouldn't be close. Simple as that.

I had a pretty lengthy post before the SDSU game, one of the main take a points was how important with the league change this Spring season is for UND. It's an opportunity to change the perception of your program quickly. Now the discussion regionally is "let's see how they do on the road". Which is more than fair. Recently they have been a much better home than road team. This team has so much momentum right now, such a big opportunity to keep it going. I will say, I like how this team is built this year. Being strong on the Lines, being able to run and stop the run is a winning formula playing on the road. I know this has been asked before, but does anyone know if Beach will be able to return this Spring? They've played well so far, but having 2 of 4 NT's being injured as it's such a unique position makes you nervous if anything happens to one of the two that are healthy.

That's an important sentence. The vertical passing game hasn't clicked, yet. It also won't be his bread and butter, but to me he's shown adequate arm strength, most throws are just a little off. He's also in just his 4th game as a Redshirt Freshman. Reps / Experience are so important right now for him. With the mix of experience / youth on Offense, it's exciting times for UND.

I think the only schools UND is guaranteed to play every year is NDSU, USD, SDSU.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/education/6912143-UND-spring-enrollment-numbers-stay-similar-to-last-year Some of the key takeaways. Down 17 Students from Spring 2020 and 101 from Spring 2019 Total Count 13,011 Undergraduate - 9,093 Graduate - 3,423 Law School - 206 Medical School - 289 I do want to focus on this note. Armacost did note that there has been a reduction in on-campus enrollment, and an increase in both online and graduate students at the university. I know this has been asked before. What % of UND's students are online? I hope it's not disproportionate to other peer institutions.

Week 1 had 3 WR Spots / 1 TE. Week 2 has 2 WR Spots / 2 TE Spots.

From a strictly preview analysis, I don't have a lot to offer. It's the weighing Game 1 vs your expectations based on last years results. I really don't know what to expect. What I do want to talk about is the incredible opportunity that this weekend gives this program. Not being in the Missouri Valley I do feel has really hurt this program from a notoriety standpoint regionally. Which I do feel hurts recruiting to a certain extent, or just general enthusiasm around the Football team. You are recruiting against all the schools (Dakota / UNI) and you don't play any of them, for the most part. You aren't being talked about in the media outside of GF. Of course, winning big games and capitalizing on momentum has been an issue that plays into it as well. I felt a shift after Game 1 of being in the Valley. I can guarantee if the same thing happened, but instead of being in the Valley, UND was still independent or in the Big Sky, there would have been different opinions than we saw. More dismissive. This was a long winded way of saying UND can change the perception of their Football program regionally in a hurry by winning games against teams like the Jacks. The momentum swing a win would get this program could not be overstated.

I really like the attitude it appears most have here about Game 1. Consistency along with not being able to capitalize on momentum have really been UND's Achilles heel under Bubba. They need to prove it consistently. Huge opportunity against SDSU.

100%. Their AD mentioned earlier that for them to break even (I'm not sure exactly what term he used), they needed around 10K in the seats for Football games this Spring. That's what they are going to get. As a UND fan it was one of the hardest pills I've had to swallow, but a few years ago I finally came to terms that the two Universities just don't seem to have the same mindset. It's incredibly frustrating, but it just is. Just another example.

It would be hard to describe how big that would be. Any word on Canady, Tobin, Nguon or Turner and if they are looking to play again this Fall?

We're kind of going in circles here, so I'm going to leave it alone after this one. I find it surprising that anyone has a problem with calling an average team average. Sweeping anyone in the NCHC on the road is not easy. Average does not equal awful. Average is Average. The way I always look at it. Top 3 teams: Split (both at home / road) Teams 4-6: Sweep Home / Split Road Bottom 2: Sweep Both Home / Road Of course this won't be perfect, but you do that on a regular year and you'll have a good shot at Winning the regular season championship.

You don’t overlook any team. Not sure how that correlates to thinking they are average. You think they are above average?

I still cannot believe the combination of Omaha's 3rd, 4th and 5th goals. Talk about one of those nights. We won't see back to back to back goals like that for a long, long time. Talent level isn't close. Omaha is not a Top 4 NCHC team.

Agreed. Omaha is average. I feel better about getting them four more times than I did before this weekend.