OopsSioux

I agree mostly. I don't want to harp on Berry but UNDs performance under his leadership seemed so lackadaisical at times. I started watching UND hockey during the Blais years and got to enjoy the entirety of the Hakstol tenure. Hakstol to Berry was a drastic change and not for the better. I know I'll get chastised for saying this but Hak simply did more with less. Yes, I know the names of his chippahs. His teams were known to start out slow but at the end of the year they were always there. They were always there even when they were clearly not the most talented team. They never won it all under his leadership but very rarely did his teams not show up and most of his teams outperformed expectations when it counted. The teams had dignity and guts. Berry quite obviously lost the locker room at the end but even before that (sans year 1) the teams just seemed misguided, lost, sloppy. Last season was a perfect example. They may not have been the most talented team in the nation last year but very few teams had more talent than UND and they didn't even make the NCAA tournament. I don't miss the routine no look drop passes and regular lost battles against the boards.

Tough game so far. I felt like there was some indication of this against ASU. The difference is UMD is a much better team than ASU and the small mistakes turn into extra zone time. All UND needs to do is clean up their game a bit and then sustain pressure

You are wrong if you wait for someone to punch you before you retaliate. You're assuming all the risk in a self defense situation. You gonna let some dingbat stab you first too? Gavin probably should have walked away. The other dumbass definitely should've walked away. If the storyline holds true I hope the charges against Gavin are dropped entirely. If it makes it to court I hope his charges are acquitted by the jury. Dude with a broken jaw should equally be charged with crimes...disorderly, disturbing the peace, harassment, heck I'd like to see a charge for assaulting Gavin's fist with his face. I'm not for violence but I'm even moreso against rewarding degenerates for being degenerate. The guy took it upon himself to place himself in a risky situation, own it. What's legal is a different matter unfortunately.

As far as I'm concerned if the link brianvf shared turns out to be accurate I'm down with McKenna being acquitted of all charges. Douchebaggery should not be rewarded with settlements or otherwise and the douchebags shouldn't be surprised when capable people actually give them what they're asking for.

Gavin is a young man. Anyone can have their emotions get the most of them. It's not as if we haven't seen examples of bad behavior in Grand Forks by athletes as well. That being said, it's difficult to make any actual judgements about Gavin aside from the facts. I'm betting no one here actually knows him. The fact is he made a mistake, will be punished accordingly, and rightfully so. What he does from here will define his character and quite frankly may really affect his future. I hate to hear of these types of incidents as for men like Gavin this can be a turning point and he'll determine how good or bad it turns out. He has so much potential. I hope it doesn't get wasted.

I thought the same. Arizona seemed to be happy playing an up tempo style and at times it was working for them. The style of play seemed to really bait Nodak into some mistakes but in the end the depth and talent of Nodak won out.

Hats off to Arizona. They really gave UND fits along the way.

I haven't had a lot of chances to watch yet this year but your assessment seems to be true from I've seen. It's a bit discombobulated right now. Honestly it looks better than last year to me but I'm noticing some of the dumb lazy plays that stood out to me over the past couple years. No look drop passes, standing around, getting beat to pick on the boards...etc.

With such a young team and all those new faces I expect some growing pains. It is frustrating but expected. The reality is no one was sure how this team would be out of the gate and it is going to take some time. I'm really hopeful that no matter how good this team ends up actually being that they can be gritty and take on an identity where any matchup could result in a win. They need to shore up mistakes and get their feet moving from what I can see. The rest will come with their inherent talent.

Does anyone else think nchc.tv is terrible?

What about Adam Benak? Czech but playing in USHL for Youngstown. He has small stature, but has a lot of talent, speed, and has great vision. Probably more a set-up playmaker type. Does anyone know if he's looking to play NCAA? He's uncommitted as far as I know.

I'd like to know if Chavez researched past and present players to get an idea of what was actually going on. This feels like the easy way out and I'll need to see consistent results, like three successful and successive seasons, to change my mind.

I think the most important part of being a head coach is the ability to motivate whomever you have on your roster and your staff as well. A team with moderate talent that is ready to believe they can perform better is often the team that does perform well. Getting the most out of your guys is a true testament to your ability. Identifying weaknesses and strengths and scheming to them is another important trait.

Bottom line I'm happy to see they're moving on from Berry. Watching the teams of the last few years has been pretty uninspiring. The last game of the year was a perfect example and was status quo. It truly feels like a ton of the mistakes that were still being made at the end of the season were absolutely correctable through coaching. To note: I think the talent pool of this year's UND team was fine. Certainly not the best but they should have been better. No look passes seemingly normal in your own end , lackadaisical breakouts, the worst penalty kill I've ever seen by UND, poor goaltending (not in the final game.). Just overall the grit Berry was talking about was awful and not there. Haks teams even when less talented still always developed some kind of an identity through the season and generally played much better. These few years remind me Lucia's tenure at the goofs.

Fair statement as long as the University doesn't use the womens accolades as its own. You know like when I received pamphlets about the university stating stats like the number of olympians which included those women. UND is so proud of these ladies. Yeah right. Let the ladies sue all they want. They win they win. They lose they lose. It's not like they owe the University a damned thing.