SKondrashkin

I don't think Hain returning had anything to do with it. Calder is a goalscoring top 2 line player. With Calder we had 5 guys in realistic contention for those 4 wing positions; at least starting out. Gaber, Costantini, Calder, Caulfield and Blake. Maybe Calder realized he was on the outside looking in, and being a 24 y.o. transfer wanted a guaranteed top 2 line role. That said, I'd rather have Calder than, say, Caulfield. Calder was quite good until his arm injury. Caulfield has been the epitome of inconsistency and, to a degree, lackadaisical play his entire career here. Yea I get he's a home-town kid, but still.

Of course it is. But we were so good those years, expectations exceeded the norm. We couldve realistically won 5 national titles in a row from 97-01. Arguably the 2 best teams (top to bottom) of that era were the ones that choked it away in 98 and 99.....led by Blake as an upperclassman. Anyways, it's a completely different situation to compare Blake to Gaber.

You must have not been around back then. With the talent on those Blake-led late 90s teams, 1 title was a disapointment.

Jason Blake? He was involved in 2 of the most infamous playoff collapsing season in our programs history. Those 98 and 99 teams thouroughly steamrolled everybody, yet choked when it mattered.

It sucks losing like this, but this team deserves a lot of credit. They greatly overachieved; especially considering Sanderson was out half the year. Nobody in their wildest dreams expected a league title out of these guys.

Assuming Kleven stays.......... Gaber - Schmaltz - Blake Costantini - McLaughlin - Calder Kunz - Jamernik - Caulfield Portz - Ness - Albrecht Frisch - Johnson Kleven - Jandric Moore - Bast Hellsten Hedquist

The size of GF can be a problem. Berry alludes to this when he talks about the recruiting process. Its at 29:20

3rd string goalie. Same role he had when he won a title with us.