Brim006

Yes but since I didnt get to watch the game on TV I just assumed like most years we dont even have a guy that can kick it anywhere close to the end zone. If he's already proved that, and can dial it into the corner that is fantastic and an upgrade from what I'm used to seeing.

I was thinking Mattern was going to ASU this season but looks like it'll be 2027-2028. Hopefully he has a stronger season in the USHL this year.

Any other towns or teams getting hit hard by early departures? Per usual, it feels and sounds like the Bismarck teams and Minot have taken the blunt of it. In fact, it kind of sounds like BHS, CHS, Legacy and Minot have lost more this season than the rest of the state combined. Or am I way off? In lighter news, unlike every year recently, I haven't heard of any new ones out of GPR, DL, or Bott/R or HB. In fact for the DL case, it sounds like they may have even gotten one back that had left for EGF, but I believe that's probably Bantam age. I'm assuming the Fargo and WF teams lose quite a bit, but I maybe just don't hear as much about those.

Howdy. Do you guys happen to have a backup kicker we can borrow or trade for?

I'm hoping Jerry is sitting the 2nd half, and we see JTJ settle in a bit more...via leading AT LEAST ONE scoring drive. Seeing him zip a few ropes, and save a few drives with his legs on long 3rd downs would be nice too. If he fails on his first drive they need to get Sulkik in the rest of the game. I fully expect the 2nd stingers on D to have a much better game. And for the love of god, I hope UND misses 0 XP, kicks a few touchbacks, and dare I say even nail a FG over 35 yards?!?!?!?!?!?!!? I'd walk away after this game feeling better than last week if we see at least most of this wish list happen.

yeah they deleted it LOL. They must have found it was something on their end that was the issue after the fact.

My god, they still haven't figured out the horrific sound system issues or the insane parking issues? Did they at least open the cat walks back up for fans?

Good news - Jerry showed immediately and sustainably that he's on another level and LIU didn't even deserve to be on the field at the same time as him. I'm glad they took him out immediately since that is something that didnt happen enough in the past. I hope he doesnt see the 2nd half of a game until Nebraska. Bad news - JTJ still not being able to even really show flashes of capability against that bad of a team means he just doesnt have it and they need to move him to QB3. That also means this team is insanely reliant on Jerry staying healthy. Yes JTJ was working with some backup OL, RBs and WRs, but not entirely. And honestly, even with that, UND's 2s should still be far better than LIU starters and also, he should easily be able to make more plays all on his own...but he didnt and just apparently can't. Experiment over. They need to give Sulik a shot at 2QB next week when UND is up by 3-4 scores. UNDs OL and RBs are top tier, but a 1 dimensional offense will not win you games, so a solid qb2 is needed badly at this point because the season might be riding on it. White pill - the 2nd stringers will be fine, depth will be fine (other than maybe QB), and this team will be SOLID when Jerry is healthy. A lot of the 2nd stringers got their first snaps in yesterday, some of which at an entirely new position or team or college football all together, and now they got their jitters out of their system in a blow out win instead of later in a tight game. I think we will see a lot better performance from the 2nd stringers next week, especially when the floor is all theirs in the 2nd half.

That’s a good point. USA hockey numbers show there were 35% more players in 2025 than in 2000. That’s huge. As much as I dislike all these changes and even though a lot of it is just money grabs, I think it was inevitable that there’d be some changes and evolution with that large of growth that fast. It’s essentially going to be skimming off the top…most of which didn’t exist before. In 2025 ND had about 1,500 more youth hockey players than we had just 15 years ago in 2010. 25% growth! MN grew by 20% in that same span showing nearly 10,000 more players than 2010. But with that said, essentially the same number of college hockey teams exist, so it’s 30% harder to make a d1 team than it was 20 years ago and 30% harder to make the NHL. People are trying to create an edge to pull away from the pack to improve their odds. Which would make sense if that “solution” hadn’t gotten diluted and even practically fraudulent. The quickest and easiest fact I like to share with folks to really put things into perspective is that only 30-35% of boys drafted in the 2nd round of the nhl draft actually play a single NHL game…..and only 10-15% of boys drafted in the 3rd round or later in the nhl draft ever play in a single nhl game. Doh…

Is this about right for BHB numbers for last year and/or this year (plus high schools)? Mini + Termites — 250 (boys and girls) Mites — 190 (boys and girls) Squirts — 140 (10 teams) Peewees — 120 (6 teams) Bantams — 110 (5 teams) High School — 100 (3 teams + 3 JV)

So Bismarck Bantam AA and 15U pools being gutted is what was meant by that, not the entire BHB, gotcha thanks. I'll be curious how many move up to play JV. And the two (?) kids that are leaving for pilot mound were both 2nd year bantam AAs last year correct? So the high school teams lost them for this year, not BHB correct?

Bismarck Hockey Boosters is getting gutted? Looks like the exact same staff as last year from what I can tell. What did you mean by that? And I keep hearing how eager everyone is to avoid NDHSH, leaving early, and now even to the point where Bantam AA kids are skipping high school all together to go play in Pilot Mound and wherever else....but now you are saying the opposite. Kids are now eager to leave youth clubs to go play high school early instead, even if it means playing JV? That doesn't make any sense to me. Unless maybe we are talking like 1 or 2 kids which isnt a trend, but more so just a blip. As far as I can tell, Bismarck still has very strong youth numbers, in fact another record breaking year for however many years in a row now, and absolutely will have Bantam AA again. Rumor mill seems to be going off the rails a bit.

The education part of these hockey academies is what I always try to point out. They call it “remote schooling,” but it’s basically a Zoom teacher beamed into what might as well be a boys locker room. I know how me and my buddies were at that age we would’ve learned absolutely nothing. Zero. Maybe negative even outside of epic new dirty jokes. And some of these kids are like 15. They’re pulled from normal school, pulled from parents, and dropped into a lifestyle only with other teammates who all live together even after school and practice and traveling games. So no strong mentors outside of coaches who are obviously focused on the hockey aspect first. It’s not education it's year round hockey camp. So when a USHL offer doesnt pan out and these kids get thrown back into normal life, I'd image they set themselves back a few years vs their peers whether they want to admit it or not.

Picture Munich, ND but with a hockey rink instead of a tin shop, fewer trees, drier and worse roads. So bizarre…

Oh maybe all 3 of the most recent are GFC? But didn’t RR lose at least one early as well or all their top guys were SRs?