soohockey15

If all of you want the wide-open style of hockey you better pray the Wcha opens it up cause with the clutching and grabbing that goes on now, it won't happen.

Yep, cause the salty offense was just POURING goals past Muse....

Now, some of you won't agree with this, some of you will. One of the main reason that UND become just a hotbed for NHL defensemen has a lot to do with coaching. Hale, Greene, Commodore, Jones, etc...they all developed under Brad Berry here at UND. Ask people around, not only the area, but the country who KNOW hockey and they will support the notion that Brad Berry was one of the finest defensive coaches in North America. When a player comes to a school like this it's to develop their play to get it ready for the next level. Finley is leaps and bounds ahead of where he was when he came in as a Frosh, but it's also my opinion that under Berry, as opposed to Eades (who is just fine in his own right), he may have been two years and out. Coaching will only go as far as a players drive will take him. I believe Finley has it and will be fine. He just needs a hardcore tune-up on some, if not most, of his skills. It's always great to have a Senior leader back, i'm just saying don't overstate his impact.

Haha, what a dumb idea

Um....ok?

This was a tough situation for both sides for many reasons. First, in this day and age if you want the prized recruits, a college must go after them at ridiculous ages. Fifteen is a ridiculous age. When it comes down to it, the kid is the only one who ultimately gets to choose what will work best for him. Think of when your fifteen, there is no chance your ready to make decisions like that. At such a young age your not nearly mature enough to make life-choices. For UND, and as i'm sure will be the case with more schools, taking a chance on the really young kids (especially the canadian kids) will be a very dangerous thing and you will often get bit by it. From the kids standpoint, giving a verbal commitment at fifteen means something, yes, but it's not legally binding by any means. It's been forever known, and widely considered true, that playing Major Juniors in Canada is a much faster track to the NHL than going the college route is. Any one who watched the Memorial Cup would know that level of hockey is much more equivalent to the NHL style, not the BS grab and hook that exists in college hockey today. Lastly, the Gregoire situation is in NO WAY apples and oranges to this situation. It's almost worst, backing out of one at a much older age. Leave this Clarke kid alone. He's young, listening to others, and in reality did what MANY of us would do to. It was the right choice.

Ha Ha yep

Are we aware that first-round draft picks don't stay in school four years...they just don't. Some scout became unemployed...

His showboating? Is that codeword for rediculous hockey skills. UND got played...it happens...it does. U of M lost it's best player at the middle point of this season. Stuff happens. O well

Absolutely right, how can they be so wrong three times in a row? Unfathomable!!!

Yeah, sounds great provided he has a one way ticket to a power skating camp, so his raw speed can get far far better. A shooting camp (granted shooting camps don't exist, but just go with it), so he can get his "monster" shot of quickly so it actually get's to the net. It's amazing how when a guy takes five seconds to shoot guys get in the way and block it. And lastly, a plyometric camp so he can do somethin about having quicker and better feet, Cause right now his feet are the worst in the history of big-time college hockey. As long as that's all done bring em back. Why not. P.S. We should also PRAY they don't have to play BC in the postseason again so all the forementioned flaws aren't grossly exposed again

We'll all just pretend you didn't mention Ryan Duncan IN THE SAME BREATH as Jari Kurri...I don't care what comparison your making.

It was up earlier today on the front page. Symbolizes NHL hockey as a whole.

Jay Williams, Kellen Winslow, Ben Roethlisberger, Dennis Rodman, LaVar Arrington then throw in Bourdon...kinda starting to get the picture?

I would bet we could collectively come up with twenty to thirty players who have been and UND and were better hockey players than Ryan Duncan...maybe more. And thirty points sounds about right this year unless he plays with someone who can create for others, cause he sure can't create for himself

Because these schools weren't named last week.

It's not ten credits a year. It's six credits a semester. Division one athletics don't generally go by full school terms but rather semester terms. So end that argument

It's ok everyone...since goon here considers him a blue chipper i'm on board too...just outta curiosity...why do you, Goon, consider him a blue chipper? From when you went up north and scouted him?

There was a debate about who was the better HS player. I gave my opinion. You are somehow misinterpreting my obvious statement into something ridiculous. "Living in the was"? Get real, I was just saying what I saw.

Obviously I was talking about them when they were both in HS. I was no way implying that Mertens was the same skill level now as in HS. That is just absurd.

Good lord, I played against them both and Koenig was head and shoulders better...not even close. Nothing against Mertens, Koenig was just an absolute force.

This was a long time coming.

I'm not sure why you're drunk at 2:16pm, but you sure do a great job sounding like a moron. Keep up the good work!

Me fail English? That's unpossible!

This has more to do with drunk college kids than with actual hate. There's a big, big difference.