NDHockey

I feel that Coach Hakstol is throwing Coach Eades under the bus a bit. Seems to be making it seem like Eades was the reason why things weren't getting accomplished. That could cost our head coach if it back fires.

I would expect a kid that got expelled from the program to be a little sore about it and act like he is happy about it. It is sort of like the guy who gets dumped by the hot chick and then acts like she was really ugly afterward. It's just sour grapes. Kids don't get kicked out of that program unless there is a pretty big discipline issue.

I don't like it when they leave college but I don't consider it quite as bad as some here seem to. He finished out the season with his team and did his best. He doesn't owe them more than that once the season concludes. Seems like a number of kids bail out on Miami. You have to wonder if they are going to take a step back after the NCHC forms.

I don't believe this is accurate. What I read was he planned to play one more year at his high school and then play at Omaha a couple of seasons. He'll only be a sophomore next year. http://futureconsiderations.ca/gersich-goes-1st-overall-in-ushl-futures-draft/

buckysieve is right. Home crowd advantage is obvious. But home ice? We've played more games at Xcel in recent years than the Gophers have and it is the same size rink we play on all year. Other than travel, it really isn't as much of a home ice advantage as some people play it up to be. Even the travel variable is overrated given teams show up ahead of time and usually have a full day to relax and get their bearings.

Yes because we know that the NTDP kicks players out of the program for minor offenses.

Eveybody thinks they can straighten a kid out. College coaches in all sports think this way when they recruit a troubled yet talented teen. The problem is they often end up wrong as a coach and other players aren't going to babysit a guy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We've seen other players with far less of a bad reputation get into trouble here so I think it is risky to think Voltin is going to suddenly be an angel here.

I know I will probably be in the minority on this but I am not sure it is worth it to land Jones. No doubt he is a great talent but those one year hired guns don't really seem to work out well in building a program. You know he is going to leave quickly after the following season and then you just end up having to possibly fill a roster spot late in the spring or summer.

As somebody who attended games on a relatively regular basis during those years, I think you are allowing your dislike of the other side to get in the way of reality. I'll need to take a shower after this post since I am agreeing with a couple of Goof fans but they are much more accurate on the attendance than you seem willing to admit. Of course, a few of the series were well attended but the percentage of seats filled in those days was not very good.

Kristo didn't hit Marshall with his back turned and try to drive his head into the boards? I'm all for ripping the Goofs but sometimes I think some of my fellow fans live in a bubble when it comes to this stuff. It's not like none of our guys have never done anything questionable on the ice.

There are players in the CHL have played in the NHL. It's just that they are returned to their CHL team before they reach the 10 game limit.

I'm all for bad mouthing the Goofs. But 2 goals against per game is pretty darn good and he is right that Patterson's save percentage is not out of this world. Putting the two together, you have to figure their team defense has been pretty good. Certainly puck possession plays a role too but I haven't seen our puck possession abilities in past seasons stop us from being proud of our defensive performance under Hak.

Were there any recruits in this weekend? Seems like a big series like this would be a perfect time for visits.

This kid's dad played in the WHL and this kid has been drafted in the WHL in the 4th round. Allow me to remain a little uneasy about this commit given our recent luck with similar cases.

It is double edged sword. I understand what you mean about adding some credibility. But I think it is also fair to point out that with an exception or two, the one and done type of player usually doesn't work out quite as well as fans expect. They often don't scratch the surface of what they might do in college before they sign. I like when we get big name talent but quick departures can also make it more difficult for a coach to build a team in the long term.

If we don't have HD by now, I'd suspect the leadership of the media people don't see the investment in HD capabilities as making all that much of a difference to their business.

CBS is definitely in the bottom of the three when it comes to the benefits it will bring a hockey conference. Especially when the NCHC is a fledgling conference trying to gain some footing in building a brand presence. In terms of revenue it will provide us, it is a distant 3rd place. It won't come close to the revenue of the B1G and its promotional focus on one conference. NBC is much better as well because of its NHL connection. Losing Notre Dame was a definite killer for the NCHC and this is further proof.

But how long can we expect either them to be around? Grimaldi is already going to have one year burned up after his draft and Schmaltz seems like a 1 or 2 year college player. Just as we point out about other teams, we have to look at our own and wonder how long they'll be here. Heck, as we saw with JT Miller, you may even have to ask if they'll even show up!

I don't think it will have much of an effect on us other than I do think the competition from big schools for those players will increase. I was speaking more in terms of other NCHC teams that are further away. CC is a big example. They have done a lot of recruiting of MN kids over the years and a part of their attractiveness for MN kids and their families is they knew they'd still be playing roughly a third of their schedule in their homestate even if they went all the way out west. That will no longer be the case. The lack of a quality TV deal will also hurt in that same vein. I actually expect the other Big Ten schools and Notre Dame to be more of a challenge for MN kids than we have seen in the past. Notre Dame's presence on TV, its national academic reputation, and a new arena are going to be attractive. I also hear they are negotiating with the Big Ten for regular non-conference games so that will help too. If you read that article in the St. Cloud paper on how SCSU got into our conference, it was clear from Bob Motzko's point of view that Notre Dame is very interested in becoming a greater hockey presence in Minnesota due to its recruiting opportunities. I think the Big Ten hockey conference will create more of a MN presence for programs like Michigan State and Ohio State. They barely get any publicity in the Twin Cities market now but that certainly won't be the case in a few years. They will definitely try to capitalize on that.

I actually feel the recruiting of Twin Cities kids for most NCHC teams will take a bit of a hit after the conference changes. All of the NCHC teams will be playing less within MN's borders and will certainly be playing less often in the Twin Cities than they do now. Families won't be able to see their kids play as often or as easily as they do now. The playoff venue may help a bit but even then only 4 teams make that.

No. But I don't think it is irrational to point out we haven't been above it either.

I'm saying we shouldn't point fingers. I was around back in the 90s when we were not very good and they were. It didn't stop us from hating on them in the very same way. Never has and never will whether we are up or down as a team.

Something tells me he hasn't been around college hockey very long. This kind of trash talk has been going on for decades from both sides whether it was warranted or not.

I don't think this point can be overemphasized. We will be playing more time in our defensive zone this year than we did last season and that means more chances for the other team to jump on any mistakes we make.

Certainly UMD lost some good players but not half as good? I find that to be more talk than truth. They still look pretty talented up front. In fact, I'd say they have better forwards than we do considering all that we lost. I think it all evens out to some degree. We have better returning defense but they have a better returning offense.