Irish

Here's what bothers me about the Eidsness situation - Consider the recruiting conditions - we are recruiting a goalie for a team that has been to the Frozen Four the past 4 years in a row - a team that has won 7 National Championscips We have the best program, fans, and arena in college hockey We have a great team returning The goalie we recruit is almost assured of starting right away and being a four year starter If we get a stud to come in, he is going to be in the running for a National Championship for his entire career Given all this - the best we come up with is Eidsness The best we can do the next year is a guy (admittedly unproven) that can't beat out Eidsness Given all the recruiting positives, why can't we get a shut down goalie to come here? You would think the great prospects in goal would have been lined up to sign with the Sioux - Did we misjudge the talent? I agree - we'll never win it all with Eidnsess - the only hope is a kid that is still in High School. This just doesn't add up to me

Although we have some nice players comming in, in my opinion we are in desperate need of some Blue Chip scorers - a team of role players isn't getting things done. We need some top end scoring talent.

One huge difference - we were a year removed from a National Championship.

I'll admit to being one of those who was venting on the other thread (some of it fueled with alcohol and frustration). However, I think some questions are valid. Hak took over the best program in the country - one that had more Championship success over the previous 20-25 years than anyone else in the country. He also took over a program that had recently moved into the best facility in the country. Is it unreasonable to expect some Championships from him? Some posters seem to think that expecting Championships is unreasonable because they are hard to win - of course they are hard to win, that's why they are special. How long should we wait until Hak gets a team that puts it all together? No, I don't think we should win one every year, but I do think we should win one some time. He knew what the expectations were going in. Particulairly frustrating is the issue of style of play. This play to beat hell for a period and a half, get a lead, go into a shell, and piss the lead down your leg play needs to come to a screeching halt. What's wrong with keeping the pressure on? I put this issue squarely on Hak. Also, I have not seen the payoff we expected in the idea of rolling 4 lines of good players without depending on superstars and overmatching our opponents who only have one or 2 good lines. We have 4 good lines to roll, but at any given time, only 2 seem to be firing on all cyllinders. We are in desperate need of finishers. Goaltending - well it is what it is - I think this is more of an issue in assesing talent and recruiting than anything else. Eidsness appears to have topped out - I don't think he'll ever be a shut down goalie. Overall, a frustrating season with frustrating losses and a frustrating style of play. As for Blais - anytime you replace a great coach you should expect comparisons. So far I don't think Hak has quite delivered. Can he in the future? I don't know. I am extremely worried about the rest of this season, however.

Just got back from the game - Sadly, I had to settle for several of the shorter big beers - What crap - don't they have anything better to do Great effort by the Sioux - especially from the freshmen. It was nice to see them come out buzzing in the second after almost giving up the dreaded two goal lead. A few too many loose pucks floating around in front of the Sioux goal, but Eidsness held up well. Our team looked like they were out to score and put a lot of pressure on - If we continue this, we'll be tough to beat.

Hey - we're the University of North Dakota - not some two-bit program - I for one am ready to see some championship hockey and not this can't hold a 2 goal lead to save their buts crap. We need to up the intensity a couple of notches.

We need to start playing to win instead of playing not to lose. This trend is on the coaches in my opinion

We expect championship caliber play from the Sioux - not soft play in the 3rd - Come on Hak - get your team moving - I'm tired of waiting and having these kinds of issues in the first half of the year - time to produce.

The wonen's hockey program will always be a money pit. That being said, I honestly thought we'd be better this year.

Many interesting points - while I agree that at times security is far down the list of important things - however when the product on the field is poor, atmosphere and fan treatment raises a lot higher in priority. I think at this point, treatment of fans could be a make or break deal for many. If you watch the security on the student side, they spend all of their time scanning the crowd for minor infractions, and react with a heavy hand. Several students have confirmed that they are sucking the fun out of attending. The students are voting with their feet. Another year with a poor record and Alerus security and the student side will be dead. There appears to be no effort to make the atmosphere fun. They are concentrating solely on what people shouldn't do and not thinking of enhancing the experience in a positive way. If we had a 10-1 team this wouldn't be an issue, but we don't. I also agree that we should be trying to build fans, not customers, but that attitude doesn't seem to prevail in the Athletic Department or Alerus managment. Spend less time trying to catch people with their legs over the next seat and more time working on fan loyalty. It's such a simple concept. If we don't improve the atmosphere, we may lose a number of potential Sioux fans - Also, we need to put out a better product - not just wins and losses, but intensity and coaching adjustments. I have been a Sioux fan for over 30 years and two of the worst games in terms of team effort have been at home this year.

Agree with all points, especially about Alerus security - these guys are making an active attempt to ruin the game experience for most students. I'm an older fan, and not in favor of out of control rowdyness, but come on - I've sat close to the student section and the security is bound and determined to make sure no one has any fun. We need to take a serious look at this issue - I hope Faison gets this message. In addition - if you want fans to turn up for football, it would be a good idea to make sure the football team shows up also - Yesterday was as poor a football experience as I can remember in 30 years. It's not just the wins and losses - it's the total lack of intensity and play calling on both sides of the ball. Give us a better product or get used to this. I have been a football fan for years and hate to see our program suffer.

This team is such a joke that we end up talking about Southern Illinois on our game thread - what a poor effort - how can we be so flat? I hope I never hear the why isn't here a better crowd cry again. We have to put out a half-way decent product - play with some intensity.

This may be the only game where UND's defensive scheme matches up well with an opponent.

UND over the years has had several coaches who put them on track - Gene Murphy and Roger Thomas for example (I'm not forgetting Lennon, but he took over a team that was over the hump). We need one now. Whether Mussman is that coach remains to be seen. After looking at the roster, I'm stuinned to see the poor classes in our Junior and Senior groups. We have 18 seniors and play like we have 18 true freshmen. Keys - great recruiting, pulling out some tough games, winning a big one. In fairness, he needs a couple more years. I am having a tough internal battle - in my head I know it's too early to give up on Mussman, but after watching the crapfest that was the Sioux Falls game, emotionally, I'm still pissed. Besides recruiting, he must make better game plans and game day adjsutments. We need a much better effort by the coaches and team to salvage this season - Next year remains to be seen. When we start playing better, attendance will take care of itself. We also need a real conference.

I understand - we have all been reacting emotionally to the loss - some of us venting and some expressing faith in the Sioux team. It seems like some of the faithful have had a hard time hearing those of us who are frustrated. Those of us who have been venting want the Sioux to succeed also. We just hope that the necessaray adjsutments are being made. If we can play a solid game on Saturday, it will go a long way towards getting everyone aboard again. We all want the same thing - some of us were just pretty frustrated at the effort (especially by coaches) on Saturday. Lets try to put it behind us and move on. I appreciate your post.

There are many ways to figure what a "worst loss" is - point spread, physical domination, lack of effort, choke value, intangibles lost (such as playoffs or conference championships) . I feel that getting spanked by an NAIA team at home when we are trying to get some DIVISION IAA respect qualifies as a contender. It was as sad a moment in Sioux football as I can remember. It was as poor an effort from top to bottom as I have seen. If you disagaree - fine -make your case. However, I can do without your snide attitude. Keep your insults to yourself. You certainly haven't established youself as our resident expert. PS My original point was that it was somewhat silly to vote for Mussman as coach of the year after what I called our worst loss ever. Your smart ass rebuttal of me lists another loss during which he was head coach as evidence I am wrong.

My criticism of the defensive line wasn't directed at anyone in particular. I know injuries have been a factor. In addition, at times our outside linebackers play like defensive ends. My point was that you can't play at this level (and after playing Sioux Falls apparently at any level) and let the quarterback stand back and pick you apart without applying any pressure. We don't seem to have the physical size and quickness to beat anyone on the pass rush. This is a huge area of concern as evidenced by our whopping 2 sacks this year. I remember past Sioux defenses who had 2 sacks in the first series. I find this type of game especially frustrating to watch - you can see trouble comming, but can't do a thing about it. This area needs to be one of the top priorities for next year. Maybe a year of health and experience will help.

Big test to show us how our program responds to adversity. Players need to regain intensity. Coaches need to give the players an offensive and defensive scheme that puts them in a position to compete. Frankly, our line play is a problem on both sides of the ball. On offense, they don't seem to be able to open holes or move anyone for periods at a time. It seems like we go through streaks where we try to establish the run, only to continually put ourselves in a 2nd and 9 or 3rd and 8 situation. I would like to see more of a playcalling mix on first down. Continually putting Landry in a 3rd and long doesn't help him. He has had a pretty good season (with the exception of last week). Strangely, he seems to throw better off the run than in a strait drop-back. He can miss badly at times. Give him a chance to throw when they are not expecting it. Who we have at running back also matters. We need to try keep our opponents off balance more. Bamba can be a huge factor, or he can lose focus if he isn't kept busy. On defense, our line play has been horrible except for a couple of outstanding goalline stands. We need to find a way to pressure the quarterback or we will give up our usual 10-15 yards a play again. Our corners and d-backs seem to play well, but they can't make up for a lack of rush and poor coverage from linebackers. Again, we need to find a scheme that keeps our opponents off balance and makes use of our talent. Changes need to be made on defense. Overall, I think we are close in talent - the game will come down to intensity and coaching. We need to win this game to right the ship and get rid of that sour taste in our mouths. We play a good game and hopefully players and fans can move on. If not, it may be the start of a long downhill spiral.

I'm not trying to get into it with you, but I feel a need to explain again why Sioux fans are so upset and feel that this is the worst loss ever. Yes, part of it is losing to an NAIA team and seeing our discussion board turn in to a smack talk between South Dakota schools, with one of them describing how they kicked our butts. However, the way we played on Saturday is a big factor also. After their first drive, I thought "Wow, the Sioux have some work to do and adjustments to make". After the second drive I was still waiting for us to adjust. After the third drive, I was getting impatient and frustrated. When they came out after the half and did the same thing, I couldn't believe it. The people around me in the stands were able to look at their formations and predict trouble. I have never seen a coaching staff who was as consistantly outsmarted. They were always 2 steps ahead of us. It looked like we just sat back and let them dictate the game to us. When they decided to take Bamba out of the kickoff returns, we never tried to make them pay for it. We just decided to fair catch the ball no matter how much running room was available and made no effort to adjust our personnel. Coaches and players were in a completely submissive mode and let an NAIA school take it to us at home. We just didn't show up for the whole game. Because we don't have direct contact with the coaches, many of us are not sure that the coaching staff "gets it". The light certainly never went on during the game.

The student section is pretty far down the list of things that didn't look good on television yesterday.

This is a joke, right? Our coaching staff was in way over their heads against Sioux Falls. He's lucky to keep his job. He has presided over perhaps the worst loss in Sioux history.

Is anyone else stunned at our inability to make adjustments as the game went on? Take the kick-offs. It was soon clear that their strategy was to keep the ball away from Bamba and 'pooch" kick it up in the air to about the 30-35 yard line. Most of the time it went to #35, a linebacker who was in there to block or hit someone. He obviously was instructed to fair catch even with no-one within 10-15 yards of him. Why didn't we put other personnel in that spot - a recieiver or d-back for example and try to make them pay for a short kick? Hats off to the Sioux Falls coaching staff - they were so far ahead of our coaches - talk about a mismatch.

It's pretty clear we don't have the personnel to successfully run the 3-4. Our linemen get no push, not even against an NAIA school and our linebackers aren't athletic enough. However, I don't know if we have the personnel to successfully run any other defense either. What we need and don't have is the ability to make adjustments during the game. I can't think of another game where I felt we were so outcoached as yesterday. We had absolutely no answer to a couple of their formations and plays, especially when they split 3 out on the same side. Everyone in the stands could see the trouble with that formation - we simply didn't have enough defenders in the area to cover. Even after half-time, we had no answer. When a defense at the University of North Dakota gets positively owned by and NAIA school something needs to change and soon.

Agreed that this effort is totally unacceptable. I'm most disappointed with the lack of adjustments on defense. Why we couldn't cover their trip wide outs is beyond me. Even after halftime, we got burned with the same stuff. I'm not willing to put up with many more of these fiascos. I've been a Sioux fan for over 40 years, and this may be their most disgusating loss ever.