Irish

Some of what to fix is behind the scenes and can only be identified by us by what we can see (culture). What we can see is a lack of mental toughness - horrible lack of discipline for inopportune penalties, defense repeatedly out of place even this late in the season, lackadaisical passes, giving up leads and failure to concentrate during the first and last two minutes of periods. Other concerns are that we can see are lack of development among returners, getting beat to many blue chippers, total lack of goalie recruitment, and our outdated style of play. It worries me that we are losing high end talent because of our outdated philosophy. How to fix it is harder but we have an experienced coaching staff who need to figure it our and right soon. I hope our coaches aren't so rigid that they cant make changes. No way we shouldn't be able to sell our program to high end prospects.

Nailed it - And the lapses on defense have not gotten better during the season which frustrates me to no end. Add in total lack of discipline for stupid penalties and you have this season in a nutshell. The question is will Berry have enough insight and flexibility to look at what is happening and make changes or will we just more of the same?

Here's the million dollar question - Does hockey Bubba have the introspection to question why we are losing Blue Chippers who want to play under a better system, why we have the worst goaltending in the country, why many players have regressed during the offseason, why we seem to rely on the portal instead of getting top recruits, why we play with absolutely no discipline - from lack of defensive positioning to lazy passes to giving up leads to our studs taking horrible 5 penalties without regard to the team? Can he look at himself and staff and make changes? Or is he more like Football Bubba who doubles down for more of the same. I hope he can take a hard look at things or we need to strap in for a bumpy ride. And expect no help from our absent AD. There is absolutely no reason we should miss the playoffs or expect St. Clown to come in and kick our A**. Time to get it done or move on.

How do you like us now?

Which makes you wonder - are we mid-judging them, are we putting them in a system that doesn't work for them, or are we not developing them?

This really illustrates how far our recruiting has dropped off - I knew it was down but come on - we need to get our program back on track. Berry and Co. need to figure it out right soon.

It's not the climate as much as Berry's playing style - Denver let's them play, we seem to stifle scorers.

That is the Million Dollar Question. I would have bet all I had that we would never have the worst goaltending in the country.

Of course there is more to it - like selling our program, tradition, facilities, fan base, high profile destination games, player development, and the chance to be in the hunt every year. If our coaches can't do that then we need new coaches. Of course things have changed but when we are going to St. Clown and expecting to get our a**** kicked there is something not right.

Exactly this - and it makes me worry about the future of our program. We used to be the program that Blue Chippers went to in order to develop into NHL players (remember Parise) - now we're not and players know it. The odds of Berry adapting are slim and none. It always amazes me that many coaches who are extremely knowledgeable have a huge blind spot when it comes to their "system". Time to right this ship before we slip any more. Recruiting will become increasingly difficult - just look at our inability to recruit and develop a top goalie.

Lack of improvement not only from last year to this year but from game to game this year is a big concern.

And what's worse is that they have been doing this all season long - Absolutely no corrections - game after game. And we have many veterans on the team. What happens between reviewing game film and the next game because we are back to doing the exact same things and getting burned.

Our attempts at break-outs last night were brutal.

And if so maybe he shouldn't

So - it's come down to this - We have the best facilities, the best attendance and a fan base that travels like no other, destination games, 8 Nattys, and a proven system of developing NHL talent and we are anticipating an ass-kicking from St. Cloud? After watching tonight's game something is seriously wrong with our program - and nothing is changing especially our play. Time to clean house? Sadly Chaves likes to renew 5-6 coaches.

We didn't used to be - but now????

So - this is our culture now? We seriously need a change - chances it will happen - 0%. All the talk about defensive responsibility - good one.

And it's only the end of January -

Looking at Hockey, Football, Men's and Women's basketball and volleyball can you think of a worse overall time for Sioux sports? Only Women's basketball is on the upswing and they spent years floundering and are not yet close to a conference championship. The overall state of our athletics is not good.

You are correct that coaches at the college level have much more in-depth knowledge and expertise than those of us here on this board. However, it is very possible for a coach to be so enamored and committed to their philosophy and systems that they are slow to adapt or change with the times. It can be very difficult to do an self evaluation. In addition, coaches are 100% responsible for the roster - evaluating talent and intangibles and selling the program. If everyone on this board is wrong about all of the line-up and game items it still doesn't explain why we have the worst goaltending in the nation. That's squarely on the coaches.

You are correct about draft picks - however it would matter if we lose many of our good young recruits so we can continue playing like we have been in this cluster of a season.

But what about our Culture that Berry talks about and recruits for?

Not trying to put you on the spot - just asking because of your hockey knowledge

Any theories on why a team with our experience and at this point in the year can't understand basic defensive positioning, assignments, and coverage. Game after Game. This is the big mystery of this team.

I am seriously concerned about our Hockey program. No way we should miss the tournament 3 out of 5 years. No way we should have the worst goaltending in the nation. Our defense (especially returnees) has regressed. We don't have the mental discipline to hold leads, play where you should be position-wise, or not take stupid penalties - to say nothing about our first and last 2 minutes of each period lapses. We seem gassed late in the game. I hope this turns around next year but I am worried - most of our rivals have had much more success lately and seem to move forward and adapt. Interestingly, the person in charge of goalie development and recruitment is mentioned as a possible successor. I don't look for any help or changes from the Athletic Department. Chaves is presiding over probably the lowest overall point that I can remember in Sioux athletics - look at Football, Hockey, Men's and Women's Basketball, and Volleyball and tell me how successful we are. Only Women's Basketball seems to be improving. When we look at the St. Cloud series and expect to get hammered changes need to be made. I just don't think we will make them.