Irish

Wanting more than 1 regional win since 2016 is not unrealistic.

True - but we really need to add tournament success back into our culture.

Yes, I like UND's culture - However Spicer is going to Duluth who has a great culture too - hard-nosed disciplined hockey from end to end and showing up strong at tournament time. We'd do well to borrow a little bit of their culture at times.

Not necessary a lazy take in the context of what it will take to get us to the next level. If Bubba doesn't get better as a game manager we won't make the jump. Sadly, in my opinion, based on his body of work Bubba will not change or improve. And it's not just calls fans don't agree with - some are horrible mistakes that almost no one not named Bubba agrees with.

Simple - Berry wouldn't make the tough decision.

I wish the whole team had a bit more discipline - like we saw with Mankato - they play hard and physical but no stupid penalties. How many times did we take really inopportune penalties this year?

Good points - in those tough losses we struggled to put the puck in the net - that's why I would like some more firepower.

Great research - you went all the way back to 2010 when Hak was recruiting. Not suggesting you do it but It would be interesting to see how many blue chippers have been recruited by current staff. After seeing our lack of firepower this year it may be a concern. Since 2016 there have been 5 Frozen Fours counting this year - none in 21. Denver has made 3, Duluth 4, MInnesota State 2 and St. Cloud 1. We, on the other hand, have a total of 1 regional victory. "Blue Chippers" - meaning first rounders - may not be the solution but more firepower certainly is. Not sure what is causing this but I am hoping for a swift turn-around and winning some recruiting battles would be a good start.

I get your point - In my opinion how to achieve it is hard to quantify. In essence recruiting is basically a sales job. Think of a car salesman - some are very successful and some are not. They are all selling the same basic product - they rely on their personal relationship with their customers, their reputation - especially among former customers, the deal they offer, and the facilities they have to back them up for service and repairs. Our program has a lot to offer - we need to sell it to top recruits.

Along with almost everyone on this board, I have zero insight into Cooley's recruiting process. Apparently Minnesota was able to convince him that his college career, development, and pro prospects were better there than here and he bonded better with the coaches. While we certainly won't get all Blue Chippers to come here we should get more than we have. Denver is in the Frozen Four and has 4 of 6 on the NCHC all rookie team (we have two - one is our pretty untested goalie. The question was "What's needed to hang a green banner" - not so sure why more Blue Chippers is getting such push-back. My second thing would be more team discipline - we had to lead the Nation in inopportune penalties.

Car Wash

It's mainly on the coaches to up their recruiting game. That's a big part of the job. We are losing too many recruiting battles. Mankato had 2 of the 10 finalists for the Hoby this year and have made two consecutive Frozen 4s. It's up to the coaches to evaluate talent and sell our program.

Another thing that would help us win #9 - Better team discipline. I only watched Sioux games but it seems like we would have led the nation in inopportune penalties which sometimes came back to bite us.

Exactly my point. Not saying we should get every blue chipper but we should be getting more. Someone at Michigan must be doing a great job of selling their program. And they're still playing. And they haven't won a Natty since 1998. They have some recruiting advantages we don't have and we have some they don't have. Time for us to up our game.

Best fanbase in the country - usually lead in attendance and travel unbelievably well. Best facilities. Proven track record of producing NHL players. Great player development. 8 National Championships and usually in contention for league championships and almost always make the regionals. Great national reputation. A long history of high end talent including Toews, Parise, Oshie, etc. A good chance of playing in a high profile destination game.

No reason we don't have more high enders - with our recruiting advantages we need to get in some elite front end talent. Coaches need to hit the recruiting trail hard. We should never be caught short. One win in the tournaments since 16 is pathetic. Get it done. How did Mankato get better than us?

What a crappy year for UND athletics. And yet the theme for this year seems to be contract extensions from the AD on down. Do we have any performance standards anymore? If we do they must be pretty low.

One of the reasons for transfers in my opinion is that kids today - especially those with talent - don't really want to play on 6 and 25 teams that are 2 and 16 in the conference. Even if they like the school and the coach they will look to maximize their success.

So - you're saying that because probably no one on this board (except gf hockey) has a million to give the Athletic Department and we have an Athletic Director that thinks Bubba did such a good job last season he extended him that nothing can be done and here we are forever in Mediocreville. Imagine that NDSU had a coach that performed like Bubba did last year and then the AD extended him. There would be a public outcry that would force some changes. I'd bet both would be out.

It's not just the top - there is no collective will among Sioux fans to demand a winning football program and very little pressure on the AD other than some complaining on this board. How long would Bison fans put up with the job Bubba has done - especially after this year. If he was extended down there it would have caused a revolt. Here - not much except complaining about the successful Hockey program. And we extended the AD too - even though non Hockey programs are all pretty much dumpster fires. We were beyond excited when the Women's Basketball program broke the .500 barrier by one game - the only program with a winning record among Mens BB, Womens BB, Football, and Volleyball. And with the current AD don't expect much change. How anyone could watch Bubba's performance this year and then extend him is beyond me.

Could not agree more - However there does not appear to be an adult decision maker in the house - Armacost extended Chaves who in turn extended Bubba. Here's our non-hockey records this year - Mens Basketball 6-25, 2-16 in the Summit. Volleyball - 28 consecutive losses. Women's Basketball - the star of the group with a 15-14 overall record and 9-9 in league play. Football - well, you saw last season. I don't see our $h*t all in one pile for a long long time sadly.

No because we have become Bizarro World - the worse you perform as a game and program manager the more years are added to your contract.

Welcome to the "depressing life" club.

You mean the play that led to us blowing a chance to finally beat our most hated rival - the one that defies logic? The discussion was about our record last year and I believe this play was an integral part of how our season went. Although the fumble was costly, in my opinion Bubba's overall coaching last year was sub-par at best. And by the way, I also mentioned his clock management and poor sideline coaching all season long. Excuse me for mentioning perhaps the worst call in Sioux history in a discussion of Bubba last season.

That's the play you cherry pick? Remember the Bison game? Did you watch his clock management? Bubba's poor sideline coaching led directly to our record last year. What's worse, this was his 12th season of being a head coach. Clearly no learning curve here.