Irish

How many times have we seen this from this group?

I'd take a line of Nick Joneses - we need some grit and talent.

Some lose that ability when they get here it seems - check out our front line scoring. A Dman will lead us in scoring this year.

I agree that player improvement should be a big part of our success. I am just stunned that we have a class that has shown so little. I have seen no indication that anyone in the Sophomore class will take any step forward - many have seemed to regress this year. I find it frustrating that so many things we thought were automatic like new high end talent coming every year, great player development, our grinders wearing the other team out, and finding some diamonds in the rough seem to be absent. Berry needs to take a long, hard look at what is happening. And does Shaw bring much to the table? Certainly not for special teams. Any recruiting contacts that are panning out? I can't figure out what he contributes.

It's hard to deny the recruiting isn't up to par though, in what should have been a golden time for us to recruit. We'd best get back to championship mode or St. Cloud is going to drink our milkshake.

I love that song - thanks, fellow old timer - It has a great beat for a goal song too

It is indeed a sad state of affairs for North Dakota athletics when you can say "I'll give him one more season" about almost every coach (ok, Berry has a bit longer leash, but the fall of Sioux hockey and lack of recruits is shocking).

That is probably true - however, our season was a dumpster fire and Berry has shown no indication in all of his Coachspeak or game planning (see power play) or recruiting classes that he sees the problems and can right the ship. Things need a serious change or it will be a tough time for Sioux hockey. And also - get some studs in here - no excuse for why we have none (or if not Blue Chippers at least some front liners who can score a bit) - When St. Cloud has much better talent than us, something ain't right.

Friday tickets sold also

Saturday tickets are sold.

For sale - two lower bowl isle seats for Friday and Saturday night - seats are 113 C 1 and 2 - three rows from the glass directly behind the goal. Will sell each night separately. $90 per night (for the two tickets) Text 701 740 1607 if interested

That might also mean running an offense that doesn't make most people throw up in their mouths a little. Wonder why we didn't get a quality QB recruit? Or imagine you are a running back with Santiago like potential. What would you conclude after watching how he was used last year with our absolute refusal to put him out wide or try get him the ball in space. Most of recruiting is selling your product and that includes your schemes.

I really hope you're right - but the second thing that worries me is that we have seen little to no player development this year. Certainly no break outs. I really hope that next year's group adds to the team chemistry.

I remember that season well. If I remember correctly, the main cause was the goalie issue - Andy Kollar was projected as starter after serving admirably spelling Karl Goering, but couldn't handle starter duties. I think the very average Josh Sembida was brought in mid-year. I think our save percentage for the year was under .900. However, we had some good young talent on that team - Freshmen Brandom Bochinski, Matt Jones, Andy Schneider, Nick Fuher, Rory McMahon - sophomores David Lundblom, Ryan Hale, an David Hale. The next year we brought in Zach Parise and Matt Greene. I just don't see our young talent or next year's recruits coming close to this group. That's what worries me more than one bad season.

I guess I am more stunned than anything that things went downhill so fast after our championship. I know we lost a lot to the pros, but still. In what should have been a golden recruiting time with the championship, the showing of the fans, and our tradition and facilities it seems like we are getting out recruited by many. I really wish we would hear from Berry what he is going to do to right the ship (I know this is very unlikely, but I really am curious as to his willingness to make changes).

This may very well be all or mostly true. Which begs the question: Why in the Wide Wide World of Sports can't this team get up to skating hard when the playoffs may very well be on the line and when your coach is Mr. Team Culture. This is why there is so much frustration on this board.

Your analysis makes a lot of sense. One of the things that made me excited about the championship season is that we would actually carry the puck in with speed, aggression, and sharp passing. That, however, appears to be a Boesser, Caggula, Schmaltz phenomenon that has not been repeated. Chipping off the glass most of the time drives me nuts too and it seems that at times we are easily bottled up. When was the last time we saw us break out and attack the net or even get an odd man rush. Not very often this season. Perhaps it's part strategy, part poor puck skills. As to the coaches knowing more than we do - absolutely. But many coaches develop blind spots about their "systems" (see Bubba and Rudolph in football). The big question here I think is "can Berry make the necessary adjustments - both to recruiting and game strategy?" The answer often is not "do the same thing, only more so".

I doubt it - he hasn't appeared to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with anyone this year. If he has it didn't take. Our crappy play has gotten worse as the season went on. This is about as far away from "Sioux Hockey" as you can get. Berry needs to figure it out and right soon - Time to take a hard look at things and clean house where needed. Another couple of years of this and we will be looking for someone to rebuild our program instead of take over.

I agree totally - the college game has changed since 97. In addition, we had some guys who could score on that team - D Hoogsteen - 27 goals, Blake - 19, K Hoogsteen - 18, Kallay and Panzer - 16, Bull 15, Henderson 14 - etc etc. Our top goal getter this year has 11 so far and our points leader is a defenseman. We need a serious upgrade in scoring.

Are the fans here over-reactive? Absolutely. This is a fan board. And not just a fan board, but the fan board for the best hockey program in the country. Like Alabama football or Duke basketball. We are not used to losing. And while many of us vent here, there is an underlying worry about recruiting. This year's team is pretty punchless as to scoring. If Wolanin and Gersech go along with Poganski graduating we don't return anyone who has scored 10 goals so far into this season. Here would be our returning forwards and goals scored so far with 2 series left in the regular season: Adams - 5; Yon - 1; Bowen - 1; Gardner - 6; Janatuinen - 4; Smith - 5; Hoff - 2; Kawaguchi - 3; Mismash - 7; and the leader Jones - 9. We need a serious infusion of firepower and right soon. Many of these guys are Sophs or Juniors and have shown little or no improvement. That's why this years recruits are getting scrutinized. We are missing our usual high-end players. Another year without some absolute studs will be ugly.

It would be nice to get some of them - pretty blank for a few years as far as high-enders.

Totally agree - After the core of about 6000, the rest is subject to performance maybe more so than most because when the Offense isn't clicking it is absolutely painful to watch. There is a big difference in watchability between a team that constantly goes for it and sometimes falls short and our team when we are floundering. Bubba worked his tail off to improve the attendance and game day experience, but neglected to think of how fans react to what he put on the field last year. After the tailgating etc. it comes down to what we are seeing on the field. A make or break year for our football program.

I remember the Rube era very well - maybe seeing that makes me really on edge when I feel us slipping now. We have established a reputation for excellence and for turning out NHL ready players. Let's keep it up.

Every time I get really frustrated with this team they play a great game. Maybe when I see how they can play it causes frustration when they don't. We still have some serious work to do - I hope they get at it this week and take care of business. Cam did a nice job not only in this game but in handling the goalie situation in general. That's leadership.

Quite possibly - even though our facilities to train are the best in the country. I have not seen a Sioux team with worse puck skills since the Bjorkman days. On the times where we do make the right move or pass more often than not we can't control the puck. Same with zone entry. The big question is will Berry learn from this and make adjustments or will he go "Bubba" on us?