Irish
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Posts posted by Irish
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On 8/16/2023 at 9:16 PM, brianvf said:
Those bolded six are the most intriguing names left on Schloss' list to me.
After missing out on Hensler, I'm hoping we can land at least two of those three dmen (Laurila, Lindberg, Murphy). And since two are local and one is the son of a former standout Sioux player, I'm hoping the odds are good that we're in the running for all three.The forwards are tougher, as all three of Hagens, Mooney, and Potter are heavily recruited from all the big schools. We've been having a tougher time lately landing the big name forwards...so my mind is preparing for the fact that we won't land any of them...but my heart is hoping that we land at least one.
I really hope we can get off of the "always the Bridesmade" situation we have been in with recruiting top end talent.
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13 hours ago, brianvf said:
Get this kid signed up.
We have some nice players coming in but these are the type of recruiting battles we need to start winning again - we need to get back to being a national power.
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2 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
"medical doctor"....gotcha
Not quite sure how.
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36 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
how does this even get published.........
How dare they print the opinion of a Medical Doctor and Public Health Officer about our Covid response in an opinion column.
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3 hours ago, AJS said:
Not sure the right place to put this, but Fantilli was on the most recent episode of Spittin' Chiclets. Said his decision came down to UND and Michigan. Been a familiar place for these incredibly high-end guys these last few years. UND being in the final 2 or 3 and not being able to actually win the recruiting battle. Being in the mix is very important, one of these years you just feel like the tide could turn. That being said, Hensler and Mooney. Finalists again, let's see if this is the year they finally come out on top for one of these guys.
We seriously need to figure out how to seal the deal with top talent. This is more than a one off - it is a trend lately. Not sure what is happening but we need to out-recruit our rivals and get off the darn portal.
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49 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:
I will never be "converted" to the heretical "religion" of NDSU athletics. I was raised to be loyal to my teams, win or lose. It is nauseating to see how shallow some so-called "fans" are.
Very few Grand Forks fans have converted to Bison fans. However, go out a bit to the small towns and it is stunning. What used to be a great rivalry for many towns with about a 50-50 split of fans is now about 90-10 Bison. The main factor in my opinion is the lack of demand for excellence from the administration and AD department. We are 85-79 for the last 15 years and have extended the current coach after a 5-6 year. Bubba was 22-21 at Duluth and coming off a 4-6 season when we hired him. In addition, the one shot we had at beating the Bison was pissed away by the most bizarre coaching call I have seen. We seem content to just do more of the same. Expect the same results.
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Some good points made here and some ideas for thought - Ira suggested more involvement and I think that is important. I also think that the people at UND are working hard although there are some areas for improvement. Would more funding help? Absolutely. But here's the bottom line - as long as we have a Football program where a 5-6 season gets the coach a contract extension in a non-contract year those at the very top are setting the bar pretty low. Six years of Muss at 31-34 and 9 years of Bubba at 54-45 doesn't exactly scream success. That's a long time wandering in the wilderness. The turnaround needs to start at the top. Muss had 4 more years after the Sioux Falls debacle. Change here is glacial.
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1 hour ago, UND-FB-FAN said:
NDSU didn’t accidentally become good at football like some UND fans like to think. There’s a method to the madness, and UND (and really the entire country) need to take notes and actuate to a certain degree.
I think if Bubba and Co. could have held on and beaten the Bison when they had a chance our trajectory would be different. And the current Bison run started when they let go Bob Babich who had a 46-22 record after one bad season (he had other seasons of 12-2, 9-2, and 9-3). Other criticisms of Babich was a poor playoff record and the fact we dominated him.
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On 6/15/2023 at 7:45 AM, iramurphy said:
So what are you going to do about it? Your comments about “demanding “ excellence and weak AD’s and indifferent presidents would get you excused from the table quickly.
A better approach would be to sit down with the decision makers and ask what they need and how we can help. We can gain better insight into the challenges by listening and offering to be part of the solution. Demanding what others do with their time, efforts and resources will leave us on the outside looking in and perpetually frustrated.Gee - What do you think I should do about it - I am giving my max with Club membership and season tickets. I have been a fan for many years and am in regular attendance. I'm sure if I doubled my contribution I still would not get a seat at the table - let alone get a chance to express my views and then get "excused". I certainly would have no input in decisions like extending a 6-5 Bubba before his contract is up and likely to get no insight or explanation. As to gaining better insight into the challenges I am anxious to listen but the information from the Athletic Department is zip. Other than our need for Phase Two I have no idea what our expectations and plans are for our programs - We are now at a point where since 2016 our combined playoff win total from Football and Hockey is 2 - and one of the schools we beat is American International. The fact is that almost all of us except those with connections or a big checkbook are outside looking in. The demand for excellence needs to come from the Administration and Athletic Department. And I stand by my comments about indifferent Presidents and weak AD's - the jury is still out on Chaves but things need to improve.
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2 hours ago, UND-FB-FAN said:
Spot on, UND football is (unfortunately) not the priority and hasn’t been since the Engelstad foothold circa late 1990s / early 2000s.
This ship needs to be righted. President Kennedy attempted to fix it, as he clearly identified it, but was booted. Chaves (and apparently Armacost) aren’t even attempting to bite the hand that feeds them. Cowards, and a poor prognosis for UND football, unless donors like those on this board rise up and state otherwise with our words and our wallets.
I hear what you are saying but in my opinion the main problem is that there is not a demand for excellence in Football and now apparently in Hockey due to a succession of weak AD's and indifferent Presidents. We hope for excellence and try to achieve but programs are allowed to be mediocre to good but not great forever without significant changes. We have won a total of two playoff games collectively in Football and Hockey since 2016. This is far from where we need to be yet here we are doing the same things again this year.
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This whole defensive disaster last year to retooling totally this year seems to be a player development issue. What's going on that we missed on so many players that other good teams want? Looking at the roster for next year we seem to have some real blanks where previous recruiting classes should be. If it wasn't for the portal we would be in deep doo doo. Are we identifying the talent we want and coaching them up in an orderly fashion. Doesn't look like it. We have a veteran staff and I am surprised that here we are. However, I am surprised that we can't recruit and develop good young goalies anymore too. Hopefully we are back on track.
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On 5/19/2023 at 12:53 PM, Wilbur said:
Either Moore kills it and takes off with Q's system, or Pecknold kills the kid and he's in a suit for turning the puck over.
I still can't quite understand how with the crapshow our defense was last year that the 3 players we lost in the portal went to National Champion Quinnipiac, Minnesota Duluth, and Ohio State. What am I missing?
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So - Quinnipiac gets one of our former defensemen and we get one of theirs - opinions on how we came out in this swap?
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On 4/27/2023 at 8:17 PM, Esoteric said:
I am also shocked we do not have power skating instructors.
It feels like we are slowly losing touch with some of the things that made us great. I loved the "speed kills" era.
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26 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:
I agree with you. But it is worth pointing out that the schools you listed all currently have extensive natty droughts. So we aren't the only school struggling to finish off seasons.
Point taken - it also requires playing a full 60 minutes and working your system - including being responsible for where you are supposed to be (not just chasing the puck into the corner) - See Quinnipiac. However if you look at our returning roster this next year it tells you a lot about how recruiting has been going the last several seasons - Compare that to our two biggest rivals - Denver and Minny. When we are successful we have had a nice blend of high end talent and role players (and good goaltending). It is sad to see other teams have much more success with top talent. We need to get back in the mix. I'm not sure if our playing style hurts us but their is that theory.
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On 4/28/2023 at 12:02 AM, Frozen4sioux said:
BC is well represented to day the least.
This really emphasizes our need to get back in the mix for high-end young recruits - like our rivals BU, BC, Minny, and Michigan. We need to take this seriously and get off the portal for all of our needs. And right soon too.
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9 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:
Someone in my section was calling it "mite hockey". Just like mites they'd all get hypnotized by, and chase, the puck. Nothing good ever comes of that.
Throw in the often predictable but very untimely penalties and you can see that the mental component of our game was a major weakness last year.
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27 minutes ago, tnt said:
Not saying this doesn't need to happen, but if you look at our year, I would say a bigger focus needs to be on mental focus, being hard to play against, going to the areas where you score goals, and blocking shots. You can be the best skater in the world, but if you are all in the corner and leave the opposing player alone out front, you aren't getting back in the play.
This is one of the most frustrating parts of the last season. So many "what the hell are you doing" moments. If we are going to emphasize culture then being hard to play against and being in the game mentally needs to be front and center. I think that's why "culture" is getting dragged so much on this board because a big part of it is being ready to play. We had a defense last year that so many times "just didn't get it". Perhaps a good thing they cleaned house and are starting over on that end. To me if you are going to emphasize culture then our team should have their heads in the game.
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26 minutes ago, petey23 said:
There isn't a coach in America who has been at a school for more than 3 or 4 years whether it is in Football, basketball, Hockey, Baseball, or virtually any collegiate sport who does not talk about the Culture of their program.
Agreed - but when it's a big emphasis and mentioned often and then things go sideways it is easy to point out - perhaps too easy in that there are many factors involved. Bottom line - we need to get back to recruiting great talent and having tournament success soon.
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1 hour ago, dustnyou said:Have you considered that the “failure” could also be the fault of the student athlete and not the head coach? Did the athlete do what he said he was willing to do? Did he show up for class? Get good grades? Take full advantage of his opportunities? Get along with his teammates? Not get homesick? Like GF?
Agreed that the athletes individually play a big role in this - however, these were recruits who were chosen, checked on by talking to their coaches, interviewed, followed, and offered by a coach who emphasizes culture to come to UND. Even so do recruits sometimes don't pan out - homesick, can't work through adversity, poor chemistry, etc - absolutely. Should this happen to almost an entire group? Not in a program of our stature. Something went wrong here. Just look at our goalie recruitment to see what I mean. The good news is that we seem to have rebounded some through good use of the portal (although time will tell). The bad news is that this type of program building is unsustainable if we want to be on top. It's past time for us to win some top recruiting battles and build our roster with a good mix of talent in an orderly fashion. Agreed that Covid made things strange but still ....
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7 minutes ago, brianvf said:
Geez, at least post spoiler alert for those of us that haven’t watched the next few seasons already.
You've seen this play before - see Football.
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7 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:I've said it before: This is a critical year for the hockey staff.
Totally agreed - but here's how things usually work around here - we will have a better season next year but not rise to the top - make the tournament but not go very far. Then after a couple of so-so years with some success but not in the Frozen Four there will be a lot of grumbling on this thread and we will again come to the consensus that "next year will be a critical year for the hockey staff".
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13 hours ago, Big A HG said:You don't understand and I don't know if you're playing ignorant on purpose or just don't get it, but I'll humor you nonetheless.
We've won one NCAA game in the past seven years...against AIC....one. Woopdeedoo. We've missed three NCAA tournaments on merit since our title many years ago. The Ralph is emptying and big time recruits are less interested in UND than ever since the new Ralph opened. We used to get excited about all the first round picks we'd land, now we're excited about Carson Pilgrim...a very good player, but overly exaggerated only because the rest of Berry's recruits lately have been so lackluster. Berry's accountability with the roster has led to an ENTIRE defense leaving all at the same time, both of our top goalies leaving at the same time, and a bunch of forwards on top of that. It's normal to have the odd player or two leave earlier than expected, but it's not normal to lose that many kids at once unless you have someone incompetent running the program. Because of incompetent roster management, the best we can do is pluck players from Alaska and Lindenwood. Then, our head coach secretly trademarked a logo through various levels of anonymity and still got caught, only to have it swept under the rug.
We're the UNIVERSITY of NORTH DAKOTA. We should be setting the f'ing standard with college hockey. Instead, we've looked like a bunch of buffoons while Duluth and Denver are winning championships and the Goofs are playing in title games too. I'm sorry you set the bar so low that you can't see anything but rainbows and tulips, but I have a higher standard for North Dakota hockey.
Sounds harsh but a fairly accurate picture of where we are as a program (I know nothing about the trademark issue and don't care) - however, here we are after missing the tournament needing all new defensemen, a portal goalie for the third year, and having lost several recruits who didn't pan out or develop. Not even close to where a top team should be. Have we done pretty well in the portal - yes - however most of the top teams are open to maybe 1 or 2 portal transfers if they are top end and fit their program - they have orderly recruiting to fill their needs. So the competition for portal players is different. There is no doubt that we are not getting Blue Chippers like we used to and that our assessment and development of lower round draftees has been very poor. If in the start of the 2017 year you would have told me that we would miss the tournament 3 times by 2023, have one tournament win, and this is where we would start for 23-24 I would have called you a liar. Time to get our house in order. And the usual "support your program by giving more money" just doesn't apply here - we spend more on our hockey program than any other school in the country. And to see our rivals do well is just icing on this big pile.
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1 minute ago, Kevin G said:
I commend the coaching staff for partially rebuilding the roster with what looks like excellent portal additions. Good job.
Now, please beef up the recruiting pipeline so we don't need the portal quite so badly.
You are correct - They did a nice job with portal additions - but we have to straighten out our regular recruiting - both with getting some high-end talent and with balancing classes so we have an orderly roster from year to year. No portal goalies for 3 years straight or having to replace our entire defense. Hopefully this will be fixed quickly. I can't believe how fast things went off the rails. Hopefully an anomaly fueled by covid and the rise of the portal. We can't just hit the portal every year while Blue Chippers flock to Minny, Michigan, Denver, and now probably Wisconsin.
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COMMITTED UND Recruits
in Men's Hockey
Posted
Could not agree more - we need to be able to land these guys again. I know we have some nice players coming in but it is impossible to overestimate the effect having a player like Brock Boeser had on our championship run.