Irish
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Everything posted by Irish
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I think you are right about the team being hungry and hope they have a fantastic year - we do have some massive improving to do in some areas from last year. I call BS on this year being the second year that counts, however. This will be Muss's 6th year and all of the previous years should be steadily building and improving to bring us to this year. I'm just plain not not willing to give him 10 years to break the bonds of mediocrity. The time is now to get the crowds back and re-establish a winning tradition. I'm not saying that Muss can't do it - I'm saying he needs to do it soon.
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In my opinion we have the most important first five games that we have had in many years. Now is the time to re-establish North Dakota Football at this level. We need to be competative and to put a team on the field that plays Fighting Sioux Football. We can get the buzz and excitement back or we can lose many fans for a long while. Muss has been at the helm for long enough to not have any excuses. I am optimistic about this season - we have a talent influx that should make a difference. My biggest worry is mediocrity - just good enough to keep the status quo but not a breakout season. We can show that we are a force or we can have a lost decade or more of Sioux football. Time to make our mark. Time for a signature win. Anyone else tired of the smugness of the fans down south? Well, let's do something to get our team going.
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It's not hate, but it's time to get it done.
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Not saying that at all - I love it when the Sioux are gritty - I just meant that I am really tired of our endless cycle
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Wow - this young bunch of talent brings amazing opportunities for coaches to coach. Defense - let's turn into a unit to be feared instead of the eratic group from last year. Goalies - we have three with good credentials - I hope someone takes a leap forward and claims the job - it's certainly open to any of the three. I was disappointed no one claimed it last year. Offense - Please, let's get out of the damned corners and go up and down for once - Use our talent. Time for Hak to evolve as a coach.
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You, Sir, are a true historian.
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Wow, that's a pretty long time to prove himself and get things done. I worry about a lost decade or more if we don't get things going (which I think we will). In addition to record I think how we look will be pretty important to the fan base. If we get blown out on the line on both sides of the ball and tackle like we did last year I think we can expect quite a bit of grumbling. I think we have the talent to have a very good season, but I feel this is a make or break year for the coaches - we need to show that we can compete with the best talent in the league and not lay down like last year. I am cautiously optomistic.
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Actually, we were talking about getting it done when you have the talent.
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That'd be kind of like having Oshie, Toews, and Duncan (the Hoby Baker winner) on a college hockey line.
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Agree 100% - I couldn't believe how soft we played at times. We didn't have a real puck-moving defensive corps either - unless you count Gleeson who sometimes just skated around until he lost the puck. I'm not sure if this is a change in philosophy or just due to the personnel we had, but having watched old time Sioux Hockey for 40+ years, I was disappointed in this style of play.
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Challenge accepted - Best tradition - 5 championships in the 25 years before Hak took over - next closest is Lake Superior State with 3 Best fans - top 1 or 2 in home attendence and always sold out - name one team who's fans travel better Best arena - name a better one
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Of course no one thinks that having a nice arena guarantees success - that's why we have a coaching staff - that's their job. However, almost everyone but you thinks that having the best tradition, the best arena, and the best fans certainly doesn't hurt and probably helps in recruiting. Bringing a recruit to a game at the Ralph when the Sioux are rocking has to be somewhat impressive. The Ralph is icing on the cake, but hey, icing tastes pretty good. Sioux fans need to keep their expectations high.
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Funny how you can be all over a local high school coach while giving hell to anyone who suggests Mussman has done a less than stellar job at UND so far (kick the f'ing field goal Muss)
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Anyone else still blaming bad luck?
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Odds are high that we will have a very good team but play the cycle and come up short in the tourney. Many posters here will talk about how hard it is to win in this format and state that once we win one they will come in bunches.
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Nice summary - seems to me like we are looking a lot to dump and chase first, carry it in second. Maybe it is my blind spot, but our continual cycle drives me nuts. I understand the theory and have seen it work ok, but to me its time has come and gone. I don't see this carrying us to #8. I feel about this about like I feel about the 3 yards and a cloud of dust football offense - can it be effective - even demoralizing - you bet. Can you be successful at the highest level and compete with a team like Oregon - not so much. Sad to say, but it looks like the old WCHA is becoming like Big 10 football - not quite with the times and it shows. Since the all WCHA final it has been steadily downhill.
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Agreed they played strong and were hard to play against - didn't see a lot of dump, chase, and cycle though
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Agree that fans don't directly affect games, but crowd energy can be an intangible. However, I do think having an outstanding fan base helps in recruiting. A visit to the Ralph when it is rocking can't help but impress.
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Absolutely no reason why we can't be a top team every year and still win some Nattys - This discussion has turned bizarre. With our tradition and being one of the top two programs for the last 30 years (damn you BC) and having the best facilities and fan support, there is no reason why this shouldn't be an expectation. A better question might be - can we win one without some adjustment to our philosophy? Big smack you in the face defensemen are now getting 5 minute majors for legal hits and the dump chase and cycle seems to be consistantly losing to a faster game. I think Hak is a great hockey mind, but even very smart people can have blind spots. We seem to have the attitude "here's our game, try and stop it". While this works well for the regular season, when we are stopped in the playoffs, we have nothing else. I can see us having continued tourney troubles until we adjust.
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I have no doubt that Hak wants a title badly. The question is can he be flexible enough to make some changes to help that happen - maybe a more uptempo game and less cycle for example - or do we keep doing what we are doing (which has been fairly successful) and just try harder.
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In my opinion, our stubborn insistance on the cycle is our biggest weakness - while we can usually grind down average teams during the season, we don't have much success with it when it's tourney time.
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Remember - the motto of our last championship team was "speed kills"
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Not trying to equate them - I know there is a difference in Women's basketball and hockey, although there are a number of top programs in Women's basketball to contend with. In addition, they have to win many more games in a one and done situation. I was just thinking when watching the game last night that this is an example of a team that doesn't need the stars to align and seems to make it's own "luck". UConn's stars always play like stars and seem to be peaking at tourny time and it's their system that disrupts the other team. I don't think tournament success is as random as some would make it here.
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The it factor has merit - the question is - can it be created or is it totally random. After watching the Conneticut women go 8-0 in championship games, I think that there is some amount of self determination - not as random as some here claim. I dont buy the argument that some teams are consistantly off the charts lucky.
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Most posters on this thread and the "Fire Hak" thread do not want Hak fired - we just want a slightly improved Hak that leads his team to #8.
