.357

I'm thinking that if Zmolek were week-to-week, or at least returning in the near future, that Berry would have said so. That's usually his M.O. during press conferences. The fact that he was mum on his return leads me to believe that he could miss a lot more time, as he usually volunteers the timeline for returning without being asked.

No doubt. I wonder if they have any plans on bringing in Laurila in the 2nd semester.

Good to know, thanks.

So once a roster is set for the year (15-8-3), a team cannot add to it if there is a season-ending loss to a D or F during the year, but a team can bring in a goalie from a club team for a goalie injury? And can a team carry more than 26 or 27 players in a year, or is there an NCAA regulation against that? If so, what is the maximum number of players a team can have?

Colton is an intense guy, don't think he would tolerate any half-assed play on his watch. Younger version of Hakstol, perhaps, in terms of his demeanor.

There's something not quite right when your team has played 6 games, & they go to Cornell, who had only played 1 exhibition game at that point, & it takes them 30 minutes before they start trying. Where was the energy from the BU series? They should have been all over Cornell to take advantage of any rustiness they may have had, but they let that golden opportunity slip by. Valuable PWR points lost. Now we're in a position where we would do well to sweep UMD & at least split DU to avoid digging an even deeper hole & sinking in the PWR even more. And this happens quite often. The players come & go, but the core coaching staff remains. It appears that Berry either isn't preparing or motivating his players well enough. It's up to the coach to ensure that his players come to play every night; if you're making close to $500k/year you should be able to do at least that. It's sloppy, half-hearted performances like that that will get them bounced out of the NCAA tourney before it even begins. The HC position should be reviewed every 8-10 years to gauge the success of the program with standards like: ls the team consistently doing well in the regular season? Are they consistently making & doing well in the playoffs? If a program doesn't have a structured timeline in which these expectations should be met, then these same rinse & repeat outcomes could last for 10-20 years.

College athletes don't surprise me anymore. Last year we started out great & fizzled out at the end. This year the guys have a major issue with being consistent and are below .500; but they could always turn it around & have a solid year. It's been done before. The next 4 games against UMD & DU should tell us all we need to know about this team. If they still can't find consistency after 11 games, this season is probably a wash. Any feedback on Andrew's play on Saturday would be nice. Jamernik was commenting after Saturday's game that Andrew is a very good player & that it's amazing he isn't a regular. (don't know if Jamernik was just being complimentary because it was his first game or if he is actually pretty good)

Boisvert seems to be thriving as a freshman, he's gelling with James & Perron & will probably put up respectable numbers if he stays healthy. He's already acclimated to the college game. Other teams usually bring their 'A' games against UND & play a tighter game against us. Plus UND usually doesn't preach a run-&-gun game. Coming into the year, it was thought that this team would have 3 scoring lines.

Livanavage is from Phoenix, Emery's from Compton, Boisvert is a stone throw away from Montreal & Quebec City (appears to almost be a suburb of Montreal), MacDonald is from a Toronto suburb, Strathmann is from Beach Park (suburb of Chicago), Perron is from Winnipeg, Croal is from North Branch (just outside the TC), McLaughlin is from Spring City (just outside Philadelphia), Wiebe is from Mission (suburb of Vancouver), James is from Calgary, Jamernik is from Calgary, Wilke is from Calgary, McKamey is from across the bay in Vancouver, plus we have a few in the pipeline from the TC. It's never been about the location.

What are the odds that the head coaches of both the hockey & football programs of a university have almost identical nicknames, are both allergic to the postseason & are both affable, "aw shucks" good ol' boys endeared by many? You may be onto something.

He goes from one of the best nights of his career last weekend to one of his worst last night. If he had been playing hard he may have contributed to a goal; or at the least pumped up his teammates with his hustle, but no. All it takes is 1 player to not do his part & the effects ripple to the other players. Will Berry nip this problem in the bud by sitting him out a game next weekend, or not? At least it would send the team & him the message that playing hard every game is necessary for the success of this program. Then if he continues with his subpar attitude strip him of his 'A'. Coddling him & doing nothing just because he's a drafted local boy implicitly conveys the message to everyone in the locker room that putting in no effort is acceptable. Having a guy like Andrew in there instead who at least is giving his best shot is less of a liability than someone who has occasional motivation issues. Short-term it may hurt the team putting in less talented players, but in the long-term it sets the tone for everyone in the locker room that there are consequences for putting in no effort.

Berry gets his fair share of talented players, but for whatever reason he is unable to mold them into a cohesive unit a lot of the time. It's like having a huge jigsaw puzzle, but not knowing how to put all the pieces together. Whereas coaches like Carle have zero problems integrating everything; he innately knows how to maximize the efforts of the players he has...Having a world-class facility & elite players doesn't mean anything unless the man behind the bench can harness their talents effectively.

Except heart. They're missing Blake's & Johannes' passion. No sparkplug on this team. For whatever reason, they can't find it in themselves to get motivated to play an entire game. Plus whatever Berry is telling them certainly isn't working, it's having the opposite effect.

The game I saw for the first 30 minutes looked like a team in July that was playing their first organized hockey in 3 months. Awful passes, tentative, little chemistry...It was their 7th game for Pete's sake, not their exhibition opener against Augustana. Good teams shouldn't take 30 minutes to start moving their legs. Like others have said, it's not who we're playing, but how we're playing that's disconcerting. It's baffling how a team can be so wildly inconsistent at times. Some fans here are critical of this team's Jekyll & Hyde behavior & rightly so. Another p!ss poor effort again tonight & they'll get swept right out of Ithaca.

What concerns me is the sloppiness & lack of jump to start the game. It's your 7th game & you're playing a team that's only had 1 weak game against Toronto; you should be all over them & taking advantage of any rustiness they may have. Instead, you get a goalie who looked like a deer in the headlights & lazy, uninspired play for the first 30 minutes. It's like their mind is elsewhere. The 1st period looked like the guys had just met in July & it was the first organized hockey that they had played all year. The lack of urgency & erratic play is fast becoming a running theme for this team; it's like the players aren't internalizing the lessons & values of the coaching staff. A disconnect. You try to be optimistic, especially this early in the year, but this team is too inconsistent to get excited about. Great one game, invisible the next. And like you said, an avalanche of injuries all at once. If the team ever needed a win, it's tonight. Hobie will have all the pressure of the program on his shoulders to keep this team from sinking any more; which isn't fair for him, so hopefully he likes the pressure.

Welcome to being the starting goalie, Hobie. TJ is a quality guy, but he's not starter material. Wonder if the team was partly discombobulated with Berg being absent & TJ not being solid. Anyone know if Strathmann or Croal ever returned to the game?

Defense not in rhythm & TJ looked like a deer in headlights.

3-1 Cornell

For those with Directv, Friday's game will be on channel 639 (SportsNet New York). They're covering quite a few ECAC games this year, similar to what CBSSN is doing for the NCHC.

Cool, I had no idea he would be on the roster forever.

UND is currently down to 6 D heading into Cornell. Do you still think 8 is enough?

Buzzsaw means overwhelming opposition & that's probably not how DU will view UND. Better to say instead that any points DU leaves GF with they will have earned.

And then Denver plays Yale & Lindenwood before heading to Grand Forks. They deserve the early #1 because they've earned it & they're currently unbeaten. They're beating teams they're supposed to beat; that's what good teams do. Their PWR isn't taking any major hits. But they've had a very easy schedule compared to UND so far & they'll probably run into a buzzsaw when they hit the Ralph.

Exactly, the last thing you want is bias to creep into what should be a totally impartial process. Let a team's body of work be the judge, not some guy who has an agenda. UND needs to be on their A-game in a 6-game stretch when they play Robert Morris, Bemidji & Miami..a loss against one of them will drag them down a lot. Crush the plebs & strive for a split or better against those in the royal court.

I always assumed Englestads would leave a little extra in the piggy bank for contingencies like this...Wonder if any NIL money was promised to a top gun like McKamey to come here.