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@cberkas Can you calculate where UND would be in the PWR currently if they had swept Bemidji & split w/Cornell?

About as much of a chance as @brianvf not using --> for a week.

"We got outworked," UND forward Jackson Kunz said. "We lost puck battles. We lost races. We get scored on and we fold, kind of. It's frustrating. We try not to, and it happens. I don't know why." -said by J. Kunz after the 5-1 loss to W. Mich. Just imagine you're on the UND team & your senior assistant captain said that. The exact opposite of a warrior mentality. It's no wonder the team is the way it is. It's your job as a leader, Jackson, to be a strong, positive influence on your teammates so they can succeed, not act like a pouty little kid when things don't go your way. And it's your job, coach, to nip this attitude in the bud before it spreads throughout the locker room.

In many respects, this season was over before it even began, if you use the Augustana game as a barometer for how the upcoming season would be. The lack of passion, basic skills & teamwork that were seen Oct 5th were also seen on Jan 18th: no measurable progress. It wasn't until Friday night against Cornell when it became evident to me that this year was going to be a clown show on steroids. That's some premium-grade hopium you got there. The hockey program may have to sputter into oblivion these last 2 months for there to be any hope of a HC change. Short-term the program takes a hit, but UND cannot afford to continue on this mediocre path for the next 4-5 years. The only constant in life is change. Anyway, there are 12 games left, & I think UND would have to win a minimum of 10 of those games (plus rely on some wins by Cornell, BSU, etc) to just barely get an at-large. So that ain't happening. That leaves the conference tourney, playing against other hungry teams who are also trying to get an autobid or are jockeying for higher seeds. That's also highly unlikely, unless every opponent UND faces during the conference playoffs is decimated by the flu & injuries; & even then it would be a stretch considering this team's (lack of) performance this year.

Hard to win a championship with a roster full of Celebrinis; need some Croals, Littlers, Swansons also. Would be interested in your take on how DU is recruiting Fs mostly drafted in the 3rd-7th rounds (far from truly elite Fs like BC, BU & MI has had recently) yet they continue to bring home the hardware. It's my contention that clutch goaltending, a shutdown D & savvy coaching (like DU has had) are the main keys to going deep in the playoffs. Rarely do you see a championship game decided by shoot-out scores of 7-6 or 6-5 where guys like Hagens or Leonard explode & are the main factors; it's mostly defense & goaltending that win national titles.

There's an old saying that you can't fix problems with the same people who created them. If the team has been having problems with consistency going on 10 months now, what gives anyone the impression that it'll be magically solved next year with the same coaching staff? It's baffling that no one on the staff can fix this core issue..it just goes on & on & on...These disappearing acts for many minutes at a time have become an entrenched pattern with the team, not just a couple of isolated incidents. Another issue I have with BB is his line-ups. Last Friday he could have dressed Croal & gotten a solid 8-10 minutes out of him that night, with him shadowing & possibly neutralizing Bump. What does he do though? He dresses Montgomery who players under a minute. It's BB's job to put the most talented team on the ice every night, & he failed to do that Friday. He also has been showing a clear preference for TJ most of the year, not developing HH who has better numbers & who possibly has a higher ceiling than TJ. Finally, not disciplining Kunz last weekend sends the message to the locker room that there will be no consequences for players who cause the team to lose. A head coach who is unable to discipline players fairly & evenly across the board when needed will eventually lose respect from his team & be viewed as a paper tiger. These examples call into question his decision-making, or his favoritism, towards certain players.

If BB is still in charge, expecting any players on this team to improve in 25-26 when almost no one did this year is nothing but 'hopium' (otherwise known as 'false hope' or 'irrational optimism'). If the last 10 months have been any indication, the team will still be inconsistent, basic skills will be absent, there'll still be questionable line-ups, 1 or both special teams will be struggling & there still won't be a clear-cut identity to this team. There may be big victories here & there, but the overall state of the program in the larger picture will be one of stagnation. Once the downward pull of fate starts tugging on a coach, it's all but over, as Gino, Sertich, Eaves, Lucia, Owens & many others can attest. The UND students, who are probably knowledgeable hockey fans when they're not drunk, were signaling to Chaves more than anyone with their chants that it's time for a change.

TJ will be gone in a couple of months & HH will likely be the starter next season, so HH needs some quality minutes now to refine his game. But if TJ is chosen, it would send the message to HH that the coaching staff doesn't trust him even though he has a better gaa & save % than TJ this year, in a season that is basically over; which would hinder his development & make him less prepared for next season.

So between @scpa0305, @Irish & myself, we counted 10 observed issues with the team, but I'll also add an 11th: a certain player who can be productive at times, but more often than not has the effect of dead weight on the team. Yet despite all these glaring issues, the HC focuses on the goalies of all things. This just goes to show how totally divorced from reality he is. Either that or he's being disingenuous because he doesn't want to address the real issues. These 10+ issues on this team will not be resolved over the next 2 months, because to do so would require the skills & insight of another coach. The most productive thing that can be done isn't on the ice at REA right now, but in the AD's office by assembling a list of 5 viable candidates to be the next one in charge.

May as well include...unable to play a complete game, questionable line-ups, the defense regressing, no identity, undisciplined play. The team had a closed-door meeting late last year to address the problems they were having. Supposedly tough questions were asked, but it was never mentioned if any answers were found. Obviously, there weren't. Makes one wonder what was discussed.

Sitting a speedy, high-energy guy like Croal who could have played 10 minutes & shadowed the 1 player who beat UND last night, Alex Bump, in favor of Montgomery who played less than a minute, tells you everything you need to know about the mental state of the head coach... the team coming out soft & uninspired to start the 2nd after a great 1st; the team is simply incapable of being consistent going back to last year...the D playing no better now in mid-January than in early Oct...Welcome to UND hockey. And if Kunz plays tonight, with no consequences for his causing the loss, that'll just be icing on the proverbial cake. Who recruits the players who can't score, who commit bad penalties & who have too many flaws? Everything is downstream from the HC.

Montgomery is the sentimental favorite, the team's Rudy, but should only be playing when injuries necessitate it. Playing him instead of Croal is leaving talent off the ice because you want to be seen as the good coach playing the local boy. As they say, "Make it make sense".

The only corrective actions that I know of in the corporate world are verbal warnings, written warnings, suspensions, demotions & terminations. And because the first four are not applicable to a head coach in this situation (that I know of), I would guess termination.

Based on Coach Larson's behavior last weekend, it's safe to say that the ss.com search committee in charge of finding a new coach can rule him out as a possibility. Finalists are now Raboin, Smaby & a couple others.

I don't understand that line of thinking: even if it's short term, you're still extending the mediocrity. If UND misses the playoffs this year, it can be attributed in large part to laying an egg against a team (Cornell) who was playing its first series of the year, and not showing up & struggling against BSU of all teams. This is just as damning to the coaching staff as getting bounced in the first round of the regionals. The only difference is that this time the coaching deficiencies manifested early in the year instead of the usual late March.

Moderators: Please add ASU to the NCHC standings on the front page.

Cornell's too talented & experienced to continue being mediocre. Anticipating that they'll put together some key wins in the second half to bolster our PWR if even just a little. Bemidji, on the other hand, pfft...

Wasn't a fan of splitting up Croal-Littler-Andrew..when a line is clicking, let them be. Boisvert is quietly establishing himself as a force in D1 hockey. And he's only 18. Safe to say he's adjusted well to the college level.

Does the OT win tonight count like a regulation win when it comes to PWR, or .67?

That's why I question sometimes if Berry plays guys guys due to merit or personality. Because if he were being completely objective over the last few games, Andrew plays over Montgomery. No need to throw a wrench into the 4th line when it was doing so well.

Unfortunate that Andrew has to possibly be the odd man out tonight after his strong play lately on that 4th line.

So why aren't these bad losses affecting teams like MI & BC very much, if at all? Compared to UND's drop.

That doesn't answer my question, which was why MI wasn't penalized more for losing at home to a #32 team, whereas UND was affected quite a bit after their L & tie with BSU.