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It sure seems like the coaching staff focuses an inordinate amount of energy on winning the Penrose. Looking at the players hootin' & hollerin' last year after they clinched the Penrose, only to have a major drop in their performance thereafter. Amost like they peaked too soon & didn't have enough left in the tank. Part of being a successful coach is having enough insight to change course when the old philosophy isn't getting you the desired result: a championship, or at the very least a deep run into the playoffs most years. The team has more than enough talent most years to inflict its share of postseason damage, they just seem to fizzle out mentally late in the season. All this based on an outsider's perspective who has no idea what is emphasized or talked about behind closed doors between the coach & his players. Am basing my opinion on what I hear Berry say to the media, the players' response to winning the Penrose & their subsequent play in the postseason.

How can ASU get a verbal from a WHL player before the class action suit has even been decided? I know it's inevitable, but doesn't an NCAA school have to wait for the official ruling before a Canadian player can commit from the CHL to the NCAA? This will increase the overall talent pool in D1 hockey, but won't it exclude some marginal American players because NCAA rosters will now be inundated with CHL players?

Was being serious, didn't know the format of their competition. Thanks for explaining it.

Was that a standard Ironman being a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride & 26.2-mile run, or was it a shorter version of these?

With my luck, I'd be sitting there halfway through the 3rd period with UND down 1-4 & playing one of their worst games in recent memory, wondering why I even went, with the wife chirping in the ear about where that $900 could have gone instead...I was seriously considering going since I live only 15-20 minutes away, but it's just not worth it for a mid-season game. A number of states define price gouging as raising prices by more than 10% on basic necessities compared to pre-emergency prices. Hockey isn't a basic necessity like food (maybe it's a necessity in GF, but not in most places;)), but I would still call it price gouging. If a ticket normally costs $50, but it jumps to $400, that's a 700% increase; this compared to the 40-80% increases in groceries over the last 4 years at my local supermarket. I would spend $400 for a NC because that's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, most definitely, but not for some game in January.

Drag the old lady with you, plus parking, food/drinks & it's probably close to $900 for a UND game at Mullett. It better be a resounding Sioux victory for that price.

How in the world do you guys afford such high prices? How much does an average ticket at the Ralph cost (not when the Gophers are in town, but say an average team like WMU)?

$399 for 1 ticket? I think it was him who recently described the UND fans' exodus to watch a series at DU as "...their annual pilgrimage to civilization". Funny.

Yes, making the F4 is a solid accomplishment, but bringing home the hardware is what defines a program. Teams like QU, UMD, even DU (who I don't think had a single first-rounder last year before Z. Buium was drafted this June, correct me if I'm mistaken) are all doing better against stacked teams with first-rounders. Logicallly it doesn't make much sense, but that's how it's been playing out the last 5-10 years. And going back 10-11 years, teams like Union & Providence have more to show for themselves than anyone in the Big 10 as far as NC go. Go figure...seems that blue chips are good at getting you to the Big Dance, but experienced 3rd & 4th year guys, excellent coaching & forging one's steel in the most difficult conference are better barometers for national championships, generally; along w/ peaking at the right time & having a healthy roster going into nationals, of course.

All that talent has translated to diddly squat for the traditional powers in those two conferences; those teams being BC, BU, MI, MN, WI. This leads me to believe that teams with many solid players (2nd-7th round guys) staying for 3-4 years generally have better success than teams w/ revolving doors of 1st-round players who are around 1-2 years. Out of those 40 players drafted in the 1st round who played in Hockey East or the Big10 since 2019, it would be interesting to see how many of them went to just 4 schools: Michigan, MN, BC & BU.

The portal has been a cruel mistress to the less-established schools, but has been a boon so far for UND. Though it should be used judiciously & not viewed as a recruiting tool on par with the traditional method.

Lagging in what respect, visibility? The NCHC has won 6 NC since the realignment, Big 10 zero & Hockey East a couple, I think. If anything, the exact opposite is true. There's no comparison, the NCHC dominates when it matters.

How do you know that MSU wants Zajic? And because you know about MSU, do you know who UND is targeting?

You're forgiven if this blurb was written under duress, under the influence, if you were experiencing a psychotic break from reality or if you were in a public venue with Gopher players & their slackness was transmitted to you. Complacency leads to mediocrity. As one of the premiere hockey teams in the nation, it's incumbent for this program to always reach for the stars, year in & year out. May this team always be a reflection of its fanbase: full of piss & vinegar and may they always be contending for a NC. Maybe the coaching staff can stop treating the Penrose like it's the Holy Grail for the team. Last year the players were celebrating the regular season championship by skating the trophy around the rink, hooting & hollering. Premature celebrating & the consequent let-down the remainder of the season when they couldn't seem to recover their spent mojo. It's only natural for a team to have a drop in performance in their remaining games if they blow their load too soon.

Not confirmed, but there is chatter that Rhett Pitlick will be leaving the Gophers soon after 3 seasons with the team & turning pro. He tied for the lead in team-scoring last year. A little odd to be doing this in mid-August. Again, this is not confirmed.

Would be nice to see how successful our hit rate is on recruits for any given year; but dunno if the plebs are privy to such information. After everyone commits, would be nice if Schlossman listed from his top 30 which players UND was targeting. But maybe the coaches don't share that information with him.

I was thinking likewise & can only assume that the coaches are actively pursuing other high-profile players. Maybe it's like this most years, but it's a little odd that DU, MN & WI are a week into August with no commitments & UND w/only 2; as opposed to BC & BU who seemed to already have most of their top recruits locked down. I can think of no other reason than the top remaining players are still undecided. I don't doubt you, but how do you know this information that UND really wants him?

Wonder if any of Schlossman's top-30 who are still uncommitted are in that tournament.

CC nabbed a high-profile defenseman out of our backyard. Would be interesting to know if UND was even pursuing him.

Bagging a couple more from Schlossman's top-30 list would be nice. Assuming that those who haven't committed yet are currently making official visits. @cberkas & anyone else in-the-know regarding recruit visits to UND please share what you know.

Nice to get Bumgarner. Did some reading on him & a couple of the posters on GPL said that Cole has a helicopter dad, saying that Motzko tries to steer clear of that kind of dynamic. Checked out Cole on X &, sure enough, the dad & son run a joint account. Can't say I've seen that before from a hockey player. Perhaps the father was dissatisfied with the coaches Cole was playing under (playing time, coaching philosophy) & the reason why he bounced around between three high schools. Hopefully Cole can blossom here, become his own man & not be pressured from dad into entering the transfer portal if there are any wrinkles in his development while playing here.

Makes sense, thanks for the reasoned response. I was looking more at the totality of MI's recruits, from the NTDP & USHL, & it seems like they lock down more 1st-round forwards from those leagues than UND does. McGroarty is a good example; he's from Lincoln, NE, closer to us than MI. And to your point, UND doesn't necessarily get the much sought-after Western Canadian boys; Celebrini (Vancouver, BC) opted for BU. Don't know if UND even tried to get him.

I didn't mention BU or BC.

So UND, having a storied tradition & a facility that surpasses all others, can't compete with MI on the recruiting trail for the bluest of blue chips?