tnt

Tickets sold.

I have two tickets for Saturday vs. Bemidji State. End where UND shoots twice. $50 takes both. Call 701-330-8439.

http://www.collegehockeyinc.com/commitments.php Now it looks like Braccini committed to Minnesota again. Seems strange.

Seriously, two exciting goals are scored, and they wait to talk about them, ruining the moment because they didn’t want to interrupt Gretzky.

I think this game is critical in that if we lose this game, I think you lose a lot of guys mentally for the remainder of the season. If you lose the team mentally, I could see an exodus at the end of the year from guys that think they can find greener pastures. It is hard to know the mindset of a lot of the players, but hopefully Kyle Hergel is an example that spots on "more desirable" destinations don't always pan out like they think they will. Let's hope this weekend goes well, and they don't have to go down that path.

Oh, definitely. If you take on a bunch of guys that haven't developed, you are basically signing your own pink slip.

For a fanbase that talks about how bad early recruiting is, and overrecruiting, they sure have a bunch of guys that have decommitted. Sounds like Miller, Braccini, Warner, and possibly a Mittlestadt as well are guys that may not be in the plans anymore, and there were others that decommitted because they were pushed off, would imagine Boltmann and Jensen were in that category. I know I am missing some as well. I think that is going to be as common as the transfer portal, and even moreso because of the transfer portal and the Covid extra year.

Landing players in the portal will be important for filling in gaps, not only landing players, but making sure they will fit in with your team and not create any divisions, or jealousies. A lot of times when you get guys moving on it is all about improving their stock for the next level which could lead to a selfish attitude, but for the most part it should be common sense that NHL teams can spot that kind of attitude easily which wouldn't improve their stock. Some guys move on because they just want to win, which is common for any athlete, but you need to be leery that they will fit your culture on how to go about winning. Can you imagine how much more Jasper Weatherby would have been ripped if he went into the transfer portal to find a team that had a better chance on winning the NCAA title after all our losses to the pro ranks? Berry has said that they had to move fast to do their due diligence once players entered the portal, so I trust they know that players with a one and done scenario can just as easily rip apart a team as add value if they don't come with the right motives and attitude.

If the Bengals don't screw up against Green Bay, the Vikings are only a game back.

Wasn’t it three or four years ago when UND fans were saying we just needed to get a little depth on the lines. Apparently we are in trouble every year if someone goes down. In the trenches, expect injuries, and we need an expectation that we can throw someone in there that can hold their own.

Got to be happy that his decision paid off, but it is just an even bigger reminder how strong we would have been down the middle with Ford, Schmaltz, Senden/Jamernik, and Weatherby. On the positive side one less guy to replace next offseason.

I agree, and I guess I can't see every play, so I don't know if some guys were benched for a period after those false starts, but I think if that didn't happen it probably needs to, even if they aren't repeat offenders. If you aren't ready for your own teams' hard counts, how do you expect the defensive line to be ready for the oppositions? I say that, and the sad part is that I doubt that hard counts are any part of the problems.

I think most coaches would like the option to sit guys for lack of discipline, but with the losses on the offensive line, they don't have a lot of options. Perhaps you do it anyway to prove a point, but I don't know what the drop-off looks like. At this point, with how the offense has struggled, you can't afford penalties anyway, so might as well send the message.

But with this offense, they need to step up right away so they aren't playing from behind.

Got one, not sure if they’re interested in the other.

Just curious why we can’t seem to force any turnovers this year. Not sure what our turnover ratio was last year compared to this, but I would guess it made our offense look a little better last year operating from a short field.

I certainly didn’t see any of our freshmen to be instant impact guys, and maybe just role players for a year or so before they contribute consistently. I know it’s early, but Schmaltz looks like he can be a fairly consistent contributor. You just never know, you always get some guy that surprises you. Years ago everyone was looking at Wes Dorey as Canadian Junior Player of the Year to come in and make a huge impact and Jeff Panzer comes in under the radar and makes a huge impact. Here’s to hoping Schmaltz can continue making an impact and that after an adjustment period the other freshmen come along for the ride, and somewhere down the road we can hear Barry Melrose with the refrain, “You’re killing me Schmaltz”!

How about some back shoulder throws when the db doesn’t have his head turned?

Need something to turn momentum again, which means Bubba will be conservative.

When you have an offense that is transparent and they know you are going to throw short of the first down marker, it is pretty hard on the target to beat multiple defenders for a first down. A quarterback that can run at least is another threat the defense has to defend. A game manager means you are relying on your defense to win games. Need to be able to win games on both sides of the ball.

If you are going to be aggressive on first down, stay aggressive on second down, so they can’t pin their ears back on third down.

You only have one chance to make a first impression, and I would guess the first impression they want to give isn't "where is this", "why don't they have this". The same people that complain about something not opening are the ones that call it a complete gong show if it opens and they are minimalist in staffing and merchandise.

They had a young defense with LaCombe and Johnson, and now they are talented veterans along with Koster and Faber. On the positive side, they could stand to have a year like we had last year and lose three of those guys to the professional ranks after this season.

Don’t know how highly rated he is, but he seems to have transitioned well to the USHL as a younger player. I know it’s early but a lot of our younger guys have started out well this year. With Perron, Dylan James, Jackson Blake, and Bowden Singleton in the forward pipeline, I really like the looks of adding to the defensive corp that we always seem strong in recruiting. Singleton is a top scorer in the AJHL as a rookie, although he saw some games before this year.

The talent level has changed quite a bit since then, and they have recruited a bit more grit as well. Hopefully the guys will have had plenty of time to mesh before then, but I certainly wouldn’t be overconfident against them.