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But we beat the Bison, and couldn’t beat teams we should have beaten. I get that NIL money is important, but they could have had a step up on the next tier of teams at the very least if they hadn’t crapped the bed after what should have been a momentum win.

It is also a reflection on where he thinks this program can take him under Bubba. If you are looking to advance one more step where do you put your trust, in a program that has been consistent or one that has reached a level but can’t take the next step?

The overtime problems started in Denver, they end with Denver. UND 3-2 in OT.

If UND players hate Denver as much as they let on, this weekend would go a long ways in preventing them from an NCHC conference champion three-peat. Let's put another conference championship on our side of the ledger instead!

They are firmly a bubble team right now.

…and he didn’t know the other team to win NCHC championships besides UND and St. Cloud was Denver, despite them going for a three peat this year. How do you not know that?

Yes, a very disciplined approach. Ties are better than losses in the pairwise, so get your chances without being too aggressive and live with the shootout results.

Could be, because the only time I heard the fans was Pyke’s goal where they basically missed the goal. The reason I thought we might have scored was because of the fan noise, and knowing we had the faceoff in their end of the ice.

This is probably the case, as we seem to have more of a 9/3 lineup now as far as offensive lines and defensive lines, so it is hard to not have a few guys that seem like they should be up higher in the lineup. A lot of us, including me were thinking that depending on game situation, the Blake line should see less playing time. To me, our lineup issues seems more of a good problem, rather than bad. There is always going to be someone that either should be in the lineup, or on a different line.

Actually, I thought the last 3 times we played them we outplayed them, and the one game in Grand Forks, we outplayed them badly.

Need to start getting something more out of Perron. St. Cloud is going to come out tough tomorrow, so could use Perron getting his snipe back on!

Nevermind!

Makes me nervous.

That’s a call. Speak it to fruition.

That was another example of situational awareness, and Johannes turns it over just inside the blue line this time leading to a rush the other way. Last 30 seconds of a period with a two goal lead, get it deep.

Michael Emerson already on the scoresheet with the Steel again. Playing up a level must make it seem a lot easier going back down a level.

That is the perfect place to dangle, when all three defenders are below the faceoff circle.

What does anyone know about Zac Zimmerman from Moorhead? Averaging over a point per game as a freshman with a traditionally strong program is pretty impressive. Even better numbers than Mason Kraft who is committed to Minnesota State.

I think the key truly is situational awareness, and frankly I think that changes from the regular season into the playoffs. In tight tournament contests, sometimes that first goal is super critical especially when teams tend to play more of a lockdown game, so I would say you need to be dialed into situational awareness from the start there. If you're playing a team that has nothing to lose, giving them that first goal can really give them the confidence to think "we really could win this game". I think St. Cloud has experienced that a few times.

Nobody is saying Blake isn't a net positive, but that doesn't mean he can ignore the fundamentals of smart team hockey and the thing that the coaches always preach, "live to fight another day". In other words, you will get your chances regardless, so don't press and take unnecessary chances. After the defensive problems last year we had a reset, and we are starting to fall into some old habits of going all out for offense. He can do all the dangling he wants down low in the offensive zone, just don't take the chances when you are the last man back or will give up odd man rushes.

Blais sat his dad for a game because he wasn't playing the right way. Sometimes it takes a slap in the face to wake you up that defensive responsibility is required of everyone, not just the offensive stars. Wasn't it just a year ago the argument was being made that Brent Johnson wasn't doing the right things defensively? I sometimes think that there are some guys that have a different standard for getting to see the bench. It took forever of Rhett Gardner taking bad penalties, and a lot of fan dissatisfaction before he finally was made to sit. If there was some effort to do the right things, I would agree with you, but it is the same blind passes to dangerous areas and one last move just inside the blue lines that happen repeatedly. Even moreso, after the turnovers are made, the hustle to get back is lacking, and if it was an odd man rush the other way, there seems to be more hustle. When you are talking culture, those are some big issues, as the expectation should be the same of everyone.

Especially on that big ice surface. Our young defense might have some gap problems. Hopefully James and McLaughlin can use their speed to cause problems for St. Cloud.

Yes, gotta love those grinders, could definitely use more guys that are willing to get dirty and play both ways. It seems like we could use more skill guys that are hard to play against like Pinto.

I see Barzal was the Islanders all star selection. Nelson, definitely should have been another candidate to be a Brockstar at the All Star game, and defend his shooting accuracy title. Of course Boeser will probably be in that competition as well.

Although St. Cloud did get a 5-3 that last 3 minutes of the game. Maybe Heather Weems has more pull with Mike Schmidt than with Don Adams for her former school.