tnt

But you were fine with down years if we won a Natty!

My concern is that Berry says that work ethic and intensity isn't the problem which is in direct contrast to what he said after Friday's game in Bemidji saying they had a lot of passengers. Are we at the stage where the team psyche can't handle the truth that they didn't work hard enough to win? I remember Cary Eades saying he had to change a bit in the way he approached players as far as needing to be more positive. Are guys like Dean Blais a thing of the past? Players may not respond as well to coaches like Blais anymore, but I do think they need to get the Hakstol stare every once in a while to keep them honest.

...and Brad is predicting that in Mankato's favor. UND is down another notch in his eyes, as he is the king of the split when UND is involved.

Like we saw with Las Vegas in the NHL last year, hard work can overcome a lot of things. If you have a more mature team that works hard, they certainly can be very competitive. Nobody would say that Minnesota State has more talent than BU, but they swept them for the second year in a row. We have more than enough talent to be very competitive if they have the intensity to bear down.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/hockey/4515609-und-works-iron-out-details-offensive-game Curious to know what others think about the work ethic and intensity level versus Bemidji State. I did not think it was that good like Berry does. I'm wondering about that culture they speak of when that passes as good intensity and work ethic. Zach Parise and Nick Jones epitomize work ethic, and I saw a lot of coasting on Saturday even without holding to that type of standard. I found it interesting that when Lee Goren was talking about the 2000 National Championship he said he didn't know what work ethic was until Dean Blais taught him. Think a few guys on this team need to learn what work ethic really is by watching someone as accomplished and long tenured as Parise from shift to shift. I would argue that part of the reason we aren't scoring is directly related to intensity and work ethic. Whatever happened to the saying "the harder I work, the luckier I get"?

Don't think that is where he was going with that.

Would be nice to lock down another decommitted Cam as well.

Not sure on that, but I know that there was some sort of thing where it cost money to be entered for consideration, so if someone doesn't pay the nomination fee, they are not up for consideration. Not sure how much of that is accurate, but that is what I heard. Maybe someone with a better understanding of the process can chime in.

It would be close for problems with sight lines, especially those in the front row of the top section, but I think they could check out whether it would be an issue or not.

“When I’m ready, I’ll come in,” he said. “I’m definitely not going to rush it. I’m going to take my time and when I think I’m ready, I’m going to come.” Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this quote from the Grand Forks Herald makes me believe scholarship wouldn't be much starting out, because obviously you would need to have enough scholarship money to come in if that were the case.

http://www.inforum.com/sports/hockey/4490652-nd-high-school-goalie-kaleb-johnson-gets-chance-skate-nhlers Maybe they learned a lot about him competing against the pro players.

All EDC is sometimes very subjective. A lot of times people think that players are a product of their team as a whole, which in some circumstances is correct. One loss in 40 games is impressive no matter which way you look at it.

Wow, kind of surprised they didn't wait to see a year in the USHL first, but who knows what the offer entails. Usually, you can wait on goaltenders because there are a lot of late bloomers that have great junior credentials. Just wondering if the local guys are wait and see offers because they have connections to UND and really want to be here with guys like Johnson and Montgomery. Was expecting a Cole Spicer first, but great to have the local guys that know what the program is all about. With the commitments out of the way, they can focus on getting their games ready for the next level.

It's not bad playing someone that will play hard the whole game early on, they just need to learn to match it. Shouldn't need to learn the lesson over and over again. There were only 3 freshmen in the lineup on Friday night, so they can't use that as an excuse, especially when Bemidji had more than that.

As frustrating as it is, it is only two games into the season. Winning fixes things. We'll see how they play against Minnesota State this weekend, as both BC and BU the teams we are always held up against in comparison, both have worse records than us.

Most of the empty seats have been in the student section. I agree it is harder to sell tickets, but mostly only for the games against non traditional rivals. Have a feeling they will take away more student seats at some point.

The word on him coming in was hard nosed player with great work ethic. I see the hard nosed, but the work ethic seems to come and go.

If everyone had his motor, they would score much more often. Mismash, Kawaguchi and Adams only go in spurts when they have a perceived opportunity.

If Shaw was serious about his comments about the defense and such, his inability to utilize their talents on the power play looks even worse. Finishing with 19 percent with the likes of Schmaltz, Boeser, Caggiula, Stecher, Poolman and LaDue doesn't inspire my confidence in the scheme.

Agreed. I even liked the hustle of Senden. Think the whole team can play a lot better if they play with some passion and urgency. My biggest concern is that after all the talk about getting back to the NCAA tournament, they played with neither this weekend. If every game counts, they sure don't seem to understand it.

You'd think that the way they are slaves to analytics they would see it needs to be fixed. Of course those same analytics told them to put Simonson and Olson out frequently because of zone time, so you never know. I would think they would have screamed how many career goals they had between them, so why are they your go to when you are down late.

It's pretty bad when you know that they will let the other team hang around and hang around, then give up a goal late. Urgency to begin, score, play emotionless until they tie it, then show a little more urgency. I am certain most fans saw Bemidji's goal as inevitable, don't know how the players and coaches can't see it coming, and focus on adding to a lead.

I share your pain in not having everybody on board tonight, but realize that it is just one game. Funny you mention Duluth, because Bemidji State has owned them in the past 5-6 years.

Oh, so the standard isn’t Boston College anymore. They got shut out by Wisconsin. Disappointed they couldn’t win, but the next 6 games are going to tell the tale about the potential of this team.

He has mastered the art of trolling just as you have.