tnt

Yeah, with all the top ranked teams getting beat, there must be a lot of teams playing down to their competition. Or, the other team tends to play hard too, even if fans perceive them to be horrible.

But if you're Boston, do you then give up a player that has trade worth by letting him become a free agent and pick a situation that is better for him. In the end it's his decision, but I would bet Boston will make an attractive offer to him.

Couldn't wait to get back from the game and watch this board go from one extreme to another. Funny, but the same people crazy about Johnson starting, would be the same to rip Hakstol if Zane got hurt and Johnson didn't have any game experience. I think a lot of people had this game pegged as one in which he may get a start.

I have heard in post game interviews several times now that the opposition is focusing on our defensemen jumping into the play more now. I think game films from last year are really making teams make adjustments to how our defensemen are a big part of our offense.

Former recruit Luke Voltin is the BCHL player of the week.

Yeah, considering those things, the injuries, including those playing their way through some, UND hopefully has a lot of room to grow. Add to that the continued growth for Nick Schmaltz, Olson, and Poganski, and the upside seems great.

I think UND is going to need to schedule more of these games in the future, especially when they start playing Minnesota again, and Wisconsin is up to the level they should be. Not many conference games that are easy now. I know you have to schedule return games for tough teams, but it would be nice to schedule as many tough non-conference opponents at home as they can and play the weaker opponents on the road. Bottom line is you need a few softies with the league we play in. St. Cloud is a good team but look at their record with their difficult schedule.

Might it be Jiri Fronk, the leading goal scorer in the USHL with Cedar Rapids?

Last week UND was # 11 in the Pairwise, which is pretty close to the bubble, especially when you have teams like Boston College that will be much better at the end of the year and possibly needing to get an automatic to get in. Things change very fast, especially with a loss to teams like Lake Superior or the sort. I remember last year in January people were thinking we had no shot, then later thought we were a shoo-in to make the tourney, only to need Wisconsin's help to eek our way in.

Exactly, we are talking about human nature here. If all the fans are expecting a pounding this weekend with years and years of knowledge that no game is a sure bet, you can assume that college age players are thinking the same way. After the Bemidji State game, the coaches certainly have a tool at their disposal to get the lesson through to the players, and we certainly will learn more about the maturity and compete level of this team.

I guess if we are interested I would like to know the reason he was suspended. When a player that could help an FBS school is given one more chance, I don't know if I would want to take a chance when we are trying to create a culture of accountability. Don't want the win at all costs culture that takes chances because they fill needs. Like I said don't know the circumstances, but it seems odd he is on his last chance with Arkansas. Begs the question what it was he did.

Agree that it is nice to have new blood, but hockey up until now has been relatively clean as far as cheating goes. Does the big-time element of schools from a league like the Pac-12 start to bring in the win at all cost mentality? Not saying it will or won't, just know that college football is a dirty world. On the bright side, if hockey gets a nice following, the NCAA will overlook the cheating in certain circumstances if money is involved.

I guess I look at the term Blue Chipper as someone who is going to come in as a freshman and make an impact right away, to the point of being on one of the all league or all rookie teams. So a recruit can start off looking like a blue chipper, but by the time he gets to campus he might not be. I think Gersich is going to be an impact player with us right away next year. With all the players we lose, he is going to have more of an opportunity to do so.

Just a thought, but the originial conversation about Blue Chips lost to Minnesota, would not be that relevant if we go by 1st round draft status, because I believe Brady Skjei is the only 1st rounder they have. Also, if we use that as the definition, then Tony Hrkac, Greg Johnson, Jason Blake, etc. were not Blue Chip prospects and the buzz around them coming into the program was huge. You don't hear that kind of buzz very often about prospects. And if you go exclusively by that thought process, Joe Finley was Blue Chip, while Rocco Grimaldi wasn't. No disrespect to Joe Finley, but I would consider an undrafted Troy Stecher more of a blue chip prospect. That really takes most small guys like Taylor Cammarrata out of the blue chip picture as well, and he was thought to be one of the big recruits coming into college hockey last year.

Guess we need to define blue chip better because other than Schmaltz, who of Gersich, Poganski and Wilkie were considered blue chips to have some saying it could be one of, if not the best recruiting class ever? Just goes to show how things can change from year to year. Guess I would ask the same of Mismash, then -- is he a blue chip, and by that what do we mean -- 1st round pick, 2nd round pick?

But you also have to keep in perspective what they had left at the end of the season through injuries, defections and getting rid of guys that didn't buy in. You could say that from last years receivers we were at #6 or #7 on the depth chart this year, with the loss of Bridges, McGill and Young and the loss of Hardin (to graduation), Jackson and Golladay. Throw the loss of the starting tight end and running back, top two quarterbacks ... You get the picture. Guess I would be thinking with all of that, UND would be the soft part of everybody's schedule, and for the mostpart, they were not.

Wasn't Minnesota after Gersich and Poganski?

Don't think Murphy has been a liability defensively, but he hasn't found it yet and others might add the harder to play against label. That said, it is nice to have that player fighting to get back in the lineup and eventually prove themselves under game conditions. Like that competition for playing time that they have at all positions but goaltending.

Love a dual threat quarterback in college, especially one who can read exactly when to pull the ball on read options. Just so much more difficult to defend and game plan.

Yeah, don't see St. Louis taking a chance at losing him to free agency.

A guy can dream and hope someone get's pushed back to make room for a Matthews or a Boeser, or both.

They could be a lot better by the end of the year, as they have some young talent that is high end. I guess we will see. Don't feel too sorry for York that Sonny Milano was a no-show.

I assume the nickname Supersonics has some kind of copyright to it, but with the Aerospace department at UND I am wondering if you could use the term Sonic as an adjective to something else Aerospace related and come up with a cool logo. Not only that, but we could have a Drive-in chain as a sponsor.

When I saw the gophers and BC, I thought that there had to be some people in his ear since both said they wouldn't hold to the gentleman's agreement. Don't know if that is the case or not. Was Wisconsin holding to the gentleman's agreement? If they are, they might change their mind in a hurry.

What do you mean?