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How much you want to bet they get him back just in time for UND’s visit in early January?

Not only that, it makes it that much easier on the diehard fans who don’t want to have to deal with the possibility of our bitter rival having a chance to sweep at the Ralph. The nerves seem to get worse with age, not better.

Kawaguchi was much older though when he first came in, so he had even more time to be physically ready for the college game.

Like UND did the Hall of Fame year. Would love them to remain unenthused and uninspired, but sometimes the rivalry brings out the best in both teams.

I really like Josephson, and once he and his linemates start to gain some chemistry, we will have even more scoring depth. Hopefully he and Kernan get their first goals against Minnesota. I’m sure being a Maple Grove kid, Kernan would love that.

No comparison in talent level? Take your green glasses off. Yes we have a couple guys who have a bigger upside in Reschny and Verhoeff, but it may take a while for them to be dominant. Minnesota has 8 top four round draft picks, while UND has 6, actually 7 when you consider Verhoeff. Acting like Minnesota has no talent is just not the case.

Early results aren’t a great barometer. Remember UND fans weren’t feeling great about the Hall of Fame game against Minnesota in Vegas because UND had beaten Manitoba in OT while losing and tying Bemidji State, and splitting with Minnesota State while Minnesota beat and tied Duluth. Young teams can change a bit from week to week, and desperation can always play a part. Hopefully UND looks at this as a huge opportunity to get ahead of the game in the national picture while giving their rival a big hole to climb out of going forward.

So if Minnesota beats us at home, does that mean we will be bad as well?

But it does make me wonder if CHL players are taking visits during the season, because unlike the USHL, some people, like Sutter, could look at players differently if they take college visits.

Ditto.

It’s funny because one of their most beloved figures, Lou Nanne, was from Canada. You would think Lou would tell them the error of their ways.

I think the difference is that Berry was saying the right things, but the accountability wasn’t there. Hopefully that will change under new leadership, along with a more attractive brand of hockey. Preaching work ethic, and then not being on the road recruiting and getting UND’s brand out there weren’t consistent talking points. We saw how crazy the recruiting was this summer out of necessity, but with Chyzyk and the new coaches I believe it will continue to be a point of emphasis, and that along with a more aggressive brand of hockey has brought excitement back into the program. Hopefully the accountability with the players goes hand in hand with the coaches keeping themselves accountable.

True, and I would bet that even with the one and dones in the conference and national tournaments Berry would probably still have his job if UND hadn’t missed home ice a couple times lately. The combination of being good enough to win the league one year with no post season success and then finishing bottom half of the league sealed his fate.

A first round pick from Minnesota is presumably the same as a first round pick from Canada.

Are any of the big names like Preston Mathis playing both nights this weekend? Would be nice if the schedule worked out to get a few guys in here. Of course if their current teams found out they took a visit, that could cause a bit of friction.

Yeah, even gfhockey would have given him more time considering how long it took Sandy to get three titles with no conference championships.

There were a couple times last night where UND took a couple swats at St. Thomas after the whistle. Can’t afford to take unnecessary penalties after the whistle. Minnesota probably has a little more talent to make us pay for those penalties since they live off the power play. Hopefully Strinden is letting the new guys on the squad know about the history of the series, along with Minnesota’s hatred for Canadians.

Doubt Miami cracks top 10. Wouldn’t care if we would have to prove a little more ourselves to get top 5, but probably will be there. For current recruiting it might mean something, but early there is a big discrepancy in play depending on returners and extra summer work. Thankfully, we should be a team that has plenty of room to grow.

Arizona State announcers are such whiners.

So does each player on Omaha wear a shoulder patch flag from where they are from? Seems odd you want to distinguish your players from where they are from, rather than just playing for your team logo. I guess if the players like it, who cares, but have never seen that before.

I wouldn’t. Would rather not give the Big Ten any more ammunition against our league. You’ve already seen Penn State go all in because of their Frozen Four appearance last year, and we will be competing with teams like them and Michigan State for some high end CHL guys. Don’t need another one to add to the competition. We’ve seen they already beat us out for Hensler. When Boston College had a run of down years, I didn’t lament them not being a top ten team anymore. Now that they are back, they are getting a lot of nice recruits. Besides, after what Hastings did by ravaging Minnesota State’s roster when he left, I hope they continue to struggle, although they can finish ahead of Minnesota.

Because basically setting up two open net shots makes him a puck hog.

Better get used to a bit of sloppiness, as this team is going to be a work in progress, and the other team isn’t bad either. I like that they are staying aggressive rather than sitting back and trying to defend a lead. Hopefully they can figure out when to throttle back when they have leads later in the game, but good signs to me so far.

…and we have yet to see how any of this plays out. How many CHL guys are going to be team guys when adversity strikes and they don’t have ties to the program they chose? A highly regarded prospect is good whether they come from the CHL or not, and Minnesota has a ton of draft picks on their team and in the pipeline. I would bet Motzko will entertain CHL players if they can get players that would be bigger impacts than local guys.

We knew they had to replace their top 5 scorers, so I think it is pretty early to form conclusions yet. If UND splits or heaven forbid swept by Minnesota, did UND go down the wrong route?