tnt

So did the Bison, and most of Hakstol’s teams. Teams do get better, or at least they should.

Just like the Bison being bad this year right?

What if it was a three way tie? They probably still will own the wins tie break.

St. Cloud beats Denver 2-1.

Minnesota scored to go up 3-1 on Penn State, but Penn State challenged a high hit earlier in the play, and Minnesota had the goal taken away and put PSU on a 5 minute power play in which they promptly scored to tie it at 2. Might as well challenge anything close to a high hit if a goal comes off the board on the other end of the ice. Way too much discretion that is going on after the fact.

I said it before, Western plays like UND teams used to play — aggressive forecheck, and good transitions. UND used to get penalties from that aggressive mindset, and now they get penalties by being too defensive, and always chasing the opponent. While I love the mindset of blocking shots, one has to wonder why we are blocking so many shots. Denver doesn’t block many shots because they are in the offensive end most of the time. When you are blocking all those shots you will inevitably end up with more nagging injuries. Let’s not forget Western has 10 rookies and a bunch of portal players, so for us to barely squeak out a win in the season series is concerning. You can tell Ferschweiler’s competitiveness is instilled in his players, as he didn’t want to lose that game, whereas Berry’s teams have had hangovers after winning the Penrose. I’m very glad we won, but the fact that we had home ice on the line and they just had momentum on their side, yet we could barely muster shots on net, is an indictment on the aggressiveness on their part, and lack thereof on ours.

I’d take Josh Morton over Chaves any day.

I am curious though if the line would be considered in the crease. We know the whole puck has to go over the line for a goal, but is on the line considered part of the crease?

Yeah, the announcers didn’t even see how close to the edge of the crease it was.

Berry has always made strange decisions on who to throw on the ice when we need a goal, whether it be Simonson, Senden, or Schmaltz. He must love names that begin with “S”. “S”, as in strange thinking.

Maybe a good thing. What has our record been on National TV lately?

I remember when I was excited on game day because there seemed to be consequence to games. Regardless of what UND does this weekend, they will need to run the table in the playoffs anyway. I suppose home ice would be a big factor as to whether they could do that or not, although this year playing at home hasn't been an advantage anyway.

He’s only 15 years old, so I wouldn’t think he would be committing when he wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while.

One also has to wonder, how bad some of these injuries have been. Are they nagging, or are they such that they would be out regardless if they could play in a big game situation? Hockey players like Tkachuk will fight through the nagging injuries if they have to. There is such a thing as being too precautionary. Don't know if that is the case or not, but with the situation UND is in, every game should be considered a must win, like in a one and done situation.

Sometimes I think he is setting it up so he can write about how incredible a win would be under those circumstances, or an excuse if they get handled.

This would be considered a big get. Would be nice if this was the hinted news. https://dobberprospects.com/player/carter-bear/

Wish they would just show up in sweatpants for every power play. It sure makes their stats look a lot better than they were for the second half of the season, but they need to be consistently scoring each game on the power play in order to keep winning games, especially this weekend. Not only that, they need to continue to be aggressive outside their power plays to draw more penalties. The disparity in power plays between us and the opposition has to change.

Is there such a thing as tampering in college athletics? I would assume if there was, they could get around it, if the advisor gauges interest.

Does it matter if they come from Major Juniors or the portal? Whether you get 2 or 3 from Major Juniors, or 2 or 3 from the portal, you still have to weave those guys into a team. If a guy has already proven himself in college, that isn't a bad thing. I do think that you need to cut down on the one and done rentals as much as possible, and use the one and done guys to fill in a gap for a player turning pro that wasn't anticipated, or a player you think can help you make a championship run because of their experience and skills. Doesn't make sense to need to replace 3 portal players every year. The Zmolek situation is the best scenario, if they can stay healthy.

No, I know you didn't. Not comparing him to McKenna or Catton at all, only saying his goals were comparable, so maybe he has some finishing ability if he has a set up guy feeding him. Obviously McKenna is still very young and the fact he is dominating that level is impressive on its own.

He does have the same number of goals as Gavin McKenna, but obviously not the assists. Just looking at the description, it is exactly the type of player we need, someone who always has his motor running. Could use a few more guys that work consistently hard, and force the other guys to take a look in the mirror. If we could get a Ben Strinden comparable, I would take that in a heartbeat. I do question the defensive end of the equation they talk about because of his +/-, but sometimes that isn't always as transparent as it seems, and not seeing him play, I would defer to someone who has. Probably not going to be a huge producer at the college level, but need to change the standard for a more consistent work ethic.

Explain?

So I assume you've seen him play?

So just get recruits, that is your goal? If we are going after the higher end guys, do we have to figure out NIL? If we have guys right now that could be leaving that are getting NIL, do we offer that NIL to just anybody, or do we wait and see who is available in both the portal or Major Junior? I sometimes worry about Major Junior guys as to whether school is going to be a priority for them, or is it the next progression from their advisor. Could be issues with that. Yes, we need some players, but there also might be some nice portal guys. Hate to have no scholarships available for a couple big name studs that enter the portal. We also don't know if they are going after a few studs that are waiting to make a decision until the season winds down.

See another Moorhead product in Carter Randklev as an example of that.