tnt

What makes you so certain he isn’t ready?

They were saying that part of the reason that they are thinking about Major Junior players being NCAA eligible is because the threat of lawsuits. I’m afraid there is no going back on this now, even though I wish there we could.

Minnesota loses a few guys that play a lot of minutes in Snuggerud, Brodzinski and Nelson, so may be a lot of opportunity for big minutes. Playing with Blake can really give players nice numbers though.

Really, reload with 3-4 first rounders? How many first rounders is Minnesota going to get this year? How many first rounders go the college route in an average year? And you do realize before the new Ralph we rarely got 1st round talent. Look at our 1997 and 2000 teams and show me all the first round talent.

That’s the thing, I think UND has given guys plenty of time to come back from injuries and even got guys rest, especially after wrapping up league titles. The problem I see, is they never regain the edge required to compete in the postseason after that.

This is another byproduct that I don’t like about the portal, either teams moving on to the new shiny thing without seeing how they develop, or players moving on because they think they should be playing right away despite them needing some development and rounding out of their game before extensive game action. How many great players would we have missed out on if we didn’t allow them to develop, or if they moved on? We can already look at examples of players that would have looked nice in a UND uniform if one or both parties stayed with their original plan in guys like Halliday and Rizzo. We have seen so many guys develop at different times like LaDue and Poolman, so best not to throw away the baby with the bathwater.

To be honest, I despise this new system of transferring and NIL because it has and will change the competitive balance and widen the gap between the haves and have nots, especially in some of the other sports. That said, if you are not going to use it wisely, you are going to be left behind. The word wisely is the key. Years like this year need to be the exception, not the rule. UND needs to use it to supplement and complement their current recruiting, filling in gaps of experience and positional need and role.

Was USHL defenseman of the year a year ago, and was Bemidji’s second leading goal scorer this year. Don’t know how fast he is compared to others, but certainly making the World Junior team ahead of Livanavage, he certainly has a lot of talent.

Would be nice to get an Eric Pohlkamp to add some more offense.

They did it again, but this time it bites them, and they lose the point. When you are fighting against Vegas for the final spot, why don’t you pull your goalie before overtime before Vegas gets that secure point?

Blake’s talent and hockey sense are on a level higher than both of them.

What about the .6 game against Minnesota and the near equivalent against New Hampshire, nevermind the overtime winner being overturned against BU. We probably don’t remember all the things that went our way though. We just need to make more breaks for ourselves, by sometimes something as simple as shooting the puck and getting to the net.

I know players should be self motivated, but I think sometimes they need something to really push their buttons, much like Lennon did for the NDSU football game this year. I know Blais brought in Ralph and Morelli to inspire before the 1997 championship game. When I see Goehring talk to the players it seems more monotone and not really inspiring, but maybe he is their best option. I don’t think the chance to see Berry throw up his arm and yell is going to be a game changer. Like I said, when you are at the regionals, and you are an athlete, you should be able to motivate yourself. Maybe they could bring in the other Bubba to do the griddy.

I know for the past 8 years I have been spending more time cheering for the lesser of two evils than I have been cheering for my team.

When you have Schmaltz saying how proud he is of the team, and saying they came out flat in the 3rd in the same breath, while getting outshot 15-1 early in the period, shows the disconnect. How do you come out flat in a period when you have one period to move on to a regional final? Berry basically said the same. But they did try to respond after they came out flat, so we all should be proud like they are.

Oh, and by the way, why did they have to play Michigan again? Losing 5 of 7 down the stretch, beating the powerhouse Miami might have something to do with that. Hey, I was one of Berry’s defenders, but at some point that graph speaks for itself.

I don’t call this in the mix. So Air Force has been in the mix more than us for a National title?

No problem, when I see someone that isn’t very educated I try to help out.

So why not go a step further and miss the post season all together and just win every ten years or so. Don’t know if you understand how recruiting works, but great players tend to go to teams that are in the picture for national championships. Oh, and sometimes players stay another year to get it done when they seem so close to tasting it. Doesn’t seem so close to tasting it. I hope everyone stays, but I could see a few contemplate leaving. Wonder what Berg is thinking coming off a nice season.

Michigan is good, which is why you needed to take care of business against Omaha and set yourself up in Sioux Falls. When you look at that graph and realize over a third of the teams in college hockey have as many or more tourney wins since 2017, it is a stark reality that despite many advantages, they have underachieved big time when it counts.

You still need guys that are hard to play against and can wear the other team down. We have a few, but not many Rylan Kaip or Rory McMahon types. Even Minnesota figured that out.

Was just going to say I have heard stories from people who are friends with former players say that the word is they think UND is a bit soft. Obviously teams like Omaha and CC have managed to grind it out against us, but we aren’t really even remotely able to grind it out and cycle the puck to wear the opposition down. That used to be a staple of our teams and “culture”.

Yes, and most of us that have been defending Berry have pointed out some unusual circumstances and nice performances and said we’ll see how he does next time, especially in the tournament when that has always been the point of contention. Well, this game they had a chance to win one period and move on. Like I said, Berry knows the pressure that comes with coaching here, and he needs to own it, that they have peaked too early on many occasions and that his class management has been nothing short of horrible compared to Hakstol. Thankfully, it looks like it should be back on track with a few guys playing an extra year of juniors, and not needing the portal as extensively this year, but he still needs to find a way where they are playing so good at the end of the year that they can roll through league playoffs and a realistic run at the National Championship. We get that Berry is a players coach, but there needs to be more accountability and playing less favorites. Schmaltz playing in the last 3 minutes when you need a goal to tie seems a bit odd, considering his output.

But you weren’t scared of Michigan, because the Big Ten was overrated.

Berry makes a ton of money, so he should be able to take the heat. Just repeating his mantra, to whom much is given, much is expected. Start living up to those expectations. Better yet, rework his contract based mostly on postseason success. Maybe he would figure out a way to motivate for a full 60 minutes. Hate to post when this is so fresh, but something needs to change because you risk killing the golden goose, by getting fans to be less apt to attend special games when you are like 3-13 or so with Frozen Faceoffs, destination games and regionals. Actually, would like to know the actual stats for those, compared to Hakstol. I guess right now, I view our “culture” below several teams in our league, especially in compete and being tough to play against. That needs to change. Hope they move regionals to campus sites, because UND should no longer be bidding for them with us missing so many close to home. Of course then we will never be a high seed again.