tnt

Would have helped if St. Thomas didn’t have a meltdown against Providence.

Were you ever around in the old WCHA days? Besides, most of the seats are already paid for, so all they have to do is fill them.

Is Omaha going to crap the bed again against UMass?

Yeah, they have been living off of their power play, so we better be disciplined against them.

So if Spunar struggles, I expect you won’t be asking for someone to replace him?

Didn’t watch, but it sounds like a game a young team can build from, since it sounds like a bit of adversity from some non calls?

Yeah, with 2 timeouts left, if you were going to go for a field goal, why not run on 3rd and 2, then if you make it, throw a few to the end zone before settling for the field goal.

Hoping we look back on some early year frustration like we did with Hakstol and think “where was that team earlier”. That figured to be the scenario we would need going into the year, and can only hope they can get those critical wins when they need them like Hakstol’s teams seemed to do to get into the tournament.

I would say Jackson has a very short leash for using the “not starting on time” phrase because it is his job to make that mantra a thing of the past. Remember we are going to be the team that gets back to old Sioux hockey and always be outworking the other team. Let’s make this the last time we hear that phrase for a good long time. Consistent effort should be a non negotiable, save for college students not being on the same page physically or mentally occasionally. Never should be the whole team being inconsistent with effort.

If it’s a “must win” for us, then a ton of eastern teams are also in that situation, or worse, because their leagues aren’t ripping it up to this point. Not a must win, but need to show major urgency. Like I said before, we still had a lot of chances last year to get in the picture even after seemingly out of it, and our league struggling. So many contenders like Maine,BU, BC, Quinnipiac, Providence, etc. with 2 losses with their leagues behind the Big Ten and NCHC so far. Going to be a bigger logjam this year, because I really have no idea how the two top leagues will play out in conference play. Plenty of teams that have shown better in non conference play than expected.

Yes, can’t afford to lose another one out east. Thankfully not many teams haven’t been dinged by a few losses and if our league can finish out the non conference strong, we still have the ability to grow while still keeping our head above water. Critical for us to start doing our part, starting tomorrow.

Now we know why Bob only recruits Minnesotans, as they know how bad it is, yet continue to live there. If recruiting against them for out of state players, send the long list of assaults and shootings that have happened over the past half year to the parents of the prospective recruit.

If we swept Providence out east our fanbase would be expecting us to not lose again. Providence did beat Quinnipiac in exhibition and we’ll see how they do against common opponent St. Thomas this weekend.

You don’t think that would be a red flag for potential draft status?

Providence is hardly a cupcake.

I would say if Homer doesn’t give up those two goals to make it 3-1 and we pulled out a tie holding Minnesota to low shots, the vibe on this board is a lot different. We were all over them after that goal that slipped through Homer’s legs, then Strathmann tried to hold it in and was forced to take a penalty on the other end, which compounded the situation. i think it’s safe to say that unless we go undefeated the rest of the way, there will be some that point to every mistake the players make as proof that nothing has changed from the Berry era.

Be more specific on what mistakes you perceived.

Would love to see St. Cloud’s power play stats over the years from home ice compared to on the road. Quite a change for every team visiting trying to get the right gapping with such a big ice surface. Would imagine that would manifest as a big advantage for St. Cloud when the opponents can’t be aggressive in the corners.

How many guys can travel? Would think they would take both Laurila and Jubenvill on defense, but who knows.

Giving Ziebarth extra time to heal would be great.

Is a first round bye still possible for us if we run the table?

For sure. I think they are set up to be similar to past UND teams where they roll 4 lines and wear down the other team. Because of some very poor penalties, we weren’t able to do that the second night against Minnesota, which meant less time for Littler, Croal and Zakreski. We were taking it to Minnesota before the penalty leading to their goal, taking the pressure off of them and letting them settle in. This team needs to play to their depth strength and improve their power play, and they have a team that can be a force the second half.

The fact that people thought a team with 15 new guys would just roll through their schedule shows just how disconnected some people are. I think 5x5 UND played better, which is why the dumb penalties were so disappointing. Also, if I recall, people were upset with Berry because he kept changing the units around not allowing any chemistry to grow. I like that Jackson had 3 freshmen forwards killing penalties, instead of bringing in the graduate transfer because of experience. It’s amazing how a loss to a desperate rival, who didn’t manage a lot of offense, changed the overly optimistic view of the team after 3 wins to start the season. David Carle isn’t quite so concerned about an early season loss or two, as long as they are moving forward. Anyone remember how many goals Denver gave up early in the year when they won their last title, and how many total goals they gave up in the tourney? This team will need to be that kind of team, where they can build into a quality team by the second half. Hopefully they can do enough to be in the picture, as we saw how close some of Hakstol’s teams were to the bubble before making late season runs.

Cooper Simpson with 2 goals and an assist to become the leading scorer in the USHL.

What disappoints me most so far is that a lot of the egregious mistakes and penalties are coming from upperclassmen, not freshmen. Strinden’s giving up breakaway goal to St. Thomas when we had a lead, then penalties by upperclassmen in this series. Expected much more from Strinden and Menghini, but hopefully they’ll come around when it gets into the heat of it. Josephson seems like he deserves power play time with his zone entry and puck skills, along with Strathmann. To be sure I expected growing pains, but when a lot of those pains aren’t part of a youth learning curve, it leaves you a bit disappointed. Oh well, on to a critical Clarkson series.