tnt

But Minnesota State is buzzing and hustling like they always seem to. That used to be the calling card of UND hockey. Don’t see that extra effort much anymore. Minnesota State is indeed tough to play against, and play disciplined hockey.

I like how the Denver player turns to the ref expecting a penalty call. The ref probably told him, this isn’t an NCHC, Don Adam officiating crew!

All I know is that as a season ticket holder I am considering myself a free agent and trying to negotiate with the Ralph for a parking pass. You shouldn't have to park a mile away at a World Class facility. Heck, even St Thomas is putting a parking ramp adjacent to their new proposed arena.

Wasn't Yakesh supposed to be offensive as well?

Yeah, wouldn't give up on him yet. If you look at Madison, none of the defensemen have great +/- numbers, but Ausmus is among the best with those playing a lot of games. Minnesota recruited Yakesh on last year, and Ausmus is on par or better than he is and is younger as well.

Yeah, they got Red Savage, and if I recall, they had some good recruits lined up.

I would say accountability goes both ways. Berry chose to bring in Johnson who was slight and coming off a major injury. Not sure what he saw that would cause him to bring him in under those circumstances. If the argument is that Morrow wasn't going to be a character guy, then I guess I look at our current roster and see several guys that don't fit that bill.

Maybe what UND needs is to have all these freshmen defensemen come in and grow together. That tight team feeling is what seems to be missing a bit lately with guys like Calder and some of the other transfer guys. When you see on senior night all of the guys that have fought together for years, that is where the team unity comes from. I think they need to get back to those tight relationships so everyone is battling for each other. If all the players go their separate ways after practice, that isn't much team building.

Under Hakstol, UND had a conviction with a process of bringing guys in, and it seemed they always had some guy waiting in the wings with Junior experience. Now it seems we are just throwing darts at the board and hoping things work out. I know the transfer portal has put a wrench into everything, but our classes are so unbalanced right now it is amazing. Maybe Berry took the NHL approach and decided to go all in this year with the transfer portal thinking they could win the National Championship. Well it didn't work, and now it looks like there could be issues going forward with the defensive side of the equation. My concern is we will waste all of the offensive talent we have coming in because we will be lacking experienced defensemen that know our system. I am sure they had conversations with Frisch and Kleven, so they had to know what could happen at the end of the season. With that knowledge, they still chose to not develop guys like Bast and Johnson. Very disappointed how we went from great roster management, to the state we are in today. We should be blending guys into our culture, not depending on another team's culture to supply us with stop gaps.

They seem to be turning things around there.

Heard an NHL guy yesterday say how hard it is to get young guys to realize that they won't be sacrificing putting up numbers by coming back hard and covering in the defensive end. He said once they do realize that they can transition from that and it won't hurt their numbers they start to fall in line. Of course it would be nice to have guys that aren't worried as much about numbers as they are about doing what's necessary to win, but especially at the NHL level, guys are playing to impress and get that next big contract.

Who were the right linemates?

He also needs to shoot the puck a lot more. He started to do that in the second half, but it would make his playmaking ability that much better. See Nick Schmaltz's transformation in college and now into the pros - night and day!

Not overly big, but a lot bigger than DeRidder. See AJS post above concerning Basse and his numbers at CC and now at St. Cloud, and I would argue CC has recently been a little more responsible defensively than Miami has, but you never know how it transitions from no pressure to a ton of pressure. Of course they could get Ben Kraws from Arizona state with good numbers in his 3 games with Arizona State, but he left Miami because he knew Persson would be getting the playing time, so that says something.

Yes, at this point you would only be getting a backup from a winning team as they are eliminated anyway, and he appears to be the best bet on all I’ve seen in the portal so far. Wonder if people have already expressed interest through his advisor. Would probably be a little disappointed if he wasn’t our target, knowing what else is out there to this point.

But you were saying similar things when Hakstol was coach and we were making it to the Frozen Four every year. This is karma coming to get you, and the rest of us are caught up in something meant for you. Thanks!

How did we ever beat them on their home ice and take them to overtime the other game when we were playing poor defensive hockey.

We did rip him the last game though. Like I said before, sometimes there is no pressure when you are playing for Miami, just like DeRidder with Michigan State, so it ramps up significantly here. I know he can only stop the puck, but I remember David Carle saying Denver’s philosophy is to recruit winners. That said, he isn’t a small goalie and looks the part, even if his save percentage is a shade under .900.

So then Albrecht, who has seen far less time but produced more than Costantini should complain because he hasn't had a chance to prove himself?

Saw Jim Archibald do some things that should have warranted arrest, and instead of intent, there was actual injury.

...and who knows, he might be the law enforcement that administers the criminal charges as well.

I am seeing 15 as more of a Colton Poolman kind of player, and not sure he is going to be a long term solution for any NHL team if he does sign. No doubt he could surprise, and fill a need for some team, but I would bet that Jandric would have a better opportunity to get NHL time.

I would say we don't have a problem recruiting Northern Minnesota, we just choose not to offer before there is some junior experience to draw on. Many times the players jump on an offer before that.

How is slashing someone to the back of their leg or anywhere not battery then? Should Pionk have been arrested for running into Cam?

Which makes me wonder if he was good defensively in the USHL. Did the coaches think they could fix his deficiencies, and if so, it appears they gave up on him rather early. Mitchell Miller had other kinds of deficiencies, but they were more than happy to give him a whirl, until the administration stepped in. If the coaches want ready made players, then they best be in the picture recruiting some of the first round talent, instead of relying on "character" guys that have a hard time finishing off plays. When you need to have a player on each line that gives a defensive presence but has a difficult time finishing, then instead of tic tac toe on plays, you will be getting the fans reaction of tic tac ohh!! https://youtu.be/kexF0BkIt6I