tnt

Then what does that say about Duluth that he was on their top line?

I think guys like Keenan and Tortorella all have a shelf life with a team. I believe they are brought in to re-establish discipline through a no nonsense approach. It probably works to begin with, then it gets old. By then, if they need to change coaches again, they at least have a new baseline of discipline to work from. I am guessing our program needs to go through the same transition right now to get to that baseline where we were in the past.

Yes, remember when we put up a 9 spot on the gophers when guys like Jackson LaCombe, Ryan Johnson and Matt Staudacher were freshmen? That group was certainly talented, but fast forward a few years down the line, and they became dominant. Not saying these guys all have the same talent level, but I suspect they will take a nice jump from last year. Fingers crossed, but just being able to put a guy like Zmolek out there in the deciding minutes of the game could be the difference between giving up the winning or tying goal.

We'll see if Ferschweiler can get OMac to quit curling just inside the blue line then turning the puck over with numbers going the other way. Very talented, but I think it will be very interesting to see how OMac and Whitelaw fit into that system. I think their powerplay will benefit quite a bit, but we'll see if Fersch can get them to buy in to the rest of the game.

Me thinks you are suffering from dementia.

We've found out quite a bit that the grass isn't always greener, and that you need to compete for the job at most places, but I guess we will see if he chooses to go that route. Think of all the times where UND has had two guys that played a bit, then the hot goalie took the net down the stretch.

It shows 14 games his first year with a .931 save percentage, and 16 games this past year with .919, so a little under half the games.

Coaches like him and Mike Keenan have that reputation because they don’t accept losing and hold their players accountable for their on ice play. For someone who is always complaining about accepting mediocrity, I would think you would respect that, especially considering Berry was often the antithesis.

No, bring in the kind of character guys to begin with. Don’t need to be focusing on changing someone to fit our expectations.

You forgot one thing, a few more distractions now, so can he keep up his grades?

I think this would be a good fit, because it seems he has a solid work ethic and can score. I’d take him over Jack Smith. Smith took that stupid 5 minute major where we scored 3 times.

Wouldn't that be ironic if OMac ends up playing for the team he originally committed to, and if Spicer does the same.

Kind of reminds me of all the environmental regulation statements that companies require you to have when you supply them product. Really nothing but fluff, but the optics make them look better or feel better about themselves. A lot of extra work for a statement that holds very little weight.

Jake Sanderson with another goal and assist so far today. That gives him 53 points. To put that into perspective, that’s double the number of points of Brock Faber at 26. Impressive! Wish we could have seen him in the lineup more at UND.

Exactly, no way Michigan or BU get to the Frozen Four.

Yeah, I think we’ll find out soon enough if he is the change we needed.

No, he became an assistant basically out of college, and he didn’t really ever play in college. I’m sure Malone’s long NHL career he has learned from tons of coaches, nevermind tricks of the trade he could pass on to the forwards. I would call that real world experience. He is very well respected veteran, and I suspect would get that kind of respect from the players as well.

If UND hires Chyzyk as many hope, and have retained Simpson, having an on-ice coach to work with the forwards might be the way to go. If they want someone to demonstrate that work ethic and hard nosed play, Brad Malone could be a very good fit. Years in the NHL, and now experience coaching in Major Juniors would give them another recruiting angle. That would be a pretty well rounded staff. Be interesting to see when Oshawa’s season ends.

Must be miserable to be miserable all the time. You might want to step away from these recreational pastimes , if not for your health, for our reading pleasure.

Yes, and then have them portal out when they don't get ice time.

True, but in the same way, I don't feel sorry for any of them when they aren't able to find a new place to play out of the portal, or if their current coaches tell them they are no longer needed because they have found a better player. This kind of free agency cuts both ways.

Do you even watch pro hockey? The same coaches just keep getting recycled. How many has Montgomery been through already?

Nick Jones is another one that had the unselfish characteristic we need.

Not saying it's complaining because it is natural to want to see progress when teams are garnering commitments from the portal and seemingly no progress for us when we have holes to fill. But much as it takes a while for the younger players to make their decisions in the August period, some players are doing their due diligence and taking their time to make a decision, which is good. Now that all this press conference and stuff is out of the way, I am hoping we see some progress soon, because you know there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

...and I'm sure we will. Personally, after all we have been through, I wouldn't have wanted to take a chance on Whitelaw, so don't understand why people are worried that Western has got a couple portal players and we haven't. I'm sure we will see in the days ahead who will fit with the new direction Jackson wants to go.