burd

Easy? What does that look like?

Friday: 7-1 UNO. This team is a bunch of lazy dickbirds, and Berry is too soft to succeed with anything but an nhl-ready squad. Saturday: 7-1 UND This team may not have stars, but it can play with anybody. No team wants to face them in the tourney. Berry is a better game coach than Hak. Sunday: 10-0 UND. About time the refs called a game the way it is supposed to be called.

Yeah, I think the team's broadcast is in a good place right now. It would be nice to see Alex and Jake in the booth for a lot of wins.

I agree. I'd like to see Alex chill just a little, but he's been good. And Jake avoids the cliche' a lot better now. Good team.

It is in situations like this where the team culture also comes into play. These guys dream of playing professional hockey, but for those who know they are probably looking at bus rides or Europe, if the relationships they have forged with the staff, teammates and others on campus are not very strong, it is that much easier to let go.

Looks like the game is starting to slow down a little for Kawaguchi.

This team has played very well this weekend. The lack of finishers still shows, with all the missed breakaways and open shots, but they have played about as well as this group can.

I have two degrees at UND and was well served by them. I also do not think the Big 10 is in a class academically with the Ivies or a bunch of other privates around the country. But its research credentials are top notch, and the academic strength is a definite click above UND. I think those factors will keep UND out of the Big 10, IMO. Deserved or not. I have a boatload of family that are Harvard, Stanford, MIT, U of C etc., educated and I will never apologize for my UND education. A lot of good teaching going on there. A lot of good people there.

I miss speed and skill on this team a hyll of a lot more than I miss more physical play. It is precisely because it has less speed and skill that this team has to be careful about physical play that puts them in the box. And Sic is right about the name. To quote Uncle Bill, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

But only 3 for us? I think their high numbers are also because they know much of our scoring comes from the blue line.

Hey. Anybody notice the camera work? New cameraman or someone did a little teaching. I hope the latter.

You guys see the shotblocking stats? 17-3.

I'd agree they are playing worse than they were playing earlier in the year. I don't know why.

Gersich has been begging for the box with chippy stuff.

yeah, that was a gift, wasn't it. Cam's been sharp last 10 min. Team has sucked, though.

I don't feel that way. We're frustrated, but they aren't dogging it. Off rhythm? yes. totally lacking snipers? yes. A defenseman is the leading scorer FCS.

That's a pretty sophisticated analysis.

5 unanswered goals against a team that hadn't scored a goal in how long?

OK. I jumped the gun on you.

You're faulting the goalie on that one? You kidding? He damn near stopped him.

yikes. Big spread there.

Well, sigh, we blow 3-point leads, teeter on the bubble, and disagree as fans about what the problem is. But one thing we can all agree on. Sioux fans are the smartest, most generous, best looking, manliest (but sensitive!) (or womaniest), fans in college hockey. And modest to boot. No banners for all that, but there you go.

I really do have confidence in Berry's game coaching abilities. I loved Hak for the high quality teams he produced every single year. We got to watch a boatload of high end hockey almost every weekend for many years. As a fan, that's just very enjoyable. I think Berry will have similar success, and I think he might be a slightly better game coach than Hak, though I couldn't say why. One banner that would not have happened but for multiple bounces and breaks (as it is for every Banner winner) should not be the only basis to conclude that he is the better game coach. And we will find out if he is Hak's equal as a program coach. Not many coaches can match Hak on that score. I think the announcers were saying that UND has made the tourney 16 straight seasons, an NCAA record. We may have been complaining about a banner drought since '01, but we were witnessing remarkable success every single year. That's a lot of viewing pleasure.

Berry has continued Hak's chip-it-up-the-boards breakout tendency, which has frustrated me in the past. I know all teams in all leagues try to keep the game on the perimeter in the D zone, but UND has always been so predictable in its transition that teams find it easy to anticipate and can be more aggressive in jumping the pass. When they do that successfully, they control possession. Miami did that again last night. In the past, we've had enough high-end talent that we could usually make teams pay for being aggressive in that way. I think this year's team tries just as hard, they just don't have enough talent to make opponents pay for those strategies. That's why there are so many games when we look like we are late to pucks and watching. It's not laziness; it's other teams getting by with aggressive strategies. Blasi is good enough coach to know that, particularly if his team has little to lose. The irony is that a team with less talent will probably be more likely to adopt a conservative, predictable transition strategy. I know Hak, Berryl, and all those coaches know a million times more about the game and coaching it that burd does. Is burd full of shyt?

I think we fool ourselves if we think we will win when the effort is there. We're just not that good.