burd

A Sioux condom?

DU is a class program. Kip Vanvoorhis was a Grand Forks guy, UND alum and a true Sioux fan, but I'm sure he is very proud his son chose that program.

Good, balanced insight.

This is true, and I wouldn't blame them for saying that. But the difference is that UND fans do not constantly use the citizenship of its players as an excuse. And that excuse is so inappropriate. This are UNIVERSITIES we are talking about, not neighborhood church leagues. The whole concept of the University would seem to support as broad and diverse a participation as possible. It's admirable that UMinn can compete so well with in-state kids, and the state supplies D1 talent all across the country. But using it as an excuse for not winning more (or as much as other programs) is just provincial excuse mongering.

Especially knowing they haven't won a banner in 37 years without a Nodak on the roster.

Over the length of a season, that Michigan top line would have had big PP success in any conference.

It feels like a luxury, doesn't it, to acknowledge that we will need a little more luck this year and feel OK about it. A banner can give you that kind of patience. To repeat, they will either need some guys to really step up or some bounces in late March/April. But it will be a fun ride, guaranteed.

We do have some very solid dmen returning, but we had arguably the defense UND has had in a long time last year, and we do not know how much our offense will be affected by the changes at defense. Hopefully, not much, but things like their ability to make good choices to pinch in the ozone and to make the good transition pass out of the dzone are very big deals for the offense. We know Johnson will be tested more this year as well. No reason we can't be in the mix at the end, but there will be more bumps this year. And that's OK. It will be exciting. As always.

I suppose it varies with the player, Fetch. Anyone can skate full bore all the time as long as they are conditioned well enough, which I think our boys generally are. But it's a very fast moving game, and some just don't have the instincts to turn it on with confidence at certain times. Stecher did not always go full speed, but he seldom messed up when he did, because he had fantastic instincts and an elite skill set. There is a fine line, sometimes, between an aggressive defense and chasing if they don't time things right and get out of position. Sometimes they don't rush to a corner, for instance, because they don't want to give up coverage of another place on the ice. I think you will even see our defensemen intentionally allow the other player to reach the puck first on the boards and then smother them. It used to frustrate me when I saw that, but then realized that some of our best dmen were doing it and it worked. I'm just saying there are instances when it looks to us like players are not in top gear when they are actually trying to play smart and are maintaining coverage. No doubt there are times (and games) when the energy is not there and they pay the price, though. As fans, we can see when they are a step late getting to pucks, and sometimes that is lack of hustle, but sometimes it is caused by bad position play or the opponent using a scheme we have not yet figured out how to cover. It's just tempting for us to think it's always lack of hustle. Perhaps the former players and coaches on this board with experience at advanced levels will have more useful comments.

These kids all want to hustle. Getting them to both hustle their butts off and play smart is a tougher task.

This boy knows whereof he speaks when it comes to meaningless posting. Mastery of the written word? Not so much.

It's a good thing Frenchy's closed. Those post grad donations were tough on my budget.

I liked what I saw of what Toews did with the cup the last time had it. He's a class act. He's also been very complimentary of the time he spent at UND and how his game grew there.

Not at all what I heard. A young, but very mature and focused man. That's precisely why he was captain of an NHL team at such a young age.

. . . and Gornall is making his move on the outside! And now it's Gersich, Wilke, Gornall--Gersich Gornall, Wilke!!!

It will be very interesting now to see what happens in goal this year. Whoever is in net will be called upon to do more than what was required of Cam and Matt last year. I'd like to see Tomek get a chance to show what he has, not because I doubt Cam but because we will need two extremely good tenders this year IMO. And that's not a slight on Matt either. He's obviously capable of holding the fort.

It's OK, though. This kind of thing is often part and parcel of winning it all. Getting guys to the next level is part of what makes the Josts and Boesers of the world come to UND. It's OK.

You made us proud, Nick. Go get em, and thanks for helping UND get No. 8. Now. No reason we can't get No. 9. The boys will step up.

It depends on what they include in a program like that, of course, but I think the idea has some merit. Madison, is a great town, but it does experience racial tension and is not immune from the inner city issues they have in Chicago. In fact, there is a fair amount of spillover. And the student body and campus population is extremely diverse. Figuring out how to have vigorous debate on sensitive topics without offended parties crying "foul" is a good thing.

I read SOS, and I blame my wife too.

Their loss, F4s.

Sounds like a teenage pimple problem to me.

The mix we had on last year's team was great, and I think any diversity you can bring in is healthy for a team of young D1 athletes. Their lives are a little too isolated for a proper University experience, given the amount of time they spend together, both on and off the ice. Life for an athlete in an elite program for any sport can be isolating, and one of the most important benefits of a university experience, IMO, is exposure to ideas, cultures, opinions, and attitudes which are different from what you grew up with and which take you out of your comfort zone a little. The University of Minnesota is a very large, diverse environment, but I'll bet gopher players spend so much time with each other on the ice and off that they miss out on a lot of that diversity. Most of these guys are focusing on their dreams to play pro hockey, not learning how to understand Allen Ginsberg.

That's admirable but a little complicated. Have you had to deal with any self-loathing?

Nice play