brianvf

I just can't see us holding WMU to less than 4 goals...in either game.

More on Emerson: His original commitment from 2020 to UMass: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/yorktown/sections/sports/articles/hockey-yorktown-s-emerson-chooses-division-1-umass He was down to UMass, Harvard, and BU before committing to UMass. The Herald article: https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/und-lands-commitment-from-forward-michael-emerson Pretty unique situation to be down to five schools with only one being out West. Wonder how much influence his Chicago Steel teammates were to his UND recruitment:

It would certainly be a ballsy move by Berry.

Guess not this weekend though...he didn't make the trip. Maybe against the US Exhibition game or a Lindenwood game?

So much for Kaleb Johnson getting a start in goal...he didn't make the trip. Neither did Kunz & Brent Johnson. https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/und-hoping-history-repeats-itself-as-it-prepares-for-series-at-western-michigan

Since he's halfway thru his sophomore year?

I’d be game for this idea. Many times the team will rally and play better in front of different goaltenders. And if we got .900 save % each game, we’d probably have like 3-4+ more wins this season.

As long as Gaber returns, I'm good either way.

Would be my guess too. Roster Definitely gone: F(2) - Hain, Senden Potentially gone: F(3) - Albrecht (5th year option), Gaber (free agent signing), Caulfield (5th year option) Recruits F(3) - Croal, Perron, Emerson If Gaber and one 5th year guy returns (or another recruit or portal guy), that would work out for forward numbers.

He's currently 11-13--24 in 20 games played for the Steel. Would guess he'd be joining the team next season along with Perron?

The guy seemingly came out of nowhere. He wasn’t on any of the preseason rookie teams or mentions. And now he’s leading the entire country in points by a healthy margin as a freshman. That’s crazy.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/defenseman-ethan-frisch-set-to-return-for-series-against-western-michigan?fbclid=IwAR1HxDg_SX6_FWX-RCiRfHvjJ-CZmz6oA88wWDQQhwrcv0xsuZBKp1NxLLM I forgot that Frisch won the Defensive Defenseman award last year.

They have one league win in their last six NCHC games. Hard to see them getting a sweep against WMU...but I'm optimistic for one win.

CHN article on Blake: https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2022/12/05_UND-Freshman-Blake-Thriving.php

The whole program? Not sure I agree with that. This season has been pretty dismal, sure, but I'm not about to write off the entire program because of one bad half-season.

Here's the article on that: https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/jackson-blake-makes-initial-u-s-world-junior-championship-roster?fbclid=IwAR1_bQaI1Y2CHVGvERKmtMViSl-Zkfvfi7YwvydRBGwWetp_kjSUzurazc0

Great for him, he deserves a look for that team.

Funny, but probably true.

Potentially some high scoring games this weekend. Some random stats (current NCAA rank): Shooting % -- #2 WMU 12.8% / #3 UND 12.2% Save % -- #57 WMU .875 / #61 UND .861 PP % -- #3 UND 28.0% / #4 WMU 27.8% Goals/game -- #1 WMU 4.2 / #10 UND 3.5 So they both score a lot, score on a high % of their shots, neither have goalies that stop a high % of SOG, and both have one of the best PP in the nation. I just hope that UND can come out on top of one of the games (in regulation, please!).

I don't have "the Twitter" so maybe I just don't get it, but I can't believe that he has over 236k posts in 13 years. That's like 50 posts a day for 13 years straight. A - Who has time to post 50x every day? B - Who the heck would want to read that many posts from someone else?

Gino's last 7 years were pretty terrible. Only made the NCAA's once in those 7 years and many of the years were way below .500. Blais righted the ship pretty quickly...two seasons of around .500 teams before he brought home his first national title.

Yep. It'd be great to see a bit of a Hakstol-like 2nd half with this team...not sure if that'll happen but we'll see. But I'm optimistic that the cupboard isn't too bare for next season as well.

The team's poor play has me looking ahead to the 23/24 season. Unfortunate, but it is what it is. Schedule Some tough non-conference opponents, but IMO an easier lineup than this year (UW, Army, BSU 2x, UMN 2x, @ BU 2x, MSUM 2x, and Fairbanks 2x). UMN will lose a ton this off-season but will still be good, BU is looking stronger and has some good recruits lined up, and Mankato seems down a bit this season. Plus, all games are at home except for the BU series. Roster Definitely gone: D(3) - Sidorski, Farmer, Jandric F(2) - Hain, Senden G(1) - DeRidder Potentially gone: D(3) - Moore (if DET wants him), Frisch (5th year option), Kleven F(3) - Albrecht (5th year option), Gaber (free agent signing), Caulfield (5th year option) Anywhere from 3-6 Dmen gone, which if it's toward the 5-6 number would be a huge number of starters to replace. Would definitely need to hit the portal to bring in some 1-2 year guys if that's the case. Could see Albrecht and Caulfield using their 5th year option if given the choice by the coaching staff. Could also see some guys hitting the transfer portal too if the locker room atmosphere is a mess and they want a fresh start. Gaber's decision is huge. If he returns for his senior year, it automatically boosts our offense quite a bit. Recruits From our current recruit list, the guys that seem the most ready to come in next season: F(2) - Croal and Perron D(4) - Benoit, Wiebe, Livanavage, and Strathmann G(1) - Hedquist Hedquist isn't having a great season in the BCHL, so not sure if the coaches would bring him in or look for another recruit or portal goalie. Outlook Honestly, if Gaber returns I think that our offense is even better next season than this year. Perron is the real deal and you'd get Blake/OwenMc/James/Strinden all with another year of experience under their belts along with a group of Schmaltz/Costantini/Jammer that shows signs of breaking out. Defense and goaltending is the question mark once again. Can Hellsten carry the goaltending load? Bast would be the anchor of the d-corps with hopefully an improved Johnson (and Moore/Frisch if they return). The dmen recruits will all make freshmen mistakes, but all have skill that will benefit from the extra playing time. And honestly, can't be much worse than what we've seen at times this year.