brianvf

This team will be fun to follow this year. It looks like Karvinen has really found her groove on that line with the Lammy twins...that line is going to be very hard for any team to shut down.

Haha. Must suck if they can't get every single recruit to come their way. Completely ignore them, Schmaltz's! I believe that both he, and his brother, have already made decisions, idiot. UND seems to do pretty well with that as well. But I wouldn't expect him to realize/admit that.

I wouldn't be concerned about Schmaltz de-committing. Now with his brother coming here as well, and with the UW debacle under him, I'd think he's coming for sure. Now Matteau...that I'm not so sure about...

I seem to remember UND throttling an opponent on the road last year by 5 goals...on the night they opened up their brand spanking new arena. A few months later, that opponent was winning the national title. It's two games into the season. We knew we'd have early season struggles given all the players that graduated and left early. As long as this team makes it into the NCAA tourney and develops a bit along the way...I like their chances as well as any. But we're going to take some lumps along the way, especially in the first half.

USCHO 1. Notre Dame (11) 2. Miami (12) 3. North Dakota (5) 4. Denver 5. Boston College (2) 6. Michigan 7. Colorado College 8. Minnesota-Duluth (10) 9. Yale (1) 10. Boston University (2) 11. Union 12. New Hampshire 13. Western Michigan 14. Nebraska-Omaha 15. Merrimack 16. Maine 17. Wisconsin 18. RPI 19. Minnesota 20. Cornell USA Today 1. Miami (5) 2. Notre Dame (4) 3. North Dakota (3) 4. Denver 5. Boston College (1) 6. Boston University (3) 7. Colorado College 8. Yale (2) 9. Michigan 10. Minnesota-Duluth (6) 11. Union 12. New Hampshire 13. Western Michigan 14. Nebraska-Omaha 15. Maine

About time this thread got rolling. Long summer...time for Sioux hockey!! It's been a long time since we had a season-opening exhibition game not against the Bisons. I'm excited to see what the freshmen can do!

It's hard to hate a team that has been sucking it up the last few seasons.

Welcome aboard, Luke(s)!

Agreed. I've heard great things about MacMillan, O'Donnell, and Parks at forward and Mattson at defense. I think a couple of those guys will surprise and possibly provide some good offensive spark to the 3rd/4th line.

Good news indeed: http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?p=88039

UND lately has become a program that holds on to the "star" players for a year longer than many anticipate. It seems when players arrive here that they dig the atmosphere, town, and program enough that it makes them want to stick around even if they could potentially make the jump to pro hockey. I wouldn't be surprised if Miller and Grimaldi are both here for two or three years depending on where they get drafted...my guess would be Miller for two and Grimaldi for three. Hakstol has done a fantastic job at recruiting since arriving at UND, and he seems to also be able to recruit those players that are willing to commit to the program for longer than expected. Now he just needs to bring home the big trophy and we'll be good to go.

http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2011/6/3/2205598/nhl-draft-combine-day-1-recap

Remind me again...what place did national champ Duluth finish in the WCHA last season? As long as the Sioux make the NCAA tourney, anything can happen.

Desperation? Hakstol is in charge of one of the premier college hockey teams in the nation. He wouldn't offer just anyone scholly money if they weren't worthy of putting on the Sioux jersey. I'm guessing that this kid will be a role player for a couple years, but could end up seeing the ice with injuries or once he gets up to the speed of the WCHA. I'm thinking that many thought that Davidson was considered that when he first joined the team as well, and he put together a great senior season. Hakstol knows what he is doing. I'm also guessing that Di Puma's commitment has nothing to do with Gregoire's decision. If Gregoire signs, we'll be right back to 14 forwards...Hakstol would probably need to bring in another forward recruit if that were the case.

Here's what I would run, assuming Gregoire stays (please?). Miller - Knight - Gregoire Kristo - Grimaldi - Rodwell Rowney - Nelson - O'Donnell/MacMillan Dicken - Lammy - Parks/St Clair Miller is a big body and physical, which I think would tie in well with Knight's vision/passing and Gregoire's finishing ability. That 2nd line of Kristo/Grimaldi/Rodwell would perhaps be one of the fastest lines in college hockey. Pair Rowney and Nelson together with another one of the freshman forwards that can put the puck in the net. Pair Dicken and Lammy together with a freshman that can play good, defensive hockey.

Yeah, I didn't mean to make it sound like Grimaldi would replace all of Trupp's roles from this year's team. Trupp's tenacity and defensive play (especially on the PK) will be hard to replace for any player, especially a freshman...regardless of how highly touted they are. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Grimaldi comes close to 35-40 pts his freshman season...which is where Trupp was as a senior.

No offense to either Trupp or Duncan...but Grimaldi is at a whole other level than them in regards to offensive ability and speed. He is going to be very fun to watch next season.

Whoops.

Agreed. It would be nice to have Gothberg come in as a freshmen in 2012 when Dell is a senior and then take over the reigns when he is a sophomore (like Dell did this year).

I started one last year, so might as well start another one for next season. It will be a long offseason. It is tough watching this year's group of seniors go out without winning the big one. They certainly were on fire at the end of the season, and they just got stoned by a stellar performance from Hunwick. Moving on to 2011-2012. The roster is looking like this so far: Forwards (11): Jason Gregoire (SR) * Brett Hextall (SR) Mario Lamoureux (SR) Danny Kristo (JR) * Corban Knight (JR) Mike Cichy (JR) Carter Rowney (JR) Brett Bruneteau (JR) Brock Nelson (SO) Derek Rodwell (SO) Taylor Dickin (SO) Defense (6): Ben Blood (SR) * Andrew MacWilliam (JR) Joe Gleason (JR) Ryan Hill (JR) Derek Forbort (SO) Dillon Simpson (SO) Goalies (3): Brad Eidsness (SR) * Aaron Dell (JR) Tate Maris (JR) Possible Incoming Freshmen (8): Andrew Panzarella (D) JT Miller (F) Rocco Grimaldi (F) Mark MacMillan (F) Colten St. Clair (F) Brendan O'Donnell (F) Michael Parks (F) Nick Mattson (D) *Potential Early Departure (4): Gregoire, Kristo, Blood, Eidsness Maybe a surprise like Cichy leaving for MJ or something like that. If no early departures happen, that would leave us with 17 forwards, 8 defensemen, and 3 goalies. We'll be a younger team, but still very talented. Not as talented as this year...but sometimes those teams still go on to greatness. We'll easily have the best freshmen forward group in the nation with Grimaldi, Miller, MacMillan, St. Clair, O'Donnell, and Parks coming in. I would anticipate Grimaldi having a Zucker or Schwartz type of season for us. Defense will be solid with Mac, Forbort, and maybe Blood being the anchors. Gleason will be the puck-mover. Mattson should get plenty of playing time as well. If Dell has another season like this year (tough to follow up this year), we could have another special team. Go Sioux!

How does Duluth look? Aside from their great PP, of course.

Time left in the 2nd? Sorry, stuck at work.

How many of UMD's goals have been on the PP?

Bad goal? Or just the lack of defense?