brianvf

If only some of your fellow Gopher fans on GPL heeded your advice as well. I roamed over to GPL last night and laughed at some of the comments. It appears that we are still the Goon Halos and the Gophers never instigate anything. It seems the roles are reversed from prior years...Gopher fans are very confident and the Sioux are the underdogs for the first time in a while. And to be honest, I think the confidence from the Gopher camp is warranted. They have played very well thus far, and their special teams have been stellar. Patterson has played well. Special teams and goaltending have not been UND's strong suit this year, which doesn't make for a confident fanbase. I think if the Kristo line can net a couple and Grimaldi is given more time/space on the big ice...and IF the goaltending can get a couple big saves that have been lacking recently...the Sioux could steal a few points. Otherwise I think we might be looking at getting swept once again on the road, unfortunately. Here's hoping that the Sioux prove me wrong. Go Sioux!!

You're not a very good Mole, are you? Especially being that he posts on GPL as GrandForksGopher.

Time to see what the Sioux (and the Gophers) are made of. Gophers have made a killing this season on the Sacred Heart's and Vermont's of the world, while the Sioux have struggled and showed their youth. I am hoping that UND can leave this weekend with at least a split, anything more than that would be gravy...but I don't see it happening. UMN is brimming with confidence and is playing very well offensively right now. Rau is the real deal and is walking away with the WCHA ROtY at this point. Bjugstad looks improved. It will be a challenge for the Sioux...hopefully they can bring the Gophers down to earth a bit!

"I'm a better fan than you." "No, I'm a better fan." "Well, at least I paid more for my tickets." "How do you know that?" "Well fine then, but I attended more games." What a fun argument.

Agreed!

I think if Jordan sticks around long enough, the lure of playing with his brother would be enough to keep Nick in the fold. That, and the family has the ties to UND anyway.

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.