TheFlop

On stronger Sioux teams of not so recent past, only James would have cracked the top 3 lines. I like the others as players/contributors but they just can't be something they aren't.

If it hadn't already happened, this marks the unfortunate turning point of when UND became just another one of the good teams in college hockey, no longer elite. Given the current environment of NIL and portal it ain't coming back either. Boisvert is exactly the type of guy that used to define UND. Skilled and plays with an edge. Him leaving is an indictment of how far this program has slid back to the pack.

Good point. But another point is 5th year senior captains also aren't healthy scratches for not one but two games down the backstretch of a season especially when the team is struggling to maks the playoffs (at St Cloud series). Often where there is smoke there is fire.

Not really old news if.....assuming this info is true.....UND loses one or two of its best players via portal due to a 5th year captain that ended up being a cancer off the ice/in the locker room.

Berry has gone stale. A change is in order. I think he showed up at the right time to get the talent over the hump. But its not working anymore.

UND was outplayed. Two bad turnovers/failures to clear the puck were huge by Juberville and Perron that ended up in the back of UNDs net. Underclassmen for sure, but still those are basic fundamental plays that have to happen. Wish Boisvert stays another year but wouldn't blame him for leaving. Pretty much everyone else on this team is replaceable so might be time to blow things up....coaching staff included.

I like 29-8-27 playing together. The line isn't necessarily great at defense, but instead of spreading 3 guys that can't score across 3 lines to drag them down you just bite the bullet and have one line you know has no chance of scoring.

I think when alot of people hear casino they have visions of Vegas casinos that are relatively clean....have nice restaurants and spas....and cool concerts/residences by slightly over the hill musicians. That's not the reality for the vast majority of native casinos in the tri-state area. Grand Forks does need growth but this wasn't the way to do it. The community dodged a bullet on this one. Any doubts go visit one of the area casinos sometime. They aren't exactly Circus Circus during their prime.

Sacha has NHL written all over him. I just hope that when he leaves after this year it is to go pro. If UND loses a guy like hin to another program it's ominous for the future of UND hockey.

When they start to look like the other ones in the upper midwest. Maybe this one would be different.

Well there is Thief River Falls casino too. Point being that most of these casinos/"resorts" aren't really that nice or kept up.....you can go down the list. But none of them are close to any cities at least not like the proposed one is to Grand Forks. This isn't an issue exclsuive to native American casinos but seems esprcially prevalent in the upper midwest. Now take that and add to it the fact that the city/state will literally be next to powerless to take any action when the inevitable happens. I'm actually pro-gamimg overall, and if a tribe wants to take a run at being one of the providers so be it.....but none of this sovereign land crap. It's asking for trouble.

Letting a large chunk of land near the city like that go sovereign to Turtle Mountain would be an absolutely horrible idea. Let them invest, see if they can get approval from the state for an exemption to build a casino, give them a long term permit if this thing passes, but for God's sake don't give up total control of that land.

Unfortunately you are probably right.

Honestly I think with recruiting the overall talent level is down too. On a good Sioux team, a guy like Jamernik is a 4th line rotational player.....like he was when he first came in. Guys like Schmaltz and Mcclaughlin wouldn't be guaranteed playing every game on stronger sioux teams either.

Best case scenario.....a team is good and entertaining to watch....like the 2016 Championship team. The next best option is when a team maybe isn't good.....but they are entertaining to watch (i.e. Dixon Ward....Russ Romaniuk years). Worst scenario is when a team isn't very good and is nowhere near entertaining to watch (this year).