stoneySIOUX

Friday - Juddy Saturday - Blake

Yes. No doubt. Get a sweep and all is well. Lose a game, the hounds will nip again lol.

Can someone fill me in with this "Stu" conversation? LOL

Four of those are against teams who are going to be near the top of the PWR. ASU could find itself as a TUC. Can they cost us a bid? Sure. We know one bad game early can do that, but none of those three losses are really THAT bad. At the end of the day, get wins and we'll be fine. This is literally all this conversation, from my end, has been about. It's OVERREACTION. We're 7 games in. If this game in Vegas nips us in the butt at the end of the year, I'll eat my words. I do not think this will be a big deal.

Yep. No scholarship. He definitely made a smart decision, IMO.

Oh, I know I'm in the minority on the opinion of that player hahaha.

And another UMASS player who hasn't

Ferner was absolutely looking at Europe for pro hockey. I guess I haven't followed him since he left. With your overall point of players taking other players spots and loyalty, I guess I just want the best player on the ice. I absolutely think Farmer is a better player than Ferner and that's not a knock on Ferner. Yes, it's pretty clear the coaching staff thinks Farmer is a better player/the right player as he's here and Ferner is not. Calder got pushed out due to the rookies, not the portal. We needed to give his scholarship to an incoming freshman. I guess I just don't see a problem there. Lastly, apparently Portz and/or Albrecht aren't earning their spot during the week. So, I don't know what to tell ya.

This is the concept of gelling. You seem to believe all teams should hit the ground running every season. I don't think that's the case. I absolutely believe the talent is in that room to be a very solid team, but we're 7 games in. We'll get there.

Just to clarify a couple things... Calder was actually not asked to come back. He was told he didn't have a scholarship because we wanted to bring in our recruits -- James, being the most timely after his junior performance last season. So, we had A LOT of consternation of losing Spicer because we kept older guys... can you imagine if that would have happened with Calder? Ferner got married and went to play pro hockey in Europe. He made his own decision. Farmer has been absolutely everything that was expected, so I am not sure what you're seeing, sorry. As far as Portz and Albrecht go... earn your spot, homie. You guys want all of our young studs on the ice or some grizzled vets? Pick your poison.

It's hilarious, because like I just noted in my last post, if people wanted to fire Hak like they want to fire Bubbs today, Hak would have never made it to Christmas. And we'd never would have had his second half teams. What it is is a lack of understanding that it is absolutely, unequivocally, harder to win a national championship now than it was in say, 2000, when we won our 7th. We have a tradition that spans decades of dominating in a sport that was incredibly top heavy. That tide has turned and SO many more teams are competitive. Some say that is an excuse, but it's just flatly common sense -- if the talent pool improves, it's harder to win. UND has still consistently been a top program, making the tournament nearly every, single season. Hopefully people soon realize how frickin' hard it is to win a championship so everyone calms the eff down if we're not undefeated in October lol.

So, you wanted to "fIrE hAk" every season I take it, then? If you don't think it's a thing for a team to gel, I don't know what to tell you.

They are 5-4. So... yeah.... why don't we just wait until the end of the season to make a solid declaration, mmkay? Mmmkay.

What are our expectations? National titles? If so, I feel like there's more to the story. My expectation every season is we make the national tournament and have a team good enough to make a run at a green banner. This has basically been what I want out of every season that I've watched UND hockey. We've hit that mark nearly every season.

I mean, I'd guess Jax, but I have no idea.

We see it LITERALLY EVERY SEASON lol. The team goes through a tough stretch - "panic, fire bubbs, boo berry, team sucks, no pride, they should skate faster" ... blah, blah, blah - by the end of the season we're where we need to be.

No one is saying we're ok with it and it's also not true. "Crappy play".... well, sometimes teams just don't play well. And hey, give some credit to the other team on the ice, too. I completely disagree that our team isn't hustling. The team is working hard, but just in a rut. It happens. They are still together on the first set of D because they are our two best D men, who have shown in their careers here that they can play the game at the highest level. You're overreacting to a 7-game stretch. Bubbs is not, because that's what a head coach does.

Nor should he.

So, your example was a single one from 4 seasons ago? Some around here don't recognize that that the tough guy mentality isn't prevalent in coaching anymore. Bubbs is always juggling line combos and trying new guys in new places, so I am not sure where this "tough calls" discussion is coming from. We're 7 games into the season. What "tough call" does he need make at this point? Sitting Judd? Or, maybe you roll with a guy you're sure about even if he's struggling. Try and build his confidence since he's a leader on the team? Yet again, our fanbase wants our coach fired. And 7 games into the season in which we're 3-3-1, no less. In the same season where we've split (yes, I understand the QU Friday game) against two top 5 teams.

FS4L, is this where you're going with this? If so, I guess I can see your point, but my vibe around this is that people don't agree that we're trending that way.

Yes, I don't understand this narrative he speaks of so often

Except that that win actually went down as a win in the record book.

Much like Colton Poolman, upperclassmen always feel like they step up in games like this. I'll go Hainer.

Definitely not arguing they are a cupcake, just speaking in general. I am still thinking we can and should be able to handle it.

Certainly not belittling ASU, but Quinny and Minny feel like a different level than the Devils. We'll see. I am still very confident in this team's ability to shut other teams down. It's only Game 7!