stoneySIOUX

HAHAHA goodness. I need a new hobby I just "hearted" a @yzerman19 post from 2014.

I mean, he is 24, turning 25 before the end of the season

I've seen a few games with Wilkie at RIT and the brand of hockey they play, I'm confident he'll play a physical role. Scoring the NCHC is obviously different, but we'll see. Johannes contributed well in this area and I think they have similar games. I think our scoring will be from our depth. Our third and fourth liners will put up points this year against other team's third and fourth liners. So, we are much less likely to see our top line score lines score like the did the past two season with guys like Gaber and Blake, but we're more likely to see that scoring be balanced. With that said, we did return 83 goals this year which I think I saw is like 6th best in the nation, so that's pretty darn good.

You think so? I was actually incredibly encouraged in this area after our last game. I think we are much less of a finesse team than we have been the past. Strinden, Croal, Jammer, Kunz, Schmaltz, James, Wilkie all bring a lot of size and energy and on the back end, guys like Z, MacDonald, Wiebe, all play that role, too. I think we are much deeper physically then we have been in a long while.

Good to know. Hopefully it's a watchable stream lol. We're spoiled

Very interested in this series. I know MSU is down from what they were before Hastings left, but they are still a group with talent. Two big non-conference road games against a quality opponent. Play like they did for the overwhelming majority of the game against Providence, we'll be just fine. Anyone know viewing options?

I'm sorry lol. I tried to bring it back! As a Rangers fan, I was so happy we was drafted by my team. After just one game, I'm now over the moon.

Ok, well until someone can tell me specifically why Carle is better, that's my overall point. I don't think Bubs lacks anything. I disagree that he doesn't fire up the team. The team has been wholly fired up and won many big games. Unfortunately, some of those games didn't happen in the NCAA tourney.

Can you tell me why?

Again, sorry for the tangent. I don't mind disagreeing with people about this. Maybe we just get back to UND @ Prov lol

It's not BS. It's hockey. No, it's not luck. It's just hockey. What can Bubs do better to win these games? And it's simple.... what did Carle do in those games that Bubs didn't? What did he do to affect the game? FWIW, we did win the draw, but we did get a good bounce off the defenders pad right into the slot where Schmaltzy buried it. That's hockey. Get to the right place. I bet Bubs and crew told Schmaltz he needed to be in the slot at that point.

I think he's been a more successful coach. Is that fair? I do not think he's a better coach. Bubs has made many changes over the years, too. The "something" is my issue... no one has ever been able to tell me why Carle is better than Bubs. It's not luck.... it's just hockey. His teams have gotten it done and that's why he's been more successful.

I'm saying Carle and Bubs are equally as talented. You can disagree, that's fine. I have no problem with that. Scoring more goals lol, ok. No... I mean tangible. What did Carle do differently to make his team score those goals? My overall point is that I absolutely do not think Carle is doing anything different than Bubs down the stretch over the past few years. The bolded part is my point. The overall supposition of the argument is that Carle is a better coach because his team has gotten the bounces to win in a one-and-done.... I think that's nonsense. Sorry, I got us off on a tangent.

I'll have to agree to disagree that it's a big pattern than Bubs' teams don't start fast. I did acknowledge that I think we've, at times in recent history, have had let downs. Last year and not finishing down the stretch felt different than any other situation. No, I absolutely do not think a comparison to now and how and what Gino did 40 years ago is a good comparison. It's a completely different game, with completely different depth of teams, style of play, and construction. Carle's teams have won. Can anyone quantify why? Give me an actual reason why they won a title last year and we lost in the first round. Tangible, actual things. No one can. It's magic fairy dust that Carle possesses.

100% agree with you. Fun stuff. Love the construction of the team.

OH NO! NOT ANALYTICS!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it goes without saying that every team wants to start fast. But to make large, sweeping statements like a team is unable to be self-motivated based on an exhibition and one real game feels incredibly short sighted. UND gets EVERY team's best from the drop of the puck every night, especially when we're at home. The second paragraph.... you're saying Gino always had his teams playing from the drop of the puck and Berry doesn't get this out of his team, correct? So, we're saying players on Gino's team never lost the first five minutes? Always delivered in the clutch? Also, can we also realize the difference in the world of hockey we're in? Why do this to ourselves? Comparing Gino and Bubs is just a waste of energy. Losing the first five minutes is not a good thing, but clearly we were able to rebound. I am not sure I understand the undue stress about this. Sometimes a team punches the other in the mouth. I think what FS4L said makes more sense.... I think it's fair to say that we've had runs of in the recent past where we didn't play well at the drop or lulled during the game. To be a champion, we have to be as near as close to perfect in this area as possible

Reminds me of the "Who do you play for?" scene in Miracle. *Shot gets past T.J. ... Croal charges Friar d-bag* "I play for..... the University of North Dakota!" *Camera pans to Bubs* "That'll be all, gentlemen"

Outside of the first 5 minutes where Providence came out firing, that was a pretty dominant performance. Glad to see the bounce back. I LOVED the lines. Strinden on the top line is a perfect fit for Berg and OMac. Sasha's line had tremendous balance of skill and size. The bottom two grind and set pace. Thought the pairings were smart and helped guys like Strathmann play their game. I hope Bubs keeps this lineup again Croal was a man on Saturday and he'll be a big-time contributor if that continues. MacDonald and Emery are both very, very good defensemen. Glad to have them on our team. T.J. looked the part. Perron continues to, unfortunately, go invisible for long stretches in games. I do love the line combo with Kunz and Sasha, though. Those three could build some chemistry, IMO. All-in-all, that was good stuff. Lots of great puck movement on the offensive side and smart, responsible play in the defensive end. Great start to the season.

Well said

Agreed. And even if people think he should be fired, frankly, he won't be.

Absolutely not "spin" it's all factual. I disagree, they chose to come to UND to play for UND. Every time you hear about a kid committing is that they love the coaching staff. I don't recall every hearing a kid call out one coach. Hak didn't ever win one, so why does this even matter?

I love this. Love that this is a thing. Bring it Saturday, REA.

With less?! Do you recall Hak's recruiting classes?! 06-07 had FOUR first rounders, two second rounders, and an eventual Hobey Baker winner on it.

Who do you think Boeser met with dozens of times during the two to three years we recruited him? Sure Hak closed the door, but Bubs had just as much to do with Boeser coming to UND as Hak. How about Nick Schmaltz? Bubs. How about Troy Stetcher? Bubs. Let's not play this game. Give Bubs his due for recruiting. Such a boring conversation about the recruitment angle of why Bubs is where he is regarding his results. Everything is always brought up in a vacuum and that's not how things work.