redwing77

They revealed the mascot yesterday: Does anyone other than me think that this may make it easier for rivals to make light of the Force? To me, it seems a rather dumb mascot and the kids get to name him, which will undoubtedly turn him into an even more caricature-esque creature. Here's my fears/ideas: Fred Force McFeely the Force Mascot Hank the Force Mascot Hughes the Force Mascot Newton the Force Mascot Psycho kid killer Bill the force mascot yeesh... Maybe I'm just not a mascot person.

hence it begins....

Aside from all the inane NDSU vs UND pissing match that usually and will erupt in this thread, my question to you is this: How does acceptance rates (via percentage) translate into High School students' motivations to choose between schools? It could mean that NDSU's acceptance policy is far more lax than UND's. It could mean that UND is too picky or the enrollment process is seen as too cumbersome and stressful for some qualified applicants. It could mean that, statistically, NDSU just lets more students in than UND. I don't see where the quality of the students themselves are represented in this statistic.

Beating a dead horse here again, but.... UND's philosophy is such that it is actually entertaining to watch? That's the primary difference if you discount the LW lock and the trap.

Apparently he's either a freshman or going into his sophomore year. A talented guy no doubt, but that's very young. I'd rather spend my time recruiting an older kid like a junior or even a senior. And, to be honest, UW should be a very attractive destination for a defenseman. Their style of play really highlights defensive ability.

Chief- A good point. The use of the word "them" may not have been altogether fair. Oxbow- There is no worse concept for the race card or victim card mentality than self-accountability. Failure of the majority ( in this assumed word, the whites), is seen as an opportunity to point out the flaws of the majority. Failure of the minority is not seen as caused by some fatal mistake on the part of the minority. It is seen as a byproduct of oppression and racism by the whites. Some rationalize it by saying "What would you think if you were in our shoes?" I can honestly can't say. I wasn't raised to pass blame every time things get rough for me. As a Jew, it would be easy for me to blame the world's ignorance and anti-semitic tendencies for the Holocaust. It would be easy to point at the fact that I still haven't been hired for that $100,000+ annual salaried job yet because companies couldn't handle yet another Jew in a high power position. I was taught is that what I make of life is my own doing. It is true that external forces can mold or direct the path I take, but the path I walk is still my own. If there is a blockage of the pathway, it is up to me to find my way around the blockage. I cannot throw up my hands and start pointing fingers. Passing the buck is out of the question. Not all minorities play the "woe is me" weakness perspective. I have found many Asian Americans are also this empowered. They come to the United States with the perspective expecting the deck stacked against them. Whether or not it actually is stacked against them is irrelevant because they simply blow the whole deal out of the water. Sure, that is a generalization, but when's the last time you've seen an Asian American on TV or in a media outlet complaining about the rotten past they've had in the United States? Remember, Chinese people were treated worse than African Americans in the past (look at the railroad construction era). Where are they? Why aren't they pointing at us and calling for our endless guilt and reparations? These NA and other minority activists personally make me sick to my stomach. They do as much harm to their cause as they do good. As racist as this sounds, I sometimes feel superior to these people as I've learned to overcome rather than dwell in a past that is long past.

Rich Thorpe brings it up and I get ripped for it. Seriously, I think Brad pulled the posting because I can't find it anymore. there was a comment on Brad Schlossman's blog that stated "The #1 goaltending job is Walski's to lose." And, historically, I'm right. When's the last time there was a thread ripping on the play of a ND boy wearing Sioux colors? Plenty of Minnesotans and Canadians getting ripped over the years. And, I am over it, choyt. The question is: Are the other posters over it? This season will tell. Last season some weren't. The season before some weren't... The season before that some weren't... see where it is going?

Nice recovery late in your post. The instant the NAs lose their victim status (in other words, feel more empowered) they'll lose all this momentum they've garnered. They won't be able to maintain all the sympathy that gets them a lot of what they get. There could even be negative shifts. If the NAs are seen as equals by both sides, then their lopsided financial status (more NA only scholarships than there are for any other ethnicity at UND at least) may be seen as detrimental and cut back. No, the victim card is here to stay. Suggesting otherwise would be like asking Jesse Jackson to put down the race card. Not going to happen.

junior24 is dead on. Trevor Hammer doesn't belong on the list at all. Gotta love how good our forwards have been over the 90s when you have to put Landon Wilson as a reserve. Same thing regarding Brad Bombadir and the defensemen. Having not seen them play though (meaning, relying upon statistics), I might put Hoogsteen or Mitani ahead of McLean, though. Instead of Trevor Hammer, what about Tim O'Connell, Brad Pascall, Mark Pivetz, or Mitch Vig?

I love predicting the team goat. I think it will be Eidsness or Finley. Finley has the advantage because he's been the goat before. Veteran status, ya know? Eidsness will be a choice because he was drafted, therefore he has to be awesome, right? Walski will inevitably get a pass because he's a "local" boy. That's my prediction.

Well, I had thought about Nathan Lieuwen as the next UND goaltender after Walski leaves, but he played 3 games in the WHL before leaving for the BCHL, so he's a 2009 recruit who'd have to sit out until 2010. Sad really, because he just helped Team Canada win gold at the Hlinka tourney. I also thought about Joe Howe of the USHL. However, he just committed to CC. I think a lot depends upon this year. Our goaltending recruiting philosophy is a mystery, true. I have no idea who is good out there.

I'm not sure I understand the first part of your post. Are you saying UND has two stud goaltenders on their team? If so, I'd have to say that I can't agree with that right now. I honestly don't know what we have in goal. Walski is a hard worker, yes. A team player, yes. A goaltender who was brought in as a 3rd stringer and worked his way into position for playing time this year, yes. But is he a stud? Can't really say that. Some would argue no, because a stud goaltender would have more than 1.5 GP by his senior year. I can't tell you what Walski brings in game time situations against teams that would be tough like DU, CC, UW, UMN, or even SCSU. Eidsness looks to be a top notch recruit. Even so, that has shown recently to be good only on paper. Bachman was a good recruit, no doubt, but he wasn't expected to be as good as he turned out to be his freshman year. On the other side of the coin, Frazee was supposed to come in his freshman year and be a stud goaltender thanks to countless stellar performances in juniors and internationally. It didn't happen. Harrington is a complete unknown. He comes from a league I've never heard of (SIJHL) and I'm not sure how many of us have heard of. He's 20 or 21 as a freshman so he is more mature than Eidsness, though. Who knows with this guy. Very up in the air if you ask me.

Precisely. If you sucked enough to be in the tourney the most you could beat would be 3. The fact you may have beaten 4 makes you too good.

4th highest? You don't suck enough to make the first ever Duffers Invitational. Let me know who got the top 3 highest scores though, they'll be invited. :silly:

That sounds awesome. You're only allowed to play if you suck at golf worse than China is at age verification of its Olympic gymnasts.

It's a wait and see thing to me. If Walski pulls a Curry (BU's late goaltender that went from recruited walk on to starting goaltender), I'll be very impressed, but I don't believe in seniority rules nor the local boy mentality. I don't give a damn where anyone on our team is from, as long as Hak and Co. feel that they have the ability to help the Sioux win games. I don't care if that person is a true freshman or a fifth year senior either. EDIT: Removed Nathan Lieuwen. Apparently the WHL got to him first.

That's great! Let's talk about my horrible golf game instead!

Well, according to a commenter on Brad's blog, the goaltending job is Walski's to lose. In other words, it's nice to see the Woog mentality converted to North Dakota still alive and well. In any case, we do have three inexperienced goaltenders, two of which are freshmen this year. One (Harrington) will no doubt get very little (if any) game experience. Walski will indeed get his shot, but so will Eidsness. If you liked last year's arrangement of one goaltender most of the year, then you'll hate this season. Welcome back, goaltender rotation.

Bolded is the operative term. There have been many teams, Sioux teams included, that had a lot of flash and flair but gotten nowhere. Meanwhile, the most consist teams offensive, defensive, and goaltending gets farther. Look at Michigan State as a great example. Actually BC fills this bill too.

Uh... Goon... wasn't Dahl a football player and former football coach at one point before taking up the reigns at some DIII school and, from there, SCSU? He was recommended by Herb Brooks, which shows that even the smartest hockey minds can be retarded sometimes.

Sorry, one Dahl-led win over us in the F5 doesn't mean that SCSU wasn't a joke pre-Motzko. They were. Face the facts. Dahl got lucky that year. In fact, I'd go as far as saying (sorry Exiled One) if tUMD was the home of "Gopher rejects" then, under Dahl, the Huskies were the home of tUMD rejects. SCSU was one step better than MSUM and two steps better than BSU under Dahl. That's my take on it.

They haven't had much trouble recruiting goaltenders. I think you have two good ones right now and with Lee coming later on, it's growing into a trend. The question lies in the rest of the team. I think SCSU has the coaching to change from joke to legit and have showed it at least in league play in recent years.

Yeah, that's what I meant. I also thought style of play changed. I remember reading about Nick Mattson's game drastically changing since joining the NTDP U17 team. That's why I asked for clarification.

Please correct me if I do not have the correct understanding of what the NTDP does for players but... If Ambroz goes NTDP, we should expect a shart dropoff in offensive production as the NTDP coaches work on Ambroz' weaknesses, perhaps more defensive forward play, skating, or whatever weaknesses he has. Didn't Kristo's offensive production drop drastically between Minnesota high school and the NTDP? Am I completely off?

Maybe so, but looking to a DII team that is out here or near Robert Morris could be the answer. Perhaps a team like St. Norbert. Robert Morris is out east, right? So maybe entice Norwich? If any Fargo-Moorhead school is likely to go DI hockey it will either be Concordia (not likely) or NDSU (not hopefully).