fightingsioux4life

UND different team at home. I agree with this.

Here we go with the "one and done" bull$hit again. That's just an all-purpose excuse to repeatedly fail in the playoffs and have it explained away. Do you really think that Denver's 3 titles since we hung #8 are mainly the result of "luck"? It's a clear pattern of success we have not had in a long time. That doesn't happen by accident and it sure as heck didn't happen because of "magic fairy dust". Ralph Engelstad didn't believe in "luck" and neither should we. And FWIW, our GWG vs. Denver in the NCAA semifinals in 2016 was the result of winning a key faceoff, not "luck". I like how this team is built, but we'll have to wait and see how the team grows and develops over the coming months.

This has to be instilled by playoff time. You can lay some eggs during the regular season (most teams do), but that has to be ironed out before the postseason starts.

I don't think NDSU is "mediocre". But they also are not the team they were five years ago. Other teams have been working night and day to catch up to and beat them. That is the problem when you are on top, everyone below you is always trying to overtake you.

This is what must change this season. A slow, but steady, improvement in being ready to play at the opening faceoff must happen or we'll have the same putrid postseason results.

Okay, thanks.

I thought Harkness didn't take the job because his wife didn't want to move to Grand Forks?

If he's considered a top prospect and we lost him to an upstart program, then it is embarrassing. But I know nothing about him.

They have definitely taken steps forward since last season.

I have went to several concerts at the Alerus Center (The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, Aerosmith and KISS, Nickelback, Nickelback/Staind/Puddle of Mudd).

And yet, the USHL had more players drafted in June than the WHL, per Schlossman's post above.

Good. Maybe the new owners will be interested in winning more than the AL Central.

I never thought about the "late bloomers". I imagine we have had some of those over the years.

I have always favored a blend of 1-2 year blue chippers and 3-4 year guys. Overagers is just another term for guys nobody else wanted because they aren't that good, so we can't get stuck with those.

I don't think anyone would be complaining if we had won on Saturday.

I am just done arguing with people about it. I have said plenty about the issue and I am fine agreeing to disagree about it.

Good for him. Got get em Blaker.

Denver has three NCAA titles since our last one. Do you really that is the result of "luck"? I am so finished with the "one and done" excuse, because that is all it is. If telling yourself that makes you feel better, go ahead. But I am finished trying to convince people here that not hanging green banners is a real problem with real consequences for the program. To each their own.

Key phrase here.

Wow, take a breath buddy! Don't pass out now! I really don't think potential recruits will have a problem with a passionate fanbase that wants to win titles. A lot of the players we get come here in part because you can make it to the top of the mountain at North Dakota. That isn't the case everywhere. Kids today have been immersed in social media since they were born. They have been desensitized to it. I don't think some insane messages on a message board or X is going to influence their decision on where to go to school and play hockey. There are numerous variables involved in that decision. What is posted on SS.com is not likely to make the Top 10.

Facilities have been upgraded and now the coaches can use that in recruiting, which should help land some better players and athletes. But for most of Bubba's tenure here, he hasn't had those upgrades. Strength and conditioning is also a very recent change. So it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years on those fronts. As for "....what a majority of posters want to hear", what we don't want to hear is that this is as good as it will ever get and we should just be satisfied with it. What about NDSU? They are in North Dakota. They are part of the NDUS (not a rich, private school). Why don't they "....mirror how North Dakota is as a state and how it has been built"? And please don't bring up the overwhelming power and wealth of "The Center of the Known Universe" (Fargo). If they are so big and powerful, NDSU would be FBS now. The fact they aren't tells you that Fargo is just another city in flyover country. Our current problems are the result of Mussman's borderline criminal mismanagement of the program, leaving a mess Bubba had to clean up. The Division 2 and lower quality facilities were a huge problem for most of the past 15 years and it will take time for the new facilities to have a tangible impact on the field. Those are the main reasons for our chronic underachievement in FB. The solution to these problems lies not in settling for mediocrity, but in raising standards and expectations and then giving the coaches the tools to rise up to meet those standards and expectations. Those tools are finally coming to fruition. Now we'll see if the coaches can take advantage of them. And success on the field does not mean sacrificing academic performance and community service. Those things are usually synonymous with each other, not mutually exclusive. When a majority of posters read the bolded part above, it makes UND sound like a high school program where wins and losses are pretty much a non-factor. But this is FCS College Football, not Grand Forks Central or Red River. At some point, we need to move forward as a program or make changes.

Berry did a masterful job managing that 2016 team. With the exception of the Frozen Faceoff, he had them clicking on all cylinders and rolling come NCAA tournament time. Which makes what has happened since then puzzling.

I also like Berry as a person. But, like you, I am starting to doubt if he can take us where we need to go.

I think you have it about right.

Once upon a time, there were two head coaches at the University of North Dakota that always spoke their minds and told it like it was. One coached men's hockey. The other coached women's basketball. One was named Dean Blais. The other was named Gene Roebuck. Does that answer your question? Here's a drinking game for you: Every time Berry says "At the end of the day....." in the post-game interview, take a shot of Jack Daniels. Just make sure you don't have to drive afterwards. I guess that sums up my feelings on this.