fightingsioux4life

Gotta love the 1980's.

I wasn't implying that. I just think if a coach proclaims his team as a "family", people are going to hold him to that. And there are certain lines you never cross with your players. A parent is claiming that is what's happening behind closed doors. Whether or not he is doing that is what we are debating here.

To be fair, Sutter is the one that introduced the concept of the team being a "family".

No, we needed the week off. We need to flush out whatever virus is running through the locker room and heal up any nagging injuries. We have to get as close as possible to 100% to have a chance at winning four games.

You can like him and still root against the team he coaches.

So we're back to the imaginary warm front again? Brookings is a much smaller town that has two major employers (SDSU and Daktronics) and not much else. And it's not that much warmer than the North Dakota schools, certainly not enough to get a recruit to pick the Bunnies instead. All the Dakota schools are in flat, cold climates with long, dark winters. There's nothing anyone can do about it, so you have to focus on your strengths and things you can control.

NCHC > B1G

This isn't an academics vs. athletics vs. research issue. I believe we can be great in all three. False choices will only hold us back from our full potential as an institution.

You are correct, we were staring into an abyss exactly one year ago. I just think people are anxious to get back to winning at a high level in March and April.

Denver has three titles in the past eight years (not counting the COVID year in 2020). So I guess they didn't get the Parity Memo? 🤔

That is the attitude I am adopting on this issue: Whomever we have to play is who we'll have to beat. I think the past decade of ineptitude has given our fan base serious insecurity issues.

I believe that was in 2004.

That's putting your money where your mouth is! Kudos to you sir.

That's almost 5 years ago!

That's not an excuse, it's an unfortunate truth. You cannot expect to win hockey games when you are fighting an illness. They absolutely must quarantine sick players so it doesn't spread to the rest of the team. The extra time off is a Godsend for allowing sick players to shake off the virus and get back to what they have been doing all season.

This season is 100x better than last season no matter what happens the rest of the way.

It's ALWAYS "very tough" to win a natty in this sport. That's something that is well known by anyone who follows the college game. What I find very disheartening is that our own fan base has gone incredibly soft and complacent and seemingly resigned to our status as a stepping stone for other teams and also-rans in college hockey who cannot be expected to compete for nattys anymore. The idea that everything is based on "luck" has become almost Biblical law around here and it is absolutely infuriating. Denver hasn't won 3 nattys since 2017 because they are "lucky". It's because they have recruited well and have had outstanding coaches guiding the program. We now have an outstanding coaching staff of our own who cleaned up a toxic dumpster fire in a few short months last year. And I think the future is way brighter for this program as a result. It is NOT "unrealistic" to expect this program to annually compete for nattys, it should be a reasonable expectation. And I think Jackson and his excellent staff are in position to do just that. Now it's time for our fan base to shrug off our self-doubt and PTSD from recent playoff failures and start believing again.

The 2016 team didn't look good in the NCHC semifinals either. Don't write the team off based on one (albeit putrid) game.

If we lose everyone and NDSU loses no one, it will be time to have a serious internal conversation at UND about the future of our MBB program and how to fix it.

You are correct. I just think people are frustrated from years of underachieving and outright mediocrity and are anxious to get back to winning in March and April.

I am not in the mood for your nonsense tonight.

Any players who are sick and showing obvious symptoms need to be told not to set foot in REA and especially the locker room for the next week. Tell them to go to class, but otherwise rest and recooperate. They have to flush this crap out of the roster or it will continue sabotaging the team on the ice.

It also isn't what Quinnipiac does. They got bounced by Clarkson in the first round.

Denver finished second in the NCHC this year. So let's not talk like they struggled all season until now. And I would love to knock little Opie Taylor and those hideous red uniforms out of the national tournament on our way to #9. Preferably in Vegas. The #drivefornine is not over, tonight's putrid performance notwithstanding.

Michigan State lost to Ohio State. That doesn't ruin their season any more than tonight's putrid result in Grand Forks ruins UND's season.