fightingsioux4life

I agree with this 1000%. The frustration people had with Hakstol was the inability to finish the job at the biggest stage in college hockey (Frozen Four). And that frustration was built over a period of 10 years. Berry will obviously get a honeymoon period here (something that Hakstol admittedly did not get and should have gotten), but with the expectations our fans have of this program, that won't last more than a few years. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

You obviously didn't read my post; I said this team dumps it in the zone WHEN APPROPRIATE. And no, we didn't dump it in if we had a breakaway under Hakstol or any other coach, that would be boneheaded. However, I have seen many instances this season where one of our guys carried the puck into the zone with two defensemen in front of him. Under Hakstol, he would have dumped it in. Under Berry, he carries it in and it usually leads to some scoring changes. And it wreaks absolute havoc on the opposition as they scramble to protect their goal crease. Putting pressure on your opponent also leads to turnover and mistakes, which can lead to goals. I have never said dump and chase is ALWAYS bad, sometimes it is the only play available and sometimes it is just the right play in that circumstance. This whole conversation started when someone had the unmitigated gall to point out that there are some differences between Hakstol and Berry in terms of offensive tactics. That led to all these defensive comments by some people complaining about "Hak Bashing". THAT, my friend, is MY biggest pet peeve on this site. I do like what this team is doing and I hope they keep on doing it.

Not to mention a couple of tall WRs to stretch the field. Charles Johnson and Mike Wallace haven't done much.

Well, I guess we'll find out in the next couple of years. A lot of coaches in the NHL get fired for reasons beyond their control. Of course, Hakstol will get his money either way.

That is what we used to have in the FB radio broadcast booth with Tony "The Cogswell Cannon" Stein. And I think Brandt is much better than Scott Koberinski was.

I call the B1G's rule against scheduling FCS teams "The Minnesota Rule". You can thank Tim Brewster and NDSU for making that possible.

That was the result of Mr. Tom Buning and his asinine criteria he used to hire Jones to replace Rich Glas. I think it included "minimum five years Division I experience" and "a Master's Degree". The fact is, every coach starts out someplace small and then gets bigger jobs as they build on their resumes. Craig Smith is one example of that.

I got news for you, Mr. Conscience of SS.com, but it isn't our job to come up with the buyout money. It's Faison's...and the Alumni Association's as well. That is how we got rid of Mussman. Of course, our benefactors need to know that the need for buyout funds exists and that once again is on the Athletic Department....not me and not you. As for what I would contribute, I can't contribute much, but I probably would throw in a token check to help move matters along.

I suppose you still think Mussman should have the FB head coaching job? If you answer "yes" to that question, then you really haven't learned the lessons of history, have you? Nice road win, but we'll have to wait and see what happens the rest of the season before we can call this the start of a turnaround.

Bashing? I was merely comparing what looks like two different styles and admitting my preference for one over the other. My comment on Berry being a former D-Man was to make the point that you can have a dynamic offense and still play good defense; you don't have to give up one for the other. There always are style and system differences when you replace one head coach with another. I saw it with the Blais to Hakstol transition and I am seeing it with the Hakstol to Berry transition. The important thing is, we are winning and we are looking good doing so.

Why wouldn't Hakstol do it? Because he refused to budge from his "Baseline Defensive System" no matter what. Under Hakstol, we almost always did the "dump-chase-cycle-cycle-cycle" routine when we got to the blue line. Under Berry, they are carrying the puck across the blue line whenever they can and doing the dump and chase when it is appropriate. I noticed it right away in the Manitoba game. That puts pressure on the opposing teams defensemen and goaltender. That also helps create scoring chances. And as we saw this weekend, you can have a dynamic offense and still play solid team defense. And with a former defenseman in charge of the program (Berry), I don't think defense will ever be a problem for this team. Even if you promote an assistant coach to take over a program, you will have some changes in how the team plays. Two of the biggest I have noticed are carrying the puck across the blue line and shooting more on the Power Play. I think both have been good for this team.

Me too.

And if we pay the next coach of UND MBB (because I don't see Jones being here much longer) based on that standard, we'll get another mediocre D-I assistant who isn't head coach material.

Yeah, don't want that painted green so it blends in with the surroundings.

Took the words right out of my mouth. SUCK PACK SUCK!!!

What was that saying about "other people's money"? Apparently, that principle only applies if everyone else's ox is getting gored.

People are also forgetting that SIU was making an all-out commitment to their FB program when they went after Lennon. New stadium, all new facilities, the whole nine yards. After begging for table scraps at UND, that was too good to pass up.

Very funny. If Faison is indeed exploring his options (and we don't know that for sure, rumors are sometimes not true), then I applaud him.

Just keep throwing out that straw man if it makes you feel better.

I think they will want to start over fresh with an outsider, not a former coach in the Lennon regime, which was not successful. Bubba went to SIU because of Lennon, he came back here, in part, because this place is special to him. Why else do you think he was so emotional at the introductory press conference two years ago?

I think he got sick and tired of the lack of support for the FB program by the Administration. Also, the Athletic Department was in total chaos at the time and he didn't want to work under those conditions. The blame lies with UND's lack of support for FB, not Lennon.

NDSU has had way more success since moving up than we have and they have to deal with the same "legitimate concerns with state funding" that UND does. As for raising money to buy out Jones, I don't think it would be too hard to get willing donors for that. The FB boosters stepped up to buy out Mussman and the MBB boosters will step up to buy out Jones. And I really hope Jones proves me wrong and this team pulls it together this season and beyond. Just because I point out negative things doesn't mean I want to be right.

If you are talking about Boston College, the answer to that is yes. If you are talking about Boston University, the answer is no (they lost last year's NCAA title game and beat Miami a few years ago).

And whenever I point out that not winning "nattys" has the potential to hurt us in recruiting against schools that win them more often, I get told to STFU.