jk

Had a fun time in attendance tonight. Not even remotely the goalie's fault. ASU has some slick offensive players and they made the most of their very few chances. 4 and 18 were on the ice for both those second period goals. 18 is almost unbelievably gifted offensively for a person his size and age, but defensive coverage is not currently a specialty. Not down at all about the squad, as they had a lot of jump and were clearly the better team. Sometimes the other team (which, you know, has good players too, and they're trying too) has momentum and you have to weather those times. That was the downfall tonight. But this UND team is good, and they carried the play.

That sounds a lot like Blake at the start of his college career. Drove me nuts, but the next shift he might try something that worked. Good for McKenna to be in the NCAA this year to get better.

Need to find a way to break that split pattern, but it's so difficult, as we see all over the country every weekend. The fifth goal is how I want this team to be. Croal won the puck in the corner and wasted no time in wiring the puck to Strinden, who immediately put it in the net. Just like in bubble hockey.

PTSD from going 1-4 against them the prior year, including some beatdowns. Even the regular season split that preceded that playoff weekend included a 7-3 Omaha win. So I am tired of it. Likewise CC.

I'm tired of getting worked over by Omaha.

That's a HS senior. He's obviously a gifted offensive player and already has a green light, but it'll take some getting used to a defenseman down by the goalline in the offensive zone so often.

I still like this team's chances to be good. When they're going, which we've only seen glimpses of so far, I think they're better than the last few years. Even when Blake was here, he was amazing, but the whole team couldn't seem to put it together. Shorter: this team has a high ceiling.

Thought UND was playing great up until they went on the PP. Dominated possession, crisp passing. Similar to the start of the Friday MN game. Then it kinda went to hell.

You saw hints of what Verhoeff can be, especially with the puck, and he may change a lot between now and March. On the downside he looked a bit lost on the rush that ended with their fourth goal.

Schneider is a quirky centerman, but he's got two bombshell wings that do the heavy lifting, and a propulsive back end that keeps the unit always in motion. Very creative.

It was a joke.

Feels like the title game in 2022, when Mankato worked DU for two periods.

I guess Blake made the right call to go pro. That he's cemented a top six spot and PP1 on one of the best teams in the league is amazing. And to do it in Carolina, where they expect a commitment to defense. When you think of where he was as a freshman, turning the puck over at the offensive blue line with no one behind him, and how prepared he was for pro hockey just one season later, well, I know we're supposed to hate the coaches now, but they obviously helped prepare him well for the next level. Wasn't it a popular view here to bench him? But the coaches played the hell out of him instead, those idiots.

Getting nasty in here. Mods?

It was hard to fire BB when they kept winning league titles, I get that. I've also long believed ten years is a nice run, and then give someone else a shot. Over the last 15 months or so, the things that bothered me were getting run out of the rink repeatedly by CC and Omaha, and then seeming inferior to Mankato, whose roster was down to a few guys just two years ago, and Augie, who didn't even have a team two years ago. It just felt like they either needed different players or better coaching. I've supported both Hak and Berry, who I think was truly the unluckiest guy. You can't make up the stuff that got in the way of some playoff runs. But I'm ready for a change. Nobody knows who the right choice is now. Maybe our main thought about Dane in a few years will be that it was a shame he was stuck in the second chair for so long.

Yeah, I don't know. Without going back and checking, I think the pitchforks and torches were out for Berry, not Spicer.

I'll admit to still being a little frosty because Blake's timeline didn't line up with mine (mine was thinking smaller player and legacy would lead to another year). But it's his life to lead, and when I get over it I'll consider him one of the most memorable players I've watched. Just uncanny deception. When he had the puck, there was always a chance of something magical happening. (Sometimes for the other team if he coughed it up at the blue line with no one back, but he got better with experience.) I recall he had a goal questionably disallowed as a freshman, so when he scored again later that period, he adamantly gave the referee's goal signal, pointing at the net. Classic.

Maybe one of THE coaches' kids. Don't take a DNA test.

Didn't see it, but they could have killed the penalty without giving up three.

Not so much suggesting it as trying to find a way for him to continue to take faceoffs if he was moved. It seems unlikely that he would be.

Then they could play on the same line, with Omac at center but Berg taking selected draws, especially in the defensive zone.

The thing is that most people posting here, on both sides, are right. Those who are frustrated with the lack of success in the NCAA tournament are right; UND should do better. Those who point to non-trivial measures of program strength such as league titles (in one of the best leagues) or consistently strong Pairwise finishes, are right; UND continues to be one of the nation's top programs.

Does Costantini bear any responsibility for the course of events? He was given plenty of opportunities, up the lineup and on the PP, and had nothing. If he had contributed regularly on the scoresheet, he would have spent all year on the top lines. I don't know how the coaches are at fault for trimming the ice time of an unproductive player. Good for him that he turned it around, but he had a terrible year.

Nah, I feel like UND is right there with them all right now, just need to play a little better at the end.

I really liked last year's roster last off-season, because I had heard good things about Pyke and Zmolek. Once again, I think next year's team is going to be very good. (If Blake had returned, it was going to be in powerhouse territory.) Subtract some difference makers at forward, but add some as well, with the returners all hopefully stronger, faster and wiser. You can construct an awfully potent top nine with that list of players. There are three returning defenders that are already very solid, and the four new additions all sound ready to contribute. Goaltending seems at least solid. At least at forward, next year might be the last chance to contend for a little while. There are a bunch of important players playing out their eligibility, and a few younger guys who may get pro offers. It's a "win now" year.