jk

It's hockey so anything can happen, but I imagine a very good one seed would be salivating at a meeting with UND in the NCAAs this year, wherever it's played.

UMD's finishing ability.

On the other hand, besides Spicer alone in front, DeRidder wasn't asked to make any special saves. That might speak more about UMD's ability.

Since I praised him, probably worth noting Blake's ole in the neutral zone contributed to that goal.

I can't wait to see Blake on a better team. Just the slipperiest, most deceptive guy I can remember seeing. Makes some mistakes trying to do too much, but he's young.

Need to work on the post-goal shifts.

One fun thing about UND games this year is no matter what kind of lead they get, you know it'll be close at the end. Kinda like the vikes, with less winning.

In the eye of the beholder, I guess. I'd have ranked him lower myself because I prefer oversized goaltenders. Paging Adam Scheel. Was the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the portal?

Is it possible it looked that way to you, but in fact it was the execution of a plan by the coaches? It seems like they got what they wanted: Farmer and Sidorski to fill in for D recruits who were not ready, and DeRidder in net. Those two D have not remotely been the problem this year, and I think DeRidder was thought to be one of the top targets at the position. Obviously fixing the tending of the goal is Roman numeral I for the off-season.

This applies to many recent posts about lineup decisions, strategy, and any other program decisions. Does anyone think they've thought of something the coaching staff hasn't? Like, you're the genius. These guys who have devoted their lives to it, have actually played at high levels, have seen everything you've seen but ten or twenty or a hundred times more, it hadn't occurred to them? Several decades ago, I learned that at any given time, about a quarter of the roster is dealing with some kind of drama, issues with girls, or substances, or school, or family, you name it. If you recall your early twenties, you may understand. I don't know anything about now, maybe now the drama count is zero. The point is that there are many factors that go into decisions, and we don't have any idea what's really going on. I should add that this concept of things going sideways for a portion of a group of college students isn't just a UND thing, or a hockey thing. Anyway, none of the coaches could do my job, and they'd know that. I can't do their jobs either, but I am comforted to know that if they moved on, there are dozens of qualified posters that would clearly be upgrades.

I sadly but apparently thankfully missed it. Curious how Kunz looked. I've felt his first step has been a touch slow this year.

I find it odd that DeRidder has a bad game and then doesn't see the net again for so long. I'm not saying he should, but it must be an interesting situation to lead the coaches to these decisions.

Hilarious too that one guy gets up and keeps playing and for the other it's the world cup. Is Polin still in the hospital?

That CFB was even worse than I thought. Cannot believe they didn't call something there.

Also, was Western's third goal kicked in? Might have given the team a boost, to kill off the major.

Regarding Kleven, if they called the boarding, it never happens. Forums are funny though, because some people think UND's too soft, and others are upset Kleven responded. He shouldn't have done it, but it was the heat of the moment. As for meaningless arguments about the fourth line, I like 11-13-20 better than 21-18-20. I think Ness has been consistently noticeable this year for the right reasons, and he'd be in my lineup. At the same time, I recognize that Strinden has also made an impact. I'm not sure how to make it work (i.e., who comes out and how the lines fit), but I'd like to see both 11 and 21 play. The geriatric line was good again. Lots of possession and chances ... but in the net please.

Yes, it is suspect at times. Far from perfect, but isn't that hockey? Considering all the uncontested looks UND had last night, WMU's seemed even more suspect.

Even when Hellsten plays pretty well, it was still 0-2 when the shots were 21-13. The team has had the worst goaltending in the country. People can argue all day long about who should be on the fourth line, but by and large the team has played well enough to win most games and would be in the top ten with even average goaltending. As for last night, on top of just ok goaltending, they couldn't buy a goal despite generating a lot. Just off the top of my head I can think of glorious chances that were as good as anything WMU had that were missed by Hain x2, Senden, McL, Blake, James. They've gotten worked a few times this year, where the other team has the puck all night, but not for a while. I simply don't understand people wanting to burn the whole thing down when the save percentage tells us what the problem is. Not that everything else is perfect, but it's been pretty solid.

Recruiting is good. Lots of talent lined up. They are going to be fun to watch in a few years.

I do know how to read a scoreboard, but UND has had the better of the chances tonight. Perfect? No. But not a bad effort. Terrible finishes, though.

Had the same feeling, but in his defense, this has been one of his better games.

He's not really the right age for the next coaching hire.

Worth noting Lindenwood was tied in the third against MN, trailed Michigan by one late in the third, and was tied with Denver with three minutes left. They're not a disaster.

No doubt about it. They have just missed at that position, seemingly, in the last few years. I'm far from an expert, but they seem to value decent size and skating, and figure they can teach them to play defense. But some of the guys are struggling with the latter part of the equation. Thank goodness the portal has been there, because 2, 3 and 7 have all been pretty solid. For next year, there are some good players lined up, but "young on D" is tough. I'm guessing the portal will be part of the solution again.

I thought 27-19-10 had a very good Saturday night. A lot of zone time that translated into some good chances.