jk

Worth noting the other three teams in the frozen four last year were coached by old guys.

Anything in particular here?

It is just an established fact that a rested team has a huge advantage over a team on the back end of a back-to-back. Thanks to UMD's unearned bye the previous day, they were fresher. That's not coaching, that's incredible good fortune.

I'm not sure where to find the information, but I think I've seen that UND is one of the smaller teams in the country now, so it's not that the roster is big and lumbering. In the 00s, Hakstol seemingly built teams to win seven-game series, and I have no doubt he would have had a run of titles if the system was built that way. Instead UND just wore BC out so Michigan State could beat them in the next game. But the staff adjusted, especially on the back end, and you just don't see the three Matt's back there anymore. The only big defenseman on the team is Kleven, and he can skate. I would also suggest that Calder was the odd man out last summer because he was the slowest skater up front, to my eyes anyway. Now the slowest, again, to me, is Kunz, and that's complicated because he was a local phenom. To summarize, I don't feel the coaches are stuck in the past. With perhaps one exception, and that's in their affection for small goalies. I understand where that comes from, but please give me another Scheel. They just take up more space.

I realize this doesn't help their development, which is important as they will be relied upon next year, but Moore (last week) and Johnson have been liabilities in the defensive zone. If Bast was healthy, I would have them as 7 and 8 right now. Up front, it's harder to find guys to take out to get McLaughlin and Portz back in. Maybe Albrecht, Costantini and Kunz. Albrecht did not look like the same player as last year, but that may take reps after the injury. As for who stays in, the top line can be electric, the old men are still effective, and I don't want to mess with 21-26-28. Or Ness, who is consistently making things happen.

It is odd that they haven't been better, considering they brought back nearly everyone and added some good pieces. In fact, the additions have been the bright spots, as Farmer may have been the best D so far and the frosh have been at least ok. In the last series, getting caved in for much of the weekend is discouraging, as that just makes you feel the whole team is worse than the opponent. You can still win those games, though, by keeping them to the outside and capitalizing. And they were in fact in position to do that Saturday until the terrible giveaways that led to their third and fifth goals. You just cannot pass the puck to the other team. As for the fourth goal, Denver intercepted a hundred passes that night and we just needed Frisch to nab that one, but it snuck through. I'm hoping Bast can come in and help just by not making terrible mistakes.

Yes, quite. Except Eaves was a high scoring forward and Berry was a stay at home defenseman. Also except Berry coached the team to the last three league titles and Eaves didn't. Seriously. Exactly the same.

Then please stop watching and go away. Pathetic.

James seems to turn most of his touches into chances. And right away, no monkeying around.

Similar to MN's sleep walking outing the first game this weekend.

He's going for the Cy Young. 5-1 so far.

You knew two months ago this was MN's year. Undeniable star power up front, but what really did it was inexplicably returning three veteran high-end defensemen. That was a shocker, and made them big favorites this year. Motzko can coach, we've seen that over the years. Maybe goaltending will be a weakness, but average goaltending can be enough sometimes. The Big Ten's weakness has failed to properly prepare teams for the postseason in the past, but that may be ending as the league improves. It'll just come down to whether they can win four games of playoff hockey, when checking gets tighter, the rink is smaller, and sometimes the bounces go the other way (like last night). Teams most likely to spoil it: UND, Denver, Mankato, Q. Maybe SCSU or Duluth, but I haven't seen them.

It's harder to play keep away on a regulation rink.

Sanderson and Pinto just killing it with Ottawa. Both already beloved by the fan base.

Super excited for the next few weeks. And glad HC showed up to play for the last five periods so we got a taste of competitive hockey.

Probably Kunz and Portz in for Strinden and Ness. Albrecht was so good late last year and there's no room currently. Injuries will happen again, but this year it appears the team will not be running out of good players unless it gets really bad.

Brent Johnson looked like a completely different player. Now I understand how he got drafted in the third round. He and Blake are more skilled than anyone in the lineup down the stretch last year. (Johnson last year was in the lineup but was not this player.)

Yes

Um, yeah. He is very slick. Wow is he going to be good.

The checking line hasn't done much checking.

If he can just quicken those first couple steps, he could be a force.

That's amazing. I'm scarred from some of Hak's trips out East, like one where UND got annihilated by Maine. Also even last year at Q, where UND pretty much got worked all weekend long, but somehow got a split out of it. In fact, much of the first half last year was UND getting blown out Friday and then squeaking out a win Saturday. At least it seemed that way.

Looking at the rankings, those back to back October weekends against Q and Mn should be interesting. I've felt that UND has often not been sharp before about Thanksgiving, so they could be extra challenging.

There's only room for about one small guy on an NHL team, so about 32 jobs total. Guys that size usually need to be explosive skaters, like Grimaldi, for instance. I'm not sure Gaber fits that mold, and I think he still faces long odds to be a regular NHL player. That said, there are a lot of places to play hockey for money, and I expect that he can have a long career if he wants to. Most importantly for me, he's an excellent college player.

I've assumed Jammer Senden Hain as a key strength of this team, and I still think they're together when it counts.