jk

Was thinking the same thing about fall visits. They can only help UND. If it's early enough, the campus is beautiful in the fall. And the game experience is second to none.

Last I checked Excelsior is in the metro. If they want the metro kid ...

What I got out of it is that it's really hard to make the NHL. Some of those guys were very good college players. Get a degree then take your shot, unless you're a Toews/Spicer level prospect.

I don't know if this is the case, but I would guess the players would rather play in a full rink, even if it is hostile. What could be better than shutting up 6,000 partisans? Think Jon Casey stopping the RPI powerhouse that would go on to claim the title the following year.

He obviously wasn't doping. He wasn't trying to enhance performance. Pretty horrible that his name gets dragged through the mud like this.

There's a school of thought that says, bring him in to keep from losing him. I'm sympathetic to that. It's easy to trim another lower rung player for the roster spot. Here's where it gets problematic. Let's say the coaches think he's not physically ready to win a spot in the lineup, because the other guys are just better right now. (I don't know what they think, and if they think it they could be wrong. But I could see this being the case.) He spends most of the year in a suit, largely misses a year of development, and could get disgruntled and leave. If you're the coach and see it this way, of course the best thing is a year of juniors. In this regard, Spicer could indeed end up being just like Toews. David Toews.

The list of players younger than Spicer does not go on, though. It is two players long since Hakstol took over, Toews and Caggiula. That's it.

Since I know nothing, I'll skip the blame game. But it is disappointing.

Given that the bolded guys are only 6, 9, 18 and 24 in USHL scoring, it makes one wonder if scoring is just up in that league this year.

It's too early for this, but thinking up front. You wouldn't normally start with a shutdown line, but that seems the most obvious so get it out of the way: Jammer, Senden, Hain Top six in some combination: Caulfield, Gaber, Schmaltz, Costantini, McLaughlin, Blake The rest: Albrecht, Ness, Portz, Kunz, Montgomery, Budy, Strinden For that top 6 to work, Caulfield, Schmaltz and Costantini need to take a big step, and the two frosh have to be as advertised. That's asking a lot. Alternatives at the top could be Kunz if he can gain a step, or James if he comes in. That would allow someone like Costantini to move down, which could add some juice to the bottom of the lineup. At the bottom, a few of the names may not make it to Autumn, but what is left should be at least solid. Overall I feel good about the depth, but concerned about the top. A lot of guys improved from the year before to last year. If everyone can keep taking steps, the top could work out ok.

Maybe they told him he wouldn't play much.

Sad for the mavs, as they had a heck of a team. Pretty much dominated a good chunk of the game but couldn't add to the lead. Then, hockey being hockey, they coughed up one on a rebound and blown coverage, one on the end of a pp off a defenseman's glove, and one on a 2-on-1 when they were pressing. The last of those reminded me of the Sioux loss to BC in 1999. Even the first empty netter came seconds after a bouncer trickled wide of the net behind Chrona. That one had me thinking of a similar near miss in OT against BC in 2001, right before Kolanos. The lesson here is to keep playing, even when you're getting worked, because you never know when it might turn. Like the TO game.

Is the reluctance to make the tough call something you've heard? It sounds like pure speculation.

I'm on board with not wanting to lose them. But what if the coaches think they're not ready to contribute in college? Perhaps in that case a player might be better served playing big minutes in the USHL for another year. Not my call to make, thank goodness.

It was not a great year for forwards or defensemen. Usually one demands the award with his play. That made it a perfect year for McKay to slide in and get it. For the same reasons, if Sanderson had come back and blown up in late Feb and March, it would have been his. They love the U.S. team pedigree. I think McKay was the right choice.

I'm sad to see Calder go. He was pretty high on a list of guys I would most want to see with the puck and a chance. This past year he and the team weren't a great fit, because he's a finisher on a team without setup men. He didn't have the skating ability to create the space himself, so he was a trigger man without ammo. Likewise, I think the skating deficiency (I'm no expert, just how it looked to me) makes him not a great fit for a lower line. UND needs guys down there who can fly around and disrupt, and that's not his game. He needs to find space, receive the puck and shoot it. That's a top 6 role.

The mavs were also disciplined as heck. No penalties, and not even any close ones that might have been called. All while contesting every inch of ice.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why UND is trying to build a team like the mavs and bulldogs, and why they're welcoming Hain and Senden back with open arms. What a performance that was.

Except for five seconds, the mavs have looked great.

They're not danglers or PP guys, but each of Senden, Hain and Jammer ended up at 0.5 points per game, which is good for a shutdown line.

This is a heck of a game.

Jandric was so shaky in the first month, and I was wondering why he was here. But it turns out he was super rusty after not playing the year before, and I thought he got better and better all year. I don't disagree on the spear, but I will on the OT penalty. He did make a mistake, in fanning on the puck as it went by at the point. But he made the only play he could at that point, which was to interfere with the guy about to go on a breakaway. It was the smart play.

Now UND has to avoid falling into the trap of having most of the team back and failing to find the magic. It doesn't just happen because you're back, you have to make it happen. Look at SC this year. The whole "unfinished business" thing seems to often end with the business still not finished.

Wish he woulda won one more game with UMass before heading West.

Just my personal view, I'm fine with a fifth year guy. While they do lose a lot next year, they will have some well-seasoned recruits ready to come in, and there's always the portal next year too.