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Wash, Better, Better


OETKB

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A quick and dirty assesment for next season:

Defense = Wash. Lost Hale and one senior, but average experience level stays about where it was, as three solid soph's become juniors.

Offense = Better. Lost 2 good seniors, but gaining experience. Kept the most talented players and Murray is coming into the fold. Average experience level goes up, here, as some of the young talent becomes upperclass talent.

Goaltending = Better. Brandt looked good at the end of the season. Experience level continues to improve here, and Ziggy put up some good numbers in the USHL.

Overall = Better. If I'm not mistaken, this is Deano's last year in his current contract. I think he was planning for this to be a smash hit season when he overloaded the team with freshmen two yearss ago. It should start to payoff, now.

Thoughts?

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Everyone laugh at the homers now, but for me it's better, better, better.

On defense, I think next year will be better than last year's "reality," which is that Hale essentially missed the second half of the year. You basically bring back everyone who played down the stretch, each stronger, faster and more mature, plus you add a nasty tiger in Smaby and a little depth in Bina and Dahlen.

I even think defense is at worst a wash from last year's "theoretical," which includes Hale. The extra maturity for some very good defensemen will mean a lot.

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I think the main question for this team remains goaltending. It is by far the least stable aspect of the team. We cannot have musical goalies again next season and expect to compete for a title. Someone has to step up and win the job. Although I agree Brandt stepped up at the end of the year, I am skeptical as to whether he has what it takes to be a number one goalie at this level. The loss of Hale also hurts the goaltending situation because a strong d-corps can make a mediocre goaltender look Ok by limiting the quality scoring chances by the opposition and keeping the shots to the outside.

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I agree with JK. Our defense will be better if for no other reason, the Sioux played much of last year without Hale. Jones will have a breakout year, Schneider and Fuher are a year older and better, Greene will start to mature and play more disciplined (like Commodore, only Greene is more talented), and Smaby is coming in. The rest are unknowns, but you only need 6 solid defensemen.

The goaltending will be better. Brandt was better, and Zieglemann will push him. Sedevie (is he still coming?) is very good when healthy. If Sedevie is not coming, look for the Sioux to get another goalie.

Forwards will be much better IF Bochenski and Parise return. They will be one year older and much better. Massen and Lundbohm should be as good or better, and I expect more scoring from Prpich and McMahon. Murray is the real deal, and I hear that Stafford is very good.

I also get the feeling that this team is not complete. I would not be surprised to see the Sioux bring in another forward or defenseman from Western Canada. I am very excited about next year. I will be extremely disappointed if the Sioux do not compete for a WCHA title and a national championship.

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I agrees with all prior sentiment. Lets face it-- Next year we will have TOO MANY DAMN GOALIES!!! If nothing changes next year we will Have Brant, Seimbida, Ranfranz, Sofie, Ziegelman, and Sedevie. What the hell!!! Half of them have to go. Something about having the same number of Goalies as D-men is a little wrong.

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I think MN is going to be awfully good next year. That said, my expectations are that the Sioux will compete strongly for #2 in the WCHA. Frozen Four type team.

You have to give Brandt props for how he ended the year. That said, a season is long. Goal is still the main question mark as far as positions go. I think we'll be very solid to strong otherwise.

The last question mark will be special teams. This could have a huge impact either way.

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I'll gladly take a shot at this. :ohmy:

Defense: Up-tick. No Hale hurts, but having a much more mature group coming back (Schneider, Fuher, Jones, Greene, and yes, Marvin) compared to last year will soothe the pain. Mr. Smaby should help in the pain department also. (Read that last sentence any way you'd like. :) )

Goaltending: Up-tick. Someone needs to press Brandt for the job. In doing so it creates two things: a goalie good enough to press for the job, and Brandt working to keep the job. Alternatively, look at the goaltending numbers from the past season. In conference play clear front-runner Minnesota only gave up one fewer goal. There's food for thought.

Forwards: (I'm probably not going to make many friends here.) There were too many of the "same guy" on the ice last year, too many "they work hard but don't score much" guys. On any given night half or more of the forwards fell into that category.

Sorry, give me hard work, AND scoring, instead. Add that with a senior class of forwards who were better defensively (than offensively) and offense becomes a real problem if the top guys don't produce, as it did at the end of the season. As much as I liked to watch those senior forwards play, I know Fylling and Connelly can do many of the same things and handle those roles. Instead of six "role guys," how about three or four and get me some more, and more balanced, scoring.

Here's another way to look at it: Looking at guys coming back, Minnesota got double-digit scoring (overall) from all but one forward (Smaagaard) and he had 9 points. UND had FIVE forwards (two juniors, three sophs!) in the single-digit realm, and all had fewer than Smaagaard's nine points. Minnesota had more balance in case the top line had an off night. That is what UND needs to restore next year up front. Enter Brady Murray and Drew Stafford, and I'll gladly take anything double digit Chris Porter wants to toss in as well.

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Along the same lines as before, remember that tied for sixth 2002 season?

They were so much better in 2003 on offense, but goaltending and defense didn't improve enough, .... right?

UND's Conference Play

Year GF GA

2002 103 100

2003 103 82

I must have missed it.

Tell me again: What didn't improve from 2002 to 2003?

Many thanks to the guy that pointed that one out to me.

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I tend to agree with Sicatoka's assessments of the forwards. There were too many guys dragging ass, coasting and otherwise watching guys like Money and Parise try to carry the team. We have a talented, and very underachieving, crew upfront at times. Most of these guys can, and should do, more in the scoring/assist department. If not, there are some hungry SSM alums coming in ... :ohmy:

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No question...offense let us down, at the end of the season especially. This website is a homer-fest, and that has it's place. However, Blais said he would have to make some hard-line decisions in the offseason.

Some guys simply haven't performed at the college level. Blais cut players like Hasbargen & O'leary two years ago to make room for some of these guys, who have done less in scoring terms. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few new forward freshmen added to the roster.

The excuses for not being competitive are really getting old. This season, it is performance time.

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Good points on offense. I'm optimistic about our offense because of the good numbers they have put up. Enough to win. However, no doubt it was lacking at critical times down the stretch.

Blais also made the same comments about "tough decisions" after the 2001-02 season and nothing drastic happened. But you did see a lot of guys stick around and work out and prepare better for the next season.

I'm no talent guru, nor am I knowledgeable about what kind of hockey players are still out there waiting to commit to a college program. But I do have an impression. That impression says not to expect to see any "saviors" recruited at this point for next year. It would seem to me good quality players like Prpich are rarely picked up at this point in time unless they have proven to be risky (don't want to go to college/not good students/attitude problems). Therefore, I don't get too excited thinking that some perceived "dead weight" might fall off and get replaced with Prpich-type players. Maybe I am wrong with my impression, but there it is.

I'd rather just see these guys work and improve.

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good quality players like Prpich are rarely picked up at this point in time unless they have proven to be risky (don't want to go to college/not good students/attitude problems).

I don't think it's the case, but I hope you're not putting Prpich in the 'don't want to go to college/not good students/attitude problems' category. I was impressed, especially at the end of the year, with his skill and hockey smarts. I was impressed all last year by his effort and toughness. And the guy is a mechanical engineering major! Give me two full forward lines of Prpich clones any day.

I agree, the boys up front have got to put the biscuit in the basket. Even earlier in the year when they were winning, I seem to remember that they were rarely blowing anyone out. They were winning a lot of 1 goal games, which usually means good team defense.

I normally refrain from singling any of the guys out, because these guys aren't pros, but the two guys I think that need to step up their efforts are Lundbohm and Massen. If these guys put forth the continuous effort say a Canady or a Connelly does, they'd be first team All-Americans. When the do go all out, it's amazing what they accomplish. This will also be David's senior year. I'd really like to see him have the kind of year that will stick in the minds of Sioux fans for many years to come.

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Nobody knows except for Dean Blais whether he is signing another contract, but someone well connected to Sioux hockey (former player/announcer) said that Blais told the families of Zach Parise and Brady Murray that he would be around as long as they were. That is one reason that they are at UND rather than Minnesota or elsewhere. I have also heard that Roger Thomas has met with Dean already to discuss signing another contract.

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Not that I'm advocating vindictive "dumping" of offensive players. I know the boys who weren't scoring were working hard.

By the "adding a few" comment, I'm thinking Dean will probably announce another offensive recruit. Just a hunch.

Another may come from a walk-on. Anybody heard about Fabian lately? He did not have a great season in the USHL, but he has pro aspirations and good size. I believe he scored some key goals toward the end of the season for the Scarecrows.

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I don't think it's the case, but I hope you're not putting Prpich in the 'don't want to go to college/not good students/attitude problems' category.

No I wasn't. Although my suspicion is that Prpich had a better year than expected (what do I know) I think Prpich is the exception to the rule. That is why I tried to use him as the example of the rare finds at this time of the year.

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This player's stats last season were:

Overall - 15G 37A 52 Pts

Conference - 7G 24A 31 Pts

Name him.

This player's stats last season were:

Overall - 15G 20A 35 Pts

Conference - 12G 16A 28 Pts

Name him.

Please also note that 15 goals overall tied those two for third on the team and 12 goals in conference was third on the team in that category.

When you figure out who those two are, you'll understand why I believe the problem wasn't them but was too many guys with low single-digit scoring.

PS - Guys like Prpich (summer-time goldmines) are very rare. Enjoy them when they are found.

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