What the Coaches Did Right

[jk]

1. Culture: This is more strategic than tactical, but the coaches have built a culture that has encouraged players to stay in college longer than they may have at other schools. In almost all cases, staying an extra year is beneficial, but it's hard for players to resist the money and pressure to leave. Players will still leave, but there are numerous examples of Sioux players who stayed longer than we might have guessed, and also numerous examples where staying longer helped their careers.

2. Dell: When Eidsness struggled and they went to Dell, they didn't hesitate to ride him the rest of the way when he shined. It seems straightforward in hindsight, but putting a two-time all-conference goalie on the shelf could not have been easy.

3. Preparing the depth: With 8 capable defensemen, playing time was at a premium, but the coaches managed to get the two freshmen ample icetime throughout the year so they would be prepared when needed. Special thanks go to Marto and Gleason, as their flexibility allowed this happen.

4. Health and fatigue: The coaches did a masterful job managing the team's injuries down the stretch, so the team was rested and healthy for the postseason. Injuries are of course good or bad luck, but it's the way they managed the injuries that was key. When Genoway was out for 3-5 weeks, they kept him out 5, and when he returned he was extremely dynamic, with very fresh legs. Likewise keeping Gregoire, Rowney and Rodwell on the shelf for the Final Five allowed them to play in the regional with a ton of energy. Kristo's legs were also fresh. I'm guessing if an NCAA berth had been in question, these guys would all have played earlier. Special thanks here go to Marto and Gleason (again) as well as Dicken and Bruneteau, who filled in and kept the train rolling while guys rested and healed.

5. Discipline: Several of UND's NCAA exits could be tied at least partially to untimely penalties. This year, UND only had to kill 1 penalty against Michigan. How much of this is due to the coaches or players I don't know, but it was a welcome change.

[The Sicatoka]

Allow me one, big, "what they did wrong":

They needed to get ahead of the Kristo story. When there are gaps in the storyline people fill it in with their own narrative, and it's seldom positive and always distracting.

[iluvdebbies]

Allow me one, big, "what they did wrong":

They needed to get ahead of the Kristo story. When there are gaps in the storyline people fill it in with their own narrative, and it's seldom positive and always distracting.

dont put that on the coaches....thats all on the kristo family!!!! He wasnt drinking,he had done nothing wrong other than not dressing properly. Why not come out and tell the story right away...The family could have prevented alot of the distraction and speculation!

[luckynodak]

dont put that on the coaches....thats all on the kristo family!!!! He wasnt drinking,he had done nothing wrong other than not dressing properly. Why not come out and tell the story right away...The family could have prevented alot of the distraction and speculation!

And I've still got some swampland to sell you!

[iluvdebbies]

And I've still got some swampland to sell you!

ok ...so you dont believe the story. You might be right....My point is that its not up to the coaches to "fill in the gaps" .....thats up to Danny and his family. If you have done nothing wrong why not come out and say that right away. RIGHT?

[siouxkid12]

Allow me one, big, "what they did wrong":

They needed to get ahead of the Kristo story. When there are gaps in the storyline people fill it in with their own narrative, and it's seldom positive and always distracting.

not that this should be brought up again as it happened awhile ago but the coaches are only allowed to say certain things because of the law the rest should have been said by the parents.

[NorthDakotaHockey]

Allowing the team, en masse, to attend The Hobey. A very special moment for those Sioux fans who were there to give them a nice standing ovation both as they filed in,

and as they went out to their bus after the ceremony had ended.

[Fetch]

maybe preparing for the game breaks / commercials - it was really a momentum changer

that whole shoveling in front of the bench on every break was weird (but was surprised how much snow they shoveled up) but really was a distraction to the team & coaches

Hak & crew are Great - we will be back

[Irish]

1. Culture: This is more strategic than tactical, but the coaches have built a culture that has encouraged players to stay in college longer than they may have at other schools. In almost all cases, staying an extra year is beneficial, but it's hard for players to resist the money and pressure to leave. Players will still leave, but there are numerous examples of Sioux players who stayed longer than we might have guessed, and also numerous examples where staying longer helped their careers.

2. Dell: When Eidsness struggled and they went to Dell, they didn't hesitate to ride him the rest of the way when he shined. It seems straightforward in hindsight, but putting a two-time all-conference goalie on the shelf could not have been easy.

3. Preparing the depth: With 8 capable defensemen, playing time was at a premium, but the coaches managed to get the two freshmen ample icetime throughout the year so they would be prepared when needed. Special thanks go to Marto and Gleason, as their flexibility allowed this happen.

4. Health and fatigue: The coaches did a masterful job managing the team's injuries down the stretch, so the team was rested and healthy for the postseason. Injuries are of course good or bad luck, but it's the way they managed the injuries that was key. When Genoway was out for 3-5 weeks, they kept him out 5, and when he returned he was extremely dynamic, with very fresh legs. Likewise keeping Gregoire, Rowney and Rodwell on the shelf for the Final Five allowed them to play in the regional with a ton of energy. Kristo's legs were also fresh. I'm guessing if an NCAA berth had been in question, these guys would all have played earlier. Special thanks here go to Marto and Gleason (again) as well as Dicken and Bruneteau, who filled in and kept the train rolling while guys rested and healed.

5. Discipline: Several of UND's NCAA exits could be tied at least partially to untimely penalties. This year, UND only had to kill 1 penalty against Michigan. How much of this is due to the coaches or players I don't know, but it was a welcome change.

Good thread - I agree with almost all of your assessment

One of the strengths of our program and one of the reasons people are still high on Hak is the culture he has created. A real strength of our program

I also liked the pace of this season - no underachieving for the first half and a furious rally the second. I think this gets us into the playoffs in much better shape

Although I am not a huge fan of dump and chase and the continuous cycle, I saw signs of some great offensive creativity this year. When we buzz we torment people.

[MissSioux85]

Allowing the team, en masse, to attend The Hobey. A very special moment for those Sioux fans who were there to give them a nice standing ovation both as they filed in, and as they went out to their bus after the ceremony had ended.

Agreed. That was a touching moment and it brought a tear to my eye. The guys still looked a little shocked and dejected, but hopefully over time the pain will subside and they will be able to reflect back on the season as a success.

[Old Time Hockey]

Not that I want to start the Fire Hak thread, but Dave and Co. have an atrocious 1-5 record in the Frozen Four. (Dean was 5-1 in the Frozen Four) I am not in favor of firing them for this, but at some point they need to figure things out. Our team had the most talent and should have won this thing. The comment prior to the Michigan game that sticks out in my mind was something like........we need to worry about ourselves more than anything. We will look into what Michigan does but need to be focused on our system more than anything.

That said college hockey is a crazy sport. Who know's, we could win it next year with a younger, less talented team.

[LeftyZL]

Not that I want to start the Fire Hak thread, but Dave and Co. have an atrocious 1-5 record in the Frozen Four. (Dean was 5-1 in the Frozen Four) I am not in favor of firing them for this, but at some point they need to figure things out. Our team had the most talent and should have won this thing. The comment prior to the Michigan game that sticks out in my mind was something like........we need to worry about ourselves more than anything. We will look into what Michigan does but need to be focused on our system more than anything.

That said college hockey is a crazy sport. Who know's, we could win it next year with a younger, less talented team.

Not that it means anything, but in 10 years Blais only got us to the Frozen 4 three times(winning 2), and Hakstol has gotten us there 5 out of 7. He's gotta get them over that big hump eventually. Getting there so frequently will only help IMO.

I wasn't even completely disheartened about the loss. We lost a game that we controlled for about 50 minutes or so. I felt a lot worse after the BC games. At least we controlled this one. This one was eerily reminder to the regional game we lost in Denver in 2001 or so.

[Rick]

I am not in favor of firing them for this, but at some point they need to figure things out. Our team had the most talent and should have won this thing.

I'm wondering how you "figure out" ahead of time that the Michigan goalie is going to have a 40 save night? And, if the coaching staff had indeed figured that the goalie was planning on pitching a 40 save shutout, how do you coach around that. I guess they could have had some players take some runs at the goalie and get him knocked out of the game....and, they could have told Frattin to aim his shot 1/2 inch further to the right so it wouldn't graze off the tip of the goalies glove.....and they could have instructed Chay to put his shot a few inches higher.....and the big thing would have been if they would have told Dell that Glendening's shot would get deflected out to Dell's left and Winnett would have an open net so he better just forget about the Glendening shot and move over to the left post so he could stop the Winnett shot. Then Dell would have been pitching a shutout also. That one is probably more Karl Goehring's fault for not figuring that out ahead of time.

I guess those are a few things that come to mind that they should have had "figured out", and then we'd all be talking about what a great job the coaches did.

If we'd gotten shutout and only had 20 shots on goal and we didn't have Michigan bottled up in their end of the rink most of the night, then I think we could say that the coaches have to get this thing figured out. But we dominated this game, our goalie only gave up one goal, and their goalie pulled a few out of his rear-end. Even our esteemed panel of internet coaches would have had a hard time "figuring out" a better game plan than Hak and company had.

[luckynodak]

I'm wondering how you "figure out" ahead of time that the Michigan goalie is going to have a 40 save night? And, if the coaching staff had indeed figured that the goalie was planning on pitching a 40 save shutout, how do you coach around that. I guess they could have had some players take some runs at the goalie and get him knocked out of the game....and, they could have told Frattin to aim his shot 1/2 inch further to the right so it wouldn't graze off the tip of the goalies glove.....and they could have instructed Chay to put his shot a few inches higher.....and the big thing would have been if they would have told Dell that Glendening's shot would get deflected out to Dell's left and Winnett would have an open net so he better just forget about the Glendening shot and move over to the left post so he could stop the Winnett shot. Then Dell would have been pitching a shutout also. That one is probably more Karl Goehring's fault for not figuring that out ahead of time.

I guess those are a few things that come to mind that they should have had "figured out", and then we'd all be talking about what a great job the coaches did.

If we'd gotten shutout and only had 20 shots on goal and we didn't have Michigan bottled up in their end of the rink most of the night, then I think we could say that the coaches have to get this thing figured out. But we dominated this game, our goalie only gave up one goal, and their goalie pulled a few out of his rear-end. Even our esteemed panel of internet coaches would have had a hard time "figuring out" a better game plan than Hak and company had.

They are working on the highlight reel for his 40 saves and they are having trouble finding the second one; how long did it take to figure dump and chase on the power play wouldn't work againest MI? And if their defense outplays our offense, how did we outplay them?

just sayin..........................................its over and I'm still going to Tampa. I'm a college hockey fan and a fighting sioux fan!

[gordwiser]

not that this should be brought up again as it happened awhile ago but the coaches are only allowed to say certain things because of the law the rest should have been said by the parents.

Additionally, Kristo isn't a minor, the parents aren't allowed to say anything either, medically anyway.

[dagies]

They are working on the highlight reel for his 40 saves and they are having trouble finding the second one; how long did it take to figure dump and chase on the power play wouldn't work againest MI? And if their defense outplays our offense, how did we outplay them?

just sayin..........................................its over and I'm still going to Tampa. I'm a college hockey fan and a fighting sioux fan!

there's no doubt the power play didn't work well in that game. I don't know what the reasons are or if that was coaching or Michigan executing or Sioux players clenching their sphincters too tight. I don't know. I know that the Sioux were all over Michigan in that game but couldn't get the right shot off at the right time.

I'm not going to blame a coach if the only thing that didn't go well was the power play and shots that couldn't find open net. No team has a perfect game plan, and no team executes perfectly. Some do better than others, however, and there is luck involved as well. We know Michigan executed very very well. We know the Sioux executed very well except for their PP. I believe Michigan got luckier than the Sioux.

I'm not going to nitpick the PP and rip the coaches for it. I'm just not. The Sioux played well enough to win this game and they just didn't get the puck in the net. I really think that's what this loss all boils down to.

[tnt]

I think Michigan's success against our powerplay and our lack of success against their penalty kill gave Michigan the confidence that they would at least be in the game. Everybody knows how you win postseason games, goaltending and special teams. It may just be the players gripping their sticks a little tighter, or Michigan might have game-planned our powerplay very well. The disappointing thing for me is that the Sioux had two players with outrageous point streaks and not to score one goal really makes it more difficult to take because of that alone.

[luckynodak]

there's no doubt the power play didn't work well in that game. I don't know what the reasons are or if that was coaching or Michigan executing or Sioux players clenching their sphincters too tight. I don't know. I know that the Sioux were all over Michigan in that game but couldn't get the right shot off at the right time.

I'm not going to blame a coach if the only thing that didn't go well was the power play and shots that couldn't find open net. No team has a perfect game plan, and no team executes perfectly. Some do better than others, however, and there is luck involved as well. We know Michigan executed very very well. We know the Sioux executed very well except for their PP. I believe Michigan got luckier than the Sioux.

I'm not going to nitpick the PP and rip the coaches for it. I'm just not. The Sioux played well enough to win this game and they just didn't get the puck in the net. I really think that's what this loss all boils down to.

Great post! I agree 99.95%

[Ole in MSP]

After 4 days to recover from this devastating, disappointing, loss, I have to throw out my two cents worth. The coaches put together a great team, won consistently, had the number 1 or 2 ranking pretty much all year and won the league title, playoff title, and regional title. They outplayed one of the best teams in the country, but did not get any luck whatsoever in the title game. Michigan played a smart, upset minded game and lest people forget also beat CC, UNO, and almost beat UMD, teams that during the year gave the Sioux all they wanted in most games. The Sioux probably would win against UM most of the time, but not last Thursday in spite of playing a great game. They did not lose because of a refs bad call, a fluke goal, or anything else out of the ordinary. They just plain lost because they could not get the puck in the net. No complaints on my part even though it is gut wrenching to lose when you are expected to win. You cannot coach quickness around the net. If there was a deficiency for this team it was that one half step extra needed to get open in traffic. Hopefully with Grimaldi and Miller and some healthy returnees that can be remedied next year. Go Sioux! Great season and thanks very much for the entertainment.

[lakeshoe]

This may have been one game where a few more penalties may have helped the Sioux. Michigan would have opened up a bit on the offensive side and our PK may have come up with a shorty to open up our scoring.

[jk]

This may have been one game where a few more penalties may have helped the Sioux. Michigan would have opened up a bit on the offensive side and our PK may have come up with a shorty to open up our scoring.

Despite my starting this with discipline as a virtue, I admit I have considered whether being on the PK might have gotten the team going. Not necessarily with a shortie, but just changing the rhythym of the game away from the trapfest.

[Old Time Hockey]

I'm wondering how you "figure out" ahead of time that the Michigan goalie is going to have a 40 save night? And, if the coaching staff had indeed figured that the goalie was planning on pitching a 40 save shutout, how do you coach around that. I guess they could have had some players take some runs at the goalie and get him knocked out of the game....and, they could have told Frattin to aim his shot 1/2 inch further to the right so it wouldn't graze off the tip of the goalies glove.....and they could have instructed Chay to put his shot a few inches higher.....and the big thing would have been if they would have told Dell that Glendening's shot would get deflected out to Dell's left and Winnett would have an open net so he better just forget about the Glendening shot and move over to the left post so he could stop the Winnett shot. Then Dell would have been pitching a shutout also. That one is probably more Karl Goehring's fault for not figuring that out ahead of time.

I guess those are a few things that come to mind that they should have had "figured out", and then we'd all be talking about what a great job the coaches did.

If we'd gotten shutout and only had 20 shots on goal and we didn't have Michigan bottled up in their end of the rink most of the night, then I think we could say that the coaches have to get this thing figured out. But we dominated this game, our goalie only gave up one goal, and their goalie pulled a few out of his rear-end. Even our esteemed panel of internet coaches would have had a hard time "figuring out" a better game plan than Hak and company had.

All I am saying is the coaching staff is 1-5 (lost 5 in a row) in the Frozen Four. Even the law of averages balances out over that period of time. Something is missing. We have had too much talent come through the program, not to get it done.

[jojordan23]

After almost a week to give myself time to look back and get over my disappointment, I feel the coaches did everything the right way. The only thing that was done wrong IMO was the extra week before the Frozen Four started. I hate that dead time, and here is why. For most of those days, all I was reading about was how the Sioux were the favorites, how this team was peaking at the right time, and how they all were agreeing to not touch a trophy until it was "the big one". Then, just last week, for the 3 days prior to Thursday's games, I was seeing how Michigan was loving the "underdog" role. As soon as I read about that, I got nervous. Since I started following Sioux hockey in the mid nineties, I have come to learn one thing. The Sioux DO NOT win when they are the appointed "favored" team. They won 2 titles playing the underdog role, being the team that everyone else thought couldn't win it. That's just my 2 cents worth. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of a team we have next year, and hoping that all of the underclassmen come back for "one more kick at the can"!

GO SIOUX!!!

[greenwinger_13]

I am golfing, listening to the ocean through the window, and still looking on here to beat people up about our coaching! Not acceptable to dis hak.. not on here, not on a grandforksherald.com blog, apply at www.und.edu for the coaching position (there isn't and won't be one) if anyone negative thinks they are the right know-it-all fit for our "coaching" non-faults against Michigan.

[UNDLeafsGuy]

Not that it means anything, but in 10 years Blais only got us to the Frozen 4 three times(winning 2), and Hakstol has gotten us there 5 out of 7. He's gotta get them over that big hump eventually. Getting there so frequently will only help IMO.

I wasn't even completely disheartened about the loss. We lost a game that we controlled for about 50 minutes or so. I felt a lot worse after the BC games. At least we controlled this one. This one was eerily reminder to the regional game we lost in Denver in 2001 or so.

I respectfully disagree with your comments .....

I would much rather win 2 titles in 3 trips versus 0 titles in 5 years.

These 5 trips to the frozen four in the last 7 years only proves that getting there frequently doesn't mean you will ever win a title.

Perhaps winning a national title once or twice every 10 years means more to me than just being in the frozen four more often.

I am not saying Hak isn't a good coach but this year was far and away the hardest early exit for me to swallow!