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SIoux @ Bulldogs!


Kooshnitz

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Posting this before the end of the UMD/Anchorage game, but right now (with roughly 15 minutes left to play in the third) J.T. Brown has four goals in the game. The score is 4-1. Wow.

he's a good player who will sign a free agent contract this summer. late bloomer for sure. surprised he isn't a lightning rod for his incident this summer like some of UND's players have in the past. am i sensitive? :lol:

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he's a good player who will sign a free agent contract this summer. late bloomer for sure. surprised he isn't a lightning rod for his incident this summer like some of UND's players have in the past. am i sensitive? :lol:

Well, he did only get suspended for an exhibition game... that's such a harsh punishment you know, so he must have been given a break by opposing fanbases.

*sarcasm*

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2 wins in Duluth would likely put the Sioux in the National tourney. With Blood, McWilliam, Forbert on D, nobody will want to play the Sioux in a one and done game come March/April.

It's true the Sioux could be a dangerous match, but I don't think the defense, even with those three playing, is making other teams too nervous.

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It's true the Sioux could be a dangerous match, but I don't think the defense, even with those three playing, is making other teams too nervous.

The defense is the strenght of the team. UND has one of the best backends in the WCHA.

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The defense is the strenght of the team. UND has one of the best backends in the WCHA.

His statement confused me as well, scoring has been suspect at times this year and the goaltending has been inconsistent as well, but the defense, with the exception of a few games here and there has been without a doubt the strong point of this team. People underrate the value of sustained offensive pressure when it comes to defense, the more time you spend in the opponent's zone, the less time you have to defend. Example: Minnesota, I am not a big fan of their defense, but they have the best defensive numbers in the WCHA due to having a good group of forwards that spends alot of time in the opponents zone. Having the best goalie in the WCHA helps as well.

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His statement confused me as well, scoring has been suspect at times this year and the goaltending has been inconsistent as well, but the defense, with the exception of a few games here and there has been without a doubt the strong point of this team. People underrate the value of sustained offensive pressure when it comes to defense, the more time you spend in the opponent's zone, the less time you have to defend. Example: Minnesota, I am not a big fan of their defense, but they have the best defensive numbers in the WCHA due to having a good group of forwards that spends alot of time in the opponents zone. Having the best goalie in the WCHA helps as well.

Yeah I didn't get that as well and if anything the defense has been good espeically last weekend against the Badgers. If the goalies can stop letting in the soft goals I think this team has as good of a chance as anyone else.

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Yeah I didn't get that as well and if anything the defense has been good espeically last weekend against the Badgers. If the goalies can stop letting in the soft goals I think this team has as good of a chance as anyone else.

I may have sounded more critical of the D than I intended to sound. They had to hold the team together while the young forwards got their feet under them. In fact, early in the year, I was not one of those criticizing the D when things weren't going well, saying that the forwards had as much ownership of the sloppy D than our Dmen did. Before the season started, I think we had unrealistic expectations of how tight our defense would be this year because some didn't take into account how important last year's forwards were to team defense. Blood has been amazing this year, not only D but in taking the puck up ice when he would have held back in prior years. It's almost as if he is taking on a little of what his former linemate used to do. Forbort is back to being solid but not much more than that.

All that said, I don't think the Sioux Defensemen themselves are what will make this team (which I have always really liked, even with its lunchpail character) a risk for other teams if they make the tourney. They have some nice speed among the young forwards and those guys are starting to use it in all areas of the ice, which has been an important part of the turnaround. We still do not transition very quickly coming out of the zone. I understand that is a matter of doing what you can do with what you have. The D hang onto the puck quite a while before making the first pass out of the zone, often to the point where passing lanes fill up. Again, I realize that is part of strategy. It is conservative, meant to keep the dangerous turnovers to a minimum and keep the play on the perimeter. And it's working.

We can't judge defensive progress by the Wisconsin series. The Badgers are just not very good this year. The best test is coming up in Duluth.

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UMD had to travel to UAA and now back to Duluth. Lost to UAA last night and went 1-2-1 in last 4 vs. Tech and UAA. UND has been playing very solid hockey over past couple months and seems to be finding their groove. Sioux also coming off a bye week getting rest and healing for all, including the silky smooth voice of TH. Getting O'Donnell back would be big as well. Plus UND has a recent history of playing very well at UMD. The stars couldn't have aligned any better for UND this coming weekend IMO. 2 points has to be worst case next weekend for this club as they continue to make a move into the NCAA tourney field.

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UMD had to travel to UAA and now back to Duluth. Lost to UAA last night and went 1-2-1 in last 4 vs. Tech and UAA. UND has been playing very solid hockey over past couple months and seems to be finding their groove. Sioux also coming off a bye week getting rest and healing for all, including the silky smooth voice of TH. Getting O'Donnell back would be big as well. Plus UND has a recent history of playing very well at UMD. The stars couldn't have aligned any better for UND this coming weekend IMO. 2 points has to be worst case next weekend for this club as they continue to make a move into the NCAA tourney field.

Hopefully we can rearrange those stars on Friday and Saturday lol. But like I said earlier UMD has been a little up and down lately so we shall see what happens. Should be a great time nevertheless.

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