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UND in the second half.

Goon

By Goon
in Men's Hockey

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Will UND take a dive in the second half.  

57 members have voted

  1. 1. Will UND take a dive in the second half.

    • no, they won't, too much talent.
      32
    • Yes, they will, because everyone is saying they will.
      3
    • They will drop off some, but not even close to last season.
      12
    • Who the heck cares what some clueless fan from MSP thinks.
      10

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farce poobah Veteran

farce poobah

Posted
Posted

Count me crazy, but I think the Sioux will be better in the second half.

That's because we haven't "really" played up to full potential yet. For example:

1) Andy Schneider is scoreless in 9 WCHA games, after being point-a-game last season.

2) James Massen hasn't produced yet, and I think he'll step up. (But I expect him to be sitting this weekend.)

3) The powerplay has been ... well, let's just say "often discussed". With the talent on this team, the PP should be around 20% (where other good PP's are). That's a goal a game from what we've gotten to date.

4) Instead of playing most games against the PWR top 10, there's a few games against the middle of the collegiate pack (UAA first). I don't mean to say they will be easy, but they are no BC.

5) Even Zach, as good as he has been, has not put as many points on the board as his potential shows.

6) Depth is better this year... meaning that as the grind of 10 straight weeks of WCHA play wears on, coaches have the option of not dressing some guys, or deciding to play the stars less, so they have legs come March.

7) The team is as young a Sioux team as I've seen in a long time ... these young men are still growing.

8) Conditioning, by all signs, is outstanding.

I think we'll get better.

The open question is still will we win. Soft goaltending, bad bounces, more-than-one injury, could all work to undo the magic.

Swoon? No. Hardware? Too soon to tell.

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Goon Veteran

Goon

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Just imagine if the Power Play ever comes together :angry:

If that happens we will be in Great Shape :lol:

Yeah then we would score a ton of goals then. I suspect UND will eventually break through on the power play something where UND goes 4/6 on the power play. You heard it here first... I could see it happening in the future...

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Goon Veteran

Goon

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UAA's penalty kill is rated almost as low as UND's power player. I could see it happening in the very near future. :angry:

I guess I am not really going out on a limb then eh?

I really think this is a series where UND could score a ton of goals and get some points. From what I have seen in print on UAA they don't look too impressive. I would love to see the Money line re-united and scoring goals.

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Goon Veteran

Goon

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UAA played pretty tough at SCSU a few weeks ago, plus they swept CC.  I wouldn't take them too ightly if I were you!

I am pretty sure that I am not dressing for the game this weekend nor am I playing next weekend, I am not a coach so I don't have to worry about bulletin material... So I not going to worry about taking anyone lightly. SO I am pretty sure I am going to say whatever I want. That being said I think UND should pound them the sea wolves this weekend.

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jimdahl Contributor

jimdahl

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Regarding the potential for a "swoon":

I'd be surprised to see the Sioux make it through the second half of the season with 1 loss and 1 tie. Any worse would constitute a decline in performance, so I guess I have to admit that I expect Spring to be slightly worse than Fall.

However, I certainly don't expect to see 6-8-4 like the Sioux posted in the Spring of last season. The offensive slowdown last year did come on all of a sudden, but did seem related to other external factors, so I'm not particularly concerned. If anything, our offense seems to be gaining momentum.

Besides, I have my Boston tickets, so we have to do well.

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cfm567b27 Newbie

cfm567b27

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Regarding the potential for a "swoon":

I'd be surprised to see the Sioux make it through the second half of the season with 1 loss and 1 tie. Any worse would constitute a decline in performance, so I guess I have to admit that I expect Spring to be slightly worse than Fall.

However, I certainly don't expect to see 6-8-4 like the Sioux posted in the Spring of last season. The offensive slowdown last year did come on all of a sudden, but did seem related to other external factors, so I'm not particularly concerned. If anything, our offense seems to be gaining momentum.

Besides, I have my Boston tickets, so we have to do well.

I second you on the Boston tickets.

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OETKB Newbie

OETKB

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... 7) The team is as young a Sioux team as I've seen in a long time ... these young men are still growing.

Farce:

I agree with all your points except this one. By my "Experience ratio" of the 20 guys expected to dress the most, UND this year rates a 2.3, versus 2.1 last year and a lousy 1.9 rating in '01-02. It is no coincidence that the seasons have been progressively better.

UM won it the last few years with teams, I believe, in the 2.2 - 2.4 area. UM's performance this year is a mystery. The curse of back-to-back championships, I guess.

UND will continue to roll, IMO, because of their experience and the outstanding depth of talent they posses this season. Nothing is guaranteed, but anything short of the Frozen Four will be a disappointment. This is truly a special team.

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WPoS Newbie

WPoS

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regardless that I am a Gopher fan I think you guys will (should) finish top in the WCHA. JBSU can't ride a goalie that long and as for Bucky, well I have no idea how that is happening. But a first place finish is definitly in the cards for you IMO. Tapering off with a few more than one loss yes, but a crappola Spring (as much as I'd like to see it) just won't happen.

As for the posts on top of page 2 on this thread, the Gophs have been suffering from hot/cold play. Yes we should have killed BU, but the almost "score/play when I want/feel to" seems to have permeated the team. Not scoring on the PP against BU was frustrating as heck. When the goalie is down, don't shoot at his body, upper corners! Even I know that! Vanek would have helped but making the difference can't/shouldn't come from only one player. But all that aside, I too have my Boston tickets all lined up. How nice would it be to have UND, UM, UMD and some random HE team in the FF?

WPoS

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redwing77 Newbie

redwing77

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regardless that I am a Gopher fan I think you guys will (should) finish top in the WCHA. JBSU can't ride a goalie that long and as for Bucky, well I have no idea how that is happening. But a first place finish is definitly in the cards for you IMO. Tapering off with a few more than one loss yes, but a crappola Spring (as much as I'd like to see it) just won't happen.

As for the posts on top of page 2 on this thread, the Gophs have been suffering from hot/cold play. Yes we should have killed BU, but the almost "score/play when I want/feel to" seems to have permeated the team. Not scoring on the PP against BU was frustrating as heck. When the goalie is down, don't shoot at his body, upper corners! Even I know that! Vanek would have helped but making the difference can't/shouldn't come from only one player. But all that aside, I too have my Boston tickets all lined up. How nice would it be to have UND, UM, UMD and some random HE team in the FF?

WPoS

ESPN would hate it except for the fact that we won't be hearing much about anyone other than the HE team for the duration. Should the HE team lose in the semis, then ESPN won't barely cover the series at all.

We'll get preempted for some stupid basketball game, I'm sure.

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MinnesotaNorthStar Newbie

MinnesotaNorthStar

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ESPN would hate it except for the fact that we won't be hearing much about anyone other than the HE team for the duration. Should the HE team lose in the semis, then ESPN won't barely cover the series at all.

We'll get preempted for some stupid basketball game, I'm sure.

yeah, a high school basketball game.

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