NORTH DAKOTA vs MICHIGAN TECH - Saturday Game 2

[sprig]

Tech used a lot of energy last night. Sioux rested for most of the game. Sioux should be the fresher team tonight.

Where are the Sioux forwards in the ND end? Where is the short pass breakout? The only chance the D has is to rush the puck out themselves. Can't say I've ever seen a ND team play this way (much like the Friday game vs. St. Cloud)

[Oxbow6]

I feel Hak tried to tried to out think the room a couple weeks ago and now it's backfiring. You break up a top line that was jelling and scoring in bunches. A healthy scratch for weeks goes to top line. A regular for 30+ games in now useless? I don't think it's a coincidence the team's play the last couple of weekends has taken a dive. When did this program start plugging kids in the lineup because they lit it up in practice??? I have never been to a practice but I know no W has ever been notched in practice either. This society revolves around real production...hockey isn't excluded.

One thing that really bothers me is just flat out getting outworked...2 straight nights...in the playoffs.

I agree to a point that this team has 3 top end offensive guys...maybe 4 with Mark Mac... and everyone else (forward wise) is a nice part when things are going well. IMO to advance tonight Rocco goes top line which will create more space for Danny and Corbin and you roll with them to out score Tech...anyone else contributing is gravey.

I thought we would see a totally diffenent team last but I didn't. And unfortunately that's been this team's MO. Now if I had to beat, I put big money down it doesn't happen 3 nights in a row.

[scpa0305]

I feel Hak tried to tried to out think the room a couple weeks ago and now it's backfiring. You break up a top line that was jelling and scoring in bunches. A healthy scratch for weeks goes to top line. A regular for 30+ games in now useless? I don't think it's a coincidence the team's play the last couple of weekends has taken a dive. When did this program start plugging kids in the lineup because they lit it up in practice??? I have never been to a practice but I know no W has ever been notched in practice either. This society revolves around real production...hockey isn't excluded.

One thing that really bothers me is just flat out getting outworked...2 straight nights...in the playoffs.

I agree to a point that this team has 3 top end offensive guys...maybe 4 with Mark Mac... and everyone else (forward wise) is a nice part when things are going well. IMO to advance tonight Rocco goes top line which will create more space for Danny and Corbin and you roll with them to out score Tech...anyone else contributing is gravey.

I thought we would see a totally diffenent team last but I didn't. And unfortunately that's been this team's MO. Now if I had to beat, I put big money down it doesn't happen 3 nights in a row.

Agreed, not sure what the thought process is right now. Rocco knight kristo; parks Rowney mark Mac; plug the rest as needed and leave it until our season is over. Also, leave Zane in there. He's been shaky but so has Clarke.

Since the beginning everyone on this board has said how good odonnell is....I honestly have never seen it. You guys must have been partly right because Hak has given this guy more than a couple chances to succeed, he's simply not very good.

[Oxbow6]

FYI...the rising "Phoenix" was 0-4 w 19 goals allowed in his prior 4 starts until last night.

[sprig]

Since the beginning everyone on this board has said how good odonnell is....I honestly have never seen it. You guys must have been partly right because Hak has given this guy more than a couple chances to succeed, he's simply not very good.

OD was very good as a freshman; top freshman scorer if I remember right, and when he, Parks, and Rowney (was it Rowney?) were together last year, they were great. Was OD one of the missing, injured forwards at the end last year? Don't remember? But this year he hasn't looked at all like the freshmen OD. Seems to have lost the speed, skill, and aggressiveness he had last year. Would agree someone else has to take his place, as he hasn't found his game on any line.

[Siouxman]

OD was very good as a freshman; top freshman scorer if I remember right, and when he, Parks, and Rowney (was it Rowney?) were together last year, they were great. Was OD one of the missing, injured forwards at the end last year? Don't remember? But this year he hasn't looked at all like the freshmen OD. Seems to have lost the speed, skill, and aggressiveness he had last year. Would agree someone else has to take his place, as he hasn't found his game on any line.

I believe it was Rowney, Parks, and Mark MacMillan

[bigskyvikes]

Don't forget that Tech also throttled St. Cloud when they were fighting to win their first ever WCHA title.

Thank you for incerting logic into the panic! Wonder if DU fans are crying like the world is coming to an end? Everyone wants parity and we get it, everyone panics. There is 3 game threes people.....

[bigskyvikes]

....and u know nothing about hockey:

Ok, coming from you makes me

[Oxbow6]

I believe it was Rowney, Parks, and Mark MacMillan

Correct.

Not sure why they were never given a lot of time to jell this year again. IF that line could of rekindled w Rocco on top line that would have made 2 formidable lines.

[Oxbow6]

Thank you for incerting logic into the panic! Wonder if DU fans are crying like the world is coming to an end? Everyone wants parity and we get it, everyone panics. There is 3 game threes people.....

Currently 8th in Pairwise. For the sake of making the NCAA if we pull another no show tonight and lose a CC and UNO win helps our cause w Kato at 12 and DU at 9 in Pairwise.

[ringneck28]

If we lose tonight, there is a good chance this teams season is over. Just win and get to St Paul. That otta be the chant tonight, St Paul. OH BTW its a green day if I remembered correctly can the team wear their greens tonight?

[zonadub]

I was ten rows behind the bench...the second period was incredibly hard to stay awake. ...

The lady next to my wife literally fell asleep. ..I !@$! you not she was sleeping like it was a long sermon

cratter is 100% correct on this....und has a number of totally average players on any given night which is why the lady in the above post is sleeping in her seat....

[geaux_sioux]

Saunders is an average goalie at best there was a reason he was playing at Alabama-Huntsville. We didn't need there sloppy seconds

He made some really good saves last night. And he wasn't the one who tried the stupid move that created the odd man rush that led to the goal. He's better than your bitter ass would care to admit after a loss.

[scpa0305]

OD was very good as a freshman; top freshman scorer if I remember right, and when he, Parks, and Rowney (was it Rowney?) were together last year, they were great. Was OD one of the missing, injured forwards at the end last year? Don't remember? But this year he hasn't looked at all like the freshmen OD. Seems to have lost the speed, skill, and aggressiveness he had last year. Would agree someone else has to take his place, as he hasn't found his game on any line.

OD was one of the injured forwards however he was not one of the best freshman skaters. He did have a few early goals but that could have been lucky....check out his assist totals (a true hockey stat) they're terrible.

[Oxbow6]

He made some really good saves last night. And he wasn't the one who tried the stupid move that created the odd man rush that led to the goal. He's better than your bitter ass would care to admit after a loss.

I thought Clark was very good last night. Probably didn't make the best play on GWG but on breakaways that happens. Bottom line you hold Tech to 2 UND should win that game 9 of 10 times.

[sprig]

OD was one of the injured forwards however he was not one of the best freshman skaters. He did have a few early goals but that could have been lucky....check out his assist totals (a true hockey stat) they're terrible.

I obviously had he and MarkMac confused from their freshman year. In that case, not sure why he is in the lineup. In which case I would like to see the line from last year back together, and Rocco inserted on the first line. Mitch/Mark has worked occasionally, but not consistent enough to stick with imo

[Oxbow6]

I obviously had he and MarkMac confused from their freshman year. In that case, not sure why he is in the lineup. In which case I would like to see the line from last year back together, and Rocco inserted on the first line. Mitch/Mark has worked occasionally, but not consistent enough to stick with imo

Mitch was horrible Friday. Much better last night. I agree Rocco top line w RPM line reunited tonight. Sit OD. 3rd line 3 of Colten/Mitch/Drake/Gaarder. 4th Pattyn Rodwell and Colton/Gaarder

[watchmaker49]

Off? They rolled it in the ditch and set it on fire!

Almost all of the people here are here year in and out. Not only when they are winning. They do not use the hockey games as a social event like so many do. These are not bandwagon fans that are on and off like many others. Just wearing UND stuff does not make you a real fan. People here are in for the long haul.

[Oxbow6]

It's real simply...win play more hockey or lose and probably done for year.

[SiouxScore]

He made some really good saves last night. And he wasn't the one who tried the stupid move that created the odd man rush that led to the goal. He's better than your bitter ass would care to admit after a loss.

I thought he was decent, he was out of position a lot and gave a lot of bad rebounds up but Tech didn't capitalize on them, another major difference I have also noticed between Saunders and Gothberg is Saunders almost never plays the puck and sets it up for the D and how Gothberg does that and is always talking trying to help let the D know where to go with the puck, I feel much more comfortable with Zane in net and hope we see him tonight.

[sprig]

Mitch was horrible Friday. Much better last night. I agree Rocco top line w RPM line reunited tonight. Sit OD. 3rd line 3 of Colten/Mitch/Drake/Gaarder. 4th Pattyn Rodwell and Colton/Gaarder

Problems from the beginning of the year: 1. Find a Nelson replacement on the top line, revolving door all year 2. Parks injured for much of the first half, no RPM line available 3. Mitch comes in in Jan, and the coaches decide to try and recover the brother's BCHL magic (no RPM line, no set first line, very little magic) 3. Rocco is everywhere except the top line, took way too long imo to try him as the Nelson replacement 4. Mix and match the top 2 lines still ongoing, better get there tonight 5. Laid back lack of effort (can't fathom how this has happened frequently, maybe due to line jumbling), but effort should be there (and often was, just not consistently) anyway.

[Snake]

Lately the entire crop of sophomore forwards + Rowney & Knight have been pretty invisible to me. The lack of sustained offensive pressure is worrisome. Also, it seems like for the last 5 periods we've been totally dominated on the first two shifts coming out of the intermission.

[collegehockeywatcher]

Saunders is an average goalie at best there was a reason he was playing at Alabama-Huntsville. We didn't need there sloppy seconds

Two ex-Alabama-Huntsville goalies are currently in the top four for two NHL teams. How many ex-UND goalies can say the same - zero?

Saunders has NHL interest, do you think they are interested in average (at best) goalies?

Lame post man.

[jallengarry]

I'll try to give some perspective as a Gopher fan without being biased or troll-like. Championships are constantly determined by a couple of factors:

1) Great goal-tending.

2) Solid Defense

3) Getting hot at the right time.

4) Depth

It's not hard to see...that at least at this moment...UND is not firing on all four of these factors. There's no clear number #1 goalie that is playing well, the D has had a lot of let down moments, their energy/effort is not as good as it has been at other points, and they are getting most of their production from about 3 guys. I don't see 1 or 4 changing anytime soon; unless of course a goalie just gets hot...it can happen. When you're still debating line combos and who should dress that suggests there's not great depth. Saying the role players suck or can't help is going too far. All the players on a team like MN or UND are talented...but not all are high-end game changers. Regarding #2; the defense has some talent but hasn't seemed to gel. I always remember a Sioux D-core having big, tough guys to play against...not sure that edge is there this year...IDK though because I obviously don't follow it that closely. I know from our perspective we expect a hard hitting (cheap vs tough-nosed depending on your bias) effort from the Sioux and this years series there were hardly many scrums or penalties...they were way more tame than I remember them. Hell UMD played us with way more physicality. Seems there's a lot of concern they fired the wrong assistant. MN certainly did this with Hill and Guentzel and the squad went from very mediocre to very good pretty quickly once it was rectified.

I'd say the Sioux's best shot a a run lies with #3. They have historically been a team that plays very well at crunch time and they certainly can play with a lot of heart and pride; even if it's not happening right now. For this years squad to win...I think they need to get hot, play with passion, and probably get some good fortune to overcome some atypical shortcomings that they wouldn't normally have to worry about. I wouldn't bet on them because when your wondering if you'll even make the tourney that doesn't usually bode well for your chances. That said, I'd rather not face them and they will certainly be a tough out if they do get in...which I think they will.

Serious question...what point in the season would you cite that would give you faith that this team had the winning formula? In other words, what is their high mark you want them to get back to? With MN I could certainly point to efforts against BC, Notre Dame, UND Friday night, even a blowout against a lesser Mich St. What is the Sioux top end effort and, if they could get there, would that be good enough to consistently beat the best in the nation? Time will tell I guess. I'd wish you luck but I'd be lying.

[burd]

I'll try to give some perspective as a Gopher fan without being biased or troll-like. Championships are constantly determined by a couple of factors:

1) Great goal-tending.

2) Solid Defense

3) Getting hot at the right time.

4) Depth

It's not hard to see...that at least at this moment...UND is not firing on all four of these factors. There's no clear number #1 goalie that is playing well, the D has had a lot of let down moments, their energy/effort is not as good as it has been at other points, and they are getting most of their production from about 3 guys. I don't see 1 or 4 changing anytime soon; unless of course a goalie just gets hot...it can happen. When you're still debating line combos and who should dress that suggests there's not great depth. Saying the role players suck or can't help is going too far. All the players on a team like MN or UND are talented...but not all are high-end game changers. Regarding #2; the defense has some talent but hasn't seemed to gel. I always remember a Sioux D-core having big, tough guys to play against...not sure that edge is there this year...IDK though because I obviously don't follow it that closely. I know from our perspective we expect a hard hitting (cheap vs tough-nosed depending on your bias) effort from the Sioux and this years series there were hardly many scrums or penalties...they were way more tame than I remember them. Hell UMD played us with way more physicality. Seems there's a lot of concern they fired the wrong assistant. MN certainly did this with Hill and Guentzel and the squad went from very mediocre to very good pretty quickly once it was rectified.

I'd say the Sioux's best shot a a run lies with #3. They have historically been a team that plays very well at crunch time and they certainly can play with a lot of heart and pride; even if it's not happening right now. For this years squad to win...I think they need to get hot, play with passion, and probably get some good fortune to overcome some atypical shortcomings that they wouldn't normally have to worry about. I wouldn't bet on them because when your wondering if you'll even make the tourney that doesn't usually bode well for your chances. That said, I'd rather not face them and they will certainly be a tough out if they do get in...which I think they will.

Serious question...what point in the season would you cite that would give you faith that this team had the winning formula? In other words, what is their high mark you want them to get back to? With MN I could certainly point to efforts against BC, Notre Dame, UND Friday night, even a blowout against a lesser Mich St. What is the Sioux top end effort and, if they could get there, would that be good enough to consistently beat the best in the nation? Time will tell I guess. I'd wish you luck but I'd be lying.

Good post.