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UND 2013-14 season


Frozen4sioux

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No doubt, Simpsons numbers in NCHC games were phenomenal.

I can see offensive defenseman of the year going to LaLeggia, but overall better defenseman? yeah right. Simpson is better defensively, than offensively, and look at the numbers he puts up.

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Not only in points, but in blocked shots. It's probably due to the fact that they vote in the middle of February instead of closer to the end of the season.

That's what I meant. The only shockingly low number for Simpson is his +\-, which isn't great

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That's what I meant. The only shockingly low number for Simpson is his +\-, which isn't great

That's because he is always out against the opponent's absolute best...

Role: Keep the other team's superstars off the score sheet. Chip in on the powerplay. This equals lower +/- but a very effective dman

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That's because he is always out against the opponent's absolute best...

Role: Keep the other team's superstars off the score sheet. Chip in on the powerplay. This equals lower +/- but a very effective dman

I get that, but typically you see a better plus minus out of your top dman. Just saying. I still say he should have won.

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I have read about the inflexibility of the coaching staff, wedded to their systems with no changes based on the makeup of the team. Funny, then, that this is a Sioux team that doesn't really resemble anything I've seen in years. They have a defensive corps that includes six guys that can move the puck and themselves, and they are a big part of the team's puck possession, rushes and offense.

In the offensive zone, the offense seems to flow through the defensemen more than in the past. A shot from the point has always been a solid hockey play, ripe with opportunities for good results in the form of screens, deflections and rebounds. This team does it a lot. Look at Saturday. Gaarder deflection of a shot-pass. Gaarder rebound of point shot. Schmaltz walking in from the point. Grimaldi rebound. LaDue shot (granted it was in tighter because of the 5-on-3 PP). They're able to do it because they have the puck a lot and they are pretty good at getting it through.

Other Sioux teams have had a guy who occasionally led or joined a rush, but there was usually only one or maybe two on a team who would do it. Most of this year's group does it, especially Mattson and Thompson, and double especially Schmaltz, who seems to have a gift for finding open ice as a trailer and has the skating ability to get there.

It's a more risky approach to the game, but when you get to the end of the year solid defense is a given and having something special offensively wins games. This team has some good solid forwards with a good skill level, but they're not dominant. This team's edge is the skating, puck handling and hockey sense of the defense. The coaches have thankfully recognized that and adapted.

In addition to the risk of getting caught up ice, the downside of this type of team is that there is no crease-clearing physical presence, which we are so used to seeing. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few years.

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Good call-out. We're used to dominant skill up front, and punishers on the Blue line. This team is truly different.

I understand that we don't clear the front of the net like we used to, but it is also often brought up that we don't "stand 'em up at the blue line" like we used to. This got me wondering if there is even a team out there that can do that any more? The way interference is called now, all an attacking forward has to do is chip the puck by the D and it then becomes a race to a loose puck instead of a body play. If you try to stand someone up and he chips the puck past you you're probably looking at a 50/50 chance of an interference call. I like how we've transitioned to a more mobile group of D.

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I understand that we don't clear the front of the net like we used to, but it is also often brought up that we don't "stand 'em up at the blue line" like we used to. This got me wondering if there is even a team out there that can do that any more? The way interference is called now, all an attacking forward has to do is chip the puck by the D and it then becomes a race to a loose puck instead of a body play. If you try to stand someone up and he chips the puck past you you're probably looking at a 50/50 chance of an interference call. I like how we've transitioned to a more mobile group of D.

Yup, any dman tries to stand Rocco up nowadays and it's interference 90% of the time. I love when he banks it off the boards gets around the defender and draws a holding or interference penalty. I've seen him do this on numerous occassions and he's so fast it's almost unfair for the poor defender trying to catch up.

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The game of hockey is changing, there's rarely the tree trunk defenseman... The NHL and hockey in general is moving to the puck moving players that can skate. Take a look at UND defense, Troy Stecher, Jordan Schmaltz, Paul LaDue, Keaton Thompson, Dillon Simpson... All of them can skate, play physical but smartly. This is a paradigm shift for UND hockey. You're not going to see a lot of tree trunks playing for UND, unless they can keep up on the ice. Over the past few years UND has shifted their team game. I have read where some seem to think that Hakstol and Co don't make adjustments... I don't believe that's true. I am also heard some of the hockey pundits rant and rave about this coaching staff and how they make in game adjustments. They've adjusted their team philosophies to keep up with the fast skating teams. This year's team is fast... They were all over WMU on Saturday.

The refs are taking hitting away, especially the big hits from the players. Check out the video of Drake Caggiula getting a penalty for a legal, clean, hard hit.

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The game of hockey is changing, there's rarely the tree trunk defenseman... The NHL and hockey in general is moving to the puck moving players that can skate. Take a look at UND defense, Troy Stecher, Jordan Schmaltz, Paul LaDue, Keaton Thompson, Dillon Simpson... All of them can skate, play physical but smartly. This is a paradigm shift for UND hockey. You're not going to see a lot of tree trunks playing for UND, unless they can keep up on the ice. Over the past few years UND has shifted their team game. I have read where some seem to think that Hakstol and Co don't make adjustments... I don't believe that's true. I am also heard some of the hockey pundits rant and rave about this coaching staff and how they make in game adjustments. They've adjusted their team philosophies to keep up with the fast skating teams. This year's team is fast... They were all over WMU on Saturday.

The refs are taking hitting away, especially the big hits from the players. Check out the video of Drake Caggiulagetting a penalty for a legal, clean, hard hit.

this is why certain penalties should be reviewable. to the referees defense this all happens at game speed and it is imposible to get everything correct.

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this is why certain penalties should be reviewable. to the referees defense this all happens at game speed and it is imposible to get everything correct.

The NHL talked about having a coaches challenge, but it never went anywhere. I agree... The MU players should have gotten more than two-minute minors after chasing Drake down the ice.

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The thing that irks me about the Caggiula penalty is that it wasn't called until the player couldn't get up right away and the rest of Miami freaked out. There was no initial indication that a penalty was being called. Which brings us right back to the situation we had with Denver...why is the outcome being used to determine whether or not a penalty is called?

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