UND vs. St. Lawrence Saints - Saturday

[Blackheart]

3-2

Crap!

[siouxforeverbaby]

Timeout ND

[AZSIOUX]

Come on parks why panic? Chip it down

[siouxforeverbaby]

UND wins.

[AZSIOUX]

Good win sioux! At western mich next weekend.

[GO_FIGHTING_SIOUX_GO]

Hooray SIOUX win!!!

[andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!!]

That's more like it! Go Sioux!

[Irish]

Anyone else notice that UND changed style of play this period?

There is no team that goes into a shell with a lead more than we do - although a win is a win, we played like crap in the third

[hrkac]

It was a grind but a win is a win.

[AZSIOUX]

Still going to have to be much better at western but good step killing that major and skating a man down. They at not to lose every time with a lead. Be aggressive!

[cberkas]

Better effort tonight, last 10 minutes was all St. Lawrence. See what happens at WMU before I'd say the team has turned it around.

[SiouxScore]

Nice to finally get a win again but still lots of areas that will need to continue to get better. I thought the energy and effort was real good in the 1st and then in the 2nd and 3rd there were areas of time where we just sat back and let St.Lawrence do whatever they wanted which was the case with their 1st goal. Definitely need to stay agressive and attacking consistently throughout the game an make some smarter plays at times. I didn't like the major call on Tambo early and I'm pretty sure Hak thought it should have been a 2 from his reaction as well. I thought Zane played pretty well and really bailed the team out at times, hopefully he can take the goalie job and run with it. Big weekend at Western Michigan, need to play better consistently and get points.

[Oxbow6]

There is no team that goes into a shell with a lead more than we do - although a win is a win, we played like crap in the third

This...^^^^^^^.

Whatever good play there was in the first 2 periods with sucked away in the 3rd. Just can't make any game easy

[siouxweet]

a win is a win. but this team is what it is, an offensively challenged team that is prone to mistakes(stupid penalties). they are going to struggle to score three goals all year which in turn won't lead to an over abundance of wins here on out.

[shortbusguy]

Not a tournament team this year.

[scpa0305]

Not a tournament team this year.

Where did this guy come from?

[Oxbow6]

a win is a win. but this team is what it is, an offensively challenged team that is prone to mistakes(stupid penalties). they are going to struggle to score three goals all year which in turn won't lead to an over abundance of wins here on out.

I hate to agree but I'm with you. This team generates nothing offensively with its dump and chase. St L knew exactly what was coming especially on the PP. Penalties... where do you start? Was Tambo's the right call...no but why even put yourself in that position...especially on the PP. This team from Hak on down has to change its mindset and philosophy. Get out shot 13-2 in the 3rd as you are basically playing not to lose is a recipe for a L every time you have a lead in the 3rd.

At this point defensively Stecher and LaDue's minutes need to go up. Schmaltz goes thru the motions and Simpson...well one of his worst weekends at UND in 4 years.

Just tough to watch even though a win is a win. IMO the offensive and defensive schemes nowhere match the players skill sets and it is evident when you watch game in and game out. How many draft picks on the roster?? More any other team in the nation. There is some talent and skill but the system(s) stifle that.

[Goon]

Where did this guy come from?

He's actually a regular contributor from the past.

[runaroundsioux]

He's actually a regular contributor from the past.

And a rodent fan.

[smokey the cat]

And a rodent fan.

explains why they ride the short bus,

[Goon]

And a rodent fan.

That could be the case. I don't remember, I just remember the name.

[Wilbur]

I was following the stats and saw that the foot was taken off the gas pedal in the third period. Playing to protect the lead and not attacking.....you're going to give up chances and hope your goalie comes up big when you need him.

One game at a time mentality with this group. Can't think big picture too much because they aren't consistent enough to put together a stretch of three or four good games.

Western is a well coached team that gave UND all they could handle last time they danced. Hope they can find a way to get points on the road.

[zoom]

Well, I've been a lurker on this form for a long long time , never posted cause I feel my knowledge of the game is minimal at best, but Iam trying to learn the game. I have to say I've never played the game other than as a kid on a pond 40 years ago. But I have competed in other sports and am a true full blooded fan through and through and have a long family hx of UND Alum.

There is something very very different about this team. Reading your posts I have to say your all right. I don't think the coaches have a handle on what type of talent they have, the game plan suffers because of it, and I don't see the team as a "team". They are not playing well together. I hate the part of being a "second" half team. I look at the other teams we played this year from the beginning , we have been outplayed as a whole ever series . This team is barely hanging on to be competitive. I know we've been sick, injuries etc. But! This team and coaches need to find themselves.

I live in southern Mn. I've gotten to a couple of games this year and otherwise watch them on the tube or stream it and when they play St. Cloud I'll to see them there. Used to go to the rodent or Mav. Games but I guess that won't happen for a couple years yet.

[fightingsioux4life]

Well, I've been a lurker on this form for a long long time , never posted cause I feel my knowledge of the game is minimal at best, but Iam trying to learn the game. I have to say I've never played the game other than as a kid on a pond 40 years ago. But I have competed in other sports and am a true full blooded fan through and through and have a long family hx of UND Alum.

There is something very very different about this team. Reading your posts I have to say your all right. I don't think the coaches have a handle on what type of talent they have, the game plan suffers because of it, and I don't see the team as a "team". They are not playing well together. I hate the part of being a "second" half team. I look at the other teams we played this year from the beginning , we have been outplayed as a whole ever series . This team is barely hanging on to be competitive. I know we've been sick, injuries etc. But! This team and coaches need to find themselves.

I live in southern Mn. I've gotten to a couple of games this year and otherwise watch them on the tube or stream it and when they play St. Cloud I'll to see them there. Used to go to the rodent or Mav. Games but I guess that won't happen for a couple years yet.

Welcome to our (sometimes) dysfunctional Fighting Sioux on-line family! Your first post is a good one. And I agree with you 100%. Don't be a stranger.

[farce poobah]

I too know very little about hockey, and only scored one game winning goal in intramural hockey in the way back, with a real wooden Christian Brothers $5 stick. But you won't see that stop me from offering my $.02 either.

An assessment through November...

STRENGTHS

1. Character. As always at UND (going back to the Gasparini days!), we have guys who will bleed for the team, who play injured, who will barf between shifts and then go back out and give 100%. I do not see any evidence of loafing or guys who don't care.

2. Conditioning. If memory serves, this group of players graded very highly on the dryland testing coming into camp this fall. (Best in ten years is a quote I recall.) In games, there's no pattern of late-period issues or 3rd-period issues that would suggest conditioning is it.

3. Fundamental skills and talent. These guys can skate. There's decent hands guys. And obviously with 15 draft picks, lack of skills can't be an excuse. It should be an area of strength.

4. Freshman class. In a season where we lost a lot of scoring and three experienced blueliners (counting Gleason for this purpose), this team had to put rookies into key roles. Calling out for special mention here: Luke Johnson, Paul Ladue, Troy Stecher. Although I have to say that Gage Ausmus reminds me of James Patrick; superb lateral movement and an explosive first step to create space. Just about every PK unit this weekend seemed to have 2 rookies. (Can't get back St Clair and McMillans soon enough.)

WEAKNESSES

1. Poor decisioning with the puck. Lots of little mistakes that turn into the team getting bottled up. Just from this weekend's games, I recall half-dozen times when someone behind the net threw the puck up the wall too hard for the UND forward to get there. We also fail to clear the zone far more than I've seen in the last 10 years; a half-dozen of those plays as well just from this weekend. POISE with the puck is needed. Much of the time, we're moving the puck before forced. Hanging onto it a half-second longer and making a fundamentally solid pass would go a long way to getting out of our own zone consistently well.

2. Inadequate play without the puck. While #1 above is about the guy with the puck, this comment is about the guys without the puck. Often times, they are not finding the space and not becoming a target to receive the puck. The best teams at this have guys moving full speed to get open. Many times it looks like we are going half-speed, without conviction, and as a result, we're too easy to cover and its too easy for the opposing team to break up the play.

3. Goaltending is not consistently sharp. Its not clear to me whether this is a mental issue, a physical / fundamental issue, or just plain bad luck. But we have not gotten the consistently-sharp "B+" or even "A-" goaltending that this team will need.

OBSERVATIONS:

1. The schedule has not been our friend so far. (Per SS.com, our SOS is #3 as rated by KRACH.) We've played the top of the NCHC (Miami and St Cloud), we've played some tough nonconference games. Now the schedule is about to become our friend. These next six series (WMU, Northern Michigan, CC, Bemidji St, Omaha in GF, Denver) represent a golden opportunity to get on a winning streak. If we're going to compete for an NCAA berth, I think we'll need around 10 wins in those 12 games.

2. February will tell the tale - back to back to back vs Miami, St Cloud and UMD ... present the last good opportunity to cement a solid enough record to get into the NCAA's. Based on NCHC's "mediocre" out of conference results, it may take 20 wins for UND to make the Dance. So winning 3-4 of these is a must.

3. I think the building blocks are here. A regular season title may not be in the cards, but a NCHC-tourney is a definite possibility. But there's no longer room for games that we aren't 100% ready to play, as happened Friday night.