Hakstol and his team

[Old Time Hockey]

First off, this response has absolutely nothing to do with Hak and everything to do with Blais. Blais came to UND at a very low point and turned it around substantially (2 NCAA titles). He is a coach that appears to always be moving and ready to accept a challenge. Going to a place like UNO was no easy task so I have no idea why you would even do the whole winning % debate.....not many other coaches (with his type of stature in the hockey community) would have accepted that position. Do UNO and UND have anything in common regarding their traditional and stature in college hockey? No. The man has 2 national titles and resurrected this program. Again, I'm so confused why some people are saying anything in a disrespectful tone about Blais.

Also, Blais has some darn good recruits coming in next year. If Archibald had stayed....they would be 1-2 in the NCHC next year...still probably will.

None of us will ever know how many, if at all, Blais would have won had he stayed here through the Oshie years. The guy can coach an he proved it once again in Saskatchewan a few years back. What people fail to mention is that recruiting to Omaha is a little different than recruiting to ND and the REA.

Can you imagine what a kid like Josh Archibald would have meant to this years squad? Why did he not end up a Sioux like his old man?

[stoneySIOUX]

First off, this response has absolutely nothing to do with Hak and everything to do with Blais. Blais came to UND at a very low point and turned it around substantially (2 NCAA titles). He is a coach that appears to always be moving and ready to accept a challenge. Going to a place like UNO was no easy task so I have no idea why you would even do the whole winning % debate.....not many other coaches (with his type of stature in the hockey community) would have accepted that position. Do UNO and UND have anything in common regarding their traditional and stature in college hockey? No. The man has 2 national titles and resurrected this program. Again, I'm so confused why some people are saying anything in a disrespectful tone about Blais.

Also, Blais has some darn good recruits coming in next year. If Archibald had stayed....they would be 1-2 in the NCHC next year...still probably will.

I'm sorry, but no.

[scpa0305]

I'm sorry, but no.

Do you happen to know who he's got coming in next year? They were 3 this year....only 1 game off from us.

Save the post.

[scpa0305]

None of us will ever know how many, if at all, Blais would have won had he stayed here through the Oshie years. The guy can coach an he proved it once again in Saskatchewan a few years back. What people fail to mention is that recruiting to Omaha is a little different than recruiting to ND and the REA.

Can you imagine what a kid like Josh Archibald would have meant to this years squad? Why did he not end up a Sioux like his old man?

That is the point I've been trying to make for some time. Not that I want Blais over Hak...just in reponse to posters writing off Blais for some reason. His UNO team was tough this year...at least when I saw them playing UND.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Do you happen to know who he's got coming in next year? They were 3 this year....only 1 game off from us.

Save the post.

Well Miami has Czarnik, Barber, and Coleman coming back next year so they'll probably be better than UNO. That leaves UNO being better than AT LEAST St. Cloud and North Dakota, who has one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country coming in and only losing 2 players.

So yeah... I'm saying no on this one as well.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Well Miami has Czarnik, Barber, and Coleman coming back next year so they'll probably be better than UNO. That leaves UNO being better than AT LEAST St. Cloud and North Dakota, who has one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country coming in and only losing 2 players.

So yeah... I'm saying no on this one as well.

Also, I believe Miami has a blue chipper coming in too but not sure of his name.

[SiouxScore]

I'm sorry, but no.

I agree, Blais does have some good recruits like the Peterson kid from Grand Rapids that I would have loved to have but most of their better recruits are forwards and their defense wasn't exactly a strength the last couple seasons, I think goaltending will still be an issue as well. I would say the top 2 teams are UND and Miami and I could see Duluth and St.Cloud ahead of Omaha easily next year as well.

[scpa0305]

Well Miami has Czarnik, Barber, and Coleman coming back next year so they'll probably be better than UNO. That leaves UNO being better than AT LEAST St. Cloud and North Dakota, who has one of the strongest recruiting classes in the country coming in and only losing 2 players.

So yeah... I'm saying no on this one as well.

Maybe....it was my daily bold prediction we'll see what happens. When I said 1-2 I really meant 2....because we will be #1 if we don't lose any underclassman. I just think they will surprise people if they can shore up their D and G. I also posted that before I read that Barber was coming back. If given a second chance to redo that post I would say top 3. SCSU won't crack the top 2 in my opinion.

[scpa0305]

I agree, Blais does have some good recruits like the Peterson kid from Grand Rapids that I would have loved to have but most of their better recruits are forwards and their defense wasn't exactly a strength the last couple seasons, I think goaltending will still be an issue as well. I would say the top 2 teams are UND and Miami and I could see Duluth and St.Cloud ahead of Omaha easily next year as well.

They also have the top two scorers in the USHL, as well as, the EP kids.

[Siouxperfan7]

Blais v Hakstol. Lets look at the numbers in the 5 years Blais has been at Omaha and the last 5 years for Hakstol at UND.

2009 - 2014

Blais - 91-86-18, 0 National Championships, 0 Conference Championships, 0 Conference Tournament Championships, 1 NCAA Tournamanet appearance. Lost in the first round of the conference playoffs the other 4 years.

Hakstol - 130-64-21, 0 National Championships, 1 Conference Championship, 3 Conference Tournament Championships, 5 NCAA Tournament appearances, 2 Frozen Fours. Won in the first round of the conference tournament each of the last 5 years.

So please tell me again how much of a better coach Blais has been then Hak lately?

[scpa0305]

Blais v Hakstol. Lets look at the numbers in the 5 years Blais has been at Omaha and the last 5 years for Hakstol at UND.

2009 - 2014

Blais - 91-86-18, 0 National Championships, 0 Conference Championships, 0 Conference Tournament Championships, 1 NCAA Tournamanet appearance. Lost in the first round of the conference playoffs the other 4 years.

Hakstol - 130-64-21, 0 National Championships, 1 Conference Championship, 3 Conference Tournament Championships, 5 NCAA Tournament appearances, 2 Frozen Fours. Won in the first round of the conference tournament each of the last 5 years.

So please tell me again how much of a better coach Blais has been then Hak lately?

Wow.

[Big A HG]

I'm too lazy to go back and look right now, but, I think many of our Blais experts and prognosticators will already have been proven wrong with their short-sighted predictions from when Deano was first hired on at UNO.

[scpa0305]

I'm too lazy to go back and look right now, but, I think many of our Blais experts and prognosticators will already have been proven wrong with their short-sighted predictions from when Deano was first hired on at UNO.

I wasn't trying say blais over Hak, simply saying it would be tougher to recruit players to uno over und. Tougher gig. You may have wanted to read the earlier posts

[Goon]

Hakstol's dump and chase, cycle-cycle-cycle system hasn't worked in the NCAA tournament. The 1-5 record in the Frozen Four proves that. But nice try clouding the issue. And please don't hurt yourself over this; it's just a game!

You realized that playing a team like WIsconsin and FSU, you have to dump and chase the puck or you will never gain entrance to the offensive zone. They line up at the blueline and you have to dump the puck in to get past them.

[franchise]

Also, I believe Miami has a blue chipper coming in too but not sure of his name.

D-Man Louie Belpedio?

[scpa0305]

You realized that playing a team like WIsconsin and FSU, you have to dump and chase the puck or you will never gain entrance to the offensive zone. They line up at the blueline and you have to dump the puck in to get past them.

Your are correct, everyone excluding big ice teams play dump and chase. Not sure why people blast Hak for playing a system 98% of North American teams play.

[Goon]

Your are correct, everyone excluding big ice teams play dump and chase. Not sure why people blast Hak for playing a system 98% of North American teams play.

I get a bit confused with that one, because there's no other way to beat the trap and defensive teams. Even the power house Bruins play the dump and chase. Just for the record, I know fightingsioux4life and like him so I hope people don't think I am bagging on him. Although he wasn't at the Hogger this year.

[scpa0305]

I get a bit confused with that one, because there's no other way to beat the trap and defensive teams. Even the power house Bruins play the dump and chase. Just for the record, I know fightingsioux4life and like him so I hope people don't think I am bagging on him. Although he wasn't at the Hogger this year.

Oh I understand that.....to me it's not the system. The systems a proven winner, that's why 100% of nhl systems run it. Not every team plays a conservative trap but everyone plays a dump and chase system to some point. Go watch an nhl game. Hak's system is an nhl style system. It's the application that was problem, not the system.

[Goon]

You might be a gopher fan if.....

44. Grammer's tuff 4 u.

Yeah that guy's post looked like he was drunk when he wrote it...The internet is a beautiful thing, you can be a 13-year old boy and post as if you had balls the size of cannon balls. Internet tough guys. Nothing new here, Gopher fans on GPL like to call Schloss a cheer leader for UND. There's even some clownish buffoon that has a non-funny parody account that makes fun of Brad. I have a feeling I know who that clown is.

You have to love message boards and the anonymity of being able to post whatever you want, without any chance of consequences. Fan blogs don't to be non-bias. Everyone has biases. I can't stand the Gophers, Pittsburgh Penguins or the Vancouver Canucks.... Their fans seems to have a similar way they go about their business.

on their blogs they can be as biased as they want to be. as for things published in the actual paper Brad is very unbiased. in fact he calls it as he sees it for the most part even in his blog and during live chats. Goon has actually tones down his his bias since he got his credentials.

[Goon]

Oh I understand that.....to me it's not the system. The systems a proven winner, that's why 100% of nhl systems run it. Not every team plays a conservative trap but everyone plays a dump and chase system to some point. Go watch an nhl game. Hak's system is an nhl style system. It's the application that was problem, not the system.

Bingo, the hockey guys in the NHL like the way Hak coaches the team because they play a pro-style game and he runs is program the same way. There's a reason Starman goes out of his way to compliment the UND hockey program, the guy is a scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The guy know his hockey. I saw some Gopher fan whining about Starman complimenting UND.

[fightingsioux4life]

I am no hockey expert, but I remember being told that when Hakstol took over the average working stiff in the stands wouldn't notice much of a change in style of play. And that hasn't been the case. As for NHL coaches being a fan of Hakstol, I guess that doesn't score many points with me. I honestly don't care what NHL coaches and scouts think (and that includes Starman). The NHL game and the college game are different; what is good for the NHL is not necessarily good for the college game. Boston College uses a similar style to what we used to use and has won 4 NCAA titles in 13 years. North Dakota now uses a very NHL-esque system and has a 1-5 record in the Frozen Four (including some very lopsided losses to Boston College). And it is impossible not to make the obvious comparison between the two programs and how they build their teams when they have faced off so many times on the biggest stage in college hockey. I guess I always wonder what might have happened if Hakstol had loosened up just a little bit when we had blue chippers like Toews, Oshie and Duncan without being sloppy on the defensive end. It could have made a difference, but we'll never know. I do think Hakstol should get another 4-5 years to bring home an NCAA title, but if it doesn't happen, this topic will come back with a vengeance.

[scpa0305]

I am no hockey expert, but I remember being told that when Hakstol took over the average working stiff in the stands wouldn't notice much of a change in style of play. And that hasn't been the case. As for NHL coaches being a fan of Hakstol, I guess that doesn't score many points with me. I honestly don't care what NHL coaches and scouts think (and that includes Starman). The NHL game and the college game are different; what is good for the NHL is not necessarily good for the college game. Boston College uses a similar style to what we used to use and has won 4 NCAA titles in 13 years. North Dakota now uses a very NHL-esque system and has a 1-5 record in the Frozen Four (including some very lopsided losses to Boston College). And it is impossible not to make the obvious comparison between the two programs and how they build their teams when they have faced off so many times on the biggest stage in college hockey. I guess I always wonder what might have happened if Hakstol had loosened up just a little bit when we had blue chippers like Toews, Oshie and Duncan without being sloppy on the defensive end. It could have made a difference, but we'll never know. I do think Hakstol should get another 4-5 years to bring home an NCAA title, but if it doesn't happen, this topic will come back with a vengeance.

It's not the system. Consistency (to start the year(s)) has been the issue, in my mind motivation has been an issue and compete level has been an issue.

[Irish]

So why isn't Dean's Porsche running on all cylinders down in Omaha?

Boston College has been awesome, no doubt about it. We aren't the only elite program struggling to win the big one. It just proves what BC doing is exceptional and everyone else is trying to play catch-up. Where's Michigan been? Minnesota? Maine? BU? Denver? Wisconsin?

Between the five teams I questioned, and including North Dakota, the six teams combined have won a combined three championships (DU '05, UW '06, BU '09) since Dave Hakstol has been head coach. Other than BC, everyone has struggled over the last ten years to have any sort of consistency even being a contender, except us. No, we haven't won one under Dave, but it's only a matter of time (whether it's this year or down the road). Hakstol is batting .600 for Frozen Four appearances, and has a 100% attendance record in the dance. A championship is the only thing that matters, but it's not all on the coach to win one. The players must score, the goalie must make saves, and you need a timely bounce or two (or 12), which we haven't had.

One unrelated item that I feel should be mentioned...UND is making it's 20th appearance in the "Frozen Four". That means we are currently 7 for 19 in winning a title in those appearances. Law of averages say we're doomed to have numerous appearances without winning, and we're going through that right now.

You pointed out the reason for heartburn exactly - pre-Hak Frozen 4 record = 7 out of 14. Hak's record = 0 for 5. The problem with your post is that you blame some invisible "law of averages" for our failures. If the law of averages worked in college athletics, after several seasons, all teams would be .500.

[Goon]

Boston College uses a similar style to what we used to use and has won 4 NCAA titles in 13 years.

You do realize that the Boston College Eagles use the dump and chase too and they cycle the puck... They had to use the dump and chase against Lowell last weekend.

[scpa0305]

You do realize that the Boston College Eagles use the dump and chase too and they cycle the puck... They had to use the dump and chase against Lowell last weekend.

Yup....the difference is they have the best first line in hockey. They also are super deep with top notch defensemen and a full blown blue chipper goalie. That's why they look better