CAUNDfan Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 UND does not have a lot of upperclass players. With the departure of Bayda, the slate is wide-open for a leader on offense. So, who is going to step it up and be the top scoring upperclassman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I'd have to guess Spiewak, and Ryan Hale. I would expect both to wear at least an "A" this season so they have to really fill that role and produce as well, unlike last season where the leadership was questionable to say the least. A possible "darkhorse" to lead the scoring is Bochenski. I think he'll be a better all-around player than he was last season, especially if his footwork improves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I think it is possible that the actual scoring leader for the team might be a soph. However, I believe the upperclass scoring leader could be either Hale or Lundbohm. My vote is Lundbohm right now. I think he has some potential that was not tapped last year for some reason. We may see that blossom. However, I still feel R. Hale might surprise us this coming year with his production and if Lundbohm doesn't have the proverbial "break-out" season then Hale will be the guy, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprig Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 Lundbohm finished the end of the 2000-01 strong and started last season the same. Having watched the Sioux only a few times on TV, was hard to tell where he went. Seems that the inability to win faceoffs and the criticism he got for it took away the rest of his game also. Hope he's back to normal this fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 Noterman and Speedwack are going to be stellar on checking the oppositions top lines Ryan Hale is going to score 20+ goals if he stays healthy and Bochenski is going to light the lamp. The defense is going to smash the opposition into the boards and UND is going to be a surprise in the WCHA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 GO GOON!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goon Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 I talked to someone that said the ice at REA is going to be in all summer long. I hope that means the boys are practicing and lifting some serious weights. Maybe Speez can elaborate on this for us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speez Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 The guys had about 2 weeks off after the season to heal a lot of nagging injuries that don't go away during the season. An intense workout schedule then started for the players & Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 I hear you on the goaltending issue Speez. We were generally in most of the games we played, with some sad exceptions. I think the goaltending issue may have caused the team to grip their sticks too tightly and cough up those leads in the third, as well as lose some of those 1 pt games. Hopefully, the extra experience and confidence in the net and upfront will pay extra dividends next season. I hope the team really makes a concerted effort to work hard in the offseason and improve on the basics. If they do that a lot of other things should take care of themselves when it really counts. I like the potential I've seen in R. Hale and Spiewak, so I think they could blossom next season both as leaders and point producers. I also look for McMahon and Lundbohm to play closer to their potentials in that regard too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 Speez, Thanks again for your input. One general impression I get from your posts is how much work it takes to be a big-time college athlete. These kids must be incredibly dedicated to juggle all their commitments, and their lives after hockey will surely be better for the lessons learned now. I managed to squeeze my schoolwork into a busy schedule of work and goofing off, but I suspect the demands on the athletes' time are a bit more strenuous. As to the point about goaltending affecting the team's play, I think the disappointing end to the 1998 season is the perfect example of the phenomenon. Aaron Schweitzer played in the infamous NCAA quarterfinal against Michigan at Yost, after Karl Goehring, who had taken over the starting job and led the team down the stretch, was hurt in practice that week. Schweitzer was not the goaltender he had been the year before, and the team seemed to play like it was scared to give up a goal. More than the Yost mystique, I think the forced goaltending change was the undoing of the 1998 Sioux, which may have been the best team of the Blais era. Well, I've predicted nine players with 10+ goals, and now you're on record for five players with 20+. I like it. Go Sioux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 GO SPEEZ!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprig Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 Nice to hear more optimism. Top 5 optimism isn't enough for me, I expect to see the Sioux, given their schedule, in the hunt for the top spot come February. Last year's team played well in many games, but the third period "afraid to give up a goal, backing into the slot" game has to go. Expect that to change also. Nothing could be better than having Happy yapping about a soft schedule once again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDHockey Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 We only had 3 players who had over 10 goals this past season and only one over 20 goals. So to think that we are going to have 5 players with over 20 goals is a little difficult to buy into for me. As much as I'd like to see that, I think that is overly optimistic. I could see the team gain home ice for the playoffs next year but we are coming off an 8th place season. Expecting a big leap to the top with the quality that Denver, Minnesota and SCSU has is also a bit too optimistic in my opinion for next season. I'd rather have realistic expectations going into the year and be surprised by the team rather than put heavy expectations on them that are a little too steep. I remember some people last year saying that Blais was going to work his magic again and that the last time we were "rebuilding", Blais won a title. Well, I think we learned a lesson because we got 8th place and some humble pie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 NDHockey, You are correct, of course, that these scoring feats would seem to be wishful thinking. But consider some other data (Year, 10+ goal scorers, 20+ goal scorers): 1996 6 3 1997 10 1 1998 8 3 1999 9 4 2000 8 2 2001 7 3 2002 3 1 The big question is whether 2002 will eventually be seen as an abberation or the beginning of a new trend. I think we're all hopeful that it will just be a little dip, with future performance returning to past standards. By the way, it's interesting that of the ten 10+ goal scorers in 1997, only three were also in that group in 1996. In other words, seven players in 1997 were new members of the double-digit goal club. This is what I think may happen next year. Guys will step up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 It does, however, show that Speez might be a little optimistic with 5 over 20. I hope he is right, though. I would be happy with 3, I think. As long as the rest of the scoring is spread out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDHockey Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 jk, I guess I am not as big of a believer in looking back on past stats as a barometer for the future. Different circumstances, many different players and different teams. Too many different circumstances for me to conclude anything on next year's club based on what happened on Sioux teams from 3+ years ago. I feel that those earlier Blais teams had a lot more talent than we had this year or will have next year. When I look around at the top scoring teams from this past season, I see most of them only had 3 guys with 20 or more goals. To expect that we will go from one to five in 20+ goals when even top teams this year didn't have that many is something I just don't believe. I mean, even in the top years for the Sioux, we didn't get 5 players in that range. I suppose I have more of a wait and see approach. I watched this team enough this year to know that I didn't see enough in them to believe that we are suddenly going to be filled with big time goal scorers (especially with Bayda gone). I think there are a few other teams in the league who will have a better offense than we have and I don't see them even having a handful of 20+ goal scorers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprig Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 Although it would be nice to have 5 twenty-goal scorers, it's probably not absolutely necessary for this team to succeed. They were right with the top 3 in the WCHA in goals scored last year, but in the bottom 5 in goals against. I don't think it's a stretch to believe the offensive productivity of last year's freshmen class, as well as defensive specialists like Spiewak and Notermann will score more this year. Certainly some of the sophmores need to take on the roll of PK specialists as well as hard work on D, to give Spiewak and Notermann more chance to work the offensive end. If the team tightens up in goal and at D, especially in the third period with leads, they don't have to score much more to be a top 5, or maybe top 2 team. They are close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speez Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 I may be overly optomistic for next year, but I feel the Sioux are going to have a very balanced offense. No Line of Fire that dominates & scores all the goals, But at least 1 guy from every year to stand out. I'd rather be optomistic looking to the future and feeling good about what we have for next year, then wondering if our team will be out a the cellar for the first time in x number of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted May 3, 2002 Share Posted May 3, 2002 In the WCHA Scoring Offense: Games Goals G/GM 1 Minnesota 44 197 4.48 2 St. Cloud State 42 179 4.26 3 Denver 41 158 3.85 4 North Dakota 37 134 3.62 Nationally 1 New Hampshire 4.60 2 Minnesota 4.48 3 St. Cloud 4.26 4 Maine 4.23 5 Denver 3.85 6 Boston University 3.71 7 Air Force 3.62 North Dakota 3.62 If we just consider THIS past year's offensive numbers, and we wanted a top 2 finish in the WCHA and a Frozen Four finish in the NCAA's, we would need to be in the 4's in G/GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKNTSMN Posted May 3, 2002 Share Posted May 3, 2002 I want Spiewak and Notermann to play like they did in Albany all year next year that would be pretty exciting to watch... I know Jason Notermann has always showed up and made a difference for his team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAUNDfan Posted May 3, 2002 Author Share Posted May 3, 2002 Great response! Reasons to believe: The only 2 offensive freshmen will be Parise & Genoway Goaltending can only get better! Defense will rattle some skulls - I think 4 of our guys are potential NHL defensemen. Blais knows how to get a team into championship form - last year was simply too overwhelmingly against him with all the freshmen and the other WCHA teams being so darn good. Go Sioux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted May 3, 2002 Share Posted May 3, 2002 NDHockey, I agree with you about the predictive value of past statistics: with different players, opponents, etc., there really is none. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted May 3, 2002 Share Posted May 3, 2002 hey, as long as it all averages out. I am expecting Fournier to be an assist guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted May 4, 2002 Share Posted May 4, 2002 How about lines for next year Forwards Fournier, Bochenski, Parise Notermann, Spiewak, R. Hale Genoway, Lundbohm, Fyling McMahon, R Connely, Canady Palmiscno, Faul, B Connely Dmen Hale Schnieder Jones Lienweber(I think Chris will give us some punch) Fuhrer Marvin Greene When I write em down it looks good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted May 4, 2002 Share Posted May 4, 2002 Notermann Spiewak Massen Bochenski Fournier McMahon Lundbohm Parise Hale Genoway Fylling Canady Connelly Faul Palmiscno B Connelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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