University of North Dakota Hockey 2016 - 2017 Season

[The Sicatoka]

The only poll that matters is the pole you raise a banner on.

[Siouxman]

Until Minnesota learns how to play defense and beat the Mankato, Bemidji, UMD teams on a regular basis, they will not be a factor in the NCAA's.  That is true even if they win the B1G like last year.  The B1G switch to home team hosts for the B1G playoffs may help them get the autobid into the NCAA's but they have to beat teams that mean something.  That takes significantly better team play than they had last year.  We will see how this year unfolds, but what have they got this year that they didn't have last year?  Until I see some improvement from them, they do not make my top ten list at all.

[tho0505]

56 minutes ago, Siouxman said:

Until Minnesota learns how to play defense and beat the Mankato, Bemidji, UMD teams on a regular basis, they will not be a factor in the NCAA's.  That is true even if they win the B1G like last year.  The B1G switch to home team hosts for the B1G playoffs may help them get the autobid into the NCAA's but they have to beat teams that mean something.  That takes significantly better team play than they had last year.  We will see how this year unfolds, but what have they got this year that they didn't have last year?  Until I see some improvement from them, they do not make my top ten list at all.

What?  They just (2014) went to the title game. They barely missed the NCAAs last year after losing a bunch of players.  Give credit, where credit is due.  

[fightingsioux4life]

37 minutes ago, tho0505 said:

What?  They just (2014) went to the title game. They barely missed the NCAAs last year after losing a bunch of players.  Give credit, where credit is due.  

Credit for what? For barely winning a watered-down B1G Conference? And what happened in 2014 has little bearing on what is happening today. The Gopher program is clearly suffering by being in a garbage league with garbage opponents. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

[SJHovey]

Minnesota is probably legit top 10 to start the year.  I don't think they're going to be bad.  I expect them to win the B1G and make the tournament.

They have some decent scoring up front.  The key will be on defense.  If the two frosh come in and provide some good minutes, they'll be ok.

College hockey lost a ton of good players to early departure this year.  Personally I see it as a year where the tourney will be anyone's to win.  If the BU freshmen come in and play up to their hype, they'll be the most talented team come March, but I see Minnesota as a team that will be a 6-10 team in the tourney.

[Fetch]

Why any interest in Minn Goofs

They are what they are

THEY SUCK !

[stoneySIOUX]

20 hours ago, DaveK said:

I agree with his top two, after that I see things a bit differently.

1. North Dakota
2. Boston U.
3. Yale
4. Boston College
5. Michigan
6. St. Cloud State
7. Providence
8. Minnesota
9. Quinnipiac
10. Penn State

Hahahaha WHAT?! On what planet is SCSU, losing the players they did, Michigan, losing the players they did and PENN STATE in the Top 10? Good lord. Are you deliberately TRYING to look silly? Wait.... the answer is yes? Ok.... well, nice work, then.

[Godsmack]

As much as this pains me, I would have DU in the top ten. Yah, they lost Danton Heinen and Trevor Moore early to the pros but they bring back key leaders such as Will Butcher, Dylan Gambrell, their two veteran goaltenders Tanner Jaillet and Evan Cowley, a stud incoming freshman and first round draft pick Henrik Borgstrom, and, of course, a fantastic coach Jim Montgomery. 

Considering I'm a CC/UND fan, I don't think I can be accused of being a DU homer. That's why it kills me to say that while DU lost a fair amount of skill and senior leadership, they're a program that consistently reloads and should be contending.

I'd be interested to hear from those who do not have DU in their pre-season top ten as to their reasons why. No hazing or ridicule on my part just curious to know their thinking. 

[siouxfan512]

6 hours ago, tho0505 said:

What?  They just (2014) went to the title game. They barely missed the NCAAs last year after losing a bunch of players.  Give credit, where credit is due.  

I'll give them this ... they absolutely have the talent on their team to be competitive. I don't think Lucia has done a good job (in a while) of getting the most of of his players; and that is where some change is needed. Lucia does deserve some credit for his Nat'l Championships and Tourney appearance, but even with that, his consistency over the past several years has not been there. If nothing else, it would do the program good to get a new coach in with some fresh ideas. Maybe someone who can relate to the players a little better. Hastings has done well for Mankato and Montgomery at DU. You could even try to point to Berry's first year success (Thats a whole different argument for a different player--I liked Hak, I also like Berry). Point is, maybe Lucia and his style have just gotten a little stale; talent is there though.

[siouxfan512]

5 hours ago, SJHovey said:

Minnesota is probably legit top 10 to start the year.  I don't think they're going to be bad.  I expect them to win the B1G and make the tournament.

They have some decent scoring up front.  The key will be on defense.  If the two frosh come in and provide some good minutes, they'll be ok.

College hockey lost a ton of good players to early departure this year.  Personally I see it as a year where the tourney will be anyone's to win.  If the BU freshmen come in and play up to their hype, they'll be the most talented team come March, but I see Minnesota as a team that will be a 6-10 team in the tourney.

Personally, I would like to see another year where it is UND's tourney to win!

[Cratter]

Minnesota will be a perennial bubble team.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

MN only has success recruiting the young future draft picks.  They never have Cagguila or Stetcher types that come in unheralded and leave with a pro contract.  The only example I can think of is Haula and he was at least a late round pick.  That won't cut it these days.  They take recruiting for granted, maybe due to an ethnocentric bias.

They are going to be the most harmed by Wisconsin's recruiting resurgence too.  Madtown > Dinkytown

[Cratter]

1 hour ago, Cratter said:

Minnesota will be a perennial bubble team.

I would also like to send a letter of thanks to the University of Minnesota for not recruiting the best hockey players in the world and only focusing on players they knew they had a chance at landing.

[burd]

On 8/6/2016 at 9:05 PM, siouxfaninseattle said:

 

I have little problem with gopher players.  They're just kids trying to live a dream, like all college hockey players.  But the program has to do something about the fans it recruits.  Their work ethic is obviously very poor, judging by all the empty seats at their games, and the talent has been at the D2 level or lower or a long long time.  Not saying they are stupid people, but they're clearly not getting any coaching or mentoring.   Even their wannabe fans like Dave are more like BB fans giving it a whirl with a sport they really don't know anything about.   I'm sure if my cousin or best friend's mother was a gopher fan I would see something good in her, but thankfully I haven't been put in that position yet.  

So I'm kind of hoping the gophers have some real success in the years ahead so they start to attract some fans who understand the game and can contribute to forums like this one.  

And speaking of challenged fans, don't ask what the quote box from sfs is doing in my post.  Just don't. 

[Siouxman]

16 hours ago, tho0505 said:

What?  They just (2014) went to the title game. They barely missed the NCAAs last year after losing a bunch of players.  Give credit, where credit is due.  

We are talking about the 2016-2017 season.  That is four years since UM played in a tough league (WCHA) and three years since that 2014 run.  I am guessing that less than 1/4 of this year's team played in the 2014 playoffs and almost none played in the WCHA against the likes of DU, UND, WI (when they were a bit better).  Unfortunately for UM, a steady diet of Wisconsin doldrums, MSU, PSU in its infancy, and OSU has done little to develop teams facing stiff competition.  In its three years of existence, the B1G has not been a top tier league, based on its record.  Yes, UM has players with skill, but it takes playing against tough competition and learning how to dig deep. commit your all, and battle against other top tier teams.  In watching MN last year there were some obvious issues:  forwards unwilling to go along the boards and battle for the puck and come away with it (not everyone can be standing and waiting for the pass), inconsistent defense (especially against a weakened schedule), and a coaching situation that seems to have lost its way.  UM has some top end players, but the new players coming in are taking a big step up in college, and have to learn how to win in college.  Unfortunately for UM, the B1G has not been a situation in its existence so far for that to happen.

[MafiaMan]

6 hours ago, burd said:

I have little problem with gopher players.  They're just kids trying to live a dream, like all college hockey players.  But the program has to do something about the fans it recruits.  Their work ethic is obviously very poor, judging by all the empty seats at their games, and the talent has been at the D2 level or lower or a long long time.  Not saying they are stupid people, but they're clearly not getting any coaching or mentoring.   Even their wannabe fans like Dave are more like BB fans giving it a whirl with a sport they really don't know anything about.   I'm sure if my cousin or best friend's mother was a gopher fan I would see something good in her, but thankfully I haven't been put in that position yet. 

You're kidding me, right?  

Nick Bjugstad, Hudson Fasching, Mike Reilly, Alex Goligoski, Eric Haula, Seth Helgeson, Erik Johnson, Phil Kessel, Nick Leddy, Paul Martin, Aaron Ness, Kyle Osposo, Kyle Rau, Nate Schmidt, Jordan Schroeder, Bradky Skjei, Thomas Vanek, Blake Wheeler...

I'm sorry, I'm a Gopher-hater like most of the rest of you here, but saying that the talent on Minnesota's roster as of late has been D2 or lower for a long time is preposterous.  

Now, as far as 2016-2017 goes, I hope this team finds a new leader in the mold of Drake Caggiula. 

[grandforks]

11 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

You're kidding me, right?  

Nick Bjugstad, Hudson Fasching, Mike Reilly, Alex Goligoski, Eric Haula, Seth Helgeson, Erik Johnson, Phil Kessel, Nick Leddy, Paul Martin, Aaron Ness, Kyle Osposo, Kyle Rau, Nate Schmidt, Jordan Schroeder, Bradky Skjei, Thomas Vanek, Blake Wheeler...

I'm sorry, I'm a Gopher-hater like most of the rest of you here, but saying that the talent on Minnesota's roster as of late has been D2 or lower for a long time is preposterous.  

Now, as fsr as 2016-2017 goes, I hope this team finds a new leader in the mold of Drake Caggiula. 

 

Read it again.  It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to their fans.

[MafiaMan]

5 minutes ago, grandforks said:

Read it again.  It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to their fans.

It's too early for me to be on the internet on a Saturday.  

[burd]

8 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

It's too early for me to be on the internet on a Saturday.  

It's OK, MM.  I'm just too stubborn to use emoticons like I should. 

 

 

There' hope, though. 

[MafiaMan]

9 minutes ago, burd said:

It's OK, MM.  I'm just too stubborn to use emoticons like I should. 

 

 

There's hope, though. 

I would agree with your assessment of the fans...

Good times.

Back to the Fighting Hawks and 2016-2017.  I still think the leadership of Caggiula and Schmaltz will be tough to replace.  Lots of young names and faces will need to step it up this season.  

[90siouxfan]

12 hours ago, Cratter said:

Minnesota will be a perennial bubble team.

So... they are the Big 10 version of Robert Morris...   got it

[Emerald joker]

1 hour ago, MafiaMan said:

I would agree with your assessment of the fans...

Good times.

Back to the Fighting Hawks and 2016-2017.  I still think the leadership of Caggiula and Schmaltz will be tough to replace.  Lots of young names and faces will need to step it up this season.  

Boeser, Poolman, Poganski and Simonson. more leadership type stuff than scoring for Simo though. Boeser should take a step forward this year and I think so does Poolman. And I'm going to say Poganski turns into beast mode this season, I could see 15 to 20 goals for him. 

[ClassB]

really excited for this season - I like the Boeser taking a step forward talk, but is there any chance his numbers take a slight dip backwards? He had some pretty stellar linemates (2 as opposed to a guarantee 1 this year) playing with him too last season.

[SiouxSherm94]

3 hours ago, ClassB said:

really excited for this season - I like the Boeser taking a step forward talk, but is there any chance his numbers take a slight dip backwards? He had some pretty stellar linemates (2 as opposed to a guarantee 1 this year) playing with him too last season.

CBS line was among the best in the country. The way I see it is last year's Schmaltz on the new top line will be Boeser and last year's Boeser will be Tyson, coming in and killing it. I have a very strong feeling that Pogo is going to be on the top line too. He's made great improvements year over year and is a great staple; we're going to have another line that teams around the conference and country will need to constantly watch. Personally am really not concerned there.

[Emerald joker]

43 minutes ago, SiouxSherm94 said:

CBS line was among the best in the country. The way I see it is last year's Schmaltz on the new top line will be Boeser and last year's Boeser will be Tyson, coming in and killing it. I have a very strong feeling that Pogo is going to be on the top line too. He's made great improvements year over year and is a great staple; we're going to have another line that teams around the conference and country will need to constantly watch. Personally am really not concerned there.

I think Boeser will stay Boeser and Jost might take the role of Schmaltz. The clips I've seen of Jost seems like he's setting guys up more then scoring but I haven't seen a lot of clips so maybe I'm wrong. And I think Poganski stays on the 2nd line with Gardner which isn't a knock against them at all, but I don't think you want to split that chemistry up. And like I've said before Gersich started of on the line with Boeser and Schmaltz and seemed to have good chemistry with them so I think you put Gerisch back with Boeser. I think Gersich can almost fill the Caggiula role.