NORTH DAKOTA vs. Denver

[AZSIOUX]

UND (5-3-1 / 0-2-0 nchc) winless in their last 4 games after starting 5-0 all at home. Shutout Saturday night in Minnesota as well as Saturday night in Duluth. UND has scored just 7 goals in the 4 game winless stretch. Scored 23 goals total in the first 5 games. UND STATS

 

DU (6-2-0 / 2-0-0 nchc) had a bye week and had swept WMU the week prior. Their 2 losses came to OSU and BC opening weekend tourney in Denver. DU swept BU in Denver and Michigan State in East Lansing. DU STATS

 

NCAA STATS

[brianvf]

Tough series to call.
With how the last two series have gone for UND, hoping for sweep but more than likely split?

Just got to win a game to break out of the funk.  And get Poolman back ok.  And get Cam back to last season form or give Tomek a shot.
And score PP goals.  And not allow 17 PPG a weekend. 

[BeazSioux]

1 hour ago, brianvf said:

Tough series to call.
With how the last two series have gone for UND, hoping for sweep but more than likely split?

Just got to win a game to break out of the funk.  And get Poolman back ok.  And get Cam back to last season form or give Tomek a shot.
And score PP goals.  And not allow 17 PPG a weekend. 

Yep just that stuff 

[fightingsioux4life]

I just want one freaking conference win right now.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

9 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I just want one freaking conference win right now.

Yup, come out flying and win Friday night. It would make me feel better.

[I Ranger]

17 minutes ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

Yup, come out flying and win Friday night. It would make me feel better.

I sure hope that is the case because we have layed two pretty big eggs the last two Fridays.

[scpa0305]

Fix that pk (however a lot had to do with how good MN's PP is), fix the PP, and play as hard as they did in Saturday and we'll get the sweep.  I was really impressed with the freshman D last Saturday.  They all played well.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

1 minute ago, I Ranger said:

I sure hope that is the case because we have layed two pretty big eggs the last two Fridays.

I don't know if I'd call last Friday a big egg. 

Sure, we had defensive lapses(too many to count) but we produced a lot of offense and finished our chances. Minnesota only scored 1 goal without a man advantage.

Also, we never lost the lead and we were a minute from winning the game.

[tnt]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

Fix that pk (however a lot had to do with how good MN's PP is), fix the PP, and play as hard as they did in Saturday and we'll get the sweep.  I was really impressed with the freshman D last Saturday.  They all played well.

Not according to some.  I think people just focus on their every play and see if they are making mistakes, but aren't quite as focused on the upperclassmen.  You can pick out mistakes on everybody on the defensive units.  I was kind of impressed in that they played more confident and weren't afraid if they made mistakes, especially on Saturday.  It gives me hope that once they start gaining that confidence they can really take the next step. 

[siouxfan512]

Ok, after an extremely disappointing weekend, I can break my silence. 

It was a tough sports weekend overall, with UND football being my 1 shining star. A tie on Friday night, after playing with the lead several times. A Wild loss on Saturday. A Timberwolves loss on Saturday. A Sioux loss on Saturday night. And a Vikings loss on Sunday ... OUCH!!!

Friday night, I though the team played ok. We got goals when we needed, but just couldn't play with a lead. It was a little bit of a flashback to some of the hakstol style of play. Almost felt like we would play to defend the lead, rather than play to score. Just my perception. Anyway, it was definitely fun to watch. Back and forth, a little feisty, altogether a good re-entry into the rivalry.

Saturday night, I was at the game, and I actually didn't think we play too bad, despite the loss. We actually had some shots which was good to see, and the attempted shots stat line was ridiculous. I was impressed by how much the Gophers were laying down and diving in front of puck to block shots. Of course, if our boys would shoot a bit quicker, instead of trying to wait for that perfect shot, they could negate some of those block attempts. Cam did not look as good on Saturday, I though he let in the softer of his goal in this game; and I really though our D played much much better, despite Tucker being out. Schierhorn also played a hell of a game; have to give credit to him here. I was very disappointed in the officiating on Saturday. I though there were some very soft penalties call against UND, and I still don't get the delay of game call against Jost, which led to the first goal, but I was at the opposite end of the arena. I was surprised the officials called the penalty shot, but was more surprised at Boeser's attempt. Looked like he tried to go 5 hole, but didn't put anything on the shot. Boeser is obviously a solid choice to take the shot, but I would have liked to see Pogo, especially after he nailed it last season.

*Side note, I don't have allergies, but if I did they would have been acting up with all the dust in the air at Mariucci. Those gopher fans must have dug way into the back of the closet to get there jerseys out for Saturday's game. The attendance definitely seemed better on Saturday, and they really were loud. Also, a great showing of sioux fans, but I really expected the arena to be close about 40% Sioux fans, which it was not.

There haven't been many times in the last 10-12 years where I have though UND absolutely needs a sweep. Not just for points, but for morale. This weekend, a sweep would be highly beneficial, not just for the team, but for the fans. I would feel much better about our season taking full points from DU next weekend, and more importantly, playing a solid two games. Not time to panic by any means, but definitely a little uncomfortable after how the past two weekends have gone. 

[stoneySIOUX]

1 hour ago, siouxfan512 said:

Ok, after an extremely disappointing weekend, I can break my silence. 

It was a tough sports weekend overall, with UND football being my 1 shining star. A tie on Friday night, after playing with the lead several times. A Wild loss on Saturday. A Timberwolves loss on Saturday. A Sioux loss on Saturday night. And a Vikings loss on Sunday ... OUCH!!!

Friday night, I though the team played ok. We got goals when we needed, but just couldn't play with a lead. It was a little bit of a flashback to some of the hakstol style of play. Almost felt like we would play to defend the lead, rather than play to score. Just my perception. Anyway, it was definitely fun to watch. Back and forth, a little feisty, altogether a good re-entry into the rivalry.

Saturday night, I was at the game, and I actually didn't think we play too bad, despite the loss. We actually had some shots which was good to see, and the attempted shots stat line was ridiculous. I was impressed by how much the Gophers were laying down and diving in front of puck to block shots. Of course, if our boys would shoot a bit quicker, instead of trying to wait for that perfect shot, they could negate some of those block attempts. Cam did not look as good on Saturday, I though he let in the softer of his goal in this game; and I really though our D played much much better, despite Tucker being out. Schierhorn also played a hell of a game; have to give credit to him here. I was very disappointed in the officiating on Saturday. I though there were some very soft penalties call against UND, and I still don't get the delay of game call against Jost, which led to the first goal, but I was at the opposite end of the arena. I was surprised the officials called the penalty shot, but was more surprised at Boeser's attempt. Looked like he tried to go 5 hole, but didn't put anything on the shot. Boeser is obviously a solid choice to take the shot, but I would have liked to see Pogo, especially after he nailed it last season.

*Side note, I don't have allergies, but if I did they would have been acting up with all the dust in the air at Mariucci. Those gopher fans must have dug way into the back of the closet to get there jerseys out for Saturday's game. The attendance definitely seemed better on Saturday, and they really were loud. Also, a great showing of sioux fans, but I really expected the arena to be close about 40% Sioux fans, which it was not.

There haven't been many times in the last 10-12 years where I have though UND absolutely needs a sweep. Not just for points, but for morale. This weekend, a sweep would be highly beneficial, not just for the team, but for the fans. I would feel much better about our season taking full points from DU next weekend, and more importantly, playing a solid two games. Not time to panic by any means, but definitely a little uncomfortable after how the past two weekends have gone. 

I definitely understand that sentiment, but I was not at all worried about their performance this weekend, particularly on Saturday. The effort level was there against Minnesota, in both contests. Against UMD, we were shell shocked. I think our younger guys grew up a lot on Friday and played pretty dang well, but just didn't get a bounce. Didn't get a bounce all weekend, as a matter of fact. 

We aren't good defensively, right now, but we definitely have the pieces to be. Offensively, I am not sure what we need. We created a lot of chances on Saturday and had plenty on Friday, too. Not crazy about our depth, right now, though.

[siouxfan512]

5 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

I definitely understand that sentiment, but I was not at all worried about their performance this weekend, particularly on Saturday. The effort level was there against Minnesota, in both contests. Against UMD, we were shell shocked. I think our younger guys grew up a lot on Friday and played pretty dang well, but just didn't get a bounce. Didn't get a bounce all weekend, as a matter of fact. 

We aren't good defensively, right now, but we definitely have the pieces to be. Offensively, I am not sure what we need. We created a lot of chances on Saturday and had plenty on Friday, too. Not crazy about our depth, right now, though.

Totally agree, the effort and the performance was there this weekend, it was just the results that were not. As a fan it is a little uncomfortable to see UND get 1 tie and 3 losses in 4 games. It's that same kind of uncomfortable feel you get when the Vikings start 5-0 (now that the Vikes have lost 3 straight, things are feeling much more normal).

This is a team that will have to continue growing up fast, and could look like a Hakstol type, second half team. Once they have gelled and developed. BUT we definitely need to pick up some wins and not get too far behind.

Overall, I was much happier with our play this weekend. The Duluth series was ugly hockey, and pretty boring to watch.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Honestly, I'm encouraged with the positive attitude Berry and most of the players were taking after the game.

Essentially, yeah it sucks to lose Saturday's game but we dominated nearly every facet of the game besides the score. If we continue playing like this, results will follow. Schierhorn stood on his head Saturday and turned away everything we could throw at him. Not going to be like that every night.

I'd like to see a different goalie on Friday against Denver. It's at home, I think Cam could use a break and some competition in net.

[scpa0305]

2 hours ago, tnt said:

Not according to some.  I think people just focus on their every play and see if they are making mistakes, but aren't quite as focused on the upperclassmen.  You can pick out mistakes on everybody on the defensive units.  I was kind of impressed in that they played more confident and weren't afraid if they made mistakes, especially on Saturday.  It gives me hope that once they start gaining that confidence they can really take the next step. 

On Saturday?  On Friday I saw tons of mistakes, especially by our upper upper classman (not talking about T Poolman).

[UND1981]

We have been getting average goaltending from Cam J.  I don't see a change in net unless he has a bad night.

[Oxbow6]

PK and PP are in the bottom third nationally. That needs to improve. Hoping for a split this weekend. This team has to build off of Saturday's performance.

[tnt]

38 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

On Saturday?  On Friday I saw tons of mistakes, especially by our upper upper classman (not talking about T Poolman).

Yeah, Friday they looked a lot more tentative playing on the bigger ice surface and it showed.  Saturday, there were also mistakes, but some of them were from being aggressive.  

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

55 minutes ago, UND1981 said:

We have been getting average goaltending from Cam J.  I don't see a change in net unless he has a bad night.

He'll make a few great saves then let in a not so great one.  Tough to get a read on so far this year so inconsistent at best.

His #s are well below average right now though.

Save % of .889(64th nationally) and GAA of 2.56(37th nationally) aren't going to cut it and I'm sure he knows that.

[Wilbur]

Keys to series:

1.  Cam......be the Cam we know you can be.

2.  5X5......we don't kill penalties well.  So no lazy penalties.

3.  Defensive zone.......Best coaching advice I ever heard with defensive zone coverage.  "Do your f@$&ing job, because as soon as you try to do more, we've got flies on $hit hockey and we're running around like idiots."

4.  Roll 4.  If UND can find the right combos for lines 3-4.......

 

I predict a split.  Denver still my pick to win the league, but UND played so well last Saturday I think it carries over to a big first period on Friday.  

[scpa0305]

5 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Keys to series:

1.  Cam......be the Cam we know you can be.

2.  5X5......we don't kill penalties well.  So no lazy penalties.

3.  Defensive zone.......Best coaching advice I ever heard with defensive zone coverage.  "Do your f@$&ing job, because as soon as you try to do more, we've got flies on $hit hockey and we're running around like idiots."

4.  Roll 4.  If UND can find the right combos for lines 3-4.......

 

I predict a split.  Denver still my pick to win the league, but UND played so well last Saturday I think it carries over to a big first period on Friday.  

I like Cam....but to be honest a TON of what went into his godly numbers had to do with our jacked up D core last year.  Wolanin was rotating in last year.....that's pretty crazy because he's very good.

I honestly think we sweep this week (if we have a full lineup).

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

15 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

I like Cam....but to be honest a TON of what went into his godly numbers had to do with our jacked up D core last year.  Wolanin was rotating in last year.....that's pretty crazy because he's very good.

I honestly think we sweep this week (if we have a full lineup).

You don't save 93.5% of shots for an entire year mostly due to a jacked up d core.

You do it because you're a good goalie.

[stoneySIOUX]

24 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Keys to series:

1.  Cam......be the Cam we know you can be.

2.  5X5......we don't kill penalties well.  So no lazy penalties.

3.  Defensive zone.......Best coaching advice I ever heard with defensive zone coverage.  "Do your f@$&ing job, because as soon as you try to do more, we've got flies on $hit hockey and we're running around like idiots."

4.  Roll 4.  If UND can find the right combos for lines 3-4.......

 

I predict a split.  Denver still my pick to win the league, but UND played so well last Saturday I think it carries over to a big first period on Friday.  

If we're being honest, aren't these four aspects the keys to any particular hockey game in the history of hockey? lol.

[KoolGuy2K]

Can we start doing a "look-a-likes" thread for hockey? It seems to be working for the football team. 

[stoneySIOUX]

2 minutes ago, KoolGuy2K said:

Can we start doing a "look-a-likes" thread for hockey? It seems to be working for the football team. 

Plus, it's really frickin' fun. Start it up, KoolGuy!

[siouxfan512]

11 minutes ago, KoolGuy2K said:

Can we start doing a "look-a-likes" thread for hockey? It seems to be working for the football team. 

Won't they all just look like Barry Melrose?