University of North Dakota Hockey 2017-18 Season

[siouxforce19]

21 minutes ago, cberkas said:

St. Cloud returns about 96% of their scoring. 

They do, but... I'm not personally all that convinced on them because I'm not sure they really scored that much. 

[Godsmack]

22 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

They do, but... I'm not personally all that convinced on them because I'm not sure they really scored that much. 

I think Mikey Eyssimont has a huge season for St. Cloud. Huge miss in DU not landing this kid...wonder if he was even on their radar?

[cberkas]

36 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

They do, but... I'm not personally all that convinced on them because I'm not sure they really scored that much. 

That would be the reason Brad put them #2.

UND is winning it all any way.

[Wilbur]

1. Denver-Duh.....

2. UND-Close, but they finish ahead of SCSU, our goalie is better than their goalie, and they return scoring, but our forward group is deeper.  

3. SCSU-Remember when we heard things like Lizotte couldn't skate well enough to play DI?  Sigh.....

4. Miami-Flannel under the suit coat Blasi?

5. Duluth-No Miska....no Pionk (biggest loss), and lots of seniors gone.  They got some scorers, but I don't think they make the top 4.

6. Western-From making the NCAA playoffs to not getting home ice.

7. Omaha-Thank God they don't get the automatic Dean Blais split when they come to Grand Forks from now on.

8. CC-I heard Wilkie was going to teach the group how to score.  So they got that going for em.  

[AJS]

7 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/4335153-college-hockey-preview-predictions-and-conference-breakdowns

I always have a hypothetical cliff that teams can fall off based on who graduates and who leaves early. Last year, I felt it was the combination of Thompson / Johnson that really hurt UND. For Duluth, it was Pionk / Johnson. That's two first team all NCHC candidates. UMD lost 5 defeseman and their goalie along with their top 3 forwards, good luck. Still have a good looking forward group, but no way they finish ahead of UND. 

[OgieOgilthorpe]

On 9/27/2017 at 2:18 PM, Oxbow6 said:

I expect big seasons from Wolanin and Gardner.

Wolanin will create a lot of offense as usual, but he will also create a lot of odd man breaks by forcing the play and by NOT closing the gap like he does so horribly and so often. #Twig hunter

I love that kid on the power play but I can't stand his playing style during even strength. I think he will cause more harm than good again this season, but his hand full of sparkly goals will get more attention than his 300 bad neutral zone reads and 300 poorly timed pinches at the blue line that'll cause dozens of goals against. I would hate to be his d partner. I feel like he has great hockey sense and vision in the o zone but in the neutral zone it seems like he only has one eye and drank half a gallon of paint thinner. 

Gardner will be a disappointment again this season. He gets so much attention for his size and his face off abilities yet he rarely lays the wood (due to being so slow) and really isn't that spectacular at the dot either so I don't get it. FYI, being big doesn't make you physical (I'd rather have a kid that goes 100 mph with a motor that never stops and lays it all on the line than a big slow lazy guy).  I get a bad vibe from him and his mannerisms on the ice. He doesn't have the tenacity like a true Sioux player typically has. I anticipate seeing a lot of gliding, rounding circles instead of start-stops, and a lot of hooking penalties since he can't move his fat hoofs. I can't decide if slow or lazy is a better word to describe him. 

I expect gersich to do his thing again this year but at an even higher rate. He's a goal scorer with speed and grit. I hope they can find some liners to fly with him so he doesn't  get held back. With the way he works at practice, I can only imagine he's faster, stronger and even more skilled this year. I doubt his goal scoring will be as far under the radar this season. He might get a little more attention now with jost and boeser gone. 

By the end of the season I thought poolman was right at the heels of his brother already and actually showed flashes of athleticism that his brother has never showed. He's smart, has speed, great puck skills, quick release and athletic strength...By the end of the season I think we'll see a kid that's better than any blue liner than we've had in the last 5 years...and that obviously would say A LOT. Optimistic statement, but it's very possible IMO from what I saw out of him at the end of last year. I also noticed he sits back into his hits rather than lunging forward with his shoulder. Reminds me of how T.J. Oshie hits. He keeps his hits in his core and keeps both his feet on the ground and squats into the guy rather than just lunging at them with dead body weight. Anyone with separated shoulder problems is most likely a lunger and probably gets licked a lot. 

Pogo will be our legit grinder forward that he's always been. We know he can disappear during parts of the season but I think he will still produce a respectable amount of offense similar to last year. 

I will guess that jones, Bowen, kowo, gersich and mishmash will be the biggest producers with jones and gersich leading the way. 

If peskie improves as much this season as last, we should have a Brett burns on our hands come February March 

[brianvf]

7 hours ago, cberkas said:

St. Cloud returns about 96% of their scoring. 

From a team that finished 6th in the conference last year in scoring.
All those players are now a year older, but I still pick our and DU's depth far above them at forward.

2 hours ago, OgieOgilthorpe said:

Wolanin will create a lot of offense as usual, but he will also create a lot of odd man breaks by forcing the play and by NOT closing the gap like he does so horribly and so often.

Gardner will be a disappointment again this season.

How do you really feel about Wolanin and Gardner? 

[The Sicatoka]

12 hours ago, cberkas said:

St. Cloud returns about 96% of their scoring. 

 

[Emerald joker]

9 hours ago, OgieOgilthorpe said:

Wolanin will create a lot of offense as usual, but he will also create a lot of odd man breaks by forcing the play and by NOT closing the gap like he does so horribly and so often. #Twig hunter

I love that kid on the power play but I can't stand his playing style during even strength. I think he will cause more harm than good again this season, but his hand full of sparkly goals will get more attention than his 300 bad neutral zone reads and 300 poorly timed pinches at the blue line that'll cause dozens of goals against. I would hate to be his d partner. I feel like he has great hockey sense and vision in the o zone but in the neutral zone it seems like he only has one eye and drank half a gallon of paint thinner. 

Gardner will be a disappointment again this season. He gets so much attention for his size and his face off abilities yet he rarely lays the wood (due to being so slow) and really isn't that spectacular at the dot either so I don't get it. FYI, being big doesn't make you physical (I'd rather have a kid that goes 100 mph with a motor that never stops and lays it all on the line than a big slow lazy guy).  I get a bad vibe from him and his mannerisms on the ice. He doesn't have the tenacity like a true Sioux player typically has. I anticipate seeing a lot of gliding, rounding circles instead of start-stops, and a lot of hooking penalties since he can't move his fat hoofs. I can't decide if slow or lazy is a better word to describe him. 

I expect gersich to do his thing again this year but at an even higher rate. He's a goal scorer with speed and grit. I hope they can find some liners to fly with him so he doesn't  get held back. With the way he works at practice, I can only imagine he's faster, stronger and even more skilled this year. I doubt his goal scoring will be as far under the radar this season. He might get a little more attention now with jost and boeser gone. 

By the end of the season I thought poolman was right at the heels of his brother already and actually showed flashes of athleticism that his brother has never showed. He's smart, has speed, great puck skills, quick release and athletic strength...By the end of the season I think we'll see a kid that's better than any blue liner than we've had in the last 5 years...and that obviously would say A LOT. Optimistic statement, but it's very possible IMO from what I saw out of him at the end of last year. I also noticed he sits back into his hits rather than lunging forward with his shoulder. Reminds me of how T.J. Oshie hits. He keeps his hits in his core and keeps both his feet on the ground and squats into the guy rather than just lunging at them with dead body weight. Anyone with separated shoulder problems is most likely a lunger and probably gets licked a lot. 

Pogo will be our legit grinder forward that he's always been. We know he can disappear during parts of the season but I think he will still produce a respectable amount of offense similar to last year. 

I will guess that jones, Bowen, kowo, gersich and mishmash will be the biggest producers with jones and gersich leading the way. 

If peskie improves as much this season as last, we should have a Brett burns on our hands come February March 

Pretty much how I feel about Wolanin, that's why I don't think he'll leave after his junior year, hopefully he proves me wrong.

[dagies]

22 hours ago, UNDBIZ said:

Yep.  Was it offsides?  Probably.  But "probably" isn't enough.

same page

[The Sicatoka]

The levels of replay .... 

- "Yup. There's the proof. Call on the play was wrong. Overturn it."
- "Uh ... wow, that's close. Let's look one more time. ... Wow that's close. I can't tell. That doesn't show anything one way or the other. Call stands."
- "Why are we reviewing this? Call was correct." 

[Siouxperfan7]

http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?p=107574

"I believe seven NHL draft picks is the fewest UND has had since 2001-02, the last time it missed the NCAA tournament (its national title teams of 1997 and 2000 had fewer)."

So the last time we had this few of NHL draft picks was the last time we missed the playoffs.  As noted by Scholls we also have had fewer than this year and have won it all.  But that doesn't change the fact that we are going to miss they typical high end, go to line to provide the team with that extra spark when we need it.  Depth is good, and I am all about having the better matchups on the 3rd and 4th lines.  But it will deffinitely be a battle competing with the top lines of teams like Denve and St Cloud.

Definitely a new style of UND hockey that we are not typically used to.  It will take tiem to adjust, but if we can roll 4 lines at a high level with little drop off from top to bottom, we are going to be a very tough team to beat.  

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

39 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?p=107574

"I believe seven NHL draft picks is the fewest UND has had since 2001-02, the last time it missed the NCAA tournament (its national title teams of 1997 and 2000 had fewer)."

So the last time we had this few of NHL draft picks was the last time we missed the playoffs.  As noted by Scholls we also have had fewer than this year and have won it all.  But that doesn't change the fact that we are going to miss they typical high end, go to line to provide the team with that extra spark when we need it.  Depth is good, and I am all about having the better matchups on the 3rd and 4th lines.  But it will deffinitely be a battle competing with the top lines of teams like Denve and St Cloud.

Definitely a new style of UND hockey that we are not typically used to.  It will take tiem to adjust, but if we can roll 4 lines at a high level with little drop off from top to bottom, we are going to be a very tough team to beat.  

The positive spin on this is no player is above giving anything less than 100% every single game.  If they do, they will be benched quickly and replaced by a player willing to lay it all out there.

They have a fantastic opportunity to pull together early as a team and create a strong identity.

Also, there are 4 seniors and 7 juniors on this team so upper class leadership is very prevalent and should sustain us through any difficult stretches.

[stoneySIOUX]

26 minutes ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

The positive spin on this is no player is above giving anything less than 100% every single game.  If they do, they will be benched quickly and replaced by a player willing to lay it all out there.

They have a fantastic opportunity to pull together early as a team and create a strong identity.

Also, there are 4 seniors and 7 juniors on this team so upper class leadership is very prevalent and should sustain us through any difficult stretches.

Color me optimistic, but for me, it's all about the long term. LOTS of players who will be here four years and a couple blue chippers in the pipeline.... I'm excited.

Success this year won't be a shock. Our cupboard is definitely not empty. 

[fightingsioux4life]

6 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Color me optimistic, but for me, it's all about the long term. LOTS of players who will be here four years and a couple blue chippers in the pipeline.... I'm excited.

Success this year won't be a shock. Our cupboard is definitely not empty. 

I agree 1000% with this. I will enjoy watching this team grow and develop as the season progresses.

[SiouxTupa]

As IHTINB said, the major difference between this team and 01-02 is experience. There were 10-12ish freshmen on that 01-02 team, and some major growing pains. Who could forget the carousel in net? This team has a proven goalie and solid defense. Scoring will have to be by committee, especially if Gersich gets hurt. But guys will take steps forward too.

Should be a fun season, like always!

[sioux rube]

[bigskyvikes]

Amen!

[brianvf]

http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?p=107990

Gornall leaves UND in search of more playing time.

[UNDBIZ]

Bummer. I liked what Gornall brought to the team. Oh well. Good luck to him. 

[WiSioux]

Seems odd. I understand wanting more playing time, but isn't playing time earned?

[yzerman19]

2 minutes ago, WiSioux said:

Seems odd. I understand wanting more playing time, but isn't playing time earned?

The announcement is also poorly timed...on a game day?  I sure hope he didn't storm off today and quit...if he did, then the leadership in the room is really going to need to step up

[The Sicatoka]

So ... Gornall hangs in there and makes the gameday lineup during the second half of last season. 

Now,  having figured out what it takes, and with all these new freshmen, he's making for the door? 

Does that say more about Gornall or the level of skill of the incoming freshmen. 

 

 

[yzerman19]

He scored 4 points and was a -1 in 20 career games.  He was a body.  While I appreciated him- certainly at the end of last year; at the same time, you are talking about a high scoring player coming out of Pens Elite AAA who couldn't get on with a USHL team...that's a bit odd to begin with.  

This announcement feels like a frustrated kid bailing.  I will withhold further commentary until more is known about the circumstances.  I will just say thanks for your service and best of luck.

[Godsmack]

Loved his energy. His GWG to end St. Cloud’s season went a long way towards extending ours.