University of North Dakota 2018-19 Season

[TheFlop]

14 hours ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

Stecher and Caggiula were not considered blue chippers 

That is true.  However both produced as underclassmen.  It is certainly possible that some of the incoming freshmen that aren't blue chippers will also surprise, UND's success next year depends on it.  I think the real concern is with the sophomore class from this year.  UND has had good players get even better their junior years....but  how often have their been Sophmores that showed minimal results as Fresh/Sophs but just exploded as Juniors? 

[AJS]

20 minutes ago, TheFlop said:

That is true.  However both produced as underclassmen.  It is certainly possible that some of the incoming freshmen that aren't blue chippers will also surprise, UND's success next year depends on it.  I think the real concern is with the sophomore class from this year.  UND has had good players get even better their junior years....but  how often have their been Sophmores that showed minimal results as Fresh/Sophs but just exploded as Juniors? 

Some players are better than expected, some are worse, but in general, you can feel pretty good about ranking the recruiting classes as a whole. The Sophomore class on paper was probably the least heralded class I can remember. You had Jost, but outside of that, the numbers weren't good (Hoff's were ok), it was concerning at that time. I think it's safe to say defensively, they've been a pleasant surprise, but offensively, they've been pretty much what they are. I just don't know what people expect out of players (see Bowen, Yon) that can't score at the junior level.

Now, when healthy I do like Bowen on the 4th line and Hoff has showed he can be a player, basically, the weight of the class is on Hoff offensively. He needs to produce.

[jdub27]

37 minutes ago, TheFlop said:

That is true.  However both produced as underclassmen.  It is certainly possible that some of the incoming freshmen that aren't blue chippers will also surprise, UND's success next year depends on it.  I think the real concern is with the sophomore class from this year.  UND has had good players get even better their junior years....but  how often have their been Sophmores that showed minimal results as Fresh/Sophs but just exploded as Juniors? 

Stecher had 2G/9A and 3G/10A his freshman and sophomore years.
Caggigiula was a bit better going 8G/8A and 11G/13A.

No doubt the sophomore class needs to step up its game but Mismash had 9G/13A, Kawaguchi had 5G/14A and Adams had 5G/3A (playing 12 less games than the other two) as freshman. All of those compare pretty favorably.

Rodwell, Pattyn, Olson are all guys who made a pretty big jump from underclassman to upperclassman years in terms of production. There are others, but those are the most obvious examples.

[siouxforce19]

2 minutes ago, AJS said:

Some players are better than expected, some are worse, but in general, you can feel pretty good about ranking the recruiting classes as a whole. The Sophomore class on paper was probably the least heralded class I can remember. You had Jost, but outside of that, the numbers weren't good (Hoff's were ok), it was concerning at that time. I think it's safe to say defensively, they've been a pleasant surprise, but offensively, they've been pretty much what they are. I just don't know what people expect out of players (see Bowen, Yon) that can't score at the junior level.

Now, when healthy I do like Bowen on the 4th line and Hoff has showed he can be a player, basically, the weight of the class is on Hoff offensively. He needs to produce.

I think guys like Bowen and Hoff just need to try to stay healthy. Bowen missed 10 games, and Hoff, including time away for Olympics, missed 15. And who knows how healthy they actually were when they did play. 

I don’t generally expect much scoring from this class either, but collectively if they could improve production, that’d be ideal. Placing high expectations on a freshman class is asking for trouble. 

[tnt]

In their last 7 games Duluth only scored 3 goals once, and that was in overtime.  Sure, we need to improve our production offensively, but our bigger problem the second half of the year was not playing as well defensively as we did the first half.  

[scpa0305]

16 hours ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

Stecher and Caggiula were not considered blue chippers 

Holy buckets....if I had a penny for every time these two were brought up.  From a recruiting perspective.  Maybe we should only recruit those kids who we know will go straight to the show out of college...and don’t get drafted. We’d be set

[SIOUXELEVENS]

It just shows some people develop slower and are worth the wait.

[petey23]

On ‎4‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 9:38 AM, Irish said:

 I hope for good news on the recruiting trail soon.

What would that be?

Most of the top end talent for 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 have already committed and we got more than our fair share of them. At this point it is all about specific needs and having guys in the pipeline to backfill for early departures and hopefully having made good connections on the kids that weren't considered high end recruits when they were 16-18 but take that next step in the USHL or other junior leagues.

[fightingsioux4life]

3 minutes ago, petey23 said:

What would that be?

Most of the top end talent for 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 have already committed and we got more than our fair share of them. At this point it is all about specific needs and having guys in the pipeline to backfill for early departures and hopefully having made good connections on the kids that weren't considered high end recruits when they were 16-18 but take that next step in the USHL or other junior leagues.

I think the disappointing season and slow development of some underclassmen have some people getting restless and anxious.

[Irish]

5 hours ago, petey23 said:

What would that be?

Most of the top end talent for 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 have already committed and we got more than our fair share of them. At this point it is all about specific needs and having guys in the pipeline to backfill for early departures and hopefully having made good connections on the kids that weren't considered high end recruits when they were 16-18 but take that next step in the USHL or other junior leagues.

That may be true - I believe Rizzo is still uncommitted and I periodically hear of other team's signings so there must be some recruiting going on.  Maybe I am just hoping for good news in general.  I hope the returners are committed to team unity and team improvement and have a fantastic off season.  For me, little information is frustrating.   I do believe Berry has the ability to turn this around by next season.  

[burd]

8 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I think the disappointing season and slow development of some underclassmen have some people getting restless and anxious.

I doubt very many fans with many years' experience feel that way.

[snova4]

1 hour ago, burd said:

I doubt very many fans with many years' experience feel that way.

 sorry, l quoted the wrong person and don't know how to get rid of it. 

 

Let's not pretend the cost of resale market, compared to the product on the ice didn't have an effect on butts in the seats. Cost of tickets goes down, or quality of on ice play goes up, butts return to the seats. 

[Siouxperfan7]

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211710443

[stoneySIOUX]

14 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211710443

Interesting run right at the beginning of the season. Should sweep BSU, despite them seeming to always give us trouble. I think Mankato will have taken a step back and we're at home, so I feel we should sweep. Minnesota in Vegas is a toss up. Sconnie at home.... no idea what that team will be haha. At home, should get at least a win and tie. I feel like we should be able to start the season at the very least, 5-2. 

Anchorage at home and Canisius out east are two must-sweep series.

[siouxforce19]

15 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211710443

We do not play in Duluth the weekend my cousin is getting married there. So that is disappointing. 

[tnt]

3 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Interesting run right at the beginning of the season. Should sweep BSU, despite them seeming to always give us trouble. I think Mankato will have taken a step back and we're at home, so I feel we should sweep. Minnesota in Vegas is a toss up. Sconnie at home.... no idea what that team will be haha. At home, should get at least a win and tie. I feel like we should be able to start the season at the very least, 5-2. 

Anchorage at home and Canisius out east are two must-sweep series.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard "should sweep" this past season,  I could buy a bunch of those Vegas tickets on Craigslist. 

[stoneySIOUX]

Just now, tnt said:

If I had a dollar for every time I heard "should sweep" this past season,  I could buy a bunch of those Vegas tickets on Craigslist. 

Totally understandable. But, I don't think anything I said seems irrational.

[Sodbuster]

23 minutes ago, tnt said:

If I had a dollar for every time I heard "should sweep" this past season,  I could buy a bunch of those Vegas tickets on Craigslist. 

My wife was just home for lunch. She said I should sweep, too.

[hrkac]

I like Mankato coming back to the Ralph. 

[Smoggy]

Probably best to come back from Vegas and have another big rival (former???) in Wisconsin to play, but I still that Friday game will be a let down.

Is it time for NCHC schools to adopt the B1G model? That would be feasting on cupcakes for non-conference games to boost standing in PWR.  Obviously the NCHC regular season is enough of a grind.  

[SiouxVolley]

Next season may be a good time to play a series at Glendale Arena against Arizona State, as Las Vegas and Phoenix are too much in one season.

 

[Blackheart]

10 hours ago, hrkac said:

I like Mankato coming back to the Ralph. 

Only if that means a return trip next season to Mankato!  #mettlers

[FGHTNSX Hawkey14]

I didn't think the schedule was usually out this early. 

[franchise]

20 hours ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211710443

Anything less than 35-0 is unacceptable.

[gfhockey]

I would take a 20-10-5 if the last win of the season Comes 2nd week of april

 

if we go 34-1 and last loss is 2nd week of April I’m not for that at all!