Time to Boo Berry?

[1966guy]

8 hours ago, burd said:

If and when it's time to replace Berry, it will be easy to find people with a better understanding of what it takes to recruit elite talent and win titles.   There are dozens of those on this website alone.  

Levity.  Levity.

No kidding.  Everyone on this site has answers to every perceived problem with the program.  It's comical to read this stuff.

[The Sicatoka]

11 hours ago, burd said:

If and when it's time to replace Berry, it will be easy to find people with a better understanding of what it takes to recruit elite talent and win titles.   There are dozens of those on this website alone.  

Levity.  Levity.

[Sweethockey]

On 2/15/2023 at 9:13 PM, Big A HG said:

Brad has been given a lot of leeway thanks to that title.  Winning NCHC titles is a good feat, but isn't what we play for.  It's also unrealistic to expect National Championships regularly as there is too much puck luck in a one-and-done format.  Bad teams don't typically luck their way to a title, but great teams are often eliminated prematurely thanks to a bad bounce or two...as us UND fans are very well aware.  However, Frozen Four appearances shouldn't be rare for a team like UND.  I don't think it's unreasonable to start applying some public pressure considering where our program is at.  There are a number of different factors that play into good and bad seasons, but they all mainly point back to the head coach, especially at a program with small coaching staffs like NCAA hockey.  This isn't Brad's first bad year.  An off season among many good or great seasons isn't usually something to stress over, but NCAA wins are what excite the fanbase.  NCHC titles don't.  Just look at the crowds.  People can blame covid, or blame start times, or blame whatever, but most sports, pro or otherwise, are back to pre-covid normalcy.  The Ralph is not.  It's not empty, but it's not hard to find seats and it's fairly obvious the downward trend in attendance is starting to gain steam.  Is the program heading in the right direction?  I'm not sure there's anything to say that it is.

Just ask yourself this question?  What season is the anomaly?

What would say was the entertainment value of the 2015-16 season compared to the 2022-23 season?

[siouxkid12]

2 hours ago, 1966guy said:

No kidding.  Everyone on this site has answers to every perceived problem with the program.  It's comical to read this stuff.

So you're okay with the way the program is heading?

[fightingsioux4life]

2 hours ago, siouxkid12 said:

So you're okay with the way the program is heading?

I don't think he was implying that, but I do share your frustration. Next year will be crucial for both Berry and the program as a whole.

[stoneySIOUX]

2 hours ago, siouxkid12 said:

So you're okay with the way the program is heading?

No, it looks like, but I don't comprehend reading well , he doesn't have the answers. Maybe he's hoping that we'd all try and answer some basic questions about a potential firing before we do so? That's where I am on this subject. Not happy with this season. I'm not one that's in heavy worry mode as I still believe our staff is very good and I love the pipeline and several key players, but another season like this, I'd be worried.

[tnt]

https://www.ncaa.com/championships/icehockey-men/d1/future-info

Looks like we don't host an NCAA regional next year, so we will probably get in the tournament.    I assume that is a typo for the 2025 regional host in Fargo.

[Snake]

On 2/16/2023 at 11:34 AM, Big A HG said:

What's more exciting to the fanbase...Frozen Fours or Conference Championships? 

HAKSTOL (11 seasons):  7 Frozen Fours (63.6%) --- 3 Reg. Season Conference Championships (27.2%) --- 4 Conference Tournament Championships (36.4%)

BERRY (8th season):  1 Frozen Four (12.5%) --- 4 Reg. Season Conference Championships (50.0%) --- 1 Conference Tournament Championship (currently 7 tries, 14.3%)

 

To me the answer is simple.  The program really took off with Hak consistently winning conference tournaments, winning regionals, and winning destination games.  Every time this team hit the road, the fans followed because you knew they always had a shot to win.  There’s nothing better than going on the road with the team. 
 

Regular season conference championships are nice, but performing well in the conference and national tournaments is a hell of a lot more fun!

[siouxkid12]

1 hour ago, stoneySIOUX said:

No, it looks like, but I don't comprehend reading well , he doesn't have the answers. Maybe he's hoping that we'd all try and answer some basic questions about a potential firing before we do so? That's where I am on this subject. Not happy with this season. I'm not one that's in heavy worry mode as I still believe our staff is very good and I love the pipeline and several key players, but another season like this, I'd be worried.

Everyone can speculate what will/should happen but at the end of the day Berry has to answer to the AD. 
I myself am concerned with the way the program is heading. I am not sure if Berry has lost a step in recruiting or if it's his assistants who are crappy at recruiting but something in that department needs to change. When I hear stories about players not hanging out with each other and what not, it concerns me because it reflects with their play on the ice (they don't play well together). It's like what Herb Brooks said, "I'm not looking for the best players, I am looking for the right players" and I question if they are getting the right ones. Also, how many seasons are we going to give Berry before people really get worried? I understand winning a league title is good but not making the NCAA tournament multiple times is a big deal. 

[iluvdebbies]

5 minutes ago, Snake said:

To me the answer is simple.  The program really took off with Hak consistently winning conference tournaments, winning regionals, and winning destination games.  Every time this team hit the road, the fans followed because you knew they always had a shot to win.  There’s nothing better than going on the road with the team. 
 

Regular season conference championships are nice, but performing well in the conference and national tournaments is a hell of a lot more fun!

....and a lot of the people complaining about the coaching now, wanted Hak fired. 

[siouxkid12]

2 minutes ago, Snake said:

To me the answer is simple.  The program really took off with Hak consistently winning conference tournaments, winning regionals, and winning destination games.  Every time this team hit the road, the fans followed because you knew they always had a shot to win.  There’s nothing better than going on the road with the team. 
 

Regular season conference championships are nice, but performing well in the conference and national tournaments is a hell of a lot more fun!

You are 100% correct that this program really took off when Hak took the reins. People also forget those early/mid 90's times at the old Ralph when the team was so terrible that you couldn't give away a ticket. 

[Blackheart]

1 hour ago, siouxkid12 said:

You are 100% correct that this program really took off when Hak took the reins. People also forget those early/mid 90's times at the old Ralph when the team was so terrible that you couldn't give away a ticket. 

Well, Blaiser should get a shout out for resurrecting this thing in the mid 90s.

[1966guy]

6 hours ago, siouxkid12 said:

So you're okay with the way the program is heading?

I'm not a knee jerk type of guy.  I'm not foolish enough to think this program is so much better than other programs.  Those days are over.  If your expecting a title every other year you'll be disappointed.

 

During the Hakstol Era the team was in the frozen four almost every year.  That wasn't good enough either.  Nothing will satisfy many people on this site except a title every year.  That's not gonna happen anywhere.

 

I recall complaints about not winning the big game during the Hakstol Era.  Brad Berry comes in and wins and is a hero now people turn on him and say he won with Hakstols recruits.  Gimme a break!

 

I see plenty of complaining here but no answers of how or what to fix.  That doesn't surprise me because I doubt anybody here would have any valid solutions to the perceived problem or problems.

 

 

 

 

[Irish]

1 hour ago, 1966guy said:

I'm not a knee jerk type of guy.  I'm not foolish enough to think this program is so much better than other programs.  Those days are over.  If your expecting a title every other year you'll be disappointed.

 

During the Hakstol Era the team was in the frozen four almost every year.  That wasn't good enough either.  Nothing will satisfy many people on this site except a title every year.  That's not gonna happen anywhere.

 

I recall complaints about not winning the big game during the Hakstol Era.  Brad Berry comes in and wins and is a hero now people turn on him and say he won with Hakstols recruits.  Gimme a break!

 

I see plenty of complaining here but no answers of how or what to fix.  That doesn't surprise me because I doubt anybody here would have any valid solutions to the perceived problem or problems.

 

 

 

 

Some of what to fix is behind the scenes and can only be identified by us by what we can see (culture).  What we can see is a lack of mental toughness - horrible lack of discipline for inopportune penalties, defense repeatedly out of place even this late in the season, lackadaisical passes,  giving up leads and failure to concentrate during the first and last two minutes of periods.  Other concerns are that we can see are lack of development among returners, getting beat to many blue chippers, total lack of goalie recruitment, and our outdated style of play.  It worries me that we are losing high end talent because of our outdated philosophy.  How to fix it is harder but we have an experienced coaching staff who need to figure it our and right soon.  I hope our coaches aren't so rigid that they cant make changes.  No way we shouldn't be able to sell our program to high end prospects.

[siouxkid12]

5 hours ago, 1966guy said:

I'm not a knee jerk type of guy.  I'm not foolish enough to think this program is so much better than other programs.  Those days are over.  If your expecting a title every other year you'll be disappointed.

 

During the Hakstol Era the team was in the frozen four almost every year.  That wasn't good enough either.  Nothing will satisfy many people on this site except a title every year.  That's not gonna happen anywhere.

 

I recall complaints about not winning the big game during the Hakstol Era.  Brad Berry comes in and wins and is a hero now people turn on him and say he won with Hakstols recruits.  Gimme a break!

 

I see plenty of complaining here but no answers of how or what to fix.  That doesn't surprise me because I doubt anybody here would have any valid solutions to the perceived problem or problems.

 

 

 

 

People’s complaints aren’t knee jerk reactions, this has been an issue for a few years now.
I think the frustration with Hak was that we were always at the table but we couldn’t finish it off. Getting to the NCAA tournament should be a standard thing for UND and anything less than that is unacceptable.

[brianvf]

2 minutes ago, siouxkid12 said:

People’s complaints aren’t knee jerk reactions, this has been an issue for a few years now.

A couple years ago Berry had one of the best teams in the nation, for two consecutive seasons. 

[sioux24/7]

8 minutes ago, brianvf said:

A couple years ago Berry had one of the best teams in the nation, for two consecutive seasons. 

And 1 tournament win there. I know Covid sucks and classic game against UMD but still. I’m of the opinion playing in the postseason and even better deep in the postseason is better than not. 

[brianvf]

12 minutes ago, sioux24/7 said:

I’m of the opinion playing in the postseason and even better deep in the postseason is better than not. 

I’d guess that 100% of UND fans would agree with you there, so I don’t think you’ll get much disagreement with that. 

[siouxkid12]

19 minutes ago, brianvf said:

A couple years ago Berry had one of the best teams in the nation, for two consecutive seasons. 

And since he’s only got NCAA 1 tournament win since inning. Consistency hasn’t been his friend and I think that’s the frustrating part. He was quick to dump Matt Shaw when things weren’t going right, maybe it’s time to dump an assistant…

[scpa0305]

No one has answers, there isn’t really any good answers to why where so bad. We don’t have super high end player…that’s obvious. Our depth is really bad too.

[gfhockey]

37 minutes ago, brianvf said:

A couple years ago Berry had one of the best teams in the nation, for two consecutive seasons. 

And now he has a bottom 30 team in a school that funds it to true max 

[brianvf]

Just now, gfhockey said:

And now he has a bottom 30 team in a school that funds it to true max 

Yep. 

[siouxkid12]

17 minutes ago, gfhockey said:

And now he has a bottom 30 team in a school that funds it to true max 

But you and the gobc said he’s fine.

[gfhockey]

2 minutes ago, siouxkid12 said:

But you and the gobc said he’s fine.

When did we that

[nodakvindy]

12 hours ago, Snake said:

To me the answer is simple.  The program really took off with Hak consistently winning conference tournaments, winning regionals, and winning destination games.  Every time this team hit the road, the fans followed because you knew they always had a shot to win.  There’s nothing better than going on the road with the team. 
 

Regular season conference championships are nice, but performing well in the conference and national tournaments is a hell of a lot more fun!

This is revisionist history. The program regained prominence under Blais and even he had great teams that bowed out of the NCAAs early. Getting to the Frozen Four is fun, but ultimately the Hak era is the Buffalo Bill's period in terms of NCAA performance with plenty of heartbreaking losses and a Red Sox like cursed feeling. And i might be in the minority but I definitely value regular season titles higher the final five/frozen faceoff  the fact that we hang banners for them would indicate the program does as well. This year has been a disappointing one but to ignore and diminish the success of the previous 3 seasons is pretty short sighted.