2022-23 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[brianvf]

20 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

They'll take it to three games, only to give up six unanswered in game three. 

 
Funny, but probably true.

[Shawn-O]

19 hours ago, brianvf said:

The team's poor play has me looking ahead to the 23/24 season.   Unfortunate, but it is what it is.

Schedule
Some tough non-conference opponents, but IMO an easier lineup than this year (UW, Army, BSU 2x, UMN 2x, @ BU 2x, MSUM 2x, and Fairbanks 2x).
UMN will lose a ton this off-season but will still be good, BU is looking stronger and has some good recruits lined up, and Mankato seems down a bit this season.
Plus, all games are at home except for the BU series.

Roster
Definitely gone: D(3) - Sidorski, Farmer, Jandric  F(2) - Hain, Senden  G(1) - DeRidder
Potentially gone: D(3) - Moore (if DET wants him), Frisch (5th year option), Kleven  F(3) - Albrecht (5th year option), Gaber (free agent signing), Caulfield (5th year option)

Anywhere from 3-6 Dmen gone, which if it's toward the 5-6 number would be a huge number of starters to replace.  Would definitely need to hit the portal to bring in some 1-2 year guys if that's the case.  Could see Albrecht and Caulfield using their 5th year option if given the choice by the coaching staff.  Could also see some guys hitting the transfer portal too if the locker room atmosphere is a mess and they want a fresh start.  Gaber's decision is huge.  If he returns for his senior year, it automatically boosts our offense quite a bit.

Recruits
From our current recruit list, the guys that seem the most ready to come in next season:
F(2) - Croal and Perron
D(4) - Benoit, Wiebe, Livanavage, and Strathmann
G(1) - Hedquist

Hedquist isn't having a great season in the BCHL, so not sure if the coaches would bring him in or look for another recruit or portal goalie.

Outlook
Honestly, if Gaber returns I think that our offense is even better next season than this year.  Perron is the real deal and you'd get Blake/OwenMc/James/Strinden all with another year of experience under their belts along with a group of Schmaltz/Costantini/Jammer that shows signs of breaking out.
Defense and goaltending is the question mark once again.  Can Hellsten carry the goaltending load?  Bast would be the anchor of the d-corps with hopefully an improved Johnson (and Moore/Frisch if they return).  The dmen recruits will all make freshmen mistakes, but all have skill that will benefit from the extra playing time.  And honestly, can't be much worse than what we've seen at times this year.

This has another early 90’s multiple year funk written all over it.  

[stoneySIOUX]

Why are we doing this to ourselves? My goodness, ya'll. Let the year finish out. 

People want to poo poo analytics, but this season could absolutely take a turn to the positive. Let's just chill out, please?

[siouxkid12]

1 minute ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Why are we doing this to ourselves? My goodness, ya'll. Let the year finish out. 

People want to poo poo analytics, but this season could absolutely take a turn to the positive. Let's just chill out, please?

You are not wrong, the season could take a turn and become a positive. However, the last few weeks have shown that no progress has been made on the players end and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. I pray to God that I am wrong, and they do go on a nice run, but I am being really honest with myself and what I see.

[Oxbow6]

16 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Why are we doing this to ourselves? My goodness, ya'll. Let the year finish out. 

People want to poo poo analytics, but this season could absolutely take a turn to the positive. Let's just chill out, please?

The xG argument......that's gonna save this season?

[dustnyou]

3 hours ago, AJS said:

Let's revisit this last off-season. I wasn't the only one that was very frustrated with how clunky it appeared. Other programs seemed so much more calculated; those decisions made sense. How many were neutral at best to Berry deciding to bring back two bottom 6 forwards for their 5th year causing a logjam at forward? Then there was the which freshman are coming in / players who need to be pushed to the portal, which ended with Spicer decommitting. That played out so much longer than it should have. I found the coaching staff not having ONE freshman defenseman that was ready to come in to be very frustrating. Having to lean on the portal not once, but twice. 

My plea would be, use the portal minimally. If there's a perfect fit, one guy, ok. No more 5th year guys. I'm talking both via the portal or in-house. 

I agree it was a mistake to not have a freshman D come in . Especially when the two portal D are not playing very well. Were those two the best option? But I disagree that it was a mistake to bring back the two 5th year forwards. They are really good players and not “bottom 6” in my mind. One of them puts up a good amount of goals and they are both very strong defensively which is what this team lacks. Not bringing them back would’ve only made our defensive situation even worse. Older Age usually means more wins than a younger team as well. Experience is very valuable. I also think UND brought in the right four freshman forwards . They are fantastic. It seems there was a gap in the D recruiting pipeline but Miller and Morrow not working out could be to blame.  They were replaced by not as talented portal D. 

[90siouxfan]

3 adjectives to describe fan bases:  entitled, impatient, unreasonable....   

[GoalieMask]

21 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Why are we doing this to ourselves? My goodness, ya'll. Let the year finish out. 

People want to poo poo analytics, but this season could absolutely take a turn to the positive. Let's just chill out, please?

Wins over Quinnipiac and OT win at Minnesota are saving us from the abyss right now.  Those are the only games keeping us within earshot of a Top 15 PW situation.  Unlike a few years back when UND couldn't beat Canisius and we all knew that was the death knell. 

[siouxkid12]

1 minute ago, 90siouxfan said:

3 adjectives to describe fan bases:  entitled, impatient, unreasonable....   

It's not unreasonable to ask for better play from the players and better coaching. How are we entitled as a fanbase? Because we expect the team and coaches to perform at the highest level, like they are supposed to? How are we impatient? We are talking about 5th year players that are regressing. No one is commenting on players like Blake or Gaber because they are preforming the way they should be.

[siouxforce19]

2 minutes ago, GoalieMask said:

Wins over Quinnipiac and OT win at Minnesota are saving us from the abyss right now.  Those are the only games keeping us within earshot of a Top 15 PW situation.  Unlike a few years back when UND couldn't beat Canisius and we all knew that was the death knell. 

Except we don’t have a win over Q-pac. We’ve got a TIE. 

[jk]

Looks like Blake is getting a well-deserved invite to the US WJC camp.

[1972]

1 hour ago, Oxbow6 said:

26 21 18 IMO need to be in the lineup every night from here on out. Might as well put 29 in that group. 

still mind blowing to me that james was in the stands in vegas, and not on the ice.

[GoalieMask]

53 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Except we don’t have a win over Q-pac. We’ve got a TIE. 

You are correct sir. 

As Pat Sweeney would say, "I stand corrected...thanks to my orthopedic shoes." 

[90siouxfan]

1 hour ago, siouxkid12 said:

It's not unreasonable to ask for better play from the players and better coaching. How are we entitled as a fanbase? Because we expect the team and coaches to perform at the highest level, like they are supposed to? How are we impatient? We are talking about 5th year players that are regressing. No one is commenting on players like Blake or Gaber because they are preforming the way they should be.

Interesting that you took the statement to be about one particular fan base...

[fightingsioux4life]

3 minutes ago, 90siouxfan said:

Interesting that you took the statement to be about one particular fan base...

Considering this thread is about UND, that is not a bad assumption to make.

[siouxkid12]

6 minutes ago, 90siouxfan said:

Interesting that you took the statement to be about one particular fan base...

Why would we be talking about other schools fanbases in a 22-23 university of north dakota hockey season forum?

[brianvf]

52 minutes ago, jk said:

Looks like Blake is getting a well-deserved invite to the US WJC camp.

Great for him, he deserves a look for that team.

[stoneySIOUX]

2 hours ago, siouxkid12 said:

You are not wrong, the season could take a turn and become a positive. However, the last few weeks have shown that no progress has been made on the players end and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. I pray to God that I am wrong, and they do go on a nice run, but I am being really honest with myself and what I see.

I don't agree that there's been no progress. With that said, it's hasn't been enough. We're too far into the season to be playing with poor defensive effort, consistently silly turnovers, and bad goaltending. This team absolutely has the talent to turn it around. Will it? We'll find out and that's all I'm saying. We're saying absolutes like we're going to get swept in the quarters and then expanding into a potential multi-year struggle based on one half of the season. We've legitimately saved seasons with second half surges MANY times. All we have to do is get in and we have a shot with Fargo. 

The ride hasn't been enjoyable, but it's not over. I just don't understand the assumption of failure when we have plenty of reasons to carry hope. But, I guess that's just me, so be it.

2 hours ago, Oxbow6 said:

The xG argument......that's gonna save this season?

LOL again, if you don't like analytics, you don't have to believe, but all of the of the other xG, possession, etc., leaders are winning games. The ones who have poor differences in those stats aren't winning games as whole and UND is the outlier. 

2 hours ago, GoalieMask said:

Wins over Quinnipiac and OT win at Minnesota are saving us from the abyss right now.  Those are the only games keeping us within earshot of a Top 15 PW situation.  Unlike a few years back when UND couldn't beat Canisius and we all knew that was the death knell. 

On the flip side, we have plenty of chances to move up in the PWR with teams like Western 4x, Denver, and St. Cloud left on the schedule. We moved up one spot with two losses this weekend. Imagine what would have happened had we won one or both. 

Gotta have the wins. Simple as that. We rip off a good run against Western, Lindenwood, a down UMD team, and Miami in January, we're right back in the mix. 

[siouxkid12]

2 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

I don't agree that there's been no progress. With that said, it's hasn't been enough. We're too far into the season to be playing with poor defensive effort, consistently silly turnovers, and bad goaltending. This team absolutely has the talent to turn it around. Will it? We'll find out and that's all I'm saying. We're saying absolutes like we're going to get swept in the quarters and then expanding into a potential multi-year struggle based on one half of the season. We've legitimately saved seasons with second half surges MANY times. All we have to do is get in and we have a shot with Fargo. 

 

Dave Hakstol has saved many seasons with second half surges; we have not seen them with Berry in his time here. 

[stoneySIOUX]

2 hours ago, siouxkid12 said:

It's not unreasonable to ask for better play from the players and better coaching. How are we entitled as a fanbase? Because we expect the team and coaches to perform at the highest level, like they are supposed to? How are we impatient? We are talking about 5th year players that are regressing. No one is commenting on players like Blake or Gaber because they are preforming the way they should be.

I think the entitlement sentiment, for me at least, is when we talk about firing Berry. Based on one half of the season, a big chunk of the fanbase not just wants him to be fired, but think he should be. I think it's crazy and yes, totally unreasonable to think he should be fired.

I honestly don't see any regression, so to say. Underperformance, absolutely. Lack of progression that we desired, sure. But, who's regressing? Not trying to start a pissing match, but I'm just curious to hear who people think have gotten worse as a player.

[stoneySIOUX]

3 minutes ago, siouxkid12 said:

Dave Hakstol has saved many seasons with second half surges; we have not seen them with Berry in his time here. 

We're blaming him for not needing to be better in the second half because they haven't had to? Absolutely does not mean they cannot. Seeing the statistics around their struggles gives me hope, but also adds to an incredible amount of frustration. 

Other than stopping silly turnovers in the defensive and neutral zone, I have yet to be able to pinpoint why we're losing. It's certainly not a lack of talent. I won't buy that. 

[siouxkid12]

1 minute ago, stoneySIOUX said:

I think the entitlement sentiment, for me at least, is when we talk about firing Berry. Based on one half of the season, a big chunk of the fanbase not just wants him to be fired, but think he should be. I think it's crazy and yes, totally unreasonable to think he should be fired.

I honestly don't see any regression, so to say. Underperformance, absolutely. Lack of progression that we desired, sure. But, who's regressing? Not trying to start a pissing match, but I'm just curious to hear who people think have gotten worse as a player.

I don't like the "fire berry" chants just like I never liked the "fire hak" chants. 

[stoneySIOUX]

Just now, siouxkid12 said:

I don't like the "fire berry" chants just like I never liked the "fire hak" chants. 

Glad we're on the same page. It's absolutely justified to be frustrated right now. We all are. But what in God's green earth will firing Berry do? Nothing. People are bummed about our pipeline (I love our pipeline. We need MORE players, but I love it) for some reason and that, I guess, could be a part of it, but it's wild to me that people legit think he deserves to be fired.

[brianvf]

2 hours ago, jk said:

Looks like Blake is getting a well-deserved invite to the US WJC camp.

Here's the article on that:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/jackson-blake-makes-initial-u-s-world-junior-championship-roster?fbclid=IwAR1_bQaI1Y2CHVGvERKmtMViSl-Zkfvfi7YwvydRBGwWetp_kjSUzurazc0

Quote

The Americans are bringing 18 forwards to the camp, which will run from Dec. 12-17. They will likely cut five of them and take 13 to the tournament, which is scheduled for Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

If Blake makes the final roster, he will miss UND's exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 Team on Dec. 31. His availability would be questionable for the Lindenwood series on Jan. 6-7. If the Americans play in the final, he would travel back to Grand Forks on the day of the series opener.

USA Hockey also had considered UND freshman forward Owen McLaughlin and sophomore defenseman Brent Johnson — they participated in the summer evaluation camp — but neither made the preliminary roster and won't be going to the World Juniors.

UND rookie forward Dylan James participated in Hockey Canada's summer camp as well, but he is not expected to be on Canada's squad.

 

[siouxkid12]

3 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

We're blaming him for not needing to be better in the second half because they haven't had to? Absolutely does not mean they cannot. Seeing the statistics around their struggles gives me hope, but also adds to an incredible amount of frustration. 

Other than stopping silly turnovers in the defensive and neutral zone, I have yet to be able to pinpoint why we're losing. It's certainly not a lack of talent. I won't buy that. 

In Berry's short tenure here, he has either lead his team out the gate or they just struggled the whole season, there was never an in between in my eyes. 

You are correct that the talent is there, but I just don't think this team is a team like ones from the past. When I hear stories that they don't hang out outside of hockey that seems odd to me (if it is true) and it translates out onto the ice.