2022-23 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

1 hour ago, ksl_sioux4ever said:

This is assuming nobody jumps into the portal

And a few could jump the way this season is playing out.

[jk]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

I see needing four D (Kleven gone, Frisch uses the fifth year, DET sees Moore can't handle DU/SCSU speed much less COL/TBL speed). 

I see needing four F (let Albrecht and Caulfield decide where to use their Covid year other than GF; hope to hang onto Gaber).

I see needing at least one G (play Johnson and see if he rises in game situations). 

I'd like only two "fifth year" guys: Frisch and a goalie if it can be managed. 

Bring in 4D: Benoit, Wiebe, LIvanavage, Strathmann. If you need a fifth (yikes) it's Jubenvill.

Bring in 4F: Croal, Panzer, Perron, Slipec. 

G? Hedquist and ____? 

Panzer and Slipec seem far from ready, based on their current lack of production (I have not seen them play).  So at forward next year, they could be in a similar situation next summer to their dilemma on D last summer, unless they can find some uncommitted late bloomers.  They could bring in guys who aren't ready, tap the portal, or allow fifth years to return.  The lesser of evils I guess.

[AJS]

For a program like UND hockey when it comes to recruiting, I would simply say, be better. That staff is given every advantage, so figure it out. This is in regard to not having a single freshman defenseman they felt was ready. By Christmas last year they should have been looking for someone then. All this talk recently about the UND culture. I just don't understand how turning this program into Transfer U helps. There is no reason this team has to rely on the Transfer portal and 5th year guys to fill out their roster. Again, I'm not saying never use the Portal, if the perfect one-off type of situation arises. What I'm seeing though, is it's being used as a crutch by this staff, because they don't have the proper recruits lined up. 

[siouxforce19]

10 minutes ago, jk said:

Panzer and Slipec seem far from ready, based on their current lack of production (I have not seen them play).  So at forward next year, they could be in a similar situation next summer to their dilemma on D last summer, unless they can find some uncommitted late bloomers.  They could bring in guys who aren't ready, tap the portal, or allow fifth years to return.  The lesser of evils I guess.

Slipec in particular plays 4th line minutes on a deep team so he should definitely play another year in the USHL so he can potentially earn increased minutes next season once some of the Steel’s top guys move in to college. 

[The Sicatoka]

For two guys with power forward builds, I've never seen two guys drive to the net less and with less passion than Caulfield and Kunz. 

[Siouxperfan7]

This years team is not good.  Might be one of the most dissapointing team since 2001-2002 season.  I take a heartbreaking loss in the first round of the NCAA's at this point!!  Better than a NCHC quarterfinal sweep on the road!!  

[1972]

10 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Better than a NCHC quarterfinal sweep on the road!!  

yeah...pretty sure thats what we are gonna get

[The Sicatoka]

13 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Better than a NCHC quarterfinal sweep on the road!!  

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

[Oxbow6]

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

[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?