Saturday night with Duluth-Spicer's Revenge???

[The Sicatoka]

12 hours ago, brianvf said:

IMO, our success next season hinges on the decision of 15 & 17 and the coaches ability to pick up a quality goalie (either from portal or recruit).

Frankly, I'd only have one "Covid year" guy on the roster next year if at all possible: 15. For the defense. Like I said, 15, 4, 6, 24, and four freshmen. 

If one of the freshman forwards isn't ready you might convince me to bring back 28. But that's it. If it could be done with no Covid or portal skaters, I'd do it.

Goalie? Quite the conundrum. I could see going one portal for sure, if Hedquist isn't ready, second portal, even if Hellsten and Johnson both stay. Yes, potentially four goalies. 

 

[MafiaMan]

19 hours ago, BusinessSiouxt said:

Never said that, but the negativity on the board is reaching epic proportions. 

Epic proportions?  You must be new around here.  This place was on FIRE around the time North Dakota was getting bounced in the Frozen Four semi-finals circa 2005-2008.  

[The Sicatoka]

5 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

Epic proportions?  You must be new around here.  This place was on FIRE around the time North Dakota was getting bounced on the Frozen Four semi-finals circa 2005-2008.  

A recap of those times ...

[Oxbow6]

8 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

Epic proportions?  You must be new around here.  This place was on FIRE around the time North Dakota was getting bounced on the Frozen Four semi-finals circa 2005-2008.  

Oh to get a sniff of another F4 before they put you and me into a shared room at Shady Oaks Retirement Home.

[Oxbow6]

10 hours ago, farce poobah said:

After reflecting on last night's loss to UMD, I found myself with 3 hypotheses about why we played so poorly, and why its a recurring pattern.

One guess (hypothesis) is poor chemistry in the locker room, leading to poor communication and the eventual finger pointing.

Second guess is "senioritis" for lack of a better term.

Third guess is that practices aren't played at game speed.  (Thinking back to the 97-99 teams which were legendary speed, both games and practices.)

I've got no information to explain why we have underperformed so many nights this year.  But I'm seeing patterns that I don't like ...

 

PS I agree with those hoping 15 returns, wears a C, and gets that success on his resume for eventual pro experience.

I'll pick "D: All of the above"

[MafiaMan]

25 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

Oh to get a sniff of another F4 before they put you and me into a shared room at Shady Oaks Retirement Home.

Dibs on the bottom bunk. 

[siouxfan512]

On 1/22/2023 at 9:35 AM, SuhakiYeahYeah said:

I had a dream last night that I was arrested and my punishment was having a guy with time control powers take me back to the Ralph and watch that Frisch turnover that lead to the 2nd goal over and over again. 

I just want the season to end already, it's becoming a literal nightmare for me.

I've never been less interested in UND hockey over the past 20 years. If we had a bad record but were playing tough, it would be a bit different. This team plays sloppy hockey with no chemistry night in and night out. The defensive zone turnover the other night was like something out of beer league hockey.

I hate to sound like a fair weather fan, but it is tough hockey to watch. Plenty of talent, but no chemistry. Hoping they can take a step forward next season, but it has to be in all phases. Goaltending has been bad, but the D hasn't helped either. Offense needs to score more. College teams can change quickly and I'm hoping for that for next season.

I also don't want to put it all on Berry, but we have had more down seasons with him that we should have to deal with (some good ones too). Go back to Hak; he had some down seasons, but always found a way to get into the tourney and once there would make some noise. Even when he had teams that had lesser talent, he had them firing on all cylinders by the end of the season. Shame we had to lose him to the NHL, especially when you go back to the conversations of him turning down the Flyers a few times before ultimately taking the deal.

[The Sicatoka]

7 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

Dibs on the bottom bunk. 

Are you sure about that?
"Incontinence issues" may be involved with you two.
Personally, I'd take the "high ground". 

[The Sicatoka]

10 hours ago, farce poobah said:

After reflecting on last night's loss to UMD, I found myself with 3 hypotheses about why we played so poorly, and why its a recurring pattern.

One guess (hypothesis) is poor chemistry in the locker room, leading to poor communication and the eventual finger pointing.

Second guess is "senioritis" for lack of a better term.

Third guess is that practices aren't played at game speed.  (Thinking back to the 97-99 teams which were legendary speed, both games and practices.)

I've got no information to explain why we have underperformed so many nights this year.  But I'm seeing patterns that I don't like ...

 

PS I agree with those hoping 15 returns, wears a C, and gets that success on his resume for eventual pro experience.

We don't play games at game speed. 

We are wholly predictable on breakouts from the defensive zone. How many times Saturday did a D take the puck behind the net ... and wait. Wait for the forwards ... during which time UMD got a full line change and the center ice (call it what it is) trap set up. That didn't happen last year because in that same time last year the one man breakout named Jake Sanderson would already be entering the attack zone. 

And you're missing one other factor: Leadership. 

[The Sicatoka]

Things I just didn't like Saturday:

Kleven ended the first period four seconds early (and the whole arena gasped). That's what you call an omen. 

Blake is trying to be a one-man band. Does his stick not pass ... or shoot for that matter. 

Our sticks are not heavy on the puck. A cool breeze garners a take-away.

Our passes are short, soft, and late/behind. 

Shoot the puck. Everyone, just shoot the puck. Right now it is OT and any shot is a good shot. 

This team lacks fundamentals: four below your own goal line? There are squirts laughing at that. 

[The Sicatoka]

Frankly, I hope this thread is on a monitor in a fancy leather-chair stadium-seating room somewhere in REA and the team is reading it together. 

I'd love to hear them try to refute these points. 

[BusinessSiouxt]

1 hour ago, MafiaMan said:

Epic proportions?  You must be new around here.  This place was on FIRE around the time North Dakota was getting bounced on the Frozen Four semi-finals circa 2005-2008.  

Glad I missed that! Geez-Louise, not sure I could have weathered that storm! Not sure I even played around on the Insultnet back then. I just want everyone to put down their Monster Energy drink and relax! You know western Minnesota is kinda laid back, don’t get too worked up ‘round here. Too busy fishing the ‘hard water’…

[BusinessSoot]

45 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

We don't play games at game speed. 

We are wholly predictable on breakouts from the defensive zone. How many times Saturday did a D take the puck behind the net ... and wait. Wait for the forwards ... during which time UMD got a full line change and the center ice (call it what it is) trap set up. That didn't happen last year because in that same time last year the one man breakout named Jake Sanderson would already be entering the attack zone. 

And you're missing one other factor: Leadership. 

BINGO!! 

[Oldguy]

53 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Things I just didn't like Saturday:

Kleven ended the first period four seconds early (and the whole arena gasped). That's what you call an omen. 

Blake is trying to be a one-man band. Does his stick not pass ... or shoot for that matter. 

Our sticks are not heavy on the puck. A cool breeze garners a take-away.

Our passes are short, soft, and late/behind. 

Shoot the puck. Everyone, just shoot the puck. Right now it is OT and any shot is a good shot. 

This team lacks fundamentals: four below your own goal line? There are squirts laughing at that. 

They look like a little kid soccer team in their own zone sometimes - everybody chasing the ball in a cluster.

[Sodbuster]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

Things I just didn't like Saturday:

Kleven ended the first period four seconds early (and the whole arena gasped). That's what you call an omen. 

Blake is trying to be a one-man band. Does his stick not pass ... or shoot for that matter. 

Our sticks are not heavy on the puck. A cool breeze garners a take-away.

Our passes are short, soft, and late/behind. 

Shoot the puck. Everyone, just shoot the puck. Right now it is OT and any shot is a good shot. 

This team lacks fundamentals: four below your own goal line? There are squirts laughing at that. 

What did Kleven do? I can't remember.

[Irish]

22 minutes ago, Oldguy said:

They look like a little kid soccer team in their own zone sometimes - everybody chasing the ball in a cluster.

And what's worse is that they have been doing this all season long - Absolutely no corrections - game after game.  And we have many veterans on the team.  What happens between reviewing game film and the next game because we are back to doing the exact same things and getting burned.

[The Sicatoka]

@Sodbuster Kleven: About 00:04 on the clock he just casually chucked the puck from the defensive slot to the NE corner half wall with Bulldogs still in attack mode. It's like he thought there was even less time left than there was. If he wanted to dump it he should've gone "south"; or, he could've just skated it to the half wall to maintain possession and control. Poor situational awareness. 

[siouxforce19]

Can anyone name a player on this team that was here last year that you think is better this year than they were last year? I cannot, which I’d say is the problem. 

[brianvf]

5 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Can anyone name a player on this team that was here last year that you think is better this year than they were last year? I cannot, which I’d say is the problem. 

Jandric

[gfhockey]

I think we should be done with the grinda expierment and get more blue chippaz 

[Irish]

24 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Can anyone name a player on this team that was here last year that you think is better this year than they were last year? I cannot, which I’d say is the problem. 

Lack of improvement not only from last year to this year but from game to game this year is a big concern.

[Oxbow6]

11 minutes ago, gfhockey said:

I think we should be done with the grinda expierment and get more blue chippaz 

We don't want 'em!

[AJS]

2 hours ago, siouxfan512 said:

I've never been less interested in UND hockey over the past 20 years. If we had a bad record but were playing tough, it would be a bit different. This team plays sloppy hockey with no chemistry night in and night out. The defensive zone turnover the other night was like something out of beer league hockey.

I said after the game this past Saturday that I just this season to be over with, I've never felt that before. Even during the two previous years that Berry's teams missed the tournament, I felt they had a shot at turning things around (barely missed both those years). Those teams played hard, thought the issue was more talent wise, but never questioned the things that you have to question this year. 

 This year will be his 3rd tournament miss. It's clear that this coaching staff, given all their advantages is extremely average. We are not one of the programs anymore that is the exception to the rule. What does that mean? There will be good years and bad years. Unfortunately, it's time to lower expectations, because if not, there will be some very frustrating seasons ahead. Also, enjoy the good regular seasons. Don't take those for granted.  

[The Sicatoka]

13 minutes ago, Irish said:

Lack of improvement not only from last year to this year but from game to game this year is a big concern.

Did the incoming guys lose a critical year of development to lockdowns? (See: four below goal line.) Do the coaches not see this lack of fundamentals?

The coaches need to step back to "Hockey 101" training it seems. You know ... coach. 

[dustnyou]

58 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Can anyone name a player on this team that was here last year that you think is better this year than they were last year? I cannot, which I’d say is the problem. 

Jandric