2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[The Sicatoka]

If 6 or 32 entering the portal surprises you, you were not following along. 

[siouxforce19]

12 minutes ago, AJS said:

This is a good move by the Coaching staff. Hedquist / Portal Goalie is the way to go next year.

Maybe we can even find a portal goalie with more than one season of eligibility… 

 

[stoneySIOUX]

20 minutes ago, johnsowe said:

ugh another year of no goalie and defense

Our 8th defensemen and our backup goal leaving led you to this epiphany?

Getting rid of Helly has no bearing on how our goalie situation is next year unless we don't find a portal goal better than he is. I'm very confident we'll find a portal goalie better than he is.

Same concept, losing Johnson doesn't mean our defense will be worse, better, or the same unless we get a recruit or portal guy that is the same player. 

Long story short, losing these two isn't a big deal for next year's team and won't determine how good we are.

[brianvf]

1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

And the Swede is in the portal.  Two new goalies for sure, one of them Hedquist.

 

1 hour ago, AJS said:

This is a good move by the Coaching staff. Hedquist / Portal Goalie is the way to go next year.

Agreed.
That seems the logical path here.
Hedquist gets groomed by a portal goalie with NCAA experience and then takes over the reigns in a year or two.

1 hour ago, johnsowe said:

ugh another year of no goalie and defense

If we find a shutdown goalie out of the portal, that will cover a lot of sins by the young d-corps.

52 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Maybe we can even find a portal goalie with more than one season of eligibility…

That'd be a huge plus.

[MafiaMan]

55 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Maybe we can even find a portal goalie with more than one season of eligibility… 

 

Or give Kaleb Johnson a shot between the pipes, right, @Wilbur?

[brianvf]

So far no "unexpected" portal entrants from UND, which would be a huge plus if it ends up that way.
If we're able to retain 18, 4, 24, etc...that'd be welcome for next season.

And I wonder how long until we hear future plans for Frisch, Gaber, etc.

[DL Sioux]

59 minutes ago, siouxforce19 said:

Maybe we can even find a portal goalie with more than one season of eligibility…

Pavicich from UMASS would fit that bill.  2.75 GAA and .920 Save %.  Should have 2 years of eligibility left.

[brianvf]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/unds-brent-johnson-and-jakob-hellsten-enter-the-transfer-portal

Quote

Johnson, a third-round pick of the Washington Capitals, has high-end offensive abilities, generating scoring chances through his skating and stickhandling.

But his issues defending left him at No. 8 on UND’s depth chart for the second half of the season.

Quote

Hellsten, who is 6-foot, 185 pounds, was looking at the prospect of being a backup to a transfer again as a junior. The Fighting Hawks will look to add a goalie out of the transfer portal this summer to compete for the starting job.

Hellsten’s departure also increases the likelihood of UND bringing in goalie commit Hobie Hedquist from the British Columbia Hockey League next season.

 

[Wilbur]

14 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

Or give Kaleb Johnson a shot between the pipes, right, @Wilbur?

"That was the best I've ever seen a goalie play giving up 7 goals in a game."

Love the teammate that he is.  He can't be the starting goaltender at UND.  

[MafiaMan]

2 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

"That was the best I've ever seen a goalie play giving up 7 goals in a game."

One of the many lava-hot takes from Facebook after that WMU game.  

[SIOUXFAN97]

8 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Both Berry and Sather have deals that expire in 2026 now. Yes, tick-tock. 

[Wilbur]

13 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

One of the many lava-hot takes from Facebook after that WMU game.  

It was shockingly the first time all year one of our goalies was hung out to dry by poor d zone as well.  

[siouxforce19]

6 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Any idea on why he’s leave UMASS? Too much competition?

He played the most games of all four of their goalies so I’m not sure on what the reasoning is. He last played Feb 17th after a 7-3 loss to BC. 
 

He did shut out Denver earlier in the season, so there’s that. 

[Siouxfancrazy92]

55 minutes ago, brianvf said:

So far no "unexpected" portal entrants from UND, which would be a huge plus if it ends up that way.
If we're able to retain 18, 4, 24, etc...that'd be welcome for next season.

And I wonder how long until we hear future plans for Frisch, Gaber, etc.

I wouldn’t hold my breath.  Could be more. 

[brianvf]

1 minute ago, Siouxfancrazy92 said:

I wouldn’t hold my breath.  Could be more. 

Yes, of course there could be.
But, you would think if you were already set on going portal route, that you'd want to get your name on the portal list as soon as possible to help your chances of getting picked up.
As Sicatoka mentioned earlier, a good chunk of the portal entrants don't find a new school as it is anyway.

[AJS]

14 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Yes, of course there could be.
But, you would think if you were already set on going portal route, that you'd want to get your name on the portal list as soon as possible to help your chances of getting picked up.
As Sicatoka mentioned earlier, a good chunk of the portal entrants don't find a new school as it is anyway.

You would think so, but it's surprising how often this hasn't been the case. Calder wasn't until 04/08, Budy 04/26. I do think you start to feel better after a week of it being open though. 

[brianvf]

7 minutes ago, AJS said:

You would think so, but it's surprising how often this hasn't been the case. Calder wasn't until 04/08, Budy 04/26. I do think you start to feel better after a week of it being open though. 

Geez forgot all about Budy last year.
Looked him up...didn't realize he was playing for RPI this season.
30gp - 0g - 5a.

[Wilbur]

I think you could see the Swede back in his home country.  Just didn't do enough in the time he had the net to pass the eye test.

That's honestly one of the more confusing moves I've seen from the coaching staff.  Gotta take risks though I guess, just didn't pan out. 

[stoneySIOUX]

4 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I think you could see the Swede back in his home country.  Just didn't do enough in the time he had the net to pass the eye test.

That's honestly one of the more confusing moves I've seen from the coaching staff.  Gotta take risks though I guess, just didn't pan out. 

You could see the athleticism in him. Just couldn't find the consistency.

[siouxforce19]

3 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

You could see the athleticism in him. Just couldn't find the consistency.

It felt to me he would have a couple good games where you felt maybe he could be able to emerge as a future starter but then about the third game in a row he started would just be a complete stinker. 

[Wilbur]

Goalies that intrigue me:

-Kraws.  6'5, invited to Coyote camp last year.  2 years remain due to Covid year.

-Pavivich.  Big minutes in hockey east, two years left as well.

-Veltri.  Tons of games this past season.  Over 2,000 minutes in the net with 37 starts.  

-Lush.  25 year old Canadian...Wooger would love it!!

 

[petey23]

1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

Goalies that intrigue me:

-Kraws.  6'5, invited to Coyote camp last year.  2 years remain due to Covid year.

-Pavivich.  Big minutes in hockey east, two years left as well.

-Veltri.  Tons of games this past season.  Over 2,000 minutes in the net with 37 starts.  

-Lush.  25 year old Canadian...Wooger would love it!!

 

If Close comes back for his Covid year the Gophers will already have a 25 year old Canadian goalie.

[Wilbur]

1 hour ago, petey23 said:

If Close comes back for his Covid year the Gophers will already have a 25 year old Canadian goalie.

It only counts if it's North Dakota. 

[SuhakiYeahYeah]

10 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

It only counts if it's North Dakota. 

*any team that isn't minnesota

[siouxfaninseattle]

6 is a real head-scratcher. I certainly understand why he is leaving but the treatment he received from the coaching staff is baffling. No ice time after early December when 4 and 24 looked lost a lot of their time on the ice. There is a story there - I hope we get to hear it. UND did him no favor by bringing him in before he was ready for D1 hockey.