2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[The Sicatoka]

2 minutes ago, Irish said:

So many "what the hell are you doing" moments. 

Someone in my section was calling it "mite hockey". Just like mites they'd all get hypnotized by, and chase, the puck. Nothing good ever comes of that. 

[SpudsSioux]

3 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Were they strong on their skates at the same time? Sandy, sure, but a 21-NHL-season dad had that in him when he arrived. Jandric, so so. OMac and Blake can make some jaw-dropping moves, but a stiff breeze knocks each over. 

The flip side is I really haven't seen skating improvement in Kunz or Albrecht or Ness or Jamernik.
Schmaltz did get a little better year two; he got hard to move or knock down. 
I'll be watching Strinden in year two for skating improvements. 

Omac and Blake getting knocked over is not because of edgework. O-Mac for sure needs to get stronger and Blake can too. Tough to use Frisch as the example because of his aunts, but then discount Sanderson because of his dad.

I can get on board with saying they need to be a better skating team across the board and maybe not seeing improvement in guys like Kunz, Albrecht, Ness, Jamernik, etc.

What I took issue with was that you said Frisch is the only above average skater we've had recently which was downright laughable.

[The Sicatoka]

1 minute ago, SpudsSioux said:

Omac and Blake getting knocked over is not because of edgework. O-Mac for sure needs to get stronger and Blake can too. Tough to use Frisch as the example because of his aunts, but then discount Sanderson because of his dad.

I can get on board with saying they need to be a better skating team across the board and maybe not seeing improvement in guys like Kunz, Albrecht, Ness, Jamernik, etc.

What I took issue with was that you said Frisch is the only above average skater we've had recently which was downright laughable.

I agreed with Sandy ("sure"). His dad was "Ethan's aunts" for him. Both came as strong power skaters. 

But my brain wasn't thinking Sanderson because I've been watching this season's replays on Midco and Sandy is a Senator now. 

[Irish]

9 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Someone in my section was calling it "mite hockey". Just like mites they'd all get hypnotized by, and chase, the puck. Nothing good ever comes of that. 

Throw in the often predictable but very untimely penalties and you can see that the mental component of our game was a major weakness last year.

[The Sicatoka]

1 minute ago, Irish said:

Throw in the often predictable but very untimely penalties and you can see that the mental component of our game was a major weakness last year.

Bad mental game -> mite hockey -> untimely penalties

Like The Fixx says ...

[SpudsSioux]

7 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

I agreed with Sandy ("sure"). His dad was "Ethan's aunts" for him. Both came as strong power skaters. 

But my brain wasn't thinking Sanderson because I've been watching this season's replays on Midco and Sandy is a Senator now. 

Haha I get that. Last year is sticking out like a sore thumb right now. I do think with a little added weight and strength we'll be pleasantly surprised with how much more Blake and O-Mac can fight thru contact this year. We'll also be seeing some better skaters replacing those leaving (Perron's edgework is night and day better than any of the departing forwards), Livanavage is a Boris disciple...he's skating/edgework will be noticeable from day one.

[Kevin G]

I recently heard some scouting guru talking about skating. He said that skating ability used to be one of the traits they'd assess in prospects, along with things like shooting ability, instincts, etc etc. Now it's more like skating ability is the supreme ability because almost everyone is faster than previous generations of hockey players. If you can't keep up skating-wise, your other strengths are neutralized/minimized. 

Great-skating teams just swarm you (imo Michigan is the prime example); it's like they have an extra skater on the ice.

[brianvf]

Updates from the annual coaches meetings in FL:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/daily-skate-nchc-discusses-the-possibility-of-adding-arizona-state?fbclid=IwAR1_OgnHrboZaFwgDhZdtfS3vFcGvSlbTYpgoBF-oUzUh1_pbXbAHPewfhQ

Talks about NCHC adding ASU, Summit League, and rule changes. 

[The Sicatoka]

Seems one of our pipeline has found a new skating guru (scroll, you'll find it).
Some guy in TOR named Matthews subscribes also. 

 

[SpudsSioux]

6 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Seems one of our pipeline has found a new skating guru (scroll, you'll find it). 

 

As I said, a Boris disciple. Every kid I've seen that works with Boris has very, very good edgework. 

[The Sicatoka]

11 minutes ago, SpudsSioux said:

As I said, a Boris disciple. Every kid I've seen that works with Boris has very, very good edgework. 

Full disclosure: @SpudsSioux clued me in on what to look for.  

Boris seems like he could and would wear your blades to the tuuk in one practice. 

[Speez]

10 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

"C'mon Spiewak! ... " 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/a862d317-a946-4580-af01-9565deeb097b 

https://fightinghawks.com/news/2009/2/9/3666657.aspx 

Can we get any comment from @Speez ? 

That clip never gets old Sic.  One of my favorites.

Kevin had some great power skating coaches growing up playing AAA hockey. He stresses the same concepts to any team he coaches be it Mites or Bantams.

His squirt team that was the only Fargo team to ever win the Squirt Spectacular was a machine when it came to skating and passing. One of the concepts of Dean Blais teams was, "Speed kills". Kevin gets his players to believe in that and they are much better skaters and players when to move on to the next level,

[brianvf]

55 minutes ago, Speez said:

That clip never gets old Sic.  One of my favorites.

Kevin had some great power skating coaches growing up playing AAA hockey. He stresses the same concepts to any team he coaches be it Mites or Bantams.

His squirt team that was the only Fargo team to ever win the Squirt Spectacular was a machine when it came to skating and passing. One of the concepts of Dean Blais teams was, "Speed kills". Kevin gets his players to believe in that and they are much better skaters and players when to move on to the next level,

Kevin had a very distinct skating stride...low and fast.
He fit in perfectly with the Blais "Speed Kills" teams.

[Esoteric]

On 2/13/2023 at 10:29 AM, brianvf said:

Here's what I posted a few months ago in the 22/23 season thread as an outlook to 23/24:

This was all before Johnson was put on "permanent bench" status, so I guess add him to the potentially gone list as well.

Did anyone find out why he got benched?

[Esoteric]

10 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Four seconds into this video UND15 is on edges and gets hit by UAH11. UAH11 is literally shrugged off.

How many guys on the roster on their edges can absorb that hit much less deliver back enough to knock the other guy down. 

That's why I'm calling for power skating to become a point of emphasis. 

I am also shocked we do not have power skating instructors.

[The Sicatoka]

Hedquist hasn't played since April 19 when he left a game with an injury. I'm cringing. 

[AJS]

43 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Hedquist hasn't played since April 19 when he left a game with an injury. I'm cringing. 

The most recent UND pod, Schlossman said the goalie situation was locked in for next year (Hedquist coming in).

[Irish]

On 4/27/2023 at 8:17 PM, Esoteric said:

I am also shocked we do not have power skating instructors.

It feels like we are slowly losing touch with some of the things that made us great.  I loved the "speed kills" era.  

[rochsioux]

1 hour ago, Irish said:

It feels like we are slowly losing touch with some of the things that made us great.  I loved the "speed kills" era.  

Same here. 
Not sure if the problem is lack of speed or poor passing skills. Maybe a bit of both. Even a fast team will not look fast if the passing is not sharp. 

[N of GF]

Does anyone here know for a fact that UND doesn't have skating instructors? Unless I've missed something, all I see are a couple of people saying they don't know if they do.

[The Sicatoka]

1 minute ago, N of GF said:

Does anyone here know for a fact that UND doesn't have skating instructors? Unless I've missed something, all I see are a couple of people saying they don't know if they do.

I don't know what they have, but I've called for skating to return to focus just like "Ironman" training. 

[90siouxfan]

Working on skating skills could never be a bad thing.  Is the "speed" in hockey players that everyone loves...  is it something the individual is born with, developed as a youngster, installed at college level?

[Sweethockey]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

I don't know what they have, but I've called for skating to return to focus just like "Ironman" training. 

What did Qpac call the set play they ran in OT? "The Jet" was it? A combination of speed and perfect passing left the gophers bewildered and in 2nd place.

[scpa0305]

2 hours ago, rochsioux said:

Same here. 
Not sure if the problem is lack of speed or poor passing skills. Maybe a bit of both. Even a fast team will not look fast if the passing is not sharp. 

Completely agree here. Passing was an issue the past two years I think. Especially watching some other teams play. Much more crisp.

[scpa0305]

All these guys work on skating.