2023-24 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[Wilbur]

Hellsten just isn't the guy.  For whatever reason European goaltenders just don't work out here.  Dig deeper into Minnesota and get some older USHL goaltenders lined up.

If Hellsten leaves I bring in Hedquist, but if he stays two portal goalies. 

[ND_Texan]

5% chance of making the nationals isn’t giving me warm fuzzies. It’ll take running out the last six games to get there. Winning the Conferece tournament has even more formidable odds. Yeah it’s time to be talking 2023-24 alright.

[brianvf]

50 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

5% chance of making the nationals isn’t giving me warm fuzzies. It’ll take running out the last six games to get there. Winning the Conferece tournament has even more formidable odds. Yeah it’s time to be talking 2023-24 alright.

Yeah getting an at-large bid just isn't happening at this point.
Our only hope is to get the most favorable 1st round road matchup that we can, cross our fingers to win two there...and then hope for a miracle for two great games from the boys at the Frozen Faceoff.

[Blackheart]

5 hours ago, ND_Texan said:

5% chance of making the nationals isn’t giving me warm fuzzies. It’ll take running out the last six games to get there. Winning the Conferece tournament has even more formidable odds. Yeah it’s time to be talking 2023-24 alright.

Dude, it's over.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

14 hours ago, dustnyou said:

1995-2001 is my sweet spot. I was 12-18 years old. My best friend and I would sit on the glass with three cups of Dipn Dots. 2 for us to eat and a third cup on the dasher waiting for Pivets, Vig or Commie  to destroy someone in front of us and send those little ice cream balls everywhere lol. Good times. Man what I would give to go back and take in a game night at the old Ralph. 

I could have wrote this, insert Naumenko and I'm right there with you. We'd be at the women's basketball game over at the Hyslop and there was an exodus before the men's game(the women were the team to watch) to go across the street to the Old REA.  I always thought it was so cool to go in the tunnel beneath Columbia. 

[The Sicatoka]

8 minutes ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

I always thought it was so cool to go in the tunnel beneath Columbia. 

When you say "to go" are you admitting you're behind that unique tunnel aroma? 

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

22 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

When you say "to go" are you admitting you're behind that unique tunnel aroma? 

Haha it did always have a distinct stank to it

[fightingsioux4life]

15 hours ago, dustnyou said:

1995-2001 is my sweet spot. I was 12-18 years old. My best friend and I would sit on the glass with three cups of Dipn Dots. 2 for us to eat and a third cup on the dasher waiting for Pivets, Vig or Commie  to destroy someone in front of us and send those little ice cream balls everywhere lol. Good times. Man what I would give to go back and take in a game night at the old Ralph. 

I was a UND student from 1993-2000. I got to witness the resurrection of the program under Blais, two NCAA titles, three WCHA titles, Commodore rearranging a guy's face for him and some epic Sioux-Gopher games.......all from the best student section in college hockey. I would pay good money to experience the Old REA just one more time. 

[stoneySIOUX]

2 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I was a UND student from 1993-2000. I got to witness the resurrection of the program under Blais, two NCAA titles, three WCHA titles, Commodore rearranging a guy's face for him and some epic Sioux-Gopher games.......all from the best student section in college hockey. I would pay good money to experience the Old REA just one more time. 

Man, I wanted them to win a title SO bad during my time. Would have been so damn fun to party on campus that night. I did, however, get to be a part of a few rather notorious happenings during my time that a few of you here know about 

[farce poobah]

Roster construction:

one fascinating piece of Mankato’s success is interviews with several (all?) other team members as part of the selection process. 
 

Does UND do that? Should we? 

[tnt]

On 2/17/2023 at 10:22 AM, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

Haha it did always have a distinct stank to it

Kinda like an Oshie elevator experience?

[tnt]

This quote from a recent Schlossman article on Perron excites me about the prospects for next year, considering the impact Blake has had.  Of course how fast he transitions isn’t a given, as evidenced by Isaac Howard’s slower transition for Duluth, but at some point he will make a huge impact.

“At 5-foot-9, the knock on Jayden is his size, but he knocks back with his skating, hands and intelligence. Garman says Jayden is comparable to former Steel forward and current Fighting Hawk Jackson Blake in terms of their hockey IQ. But there is a difference.

“Blake knew what you were going to do before you did,” Garman said. “I feel like he was always ahead of you. I would say Jayden not only has that ability, but can also manipulate the defensive player because he’s so creative and elusive. And he’s incredibly young. A first-year draft player to have that poise and confidence is pretty exceptional.”

[The Sicatoka]

Forgive me, but I'm still fretting about the defense next year.

We're going to need five minimum is my expectation. The nightmare scenarios are six or even seven. That's a ton of turnover.

And that's with a ginormous "?" in the blue paint. 

[The Sicatoka]

24 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

This is exactly why we will have a lot of crazy games next year. Score 4 a game, and also allow about 4 a game. 

I think next year we may need the backup kicker from football on the hockey roster. I foresee many nights where we'll need an "extra point" to win ... unless Devon Levi and Yaniv Perets both decide that being a pilot would be cool.  

[Irish]

On 2/16/2023 at 2:16 PM, gfhockey said:

I’d take ten Sandersons to 5 of our d any day of the week

 

nut problem is we aren’t getting the blue chippaz like we used to 

Remember when high end talent came here because we developed them into NHL ready players (Parise was advised to come here instead of Minny for that very reason).  Now we are losing talent because of our system and development.  The light needs to go on in someone's head or we need to strap in for a bumpy ride.

[iluvdebbies]

I think both Basse and Castor of 1 year of eligibility left. Maybe one of them would like to play every game next year.

[The Sicatoka]

15 minutes ago, iluvdebbies said:

I think both Basse and Castor of 1 year of eligibility left. Maybe one of them would like to play every game next year.

Basse has two after this. (One of his CC years was Covid and doesn't count.)
Castor has one after this. 

[iluvdebbies]

38 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Basse has two after this. (One of his CC years was Covid and doesn't count.)
Castor has one after this. 

Not sure why I thought he had played 3 years at CC.

I'm fully aware how the the whole Covid year works

[stoneySIOUX]

1 hour ago, Irish said:

Remember when high end talent came here because we developed them into NHL ready players (Parise was advised to come here instead of Minny for that very reason).  Now we are losing talent because of our system and development.  The light needs to go on in someone's head or we need to strap in for a bumpy ride.

Says who? I'm not saying I know the reason some aren't coming here, but who's saying this is the reason?

[The Sicatoka]

21 minutes ago, iluvdebbies said:

I'm fully aware how the the whole Covid year works

I too, and I long for the day when I can forget it all as well. 

[Irish]

1 hour ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Says who? I'm not saying I know the reason some aren't coming here, but who's saying this is the reason?

I'm sure there are many factors but this has been discussed on this site - that other teams like Denver play fast and we don't and this appeals to high end talent.  To put it another way - I don't think our recruiting problems are due to "the weather".  

[tnt]

Dear Tyler Kleven, I would like to paraphrase some advice from the legendary Gino Gasparini -  “If you aren’t going to play with the big club, stay in college and finish your degree.” I know that college hockey has made it difficult to use your physical brand of hockey, but there are still plenty of things to work on to be ready for the next level, including discipline.   With the arrival of Jakob Chychrun, making the big club would be a stretch considering some of the defensemen they already have.  Sure, burning a year of your entry contract is appealing, but you have potential to be in the league a long time.  Would love to have you back to wash out the bad taste of this year.  

[Esoteric]

On 2/21/2023 at 11:13 AM, The Sicatoka said:

I think next year we may need the backup kicker from football on the hockey roster. I foresee many nights where we'll need an "extra point" to win ... unless Devon Levi and Yaniv Perets both decide that being a pilot would be cool.  

  

[Esoteric]

On 2/21/2023 at 10:45 AM, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

This is exactly why we will have a lot of crazy games next year. Score 4 a game, and also allow about 4 a 

On 2/21/2023 at 10:23 AM, The Sicatoka said:

Forgive me, but I'm still fretting about the defense next year.

We're going to need five minimum is my expectation. The nightmare scenarios are six or even seven. That's a ton of turnover.

And that's with a ginormous "?" in the blue paint. 

 Defense for next year has been bothering me for months.  Who are we preparing to step in for next year?  

[brianvf]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/how-und-hockey-will-handle-senior-day-this-season

Quote

Forwards Gavin Hain and Mark Senden were recognized on Senior Day (last season). Both ended up getting an offer to return for their fifth years and both took it.

UND has now settled on a new course of action for Senior Day in the COVID-year era.

It will primarily recognize players at the end of their fourth years and ones who have not had Senior Day sendoffs yet.

For UND, that will be forward Judd Caulfield, forward Carson Albrecht, defenseman Ethan Frisch and defenseman Chris Jandric on Saturday night.

Quote

The fact that Caulfield, Frisch and Albrecht are going through Senior Day doesn't necessarily mean their careers at UND are over. All three have a year of college eligibility remaining.

"I think this week is just a lot of reflection about the group we have right now and the class I came through with," Frisch said. "Obviously, it won't be the same next year — whether that means I'm here or not. That's not a decision I've made yet. But it's just more of a reflection on my time here thus far and the guys I've done it with. Obviously, it's an emotional week, but we'll still go about it business-like."

Caulfield added: "I'm still up in the air. I'm not really sure what's going to be happening next year, so it's kind of taking it day by day and see where it goes."

UND coach Brad Berry said he's had discussions with Caulfield and Frisch, who both could garner pro attention.