2024-25 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[TwamleyShuffle]

4 hours ago, MafiaMan said:

Some folks are making a LOT of assumptions here.  I wouldn’t care if the entire team was made up of Minnesota, BC, and Denver players.  When they put on that USA jersey, I cheer for THEM!

It should also be noted that I don’t get the network that the games are on, so that also probably influences my emotional investment in the tournament. I do think it’s a cool tournament and maybe I was a bit too salty with my last post

[The Sicatoka]

10 hours ago, burd said:

No matter what is happening, rider or no rider, bridle or no bridle, ol' gf clip-clops back to the comfort of the only stall he's ever known.  

Which barstool at Judy's? 

[hockeytherapy13]

https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/13275113-team-usa-world-juniors-roster-analysis-breaking-down-the-defensemen
 

Chris Peters is pretty surprised about the omission of Emery and the addition of Kleber and Ralph

[SiouxFan100]

No game tonight 

ugh

[fightingsioux4life]

20 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

No game tonight 

ugh

Our injured players need time to heal. We need that to happen if we want to make a run in March and (hopefully) April.

[Godsmack]

7 hours ago, Oxbow6 said:

@MafiaMan on his way to go Christmas shopping at Walmart.......

@MafiaMan, blasting God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood. 

[Wilbur]

Seems like the kid is mature beyond his years, and has dealt with the disappointed of not making teams in the past.

Two types of people in this world.  He can feel sorry for himself, or he can turn the page and prove to people in the second half that he should have been on that team.  We will find out which type he is.

Hoping for a repeat up in Canada.  Nothing like winning gold on their turf. 

 

[siouxkid12]

On 12/18/2024 at 3:40 PM, Goon said:

Do you ever contribute anything that is positive? Just asking for a friend. UND's is ranked 5th in the nation for power play. But, but, but. Let Fire Berry, the PK is ranked 43rd in the nation. For the ones that care, UND is CHN's team of the week. 

Probably more than you contribute. I’d rather listen to someone who is honest about our situation than someone who tries to keep polishing a turd.

[siouxkid12]

On 12/19/2024 at 12:43 PM, Goon said:

I don't recall me saying that we weren't in a precarious situation. I don't choose to be a burn everything to the ground mentality. I try to be a positive person, more pressing concerns in my life. I can't be negative all of the time. There are too many issues in the world right now to worry about any college or professional sport. There are other programs on campus in worse condition that the UND hockey team. I am not saying that some of the concerns aren't warranted, but come on, Berry would be picked up tomorrow if Chaves fired him. 

Yes, UND hockey is probably my third love after my wife and daughter. In all of my days of being a UND hockey fanbase member, I've never had these many discussions with friends, coworkers and relatives about the state of the UND coaching staff. Even during the end of the Gino Gasperini days. I went to the get together held by the AD this past summer at the Betty and ran into someone from here and all they wanted to talk about was UND Hockey and who gets fired first.  I had a media member from a different geographical location tell me our fanbase comes off as being entitled. It was an unsolicited opinion. Yes! There are things that concern me about this team, they might have turned the corner. I've also seen younger players grow in their role due to the injury situation, especially the very young d-core of this team. Win or lose this year, I will still be a fan of the program. Life is too F'N short to be pi$$ed off all of the time. 

who here is pissed all the time? It seems to me that it’s you who takes everything personal.

We are all fans and we will always cheer for our team but when we aren’t doing good, we can voice our displeasure. A lot of people spends lots of money (clothing, trips, tickets, donations) and just want to see them do well. You think UND fans are entitled? If trying to figure out and asking why we haven’t had success in the national tournament makes me and others entitled, so be it. However, majority of us on here are realistic and don’t think everything is all sunshine and lollipops.

[Goon]

13 hours ago, gfhockey said:

It was just a simple question yes or no

The answer is no. His development hasn't declined. He's getting top-pairing minutes as a freshman. He plays hard and is smart with the puck, he's also 18 years old. 

[Goon]

16 minutes ago, siouxkid12 said:

You think UND fans are entitled?

No, I know reading comprehension is hard. Again. A member of the sports media told me, unsolicited, that UND fans think they're entitled to an NCAA championship. I’ve heard that more than once. 

[siouxkid12]

29 minutes ago, Goon said:

No, I know reading comprehension is hard. Again. A member of the sports media told me, unsolicited, that UND fans think they're entitled to an NCAA championship. I’ve heard that more than once. 

Based on your post it doesn’t seem like you disagree with your “media” friends either. You’re afraid to call a spade a spade and you will defend mediocrity to the moon and back. Being the primer sport on campus and having the best of everything, the hockey team should be held to a higher standard by everyone (fans included). 

[SiouxFan100]

What is the expectation for UND hockey?

To me, we get into the NCAA tournament every year - get to the Frozen Four every 3 years - win everything every six years or so?

[siouxkid12]

39 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

What is the expectation for UND hockey?

To me, we get into the NCAA tournament every year - get to the Frozen Four every 3 years - win everything every six years or so?

You’re just entitled to think that. 

[Goon]

1 hour ago, siouxkid12 said:

Based on your post it doesn’t seem like you disagree with your “media” friends either. You’re afraid to call a spade a spade and you will defend mediocrity to the moon and back. Being the primer sport on campus and having the best of everything, the hockey team should be held to a higher standard by everyone (fans included). 

I never said that I think the fanbase is entitled. People are entitled to their opinions; I do not tell someone what to think. Does it matter to you? People from other fanbases read this messageboard. I also had people ask; do you still read that messageboard? Why? There are some interesting conversations on this page. 

Really, you have no idea what you're talking about. Recently, I wrote this. This is my end-of-the-year post. What do you mean by calling a spade a spade? Do people still talk like that? I don't think anyone is throwing softballs at post-game press conferences. 

Quote

UND entered this game with questions. One of their best defensemen, Garrett Pyke, was injured, and there are questions about UND's mental toughness. Last weekend, I told a friend that I thought UND's mental game was a bit soft this season. I saw it against CC and Omaha. They could have handled the adversity better. 

I am not a negative person by nature. Life is too short to continuously grind on how many NCAA games UND has won in the last nine years. Before long, there will be another banner-hanging ceremony, and I will have a shot of whiskey or two in celebration. Yes, I once told a buddy of mine that it's easier to cover a winning team than a losing team. To say no one in the media doesn't ask difficult questions isn't true. 

We had the same argument in 2015, and people were ready to burn it all to the ground. After I had written this, I went to JD's radio show to talk about it. This was after Hak had taken the team to the Frozen Four and won a conference championship.

Quote

 

It must be the offseason, a vocal minority of North Dakota hockey fans are once again calling for the ouster of head coach Dave Hakstol.  This time, some of those same fans want Hakstol to take the whole coaching staff with him.

Fire Hakstol, not likely.

I can predict with great confidence that the Hakstol haters aren’t going to be very happy.  First, Hakstol isn’t going anywhere, unless he takes another job (which could happen) or his team has a couple of losing seasons and they miss the NCAA tourney. Then maybe, he gets fired.

Second, UND Athletic Director Brian Faison isn’t going to fire a head coach that’s led his team to the NCAA tourney every season that he’s been the head coach at UND. Also, his team has made the Frozen Four on a regular basis ( seven of ll seasons he’s been the head coach).

Firing him would defy logic. It makes no sense what-so-ever. It’s not going to happen, and if UND was silly enough to fire Hakstol, he would be picked up almost immediately.

 

I sat down with Brad Berry on Hockey Media Day, and he was very aware of what the fans were saying. There’s a focus in the locker room on hanging a ninth green banner.

“North Dakota is not for everybody, head coach Brad Berry said. “There’s a lot of pressure here, and within that, you have to make sure that you invest in yourself every day and earn the opportunity to bring it. That’s what I like about our group; they’re buying into how we do things here and are humble, respectful, and hardworking.”

On getting that green banner: “We’ve done a good job getting to a certain point,” Berry said. “We got to get past that point. That’s on us as coaches and players, working together and building the physical and mental side that can take you to that level. We’ve done a few things to talk about, discuss, and work on, and we’re going to continue to do that.”

[Big A HG]

6 minutes ago, Goon said:

I never said that I think the fanbase is entitled. People are entitled to their opinions; I do not tell someone what to think. Does it matter to you? People from other fanbases read this messageboard. I also had people ask; do you still read that messageboard? Why? There are some interesting conversations on this page. 

Really, you have no idea what you're talking about. Recently, I wrote this. This is my end-of-the-year post. 

I am not a negative person by nature. Life is too short to continuously grind on how many NCAA games UND has won in the last nine years. Before long, there will be another banner-hanging ceremony, and I will have a shot of whiskey or two in celebration. Yes, I once told a buddy of mine that it's easier to cover a winning team than a losing team. To say no one in the media doesn't ask difficult questions isn't true. 

We had the same argument in 2015, and people were ready to burn it all to the ground. After I had written this, I went to JD's radio show to talk about it. This was after Hak had taken the team to the Frozen Four and won a conference championship.

I sat down with Brad Berry on Hockey Media Day, and he was very aware of what the fans were saying. There’s a focus in the locker room on hanging a ninth green banner.

“North Dakota is not for everybody, head coach Brad Berry said. “There’s a lot of pressure here, and within that, you have to make sure that you invest in yourself every day and earn the opportunity to bring it. That’s what I like about our group; they’re buying into how we do things here and are humble, respectful, and hardworking.”

On getting that green banner: “We’ve done a good job getting to a certain point,” Berry said. “We got to get past that point. That’s on us as coaches and players, working together and building the physical and mental side that can take you to that level. We’ve done a few things to talk about, discuss, and work on, and we’re going to continue to do that.”

 

Berry's been saying the same sh*t for years because it's been years since his team has done anything in the post-season.  We aren't jumping ship because this is the first bad Brad Berry year.  This is one of many and he's had plenty of chances to correct course and it's just more of the same.  I don't think NCHC titles are all they're cracked up to be and don't do much to excite a fan base.  All it means is you outperformed 3-4 other teams over the course of a 24 game conference schedule (bad teams omitted from conversation).  Nobody is saying we should win a national championship every year, that's silly, but we haven't had our name in the conversation of one going on almost a decade.  Again, this isn't the first sign of weakness from UND.  The team has every resource under the sun and it makes no difference.

[tnt]

“Laughing out loud, although pointed a pointed question I think Dubay is right, the effort of the Sioux sucked in the first half.

Goaltending D-

Defense D

Forwards C-

PK D

PP B

Coaching D

Intangables F

 

The team hovered around 50+ on the PK nationally

Not good, the Power Play was as high as 7th nationally but has sunk to about 17th nationally.

That D is pretty accurate. “ 
 

I seem to recall more negative posts like this back when there wasn’t a presence in the press box.  Guess who posted this?   I get it, it is human nature to not be negative with people you know and might have relationships with, but realize that the objectivity can also take a bit of a hit.

[Goon]

3 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

 

Berry's been saying the same sh*t for years because it's been years since his team has done anything in the post-season.  We aren't jumping ship because this is the first bad Brad Berry year.  This is one of many and he's had plenty of chances to correct course and it's just more of the same.  I don't think NCHC titles are all they're cracked up to be and don't do much to excite a fan base.  All it means is you outperformed 3-4 other teams over the course of a 24 game conference schedule (bad teams omitted from conversation).  Nobody is saying we should win a national championship every year, that's silly, but we haven't had our name in the conversation of one going on almost a decade.  Again, this isn't the first sign of weakness from UND.  The team has every resource under the sun and it makes no difference.

Since 2016, only five teams have won an NCAA title. UND, UMD 2, DU 3, UMass, QU. 

So, I guess we can argue that it's unacceptable that the following teams haven't won an NCAA title in X number of years. You "could" argue that any of the teams on this list have more resources than UND. Think about it. Michigan in the USDT's backyard. BU loaded up on first-round draft choices and still lost to Duluth in the Fargo Regional. I am not sure what the magic formula is. I am wondering if our expectations are too high. The college game isn't the same as in 1997 or even 2000. I am not sure it's the same as it was in 2016. There's the NIL and big-money schools. We were told that they were supposed to dominate. Yet, DU has been on an incredible run. Who knows how opening up the CHL to the NCAA will affect things? If you can predict that, I'd want to pick my lottery numbers for me. 

BC 2012

BU 2009

MSU 2007

Wisconsin 2006

Minnesota 2003

Maine 1999

Michigan 1998

 

[siouxkid12]

13 minutes ago, Goon said:

I never said that I think the fanbase is entitled. People are entitled to their opinions; I do not tell someone what to think. Does it matter to you? People from other fanbases read this messageboard. I also had people ask; do you still read that messageboard? Why? There are some interesting conversations on this page. 

Really, you have no idea what you're talking about. Recently, I wrote this. This is my end-of-the-year post. What do you mean by calling a spade a spade? Do people still talk like that? I don't think anyone is throwing softballs at post-game press conferences. 

I am not a negative person by nature. Life is too short to continuously grind on how many NCAA games UND has won in the last nine years. Before long, there will be another banner-hanging ceremony, and I will have a shot of whiskey or two in celebration. Yes, I once told a buddy of mine that it's easier to cover a winning team than a losing team. To say no one in the media doesn't ask difficult questions isn't true. 

We had the same argument in 2015, and people were ready to burn it all to the ground. After I had written this, I went to JD's radio show to talk about it. This was after Hak had taken the team to the Frozen Four and won a conference championship.

I sat down with Brad Berry on Hockey Media Day, and he was very aware of what the fans were saying. There’s a focus in the locker room on hanging a ninth green banner.

“North Dakota is not for everybody, head coach Brad Berry said. “There’s a lot of pressure here, and within that, you have to make sure that you invest in yourself every day and earn the opportunity to bring it. That’s what I like about our group; they’re buying into how we do things here and are humble, respectful, and hardworking.”

On getting that green banner: “We’ve done a good job getting to a certain point,” Berry said. “We got to get past that point. That’s on us as coaches and players, working together and building the physical and mental side that can take you to that level. We’ve done a few things to talk about, discuss, and work on, and we’re going to continue to do that.”

Yea, I’ve read some of your blogposts and they are filled with a whole lot of nothing. You are no more of an expert than anyone else here. They are basically your observations, which are basically moot because you don’t want to upset the apple cart.

Why aren’t you diving into why they have lost or barely beaten lower tier teams? Why they can’t win the NCHC tournament? Why they haven’t had success in the NCAA tournament? Or why can’t the make the NCAA tournament? That’s not being negative, that’s what a good reporter does. 
 

in case you haven’t noticed I haven’t exactly called for Berry’s head. I ask the questions because I have a hard time understanding why Berry can put up a decent regular season but can’t figure it out in the postseason. 
 

A lot of us will never agree with one another but for anyone to say that us UND fans are entitled, is unacceptable.

[siouxkid12]

6 minutes ago, Goon said:

Since 2016, only five teams have won an NCAA title. UND, UMD 2, DU 3, UMass, QU. 

So, I guess we can argue that it's unacceptable that the following teams haven't won an NCAA title in X number of years. You "could" argue that any of the teams on this list have more resources than UND. Think about it. Michigan in the USDT's backyard. BU loaded up on first-round draft choices and still lost to Duluth in the Fargo Regional. I am not sure what the magic formula is. I am wondering if our expectations are too high. The college game isn't the same as in 1997 or even 2000. I am not sure it's the same as it was in 2016. There's the NIL and big-money schools. We were told that they were supposed to dominate. Yet, DU has been on an incredible run. Who knows how opening up the CHL to the NCAA will affect things? If you can predict that, I'd want to pick my lottery numbers for me. 

BC 2012

BU 2009

MSU 2007

Wisconsin 2006

Minnesota 2003

Maine 1999

Michigan 1998

 

Again, I think you’re missing the point. It sucks that those schools have won a national title but we want a seat at the table. 

[Big A HG]

2 minutes ago, Goon said:

Since 2016, only five teams have won an NCAA title. UND, UMD 2, DU 3, UMass, QU. 

So, I guess we can argue that it's unacceptable that the following teams haven't won an NCAA title in X number of years. You "could" argue that any of the teams on this list have more resources than UND. Think about it. Michigan in the USDT's backyard. BU loaded up on first-round draft choices and still lost to Duluth in the Fargo Regional. I am not sure what the magic formula is. I am wondering if our expectations are too high. The college game isn't the same as in 1997 or even 2000. I am not sure it's the same as it was in 2016. There's the NIL and big-money schools. We were told that they were supposed to dominate. Yet, DU has been on an incredible run. Who knows how opening up the CHL to the NCAA will affect things? If you can predict that, I'd want to pick my lottery numbers for me. 

BC 2012

BU 2009

MSU 2007

Wisconsin 2006

Minnesota 2003

Maine 1999

Michigan 1998

 

 

Of all the resources UND can control, UND has the best of everything.  UND can't control if they have mountains to look at out the window.  They can't control having 70 degree weather in January.  They can't control if the USNTDP is in their backyard.  But, every last dollar has gone to giving Brad everything he could possibly want to improve the program.  REA and UND have spared virtually no expense.  He has the rich tradition and HAD recent success to piggyback off of.  He has a great fanbase and UND was known as NHL U...a program that was run like an NHL team and developed kids to be pro hockey ready.  No one talks about us in that regard anymore.

Also, your own "reading comprehension is hard" quote is quite the bit of irony with your post.  For me, national titles aren't an expectation.  It should always be the target at a place like UND, though.  What I want is to be in the conversation on a reasonably regular basis for one though.  I don't think it's wrong to think we should make a Frozen Four on a somewhat regular basis, but we can't even get out of the first round unless we play AIC...if we even make the tournament at all.  The title was 9 years ago and it's been pretty rough sailing ever since.  Again, in a one-and-done format, you can't ever expect national championships.  But, I think you can expect to win regional games more than we have.  

Honest question @Goon ...What would it take for you to think Berry is no longer the right coach?

[fightingsioux4life]

I imagine a similar discussion is happening amongst the Alabama FB fanbase right now.

Generally speaking, I would rather have conversations like this vs. hoping we have a winning season or can earn home ice for the NCHC first round.

[siouxkid12]

1 minute ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I imagine a similar discussion is taking place amongst the Alabama FB fanbase right now.

Generally speaking, I would rather have conversations like this vs. hoping we have a winning season or can earn home ice for the NCHC first round.

Exactly. You think any school that has had major success at their premier sport is going to sit back and allow them to underachieve? Look at Ohio State football. They can’t beat Michigan in and their fans are calling for their HC and they are in the CFP. 

[fightingsioux4life]

1 minute ago, siouxkid12 said:

Exactly. You think any school that has had major success at their premier sport is going to sit back and allow them to underachieve? Look at Ohio State football. They can’t beat Michigan in and their fans are calling for their HC and they are in the CFP. 

I think Ryan Day needs to at least make the semifinals to cool his coaching seat off. That program has not been quite the same since Urban Meyer stepped down.

[Goon]

4 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

Honest question @Goon ...What would it take for you to think Berry is no longer the right coach?

I'd rather see a change at AD than the head hockey coach. Honestly, I don't care; the program is better off than when I arrived on campus in 1993. That was a dumpster fire. At the beginning of the season, I predicted this team would be in the Frozen Four when the season ends. If not I will owe @MafiaMan and @Godsmack a dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. I am glad it's not my decision. Berry's Record is 217-111-34, and his teams have won four of the last five NCHC regular season titles. He's not a bad coach. Are we expecting too much? Are we being unreasonable? I don't know. I am not there yet.