2024-25 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[.357]

24 minutes ago, tnt said:

With how many teams Augustana beat last year, UND should get a good feel for playing against a team that brings it every shift, with a bit more talent than we have seen with Manitoba. 

Augustana will be better than Manitoba at exposing any early-season weaknesses this team may have. Plus they will get our guys better primed for Providence the following weekend - from a conditioning standpoint & figuring out best line combos. I would rather have UND play exhibition season openers against quality CCHA teams like Augustana than Manitoba. 

[cberkas]

With the new scheduling agreement with Augustana, can they replace Bemidji for a few years.  

[fightingsioux4life]

55 minutes ago, tnt said:

With how many teams Augustana beat last year, UND should get a good feel for playing against a team that brings it every shift, with a bit more talent than we have seen with Manitoba. 

Last year's Manitoba team was the worst I have ever watched. They usually are much better than that.

[hockeytherapy13]

15 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Brad with a nice recap.  I think when Strinden is healthy he's with Jammer on the grind line.  Not sure if Schmaltz is the guy with them but a lot of new faces could play that roll.  

I really think Strinden will be on one of the top 3 lines in more of a scoring role than he has been in previous years. Guessing Croal or Littler could be more appropriate grind guys on a line with Jammer and Schmaltz.

[hockeytherapy13]

18 hours ago, Oxbow6 said:

Boots on the ground are saying Emery and Wilkie are looking very solid.

I love hearing this. I know it's only a scrimmage but these are 2 players that I'm interested to see how they do with a full slate of NCHC play. Wilkie was exceptional in the AHA at a point per game but will he crack 25-30+ points with the daunting schedule we have this year? And with Emery being a string bean (albeit a highly athletic, lean-muscled bean), will he face injury problems late in the season due to facing heavier bodies all year? Excited to see it play out.

[SiouxFan100]

I am ready for UND hockey!!

[tnt]

16 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

I am ready for UND hockey!!

[Kevin G]

3 hours ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

I really think Strinden will be on one of the top 3 lines in more of a scoring role than he has been in previous years. Guessing Croal or Littler could be more appropriate grind guys on a line with Jammer and Schmaltz.

I’m pulling for Strinden to take a big step this year. He’s got size, strength, and a good motor. He’s always moving his feet. Let’s see if he can become a finisher around the net. 

[brianvf]

Lot of good non-conf games being scheduled for the upcoming seasons...UW, Augie, and Bentley (never played UND before) were all added:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/wisconsin-augustana-and-bentley-among-und-hockeys-future-opponents

Quote

UND will play at Wisconsin's Kohl Center in 2027-28. The Badgers will return to Ralph Engelstad Arena in 2028-29.

UND, which is hosting Augustana in an exhibition Saturday, has lined up two future regular-season series against the Vikings. UND will play at Midco Arena in Sioux Falls, S.D., for the first time in 2027-28. The Vikings will return to Grand Forks in 2028-29.

UND also is slated to play Bentley for the first time in program history. Bentley has signed to play in Ralph Engelstad Arena on Oct. 16-17, 2026. No return trip is scheduled.

[Blackheart]

17 hours ago, tnt said:

Do you really want to have fun or are you just saying you do?

[brianvf]

Herald articles on Zmolek and Jubenville:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/bennett-zmolek-has-quickly-and-quietly-become-a-respected-teammate-at-und

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/jayden-jubenvill-is-following-riese-gabers-path-from-gilbert-plains-to-und-hockey

Jubenville and Gaber followed a very similar path to UND, both being from Gilbert Plains.

[sioux rube]

8. E.J. Emery, D, North Dakota (NYR): Development is elite at North Dakota, and Emery has the tools to be a force. As a freshman, he can use his size and skating to shut down the enemy.

20. Sacha Boisvert, C, North Dakota (CHI): Chicago's second first-round pick in 2024 is a two-way center who gives you a bit of everything. He'll have nice weapons to play with.

37. Andrew Strathmann, D, North Dakota (CLB): Puck-mover with a serious edge arrives in Grand Forks after a very productive USHL career that included a title in Youngstown.

60. Mac Swanson, RW, North Dakota (PIT): Diminutive dynamo is coming off a USHL championship, and his ability to produce points cannot be overstated.

69. Owen McLaughlin, C, North Dakota (PHI): His freshman season was an adjustment for the former USHL star, but McLaughlin broke out as a sophomore. Can he up his point total again?

98. Cam Berg, C, North Dakota (NYI): Veteran producer put up 20 goals in his first season at NoDak after transferring from Omaha. No reason not to expect a point per game as a senior.

https://thehockeynews.com/news/the-top-100-ncaa-players-to-watch-in-2024-25

[brianvf]

2 hours ago, sioux rube said:

https://thehockeynews.com/news/the-top-100-ncaa-players-to-watch-in-2024-25

Jake got snubbed!   

[brianvf]

NCHC Best freshmen recruiting class ever?

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/is-this-the-nchcs-best-freshman-class-to-date

Quote

NCHC NHL-drafted rookies by year

2013 — 16
2014 — 14
2015 — 15
2016 — 13
2017 — 8
2018 — 17
2019 — 11
2020 — 12
2021 — 17
2022 — 13
2023 — 16
2024 — 25

 

[Kevin G]

This year's UND team is already historic: it is the first UND team without a player born in the 1900s.

[The Sicatoka]

Are our skaters allergic to blue paint? None came near it on either end last night. 

[hockeytherapy13]

3 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Are our skaters allergic to blue paint? None came near it on either end last night. 

This might be the best 2-sentence summary of last night’s game. Coaches have some massive work to do with getting the boys to playing as a 5-man unit in all 3 zones next weekend against a team that took care of their opponent just fine last night. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

Maybe we need to temper our expectations. 

[fightingsioux4life]

1 minute ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

Maybe we need to temper our expectations. 

This isn't LSSU or Northern Michigan. We don't "temper expectations" here, we rise to meet them. This whole athletic department "tempers expectations" across the board, which is why we underachive in everything.

[hockeytherapy13]

This is worth 8 mins of your time as it’s one of the most honest interviews you may see from this coach. Berry calls everything out so it’s a great “real talk” moment for him. It’s especially good for those of you who think all he talks about is “culture and a full 60”. I get sick of the rhetoric too but this was some real honest criticism of our play. This mindset is what gets the wheels going the right direction.   

[.357]

24 minutes ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

This is worth 8 mins of your time as it’s one of the most honest interviews you may see from this coach. Berry calls everything out so it’s a great “real talk” moment for him. It’s especially good for those of you who think all he talks about is “culture and a full 60”. I get sick of the rhetoric too but this was some real honest criticism of our play. This mindset is what gets the wheels going the right direction.   

Berry highlighted the team's deficiencies, but one thing he didn't mention was any responsibility he may have had in the poor results across the board. Can't imagine that last night's game was 100% on the team & 0% on the coaching staff. Good coaches can see weaknesses in their players, great  coaches can see weaknesses in themselves. 

[SiouxFan100]

I would think our coaches acknowledge they have to do better 

[hockeytherapy13]

54 minutes ago, .357 said:

Berry highlighted the team's deficiencies, but one thing he didn't mention was any responsibility he may have had in the poor results across the board. Can't imagine that last night's game was 100% on the team & 0% on the coaching staff. Good coaches can see weaknesses in their players, great  coaches can see weaknesses in themselves. 

You don’t actually thing It was implied by him that it’s 100% team and 0% coaching, do you? If you’ve followed this coaching staff at all over the last decade you know they own the bad results and know they are the ones to steer things where they need to go. Not sure if that’s what you meant (I may be confused which happens a lot) but if you thought he was fully deflecting to the team and not the coaches I think you may have misinterpreted things. 

[Blackheart]

1 hour ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

This is worth 8 mins of your time as it’s one of the most honest interviews you may see from this coach. Berry calls everything out so it’s a great “real talk” moment for him. It’s especially good for those of you who think all he talks about is “culture and a full 60”. I get sick of the rhetoric too but this was some real honest criticism of our play. This mindset is what gets the wheels going the right direction.   

I’ll take your word for it…not gonna invest another minute rehashing that last debacle.

[Big A HG]

2 hours ago, hockeytherapy13 said:

This is worth 8 mins of your time as it’s one of the most honest interviews you may see from this coach. Berry calls everything out so it’s a great “real talk” moment for him. It’s especially good for those of you who think all he talks about is “culture and a full 60”. I get sick of the rhetoric too but this was some real honest criticism of our play. This mindset is what gets the wheels going the right direction.   

 

Not sure what you saw in that presser that I'm not seeing.  Berry's always been a talker and the more he talks the less he gets questioned.  I'm not saying he didn't make any points, but it was like asking ChatGPT to turn a two minute script into an eight minute one.  He immediately starts with subtle, but noticeable excuses from the moment he started speaking.  "Yeah, um, exhibition game tonight."  Yeah, okay?  Like, was there someone in the media or a fan that somehow found the Youtube of the postgame presser that didn't know it was an exhibition?  He only says it to deflect from the team's performance, the team he controls.  "Got everyone in the lineup, everyone got reps tonight".  Hey, we sucked, but everyone played, including the crappy guys, so don't hold us too accountable for the final result.

I wouldn't scrutinize Berry to this level if this was 2018, but it's 2024 going on 2025 and we haven't done !@#$ in the post-season since the title run in 2016.  Cool, we can hang out with our Penrose Cups while watching 14 other schools make a Frozen Four since the last time we did.  Air Force has more tournament wins than UND since 2016.  

Now, we may go destroy Providence on Saturday 8-0, and everything will seem great, but Berry needs to stay on the hot seat for our tournament failures and non-appearances over the stretch of time he's had full control over the program and roster, not with the inheritance he received from Hak.