2024-25 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[stoneySIOUX]

2 hours ago, .357 said:

Hakstol went to the Twin Cities & personally had lunch with Boeser after Wisco & Minnesota dropped the ball on him, convincing him to come here. (Boeser admitted such during a podcast, think it was on Spittin' Chicklets). No Boeser, no #8. The point is that Berry has not won a championship with a roster completely of his own players; not yet anyway. He may have been in charge of recruiting, but a high-end player ultimately decides on a program moreso because of who's coaching the team, not because of the recruiter. 

Who do you think Boeser met with dozens of times during the two to three years we recruited him? Sure Hak closed the door, but Bubs had just as much to do with Boeser coming to UND as Hak. How about Nick Schmaltz? Bubs. How about Troy Stetcher? Bubs. Let's not play this game. Give Bubs his due for recruiting.

Such a boring conversation about the recruitment angle of why Bubs is where he is regarding his results. Everything is always brought up in a vacuum and that's not how things work.

[stoneySIOUX]

1 hour ago, skateshattrick said:

Hakstol also made it to the Frozen 4 in 7 of 11 seasons and never missed the NCAA tournament. I'm trying not to bash Berry, but Hakstol did way more with less. 

With less?! Do you recall Hak's recruiting classes?! 06-07 had FOUR first rounders, two second rounders, and an eventual Hobey Baker winner on it. 

[scpa0305]

1 hour ago, skateshattrick said:

Hakstol also made it to the Frozen 4 in 7 of 11 seasons and never missed the NCAA tournament. I'm trying not to bash Berry, but Hakstol did way more with less. 

Way more with less? Hakstol had wagons. Not sure if he was the primary recruiter for all those guys but his teams were stacked!

Berry has had some nice seasons with success…just not the same success as Hak. The natty was awesome though!

[Goon]

The Chicklets University Video was big for UND's recruiting. 

The Chicklets University video of the Ralph Engelstad Arena made an impression on sophomore D-man Caleb MacDonald, “I watched it on repeat probably 100 times.”

[skateshattrick]

27 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

With less?! Do you recall Hak's recruiting classes?! 06-07 had FOUR first rounders, two second rounders, and an eventual Hobey Baker winner on it. 

Look at the 2013-2014 roster, which is just one example. Hak took the team to the Frozen Four and lost a heartbreaker to Minnesota with .06 seconds remaining where the top 3 scorers were sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi, Michael Parks and Mark MacMillan. Grimaldi was probably the only legitimate 1st line forward on that team. Other notable players were Stephane Pattyn and Connor Gaardner (a walk on). That was not a very talented team, but Hak got them playing well at the end. 

[Benny Baker]

Berry is not keeping his job because he’s won 4 of the past 5 Penrose Cups.  Berry is keeping his job because Chaves is a spineless AD. Mallory Bernhard still has a job for cripe’s sake. 

Ive said it before, Berry can win another Penrose this year, but if he isn’t playing in the regional final in Fargo this season, it’s time to move on.

[.357]

41 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Who do you think Boeser met with dozens of times during the two to three years we recruited him? Sure Hak closed the door, but Bubs had just as much to do with Boeser coming to UND as Hak. How about Nick Schmaltz? Bubs. How about Troy Stetcher? Bubs. Let's not play this game. Give Bubs his due for recruiting.

Such a boring conversation about the recruitment angle of why Bubs is where he is regarding his results. Everything is always brought up in a vacuum and that's not how things work.

You can spin it anyway you wish, but it was still an inherited team, comprised of guys who ultimately chose UND because they wanted to play for Hakstol. The foundation was laid by the previous coach who had the final say on who was accepted into the program, & who was not. 

Unfortunately, Berry's track record in the playoffs with players solely tied to him or his staff (things he controls & has authority over) has been an abject failure. That's the reality of the matter.

[scpa0305]

Again, Berry hasn’t had Hak’s success. But I do think he’s a great coach. He’s a keeper.

[stoneySIOUX]

3 minutes ago, .357 said:

You can spin it anyway you wish, but it was still an inherited team, comprised of guys who ultimately chose UND because they wanted to play for Hakstol. The foundation was laid by the previous coach who had the final say on who was accepted into the program, & who was not. 

Unfortunately, Berry's track record in the playoffs with players solely tied to him or his staff (things he controls & has authority over) has been an abject failure. That's the reality of the matter.

Absolutely not "spin" it's all factual. I disagree, they chose to come to UND to play for UND. Every time you hear about a kid committing is that they love the coaching staff. I don't recall every hearing a kid call out one coach. Hak didn't ever win one, so why does this even matter?

[stoneySIOUX]

3 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Again, Berry hasn’t had Hak’s success. But I do think he’s a great coach. He’s a keeper.

Agreed. And even if people think he should be fired, frankly, he won't be. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

I’m hoping for participation trophies in April. 

[.357]

20 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Absolutely not "spin" it's all factual. I disagree, they chose to come to UND to play for UND. Every time you hear about a kid committing is that they love the coaching staff. I don't recall every hearing a kid call out one coach. Hak didn't ever win one, so why does this even matter?

The team that won #8 was comprised mostly of players whom Hakstol had final say into accepting into the program. He laid a large part of the foundation for #8, including nailing down Boeser. It was in every respect an inherited team. Since then, Berry has not proven that he can win it all with a squad fully authored by him.

56 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Again, Berry hasn’t had Hak’s success. But I do think he’s a great coach. He’s a keeper.

Fast-forward 10 years to 2034 & UND is still stuck on #8. Is he still a keeper then?

[scpa0305]

14 minutes ago, .357 said:

The team that won #8 was comprised mostly of players whom Hakstol had final say into accepting into the program. He laid a large part of the foundation for #8, including nailing down Boeser. It was in every respect an inherited team. Since then, Berry has not proven that he can win it all with a squad fully authored by him.

Fast-forward 10 years to 2034 & UND is still stuck on #8. Is he still a keeper then?

If we are still in that upper echelon of programs…absolutely. If we start being competitive in the NCAAs, absolutely. We need to figure out a way to compete in some recruiting battles with blue chips. The landscape is changing quickly. But…Bubs is a great coach. Ive heard from advisors, scouts, etc. Berry is very respected in the hockey world. 

[SIOUXELEVENS]

8 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

If we are still in that upper echelon of programs…absolutely. If we start being competitive in the NCAAs, absolutely. We need to figure out a way to compete in some recruiting battles with blue chips. The landscape is changing quickly. But…Bubs is a great coach. Ive heard from advisors, scouts, etc. Berry is very respected in the hockey world. 

The playoffs don’t show that he is a great or even good ,Nchc or ncaa. 

[scpa0305]

25 minutes ago, SIOUXELEVENS said:

The playoffs don’t show that he is a great or even good ,Nchc or ncaa. 

College playoffs are weird, one and done’s are tough. Look, I get as pissed as anyone when we get knocked out early. That shouldn’t happen with the teams we put together. But the entire group has to come together…and you need a good amount of luck unless you have a BC like squad (we don’t…and they still lost too). 
 

We’ve had some good teams recently but had some bad luck. We need to turn things around this year. I’d love another natty, but let’s start with an NCAA win first  

[dustnyou]

I get a kick out of the “losing recruiting battles “ line some spit here. “We lose all the recruiting battles against DU, MN, UM, BU, BC” lol. So we don’t win any huh? The likes of Boisvert, Emery, Swanson, etc .. we didn’t WIN those recruiting battles against these same blue blood schools? UND must have been the only school recruiting them 1st rounders then..  

[fightingsioux4life]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

College playoffs are weird, one and done’s are tough. Look, I get as pissed as anyone when we get knocked out early. That shouldn’t happen with the teams we put together. But the entire group has to come together…and you need a good amount of luck unless you have a BC like squad (we don’t…and they still lost too). 
 

We’ve had some good teams recently but had some bad luck. We need to turn things around this year. I’d love another natty, but let’s start with an NCAA win first  

Denver has three NCAA titles since our last one. Do you really that is the result of "luck"?

I am so finished with the "one and done" excuse, because that is all it is. If telling yourself that makes you feel better, go ahead. But I am finished trying to convince people here that not hanging green banners is a real problem with real consequences for the program. To each their own.

[mattim]

24 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Denver has three NCAA titles since our last one. Do you really that is the result of "luck"?

I am so finished with the "one and done" excuse, because that is all it is. If telling yourself that makes you feel better, go ahead. But I am finished trying to convince people here that not hanging green banners is a real problem with real consequences for the program. To each their own.

When we won #9 we spanked Quin! Who did we squeak past to get into the title game?

[brianvf]

38 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

But I am finished trying to convince people here that not hanging green banners is a real problem with real consequences for the program.

Does that mean you won't be posting for awhile? 

That said, there's not a single UND fan on this forum that doesn't want the team to hang another green banner.
So there's no need to continue trying to make that argument.   

[gfhockey]

I’ve been saying nattys matter for the past 20 years and you guys finally believe me

 

nattys >>> penrose

[Blackheart]

32 minutes ago, mattim said:

When we won #8 we spanked Quin! Who did we squeak past to get into the title game?

Fyp 

[.357]

2 hours ago, scpa0305 said:

If we are still in that upper echelon of programs…absolutely. If we start being competitive in the NCAAs, absolutely. We need to figure out a way to compete in some recruiting battles with blue chips. The landscape is changing quickly. But…Bubs is a great coach. Ive heard from advisors, scouts, etc. Berry is very respected in the hockey world. 

So 20 years with 1 title is ok as long as we're competitive & remain in the upper echelon. Interesting, I guess Berry should remain on a long leash. I'm guessing scouts respect Berry because he can develop talent, but it's certainly not because he can consistently get his teams to go deep in the playoffs. We have different perspectives on what constitute a successful college hockey coach. Not all coaches are cut from the same cloth. {{ie, Carle}}

 

4 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Does that mean you won't be posting for awhile? 

That said, there's not a single UND fan on this forum that doesn't want the team to hang another green banner.
So there's no need to continue trying to make that argument.   

I think he's saying that some fans here hold the program to a higher standard than others, which is definitely the case.

[fightingsioux4life]

50 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Does that mean you won't be posting for awhile? 

That said, there's not a single UND fan on this forum that doesn't want the team to hang another green banner.
So there's no need to continue trying to make that argument.   

I am just done arguing with people about it. I have said plenty about the issue and I am fine agreeing to disagree about it.

[brianvf]

3 hours ago, .357 said:

I think he's saying that some fans here hold the program to a higher standard than others, which is definitely the case.

Let’s be honest, we all want the program to succeed and win national titles. 
It’s just that some of us don’t jump directly off the ledge after a poor showing in an exhibition game. 

[.357]

2 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Let’s be honest, we all want the program to succeed and win national titles. 
It’s just that some of us don’t jump directly off the ledge after a poor showing in an exhibition game. 

8+ years of futility tends to wear on those who expect more of the program.