2024-25 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[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.

[SiouxFanSince1990]

7 hours ago, Goon said:

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.”

He didn’t impress me much.

[SiouxFanSince1990]

Bring back Eades, and hit the big red reset button. I want some old school hockey!

[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.

[brianvf]

4 minutes ago, .357 said:

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

It is possible to expect more out of the program while at the same time not be re-hashing the same tired points over and over again for the last four pages.

The season hasn't even started yet.  The whole team and coaching staff has been preaching about how they have higher goals beyond the Penrose this season...which was met with enthusiastic "it's about time" comments around here.  So the team is hoping to continually build throughout the season to hopefully peak in March/April.
But yet one uninspired exhibition game and the people that "expect more of the program" are already jumping on the Fire Berry bandwagon.  In early October. 

[siouxforce19]

1 hour ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

He didn’t impress me much.

Did anyone?  

[.357]

2 hours ago, brianvf said:

It is possible to expect more out of the program while at the same time not be re-hashing the same tired points over and over again for the last four pages.

The season hasn't even started yet.  The whole team and coaching staff has been preaching about how they have higher goals beyond the Penrose this season...which was met with enthusiastic "it's about time" comments around here.  So the team is hoping to continually build throughout the season to hopefully peak in March/April.
But yet one uninspired exhibition game and the people that "expect more of the program" are already jumping on the Fire Berry bandwagon.  In early October. 

It was refreshing to hear Berry say that they wanted the team to hit their stride around playoff time by putting less emphasis on the Penrose this year. That change in perspective could pay dividends later in the year. Then last Saturday happened, which raised some huge red flags. Being critical of a team that was so disjointed is, imo, a healthier & more expected response than sugarcoating it; because the guys showed just how unprepared & unmotivated they were. And since Berry is the CEO of the team, it's only natural that a big portion of that criticism falls on him. Even though it was "just" an exhibition, because it's still an important game that sets the tone for the following weekend. 

Perhaps it was just a fluke, & hopefully Berry will make the needed corrections ahead of Providence; who will be just as pumped as Augustana to pull off the upset at the Ralph. My biggest concern (of the many that presented themselves) is having the D improve sufficiently enough in 7 days so they aren't exposed like they were against Auggie. A tall order in such a short time. It's hard to imagine that Emery, MacDonald & Strathmann will be playing at the same level this October that Britt, Pearson & Pyke were playing at last October. Big differences in experience. But hey, anything's possible. 

[brianvf]

30 minutes ago, .357 said:

Being critical of a team that was so disjointed is, imo, a healthier & more expected response than sugarcoating it

I was plenty critical of the teams play in the Augie game thread. I just don’t feel the need to continue to pile on throughout the entire week. 

[burd]

39 minutes ago, brianvf said:

I was plenty critical of the teams play in the Augie game thread. I just don’t feel the need to continue to pile on throughout the entire week. 

You were.  Criticism is good.  It keeps us honest.  But what I see from the predictable panic after a problematic loss is that there is criticism of the result and damn little actual hockey analysis.   Comes across as more fan hand wringing than hockey criticism.   But I've come to expect that, so I probably tend to see it when it's not there.