The top team in the land visits the Ralph. Denver @ UND

[ksixpack]

2 minutes ago, bcblues said:

Oh! You mean tap the portal hard! We have seen how that works.

No, I mean get a few guys that are late bloomers that have worked their tail off to get a chance nobody gave them when they were 16 and the blue chippers we covet were being recruited…Blaise and Gino and Hak were great at finding and plugging those guys in. Get them when they are 19/20 not 5th year seniors. 

[siouxweet]

8 minutes ago, ksixpack said:

Got too many blue chippers…get some guys that are heart and soul and have been through the wars of Jr hockey and clawed their way to get where they are now…not guys that coasted since they were anointed at age 15.

I don’t buy that look at DUs roster not too different in the types of players but how they are coached is making a massive difference in outcomes at the end of a season. 

[ksixpack]

Just now, gfhockey said:

Blue chippaz score

 

grindaz grind

Only room for so many blue chippers…not enough pucks to feed and satisfy 9 of them…Denver finds them…and they score and more importantly, block shots, support the other blue chippers, and are used to not being “the guy” on their team…can’t have 14 “the guys” on your team.

[MafiaMan]

16 minutes ago, bcblues said:

Oh! You mean tap the portal hard! We have seen how that works.

Maybe we can snag AIC’s top juniors after this season ends.

[gfhockey]

3 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

Maybe we can snag AIC’s top juniors after this season ends.

Might as well go after lindenwoods goalie too 

[siouxweet]

Curious to know if DU utilizes the portal as much as UND?

[cberkas]

3 minutes ago, siouxweet said:

Curious to know if DU utilizes the portal as much as UND?

They don’t, one of the portal pick ups was originally a Denver recruit from UConn. 

[Big A HG]

This team has no identity.  Without an identity, you're going to play without purpose, and that's what UND games look like.

Are we a race horse team beating you with speed and skating up and down the ice?  No.  Are we grind it out physical teams making the opponent earn every inch of the ice?  Not even close.  Are we defensive-minded, controlling neutral zone and playing cautious but optimistic?  Nope.  Are we a team loaded with snipers using puck movement to give our guys clean looks.  Haven't seen it.  

What are we??  On a good night, we play with a bit of energy and have enough skill to overcome.  On a bad night, we look totally lost and players have no purpose in their movements other than to react to whatever the situation gives, instead of controlling the game and playing with intent.  What does Berry actually coach?

[brianvf]

8 minutes ago, siouxweet said:

Curious to know if DU utilizes the portal as much as UND?

This year, UND got three from the portal (TJ, MacDonald, Wilkie) and DU got two (Pohlkamp, Salminen).

[Big A HG]

11 minutes ago, brianvf said:

This year, UND got three from the portal (TJ, MacDonald, Wilkie) and DU got two (Pohlkamp, Salminen).

 

For further context, it looks like we added 7 in the portal in 2023 to Denver's 0.

[MafiaMan]

12 minutes ago, brianvf said:

This year, UND got three from the portal (TJ, MacDonald, Wilkie) and DU got two (Pohlkamp, Salminen).

No other college team has to deal with player injuries though.  Only North Dakota.  

[Benny Baker]

21 minutes ago, brianvf said:

This year, UND got three from the portal (TJ, MacDonald, Wilkie) and DU got two (Pohlkamp, Salminen).

Could have been 4-1 ratio.

Pohlkamp took a visit to UND, but said no thanks, and transferred to Denver without any need for a recruiting visit. 

[TrueSioux2000]

1 hour ago, Esoteric said:

UND needs to play this hard, and this focused, for the rest of the year.  Once UND gets injured players back, this team can go the distance.  

You aren’t going to see that this year. We’ll get a couple great games, but mostly meh. 

[scpa0305]

17 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

No other college team has to deal with player injuries though.  Only North Dakota.  

I doubt any other team is dealing with injuries like UND this year. Not yet at least.

[scpa0305]

Definitely a tough season so far. Didn’t see this coming. Injuries stink but good teams find a way. DU is obviously good but again, dzone breakdowns hurt us bad.

[GDPritch]

1 hour ago, crb1 said:

We really need to work on getting shots on net. Too many shots not hitting the net, going wide or over the net. 

I keep thinking the same thing. Gives in chance for a rebound.

[brianvf]

38 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

For further context, it looks like we added 7 in the portal in 2023 to Denver's 0.

Carle don't need no transfers!

38 minutes ago, MafiaMan said:

No other college team has to deal with player injuries though.  Only North Dakota.  

We'll have to look into the math on that one.

[GDPritch]

55 minutes ago, Big A HG said:

This team has no identity.  Without an identity, you're going to play without purpose, and that's what UND games look like.

Are we a race horse team beating you with speed and skating up and down the ice?  No.  Are we grind it out physical teams making the opponent earn every inch of the ice?  Not even close.  Are we defensive-minded, controlling neutral zone and playing cautious but optimistic?  Nope.  Are we a team loaded with snipers using puck movement to give our guys clean looks.  Haven't seen it.  

What are we??  On a good night, we play with a bit of energy and have enough skill to overcome.  On a bad night, we look totally lost and players have no purpose in their movements other than to react to whatever the situation gives, instead of controlling the game and playing with intent.  What does Berry actually coach?

You sum it up perfectly.

[.357]

23 minutes ago, scpa0305 said:

Definitely a tough season so far. Didn’t see this coming. Injuries stink but good teams find a way. DU is obviously good but again, dzone breakdowns hurt us bad.

I was looking forward to this year, but so far it's been a continual uphill climb in terms of consistency & injuries. Some years are just like that, it's the volatile nature of sports. Whereas DU is coasting & it seems like everything they do turns to gold. I'm not ruling UND out because they could go on a tear, but realistically the odds aren't in their favor; they don't seem to have the horses, the consistency & the savvy coaching that define successful teams.

[Oxbow6]

OMac at center was a noticeable upgrade with Perron and James.

.....and you're welcome.

[scpa0305]

5 minutes ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Maybe our players just aren’t very good. Maybe Berry has lost his recruiting edge. How many of his forwards have been successful after college hockey? Denver is the second youngest team in the country, and also the best. Is it recruiting, coaching, the system? I saw like three different teams tonight. One that was fast, and hard on pucks. One that was slow, and watching the game. The other was pond hockey. Slapping the puck around, no look passes to no where. Guys just giving up on plays. It’s maddening.

Carle is a super recruiter. Gets a couple blue chips each year and back fills with great over agers. Just got Berchild and I’ve heard he’s about to get another MN gem. He’s on a roll…just need some NHL squad to scoop him up sooner rather than later.

[scpa0305]

4 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

OMac at center was a noticeable upgrade with Perron and James.

.....and you're welcome.

Agreed. Perron has to start hitting the net though. He’s way too skilled to be this nonexistent.

[SIOUXELEVENS]

I wonder who tells these players to do all these drop/behind passes? The waved off goal was started in Denver’s end by #27 do a behind the back pass that missed, every player seems guilty 

[cberkas]

1 hour ago, Big A HG said:

 

For further context, it looks like we added 7 in the portal in 2023 to Denver's 0.

Carle came out and said he doesn't rely on the portal, instead he trusts his recruiting 

[.357]

3 hours ago, SiouxFanSince1990 said:

Is it recruiting, coaching, the system? 

Everything flows from the coach. Carle is in a league of his own. If he were coaching UND's current team, there's a high likelihood that he would put a lot better product on the ice, because he gets the most out of his players. Whereas Berry does the usual Berry stuff in a Berry kind of way. Carle's building a dynasty at Denver, & UND is currently unable to stop him.