2025-26 University of North Dakota Hockey Season

[brianvf]

16 minutes ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

Id put a lot of money that Saturday will be the last competitive hockey game he ever plays 

That would be my guess as well.
With how much has been said about how much pain he's going thru and trying to manage during the week just so he can play on the weekends...that's just not sustainable longterm, and probably not for another season.

[brianvf]

I had never heard that story about the 1959 UND champ team that had a converted forward playing goalie.
Pretty crazy.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/who-are-the-most-unlikely-goalies-to-lead-und-to-an-ncaa-national-title

 

[brucespook]

On 4/3/2026 at 12:44 PM, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2026/04/03_2025-26-CHN-Coach-of-the-.php

Completely forgot about Berry taking out an ad to spite Jackson.

Shows how Berry didn’t have a clue about anything 

[Big A HG]

5 minutes ago, brucespook said:

Shows how Berry didn’t have a clue about anything 

 

There had been so much obviously wrong with Berry for more than a few years and the ostriches kept their heads buried because he was a "nice guy"...except he isn't actually that nice.

[Kevin G]

I’m so excited for this upcoming week. There’s lots of time to rehash other stuff. Let’s go get #9!!!

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

1 hour ago, brucespook said:

Shows how Berry didn’t have a clue about anything 

His daughter making a fool of herself on social media, while not a good look, is at least partially attributable to her frontal cortex not being fully developed. But a man of Berry's age burning the bridge behind him really showed his hand.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Verhoeff was on Marek's show last week.

[brianvf]

Schloss article on the four CHL guys on the team and their thoughts on going to the F4 and their season:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/unds-chl-alums-revel-in-opportunity-to-play-in-ncaa-frozen-four

[TNF]

First off, if you don’t subscribe to the GF Herald, you should for this month. Schloss is cranking out great articles and doing his best to promote the culture, coaching staff, locker room dynamics, etc that will pay dividends with many eyes watching the program this week. 

To me, this quote highlights one the biggest difference from last year…playing the young talent throughout the year and letting them grow from their experiences (in the article today about Zeller’s history in Vegas);

"They know I'm going to make mistakes out there, but they let me come back to the bench, let me know in a timely manner that I made a mistake there, but they also trust me to get back out there. They're not putting me down for mistakes, but they're coaching me. They've been unbelievable and have helped my game so much."

Full article for subscribers; https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/will-zellers-once-had-an-unforgettable-national-title-winning-performance-in-vegas

[brianvf]

Sounds like Tim is hoping to return to full broadcasting duties next year.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/und-broadcaster-tim-hennessy-returns-to-the-road-for-frozen-four-after-health-setbacks

Quote

Hennessy was back on the road Tuesday aboard the UND charter flight for his first road trip of the 2025-26 season, making the journey to Las Vegas to call the 24th Frozen Four of his career.

Quote

Hennessy is hoping to return to his full-time broadcasting duties for the 2026-27 season.

"I'll get there," Hennessy said. "It's just disappointing the way it went down this year. But what are you going to do? So I'm hoping to be back for next season."

 

[Sweethockey]

On 3/21/2025 at 10:00 PM, Frozen4sioux said:

whelp... where to from here

I just felt the need to post this 1st post of the 25-26 season…… let it sink in, 180 degree swing in what the consensus was a year ago 

[beastandco]

7 minutes ago, Sweethockey said:

I just felt the need to post this 1st post of the 25-26 season…… let it sink in, 180 degree swing in what the consensus was a year ago 

If would’ve told me that this team would end up being the number two overall seed in the NCAA tournament and playing in Vegas after the transfer portal opened up last spring, I would have said you’re nuts. 

[fightingsioux4life]

22 minutes ago, Sweethockey said:

I just felt the need to post this 1st post of the 25-26 season…… let it sink in, 180 degree swing in what the consensus was a year ago 

That was a very dark period for this program. We were standing on the edge of an abyss. Kudos to Jackson and his staff on turning this around so quickly.

[Blackheart]

3 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

That was a very dark period for this program. We were standing on the edge of an abyss. Kudos to Jackson and his staff on turning this around so quickly.

Ledgies abounded all around.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

3 minutes ago, Blackheart said:

Ledgies abounded all around.

This program has proven they figure it out. While I know it’s not popular major props go to Bill Chaves and Erik Martinson for making the move when they did. I count myself as someone that was on the fence but after missing NCAAs last year I was ok with a change. It was not the obvious decision everyone on here make it out to be.

[SIOUXELEVENS]

It was very obvious to me after watching this for forty years. 

[burd]

18 minutes ago, Blackheart said:

Ledgies abounded all around.

I have made fun of Ledgies and probably always will.   At the same time, I had no problem with the coaching change last year.  You don’t have to conclude a coach is utterly incompetent or lazy to make that change.   If the team misses the Tournament too many years running, you just be straight with that coach and tell them you have to make the change.  These coaches are paid well (well enough) and they know the deal.   A player may work hard and be a nice guy, but if performance is not there after sufficient opportunity, coaches understand what to do.  But don’t demonize just to make a difficult task easier to carry out.  

[Brett0909]

Definitely took some stones for Chavez to make the change. I was ready for it, but still surprised when he made the call. Seems even more obvious in hindsight than I thought at the time that it was needed - but if Jax struggles this year, Bill’s taking some serious heat. He made a gutsy call - good on him (and us) that it’s paying off. 

[SiouxFan100]

It was time for trying something different. Just happy we are at where we are.

[burd]

It’s especially gratifying to see these kids have such a fulfilling experience

[nascar99]

Posting the story link here as well after already posting in the Frozen Four thread. Very interesting how Kris Engelstad McGarry publicly states that the program needed a change, insinuating that things had gotten stale under Berry (which most of us if not all believe they had).

 

[Green Banner]

1 hour ago, nascar99 said:

Posting the story link here as well after already posting in the Frozen Four thread. Very interesting how Kris Engelstad McGarry publicly states that the program needed a change, insinuating that things had gotten stale under Berry (which most of us if not all believe they had).

 

KEM quote on NIL and us not always getting the likes of McKenna or Martone were spot on

[Blackheart]

Some more games between Sioux and Bucky.

 

[Blackheart]

 

[Blackheart]