The Golden Gophers @ UND- 10/17 and 10/18

[nascar99]

11 minutes ago, tnt said:

A first round pick from Minnesota is presumably the same as a first round pick from Canada.

Typically more offensive skill north of the border. Of course it's nice to have higher end offensive skill from wherever (Zellers AND Reschny is very nice)

[Dustin]

32 minutes ago, Johnny Five said:

Here's why.  Fans follow these kids from youth to HS hockey to the state tournament

32 minutes ago, Johnny Five said:

Most schools just don't have a plethora of studs available.  MN schools do.

Not being from MN, I only have an outsiders perspective, but this was my take as well.  And I think the fact that John Mariucci and Doug Woog committed to recruiting Minnesota players reinforced the Minnesota system of development from youth to HS.  It's pretty noble, I think, but also leads to insufferable arrogance.  Think of how proud UND fans are when there are a lot GF/EGF/ND/NWMinn players on the team.  It's also good for local engagement in the program.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

27 minutes ago, Johnny Five said:

Here's why.  Fans follow these kids from youth to HS hockey to the state tournament to the USHL, etc.  Has been that way forever.  Then all we hear about St. Thomas is how they're the program to watch out for because of their geography....well it's the same as UMN...    

This is a fictional point, but any program who could win National Titles with a majority of their players from right in their back yard would do it if they had to resources to do so.  I used Grubb as an example a few weeks ago....imagine if Marto keeps trending high and doesn't end up at UND.  Most schools just don't have a plethora of studs available.  MN schools do.  UND can get the best of both worlds.  Protecting back yards first and foremost in recruiting is important to every single college sport.

Also I imagine a sasky farm boy doesn't necessarily have dinkytown on their radar.

It's year one of the new college hockey landscape.  I don't think anyone is saying he won't adjust, he just didn't this year, and seemed content with what he had for whatever reason.  It's not like he doesn't have a nice NHL pipeline going either, which is every Canadians dream.  Time will tell.      

 

 

 

How much credence do you give to the "Summit/Grand is safer than Dinkytown" narrative?

[fightingsioux4life]

15 hours ago, hawksfan12 said:

Every Gophers fans I've meant knows UND is a blue blood. They just hate our program. All I say is F them back.

I guess the people I am talking about are the casual Gopher fans who don't know anything about the sport of college hockey and think all that matters is the games they have with Wisconsin and Iowa. A lot of them used to pollute the old WCHA Final Five every March. I had to deal with more than one of them. 

14 hours ago, Goon said:

If I had to guess, I would bet most of us couldn't care less what some clueless Gopher fan thinks. UND is a blue-blood program. 

I shouldn't care, but I do. I never hear Badger fans trash talking our program like that. It just makes me hate the Goofs even more.

[stoneySIOUX]

17 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Nope. Not even close.

The decades of enmity between UND and UMN is simply unmatched. At least Denver fans recognize our program's place as one of the blue bloods in this sport. There are Goofer fans that don't think we belong amongst the mighty Golden Gophers, which is part of what fuels the rivalry.

I can honestly say I haven't met one Gopher fan that doesn't recognize UND's place. Many think they are better than us in that pecking order, which is incorrect, but that's fine 😁

[beastandco]

1 minute ago, nascar99 said:

Typically more offensive skill north of the border. Of course it's nice to have higher end offensive skill from wherever (Zellers AND Reschny is very nice)

If solely focusing on Minnesota kids is the direction they are going to take, they have to recruit better. Potter, Hensler, and West were all from Minnesota and picked in the first round last year. Minnesota landed none of them.

First round picks are not everything, but when they are right in your backyard, they should land more than they have in recent years.

[burd]

Thing I always wonder about gopher fans is why they all have those big, sloping foreheads and those extra long forearms.  That, and all that body hair.   

[stoneySIOUX]

12 minutes ago, Dustin said:

Not being from MN, I only have an outsiders perspective, but this was my take as well.  And I think the fact that John Mariucci and Doug Woog committed to recruiting Minnesota players reinforced the Minnesota system of development from youth to HS.  It's pretty noble, I think, but also leads to insufferable arrogance.  Think of how proud UND fans are when there are a lot GF/EGF/ND/NWMinn players on the team.  It's also good for local engagement in the program.

It's the single stupidest argument I've heard from Minny fans over the years that UND is somehow inferior because our kids are from all over. I just don't understand it and I never will. When I bring it up to logical Minny fans, they are always like, welp, never thought of it that way LOL. It's SUCH a dumb argument.

[fightingsioux4life]

8 minutes ago, beastandco said:

If solely focusing on Minnesota kids is the direction they are going to take, they have to recruit better. Potter, Hensler, and West were all from Minnesota and picked in the first round last year. Minnesota landed none of them.

First round picks are not everything, but when they are right in your backyard, they should land more than they have in recent years.

Minnesota talent is known to pretty much everyone now. Teams like Colorado College, St. Cloud and Blais at UND started poaching kids in the 1990's and it has only increased.

[nascar99]

13 minutes ago, beastandco said:

If solely focusing on Minnesota kids is the direction they are going to take, they have to recruit better. Potter, Hensler, and West were all from Minnesota and picked in the first round last year. Minnesota landed none of them.

First round picks are not everything, but when they are right in your backyard, they should land more than they have in recent years.

Potter is a nomad, I don't fully associate him as a Minnesotan since he lived in Wisconsin, played minor hockey both in Wisconsin & Texas as well.

Hensler seemed like he wanted to go elsewhere and they weren't close in on West.

 

This is why you have to recruit from all over, not all of your backyard will want to stay home. This also isn't 1995 or 2005 where you had relatively limited access/knowledge of players from further away, there are almost no excuses for being present in all minor/HS/junior hockey rinks in the US & Canada now.

[siouxfan512]

1 hour ago, cberkas said:

Not sure why any of us want Minnesota to have any Canadian players. Let them stay with mostly Minnesotans, that was what Mariucci and Woog wanted, and they can keep doing it. I rather North Dakota get the best CHLers and not Minnesota. 

To be fair, the only Minnesota thing was pretty darn awesome and only helped fuel rivalries and fan bases. But that was then and this is now. The recruiting landscape has changed so much, it just isn't feasible anymore. They can still load up with Minnesotans, but they shouldn't be afraid to look outside of the state or dip into Canada. For fans who don't like it ... winning solves a lot of problems.

[beastandco]

7 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

It's the single stupidest argument I've heard from Minny fans over the years that UND is somehow inferior because our kids are from all over. I just don't understand it and I never will. When I bring it up to logical Minny fans, they are always like, welp, never thought of it that way LOL. It's SUCH a dumb argument.

Having alums from all over is such an advantage. 
 

That’s why UND has received commitments from Cooper Williams, Eli McKamey, Keaton Verhoeff, and Cole Reschny in the last calendar year.

UND has gotten the guys that they can from the area and mixed in high end guys from Western Canada. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

[Wilbur]

17 hours ago, Godsmack said:

Thinking back on that overtime winner, had the one Gopher D man not bit and committed in the neutral zone, maybe Q doesn’t score on that sick two on one. Man, if that were a designed set play, kudos to Coach Pecknold and staff for drawing that up! He deserves a ten year extension simply for that one play, IMO. 

It was actually a play created and called at the start of OT by an assistant coach.

The fact that it was the first time all year that it worked is crazy.  The fact Faber wasn't on the ice, much crazier. 

Edit*  Assistant coach Joe Dumais is given credit in the post game interview by Pecknold.  

[Dustin]

U of M Hockey all-time player list.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/display_players.php?tmi=8634

From what I could tell, of the nearly 700 players, 42 of them have been Americans from outside of Minnesota, and 21 have been Canadians.

[nascar99]

10 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

To be fair, the only Minnesota thing was pretty darn awesome and only helped fuel rivalries and fan bases. But that was then and this is now. The recruiting landscape has changed so much, it just isn't feasible anymore. They can still load up with Minnesotans, but they shouldn't be afraid to look outside of the state or dip into Canada. For fans who don't like it ... winning solves a lot of problems.

Their last 2 national championships don't happen without guys from North Dakota & Austria. Their best players on their 2023 National Runner-Up team were from Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Interesting on how they've recruited multiple Canadian goalies over the past decade, but really haven't gone after Canadian forwards or defensemen.

[tnt]

13 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

To be fair, the only Minnesota thing was pretty darn awesome and only helped fuel rivalries and fan bases. But that was then and this is now. The recruiting landscape has changed so much, it just isn't feasible anymore. They can still load up with Minnesotans, but they shouldn't be afraid to look outside of the state or dip into Canada. For fans who don't like it ... winning solves a lot of problems.

It’s funny because one of their most beloved figures, Lou Nanne, was from Canada.  You would think Lou would tell them the error of their ways.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

1 hour ago, Dustin said:

U of M Hockey all-time player list.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/display_players.php?tmi=8634

From what I could tell, of the nearly 700 players, 42 of them have been Americans from outside of Minnesota, and 21 have been Canadians.

And two of those listed outside of MN, Mark Alt and Cruz Lucius, were born elsewhere but grew up in North Oaks MN.

[siouxfan512]

10 minutes ago, tnt said:

It’s funny because one of their most beloved figures, Lou Nanne, was from Canada.  You would think Lou would tell them the error of their ways.

Yeah, Lou is ok to listen to on the radio at times, but he isn't my favorite. The amount of arrogance he exudes just rubs me the wrong way. 

[mygarske]

12 hours ago, Blackheart said:

The guy from Auggie, Garrett Raboin, will end up being the next coach of Minny if they care about hockey at all.  Just my 2 cents.

100% agree! Reporting from behind enemy lines in MN (like many others on here) the Gopher fans I talk to who actually know AND understand hockey look at Bob as someone they thought was going to be a great choice, but has never really been able to deliver. 

The rest of the hockey world saw it first hand with the World Juniors tryouts, if you could call them that. A friends kid was on last years team, he said it was a complete 180 degrees difference from Coach Carle last year. I watched tryouts with that dad one day and Kleber tried to rush the puck end to end, 5 times, lost it 4 times, and there was no correction from Bob, or the B.C. coach on the bench. Last year Carle sent guys to the locker room immediately for that kind of stupid selfish play. Looked even worse when see Brody Ziemer and James Hagens standing on the blue line waiting for a pass. 

But as a Sioux Hockey fan - please, continue with your current strategy Minnesota!! 😉

[Siouxphan27]

45 minutes ago, burd said:

Thing I always wonder about gopher fans is why they all have those big, sloping foreheads and those extra long forearms.  That, and all that body hair.   

And that's just the women.

[mygarske]

4 hours ago, nascar99 said:

The problem is that over half of their fanbase would have a meltdown if more of their roster was from Brandon, Estevan, Fort Saskatchewan, Maple Ridge, etc instead of Minnetonka, Chaska, Edina, Maple Grove etc. Don't know what their acceptable threshold is, but it's a weird simultaneous superiority/inferiority complex that many Minnesota hockey fans have with Canada.

Exactly!! It would be a full mutiny. Not to bring up a dog whistle trigger for some on this board, but I was here during the Potunly boys recruitment. The Goofer nation fan base completely lost their marbles. I can't remember the recruit that Lucia "missed in leu of Potunly" that year, but until they won the Natty, it was a 500 lb. monkey on his back. I have had two kids go through the "Minnesota model", it's great, the ice time & coaching they got was like nowhere else. But there is something in the psyche of native Minnesotans where they are just so hell bent that it is perfect & will be forever - they can't see the world changing around them. 

But I repeat myself, as a Sioux Hockey fan, please MN, continue with your current strategy!! 😉💚👍

[nascar99]

Hoping Strinden can hit the net this weekend. Or at least wind up for the one T or wrist shot & then pass to whoever is wide open for the open net look.

[tnt]

29 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

Yeah, Lou is ok to listen to on the radio at times, but he isn't my favorite. The amount of arrogance he exudes just rubs me the wrong way. 

Ditto.

[Blackheart]

4 hours ago, Johnny Five said:

Perhaps 17 and 18  for UND pound sand up Bob's rear this weekend and it opens his eyes a bit more.

I like the sound of that.

[ND_Texan]

9 hours ago, Johnny Five said:

The Gopher hockey program was not in a good situation when Bob took over.  He's done a great job...the pipeline is strong...alumni engagement has drastically improved...won loss record is fantastic.....making the NCCAAs Frozen Fours (let one get away for sure)....but yeah, he needs to hoist one soon.

Won't be this year however. 

Looking forward to the Ralph Saturday night...well maybe not...but you never know lol.  

I don’t see Minny having better than a .500 season and making the post season. They really aren’t very good. Less than a UND sweep this weekend would be a major disappointment.