NCHC Battle for 1st - DU @ UND

[brianvf]

3 minutes ago, SiouxScore said:

Played well, really the aggressor throughout tonight which you always love to see. Seemed like good energy in the building despite the ugly weather outside. Be nice to get the PP clicking again tomorrow for the sweep.

Yes for sure.  They never relented.  No easing off and letting DU get any momentum.

Zellers a bit snakebit since returning from WJC.  Would be nice to get him going tomorrow, and the PP.

DU sliding down to 13 in NPI...they're gonna be desperate.

[Wilbur]

14 minutes ago, brianvf said:

In the battle of NCHC ROTY goalie candidates, there was a clear winner today.

I'm biased, but if the trend continues its Spunar and I don't think league goaltender of the year can be out of the question either. 

[TNF]

Only three NCHC tilts tonight but all three shutouts and none of them close. I can’t imagine that happens very often. St. Cloud puts up 6 against UMD, UND puts up 5 against DU, and Miami puts up 3 against UNO. 

 

UMD and DU shut out on the same night and Miami wins an NCHC game. 2026 is coming out strong. 

[bcblues]

We jus need to keep doing the simple things right, and as a former coach told me: "You can never be wrong if you hustle."

[bcblues]

Oh. And of course, stay out of the box!

[tnt]

22 minutes ago, brianvf said:

Yes.

With how DU looked tonight, there is no reason that UND shouldn't be able to get all the points tomorrow.
Any sort of points for UND tomorrow really opens up that gap in the NCHC standings.

DU isn’t a great program because they pack it in after a poor loss.  If our program came out the next night after a 5-0 loss with another poor effort, this site would be overwhelmed with pitchforks.  
I fully expect to see a different Denver team tomorrow, and UND had better be expecting it as well.  

[TNF]

DU, UMD, BC, BU, Wisconsin, and the Goofs all lose tonight. 

[crb1]

4 minutes ago, TNF said:

DU, UMD, BC, BU, Wisconsin, and the Goofs all lose tonight. 

The goofs are a !@#$ show this season their like 8-13. Not good. 

[Username Taken]

I would be surprised to see Miller start tomorrow. He looks lost right now. Jan made it look so easy. He’s so quiet and calm in net. 

[SiouxFanatic]

Just now, crb1 said:

The goofs are a !@#$ show this season there like 8-13. Not good. 

Their fans talked a lot of $hit about UND fans wanting a change at head coach. Beginning to see the clamor for change begin to rise among them now.

[crb1]

1 minute ago, SiouxFanatic said:

Their fans talked a lot of $hit about UND fans wanting a change at head coach. Beginning to see the clamor for change begin to rise among them now.

I am sure I’m in the minority here, but I never thought Motzko was a great coach. I was somewhat surprised that Minnesota wanted him. He pretty much has the pick of players from Minnesota and he still under achieves. 

[Blackheart]

4 minutes ago, crb1 said:

I am sure I’m in the minority here, but I never thought Motzko was a great coach. I was somewhat surprised that Minnesota wanted him. He pretty much has the pick of players from Minnesota and he still under achieves. 

Minny sitting at #39 in the NPI according to College Hockey News...one spot in front of Bemidji; every other Minnnesota school is ranked ahead of them.

[cberkas]

5 minutes ago, crb1 said:

I am sure I’m in the minority here, but I never thought Motzko was a great coach. I was somewhat surprised that Minnesota wanted him. He pretty much has the pick of players from Minnesota and he still under achieves. 

I never got why they wanted him so bad and didn't think he'd go there.

Hastings wanted the Omaha job, but they wanted to be cheap on replacing Blais. 

[Blackheart]

Messing around with NPI a little...had Minnesota found a way to beat Michigan, UND would have taken over the #1 spot.  Would really like to finish in the top spot so I can get an NPI Champions banner to hang next to my Pairwise Champs banner from a few years ago.

[Blackheart]

Just now, cberkas said:

I never got why they wanted him so bad and didn't think he'd go there.

Hastings wanted the Omaha job, but they wanted to be cheap on replacing Blais. 

Motzko had some good seasons with St Cloud and think they had a fair amount of success against the Gophers.  He seems to be at the end of his run though...I just hope Garrett Raboin stays at Augie when the Gofers come sniffing around for a new coach.

[Username Taken]

1 minute ago, cberkas said:

I never got why they wanted him so bad and didn't think he'd go there.

Hastings wanted the Omaha job, but they wanted to be cheap on replacing Blais. 

I was worried about Motzko going to Minny. Seemed like towards the end of his St Cloud tenure he got a lot out of his teams and overachieved. I figured jumping up a tier or two with recruiting quality would put Minny over the top. It should have a couple of times with the talent that’s been thru that program lately. 

[Sweethockey]

7 hours ago, Godsmack said:

Are you thinking of Trevor Olson’s high hit with about six minutes to play? I threw my hands up and told my wife, “that’s it.” I was shocked he only got a 2 minute minor. I bet that was a long, lonesome skate to the penalty box. 

That was the penalty. There was a photographer from College Hockey News who took my picture. He told me that if we would have lost, that picture would have been on their home page on the web… It’s my avatar instead.

[Blackheart]

3 minutes ago, Username Taken said:

I was worried about Motzko going to Minny. Seemed like towards the end of his St Cloud tenure he got a lot out of his teams and overachieved. I figured jumping up a tier or two with recruiting quality would put Minny over the top. It should have a couple of times with the talent that’s been thru that program lately. 

How they managed to lose that championship game to Quinnipiac still amazes me.  They were absolutely loaded that year.  I still bring up the OT to my favorite Gofer fan and he's just speechless over the way that whole thing went down.

[Sweethockey]

1 hour ago, bcblues said:

Now leave Joe Blacks alone tonight boys!

No frozen toes either! Dam that wind has a bark to it tonight.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

This team is flat out different. Last years team would have gone up 2-0 or 3-0 and dropped back and chipped pucks out. We rolled 4 lines and played like we were tied for 60 minutes. Trying not to get too excited but my goodness this team is relentless. When’s the last time we completely dominated DU like that?

[Wilbur]

31 minutes ago, TNF said:

DU, UMD, BC, BU, Wisconsin, and the Goofs all lose tonight. 

And Boisvert got a fighting ejection in his team's loss to 45th ranked Lowell.

Although I'd call the fight a draw.

[Blackheart]

My unsung heros of the game were Laurila; great assist on the second? goal.  Guy makes the most of his opportunities; can see him getting more playing time going forward.  Jack Kernan is just beast mode out there; loved his confidence on the goal he scored tonight.  And Menghini lights the lamp twice; way to stick with it!  Our D holds them to 18 shots and the Spoonman with another shutout.  Not much not to like about this team...I'm greedy but I'd love to see what this team looks like with a healthy Zakreski and Cody Croal as well.

[Blackheart]

1 minute ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

This team is flat out different. Last years team would have gone up 2-0 or 3-0 and dropped back and chipped pucks out. We rolled 4 lines and played like we were tied for 60 minutes. Trying not to get too excited but my goodness this team is relentless. When’s the last time we completely dominated DU like that?

Would you say full sixty?

[tnt]

12 minutes ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

This team is flat out different. Last years team would have gone up 2-0 or 3-0 and dropped back and chipped pucks out. We rolled 4 lines and played like we were tied for 60 minutes. Trying not to get too excited but my goodness this team is relentless. When’s the last time we completely dominated DU like that?

I think many questioned if hiring Jackson was the right move because he was an assistant and wondered how much difference there would be.  I think we can see the passion and fire Jackson has compared to Berry.

If you haven’t watched Through these Doors this week, I urge you to do so, as it shows that passion.  When we were trailing after one period on Saturday he went off on the team, basically saying that just wearing the Black Business suits wasn’t doing anything, although he had a more colorful vocabulary.  I’ve been wanting to hear that for years, that the business suits only represented how hard you were going to work because it was time to keep the focus and make sure there were no regrets or anything held back after the game.

Keeping the pedal to the metal tonight was another sign in the mentality change, and as Jackson told the team in the clip, that the CC coach told him, North Dakota has their mentality back.

[cberkas]

11 minutes ago, Blackheart said:

Would you say full sixty?

At the end of the day