Women's Hockey

[HockeyMom]

http://www.fightingsioux.com/sports/whocke...RELEASE_ID=5430

[SiouxMeNow]

I'm a little suprised Buning pulled the chute now (mid-season) but I guess it will help find a decent coach before next season...someone who can ACTUALLY move the program forward!

[GRAFTONhockey]

I'm still a little shocked about it

[dakotadan]

Hopefully the ladies look at this as a new start to the season and come out excited to play the rest of the season.

[SIOUXYOU]

What I am disgusted by was attending the game on Saturday and seeing the Former Sioux Captain Jessica Kovacevich with a blatantly rude sign directed at Coach Rivard. It just in a way goes to show what type of class Rivard was working with and if she had to deal with someone like that for 4 years she should feel happy to be getting out. That was a classless act on Kovacevich... she really needs to grow up and move on... Thank god the security guard had the nerve to get rid of that sign...

I don't disagree with the athletic departments decision and hopefully the girls can get past this....and start looking for some positives....

[sioooux]

What I am disgusted by was attending the game on Saturday and seeing the Former Sioux Captain Jessica Kovacevich with a blatantly rude sign directed at Coach Rivard. It just in a way goes to show what type of class Rivard was working with and if she had to deal with someone like that for 4 years she should feel happy to be getting out. That was a classless act on Kovacevich... she really needs to grow up and move on... Thank god the security guard had the nerve to get rid of that sign...

I don't disagree with the athletic departments decision and hopefully the girls can get past this....and start looking for some positives....

Maybe we have found out who GREENEY is?

[The Sicatoka]

From an 8-1 loss to a 1-0 loss (quite literally) overnight.

Interesting.

[dagies]

From an 8-1 loss to a 1-0 loss (quite literally) overnight.

Interesting.

The paper said Rivard and Buning met with the team after Sunday's game, right?

You have to wonder if MN just didn't care on Sunday, and figured if they scored 1 and played D they could sleep through the game.

[choyt3]

The paper said Rivard and Buning met with the team after Sunday's game, right?

You have to wonder if MN just didn't care on Sunday, and figured if they scored 1 and played D they could sleep through the game.

Timeline according to Schlossman's Blog.

[fightingsiouxfan57]

From an 8-1 loss to a 1-0 loss (quite literally) overnight.

Interesting.

Thats the way of the WCHA. Look at the Ohio State/UMD scores. UND did not give up several breakaways on Sunday and their goalie was in the zone.

[Riverman]

Hopefully the ladies look at this as a new start to the season and come out excited to play the rest of the season.

I'll second that. It had to be done.

[RamRod]

What I am disgusted by was attending the game on Saturday and seeing the Former Sioux Captain Jessica Kovacevich with a blatantly rude sign directed at Coach Rivard. It just in a way goes to show what type of class Rivard was working with and if she had to deal with someone like that for 4 years she should feel happy to be getting out. That was a classless act on Kovacevich... she really needs to grow up and move on... Thank god the security guard had the nerve to get rid of that sign...

I don't disagree with the athletic departments decision and hopefully the girls can get past this....and start looking for some positives....

SIOUXYOU, you are absolutely right. Jessica is a classless, two-faced, remorseless and backstabbing person. Rivard only wanted the best for everyone, but with people like Kovacevich "working behind the scenes" against her own coach, mocking Rivard's coaching style and speeches, all while supposedly serving as captain of the team, how much can be expected of Rivard?!

Jessica needs to GROW UP and leave Rivard alone. For all Rivard did for her and everyone on that team, its absolutely sad that she does not even have respect for her, no less the audacity to hold a sign like that in the arena. That is a disgrace to the womens program, the Englestad arena and UND in general.

Jessica, look in the mirror and decide again which person should be changing; because it's not Rivard.

[Riverman]

You might be able to blame a one or two goal loss on the coachs anything more is on the players.

Who recruited these players?

Am I off the mark when I say leadership failed?

[dagies]

Timeline according to Schlossman's Blog.

Saw that. Also saw this. Am assuming this was most recently written:

Timeline in the [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=20100

[sioux goo]

I am guessing that 0% raise was the first clue that the end may be coming near....i definitely know the feeling!!! Shantel is as good as a person as you will ever find in a coach. She is a class act. I am not sure how good or how bad of a coach she is or is not......the only thing I would question is the timing of this dismissal...no doubt this will hurt future recruiting....it will be difficult for a recruit to committ not knowing who the head coach will be...also a concerning comment is stating that this is Dennis Miller's audition...two other asst coaches have tried this route also...both failing to obtain the position...this will only create more division amongst this current team and any coaching member still left at UND...if a change needed to happen...end of the season would have been better....not this early into the season....all that being said...it is a nice gesture for Shantel to stay on until the end of the year.....

[whockeyfan]

SIOUXYOU, you are absolutely right. Jessica is a classless, two-faced, remorseless and backstabbing person. Rivard only wanted the best for everyone, but with people like Kovacevich "working behind the scenes" against her own coach, mocking Rivard's coaching style and speeches, all while supposedly serving as captain of the team, how much can be expected of Rivard?!

Jessica needs to GROW UP and leave Rivard alone. For all Rivard did for her and everyone on that team, its absolutely sad that she does not even have respect for her, no less the audacity to hold a sign like that in the arena. That is a disgrace to the womens program, the Englestad arena and UND in general.

Jessica, look in the mirror and decide again which person should be changing; because it's not Rivard.

I couldn't have said this better myself!! Thank you...she was very vocal about the fact that she got rid of her high school coach and was going to take Rivard down too!

[Csonked Out]

I couldn't have said this better myself!! Thank you...she was very vocal about the fact that she got rid of her high school coach and was going to take Rivard down too!

While I agree that it was a classless act that shouldn't of happened, I can understand where she was coming from. A coach, if doing well, gets a lot of the glory, and if doing poorly, shoulders a lot of the blame. I never met Rivard but will assume she is a nice person, but she absolutely destroyed this program. I was worried about the direction of the program ever since she lost control of the team when Jessica was still there. The first thing I thought of was "What did Rivard do to piss off an entire team?" I don't think a coach loses control of a team for small petty reasons. These girls want to be competitive and when they are regressing year after year while getting good recruits it is the coaches fault. Even after that class left and it was all youngsters they still got worse.

I also heard rumors though that Rivard didn't have a lot of respect for some of her players and favored some well letting others go. I know one of the big things was when I believe it was either last year or the year before she dropped the senior goalie from the team for being late to practice once, and this was on senior day when her parents had flown in, and in front of the entire team. Some may say you deserve this for being late, I view it as a bit extreme. To add something to it, other girls were always late while receiving no punishment. When you drop someone for personality reasons that some of the girls on the team like, and the team is getting worse already, there will be backlash. When a coach doesn't know the basics of coaching it shows on the ice I give her credit for starting the program, but thats it. As a head coach you are the "manager" of the team, and it is quite obvious she failed at that. Good luck to her, and hopefully this programs will find the right person and get back on track.

[SIOUXYOU]

While I agree that it was a classless act that shouldn't of happened, I can understand where she was coming from. A coach, if doing well, gets a lot of the glory, and if doing poorly, shoulders a lot of the blame. I never met Rivard but will assume she is a nice person, but she absolutely destroyed this program. I was worried about the direction of the program ever since she lost control of the team when Jessica was still there. The first thing I thought of was "What did Rivard do to piss off an entire team?" I don't think a coach loses control of a team for small petty reasons. These girls want to be competitive and when they are regressing year after year while getting good recruits it is the coaches fault. Even after that class left and it was all youngsters they still got worse.

I also heard rumors though that Rivard didn't have a lot of respect for some of her players and favored some well letting others go. I know one of the big things was when I believe it was either last year or the year before she dropped the senior goalie from the team for being late to practice once, and this was on senior day when her parents had flown in, and in front of the entire team. Some may say you deserve this for being late, I view it as a bit extreme. To add something to it, other girls were always late while receiving no punishment. When you drop someone for personality reasons that some of the girls on the team like, and the team is getting worse already, there will be backlash. When a coach doesn't know the basics of coaching it shows on the ice I give her credit for starting the program, but thats it. As a head coach you are the "manager" of the team, and it is quite obvious she failed at that. Good luck to her, and hopefully this programs will find the right person and get back on track.

fightingbooya, I agree with you about being a manager of the team. I don't think we should bring up internal issues because none of us truly know what went on with that episode, because I have heard different about that episode, so right there is shows that stories are out there and none of us truly know what went on. I agree that she lacked some qualities that a good coach needs, and in taking on a coaching role you are putting yourself out there for criticism that none of us have to go through on a daily basis because we are not in professional roles like that. I do not believe that any individual deserves to be treated in that respect, especially from an individual whom my daughter greatly looked up too the past 4 years and I had to some how explain to her what that sign meant that Kovacevich was holding up, to me I have lost all respect for Kovacevich, which I once held great respect for.

[dlsiouxfan]

I am guessing that 0% raise was the first clue that the end may be coming near....i definitely know the feeling!!! Shantel is as good as a person as you will ever find in a coach. She is a class act. I am not sure how good or how bad of a coach she is or is not......the only thing I would question is the timing of this dismissal...no doubt this will hurt future recruiting....it will be difficult for a recruit to committ not knowing who the head coach will be...also a concerning comment is stating that this is Dennis Miller's audition...two other asst coaches have tried this route also...both failing to obtain the position...this will only create more division amongst this current team and any coaching member still left at UND...if a change needed to happen...end of the season would have been better....not this early into the season....all that being said...it is a nice gesture for Shantel to stay on until the end of the year.....

I don't care how nice of a person she is but when you're W-L record looks like that with the kind of facilities and funding that program has been given than you don't deserve to have your job anymore. If she's really such a great coach then maybe she'll get picked up by someone else, I would be incredibly shocked, however. College sports are about results and when you don't produce results they'll get someone else who will.

[legend334]

I don't care how nice of a person she is but when you're W-L record looks like that with the kind of facilities and funding that program has been given than you don't deserve to have your job anymore. If she's really such a great coach then maybe she'll get picked up by someone else, I would be incredibly shocked, however. College sports are about results and when you don't produce results they'll get someone else who will.

If winning is the only thing college athletics is about....why have some coaches at UND who have not won still have a job?? Or other schools as well....it is a big picture not always wins and losses. At the end of your career or life, you wont remember the wins and losses. You will remember the players, your teammates, your fellow coaches, your fellow employees! As coach Glas said many many many times and he is 100% correct........at the end of the day its about building life long relationships and turning young 18 year old men or women into adults who can go out and function in society!!! I bet if you asked coach John Wooden what he cherishes most....it will be the same answer!!!

[fightingsioux4life]

If winning is the only thing college athletics is about....why have some coaches at UND who have not won still have a job?? Or other schools as well....it is a big picture not always wins and losses. At the end of your career or life, you wont remember the wins and losses. You will remember the players, your teammates, your fellow coaches, your fellow employees! As coach Glas said many many many times and he is 100% correct........at the end of the day its about building life long relationships and turning young 18 year old men or women into adults who can go out and function in society!!! I bet if you asked coach John Wooden what he cherishes most....it will be the same answer!!!

I see your point. College programs should be run with class, within the rules and they should make the athletes better people. They should also graduate their athletes. Whether or not they lose their jobs for not winning sometimes depends on what sport is important at what school. Hockey, Football and Women's Basketball are the championship sports at UND. Men's Basketball has not been a championship-contending sport for a long time. It flies under the radar, which is why Glas was able to survive for so long while running an average program. Roebuck, Lennon and Hakstol would not be able to get away with that. Volleyball has been average at best for years, but again the public interest in that sport is limited, so the outrage isn't there. Wrestling was dropped with little public outrage because the interest wasn't there to begin with.

However at some point, if the program struggles for a long time and it isn't getting better, a change has to be made. This change is often good for both coach and school (example: Glas and UND Men's Basketball). Hockey switched from Gino Gasparini to Dean Blais. There was outrage at the time, but history has been kind to Terry Wanless for making the tough, but necessary decision. But the decision should be based on not only winning, but graduation rates, quality of kids in the program, any rules violations, ect. Winning matters, but it should not be the only thing. This isn't the NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB. Winning is great and I want all our programs to win, but I also want to win the right way. That's what Hakstol, Lennon and Roebuck do on an annual basis and that is what all coaches should strive for.

[Pony1976]

I'm pretty sure this is a job alot of top notch quality people (coaches) would love to have. It's going to be interesting to see who throws their name(s) in the hat and ultimately ends up at the helm of the UND program. I still fully expect this program to become a strong contender in the WCHA and on the national scene at some point. The right person who can annually bring in solid recruiting classes could accelerate that eventuality (as I see it). I really don't believe any damage so serious as to inhibit that process long term has occurred...and again, the right person could turn that around relatively quickly. I'm pretty sure their are, and will be alot of great players more than happy to spend their student / athlete careers at UND.

[juggernauthoop]

very true

If winning is the only thing college athletics is about....why have some coaches at UND who have not won still have a job?? Or other schools as well....it is a big picture not always wins and losses. At the end of your career or life, you wont remember the wins and losses. You will remember the players, your teammates, your fellow coaches, your fellow employees! As coach Glas said many many many times and he is 100% correct........at the end of the day its about building life long relationships and turning young 18 year old men or women into adults who can go out and function in society!!! I bet if you asked coach John Wooden what he cherishes most....it will be the same answer!!!

[HockeyMom]

I'm pretty sure this is a job alot of top notch quality people (coaches) would love to have. It's going to be interesting to see who throws their name(s) in the hat and ultimately ends up at the helm of the UND program. I still fully expect this program to become a strong contender in the WCHA and on the national scene at some point. The right person who can annually bring in solid recruiting classes could accelerate that eventuality (as I see it). I really don't believe any damage so serious as to inhibit that process long term has occurred...and again, the right person could turn that around relatively quickly. I'm pretty sure their are, and will be alot of great players more than happy to spend their student / athlete careers at UND.

I'm going to have to agree with you on this. UND should be a national title contender and with our facilities, I would think that a lot of people would be more than willing to give it a shot.

[The Walrus]

I have heard Steve Johnson is interested...

He would be a great asset to UND, I really believe he could recruit, condition, manage, and coach the players into the national tournament picture..

Plus he has all the UND ties needed...