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North Dakota vs. Ferris State


Superman0099

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Tim and Swyg Tuesday morning interview with Ferris head Coach Bob Daniels. TIM: 30 games won this year, most of any team in the tourney, they are the CCHA champs, and have a hobey finalist.

Coach Bob Daniels (CBD) there is good pressure on the team now -- at the beginning of the season the team/players/coaches goal was to be in the top 4 in the CCHA. Yes, last year they (Ferris) finished 9th in the league, however, the goalie (freshman last year) Mike Brown was out with an injury and the team dropped quite a few games during that time, and then Kunitz (hobey finalist this year) lost 8 games with a knee injury at the end and it hurt their place in the final standings. So the jump from 9th last year to a top 4 team this year wasn't as unlikely as it appears on paper.

TIM: Did you put much importance in winning the league title?

CBD: The NCAA tourney wasn't something we considered to be a concern, the league title was our focal point -- this was our 1st title in 20 some years in the league. There is a concern that we spent a lot of emotion just to win the league. Our fans are excited because realistically hockey is the only sport our school is able to compete with the big 10 schools.

CBD: Our team is not very big -- we've recruited more "skaters" -- looks for speed. We are top heavy - most of the scoring is dependant on the 1st line (Kunitz & company). I really enjoy coaching a wide open style. Wide open hockey is exciting hockey to play and to watch. This style of play has really helped us on the recruiting trail.

If you don't have the horses to play wide open, you do get stuck clogging the neutral zone -- that boring type of play can win you more games if you don't have the speed of your opponent, but it isn't fun hockey to watch or play.

Olympic size rink is a concern, but our players and style of play is well suited for the bigger ice sheet -- we should adapt well to the size, but we just don't have the experience (only 2 games on olympic size this year).

Don't know much about UND -- it will be a fun game -- last year Ferris played at a tourney at the UMN so most of the team is sort of familiar with the gopher's rink.

** these are not direct quotes -- I took some liberty in the phrasing**

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UND has an advantage in that they can practice on an Olympic sized sheet. I don't know if Ferris State has an Olympic sized sheet to practice on or not.

Nothing could make me happier than to see UND walk all over them. Unfortunately, I consider UND to be the underdog in this one in a not so small way. Even though Ferris State has struggled with consistency at times, they are playing well now.

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UND has an advantage in that they can practice on an Olympic sized sheet. I don't know if Ferris State has an Olympic sized sheet to practice on or not.

Nothing could make me happier than to see UND walk all over them. Unfortunately, I consider UND to be the underdog in this one in a not so small way. Even though Ferris State has struggled with consistency at times, they are playing well now.

jeffj, you are over closer to the Ferris neck of the woods are you not?

What can you tell us about Ferris' style of play, and about their team that leads you to your opinion? I'm curious about learning more about them before Friday, so we know what to expect.

BTW, Sioux defense looked very good on Thursday night, IMO. All the guys played very well. I'm impressed with Matt Jones. He's really "quiet" on the ice. Very solid, moves well, physical. Looks very confident out there.

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I have not seen them play, but know some of the players. There is a lot of speed on the Ferris State team. Everyone talks about Kunitz, as they should. Lewandowsky can flat out fly, probably approaching the speed of Kevin Speiwak. As their coach stated, they play a wide open game so they recruit speed.

Will be interesting to see if we get a CCHA type of ref or a WCHA type of ref. I would tend to think the CCHA style of ref's will work to UND's favor when playing another WCHA team, but it is already what FS is used to so they will know what they can get away with.

Main points to getting past FS :

- Shut down Kunitz

- Adjust to officiating

- Play disciplined throughout and smart positional defense to contain the flyers

- Forecheck the daylights out of their defense, which is probably one of the weaker aspects of their team.

Just my opinion.

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Thanks jeffj.

A coworker is a SCSU fan and has watched them play Ferris 2-3 times over the last 2 years. He also said they have excellent team speed. Fast and really hustle. Specifically mentioned a burner on the 3rd line that surprises everybody.

On the big ice, can we play a team like that physical (effectively)?

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Smaller and faster. Could give the Sioux some problems on the bigger ice. Hope we got our skates on Friday. If we do, and bang them around a bit, maybe the fight will leave them by the 3rd.

Did you really have to say that? Didn't Yale say that about us? :lol:

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An open style of play could give the Sioux some good opportunities. Players like Lundbohm, Parise, Bochenski, Spiewak, and Notterman, are all pretty good at those rushes. Containing Kunitz will probably be left up to Hale/McMahon/PrPich(maybe?). They seem to do a good job at that, I would bet Blais matches them up with Kunitz. Also, from what I've heard, Ferris had trouble with Michigans defensemen, who are not that big. I'm hoping this will be the difference in the game (in our favor). Even teams with big forwards had trouble getting through Schneider, Hale, Greene, Jones, Fuher, Marvin, all 6'2''+, 215+. The undersized Ferris lineup may have some trouble with the UND giants.

Another thing, our fourth line (Genoway, Connelly, Canady) has played quite well lately, containing the puck and cylcing in the offensive zone. Hopefully these guys will step up, as they are a pretty big line, and could be quite effective in overpowering/tiring out the Ferris forwards. If you haven't guessed it yet, I think size, and depth are our 2 biggest advantages here in this matchup. Ferris's coach himself basically said they were a one line team, when he said in an interview "We pretty much rely on our first line for scoring".

So in a wrap-up, the Sioux will have 1.) More fans 2.) Size/strength advantage 3.) Depth advantage 4.) Experience advantage, and 5.) if Brandt contintues his stellar play, we will be just as solid in net as any team in this regional.

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This is an NCAA tourney meaning the on-ice officials will be from a conference outside the CCHA or the WCHA. Most likely neither team will be familiar with the referee

Thanks for the clarification on the on-ice officials. Did not know that.

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THe uscho schedule matches the "live clearances" listed today on the NCAA site- the Sioux/Ferris game only on a Ferris cable channel. FOXN has live clearances for Gophs/Mercyhurst, Mich/Maine, and Cornell/Mankato. Now Midco clearance shows only the west region championship game.

Hope to see changes in this schedule yet, but am starting to lose hope. A major change from past years when MSC showed everything from both regions.

The directtv schedule now shows "paid programming" during the Sioux game on both FOXN and FOXD :lol: Starting to look like an NCAA clusterf??? selling rights to one game at a time, one station at a time. Not going to hold my breath.

Hard to believe it may be a streaming audio only weekend (if someone doesn't turn the server off again).

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It's really hard to believe how the NCAA is selling television rights this year. I remember watching most/all of the regional games on FSN/MSC for the past few years. This disorganized/decentralized approach seems to be a major step backward for college hockey. :lol:

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