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Is anyone else disappointed with the job done by the coaching staff at the U this year? No matter who they lost (every team loses players), should they really be the second worst team in the WCHA?

Gorilla,
Are you serious? You're going to let one year worry you? Everyone knows that college hockey teams have their ups and downs.

When a team loses players to the NHL, loses players to injury, loses a good player for academic reasons and loses a player due to defection. Things like this will happen.

Minnesota will be back! Always has and always will. No need to worry.

Don't worry about coaching. Minnesota has the best in the business. If you don't believe me. Look at this resume. Pretty impressive. He has only scratched the surface. If he chooses. Lucia will be around for another 25 years. We can only hope. The best way to judge a college hockey coach is to look at the championships.
Some people say that Hakstal at UND is a good coach. Lets wait until he wins a couple of championships before we claim that. Not to mention we all know what he did at Mariucci. He lost his composure. He's lucky the punishment wasn't more. Not many coaches can compare to Lucia.

R-E-L-A-X! It's only one season. Help is on its way. Minnesota has the best recruiting class next year. Minnesota will be in the thick of things next year. I'm excited to see Alex Kangas the rest of this year and next year. He's our building block.

Everyone will once again have Maroon and Gold envy..............

Go Gophers!

Interesting post Slasher, but you really didn't answer the question. I read alot of excuses, and I read excuses that other schools deal with as well. As a U fan, I am concerned the the coaches have not done a good job of preparing the teams the last years, and as a result they have bowed out early. This year, they look like the worst team in the WCHA. I'm not talking about next year. Is Lucia getting a free ride? You're sounding too much like a homer! :lol:

Sorry! I thought I answered your question.

Coaches are fine! No need to worry.

UND went through this the past two season with Hakstal. They were getting a little nervous the past two years when UND started out slow. They ended up playing good when it counted the most. If everyone listened to the UND fans Hakstal would've been coaching Fargo Flyers this year.

In conclusion: Time WILL heal all wounds.

R-E-L-A-X! I promise everything will be fine.

Good to see you haven't lost the faith in Lucia or the coaching staff. It's not like they're controlling the kids with remote controls. Lucia is the best in the business. He's the last person I'm worried about.

Gorilla1 is a Gopher fan? Seems more like a Sioux fan based on past posts he has written. Not sure I am buying this concern of his.

This year has obviously been a tough one. Injuries, unexpected player losses, a key player being out for a semester, and some inexperience took a toll. But it should be a rather short term problem as they bring in some excellent talent next year, they will have almost their entire defense back (and the defensive play has actually been doing well as the season has wore on), Kangas looks like the real deal in net, and they are likely to keep guys like Stoa and Carman. Maybe even Wheeler from what I hear.

As for the past, the only bad end result was against Holy Cross. Obviously that was an ugly loss. But last year they won the league title and league playoff title. They beat a very good UND team in a high quality game at the Final Five just a week before UND beat the Gophers in OT in the NCAAs. So I really don't see a lot to complain about in that regard.

When you look at the big picture of last year, the Gophers had a better year than any other WCHA team. Getting one game further in the NCAAs means nothing if you don't come home with the trophy. The NCAAs are an "all or nothing" event. They don't give out a banner and a trophy just for getting one game further and reaching the Frozen Four. Certainly not when you lose right away when you get there. The Gophers won two team titles last year. Not exactly my definition of failure.

They will get back on track. Every program and every good coach has a down year from time to time.

Gopher, I like both teams. By the way, it is an accomplishment to get to the Frozen four, just like it is an accomplishment to get to the Final Four. With logic like that, it was a waste of time for any team that doesn't win the tournament. Gopherblog, given your Gopher knowledge (that is a compliment) what happened this year. I know they lost players to the NHL, so did other teams, and I know they lost Okposo, but they got Carmen back and they weren't doing anything great with Okposo anyway. Are they really the second worst team in the WCHA???? That is hard to believe. I think they have better players then SCS, Mankato, MN-Duluth--but they are not winning. I then look to the next obvious location, which is coaching. Players that don't fit the system? A let down with the coaching? Underacheiving players? What and Why?

Gopher Blog wrote:Gorilla1 is a Gopher fan? Seems more like a Sioux fan based on past posts he has written. Not sure I am buying this concern of his.

This year has obviously been a tough one. Injuries, unexpected player losses, a key player being out for a semester, and some inexperience took a toll. But it should be a rather short term problem as they bring in some excellent talent next year, they will have almost their entire defense back (and the defensive play has actually been doing well as the season has wore on), Kangas looks like the real deal in net, and they are likely to keep guys like Stoa and Carman. Maybe even Wheeler from what I hear.

As for the past, the only bad end result was against Holy Cross. Obviously that was an ugly loss. But last year they won the league title and league playoff title. They beat a very good UND team in a high quality game at the Final Five just a week before UND beat the Gophers in OT in the NCAAs. So I really don't see a lot to complain about in that regard.

When you look at the big picture of last year, the Gophers had a better year than any other WCHA team. Getting one game further in the NCAAs means nothing if you don't come home with the trophy. The NCAAs are an "all or nothing" event. They don't give out a banner and a trophy just for getting one game further and reaching the Frozen Four. Certainly not when you lose right away when you get there. The Gophers won two team titles last year. Not exactly my definition of failure.

They will get back on track. Every program and every good coach has a down year from time to time.

Gopherblog- Don't get sucked in. By the sounds of it. He IS a UND fan. There is no such thing of being a Minnesota and UND fan. If this guy claims he is. Then he better seek help.

Gorilla, Don't get me wrong. Making the frozen four in college hockey is nice. But making it in hockey versus college basketball is a whole different world. Do the math and let me know how many DI teams are involved.
Lucia versus Hakstal is not even close. Don't be too quick to judge the two. It's not even close. Especially when Hakstal still has recruits from the Blaise days.
Give Hakstal a few more years before you crown him the king at recruiting Minnesota and Canadian players.

slasher wrote:Gopherblog- Don't get sucked in. By the sounds of it. He IS a UND fan.

Like I said, I don't believe he is all that concerned. I think it is a wolf in sheep's clothing attempt.

Making the frozen four in college hockey is nice. But making it in hockey versus college basketball is a whole different world. Do the math and let me know how many DI teams are involved.

UND fans point to simply making the Frozen Four as being something great because that is all they have really had to hang their hat on in recent years. Other than one playoff title, Hakstol hasn't won anything else. So they have to look at making the Frozen Four as the feather in their cap. Yes, it is nice to make it. But nobody cares who made it as the years go by. They only care who wins it. They certainly don't give you a trophy and a banner for making it and not winning it.

Look at all those years that UND fans gave Woog crap for getting to the frozen four but never winning it. They didn't think getting there was all that great back then. Apparently they do now that they aren't winning trophies as much as their rival.

As for the problems this year, I thought I already pointed to the issues. There isn't any one thing. It isn't coaching. All anybody has to do is look back on the careers of great coaches like Herb Brooks, Badger Bob, Dean Blais, Red Berenson, etc. and they will all have the occasional subpar year. If you coach long enough, you are going to run into that kind of a year every now and then.

Slasher, I am a fan of both. Because you cannot emotionally separate yourself from loving the U does not mean that others cannot like multiple schools. To suggest that to like one school you must hate another is ridiculous. In doing the math, the difference is that 17.5 % of the basketball teams make the NCAA tourney while 27% of the hockey teams make the tourney. So what's your point--a 9.5% difference means you can either be proud of the accomplishment in basketball or not proud of it in hockey? By the way, no one has compared Lucia to Hakstol in this thread, other than you multiple times. If there is nothing else to add for this year, that is fine.

Gopherblog, if you don't want to answer the question any further that's fine. It's sounds like yo think the U has a lack of talent. If you want to rip UND, go ahead. The U has won 5 championships to UND's 7. UND has won more WCHA's titles as well. By your definition, it's all about winning titles. I guess that comparision is made and decision is already decided that UND has won more and is more successful since that's the direction you wanted to take this thread. As you stated, people only care who wins the trophy. As a U fan as well, i was more curious about talking about the U only. You and Slasher seem to have other ideas and want to try and rip UND. Now that we have determined that UND has been more successful historically, according to Gopherblog's definition of success, can we talk about the U?

Like I said, it is clear you are a UND fan trying to pose as a Gopher fan. Why waste time discussing the topic with somebody that isn't sincere in the first place? Don't get me wrong, I do think it is kind of funny you are trying to act like you are a Gopher fan. It's tranparent but its funny.

As for success, I was discussing recent history. As in this decade since that is mainly what matters when discussing the track record of Minnesota's current coaching staff. Since Lucia took over, Minnesota has had a decisive upper hand on UND when it comes to putting trophies in the trophy case.

But hey, you do have those Frozen Four "participant" trophies to be proud of.

Have a nice day... "Gopher fan".

I would have to say it is not the coaching. I think there is just to many egos on this team. on paper this is a very talented group of kids. In order for them to turn it around they need to drop there high egos and play the game as it is suppose to be played.

Good one Gopherblog/Slasher. At least I know that we limit the history that is convenient for you. Turn this into a UND versus the U if you want. Here is history for both schools for year 2000 forward[/b]:

Minnesota has won 2 championships, the WCHA tournament 3 times, the regular season title 2 times, was in the final four 3 times, and missed the NCAA tourney 2 times.

UND has won 1 championship, the WCHA tournament 2 times, the regular season title 2 times, been in the final four 5 times, and missed the tounreys' 1 time.

If you go back to the 1997-1998 season, the history looks like this:

Minnesota has won 2 championships, the WCHA tournament 3 times, the regular season title 2 times, was in the final four 3 times, and missed the NCAA tourney 3 times.

UND has won 2 championships, the WCHA tournament 2 times, the WCHA title 4 times, been in the final four 6 times, and missed the tourney 1 time.

The point being both schools have done well. Your respective viewpoint (as well as mine) all depends on your starting point, doesn't it. I am sure Michigan State fans would love to get into your conversation if we are going to pick dates. Since you are unable to comment without being blinded, I understand.

The reason I asked the question is because Lucia will miss the tournaments for the 3rd time in this being his 9th year at the U. Lucia will miss the tourney's a full 33% of the time he's been at the U. Unless I'm mistaken, Gopherblog/Slasher, you simply think the problem is the U doesn't have the talent on the roster. Thank you for that. Before you/Slasher start throwing out your conclusions (the decisive upper hand) (basketball is totally different then hockey for final fours), please spend the time to do a little research first. No need to respond if you can't stay on the thread talking about the U, not UND. I am not knocking Lucia--the question was what do you think the problem is, that's all. You answered so thank you for that.

Thanks Indian, that makes some sense. I think, at least on paper, they have a good group of kids.

Gorilla, It's ok! Nothing to get worked up about.

The good thing about Minnesota? We don't panic. We reload. Next year we have a good group of kids coming in. In fact Minnesota has the best recruiting class in the country. I'm not expecting miracles next year. But I do expect them to play at a higher level.

Please do NOT insult the Minnesota fans and say that you're both a Minnesota and UND fan.

Question is: How will UND fair next year when they lose their big three players? I'm sure they'll be fine. Please don't be too quick to insult any Minnesota fans. As I'm sure you're aware. Tables can turn quick in college hockey.

Gopherblog/Slasher, since you appear to be the same person, I want to make it clear that I'm not worked up about it. Again, this thread isn't about next year. It's you (Slasher/Gopherblog) that seems to be both panicking and ripping the kids at the U. Reload? What for--aren't the kids there good enough? I think the U has a good group of kids unlike you. The new recruiting class is a nice class on paper. As for playing at a higher level, when you are at the bottom of the barrel the only place you can go is up. If you are the University of Minnesota there should not be a time when you are essentially one of the two worst teams in the WCHA. If you are taking this as an insult instead of a cold hard fact, then you should get off the thread. This isn't a U versus UND either. As for taking it as an insult that someone can like two teams, it seems you are the one who needs to R-E-L-A-X! Again, if you (Slasher/Gopherblog) don't want to stay on point for the thread and discuss the U that's fine. If you take me asking you not to make claims unsupported by the facts as an insult, I think that says it all

gorrilla dont get into it with slasher because i think he is the boogymen and you don't want to get kicked off the sight. I dont think gopher is slasher. just alittle advice

Ironrange- Nice try!

Gorilla- Ironrange has a point. It's not worth getting into it. Minnesota is having a down year this year. I'm not even close to being worried. We have the best coach in the business. Minnesota will be back.

Good luck to the Sioux! With any luck they might make the Frozen four and get another "We made the frozen four trophy" this year.

Is Hakstal still suspended? Nice composure against Minnesota at Mariucci. What he did was terrible. Flipping off the ref.
UND was winning that game.
UND was 0-6 on the powerplay
UND had more power plays
Hakstal had nothing to complain about. Yet he let the best of nothing get to him. He really lost his composure. This is something that you cannot do at his level. Nuff said!

Good luck to your team.

slasher wrote:Ironrange- Nice try!

Gorilla- Ironrange has a point. It's not worth getting into it. Minnesota is having a down year this year. I'm not even close to being worried. We have the best coach in the business. Minnesota will be back.

Good luck to the Sioux! With any luck they might make the Frozen four and get another "We made the frozen four trophy" this year.

Is Hakstal still suspended? Nice composure against Minnesota at Mariucci. What he did was terrible. Flipping off the ref.
UND was winning that game.
UND was 0-6 on the powerplay
UND had more power plays
Hakstal had nothing to complain about. Yet he let the best of nothing get to him. He really lost his composure. This is something that you cannot do at his level. Nuff said!

Good luck to your team.

North Dakota 19-8-2

#2 in both National Polls (USCHO.com and USA Today)
#1 in WCHA (tied with CC)
#2 in RPI
#2 in Pairwise (tied with UNH)

I'm a huge UND fan and I happened to have loved Dean Blaise (who would never flip the bird). I think they are better off with Carey Eades (swept Denver w/o Hakstol). I know Hakstol is a good coach but if he was really good, his teams would've capitalized on at least one of the last three frozen fours.

And for you Gopher fans...you can't let one bad year get you down. The Sioux were terrible in like 2002-2003 or whatever that year was and all they needed was a couple good recruits (Zach Parise and Drew Stafford to name a few) to open the flood gates. I'd be really excited if the Sioux had some of these names coming in...Budish, Leddy, Youso, Ness, Dorr, Hansen, Sacchetti, Schroeder, etc.