Re: UND @ UAA: Two teams that desperately need points to move up the WCHA ladder.
Any ideas why the Sioux are off to such a slow start? Have they had injuries? Goalie issues? Anything that sticks out?
I think it's a combination of two factors. First, the team is young, which everyone knew going in because of the large senior class, and the possibility that always exists that a player or two bolts early for the pros. Young teams take awhile to adjust to the speed of college hockey, and we've seen that with the Sioux.
Second, I personally believe the talent level is down. UND knew they would be losing a lot of scoring and depth with graduation and the possible defections of Gregoire and Hextall, but also expected that Rocco Grimaldi, J.T. Miller, Colten St. Clair, Mark MacMillan, Mike Parks and Brendan O'Donnell would be coming in to replace the departed. Of those, Grimaldi and Miller were clearly the cream of the crop.
But, as everyone knows, Miller decided to go to the Canadian leagues, St. Clair didn't get past the NCAA Clearinghouse, Grimaldi has missed most of the games due to a knee injury, and O'Donnell has missed substantial time due to injury.
As a result, Hak has had to send out a patchwork team with a 4th line, and part of a 3rd line, that has largely consisted of recruited walk-ons out of the NAHL that we picked up late during the summer.
What you will see from UND is they are really just missing their 2nd line. The top line is very good, certainly good enough to help this team achieve a lot of success if the rest of the team is pulling it's weight.
We have a great "4th line" in guys like Lamoureux, Rowney and Rodwell. A mixture of veterans and young guys, players who won't score a lot of goals for you but play with high energy, play physical, kill penalties and can either establish or continue momentum for the team.
We also have a perfect "3rd line" with guys like MacMillan, O'Donnell, and Parks. Young guys with some talent who will be very good college hockey players with some experience under their belts. Guys with the talent to score who just require a little time to let the game "slow down" for them.
Unfortunately, these two lines are not the 3rd and 4th lines on the team, but instead are the 2nd and 3rd lines, for the reasons I've stated above. We're missing that high end 2nd line, kind of a 1A if you will, made up of guys like Grimaldi, Miller, St. Clair, Hextall, or Gregoire, who can be expected to score almost as much as the 1st line.
But Hakstol, to his credit, has always said it's not about the guys who aren't in the lineup, but the guys who are. Openings create opportunities and he expects the guys, whether it's players like MacMillan or a recruited walk-on type like Gaarder or Pattyn to step in play the game the way they're taught, and Hak hasn't made any excuses about early defections to the pros or Canadian Juniors, injuries or otherwise.
I actually like this year's team, even though it's clear they won't have the success of some of those in the more recent past. There is no question we've seen solid improvement since October, and I expect it to continue.
