Although I do enjoy reading Donald's rants on a regular basis; I actually have to repectfully take issue with what Donald said. I am sure he is also not going to be happy that I picked his Seawolves to finish last in the WCHA again this season. Maybe we can have a blogger summit on our picks and where our teams will end up by season end.
University of North Dakota
I definitely underestimated UND last season. I guess what I really missed badly was the performance of Hobey Baker winner Ryan Duncan. I didn't even mention the guys name in my preview. I certainly wouldn't have pegged them as a Frozen Four participant. But there's definitely something to be said for their continued excellent 2nd half performances. It was a trait of the team under Dean Blais and it has continued under Dave Hakstol. Goal tending in my mind is a big question in Grand Forks. Lamoureux played 37 games last season and would have played more but for an early season injury. Consider me a Lammy skeptic. There'll be a lot of pressure on him to play a lot of games this coming season and while he had good numbers I'm attributing much of that to team defense and limiting quality shots. Lots of folks would disagree with me about Lammy. They have a bit of a tougher schedule this year as well, though that isn't reason enough to downplay their chances. This squad has the potential to finish in the top half of the league (lots of people expect them to win the league) but I believe last year was exceptional and unlikely repeatable. I'm not sure they'll be an NCAA participant. Sue me
While I have never been a big fan of Lamoureux (I think for a goalie he is too emotional and excitable) I don't think he is a bad goalie either. I am actually a Grieco guy and I hope that he can recover from a few bad performances after looking good against the SCSU Huskies.
Also, I do think that Lamoureux's deficiencies can be over looked by the fact that UND returns if not the top defensive unit in the conference, one of the top two or three defensive units. The only team I think that might be better than UND's is Michigan Techs defensive unit. Wisconsin is good but they no longer have the stone wall Brian Elliot between the pipes.
UND will be a participant in the NCAA tourney this season. Just a hunch...
If Donald says UND will not be in the NCAA's this year then I have to believe him 100%!
ReplyDeletegood to see your still around. Donald is funny, and we didn't take his review all that serious. I have his team finishing last in the league.
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