Personally, I thought Brad played well last season but he has to be better if the Sioux are to be successful and go deep into the NCAA playoffs. Last season there were times Eidsness gave up soft or unnecessary goals, it was almost like Eidsness lost his focus. The shorthanded goal at the Final Five that Duluth scored was frustrating to say the least. The forward beat the goalie back to the net, those types of mistakes need to be avoided if UND is going to be successful.
With competition at the goaltending position, both men will only get better and the Sioux goaltending will be better because of the competition. I have to say that I am already excited for the next season already.
Dell suits up with Fighting Sioux
Posted By Scott Mitchell, Senior Reporter ---- They did it once and it worked out beautifully. So the University of North Dakota is trying it again.
Last season former Airdrie Xtreme goaltender Brad Eidsness stepped into the Fighting Sioux lineup and was one of the top freshman goaltenders in the NCAA.
This year the Sioux have corralled another goaltender with an Airdrie connection to team with Eidsness as former Airdrie Thunder goaltender Aaron Dell has committed to the school for next season.
The Airdrie native has spent the last two seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Calgary Canucks.
While 2007-08 wasn’t a great season for Dell, as he posted a 5-11-2 record and a 3.13 goals against average in 23 games, Dell was brilliant this year.
And schools took notice of his league-high 51 games played, a 25-17-8 record and a 2.53 GAA. He also posted a sparkling .924 save percentage to lead the AJHL and was named to the south all-star team.
Dell will battle with Eidsness – who beat him out for an Airdrie Xtreme spot years ago – right from the beginning.
“I’ll be coming in as the second guy, but they want me to challenge Brad for the first spot,” Dell said.
He stressed that it will be a friendly battle with the incumbent who posted a 2.58 GAA and a 24-12-4 record in his rookie season in one of the NCAA’s top conferences, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).
“I’ve played against him since about peewee, so I’ve known him for quite a while,” Dell laughed.
The two caught up earlier this year when Dell took a visit to UND.
“He was my player host while I was down there. He’s pretty excited to have another Alberta boy out there,” he said. “I just have to try and perfect as much as I can and be as ready as possible. I need to be in the best shape I’ve ever been in and be even better than when they saw me last.”
That game against the Dogs in the semi-finals fo the Final Five was kind of "the beginning of the end" for the Sioux this past season, and that sloppy mis-play between Eidsness and his D was a major catalyst. It appears that we may have a goaltending controversy in Grand Forks next season. It won't be the only team to have it either. Highly-touted and 3rd overall ranked goaltender Mike Lee, from Roseau, Minnesota and recent active goaltender for the Fargo Force, is coming to SCSU next season. He is rumored to be the highest NHL draft pick in school history this summer. No doubt he will challenge senior netminder Jase Weslosky.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there will be a controversy per se, but I think it will make Eidsness better because he isn't going to probably play every game next season and it sounds like the new goalie is going to give him a run for the starting postion.
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