Somebody mentioned something the other day that caught my ear. I can’t remember who said it or where I heard it at. It went something like this, maybe, it’s time to move on and not keep mentioning last season. This team has its own identity.
Last year’s team lost six games the whole year and won a national title. Let’s be honest with ourselves, this season isn’t similar to last season. Take a look at the roster, nine players from last year’s team are gone. UND now is playing with eight freshmen and 11 sophomores.
Last year’s roster vs. This year’s roster … You can see that they’re not very similar at all.
So, I went back and took a look at the games notes from the 2014-15 season. It would appear that first halves like the current one were the norm. There was one season where UND was under .500 going into the Christmas break. That team went on to make the Frozen Four.
I want to be clear, I am not suggesting this team is going to the Frozen Four, but if they make the NCAA playoffs anything can happen. There’s a lot of pure, young talent on this team.
On a more positive note, if UND makes the NCAA playoffs, they’re going to be hosting a regional championship in Fargo, ND, that’s a big-time home field advantage. So, if UND makes the NCAA field, they’re probably 50/50 of making the Frozen Four. Maybe even more. That being said, it would be very tough for a team to make it to the Frozen Four four years in a row.
Obviously, UND fans were spoiled last year. It was also a magical season. UND might not have another one like it for 10 years. Currently, UND is 7-5-3 (.566) the current winning percentage is on par with many of those seasons listed below. Right? Let’s not forget, a few of the teams below were veteran and experienced hockey teams. Last year’s team was on fire from the start.
Here’s my question: Do UND hockey fans have short memories? Finally, there’s also a lot of the season left. If they keep winning 3/4 of their remaining games they should be fine.
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