December 12, 14-15

The Jacks had 3 games in the last 5 days against two top 5 teams in the ACHA Division I.  The Jacks started at home on Tuesday against the defending National Champions from Minot State. It was good to see some of the old Lumberjacks playing again at the Lumberdome. After a slow start the Jacks found themselves in Penalty Trouble  and down 2-0 after the first. The guys hold in there in the second before MSU pulled away in the third.  Goalie Ryan Miner played well between the pipes for the Jacks.  Minot defeated the Jacks 6-1.

 DCB then hit the road on Thursday for the 14 hour trek down to Ames, Iowa to face another former Lumberjack Seth Serhienko and the Iowa State Cyclones. On Friday the Lumberjacks spotted the Cyclones with three goals in the first. "We played really well but had a few mistakes in the first period but we came back after that and I thought we played our best game of the season, minus those goals in the first period." The Cyclones scored a goal in the final minute of the game and won 5-1. On Saturday the Jacks struck first and played a great road first period as they were tied up at 1 after 1.  "We had a few long shifts in a row in the second period and it caught up to us and they scored two goals that we should have defended." The Cyclones added 4 more after that as the wheels fell off and we lost 7-1.  "We still have too many guys who are not buying in to what we are doing for 60 minutes. We seem to take a shift off here and there and then it ends up in the back of our net.

Overall it was a grind of a week but these games will make us a better team in the second half.  Put it in perspective I think we lost 8-0 and 11-0 to Iowa last year and I do not think we won any shifts in the game so we are getting better.  We also lost to Minot 15-0 last season so we are better now we just have to play better.

December 7

The Jacks won on Saturday night in Melita MB, 6-5. It was a fun game and a game that was played to help the Skelton family of Melita. Trent was a player for the Lumberjacks in the late 80's and was injured in an accident a month ago. It was an honor helping out a good family and we were happy to do it.  It was so inspirational to hear Trent's wife talk before the game and how strong the family is and how great the community of Melita is.  Thanks to the Melita Bison for hosting this game as well as the Loucks family for all they did to make it happen. I am very grateful for being a Lumberjack as a player and as a coach.  We have a super Alumni group and I have to do a better job reaching out to this group and getting as many Lumberjacks back into our program.  Long Live Those Lumberjacks!!!

Nov 22/23

The Lumberjacks played the Jacks out of South Dakota this weekend and got both wins. 9-1 on Friday night and 5-1 on Saturday. SD was shorthanded on the weekend and worked hard and got a big weekend out of there goalie. These were tough games to play sometimes but we did what we needed to do and got two wins. Many guys got there first college goals so that was a plus and we put a lot rubber on net.  It was also fun to honor the Football team and Coach Pfeifer on Friday and we wish them luck at the Salt City Bowl in a few weeks. Now we have a big test this week as we head to Williston to play the Tetons.

Nov. 15/16 vs Finlandia JV

It was a up and down weekend for the Hockey Jacks. Up that the boys got a win on Friday, down as they lost on Saturday. Up as we played well on Friday, down as we struggled at times on Saturday and seemed disinterested.  Being a student-athlete there are many ups and downs but you hope to have more ups.  To be a good team and a good player you need consistency.  We were excited for the win last night and deserving so but I felt we did not get mentally prepared this morning for the game and the coach will take that responsibility.  We need to get in a routine and follow that routine. Players have to be accountable. Right now is the time we have to get better each day and prove it to yourself and each other that we are getting better.  We need to push each other and get the best out of everyone and everyday.  We had many positive things happen this weekend. Our goaltending made the save when we needed it. We got some better defensive team play.  We got contributions from everyone and different times and I thought we were a tougher team to play against than we have been all year.  We will put on the workboots this week and get ready for an unknown SDSU team out of South Dakota. Should be a good match up.  Hockey Jacks would also like to congratulate the Jacks Football team who were invited to a bowl game on Dec 7 in Kansas. Well done boys and Coaches and we hope to honor the football team at the game on Friday. More to follow.

LONG LIVE THOSE LUMBERJACKS! 

Nov. 7-9 MN Trip

The Lumberjacks hit the road for three games in three days and a lot more questions are being asked now than answers. The Jacks started Thursday night in a game against St. Johns Johnnies JV team at the beautiful National Hockey Center on the campus of St. Cloud State University at Herb Brooks Arena.  The ride to the arena did not start off well as the bus blew a fuse and could not start. Unfortunately we got to the Arena a little late and got off to a slow start. We spotted the Johnnies three goals in about three minutes in the first. We battled hard to get back into the game but it was too little too late. We lost 5-3. On Friday we started off with a really good twenty minutes against the Johnnies and were tied after one period of play. Then we hit the self-destruct button and we gave up 5 goals in the second period.  The game ended in a 7-1 loss. Saturday night the Jacks squared off against the Concordia-Wisconsin Falcons JV. Once again we struggled for a few minutes in the first period and were down 3-0 after the first. The final two periods we took control of most of the play but could not get the score evened up and gave up an empty net goal to lose 4-2. Our record falls to 0-6-1 on the year. It should be much better than that but we are not consistent enough and have not played a complete game. Sometimes our Defense is playing well and our goalies struggle, or vice versa, maybe the forwards are on their own page but the defense is on a different page. We need to get everyone on the same page for 60 minutes in a game. There are signs of it but then something happens and we lose focus. We need to stay focused and play a complete game.  We had some positives and some negatives on the weekend but I hope that we learn from all and can become more of a team as a result of some road bonding. The potential is there now we have to play harder, play smarter, and play together.

November 1/2 NDSU Bison

Well things are getting better around here but we still did not get that first win. the road back to glory may be a long and curvy road but we are on that road and we are going to get there.  We lost a tough one Friday in OT and then lost 4-2 on Saturday.  I thought we played well enough to get at least a win but NDSU buckled down when they needed to and they got that play or save when they needed it. I thought we out chanced them but they out scored us. Once we buy in to our defensive play and worry about the defensive zone we will get some wins.  60 solid minutes are needed and we have not gotten that yet this year.  Commitment is needed on and off the ice.  People on the outside do not realize what these student athletes go through. They have practice everyday, weekly workouts, along with a heavy workload in the classroom. Along with volunteer work, youth hockey, homework, and other college activities it is a big commitment. These guys are working hard and we will get some W's soon. I think being on the road this weekend will bring guys together and that will help on the ice.  Long Live Those Lumberjacks!!

Oct. 26/27 vs Winkler Royals

Well the Jacks got there season rolling with a couple games against the Winkler Royals out a Manitoba. Overall it was good to get some games in and evaluate the personnel we have here wearing the Lumberjacks Jersey. Saturday night we got of to a poor first period and before we knew it we were down 3-0. Then we settled in and were playing some decent hockey. Then the third period hit and we ended up having another poor stretch and they scored 5 goals in that period. Sunday was a good effort by the boys. We were committed to our defensive coverage for the most part. Alum Marlin Froese was a beast all weekend for the Royals and set up the game winner for them with 1 second left. It was a tough way to lose but I think it was a great learning experience for the guys that we will take with us in future games. Get out to the Lumberdome next weekend as we welcome the NDSU Bison to the Bottineau.
LONG LIVE THOSE LUMBERJACKS!

February 10 vs WSC Game Two

Well the season is over. Tonight we lost to WSC in the Region 13 play-offs and will not go to NY to play for a National Title. I knew this team was better than its record and I thought we showed it the second half of the game.  We battled hard and competed and left it all out there on the rink. That is all a coach can ask for is guys to play hard and that is what we did.  We had some ups and we had some downs this year but I commend this group for sticking with it right to the end, it would have been easy to give up and we didn't.  We lost 6-4 tonight and were down 4-1 in the third and gave up an empty netter.  Thank you to the students who showed up we appreciate the support and to Coach Dano and Coach Cory for getting them fired up with the Slap Shot Regatta.  Good Luck to our sophomores.

Feb 6th

Tonight did not start the way we wanted and before we knew it we were down to the big Tetons who dominated the first five minutes and the whole game for that matter. We could not match up with there speed and size. I thought we could have battled harder but when you are down that many early it is tough to get anything going. I did think we never gave up. I thought we had outstanding contributions from our sophomores in Nick Sutton, Robin Danielsson, Seth Serhienko and Zach McDonald. Up front Logan Millican was our best player and made things happen. Hopefully we will have 2 more chances at these guys and please come out on Sunday and support the Jacks. Final score tonight was 10-1.

January 27

Well tonight was one of the most difficult nights as a coach for the Lumberjacks in my 11 years. Losing sucks! Losing badly sucks even worse!! We have hit rock bottom tonight. We were down to 12 skaters and were playing the top ACHA Division I team in the country. We knew from the start it might be a tough night, and it was. There are many questions to be asked and what ifs for our season this past year. Being the leader of this program I have to learn from these situations this year and do better from these lessons. As a coach the worst is when you feel you have lost your team and they are not responding to you and trying for you. I have felt this is true a couple of times tonight, and the score indicated that. It is very disheartning when these players have been beat bad more than once.  Sometimes it has been becasue they did not play hard or stuck with our game plan, but a lot of it is the competition. Bottom line is some of these defeats are because we are playing teams that are that much better than us, much better. We need to find that competition level that makes it good for both teams. This year it was not there and I take responsibility for that. You ask yourself are you doing enough? What more can we do? Why did we have so many guys bail on our team? Tonights game and last weekend in Kenora it was Men versus Boys, and we were intimidated, and short staffed, not to mention badly outskilled. I have told the boys and I truly believe we are not as bad as a team as our record has indicated or as the scores have been, and I think we are going to still have success.  What will that success be? The past month have taught me not to take things for granted and to be thankful what you have and what you had.  I have coached many great people and we have some on our team currently. I am lucky to be a Lumberjack, now we have to get our program back on track and make current, former, and future Lumberjacks  proud to be a part of the Lumberjack family. The only way to get out from our rock bottom tonight is to work. Lets get the hard hats on and work boots and get better everyday.

January 24

Greetings Jacks fans. The boys have been trying to get healthy here this week. We went to Kenora and were shorthanded and lost twice. We are battling some injuries and a flu bug. Then we played on Wednesday against WSC. We stuck to the gameplan and tried to conserve energy and got some good goaltending at times. Playing only 13 skaters I was very happy with the courage our guys had as we probably should have had some guys not playing as they were not feeling good. I just hope we can play those guys with a full lineup but it does not look like we will be able to. We still have a lot of work to do but last night was the first time in a long time we had everyone on the same page and we had Kyle Volk score two goals. We are in tough this weekend against Minot State but we will try our best, that is all we can ask for.

January 15

Tonight we got beat by a very good hockey team. They are not a Junior College type team. When they have the scholarships - how do you compete? We gave them too many oppurtunities on the Power Play and I think they were 6-8 on the PP. You cannot compete like that shooting yourself in the foot. They should be good - they have 16  players on scholarships - we have 5 players on a scholarship. When you have that and the fact that most if not all of there players are 21 or older and we are much younger the scores are going to be lopsided. We make no excuses and they are a better team. We have a lot of work to do and we will continue to try be the best program we can. Hopefully it can result in some more wins and championships in the future. We are not going to roll over and we still have much to accomplish this season.

Finlandia and Gustavus JV

We went 1-2 on the weekend and I wish it was 3-0 but overall it was a better weekend for us. We saw flashes of good, and bad but not ugly.  We will now enter the gauntlet of our schedule playing WSC, Kenora, and Minot St. It will be a good test for this young squad and we have to learn from our experiences and get better every day. The biggest thing we learned this weekend is that we need to compete for 60 minutes > every shift. Most of the goals we gave up this weekend we would want those shifts back and we might have been 3-0. Our biggest thing we really need to work on right now is our mental game. We need to focus on the task at hand and being a good teammate. We saw 3 differant NCAA Division III games this weekend and it was good to see that level of hockey and how hard those student-athletes compete. It was very satisfying seeing Troy Chandler (Jacks '12) playing at Finlandia. He kept his team in it but they could not get the equalizer and lost 3-2. Two more wins would have made this weekend better but hopefully we learned from the close losses and that will help us down the road.  I BELIEVE IN THIS TEAM!!! Long Live Those Lumberjacks!

Fresh Start

Welcome to the 2013 edition of the Dakota College Lumberjacks. We have some new additions that are going to make us a better team. Now that we have guys who are giving it a full effort and want to be here I am looking for better things than last semester.(I cannot believe in times now a days that guys who do not come back they would just not show up, at worst send a text saying you are not coming back, oh well)  Will it result in more wins only time will tell, but all ready I have noticed a difference in practice and team chemistry. We are looking forward to being a better team and getting better each day. All we want to do is give us a chance playing at the end of February and anything can happen. LONG LIVE THOSE LUMBERJACKS!