Thread for the 2024-25 Season. All things not Gophers.
3 Bold Predictions:
1. Michigan misses the tourney
2. ASU makes the tourney
3. BU wins Hockey East
For those who peruse GPL via the Portal I updated the thread title so it’s easier to identify this is for college hockey.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Not sure I'd call #3 very bold given their season last year.3 Bold Predictions:
1. Michigan misses the tourney
2. ASU makes the tourney
3. BU wins Hockey East
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
Do only 3 Big ten teams make the tournament?
Minnesota, Sparty, Wisconsin make the tourney.
Penn State and Ohio State do not.
Notre Dame finishes 4th ahead of Michigan in the conference but misses the tourney because of their rubbish non-conference schedule.
For those who peruse GPL via the Portal I updated the thread title so it’s easier to identify this is for college hockey.
3 Bold Predictions:
1. Michigan misses the tourney
2. ASU makes the tourney
3. BU wins Hockey East
Some spicy takes but I love it. I see where you’re coming from with Michigan even though I have them making the tournament. I think they’re gonna have a tough time keeping the puck out of their net, not to mention replacing Brindley, Nazar, McGroarty, Duke and Casey will be near impossible.
As for the other two takes I respectfully disagree. ASU is good on paper but is in for a rude awakening when they play an NCHC schedule as supposed to Long Island and Stonehill every weekend.
Boston U will be good but BC will be unreal.
I heard one of the coaches suggest at NCHC Media Day that it wouldn't surprise him to see six NCHC teams make the NCAA Touranment this year.
I heard one of the coaches suggest at NCHC Media Day that it wouldn't surprise him to see six NCHC teams make the NCAA Touranment this year.
Do the other conferences even have a chance against the mighty Nachos? 
5, I'd find easier to believe, 6 is really pushing it in the current picture. There is inevitably some degree of beating up on each other within a conference, so, to get a team that isn't in the top half of your own conference in the NCAA tournament is... tricky.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
That conference has the same level of “conference arrogance” as SEC fans. No doubt that the NCHC, like the SEC, is a good conference but six!? Come on, that’s two thirds of that conference.
They DID have 4 in the tournament last year, with two more at PWR 15/17. But, with the current picture, getting 5 into the top 13 + another as an AQ would be tricky. With AQs from CCHA/AHA, that would leave a total of 8 entries from B1G, HE and ECAC, which, I just don't see.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
I heard one of the coaches suggest at NCHC Media Day that it wouldn't surprise him to see six NCHC teams make the NCAA Touranment this year.
there's just no way given the number of conferences and bids available. I get they're probably just trying to say they expect the conference to be very good and very deep this year, but someone has to lose the games. Given the total of 10 spots split amongst 4 conferences (this is assuming that CCHA and AHA are autos again with their conferences yet again struggling in cross conference play), there's just no real statistical way to get 5/10 spots unless your almost sweep the OOC schedule. The B10 has posted some over 70% win percentages and has historically only gotten just above half their teams in. Getting 2/3 of the conference in is just statistically never going to work because there's not enough wins to go around without making some teams pairwise tankers (hurts you in SOS) or all the teams hovering around 11-18 and then bouncing each other by tiny decimal numbers. Despite the number of teams they had on the bubble last year, they really weren't even close to getting 6 teams in. Was kind of like 22-23 where we almost put 5 teams in because we dominated NC play, but someone had to lose games in conference (thanks WI).
I'd be shocked if they got more than 4. Most likely they get 3
Sorry to derail the thread, but noticed something in the NCAA registration process that was new this year. They must really be cracking down on conflict of interests for officials this year for NCAA hockey... I haven't worked D-1 hockey for several years, but if I still did I am guessing I would've been dropped this year due to scheduling problems of too many conflicts. I had to fill out the following form in registering for NCAA hockey (even D-III):
1) Select those colleges and universities you attended for at least one semester, including post-graduate work.
(For me eliminates Twin Cities and Duluth and a Grad School in MI)
2) Select those colleges and universities which your spouse, children or siblings will be attending in 2024-25, or which they have attended since July 1, 2018.
(For me Eliminates Augustana, St. Cloud, St. Thomas and Mankato.)
3) Select those colleges and universities you graduated from, coached or played (including honorary degree).
(Twin cities, and a Grad school in MI)
4) Select those colleges and universities your spouse, children or siblings graduated from, coached or played (including honorary degree).
(Augustana, St. Cloud, St. Thomas and Mankato.)
5) Select those colleges and universities you are currently (or have been) employed by.
6) Select those colleges and universities your spouse, children or siblings are currently (or have been) employed by.
7) Select those colleges and universities you have ongoing (or prior) business relationships with.
(As an Architect, I have worked on several small and large projects at various schools in the region; St. Thomas, St. Cloud... not going to list them all here...)
8) Select those colleges and universities your spouse, children or siblings have ongoing (or prior) business relationships with.
9) elect those colleges and universities you have any personal affiliation, including prior personal or business relationships with student-athletes, with or donated to.
(Assuming anyone donating to an NLI program would have an issue here)
10) Select those colleges and universities your spouse, children or siblings have any personal affiliation with or donated to.
11) Select those colleges and universities to which you have been involved in a legal proceeding of any nature.
12) Select those colleges and universities to which your spouse, children or siblings have been involved in a legal proceeding of any nature.
13) Select those colleges and universities in whose alumni or booster-type organization you are or have been a member.
(U of M)
14) Select those colleges and universities in whose alumni or booster-type organization your spouse, children or siblings are or have been a member.
(Mankato, St. Thomas, Augustana)
15) Select those colleges and universities that you have any other conflicts with and note those in the text box below.
If these conflicts mean you cannot work any games from those schools... NCHC and B1G is going to have issues with several officials. Hockey being a niche, regional sport... most of the officials from this area went to one of the hockey schools, and many have spouses and siblings who went to WCHA, NCHC, B1G schools. I know of 2 NCHC officials and 1 B1G official in particular who are going to have issues with scheduling if these conflicts prevent all assignments (and aren't limited to playoffs), due to their school, spouse's school, and sibling's schools. There are likely more than 3.
Guess I am glad I got to work the WCHA when I did. Going back in time, I would've been limited to Bemidji games that weren't against any other MN team. Why would they even have hired me at that point? Lucky the timing worked out for me I guess.
Why stop here? Don't they care about where my parents attended?
Sorry, back to the regular thread topic.
@fightclub30 I would even question whether I can get that information. Can I really get dinged if I don't disclose that my brother donated $15 to St. Thomas because his wife went there (even though he is a Johnnie)? He may not even remember doing it.
Probably good to avoid the appearance of impropriety, but this seems over the top.
3 Bold Predictions:
1. Michigan misses the tourney
2. ASU makes the tourney
3. BU wins Hockey East
some fun predictions. agree Mich is now a bubble team with the McGroarty loss. B10, to me, is MN and Mich St duking it out for tops. PSU looks very mediocre, ditto with OSU. Of the 3 left and anticipating we see 4 B10 teams again, I like WI and Mich to get in as I just don't think ND has enough scoring. Also wouldn't surprise me if there's only 3 B10 teams who's make it this year.
Regarding ASU, I just don't see it. racked up wins against mediocre opposition that makes the record look fun on paper, but with very little substance and I still don't think Powers is a very good coach. Reminds me a ton of PSU previously. Think it will be a tough transition to now having to come with it week after week in the NCHC.
Don't know if this is entirely bold, though I don't think you'll see anyone take them. I'd say more likely you're going to see BC pull a 22-23 MN and win the conference by 10 pts (harder to get enough space between the top teams as you only play each other once).
My predictions (we'll go with 2 Gopher picks and 2 others):
1. Oliver Moore ends up in the Hobey discussion with a similar season to Cooley (21 pts in the back half of the year despite Snuggerud's struggles make me very optimistic he has the 2nd 30 assist season we've had since 2016-17)
2. Rinzel has 35+ points to be the 2nd Gopher D man (Lacombe the other) to do so since Mike Reilly led us in scoring in the 14-15 season
1. Zeev Buium wins the Hobey as the first defenseman to even make the Hobey Hat Trick since Perunovich won it in 2020.
2. CC gets back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.
3 Bold Predictions:
1. Michigan misses the tourney
2. ASU makes the tourney
3. BU wins Hockey East
some fun predictions. agree Mich is now a bubble team with the McGroarty loss. B10, to me, is MN and Mich St duking it out for tops. PSU looks very mediocre, ditto with OSU. Of the 3 left and anticipating we see 4 B10 teams again, I like WI and Mich to get in as I just don't think ND has enough scoring. Also wouldn't surprise me if there's only 3 B10 teams who's make it this year.
Regarding ASU, I just don't see it. racked up wins against mediocre opposition that makes the record look fun on paper, but with very little substance and I still don't think Powers is a very good coach. Reminds me a ton of PSU previously. Think it will be a tough transition to now having to come with it week after week in the NCHC.
Don't know if this is entirely bold, though I don't think you'll see anyone take them. I'd say more likely you're going to see BC pull a 22-23 MN and win the conference by 10 pts (harder to get enough space between the top teams as you only play each other once).
My predictions (we'll go with 2 Gopher picks and 2 others):
1. Oliver Moore ends up in the Hobey discussion with a similar season (21 pts in the back half of the year despite Snuggerud's struggles make me very optimistic he has the 2nd 30 assist season we've had since 2016-17)
2. Rinzel has 35+ points to be the 2nd Gopher D man (Lacombe the other) to do so since Mike Reilly led us in scoring in the 14-15 season
1. Zeev Buium wins the Hobey as the first defenseman to even make the Hobey Hat Trick since Perunovich won it in 2020.
2. CC gets back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.
Agree with all those takes! CC is a preseason top 10 team for me. As for earlier in your post, don’t sleep on Wisconsin. As much as I hate to say it I think the Badgers are gonna win a lot of hockey games this season. They might not be the sexiest team on paper but Hastings teams never are. They’re built to win in the Hastings system.
@maroon_and_gold think WI is my #3 early but worried about their scoring. Big Ten is just so talented it’s hard to play shut down every single week
@maroon_and_gold think WI is my #3 early but worried about their scoring. Big Ten is just so talented it’s hard to play shut down every single week
They’re not gonna have one guy or even one line that pops but they’ll have steady production from up and down the lineup. Not to mention they likely only need 3 to win most nights with Scarfone/Hastings combo