Bob needs to go. He was better than Lucia, but time for some young blood to breathe some life into this program!
Good lord, is Bonin21 back....
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
will hate to say it again but what are people thinking about #81. Seriously he is contributing NOTHING. Yes he has a couple goals lately but really? I think I could have put those in. Our stars better step up or we will all be going home
Bob needs to go. He was better than Lucia, but time for some young blood there breathe some life into this program!
Ok, we’re all pretty PO’d at the result tonight but that is crazy talk. He is a great coach with a great staff around him. Up until this year every season he’s been here it’s been an improvement over the season prior. We knew this year was going to be tough after the departures last season. Let’s see what this team can do in the tournament.
@gopherr16 Really? They had a whole 15 shots on goal and were outshot something like 14-2 in the 3rd. They clutched the sticks hard that night and lost. That was a total team collapse.
If Minnesota ends up going out east and playing in BCs Regional they will have a very difficult time making it back to St Paul. Michigan just showed the country how to play the Gophers.
Bob needs to go. He was better than Lucia, but time for some young blood to breathe some life into this program!
Posts like this just makes more and more disinterested in social media groups and sites.
Keep your stick on the ice...
Just watched Bob’s part of the post game interview. He looked almost past pissed off to just frustrated and almost at loss for how this team can play so uninspired this late in the season. Some of that is on the coach but a lot is also on the players. Nelson, Nevers, and Koster lead by example. Good or bad, on or off they at least put in the effort. The Huglen line was only line that really seemed to threaten multiple times tonight. Where is that top line? Is Snuggerud just that checked out already? Pitlick is back to being streaky. Moore can’t do it all on his own. We’ve all said, for the past month and a half, that the top line needs to get going again. I’m really worried that they are who they are at this point. If that’s the case this team is unlikely to make it to the Frozen Four.
Just watched Bob’s part of the post game interview. He looked almost past pissed off to just frustrated and almost at loss for how this team can play so uninspired this late in the season. Some of that is on the coach but a lot is also on the players. Nelson, Nevers, and Koster lead by example. Good or bad, on or off they at least put in the effort. The Huglen line was only line that really seemed to threaten multiple times tonight. Where is that top line? Is Snuggerud just that checked out already? Pitlick is back to being streaky. Moore can’t do it all on his own. We’ve all said, for the past month and a half, that the top line needs to get going again. I’m really worried that they are who they are at this point. If that’s the case this team is unlikely to make it to the Frozen Four.
that wasn't the top line for most of the night. Said this prior, but I get why Bob changed the lines to put Nelson with Snuggy and Pitlick to protect and have someone responsible and physical to win pucks back for them, but this clearly bit back. I think it allowed Michigan to sit near the blue line more as Moore and Pitlick both fly the zone, pulling out defenseman vs Nelson is a down deep center who catches the puck in the zone; all of this allowed them to pinch down on both Pitlick and Snuggy who were happy to give it away. As far as the switch of Moore, the other 2 don't have the speed to play with him and it showed (how many times did we see Moore have to go 1v2 or 1v3 to try make space?). There's a reason the 3rd looked better and it wasn't just because they got more desperate. The passes and knowledge of what each other will do and where they will be also improved.
Regarding Snuggerud, he won't play in the NHL next year if this is the effort he gives in the defensive zone. Exact same thing happened to Casey Mittelstadt. You can't just play in one end of the rink. He'll end up in the AHL until he figures that out.
Seems to me like Bob was biting his tongue on calling out some players.
Gophers couldn’t match Michigans physical play, the dump and dig was more dump and turnover. Seemed like they were stymied just trying to get through the neutral zone and had to dump it. I don’t have the usual criticism of the defense. But what happened to the offense? Didnt see any spark until too late. Some comments on here about Snuggerud, he has lost his motivation or is not engaging with his team mates. Hope they get up for their regional and make it to St Paul.
as far as holding Bob accountable, yes he is and he knows it. But fire him? C’mon.
No matter how this ends, you’re seeing why you don’t change the line combos the week before the season ends imo
It's also why maybe you don't just stick to one lineup for most of the year. I think it's very healthy to mix up the lines all the time. I'll talk more about this on the pod this week, but if you don't ever change up the lines and you run into trouble... it creates drama that cascades into other drama when you do change the lines up.
The Gophers had the crowd for the first 5 minutes of the game. Then Close gave up that horrible rebound and goal and Minnesota never got any energy back. They let the air out of the building for two consecutive Saturdays.
I'll give Michigan credit. They had a goal called back but kept playing their game while the Gophers chased the puck all night. Snuggerud and Pitlick are a hot mess right now. Both of those guys were pouting and slumping their shoulders after every shift. The timing of their collapsing fragile egos could not be any worse.
Anyone who doubted this team's chances for post-season success was validated last Saturday and tonight. They got worked by unranked Penn State in front of a sold-out Mariucci and tonight lost yet another tournament game to Michigan--not exactly the type of performance you want going into the NCAAs. They gave their coach his pet excuse that they'll have just too darn much time off.
I was hoping that just once the Gophers could be that team that surprises everyone in the tournament. At this point, if they get to St. Paul, I guess I will be surprised. 😆
Moore was noticeably fast early, other than that nothing really stood out on the positive side. Seemed like to me Michigan was just on all night, they moved the puck like a well oiled machine and were just collapsing on gophers time and space forcing icing, and missed passes. It looked like a mite game at times chasing the puck and always a step behind their moves. I don’t know how many times I counted 3 gophers skating so close together up the middle they were almost getting sticks tangled in each others skates. Michigan played a really solid game.
No matter how this ends, you’re seeing why you don’t change the line combos the week before the season ends imo
It's also why maybe you don't just stick to one lineup for most of the year. I think it's very healthy to mix up the lines all the time. I'll talk more about this on the pod this week, but if you don't ever change up the lines and you run into trouble... it creates drama that cascades into other drama when you do change the lines up.
to be fair, they played many lineups this year due to injuries and early line combos. To me it’s more the timing of now and making the change.
Idk how to start other than day that game was tough to watch, the team had like 3 scoring opportunities the whole game and got badly outplayed. Michigan would skate in with speed and forced the gophers to take the puck away while also being good at passing. The gophers would often just dump the puck in the corner or make terrible prayer passes and shots. I will say that Close rebound on the first goal wasn’t great but this team should be able to create more offensive opportunities than that.
I know these non-NCAA games don’t mean as much but it’d be nice to see this team just take care of business and not get embarrassed at home by Michigan. Idk if this a coaching issue or whatever but when you have Moore playing with Nevers and Brodzinski it’s hard not to overlook.
When the whole team looks that lost what is the common denominator? I like Motzko but games like this are too common, the team was barely existent most the game. Putting Moore with the worst player on the team and a guy with a limited skill set but a really good shot might not have been the play… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Just watched Bob’s part of the post game interview. He looked almost past pissed off to just frustrated and almost at loss for how this team can play so uninspired this late in the season. Some of that is on the coach but a lot is also on the players. Nelson, Nevers, and Koster lead by example. Good or bad, on or off they at least put in the effort. The Huglen line was only line that really seemed to threaten multiple times tonight. Where is that top line? Is Snuggerud just that checked out already? Pitlick is back to being streaky. Moore can’t do it all on his own. We’ve all said, for the past month and a half, that the top line needs to get going again. I’m really worried that they are who they are at this point. If that’s the case this team is unlikely to make it to the Frozen Four.
I don’t think Motzko is a bad coach but I have a lot of questions after this one.
Bob needs to go. He was better than Lucia, but time for some young blood to breathe some life into this program!
Coaching didn’t cause 20 to cough up the puck with no pressure and numbers for a breakout, leading to a bad rebound goal.
Also didn’t cause Chesley to get caught out of position cheating up when the BIG’s leading scorer was on the ice.
On the flip side, and to your point, watch Brodzinski’s post game. One comment that alarmed me was his reference to “if coach doesn’t come to the rink we work on D the entire time with coach Miller.”
Would be really interested to get thoughts from more knowledgeable people. Is this normal for the U or college hockey in general? Can’t believe there are practices where coach isn’t on the ice.
Putting Moore with the worst player on the team and a guy with a limited skill set but a really good shot might not have been the play… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Maybe just a little hyperbole here? I didn't see Rud or Begley in uniform last night.
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
Not sure where to start here, but will give it a go.
-- Was not a fan of Bob putting 24 with 77 & 81. Last week having 24 with 81 & 18 seemed to work better. I still think 11 with 81 & 77 is the best result.
-- One of the issues last night is that they gave the Michigan goalie clean looks. Very little set up time in the zone and hardly any bodies in front to screen him.
-- Michigan has more skill in its top 6 than the Gophers do. Hate to say it, but they do. But will beats skill, and the Gophers really didn't have the will last night. As bad as they played, they were only 1 shot away from tying it.
-- The last 2 years the Gophers have lost to Michigan in the playoffs, and it turned out ok.
-- The WORST PLAYER ON THE TEAM had a career year in points, and was 4th on the team in scoring. He is also 2nd on the team in +/-. We all know he is a streaky player, but he always seems to be one of the players fans point to if things go wrong.
-- I take what players say in post game or mid week media sessions with a grain of salt. I'm sure what Brodzy said about Miller running practice only means a certain part of practice and that Bob is not at BWW having beers and wings.
-- Some fans will always hate Bob no matter what. Social media is filled with that after most losses. Is Bob perfect? No. But look at what he has accomplished while he has been here.. Crowds are back, teams are competitive and fun to watch, his athletes have been great in the class room and stay out of trouble, and is getting great recruiting classes of mostly MN kids. This program is in far better hands than the end of the Lucia era.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Bob needs to go. He was better than Lucia, but time for some young blood to breathe some life into this program!
On the flip side, and to your point, watch Brodzinski’s post game. One comment that alarmed me was his reference to “if coach doesn’t come to the rink we work on D the entire time with coach Miller.”
Would be really interested to get thoughts from more knowledgeable people. Is this normal for the U or college hockey in general? Can’t believe there are practices where coach isn’t on the ice.
Noticed this also. What in the world does that mean? That Bob isn’t showing up to practice? I was confused by the whole thing.
Putting Moore (your fastest skater) with Nevers and Brodzinski makes zero sense.
I don’t call out individual players that often but it could not be more obvious that Snuggerud wishes he was in the NHL right now. Which is a shame because he’s a guy that has represented the “M” very well during his time here.
Bob needs to go. He was better than Lucia, but time for some young blood to breathe some life into this program!
On the flip side, and to your point, watch Brodzinski’s post game. One comment that alarmed me was his reference to “if coach doesn’t come to the rink we work on D the entire time with coach Miller.”
Would be really interested to get thoughts from more knowledgeable people. Is this normal for the U or college hockey in general? Can’t believe there are practices where coach isn’t on the ice.
Noticed this also. What in the world does that mean? That Bob isn’t showing up to practice? I was confused by the whole thing.
Putting Moore (your fastest skater) with Nevers and Brodzinski makes zero sense.
Maybe when he is sick or something. Even coach's have a few days off during the practices.
For me it’s not the fact they lost, Michigan is a good team, it happens. It’s how they lost. How do you play so uninspired in the playoffs versus a team that beat you in your own building the past couple years. Just head scratching. Seeing 81 visibly mail it in is so sad to me.
I noticed gophers sitting on the bench last night during play. I guess seeing Michigan all standing wasn’t really helping myself feel hopeful for any intensity swing.
For me it’s not the fact they lost, Michigan is a good team, it happens. It’s how they lost. How do you play so uninspired in the playoffs versus a team that beat you in your own building the past couple years. Just head scratching. Seeing 81 visibly mail it in is so sad to me.
Going into this year this was one of my biggest concerns. How does Snuggerud respond from losing two incredible line mates? Especially when one of them is his best buddy Cooley who he thought was going to be back on the ice with him until about a monthish from their first practice. Physically we knew it’d be tough because he’s now “the guy”. But what was his attitude going to be like? Well unfortunately we’re finding that out now. Who knows what’s all going on but his body language is not what you want to see. If he’s playing like this he’s not ready for the NHL. But, and I know sounds crazy, do we want him back next year? If this is how it’s going to be, would he be an actual asset to the team?
Bob needs to go. He was better than Lucia, but time for some young blood to breathe some life into this program!
On the flip side, and to your point, watch Brodzinski’s post game. One comment that alarmed me was his reference to “if coach doesn’t come to the rink we work on D the entire time with coach Miller.”
Would be really interested to get thoughts from more knowledgeable people. Is this normal for the U or college hockey in general? Can’t believe there are practices where coach isn’t on the ice.
Noticed this also. What in the world does that mean? That Bob isn’t showing up to practice? I was confused by the whole thing.
Putting Moore (your fastest skater) with Nevers and Brodzinski makes zero sense.
Maybe when he is sick or something. Even coach's have a few days off during the practices.
It should be very, very, very rare and "if the coach doesn't get to the rink" to me isn't a very reassuring comment on that front. Hopefully it just came out wrong.
@eric-vegoe do you have any insight to the Brodzinski comment about Miller running practice when Bob doesn’t show up?
People saying Snuggy mailed it in when he had the only goal and the entire team never had the puck… yeah IDK. Guys like Nelson, a fifth year senior sorta just threw the puck around aimlessly all game rather than forcing his way to the net in an attempt to make something happen. The breakout was pretty terrible while Michigan just sorta played keep away with theirs. Hard to single any player out when the coach made weird lineup decisions that resulted in zero chemistry and the entire team looked like they were scared to play.
The fans were the big losers last night. When Snuggerud's shot found the back of the net, Mariucci was deafening. It's too bad the Gophers sidelined their 6th man for 58.5 minutes before that goal.
Talk of parting with the coach borders on insanity, but I will concede his resume of talented teams underachieving in the tournament is a matter of record. It's an odd juxtaposition against his recruiting ability.
Juggling line combinations during a tournament run smells of a coach desperately trying to find lightning in a bottle because certain players on his team aren't showing up for games. I couldn't be more disappointed in Snuggy and Pitlick right now. I noticed also that Motzko didn't use the fourth line as much as he normally does. They saw limited ice time during the first half of the game.
The old adage is that all that matters is how you're playing in March. By that measure, I'd say Minnesota is in trouble.
My guess is that it may refer to times the head coach has responsibilities away from the rink such as recruiting or scouting games. Vegoe probably has better insight though.@eric-vegoe do you have any insight to the Brodzinski comment about Miller running practice when Bob doesn’t show up?
I’m giving Jimmy a lot of leeway since last two games he got penalties and he might have been told to turn it down a notch. He was in the running for the H Baker but not anymore. Who knows what’s in his head. He has the talent, hope he ignores the background noise and turns it on for the remainder of the season. Never been a fan of post game interviews, if they win it doesn’t matter what they say, if they lose their comments get way too much attention.
That game last night hurt. They were definitely outplayed and deserved to lose. For most of the game many appeared to be going through the motions. I hope the Gophers are able to figure out how to play with some tenacity and urgency heading into the NCAA tournament. I hope they can play there best in the regional and get back home to play for a Natty in Minnesota!
Go Gophers!
On the bright side, t shirt giveaway was cool, tickets were 22.00, band was great as always, got to actually sit down and have a bite at stub n herbs, when we did finally score I thought of the hard cores who poured out with 4 minutes left, and plus the season isn’t over yet.
On the bright side, t shirt giveaway was cool, tickets were 22.00, band was great as always, got to actually sit down and have a bite at stub n herbs
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? 😆
My guess is that it may refer to times the head coach has responsibilities away from the rink such as recruiting or scouting games. Vegoe probably has better insight though.@eric-vegoe do you have any insight to the Brodzinski comment about Miller running practice when Bob doesn’t show up?
That comment is getting way blown out of proportion. Like I said before, he probably meant that Miller runs the defensive side of things and takes over that part of practice. Now days every word uttered by anyone is put under a microscope. Does anyone really think Bob is just mailing it in... well I guess some of you do. I know we are all disappointed about last nights result, but we all need to take a deep breath.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
On the bright side, t shirt giveaway was cool, tickets were 22.00, band was great as always, got to actually sit down and have a bite at stub n herbs
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? 😆
😁 thought it coulda been 6-0 at one point so the possibility of tying it at the end seemed like an interesting possibility. We’ve all seen worse but I had a bad feeling about this one going in. Two teams going in different directions at the moment so I guess I did the mental preparation accordingly.😁
People saying Snuggy mailed it in when he had the only goal and the entire team never had the puck… yeah IDK. Guys like Nelson, a fifth year senior sorta just threw the puck around aimlessly all game rather than forcing his way to the net in an attempt to make something happen. The breakout was pretty terrible while Michigan just sorta played keep away with theirs. Hard to single any player out when the coach made weird lineup decisions that resulted in zero chemistry and the entire team looked like they were scared to play.
81 was the worst player in white and was visibly uninterested in the game.
The fact he matched his goal total from last year after basically taking the whole second half off is honestly very impressive. Goes to show how much talent he has.
As long as he brings it for the NCAA’s I don’t care. Let’s not kid, the B1G tournament is fun but the big dance has been the goal all year.
I don’t think it’s an effort thing as much as some combo of overall strategy (line creation and breakout/whatever the fuck they’re doing when they have the puck in the opposing team’s zone) and execution. But ultimately that falls on the coach.My guess is that it may refer to times the head coach has responsibilities away from the rink such as recruiting or scouting games. Vegoe probably has better insight though.@eric-vegoe do you have any insight to the Brodzinski comment about Miller running practice when Bob doesn’t show up?
That comment is getting way blown out of proportion. Like I said before, he probably meant that Miller runs the defensive side of things and takes over that part of practice. Now days every word uttered by anyone is put under a microscope. Does anyone really think Bob is just mailing it in... well I guess some of you do. I know we are all disappointed about last nights result, but we all need to take a deep breath.
Yeah idk, nobody looked particularly great yesterday, vs PSU that second game, or at various points this year in some of the more disappointing performances (Notre Dame game 2 etc.). A lot of guys at various levels and even in different sports don’t look particularly ”engaged” when the team is discombobulated and they don’t have many chances to do anything. I don’t have a problem with ppl calling it as they see it but there’s plenty of blame to go around for that one, nobody looked particularly great or stood out in a good way. Even Close kicked out a bad rebound and didn’t make the second save but I have a hard time blaming him when the team had a whopping 4 shots in the 2nd period and maybe like 3 good chances all game.People saying Snuggy mailed it in when he had the only goal and the entire team never had the puck… yeah IDK. Guys like Nelson, a fifth year senior sorta just threw the puck around aimlessly all game rather than forcing his way to the net in an attempt to make something happen. The breakout was pretty terrible while Michigan just sorta played keep away with theirs. Hard to single any player out when the coach made weird lineup decisions that resulted in zero chemistry and the entire team looked like they were scared to play.
81 was the worst player in white and was visibly uninterested in the game.
The fact he matched his goal total from last year after basically taking the whole second half off is honestly very impressive. Goes to show how much talent he has.
As long as he brings it for the NCAA’s I don’t care. Let’s not kid, the B1G tournament is fun but the big dance has been the goal all year.
I get why ppl expect more from him in particular but he seems more like a Phil Kessel type from what I’ve seen so far. Far from a complete player but has a wicked shot that you can’t teach and can easily compliment a line with that strength.
The relationship between the coach and his players can be reflected by the play on the ice, court, or field.
When a kid is mad at his parents for making him do something he doesn't want to do, he'll make them pay.
I'm not speculating how Bob gets along with his team, but after watching the presser, I doubt things are swell.
Even Close kicked out a bad rebound and didn’t make the second save but I have a hard time blaming him
He's bailed out his teams on numerous occasions, including last night. Michigan had better opportunities than Minnesota did.
The worst part of the first goal is it came after Minnesota was ratcheting up their pressure on Michigan. After that goal, the Gophers were chasing.
The relationship between the coach and his players can be reflected by the play on the ice, court, or field.
When a kid is mad at his parents for making him do something he doesn't want to do, he'll make them pay.
I'm not speculating how Bob gets along with his team, but after watching the presser, I doubt things are swell.
that’s a pretty hefty amount of speculation. This team should be an easily self motivated one with many upperclassmen guys who came back for extra years. I think that’s more what peeves him when guys like Nelson, Brodz, Koster, etc aren’t getting the team up and going. This team seems to be pouty at times and that’s gotta be frustrating as hell for Bob with a more veteran team
Far from a complete player but has a wicked shot that you can’t teach and can easily compliment a line with that strength.
Dreaded third straight post here, but I wanted to observe that Snuggy's shot has been contested regularly in the second half of the season.
It's obvious that opponents have been schooled to close the gap on him to interrupt his shooting motion, and he's rarely open for a clean shot. The message is: Don't let this guy beat you.
Far from a complete player but has a wicked shot that you can’t teach and can easily compliment a line with that strength.
Dreaded third straight post here, but I wanted to observe that Snuggy's shot has been contested regularly in the second half of the season.
It's obvious that opponents have been schooled to close the gap on him to interrupt his shooting motion, and he's rarely open for a clean shot. The message is: Don't let this guy beat you.
Agreed and it’s completely killed our first pp. they’ll have 2 weeks to get that figured out as they’re going to need the ST to be much better
Right after that they sorta just frustrated us with the trap all game. And the team looked like they still thought they had wide ice with how they tried to attack it. UghEven Close kicked out a bad rebound and didn’t make the second save but I have a hard time blaming him
He's bailed out his teams on numerous occasions, including last night. Michigan had better opportunities than Minnesota did.
The worst part of the first goal is it came after Minnesota was ratcheting up their pressure on Michigan. After that goal, the Gophers were chasing.
And yeah agreed how opponents approach Snuggerud, good strategy as nobody else seems to be helping him get open like Cooley did last year. I like Moore’s game but even he’s been pretty inconsistent in terms of how effective he is game to game. I get why Motzko mixes up the lines but maybe that’s not the issue as much as other tendencies and how the team approaches things. To me it was just very apparent that Michigan was gonna force the gophers to take the puck away from them, they’d just drive in hard and make crisp passes keeping the D on their heals. On the flip side the gophers just regularly gave the puck away.
Just watched the game, and it obviously goes without saying that it was miserable to watch most of the game...
...But that being said, it's very reassuring to me that we are talking about how uninspiring this team is sitting at #8 in the PWR. It's a good sign about the direction of the program.
I don't know anything about hockey, but it feels like Snuggerud was pulled up immensely by his linemates last year, and that alone has made his regression to the mean that much more depressing. And it's a perfect microcosm of the team's experience as a whole this year despite the fact that we are still #8.
As ugly as Saturday's game was, I'll focus on the positive...maybe a week off is what this team needs.