I call BS. Please don’t come on here the day after a huge disappointment and spout gossip you don’t back up. “source close to the situation” is who? Or in what capacity? You’re just being a shit stirrer.Getting news from a source close to the situation the ncaa is pulling those refs from the regional, unbelievable
It's a fact. There will be a different crew tomorrow night. Scrambling to get a new crew to Fargo started this morning.
The Gophers lost for three reasons:
1. The referees were abyssal. Multiple egregious non-calls that led directly to UMass scoring. A head-scratching decision not to allow the goaltender a few minutes to repair his equipment. Whether the rule was "revised" a few years ago or not, I have never seen referees force the back up goalie to suit up in the middle of the game because they won't pause the game for a couple minutes. People who say you need to "play through" missed calls are ignoring the fact that when margins are tight and parity is high, games are won and lost when one team (usually the faster, more skilled team) forces the other team to take penalties that create power plays. When the non-calls result not only in missed powerplays but scoring opportunities for the other team, you ARE deciding the game not "letting them play."
2. The Gophers let up in the 3rd period and started playing in a defensive shell. Whether that was a "strategy" from Bob or just a reflection of a team that seemed to lack the heart and stamina when it mattered, I do not know. But we were in the driver's seat at the start of the 3rd and we gave the game away.
3. The goal-tending was awful. In fact, the goal-tending was terrible all year. I don't care if Souliere had some good games - he also had some absolute clunkers. And Airey is a slow, lumbering, below average D1 goalie at best. He does not see the puck through traffic and struggles to adjust his position to the speed of the play. Both goalies are guilty of giving up some of the softest goals I saw all season, from any team. The fact that they have somewhat respectable numbers is a reflection of having one of the most talented teams in college hockey playing in front of them and little else. Fact is, you cannot win games when you consistently out-shoot your opponent and yet they get one rush and score from a bad angle, low-danger position. We saw this over and over again all season. Hard not to be deflated when you pepper the other goalie and the opposing team takes one shot and scores. I hope Bob has a plan for next year because Airey is not the guy.
Is there a way to temporarily change my name? I am not chill. In fact I am very decidedly not chill about what happened
I'm not going to dwell on the officiating since it wasn't the only factor in our loss, but as others have noted, it feels like the whole Sheehy situation all over again. If there's any truth to the refs being replaced for tomorrow because of performance, hopefully we get a statement about it soon. Granted I haven't been too chatty these last couple of years anyway, but the only other thing I'm going to say about it is that I make a point to step away from my keyboard for awhile after a loss and the frustrating end to this game is a prime example of why.
I feel so bad for Airey as that was an incredibly awkward situation he was put in. He deserved criticism for other things during the season, but that critical goal UMass immediately scored was not his fault.
Looking more selfishly, I'm pretty bummed that we're not going to St. Louis. After driving between Oklahoma City and DFW for the solar eclipse last year, I was kind of hoping to see if driving for a Frozen Four road trip is more convenient than flying. Oh well, Chicago's only 3 years away and hopefully we make that one.
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I hope Bob has a plan for next year because Airey is not the guy.
I wish I did not agree with this but I do.
I call BS. Please don’t come on here the day after a huge disappointment and spout gossip you don’t back up. “source close to the situation” is who? Or in what capacity? You’re just being a shit stirrer.Getting news from a source close to the situation the ncaa is pulling those refs from the regional, unbelievable
It's a fact. There will be a different crew tomorrow night. Scrambling to get a new crew to Fargo started this morning.
All the people claiming this are going to be "proven" right, whether they actually are or not...
Roughly half the regionals get 3 officiating crews, and half get two (and the Frozen Four gets three).
The regionals with 3 crews, each crew gets one game. The regionals with 2 crews, one gets one game, and one gets two games. (If someone knows how they decide that, please let me know. Nobody I talk to has ever been able to figure it out.)
What makes it interesting is many of the crews from out East work multiple leagues, for example ECAC and Hockey East. At least 2 of the officials from the early game work both leagues, so I don't know if it is a Hockey East crew or an ECAC crew... (You technically have to claim a "home" conference where you work the majority of your games)
If the crew who worked the early game is from Hockey East, that means they couldn't work the final if UMass advanced. So once UMass advanced it was going to have to be the crew from the UMass - UM game. If they are an ECAC crew, then no issue.
There could be a third crew, already on site. In which case the people claiming this are going to say "See, told you so."
Or, perhaps, the NCAA was dismayed at the way the game was called and is bringing in another crew. In which case they will also say "see, told you so."
Or the crew who worked the UMass UM game works the final and you all shake your heads at how dumb the whole thing is.
As far as "Scrambling" to get a crew to Fargo... no. UMass (Hockey East) and Western Michigan (NCHC), they can easily get a B1G crew or a CCHA crew into Fargo very quickly should they need to. No "scrambling" necessary. Most NCAA officials leave this part of their calendar open, hoping to work the tournament. There are probably 70 D-I officials within an easy 5 hour drive of Fargo.
My guess is either a third crew is already out there, or the early crew is an ECAC crew, deemed no conflict, and works the regional final. (It would've been kind of dumb to bring in a crew who wasn't able to work one of the teams, if they did only have 2 crews at this regional...)
Hard for me to be shocked by the result, but I have seen a lot in 35 years of watching this team...
Overall, the Gophers were a different team the second half of the season. They were 13-2-1-2 (using W-L-OTW-OTL)in the first half and 10-5-0-5 the second - essentially .500 since the first of the year. Yeah, I get that SO losses don't count the same as an actual loss or OT loss, but it certainly feels the same. I get there were injuries and all that, but a team with depth should be able to overcome some of that.
As for last night's game itself, yes the reffing was bad, but it was about the same as the WMU/MSU-M game as far as non-calls go. I also have NEVER seen a goalie not be able to make an equipment repair in a game. The goal that followed was certainly not Airey's fault, but throwing someone in there cold like that is absolute BS. And, the non-call in OT was a complete joke. However, none of those things cost the team the game.
There is no excuse to change your playing strategy just because you have a 2 goal lead. Why they stopped putting the foot on the gas is beyond comprehension. They were clearly the better team for the first 40 minutes and then gave it all away, thus putting themselves in the position to have to play an OT period and risk getting a non-call that would lead to the game winner.
My biggest frustration with this year's team is that I can only think of about 5-6 games where they played 3 completely solid periods of quality hockey. When you play 40 games, and want to play 43, playing a handful of games for all 60 minutes isn't going to cut it. As the late Gene Hackman said in "The Replacement," you need to have heart. Miles and miles of heart. This team never had that this year.
I wish you would have been in Fargo after the game and saw the players (who were in F'N tears) and tell them they have no heart. I highly doubt you would have had the guts to say it to their face.
The Gophers lost for three reasons:
1. The referees were abyssal. Multiple egregious non-calls that led directly to UMass scoring. A head-scratching decision not to allow the goaltender a few minutes to repair his equipment. Whether the rule was "revised" a few years ago or not, I have never seen referees force the back up goalie to suit up in the middle of the game because they won't pause the game for a couple minutes. People who say you need to "play through" missed calls are ignoring the fact that when margins are tight and parity is high, games are won and lost when one team (usually the faster, more skilled team) forces the other team to take penalties that create power plays. When the non-calls result not only in missed powerplays but scoring opportunities for the other team, you ARE deciding the game not "letting them play."
2. The Gophers let up in the 3rd period and started playing in a defensive shell. Whether that was a "strategy" from Bob or just a reflection of a team that seemed to lack the heart and stamina when it mattered, I do not know. But we were in the driver's seat at the start of the 3rd and we gave the game away.
3. The goal-tending was awful. In fact, the goal-tending was terrible all year. I don't care if Souliere had some good games - he also had some absolute clunkers. And Airey is a slow, lumbering, below average D1 goalie at best. He does not see the puck through traffic and struggles to adjust his position to the speed of the play. Both goalies are guilty of giving up some of the softest goals I saw all season, from any team. The fact that they have somewhat respectable numbers is a reflection of having one of the most talented teams in college hockey playing in front of them and little else. Fact is, you cannot win games when you consistently out-shoot your opponent and yet they get one rush and score from a bad angle, low-danger position. We saw this over and over again all season. Hard not to be deflated when you pepper the other goalie and the opposing team takes one shot and scores. I hope Bob has a plan for next year because Airey is not the guy.
Don’t agree with the order. We played soft all game, haven’t been physical all year. Same issues manifested and prevented us from pulling away (draws, clears, inconsistent effort). So many times we could land a hit and don’t.
On the OT non-call watch the tape. No one hustles back, playing hard to the whistle is the first thing you are taught in any sport. We stop that rush and probably get a make-up call.
Everyone is freaking out about the “lack of high end recruits”. I would rather see us get more grit and physical through a couple of portal adds. Hopefully Wood, Moore, and Chesley come back.
Agree on goaltending, we should compete for elite goaltenders.
Hard for me to be shocked by the result, but I have seen a lot in 35 years of watching this team...
Overall, the Gophers were a different team the second half of the season. They were 13-2-1-2 (using W-L-OTW-OTL)in the first half and 10-5-0-5 the second - essentially .500 since the first of the year. Yeah, I get that SO losses don't count the same as an actual loss or OT loss, but it certainly feels the same. I get there were injuries and all that, but a team with depth should be able to overcome some of that.
As for last night's game itself, yes the reffing was bad, but it was about the same as the WMU/MSU-M game as far as non-calls go. I also have NEVER seen a goalie not be able to make an equipment repair in a game. The goal that followed was certainly not Airey's fault, but throwing someone in there cold like that is absolute BS. And, the non-call in OT was a complete joke. However, none of those things cost the team the game.
There is no excuse to change your playing strategy just because you have a 2 goal lead. Why they stopped putting the foot on the gas is beyond comprehension. They were clearly the better team for the first 40 minutes and then gave it all away, thus putting themselves in the position to have to play an OT period and risk getting a non-call that would lead to the game winner.
My biggest frustration with this year's team is that I can only think of about 5-6 games where they played 3 completely solid periods of quality hockey. When you play 40 games, and want to play 43, playing a handful of games for all 60 minutes isn't going to cut it. As the late Gene Hackman said in "The Replacement," you need to have heart. Miles and miles of heart. This team never had that this year.
I wish you would have been in Fargo after the game and saw the players (who were in F'N tears) and tell them they have no heart. I highly doubt you would have had the guts to say it to their face.
These kids work hard and we are probably too negative. But their effort was inconsistent, all year. Too much coasting.
Hard for me to be shocked by the result, but I have seen a lot in 35 years of watching this team...
Overall, the Gophers were a different team the second half of the season. They were 13-2-1-2 (using W-L-OTW-OTL)in the first half and 10-5-0-5 the second - essentially .500 since the first of the year. Yeah, I get that SO losses don't count the same as an actual loss or OT loss, but it certainly feels the same. I get there were injuries and all that, but a team with depth should be able to overcome some of that.
As for last night's game itself, yes the reffing was bad, but it was about the same as the WMU/MSU-M game as far as non-calls go. I also have NEVER seen a goalie not be able to make an equipment repair in a game. The goal that followed was certainly not Airey's fault, but throwing someone in there cold like that is absolute BS. And, the non-call in OT was a complete joke. However, none of those things cost the team the game.
There is no excuse to change your playing strategy just because you have a 2 goal lead. Why they stopped putting the foot on the gas is beyond comprehension. They were clearly the better team for the first 40 minutes and then gave it all away, thus putting themselves in the position to have to play an OT period and risk getting a non-call that would lead to the game winner.
My biggest frustration with this year's team is that I can only think of about 5-6 games where they played 3 completely solid periods of quality hockey. When you play 40 games, and want to play 43, playing a handful of games for all 60 minutes isn't going to cut it. As the late Gene Hackman said in "The Replacement," you need to have heart. Miles and miles of heart. This team never had that this year.
I wish you would have been in Fargo after the game and saw the players (who were in F'N tears) and tell them they have no heart. I highly doubt you would have had the guts to say it to their face.
I have to agree here. Nobody should be on here questioning the character of these players and their desire to win. If you are, then you don't really know these young men the way you think you do. They clearly couldn't find the magic sauce this year for a deep run and they had a hard time playing clean hockey for 60. It would have been easy for a team to go away after it got to 4-3 will all that transpired, but they were still in that game and battling to take back the momentum and find the finish. Just look at the results overall in this tourney. Maine looked awful tonight and I saw their heart and work ethic in the HEA tourney, Michigan State gave away a game against Cornell, Western had a hard time with the Minn St slog and at times they didn't look great in that game either. I mean shit did you see what happened to Denver in the NCHC final??? Does Denver not have heart then? It happens to a lot of teams whether it's in the first 20, middle 20, or in the third.
The rest of your analysis is reasonable but let's pump the breaks on character judgments.
THIS…spot on comment! Sometimes (for all teams) execution is off for a litany of reasons. But these athletes have heart & compete hard, it’s extremely rare for that not to be the case.Hard for me to be shocked by the result, but I have seen a lot in 35 years of watching this team...
Overall, the Gophers were a different team the second half of the season. They were 13-2-1-2 (using W-L-OTW-OTL)in the first half and 10-5-0-5 the second - essentially .500 since the first of the year. Yeah, I get that SO losses don't count the same as an actual loss or OT loss, but it certainly feels the same. I get there were injuries and all that, but a team with depth should be able to overcome some of that.
As for last night's game itself, yes the reffing was bad, but it was about the same as the WMU/MSU-M game as far as non-calls go. I also have NEVER seen a goalie not be able to make an equipment repair in a game. The goal that followed was certainly not Airey's fault, but throwing someone in there cold like that is absolute BS. And, the non-call in OT was a complete joke. However, none of those things cost the team the game.
There is no excuse to change your playing strategy just because you have a 2 goal lead. Why they stopped putting the foot on the gas is beyond comprehension. They were clearly the better team for the first 40 minutes and then gave it all away, thus putting themselves in the position to have to play an OT period and risk getting a non-call that would lead to the game winner.
My biggest frustration with this year's team is that I can only think of about 5-6 games where they played 3 completely solid periods of quality hockey. When you play 40 games, and want to play 43, playing a handful of games for all 60 minutes isn't going to cut it. As the late Gene Hackman said in "The Replacement," you need to have heart. Miles and miles of heart. This team never had that this year.
I wish you would have been in Fargo after the game and saw the players (who were in F'N tears) and tell them they have no heart. I highly doubt you would have had the guts to say it to their face.
I have to agree here. Nobody should be on here questioning the character of these players and their desire to win. If you are, then you don't really know these young men the way you think you do. They clearly couldn't find the magic sauce this year for a deep run and they had a hard time playing clean hockey for 60. It would have been easy for a team to go away after it got to 4-3 will all that transpired, but they were still in that game and battling to take back the momentum and find the finish. Just look at the results overall in this tourney. Maine looked awful tonight and I saw their heart and work ethic in the HEA tourney, Michigan State gave away a game against Cornell, Western had a hard time with the Minn St slog and at times they didn't look great in that game either. I mean shit did you see what happened to Denver in the NCHC final??? Does Denver not have heart then? It happens to a lot of teams whether it's in the first 20, middle 20, or in the third.
The rest of your analysis is reasonable but let's pump the breaks on character judgments.
@fightclub30 So it'll be weird when a crew who was in a different city is reffing in Fargo today. Anyway...what's done is done.
Not once did I make character a question for any of the players. Maybe using a movie quote wasn't the brightest idea, but the point was about EFFORT. Look at MSU-M or PSU. They have about 60-70% of the talent the Gophers have, but their players never stop grinding. Always looking for the angle, always willing to sacrifice the body. They never stop moving their feet. That is what I am talking about. This team didn't possess that this year with the notable exception of about 5 or 6 games. They were good enough to win a lot with only 30 or 40 minutes of 100% effort. That doesn't work in the playoffs, as witnessed by the results of the ND and UMass games.THIS…spot on comment! Sometimes (for all teams) execution is off for a litany of reasons. But these athletes have heart & compete hard, it’s extremely rare for that not to be the case.Hard for me to be shocked by the result, but I have seen a lot in 35 years of watching this team...
Overall, the Gophers were a different team the second half of the season. They were 13-2-1-2 (using W-L-OTW-OTL)in the first half and 10-5-0-5 the second - essentially .500 since the first of the year. Yeah, I get that SO losses don't count the same as an actual loss or OT loss, but it certainly feels the same. I get there were injuries and all that, but a team with depth should be able to overcome some of that.
As for last night's game itself, yes the reffing was bad, but it was about the same as the WMU/MSU-M game as far as non-calls go. I also have NEVER seen a goalie not be able to make an equipment repair in a game. The goal that followed was certainly not Airey's fault, but throwing someone in there cold like that is absolute BS. And, the non-call in OT was a complete joke. However, none of those things cost the team the game.
There is no excuse to change your playing strategy just because you have a 2 goal lead. Why they stopped putting the foot on the gas is beyond comprehension. They were clearly the better team for the first 40 minutes and then gave it all away, thus putting themselves in the position to have to play an OT period and risk getting a non-call that would lead to the game winner.
My biggest frustration with this year's team is that I can only think of about 5-6 games where they played 3 completely solid periods of quality hockey. When you play 40 games, and want to play 43, playing a handful of games for all 60 minutes isn't going to cut it. As the late Gene Hackman said in "The Replacement," you need to have heart. Miles and miles of heart. This team never had that this year.
I wish you would have been in Fargo after the game and saw the players (who were in F'N tears) and tell them they have no heart. I highly doubt you would have had the guts to say it to their face.
I have to agree here. Nobody should be on here questioning the character of these players and their desire to win. If you are, then you don't really know these young men the way you think you do. They clearly couldn't find the magic sauce this year for a deep run and they had a hard time playing clean hockey for 60. It would have been easy for a team to go away after it got to 4-3 will all that transpired, but they were still in that game and battling to take back the momentum and find the finish. Just look at the results overall in this tourney. Maine looked awful tonight and I saw their heart and work ethic in the HEA tourney, Michigan State gave away a game against Cornell, Western had a hard time with the Minn St slog and at times they didn't look great in that game either. I mean shit did you see what happened to Denver in the NCHC final??? Does Denver not have heart then? It happens to a lot of teams whether it's in the first 20, middle 20, or in the third.
The rest of your analysis is reasonable but let's pump the breaks on character judgments.
Of course no one makes it to this level of play in any sport without some heart and desire to win. It is too hard. The Gophers historically do not seem to recruit/attract very many grinders. We have a pattern of high end flash, speed, and skill but seemingly too many times lack the will to grind it out in a corner (we have a couple of these) or the never quit on the play mentality. We are also not physical and any team that knocks us around a little seems to get the better of us. Because, well, you know. No one calls that clutch and grab/interference stuff. Or apparently crosschecks to the face or trips? Bitter? Very.
@joegopher The point is that you made a reference about the players having no heart which is an attack on their character. If you intended that your comment was about effort it didnt come across that way.
We have a pattern of high end flash, speed, and skill but seemingly too many times lack the will to grind it out in a corner (we have a couple of these) or the never quit on the play mentality.
Kurth plays this game and if the rest of the team played with that same mentality, they would probably have won a national title.
Yeah, if you post on GPL, you know the gophers have a reputation of being soft. There is some kernel of truth to that whether or not you'd like to admit it. I look at a guy like Charlie Strobel as a grinder type player. All that kid did was move his feet and take the body. What frustrated me about the Norte Dame quarter final series was that every single high school team that just played in the state tournament, showed more physicality than the gophers all weekend long.
As seen on USCHO. "Not a trip. Even the commentator said Chesley blew a tire."
I don’t think it’s a question of effort in terms of being physical I think it’s more a skillset a lot of these guys lack. Moore and Kurth were decent in that area, Lamb is decent, but nobody was elite in that area like Knies was or Nelson. Even Rau was better at it than most of this team. Part of that is a size disadvantage but Rau wasn’t significantly bigger than Ziemer if he even was at all, much less Wood. Getting top scorers from the USHL (as 3-4 year guys) and bringing in some NTPD guys early is fine but if they’re all perimeter players at this next level that’s gonna be an issue. That’s not to say they should totally over correct and try and be like the Cows or Duluth but they do need to identify at least 2-3 guys like that who can play that role in the NCAA to compliment someone like Moore, Cooley, Clark, and free up time and space for guys like Snuggy and Wood.
This team needs Johnny Waibel. Did he have kids?
THIS WAS EXACTLY MY POINT: Kurth plays this game and if the rest of the team played with that same mentality, they would probably have won a national title.
To win consistently in any conference let alone a N Title you need both. The flash and the grind. The QP disaster we had that team. But again some odd changes in intensity and a pretty brutal penalty call ended up the difference. Hence why it is so difficult to win it. Watch Denver. Whatever they are doing is the right plan. Bob better show his touted recruiting skills in the offseason or it could be tough next year. Although watching Penn State they are absolutely tenacious with no huge talent differential to the Gophers. Before you jump on it, yes, they have Fink and a very tough goalie I know.
I am out of town with family and haven’t been able to track things. At this point it doesn’t really matter but, did they actually replace the officiating crew for the regional final?
I am out of town with family and haven’t been able to track things. At this point it doesn’t really matter but, did they actually replace the officiating crew for the regional final?
Yes. The crew being used is all Minnesota guys but 1 is from EGF and I personally know him to be a huge UND fan.
In fact 3 of 4 are from Roseau I'm almost certain and WMU has 2 Warroad guys.
@fightclub30 So it'll be weird when a crew who was in a different city is reffing in Fargo today. Anyway...what's done is done.
I will go ahead and walk my comment back.
I am surprised the NCAA did this. But that also means they brought a Hockey East crew to a regional that had a Hockey East team in it, and only sent 2 crews. They could've used an ECAC crew and an Atlantic hockey crew and not had any issues.
To be fair, weren't really in a different city... Those 4 guys are all very close to Fargo. Like I said there are probably 70 DI officials within 5 hours of Fargo. Those 4 are probably the closest four that there are to Fargo. 2 other guys from that area are already working other regionals.
While they could've already been scheduled for it as the third crew... it seems fairly likely that they were brought in as a new crew, and the early crew must've been Hockey East and couldn't.
@mg-since-forever In follow up to your PSU comparison, that team has 3 NHL draft picks (at least that's what I found). Yet they are still playing and win or lose today, that team is the best Big Ten team since the New Year. It would have been a shame if their earlier season losses had kept them out of the tournament.
I'm disappointed in this team because they didn't consistently play like a team full of highly drafted players. You'd get flashes but then grossly inconsistently play --- against good team, bad teams, etc.
You nailed it when you said Denver finds a way to balance youth vs. age, talent vs. grind and that's why they win, and I think that's pretty accurate. Minnesota gets this every once in a while but not consistently --- and yeah, I get its not easy to do with recruiting and good players leaving after a year or two.
I'm not "Fire Bob", but this year was really frustrating because it seems like they should have been better. It seems like something needs to change.
The Gophers have been my team and always will be, but ugh --- they don't make it easy sometimes.
@fightclub30 So it'll be weird when a crew who was in a different city is reffing in Fargo today. Anyway...what's done is done.
I will go ahead and walk my comment back.
I am surprised the NCAA did this. But that also means they brought a Hockey East crew to a regional that had a Hockey East team in it, and only sent 2 crews. They could've used an ECAC crew and an Atlantic hockey crew and not had any issues.
To be fair, weren't really in a different city... Those 4 guys are all very close to Fargo. Like I said there are probably 70 DI officials within 5 hours of Fargo. Those 4 are probably the closest four that there are to Fargo. 2 other guys from that area are already working other regionals.
While they could've already been scheduled for it as the third crew... it seems fairly likely that they were brought in as a new crew, and the early crew must've been Hockey East and couldn't.
All good man. Wild situation and it speaks volumes as to what transpired Thursday.
I wonder how many fans would have not gone to the edge had they beat UMASS but then lost to WMU? Because I suspect the reaction would have been less harsh, which to me would be odd considering the tournament is a one-and-done format.
Can only speak for myself but I didn’t think the team would beat WMU the next game, though I would’ve at least liked to see it play out. Without having seen that it’s hard to know what the reaction would’ve been but probably not remarkably different than the general sentiment re the second half of the year and it’s not like people forgot about the Notre Dame series.
I thought we matched up against WMU the best out of the three, honestly. Wanted to see that game. Then again we had more success against the UMass goalie than I thought we would.
Also, it wasn’t that they lost that game, it was how that sent me into a rage.
If we were beat because a better team outplayed us and earned it, it might sting a little less. Not downplaying that the Gophers could have done a lot of things differently on Thursday, but it’s the way we lost that hurts - the other team given an advantage by taking out our players on illegal plays and then being rewarded with a goal.
With how tight the game was without the 5 min. major yesterday, I think the Gophers would have hung in there and kept it interesting.
But I guess we’ll never know thanks to some individuals who just wanted to go home and chose not do their job properly….
Frank Serratore was on Beyond the Pond and he ripped the officials on how they called Thursdays game. His segment starts at the 34 minute mark.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/462-beyond-the-pond-28947547/
I was recently informed by a GPLer that I'm related to Airey
The team was inconsistent all second half and crapped the bed at home against Notre Dame. They weren't exactly shooting stars going into the tournament. That's why I doubted them. This might be an upopular opinion, but I also doubted the coach. I don't think he's a wartime consigliere, or at least he hasn't proven it yet.
Yeah, the refs sucked but the team sat back on a 3-1 lead 3rd-period lead and let the play come to them. It's not like that hasn't happened before (think: Tampa). Penn State figured out how to play a playoff game the other night, playing three full and solid periods of hockey--and they brought their goaltender to the party. Of course, so did Denver.
In the last three years, Minnesota lost an NC title game, got smoked in the second game of a regional, and lost a first game of a regional. That's going in the wrong direction, and worse, they're starting out a lower point for next season given the exodus of the quality players who left.
If they played like Penn State did or UMass or Western Michigan, they would still be in it. Get more guys like Kurth and Hendrickson on the team. They were way too dependent on Snuggy, the prospect of Wood and Lamb, and the hope that Moore would make a step change (he did not). And, once again, their goal tending was average when it mattered most.
Personally I can handle any loss if we play up to par. Anyone who’s physically watched the last month knows which games those were and weren’t. Watching the NCAA is there any one team that’s played consistently well for 60 minutes to this point? You knew UMass was gonna push hard in the 3rd. The push back came with snuggy’s 2nd of the game when people had them done. It was a fluke of bad luck and bad officiating and it’s a horse shit way for things to end especially for the players. Maybe the push back to match their intensity wasn’t up to par but it’s not like it’s an uncommon thing it’s just coming out on the short end for us when it matters the most. Idonno just a helpless rant.😁
Goaltending has been a major issue in this program lately. Needs to be fixed this offseason.
Frank Serratore was on Beyond the Pond and he ripped the officials on how they called Thursdays game. His segment starts at the 34 minute mark.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/462-beyond-the-pond-28947547/
What a great series of comments by Frank.
@streakygopher I’m in the same boat. I like Bob and think he is a good coach but losing faith that he is going to be the guy to win a title. The way the have been bounced from the tournament 2 out of the last 3 years, coughing up leads to inferior teams, is what troubles me most.
@streakygopher I’m in the same boat. I like Bob and think he is a good coach but losing faith that he is going to be the guy to win a title. The way the have been bounced from the tournament 2 out of the last 3 years, coughing up leads to inferior teams, is what troubles me most.
He had some top seeded SCSU teams that went nowhere as well. Just sayin, I honestly don’t know what to think but concerns with the talent and expectations and come up short and sometimes way short have the right to be validated. I’m not saying a change needs to happen but come on, it shouldn’t be forbidden to think about either. “23.”with that team a title was a gift wrapped slam dunk. I don’t know, I’m always gonna be one of their biggest fans in my own eyes but 3 days later after the season I’m still just stunned.
Yeah, I was gonna post something regarding this earlier but wasn’t sure if it was on topic. But I do think a lot of this stuff wouldn't be talked about as much if the Gophers just eeked out a NC title, or better yet played to their capabilities and didn’t need to rely on Close stealing that game, which he couldn’t quite pull off. Or even if they won a league tourney at home and didn’t get outplayed by Michigan twice and get completely outclassed by the cows and Q as well.The team was inconsistent all second half and crapped the bed at home against Notre Dame. They weren't exactly shooting stars going into the tournament. That's why I doubted them. This might be an upopular opinion, but I also doubted the coach. I don't think he's a wartime consigliere, or at least he hasn't proven it yet.
Yeah, the refs sucked but the team sat back on a 3-1 lead 3rd-period lead and let the play come to them. It's not like that hasn't happened before (think: Tampa). Penn State figured out how to play a playoff game the other night, playing three full and solid periods of hockey--and they brought their goaltender to the party. Of course, so did Denver.
In the last three years, Minnesota lost an NC title game, got smoked in the second game of a regional, and lost a first game of a regional. That's going in the wrong direction, and worse, they're starting out a lower point for next season given the exodus of the quality players who left.
If they played like Penn State did or UMass or Western Michigan, they would still be in it. Get more guys like Kurth and Hendrickson on the team. They were way too dependent on Snuggy, the prospect of Wood and Lamb, and the hope that Moore would make a step change (he did not). And, once again, their goal tending was average when it mattered most.
I’m not trying to say moral victories are what the Gophers should be striving for but it’s not like you could even argue that after any of those games either. The gophers were flat out beat in all of them despite recruiting really solid teams filled with talent. Now the team is going backwards losing to Notre Dame in the first round and probably didn’t have the horses to go further even if the refs didn’t steal the UMass game (where the gophers had a huge third period letdown that can’t be ignored). As far as next year goes year we’re basically hoping for an off-season miracle.
I’ve always said that I like what Motzko has done here, it’s clearly a massive upgrade over the late Lucia years even if that’s not the highest bar to clear. He brought us back to gopher hockey and filled the stadium etc. That said it’s hard not to notice this trend and I don’t think it’s just a matter of bad breaks and bad luck at this point.
Like many, I’ve said we don’t rebuild we reload. I hate to think otherwise because losing some of my gopher fan arrogance just isn’t normal.😂 Like mentioned already Bob has more than a little work to do with the departures and wondering somewhat what the mindset is behind some of them besides the money. Not the best feeling so I’m just hopeful right now I guess.
I don't think we would have won in St. Louis, but honestly I thought we would have beaten the WMU team that showed up in Fargo yesterday, so seeing them win on just the 2 PPGs during the major made me feel worse about Thursday. Hopefully they get kicked in the teeth in a week and a half since that would mean we likely would have gotten beat up too. Then I'll be able to let it go.
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I don't think we would have won in St. Louis, but honestly I thought we would have beaten the WMU team that showed up in Fargo yesterday, so seeing them win on just the 2 PPGs during the major made me feel worse about Thursday. Hopefully they get kicked in the teeth in a week and a half since that would mean we likely would have gotten beat up too. Then I'll be able to let it go.
I don't see why they couldn't have. Yes the Gophers didn't play their best hockey since perhaps February, but the fact is they were more than capable of beating any team in the country if they went after it. They controlled UMASS for at least 40 minutes and then let the game get away from them with a little help with the refs.
And regarding other comments about "Bob's teams going into a shell" the Gophers have stomped on more than a few throats in the tournament since Bob arrived:
3/27/2021 UNO 7-2
3/27/2022 WMU 3-0
3/23/2023 Canisius 9-2
3/25/2023 SCSU 4-1
4/6/2023 BU 6-2
Since his tenure I only see one loss in the tournament where it's clear they let up and that was vs. QU. I am less convinced it happened last weekend but who knows I guess.
I don't think we would have won in St. Louis, but honestly I thought we would have beaten the WMU team that showed up in Fargo yesterday, so seeing them win on just the 2 PPGs during the major made me feel worse about Thursday. Hopefully they get kicked in the teeth in a week and a half since that would mean we likely would have gotten beat up too. Then I'll be able to let it go.
I don't see why they couldn't have. Yes the Gophers didn't play their best hockey since perhaps February, but the fact is they were more than capable of beating any team in the country if they went after it. They controlled UMASS for at least 40 minutes and then let the game get away from them with a little help with the refs.
Well, I wrote my comment before Denver upset BC thinking about how great of a regular season Hockey East had and how much of a down year the NCHC had before fortunes seemed to have reversed during the regionals (i.e. I wouldn't want to face this year's BC at its best). I probably would have felt differently had we not let up, but it's water under the bridge now. I suppose I'm just looking for a reason to not be so PO'd at the refs so that too can become water under the bridge.
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