Didn't see this anywhere.
Couple things that jumped out:
-I miss Tom Mees (RIP)
-Bob Johnson talked during the OT about how Harvard had an extra day of rest compared to Minnesota. Did they really do the Frozen Four with a game on Thursday & another on Friday back then?
Yes. Harvard played on 3/30 and Minnesota played on 3/31. Title game was on 4/1.Didn't see this anywhere.
Couple things that jumped out:
-I miss Tom Mees (RIP)
-Bob Johnson talked during the OT about how Harvard had an extra day of rest compared to Minnesota. Did they really do the Frozen Four with a game on Thursday & another on Friday back then?
When I went to the FF in Boston in 1974 both semifinals were played the day before the title game.
The Civic Center clear boards!!
Lane MacDonald. Ugh.
I believe it was Maine that Minnesota lit up the night before. An extra day of rest was a serious advantage that Harvard held going into that game, but I think MacDonald was also a difference-maker. Like most Minnesota teams playing in the tournament, the goaltending that night was only OK.
Of all the goalies that have gone through this program's past 40-year history, it was square peg Adam Hauser and backup Travis Weber who brought home hardware. One could argue reasonably that all the rest underperformed in the NCAAs.
Lane MacDonald. Ugh.
I believe it was Maine that Minnesota lit up the night before. An extra day of rest was a serious advantage that Harvard held going into that game, but I think MacDonald was also a difference-maker. Like most Minnesota teams playing in the tournament, the goaltending that night was only OK.
Of all the goalies that have gone through this program's past 40-year history, it was square peg Adam Hauser and backup Travis Weber who brought home hardware. One could argue reasonably that all the rest underperformed in the NCAAs.
I feel like Wilcox gets a bit of a bad rap on that Union game too, though. He was lights out vs UND and could've been lights out vs Union if a few of those goals weren't on the literal 4th-5th chances, after a few great saves, while the Gophers were choosing to clear out ZERO bodies from the front of the net.
Wilcox main issue was letting up a soft goal for Union’s 6th when the gophers had some serious momentum to tie it up. I don’t fault him for the earlier goals though for the reasons you outlined, numerous rebounds by guys/pucks not being cleared out.
If Chorske scores on that breakaway early in the game...
Still stings 35 years later - so close!
I remember exactly where I was when Skarda hit that pipe. 😖 Looking back that whole upper corner was wide open. If only those sticks had some flex.Still stings 35 years later - so close!
It was the "clank" heard 'round the Civic Center, and likely the entire state of MN as well.If Chorske scores on that breakaway early in the game...
It was my first NC game, and most certainly not my last.
"Just don't call me Bud Grant. He's taller and richer than I am" - Doug Woog
backup Travis Weber who brought home hardware.
Travis Weber was probably the fifth or sixth best goalie in that Frozen Four but he got it done!
Travis Weber showed up when the lights got bright. The list of Gopher goalies who have done that, isn't particularly long.backup Travis Weber who brought home hardware.
Travis Weber was probably the fifth or sixth best goalie in that Frozen Four but he got it done!
I liked Weber. If he and Paul Martin would have came back for 03-04 we had a good chance to threepeat.Travis Weber showed up when the lights got bright. The list of Gopher goalies who have done that, isn't particularly long.backup Travis Weber who brought home hardware.
Travis Weber was probably the fifth or sixth best goalie in that Frozen Four but he got it done!
Didn't see this anywhere.
Couple things that jumped out:
-I miss Tom Mees (RIP)
-Bob Johnson talked during the OT about how Harvard had an extra day of rest compared to Minnesota. Did they really do the Frozen Four with a game on Thursday & another on Friday back then?
This National Championship game was my first taste of Minnesota heartbreak. Well, I guess I could count Darrin Nelson dropping the TD at the end of the 1987 NFC Championship. And the Minnesota Strikers blowing a 3 game to none lead in the MISL Finals in 1986. As a kid, indoor soccer seemed to me like it mattered too. But Robb Stauber not making those saves at the end of this game really stung. And then he left the team a year early, making me mad at him for years. Not winning that game hurt.
I met the Wooger as he was walking over to the Civic Center for the game ( I was heading over to the Y to watch it on TV . . . ). I said to him as we passed one another "Good Luck!" and wish I would have said "Best Wishes!"
Just finished re-watching this game after so many years . . . and brought back the bad feelings of so many missed calls by the refs - holding sticks, tackling, etc. - that I had after the original loss.
Really enjoyed some of the stats though . . . percentage time on power plays and number of shots . . . accuracy, and the line above that in the period stats - can't remember what it was right now ( and too tired at this late hour to go back and take another look see . . . ).
One heck of a game though . . .
Not knowing what to do, they do what they know . . .
Knowing what to do, they sometime don't do it . . .
The 26th year of the Gopher Men's Hockey Profile got to be too much for this ol' codger to handle . . . what with all of the possible activity on the transfer portal . . . . So, I'm closing it down at the 25th year . . .
Hello Everyone! Ive been reading these posts for years since the days of tUSCHO forum and have always enjoyed these discussions.
Not sure why I never felt the need to chime in before, even though I've been following this team since I was a child. I saw this topic and I actually have a couple stories loosely tied to this game.
I was 11 years old in 1989. We were in St. Paul that weekend to visit family and stayed at the old Embassy Suites downtown. I remember watching the game on TV with relatives and being heartbroken at the result. When we returned to our hotel that night it was like Mardi Gras, people chanting from the balconies across the courtyard, idiots figuratively swinging from the rafters. It was Harvard fans and [I presume] the team. They partied into the wee hours that night and it was one of the first times I witnessed first hand what a championship meant to a group of people like that. I was 9 & 13 for the Twins World Series titles, which was very cool for a kid that age, but it was all on TV, very different.
The second story takes place in spring of 2003. We were attending the Final Five staying at the St Paul Hotel when we happened to run into Herb Brooks who I think was just there to rub elbows with some hockey people. Besides the F5 I believe there was an evaluation camp for the Hockey World Championships which drew out some other hockey elites as well. In the lobby bar, I can see that Brooks is drinking a Bud Light and talking to someone I didn't recognize. One of the older guys in our group says he's sure it's Randy Skarda. So I buy an extra beer, and I politely stroll over and say, "Hi coach, huge fan, just wanted to buy you a beer. Couldn't pass up an opportunity to shake your hand." Without missing a beat, he turns to Skarda and says, "Randy here knows all about missed opportunities don't ya Randy!" Skarda puts his head in his hand and says nothing! I'm sure I don't need to explain why that's funny to the faithful on here...I still have piece of St Paul Hotel stationery with his autograph that reads 'Gold in '80, Silver in '02, thanks for the Bud Light'.
Anyways, there's my 2 cents. Love hockey. Love the Gophers. Next season should be a Doozy!!
@nothernmaroon that’s great stuff right there!
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Pohlad baseball ⚾️ it’s not arrogance, we really are “that good” #”Hey Siri, play “faithfully” by Journey max volume”
I met the Wooger as he was walking over to the Civic Center for the game...
I never quite got to rub elbows with the Wooger, but I have always been able to boast that his sister was my kindergarten teacher and his son was in one of my gym classes in high school. I was in the SSP school system from K-2 and again for 11th and 12th grades. I absolutely loved that he was the coach of the Gophers while I was in high school at his alma mater.