At this point in the season those same things are still out there. This is not the time for major coaching changes or system changes. That was long ago. If the system they put in place for THESE PLAYERS is not working then there should have been a plan for that long ago. Like against Quninnapiac Please don't let the result be the same where we panic against a team we can beat and just go against our typical game plan and be the Golden chokers. Again
And then in three weeks it will all be fixed. Riiiiiiiight….
I can't decide if Say is an impenetrable wall or did we just make him look like one?
I'm not going to over-analyze the team's play. It's really simple: This Gophers team is showing no heart and no fire. Find the heart and the fire and the Gophers will win games in the NCAA tournament and go to St. Louis. If not, they will be one and done.
Well, we know this. Airey isn't the answer. We should be working the portal again.
Whoever said uninspiring play is 100% on point. This team is disinterested and going through the motions. I will support them but if I were an underdog in the NCAAs looking for an ideal match up we are looking to be that. We are a very beatable team.
Airey?Try scoring more than a goal or two a game against this ND team.
They needed to score 4. Regardless of the offense this is how it's going for Airey:
At this point neither goalie has earned the next start outright.
To be fair to Souli his last 8:
As we saw Friday, Soulie tends to brain-fart (and MN doesn't score enough).
The goalies are a part of the issue, but not THE issue.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Whatever Bob may say publicly, I was right by the tunnel tonight and he looked pissed walking down it after the game.
I'm guessing there might be a hard practice or two this week.
Also Huglen is done. Could put no weight on his left leg. Even best case if it's a sprain he's not going to be good to go in 3 weeks
Which means more Falloon which is not great. He got absolutely torched on that third goal tonight.
Do you think Herb Brooks would have said that? 😆“Just need to clean up a few things” that’s a new one. 🙄
This team is so frustrating. We can play amazing and show off our depth and talent one night and then have the most uninspiring play another. Heck, sometimes one period to the next. They seemed less fazed by getting down a goal or two earlier in the season and would just get down to business. I don’t see that urgency as often anymore. I feel like we’ve been slowly regressing as the season goes on, just doing the same thing and hoping for a different result.
I would have thought the Huglen injury would have fired them up, but they just looked even more deflated.
I’ll never give up rooting for these guys no matter what, but three weeks off when we play like this has me very concerned. There is no more room for error. You don’t get a second game to turn things around. They need to figure out how to bring it for 60 minutes and leave it all on the ice every game.
Hope the team leaders can find a way to get these guys fired up and ready to play like we know they can!
Deep breaths everyone, the sun will come up tomorrow. Gonna be a long three weeks though without our Gopher Hockey! 
Hope the team leaders can find a way to get these guys fired up and ready to play like we know they can!
Which ones are they?
Kurth, Nevers, Hendrickson all playing inspired hockey while Snuggy, Lamb, Moore et al., are not.
Let's put it this way, I don't think he's the main reason they lost, they only scored one goal for cripes sake, but him putting the team behind with that bad rebound early on meant Notre Dame would just stay in their shell. Once they actually earned a goal to get a two goal lead it almost seemed insurmountable the way their team played D and how locked in their goalie was. I wouldn't even go as far as saying Airey was bad today but their goalie (Say) outplayed both him and Souliere all series, today Airey let in 3 goals compared to 1.6 expected (without looking earlier I guessed it was about 3 - 1.5) and yesterday it was 2 on 1.7 expected, so that's about 2 goals under par in the two games he played. Meanwhile ND's goalie was 2 above expected in this game alone.Well, we know this. Airey isn't the answer. We should be working the portal again.
Whoever said uninspiring play is 100% on point. This team is disinterested and going through the motions. I will support them but if I were an underdog in the NCAAs looking for an ideal match up we are looking to be that. We are a very beatable team.
I really think Souliere should play next game, it won't matter who plays if they play offense like they did today and get big10 refs the first game but he's clearly been the better goalie all year and actually stolen some games unlike Airey. He had a bad game, it happens to every goalie.
This team really could use a second line center who can create his own chances. Clark has shown some shooting ability in the past but it's basically just disappeared this year and he's a pass first guy now kinda like Novak. With his linemates that's not the worst thing ever but it'd drastically increase the scoring depth if he could open up space and chances for himself to get his own goals. Pahlsson seems like a good 2 way center but it's kinda the same thing, decent vision but isn't really scoring himself. Huglen is pretty similar in that regard as well, which it sucks to lose him. The D also isn't shooting very effectively, some of those guys showed some scoring ability in the past but other than Rinzel finally getting one yesterday that seems to have dried up too.
IDK, it really depends how the pairwise shakes out and who we get for the first game now that the Gophers fell to the #4 spot in the pairwise, looking like that could be Quinnipiac who is a more talented defensively sound team. That would spell trouble.
Hope the team leaders can find a way to get these guys fired up and ready to play like we know they can!
Which ones are they?
Kurth, Nevers, Hendrickson all playing inspired hockey while Snuggy, Lamb, Moore et al., are not.
They all need to do some soul searching I guess. If I were in charge, I’d give them an assignment this week - write an essay explaining what it means to wear the M on your chest, and have to read it to your teammates.
We know the talent is there, but now we need them to figure out how to put their heart into what they do for the remainder of the season, which I hope is several more games….
But I’m not in charge. So I’ll just keep busy over here putting my heart into being the best Gopher Hockey fan I can be. 😁
I had a lot to think about on my 4 hour drive home, besides dodging the deer. On the bright side I canceled my hotel room for next weekend and saved that expense... See, there is always a bright side....
I was recently informed by a GPLer that I'm related to Airey
This is our third game in a row against the same exact defense. How is it possible that between the coaches and our players that they haven’t figured out a way to generate high quality scoring chances. I am typing with high emotions and I am sure that I am missing the mark on my thoughts.
The reason for this is that this team is mostly unwilling to play the style of grind it out offense that the ND defense gave us. That is why the 4th line looked so much better this weekend than every other line. I am not saying we need a team of grinders, but in hockey EVERYONE must grind and cycle.
And while this is a talented team in many ways, especially skating, it lacks some skills that are essential for winning big time hockey games. One skill we lack, even with Snuggerud, is shooting. Another is "hands". We are really a poor team in close to the goal both in scrums in front and on 1-1 breakaway type situation. Our shooters have a real hard time getting a shot off in any level of traffic and they are very poor at lifting shots above pad level from in close. (What makes this interesting is that I think a lot of our players are elite at catching passes, especially out of the air which usually translates better in shooting the puck).
We need some power play adjustment because when we are dropping the pass deep to the moving skater(s) Notre Dame just stood up 4 across the blue line and stopped our rushes cold there. The boys may not like it, but we need to dump that puck in deep with a purpose which means we need to have a plan to have guys moving to chase that dump in, instead of standing flat footed on the blue line watching their teammate stick handle.
Another adjustment we need to make on the PP is something that we (accidentally) scored a PP goal on. Have Jimmy flair out and the defensemen adjust to his movement, but then cut Oliver Moore through the seam created by the box adjustment. They are all mostly standign around on the PP just trying to set up a shot from the perimeter, sometimes with screens and sometimes without.
Gopher teams have played poorly in the conference playoffs and made it to Frozen Four before. But generally the NCAA playoffs have gone the way we finished the season.
I think the main issue is that the talent this team has is going to struggle at times against teams that play a super defensive minded game and have an above average goalie, don't allow any fast breaks, and just clog up the middle and rely on the refs never calling anything. The amount of interference, holding, and stickwork these refs let up isn't conducive to the games of Moore, Ziemer, Snuggy, Kurth, Wood, or really any of our top 6/7 guys (besides Lamb maybe?). Those guys' skillset is better suited against teams that play a more open brand of hockey like Michigan and Penn State but against teams like this, Michigan State, and Mankato/Duluth of yesteryears they just don't have the size and strength to outmuscle these guys and win the majority of board battles, forechecking battles, or down low battles for rebounds. To me it's not due to a lack of effort it's more just something they need to develop and it's not quite there yet. Moore sorta has the speed/strength combo to play through it at times but even he was rendered ineffective today. I do think he looked good the first two games though and he's probably our best bet to give the team a chance in the upcoming game(s).How on Earth can you not figure a way around that style of play with the talent you have. Blame the goalies if you want. I think otherwise. If you cannot score or even control the puck in your own end you are done. Like dinner. I can accept if my team does not match up talent wise with another team. So much more frustrating to watch the overloaded talent tank. They better figure it out and fast or it will be a quick post season. They should be as embarassed as I am
When you don't have big guys like farm kid (or even someone like Kyle Rau) and his line to score greasy goals and you don't have anyone as talented as Cooley was at winning 1v1's constantly drawing defenders out of position to open things up you get what we saw today where the team is just relegated to the outside looking a bit lost.
Notre Dame isn't a good team and the gophers should've beat them but I do think people probably look at this game and team a bit different if they don't give up a soft first goal and figure out a way to win in OT or something (hard to predict how that game goes if not for the hole they dug). Or if Souliere didn't absolutely troll game 1 they maybe just win that one in ugly fashion as well and sweep the series. Today's game was probably the worst of the series from a team perspective though and there wasn't really anyone who looked particularly good.
One of the most frustrating parts of today was the two or three instances where they had a grade A scoring chance where they forced a pass to a guy who was covered, stuff like that just can't happen, you need to at least make the goalie work the few times you get those against a good defensive team. It also doesn't help that some of these guys just can't hit the net often enough, Snuggy being one example of recent, the Dmen are all terrible at shooting recently too (other than Rinzel scoring yesterday). I think Clark had a good chance where he missed by a lot too.
Well, we know this. Airey isn't the answer. We should be working the portal again.
Whoever said uninspiring play is 100% on point. This team is disinterested and going through the motions. I will support them but if I were an underdog in the NCAAs looking for an ideal match up we are looking to be that. We are a very beatable team.
Airey?Try scoring more than a goal or two a game against this ND team.
They needed to score 4. Regardless of the offense this is how it's going for Airey:
At this point neither goalie has earned the next start outright.
To be fair to Souli his last 8:
As we saw Friday, Soulie tends to brain-fart (and MN doesn't score enough).
The goalies are a part of the issue, but not THE issue.
What do you mean tends to? Also again look at the stats - there is no reason to anoint Airey "the guy" for the rest of the season.
This is our third game in a row against the same exact defense. How is it possible that between the coaches and our players that they haven’t figured out a way to generate high quality scoring chances. I am typing with high emotions and I am sure that I am missing the mark on my thoughts.
The reason for this is that this team is mostly unwilling to play the style of grind it out offense that the ND defense gave us. That is why the 4th line looked so much better this weekend than every other line. I am not saying we need a team of grinders, but in hockey EVERYONE must grind and cycle.
And while this is a talented team in many ways, especially skating, it lacks some skills that are essential for winning big time hockey games. One skill we lack, even with Snuggerud, is shooting. Another is "hands". We are really a poor team in close to the goal both in scrums in front and on 1-1 breakaway type situation. Our shooters have a real hard time getting a shot off in any level of traffic and they are very poor at lifting shots above pad level from in close. (What makes this interesting is that I think a lot of our players are elite at catching passes, especially out of the air which usually translates better in shooting the puck).
We need some power play adjustment because when we are dropping the pass deep to the moving skater(s) Notre Dame just stood up 4 across the blue line and stopped our rushes cold there. The boys may not like it, but we need to dump that puck in deep with a purpose which means we need to have a plan to have guys moving to chase that dump in, instead of standing flat footed on the blue line watching their teammate stick handle.
Another adjustment we need to make on the PP is something that we (accidentally) scored a PP goal on. Have Jimmy flair out and the defensemen adjust to his movement, but then cut Oliver Moore through the seam created by the box adjustment. They are all mostly standign around on the PP just trying to set up a shot from the perimeter, sometimes with screens and sometimes without.
Gopher teams have played poorly in the conference playoffs and made it to Frozen Four before. But generally the NCAA playoffs have gone the way we finished the season.
I think the main issue is that the talent this team has is going to struggle at times against teams that play a super defensive minded game and have an above average goalie, don't allow any fast breaks, and just clog up the middle and rely on the refs never calling anything.How on Earth can you not figure a way around that style of play with the talent you have. Blame the goalies if you want. I think otherwise. If you cannot score or even control the puck in your own end you are done. Like dinner. I can accept if my team does not match up talent wise with another team. So much more frustrating to watch the overloaded talent tank. They better figure it out and fast or it will be a quick post season. They should be as embarassed as I am
So why not just used ND's style (or any team that employs it) against them? In other words coach this team how to not play into their hands. Clearly we often see the Gophers outshoot the opponent by a wide margin and lose - so freaking slow it down yourselves even if it hurts. Force ND to come to you and I'd imagine the Gophers would have to be as good with a counter-attack as team in the country.,
Herbie coached the 1980 time to play the Soviet style and shove it right back in their face.
I just find it hard to believe that Minnesota seems to be the only high-powered program that can never solve a team that slows it down. I wouldn't put recent champions such as Denver, Union, UMASS or North Dakota in lack of talent category and yet they found a way to win a NC.
IDK if it's a coaching issue as much as a team building/roster construction issue (I suppose recruiting is part of coaching but you get what I mean). You have guys like Ziemer who are a bit undersized but good skaters who are effective in perimeter play and generating rush chances but aren't great at outmuscling bigger guys down low to score ugly goals or win forechecking battles against bigger players etc. He's a good player but there's a reason he looks far better in the World Junior tourney than in games like this last one. It just seems like him and others all too often get relegated to the outside and rendered ineffective in games like this or Bemidji, it's frustrating. Maybe a different coach could get guys like him and Snuggy to be better in those areas, I'm kinda doubtful.
Also you can't really force ND to come to you when they have the lead, if the Gophers get the lead it's an entirely different game and that strategy is more viable. Unfortunately due to goaltending that wasn't possible for the most part so ND just put on a defensive clinic and ran out the clock. IDK you could be right that a different approach was needed but it seemed like they tried to probe the perimeter patiently at times and other times they went to their down low/near the goal line strategy trying to jam it in. Neither really worked.
As far as the other teams you mention I'm not quite as familiar with how they build their rosters admittedly but iirc Union was an older team with one high end guy in Gostisbehere (IDK if they had anyone else). North Dakota the year they won got a really good senior year out of Caggiula so that didn't hurt, we don't really see his level of production out of undrafted guys much less the drafted guys. They also had a truly elite player in Boeser and the Gophers haven't had many players of that caliber other than Cooley. In theory Eiserman was supposed to be that kinda guy but he decided to go elsewhere. If anything it seems like this year there's a combination of not having as mcuh high end talent as they did 2 years ago and not having older seniors like Nelson who contribute a lot offensively as well.
Well, we know this. Airey isn't the answer. We should be working the portal again.
Whoever said uninspiring play is 100% on point. This team is disinterested and going through the motions. I will support them but if I were an underdog in the NCAAs looking for an ideal match up we are looking to be that. We are a very beatable team.
Airey?Try scoring more than a goal or two a game against this ND team.
They needed to score 4. Regardless of the offense this is how it's going for Airey:
At this point neither goalie has earned the next start outright.
To be fair to Souli his last 8:
As we saw Friday, Soulie tends to brain-fart (and MN doesn't score enough).
The goalies are a part of the issue, but not THE issue.
What do you mean tends to? Also again look at the stats - there is no reason to anoint Airey "the guy" for the rest of the season.
I am not anointing Airey, he didn't really "lose" the job during the season to begin with. As I said before, I like Soulie. Both goalies are good, they are just not ZOMG GREAT. To blame this series solely on the goalies is foolish, IMO
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
I get not wanting the bye but good lord you gotta back it up with your play on the ice. I’m still absolutely stunned at what took place this weekend. THIS Irish team wins two games in Mariucci?? They’d lost one regulation game in Mariucci all season and it was the game they only had 3 lines against MSU.
Dominating the first period then having Airey give up that rebound is just beyond frustrating to watch.
After it was 2-0, the team did everything right, especially in the third. ND gets one good look in the last 35 minutes of the game and scores. Again, so freaking frustrating.
Also not scoring first in any of the 3 games is what allowed this weekend to be close in the first place.
Oh and there shouldn’t have even been a game 3. I still can’t believe the goals Souliere gave up on Friday. Just can’t happen.
Post Game Video...
Do not like how this board is run?
Get your own board!
♃
Chasing a Jeff Jackson coached team is never a great recipe for success. And scoring the first goal in any game is kind of a big deal, no matter what team you’re playing. The Notre Dame players were also especially motivated this weekend to extend Jackson’s coaching career & their season another week. Back to the drawing board in practice, tBob should have the players full attention. The preparation from this point to chase down 4 straight NCAA tournament wins is what truly matters, be it 2 weeks of practice or playing another game or two during that time span. Winning another Big 10 tournament title never was imperative
Besides the play on the ice being concerning, I'm really worried about the 18 days off. The team can be mad or frustrated now, but that fades after a week without something else to prepare for. They can't really hold any drive that long. Especially since it being the end of the season. Easier to look at just one more weekend and then get ready for whatever that comes next. Whether that's signing with a pro team or relaxing after the season, it's much easier for your mind to switch to that mode with no games. I really hope I'm wrong, but I'm not counting on a stellar performance in the tournament in 3 weeks.
I really hope I'm wrong, but I'm not counting on a stellar performance in the tournament in 3 weeks.
Which is the more likely scenario?
This weekend cemented the self-doubt the team has been feeling for weeks, they lose their edge while idle, lose Huglen, and can't get their game back when everything is on the line.
Or....
The team erases this terrible weekend from their minds, has three weeks of spirited practices mixed with rest, gets Huglen back in time for the regional, and hits the big fat reset button.
It's a classic "heart says one thing, head says another" proposition.
Not blaming the refs for our loss, but man, Ziemer took a vicious crosscheck in the back with no call. Call some of that crap and players would stop doing it.
Another thing. How maddening is it to see the Gophers get off a flurry of shots without scoring after which the opponent comes down, gets one shot, and scores.
I really hope that was our last game with big 10 refs for the year. The crew we had against Notre Dame this weekend had two of the same refs (though one was a linesmen instead this week) from the Michigan State series that refused to call anything.
Also they have almost three weeks to work on the power play so there's that 😬
College hockey reffing is the land stopping the game to go back in time to review a head tap while ignoring common obstruction penalties as they actually happen.
I'm convinced hockey refs simply won't pile up penalties on one team, no matter how obnoxious they get. For teams that play obstruction defense, this is a perfect scenario. Clutch, grab, hold, and take your chances the refs will stop blowing their whistles because they don't want to keep sending you to the box.
You are 100% correct and it's the thing I hate most about college hockey, even more than shootouts being used for something that matters. It just infuriates me that refs refuse to enforce the rules. If some team keeps getting obstruction penalties, too bad, they're breaking the rules, they need sit.College hockey reffing is the land stopping the game to go back in time to review a head tap while ignoring common obstruction penalties as they actually happen.
I'm convinced hockey refs simply won't pile up penalties on one team, no matter how obnoxious they get. For teams that play obstruction defense, this is a perfect scenario. Clutch, grab, hold, and take your chances the refs will stop blowing their whistles because they don't want to keep sending you to the box.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
If the team was playing well I would care about the layoff...they havent really played well in weeks so I am just not all that worried about it. If the NCAAs started next week none of us would feel that confident, what does the layoff change. Honestly, in the situation they are in it might help. Not much mind you, this team does not have the game to go very far unless they get a nice bracket imho.
This team reminds me of a lot of Michigan teams...all sorts of high end skill that boat race you if you skate with them but if you play a grittier style they fall apart rather quickly. If they struggle to score early they tend to go on tilt and there isn't much (short of scoring) that will bring them out of their funk. PPs dont help, big hits dont help, even shifts by the 4th line that pump up the fans dont help. The team rarely finds that other gear lately, that point in the game where they impose their will for long stretches. They also sit back and relax when they score a goal like they think the other team will just give up now that the Gophers have arrived. And if the goalie has even a sliver of an off night all bets are off.
Someone yesterday mentioned Holy Cross...this team wishes they were the team that lost to Holy Cross. That team was better against defensive shell teams than this one is. Lucia teams struggled against this style too (a lot of teams do, its why bad teams use it and why the NHL was dominated by it for years) but they usually found a way to adapt especially after a bad game. I rarely see this team adapt. I see the same players do the same things every shift of every game whether it works or not. There is something to be said for that type of confidence and consistency...but if it doesn't work maybe tweak it a bit. This team has almost zero creativity...as a hater on USCHO used to say it is very much "robot hockey".
Now I realize I am just a low iq dick Karen or whatever but to me this team just kind of stinks of "early exit" and I have felt that way for a while. The wins are still enjoyable and of course things can flip on a dime...but they seem more like a "pad the stats" type of team than the team that will be standing at the end. To be honest, the whole Big Ten feels that way most of the time. Not all of the teams are overly skilled but they win a lot of games and beat the other conferences but I honestly dont think any of them put the fear of God into any of the rest of college hockey this year. Again, a favorable bracket or a couple great games will change all of that but all things being equal I would bet on the team making almost zero noise in the NCAAs. They just dont have "it". These aren't worthless games in December or something...they have played uninspired hockey with a chance to win the conference outright last week, and now in the first round of the conference playoffs at home. It is not unprecedented for teams to recover from that (I believe Denver did in the recent past) but nothing about this team screams "win in the face of adversity". To me they look like they can only win when things favor them and that is a recipe for disaster in the NCAAs especially as a high seed.
One thing is for sure...this team is definitely not one of the greatest Gopher Teams of all time like was discussed early in the season when we were running up the score on overmatched teams.
Jup summed it up in a tweet last night but, like many of have said, more questions than answers. I know the seasons not over but between having to wait two and a half weeks for the regionals and the vibes around the program currently it almost feels that way. Feels almost like the end of the 2016-17 season when we got knocked out of the B1G tournament by, from what I remember, a meh Penn State team, went into the tournament without Novak or Lindgren, and then got bounced in the first round by ironically ND. Vibes are bad, Huglen’s down, off for 18 days, and questions in goal. Not exactly the way that I would like to go into the NCAAs. I would say that maybe this is the punch in the face that this team needs but I’ve been saying that since the weekend in Columbus two months ago. A week ago my prediction for this team was still that they would make the FF and get knocked out in the semis. After this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised if they get knocked out in the first round. This is my favorite team, the only one I support avidly, and I will support them until the end and then come back next year just to get hurt again, but unfortunately I don’t have a lot of confidence in them at the moment. I hope they prove me wrong.
Yeah NHL refs aren't great about this come playoff time but at least in the regular season they tend to make these kinds of calls and allow for a more entertaining product. Even playoff NHL reffing is a lot better than what we get in the second half of the year.You are 100% correct and it's the thing I hate most about college hockey, even more than shootouts being used for something that matters. It just infuriates me that refs refuse to enforce the rules. If some team keeps getting obstruction penalties, too bad, they're breaking the rules, they need sit.College hockey reffing is the land stopping the game to go back in time to review a head tap while ignoring common obstruction penalties as they actually happen.
I'm convinced hockey refs simply won't pile up penalties on one team, no matter how obnoxious they get. For teams that play obstruction defense, this is a perfect scenario. Clutch, grab, hold, and take your chances the refs will stop blowing their whistles because they don't want to keep sending you to the box.
You are 100% correct and it's the thing I hate most about college hockey, even more than shootouts being used for something that matters. It just infuriates me that refs refuse to enforce the rules. If some team keeps getting obstruction penalties, too bad, they're breaking the rules, they need sit.College hockey reffing is the land stopping the game to go back in time to review a head tap while ignoring common obstruction penalties as they actually happen.
I'm convinced hockey refs simply won't pile up penalties on one team, no matter how obnoxious they get. For teams that play obstruction defense, this is a perfect scenario. Clutch, grab, hold, and take your chances the refs will stop blowing their whistles because they don't want to keep sending you to the box.
While I agree...I also remember when the NHL decided to crack down and called like a bajillion penalties early in the season and the games were almost unwatchable. Fans were not pleased and neither were coaches. There was a lot of bad press and the mandate seemed to disappear during the season. Even the teams that got all the PPs complained because the game was always interrupted.
Teams wont be able to adapt, especially bad ones, so you will be in for a season of really hard to watch hockey.
Well, we know this. Airey isn't the answer. We should be working the portal again.
Whoever said uninspiring play is 100% on point. This team is disinterested and going through the motions. I will support them but if I were an underdog in the NCAAs looking for an ideal match up we are looking to be that. We are a very beatable team.
Airey?Try scoring more than a goal or two a game against this ND team.
They needed to score 4. Regardless of the offense this is how it's going for Airey:
At this point neither goalie has earned the next start outright.
To be fair to Souli his last 8:
As we saw Friday, Soulie tends to brain-fart (and MN doesn't score enough).
The goalies are a part of the issue, but not THE issue.
What do you mean tends to? Also again look at the stats - there is no reason to anoint Airey "the guy" for the rest of the season.
I am not anointing Airey, he didn't really "lose" the job during the season to begin with. As I said before, I like Soulie. Both goalies are good, they are just not ZOMG GREAT. To blame this series solely on the goalies is foolish, IMO
You said after the 2nd game Soulie wouldn't get another start (pretty much the same as anointing), and I don't see anyone solely blaming the goalies for the series loss. 😀
Not hard challenging you - I think overall we both agree that there's little reason for strong confidence in either goalie and Bob could start either one of them in their next game with probably very little surprise.
I think Michigan State could maybe be that team, they beat BC earlier in the year and split the series. They remind me of that really good Cows team from a few years back. The rest I tend to agree.If the team was playing well I would care about the layoff...they havent really played well in weeks so I am just not all that worried about it. If the NCAAs started next week none of us would feel that confident, what does the layoff change. Honestly, in the situation they are in it might help. Not much mind you, this team does not have the game to go very far unless they get a nice bracket imho.
This team reminds me of a lot of Michigan teams...all sorts of high end skill that boat race you if you skate with them but if you play a grittier style they fall apart rather quickly. If they struggle to score early they tend to go on tilt and there isn't much (short of scoring) that will bring them out of their funk. PPs dont help, big hits dont help, even shifts by the 4th line that pump up the fans dont help. The team rarely finds that other gear lately, that point in the game where they impose their will for long stretches. They also sit back and relax when they score a goal like they think the other team will just give up now that the Gophers have arrived. And if the goalie has even a sliver of an off night all bets are off.
Someone yesterday mentioned Holy Cross...this team wishes they were the team that lost to Holy Cross. That team was better against defensive shell teams than this one is. Lucia teams struggled against this style too (a lot of teams do, its why bad teams use it and why the NHL was dominated by it for years) but they usually found a way to adapt especially after a bad game. I rarely see this team adapt. I see the same players do the same things every shift of every game whether it works or not. There is something to be said for that type of confidence and consistency...but if it doesn't work maybe tweak it a bit. This team has almost zero creativity...as a hater on USCHO used to say it is very much "robot hockey".
Now I realize I am just a low iq dick Karen or whatever but to me this team just kind of stinks of "early exit" and I have felt that way for a while. The wins are still enjoyable and of course things can flip on a dime...but they seem more like a "pad the stats" type of team than the team that will be standing at the end. To be honest, the whole Big Ten feels that way most of the time. Not all of the teams are overly skilled but they win a lot of games and beat the other conferences but I honestly dont think any of them put the fear of God into any of the rest of college hockey this year. Again, a favorable bracket or a couple great games will change all of that but all things being equal I would bet on the team making almost zero noise in the NCAAs. They just dont have "it". These aren't worthless games in December or something...they have played uninspired hockey with a chance to win the conference outright last week, and now in the first round of the conference playoffs at home. It is not unprecedented for teams to recover from that (I believe Denver did in the recent past) but nothing about this team screams "win in the face of adversity". To me they look like they can only win when things favor them and that is a recipe for disaster in the NCAAs especially as a high seed.
One thing is for sure...this team is definitely not one of the greatest Gopher Teams of all time like was discussed early in the season when we were running up the score on overmatched teams.
I'll gladly take that alternative, even if it resulted in some short term downsides like what you describe. The refs eased up some later in the year but the mandate did still more or less apply and that's why you no longer see teams successfully playing like the NJ Devils used to or whacking star players like pinata like the Panthers did on Lemieux and Jagr to stop the threepeat.While I agree...I also remember when the NHL decided to crack down and called like a bajillion penalties early in the season and the games were almost unwatchable. Fans were not pleased and neither were coaches. There was a lot of bad press and the mandate seemed to disappear during the season. Even the teams that got all the PPs complained because the game was always interrupted.
Teams wont be able to adapt, especially bad ones, so you will be in for a season of really hard to watch hockey.
What ever team plays the Gophers in the Regionals, all they need to do is watch this series. Notre Dame did a great job with sticks in lanes, packing it in by the goalie and a smothering defense. They completely took the Gophers out of their game, not allowing the Gophers to dictate the game.
I have no idea where Bob goes with the Goalies. As a card carrying member of the Airey family, I liked his play on Saturday, but Sunday he gave up some healthy rebounds. Is he able to steal a game? I don't know. Also, last night was not on him. I was fine with Souliere before what I saw on Friday and the fact his numbers have been on the rise for over a month now. I would lean towards Liam, but my confidence in him is not over the moon.
Snuggy's play has become too predictable. He has a rocket of a shot, but he lets it go 95% of the time he has it on his stick with a lot of bad angle or shots that are easily deflected by the opponents sticks. When he passes, most passes are at such a high speed that they are hard to catch by his line mates. I just think he feels he needs to do too much.
Bob is also going to have to figure out the best fit with Snuggy and Ziemer. Is it Moore or Pahlsson.? I don't like Moore-Lamb-Falloon , would much rather have Hendrickson in place of Falloon as well.
I think the Gophers still have a chance, but anything can happen in a 1 and done playoffs. I still have faith in Bob and this program to come up with a plan to focus on the details that will be the winning formula this March-April.
I was recently informed by a GPLer that I'm related to Airey
I'll gladly take that alternative, even if it resulted in some short term downsides like what you describe. The refs eased up some later in the year but the mandate did still more or less apply and that's why you no longer see teams successfully playing like the NJ Devils used to or whacking star players like pinata like the Panthers did on Lemieux and Jagr to stop the threepeat.While I agree...I also remember when the NHL decided to crack down and called like a bajillion penalties early in the season and the games were almost unwatchable. Fans were not pleased and neither were coaches. There was a lot of bad press and the mandate seemed to disappear during the season. Even the teams that got all the PPs complained because the game was always interrupted.
Teams wont be able to adapt, especially bad ones, so you will be in for a season of really hard to watch hockey.
Yeah, I don't buy the "bajillion penalty" theory. There was a transition period with a lot of calls because both the refs and the players were adapting. The NHL still calls the obstruction penalties with regularity. The problem is they aren't consistent in the playoffs.
College refs routinely overlook obstruction penalties and only get worse during playoffs.
And, there's a difference between calling actual obstruction, and making all the ticky-tack calls that the NHL was doing at that time. Anything that looked vaguely like it could maybe be a trip/hold/interference was called. It doesn't need to go that far. If they called obstruction penalties in college the way they do in the NHL regular season, I'm good with that.I'll gladly take that alternative, even if it resulted in some short term downsides like what you describe. The refs eased up some later in the year but the mandate did still more or less apply and that's why you no longer see teams successfully playing like the NJ Devils used to or whacking star players like pinata like the Panthers did on Lemieux and Jagr to stop the threepeat.While I agree...I also remember when the NHL decided to crack down and called like a bajillion penalties early in the season and the games were almost unwatchable. Fans were not pleased and neither were coaches. There was a lot of bad press and the mandate seemed to disappear during the season. Even the teams that got all the PPs complained because the game was always interrupted.
Teams wont be able to adapt, especially bad ones, so you will be in for a season of really hard to watch hockey.
Yeah, I don't buy the "bajillion penalty" theory. There was a transition period with a lot of calls because both the refs and the players were adapting. The NHL still calls the obstruction penalties with regularity. The problem is they aren't consistent in the playoffs.
College refs routinely overlook obstruction penalties and only get worse during playoffs.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
I think a lot of problems go away with effort. They got out worked and skated like they left their legs in the locker room. A team without confidence is a vulnerable one, imagine this team with Penn state’s determination. That’s all that’s missing imo for what it’s worth. Hopefully they get together and have that team season goal talk and come out if this on a mission. All we can do is hope.
Assuming Huglen is out, this is what I believe the lines should be for game 1:
Ziemer-Moore-Snuggerud
Kurth-Clark-Wood
Hendrickson-Pahlsson-Lamb
Falloon- J Mitts- Nevers
Falloon and Pahlsson have not looked good since returning from their injuries.
I personally would throw Liam in the net, but neither one gives me much confidence.
Jup summed it up in a tweet last night but, like many of have said, more questions than answers. I know the seasons not over but between having to wait two and a half weeks for the regionals and the vibes around the program currently it almost feels that way. Feels almost like the end of the 2016-17 season when we got knocked out of the B1G tournament by, from what I remember, a meh Penn State team, went into the tournament without Novak or Lindgren, and then got bounced in the first round by ironically ND. Vibes are bad, Huglen’s down, off for 18 days, and questions in goal. Not exactly the way that I would like to go into the NCAAs. I would say that maybe this is the punch in the face that this team needs but I’ve been saying that since the weekend in Columbus two months ago. A week ago my prediction for this team was still that they would make the FF and get knocked out in the semis. After this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised if they get knocked out in the first round. This is my favorite team, the only one I support avidly, and I will support them until the end and then come back next year just to get hurt again, but unfortunately I don’t have a lot of confidence in them at the moment. I hope they prove me wrong.
That was not me on the feed last night. It was @chris-eckes ... When I am behind the camera, it is impossible to tweet. Even when I am posting, I keep it to a minimum. I have found that it is very hard to follow a game when behind the camera, so when I am not, I try to limit my tweets and enjoy the game more.
Do not like how this board is run?
Get your own board!
♃
I think he'll be fine and bounce back, if the team can't score it won't matter much either way.I personally would throw Liam in the net, but neither one gives me much confidence.
Souliere had a bad night against a team he hasn't had success against historically. I think we can afford to put him back in the net come NCAA time.
Souliere had a bad night against a team he hasn't had success against historically. I think we can afford to put him back in the net come NCAA time.
agreed. he was also lights out in the NCAA tournament and almost stole the game vs Michigan to bring them to the FF
Earlier in the year we had forward depth to the nth degree. Now on a given night we seem to have only have one line maybe two that are effective.Assuming Huglen is out, this is what I believe the lines should be for game 1:
Ziemer-Moore-Snuggerud
Kurth-Clark-Wood
Hendrickson-Pahlsson-Lamb
Falloon- J Mitts- Nevers
Falloon and Pahlsson have not looked good since returning from their injuries.
Did Whipple get hurt or just benched of late?
I think a lot of problems go away with effort. They got out worked and skated like they left their legs in the locker room. A team without confidence is a vulnerable one, imagine this team with Penn state’s determination. That’s all that’s missing imo for what it’s worth. Hopefully they get together and have that team season goal talk and come out if this on a mission. All we can do is hope.
Its not a problem of effort. It is a matter of what they put their effort into. These guys are trying, but they are trying to win 1 on 2, 1 on 3, individually instead of taking what the defense gives us and playing from there. Sometimes, you need to dump and chase instead of trying to make an individual move at the blue line.
And from my observation the Gopher's dump and chase game isn't very well developed. Perhaps others have a different opinion, but there seems to be a lack of plan in these dumps. This means that the puck is dumped into the offensive zone but the "chasers" are not in the proper position to gain advantage in regaining possession. One reason for this is more often than not our dumps are done (in what I would call) defensively because the defense has cut off the rush so the only play left to do it dump the puck in (see the Gopher's power play breakdowns for great examples of this).
Instead, the players on the ice need to identify the positioning of the defenders at the blue line, the puck needs to be dumped to a spot where our players can get to the puck, and all of the players need to keep their feet moving to maintain speed into the zone chasing the puck.
One last note on who the goalie will be if we ever play again thsi year (I know we will make the tournament but 3 weeks is like starting a new season).
I go with Nathan Airey. Several reasons for this. The primary reason is that Airey still has eligibility left. He could be our primary goalie next year so getting him the experience in the national tournament is important. Second, I think he was the better goalie this weekend and I don't think Souliere had beat him out by a wide margin to begin with. Lastly, I think Liam has a case of the Yips and I don't trust him in net.
You're not wrong about the gophers dump and chase game though I think that's also in part a skill/roster building issue too. Generally that isn't a high percentage play to begin with but that issue is compounded by our (typically) undersized forwards just not being very effective at it.
One thing I will say though is that the wholesale line changes where they just throw it away and change, especially when the other team has a 2 goal lead, isn't ideal to say the least. ND was content to just waste time when they did that. In the NHL some teams are good about how they manage this process and will just have one guy keep the puck while their teammates change (similar to the 3v3 approach). Your points about the plan behind it seem valid too though, it seems like something the Gophers generally haven't been good at under two coaches now.
As far as Souliere vs Airey, I'd say the guy in the top third of the league in sv% is ahead by a wide margin over the guy in the bottom third. They can focus on that other stuff next year (and probably should look to the portal too).