Shortly after the game ended last night, I was curious to see what the gopher’s record was in games that marked the start of conference play as I couldn’t recall many games where they looked as rough as last night.
After some digging, dating back to the start of 13-14, Minnesota’s record is 7-3-1 in conf openers. Their biggest win was v Sparty 5-0 in 14-15 & arguably their “worst” defeat was last night’s game; however, one could also say The Don’s final year behind the bench may have been worse when they lost 3-1 to PSU.
If players that under-performed last night were benched, who would have been left to play?
Brodzinski has his faults (a weak shot is not one of them) but he has put up points and in many games in the past has done well defensively as well. He wasn't the problem last night. I know a week ago a couple people were willing to crown this team as good or better than last year's team. But the problem of losing one of the best D corps there has been in college hockey was evident last night with their inability to cleanly get out of the zone and into the offensive zone. This is not a bad D, but definitely a step back. Koster, while only the 4th best D last year, could sill have been a top 2 on most teams last year. He can't return soon enough. Middlestedt will be good and Chesley still seems to need to work on consistency. Rinzel has been impressive for so few games. But then it drops off. Fish is good for the physical stuff along the boards and in front, but gets beat by speed and stickhandling, isn't great on breakout and likes to shoot from the point into players, opening chance for odd-man rush. I think Rud can be good with more time and Thomas is steady but isn't going to carry play. We see in the NHL how much having some good D matter. This team doesn't have the luxery of resting as much on the D corp so the forwards will have to make up for them at times.
Gophers have a lot of talent at forward and a lot of it should have improved from last year. However, we don't yet have that line that seems unstoppable in most games. (I know someone suggested last week Snuggy's line could be better than last year's, but that is a little preposterous given that was the 2nd best line I've ever seen on a Gopher Team, and included 2 Hobey finalists.) That line last year took some games to develop as Cooley improved through the year, so hopefully we will see this year's line improve and become more dominant. Lamb clearly seems to have made a good jump.
But as we all know, it is all about effort. Will over skill. Lets hope Bob can get them clicking tonight and consistently doing so by the end of the year. This year I feel like this is a team with enough talent they could win it all. Last year I felt like they had so much talent they SHOULD have won it all. Go Gophs.
I said it in chat, but Brodzinski is the death of me. I couldn't keep track of how many failed clearing attempts he had, and when combined with lax effort, weak shots, and an inability to forecheck hard or attack an opponent, he is wasting time better given to a younger player. I don't expect him to have Oliver Moore speed, but when you aren't the fast one you better make up for it in other ways. He gave us nothing and put us repeatedly in bad spots last night.
I expect more from a 5th year senior getting the TOI he is. At some point tBob needs to pull the plug on him and put him in the extra skater role-- where he can be rolled out on the PP or use his shot but not given a regular shift.
I really hope he proves me wrong-- we need him to really step up this role if we are going to be in St. Paul in April. But if this is his trajectory I just don't see it.
Talk about an OVERREACTION…lol…the team has a bad game, literally every player, and you take this opportunity…to specifically throw Brodzinski under the bus. lol. This team has talent, but is currently a work in progress. They need to bounce back tonight, every single player including Brodzinski. Some Gopher fans live in a dream world, like you’ve significantly better than any team & should never lose a game, especially to the lowly Badgers. The fact is when you lose Faber, Lacombe & Johnson from the blue line (not to mention Koster being out of the lineup) plus Cooley & Knies, even picking up high end freshmen like Moore & Rinzel, you’re not going to be as good as last years team, especially early in the season. And Hastings clearly knows how to coach against the Gophers. But if they get a win tonight, the sky won’t be falling after all…so calm down Francis…lol
Talk about an OVERREACTION…lol…the team has a bad game, literally every player, and you take this opportunity…to specifically throw Brodzinski under the bus. lol. This team has talent, but is currently a work in progress. They need to bounce back tonight, every single player including Brodzinski. Some Gopher fans live in a dream world, like you’ve significantly better than any team & should never lose a game, especially to the lowly Badgers. The fact is when you lose Faber, Lacombe & Johnson from the blue line (not to mention Koster being out of the lineup) plus Cooley & Knies, even picking up high end freshmen like Moore & Rinzel, you’re not going to be as good as last years team, especially early in the season. And Hastings clearly knows how to coach against the Gophers. But if the get a win tonight, the sky won’t be falling after all! lol
I said it in chat, but Brodzinski is the death of me. I couldn't keep track of how many failed clearing attempts he had, and when combined with lax effort, weak shots, and an inability to forecheck hard or attack an opponent, he is wasting time better given to a younger player. I don't expect him to have Oliver Moore speed, but when you aren't the fast one you better make up for it in other ways. He gave us nothing and put us repeatedly in bad spots last night.
I expect more from a 5th year senior getting the TOI he is. At some point tBob needs to pull the plug on him and put him in the extra skater role-- where he can be rolled out on the PP or use his shot but not given a regular shift.
I really hope he proves me wrong-- we need him to really step up this role if we are going to be in St. Paul in April. But if this is his trajectory I just don't see it.
Talk about an OVERREACTION…lol…the team has a bad game, literally every player, and you take this opportunity…to specifically throw Brodzinski under the bus. lol. This team has talent, but is currently a work in progress. They need to bounce back tonight, every single player including Brodzinski. Some Gopher fans live in a dream world, like you’ve significantly better than any team & should never lose a game, especially to the lowly Badgers. The fact is when you lose Faber, Lacombe & Johnson from the blue line (not to mention Koster being out of the lineup) plus Cooley & Knies, even picking up high end freshmen like Moore & Rinzel, you’re not going to be as good as last years team, especially early in the season. And Hastings clearly knows how to coach against the Gophers. But if they get a win tonight, the sky won’t be falling after all…so calm down Francis…lol
Ok. I agree with you that fans shouldn't expect this team to be as good as last year and should expect losses. But I disagree with you in that the Gophers SHOULD never lose a game to the lowly BADgers. At least if all were right in the world.
I really hope he proves me wrong-- we need him to really step up this role if we are going to be in St. Paul in April. But if this is his trajectory I just don't see it.
Brodzinski needs to shoot the puck. He is an average college hockey player in every category--except that one.
Chesley was terrible against UND and he wasn't much better last night. His mental mistakes are piling up. But at least he has company!
Motzko made a huge statement to his team with about 8 or 9 minutes left in the game. With the game in the balance and after a long t.v. timeout, it was the fourth line that took an offensive faceoff when play resumed.
Two straight losses to good teams are not a good look for the formerly number-one Minnesota Gophers. I could be persuaded quite easily that Minnesota may be a bit overrated at this point.
I really hope he proves me wrong-- we need him to really step up this role if we are going to be in St. Paul in April. But if this is his trajectory I just don't see it.
Brodzinski needs to shoot the puck. He is an average college hockey player in every category--except that one.
Chesley was terrible against UND and he wasn't much better last night. His mental mistakes are piling up. But at least he has company!
Motzko made a huge statement to his team with about 8 or 9 minutes left in the game. With the game in the balance and after a long t.v. timeout, it was the fourth line that took an offensive faceoff when play resumed.
Two straight losses to good teams are not a good look for the formerly number-one Minnesota Gophers. I could be persuaded quite easily that Minnesota may be a bit overrated at this point.
I don't think Bob said a single word to his team in the second half of the 3rd period. He looked livid, and rightfully so. Sloppy defensive play all night long. I lost count of failed clearing attempts out of their own zone that led to extended offensive opportunities for the Badgers was lazy and just killed us repeatedly. They would try and flip the puck out but it wouldn't be high or hard enough and their D would catch it or they would try and lazily chip it out but again not enough mustard and their D would get to the boards and keep it in.
It was also unacceptable to be the number of times we tried to dangle the whole trap at center ice.. lose the puck and the Badgers would get it deep on us and forecheck hard and create chances from that. Its not hard to play the trap it just takes discipline which was sorely lacking last night.
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GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
I don't disagree with you that 22 was not the only problem last night and I do agree with your analysis of the defensemen.
But I think it is fair to put some extra blame on a 5th year senior alternate captain for not being the leader he needs to be. On one shift alone in the second period Brodzinski failed to clear the puck 3 times from the d-zone when the puck was on his stick. Given his status and position on the team, and what that does to the rest of the struggling d-corps in that situation, it does warrant special mention of his play needing to get a lot better.
He can and must shoot, and when he gets that shot he needs to score. But he isn't doing that right now either.
It's a long season and I am not jumping off the bandwagon, but I don't like where 22 is heading so far.
Clymer said he has never seen a Gopher player change his jersey in the middle of a game. I can't recall either... but I'm sure it has happened over the years.
I might have missed a reference, but just in case it hasn’t been mentioned- be mindful of parking if you go tonight. Many of the surface lots are closed because they need to be vacant and ready for football tailgating. Email says lots will close at 9, so I presume they won’t even allow you to enter for hockey.
I might have missed a reference, but just in case it hasn’t been mentioned- be mindful of parking if you go tonight. Many of the surface lots are closed because they need to be vacant and ready for football tailgating. Email says lots will close at 9, so I presume they won’t even allow you to enter for hockey.
What e-mail? I'm checking, and I don't see anything.
@steve-mn I’m not in one- my sister has a set of season tickets and is an employee who has a contract spot. She received email today saying contract lots need to be vacated by 9pm. The email said discovery, gateway, gold, gopher, Minnesota, victory, ski u mah, lots 2, 33, 37, 55, 58, and 4th st ramp are open.
then I called the Ticket office, at first they had no idea any lots were closing at 9. Then they came back and told me victory would for sure be closed yet the email said it would be open.
so I don’t really know which are closed and which aren’t but it might be messier tonight. Not trying to confuse anyone! She probably received email as an employee with a contract spot not a hockey ticket holder who purchased a contract spot, if that helps
@koho Completely disagree, 22 is a problem right now. Stick to your strengths and SHOOT THE PUCK!
That is fine. I wasn't defending him, so much as saying that singling him out as the problem last night when almost no one showed up to play isn't exactly accurate. You could have put Cooley in number 22 jersey last night and it wouldn't have been enough to make up for the play of the rest of the team. But the poster I was responding to essentially implied he was so bad he should only be the 13th forward. He is better than the 4th line players and put up some good numbers last year despite his short-comings. (And I thought I recall that poster criticizing his shot, which is the one thing he does better than most -granted, he has deferred a few times this year when he could have shot.) He started slow last year, if I recall correctly. But you know he can score, and right now, it is not like the rest of the players are tearing things up.
I am not a Brodzinski lover, but see those players almost every year who get hammered with criticism, and in so many cases they are players that are good but just aren't reaching the potential people expected from them coming in (which was to be great). So the criticism gets to sound like a broken record and a lot of people pile on to the point that some people just look for any error and seem to lose ability to be objective. The player becomes the whipping horse for all that goes wrong that season. I'm just trying to maintain some objectivity. The season is young and we have seen that he can provide some strong play at times. If 10 games in he still isn't contributing and Clark or someone has made a jump, then maybe it is time to shift him around. But I have a feeling Bob will say 'it is great, Mike, that you want to be a more complete player, but don't pass on open shots from 15 ft out next time'. And then we will see him putting enough in the net to counter some of his errors.
I might have missed a reference, but just in case it hasn’t been mentioned- be mindful of parking if you go tonight. Many of the surface lots are closed because they need to be vacant and ready for football tailgating. Email says lots will close at 9, so I presume they won’t even allow you to enter for hockey.
What e-mail? I'm checking, and I don't see anything.
And, which lot are you in?
FYI. Just parked in lot 37. Sign says we need to be out by midnight. So no issues for hockey.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Cool. I assume anyone with a contract spot for hockey is fine. Those who are employees who have a non hockey lot or those without any contracts are the ones possibly affected
@koho Completely disagree, 22 is a problem right now. Stick to your strengths and SHOOT THE PUCK!
That is fine. I wasn't defending him, so much as saying that singling him out as the problem last night when almost no one showed up to play isn't exactly accurate. You could have put Cooley in number 22 jersey last night and it wouldn't have been enough to make up for the play of the rest of the team. But the poster I was responding to essentially implied he was so bad he should only be the 13th forward. He is better than the 4th line players and put up some good numbers last year despite his short-comings. (And I thought I recall that poster criticizing his shot, which is the one thing he does better than most -granted, he has deferred a few times this year when he could have shot.) He started slow last year, if I recall correctly. But you know he can score, and right now, it is not like the rest of the players are tearing things up.
I am not a Brodzinski lover, but see those players almost every year who get hammered with criticism, and in so many cases they are players that are good but just aren't reaching the potential people expected from them coming in (which was to be great). So the criticism gets to sound like a broken record and a lot of people pile on to the point that some people just look for any error and seem to lose ability to be objective. The player becomes the whipping horse for all that goes wrong that season. I'm just trying to maintain some objectivity. The season is young and we have seen that he can provide some strong play at times. If 10 games in he still isn't contributing and Clark or someone has made a jump, then maybe it is time to shift him around. But I have a feeling Bob will say 'it is great, Mike, that you want to be a more complete player, but don't pass on open shots from 15 ft out next time'. And then we will see him putting enough in the net to counter some of his errors.
Wouldn’t go as far to say Brodzinski is the whipping boy of the team. He’s definitely not above criticism either. That line was the worst line last night. And that’s concerning with 2 5th year seniors on it.
I’m judging Brodzinski this year on what he said in the preseason media interviews. He came back to be a better, more complete player, and to set up his line mates more. His words. Just haven’t seen a change in his game. Hopefully it comes.
I finally watched the recording of the game and can safely say that one can be deleted to free up space. Just a terrible game by the gophers, they got their asses thoroughly kicked and there weren’t a lot of bright spots other than maybe a few moments from the 4th line and Close. This team has yet to play two good games in a row.
Stylistically it was interesting to see the Badgers bulldoze the puck down low and make our Dmen work, our team passed around the perimeter if they weren’t taking a terrible shot from the point. I think especially with the bigger lines like Nelson’s the gophers should be doing more of that.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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My read is the third D pairing indicates the first two pairs will see a lot of ice time.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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I’ve never seen a team swinging their sticks around as much as wisco has been doing this weekend without drawing 1 slashing penalty. At times it’s been like watching LOTR.
