Oh I forgot, you’re the expert on all calls by officials…lmao!Blaming players for incompetent officiating is unbelievably dumb.That’s the point thou…Cooley let his emotions rather than his brain control his actions on that play, which gave the refs the opportunity to make an (even it up) penalty call, something a team up by one goal in the fading minutes cannot afford to do, particularly in the offense zone.
You think it takes an expert to understand the game at a level that you could never comprehend?Oh I forgot, you’re the expert on all calls by officials…lmao!Blaming players for incompetent officiating is unbelievably dumb.That’s the point thou…Cooley let his emotions rather than his brain control his actions on that play, which gave the refs the opportunity to make an (even it up) penalty call, something a team up by one goal in the fading minutes cannot afford to do, particularly in the offense zone.
lol…I guess all that Junior Gold coaching experience made you the savant you are…regarding all things hockey related…lolYou think it takes an expert to understand the game at a level that you could never comprehend?Oh I forgot, you’re the expert on all calls by officials…lmao!Blaming players for incompetent officiating is unbelievably dumb.That’s the point thou…Cooley let his emotions rather than his brain control his actions on that play, which gave the refs the opportunity to make an (even it up) penalty call, something a team up by one goal in the fading minutes cannot afford to do, particularly in the offense zone.
I seriously doubt that the average hockey fan or casual observer would rather watch a game officiated by the refs we had this weekend over the better NHL refs who actually call things (especially during the regular season though even the playoffs seem better than years past). I think most would rather see the best hockey has to offer in terms of speed, rush opportunities, and stick handling ability over constant obstruction, holding, stick work that seldomly gets called, and just outright shenanigans in terms of tackling and allowing guys to hold the puck against the boards for prolonged periods of time.
Other than maybe parity I don’t understand why the NCAA, B1G, or anybody with the power to change things would possibly want this for the sport. And I’m willing to acknowledge that the gophers got away with plenty too including a blatant trip we saw get replayed on Thursday.
Oh I forgot, you’re the expert on all calls by officials…lmao!Blaming players for incompetent officiating is unbelievably dumb.That’s the point thou…Cooley let his emotions rather than his brain control his actions on that play, which gave the refs the opportunity to make an (even it up) penalty call, something a team up by one goal in the fading minutes cannot afford to do, particularly in the offense zone.
In this case, and it pains me to say it ? , you're both right.
Cooley lost his cool at the worst possible time. He could just as easily skated away from that, but he didn't. He did that a few times during the season, too, and I'd bet somebody on the Q bench knew it. If he skates away, it's quite possible there would be some shiny new hardware in the Mariucci trophy case.
At the same time, when one ref 10 feet from the play is nodding his head "no no no," the idiot in stripes 150 feet away has no business raising his hand. (Not to mention, the refs let go all of the obstruction all game long, and that's on them, too.)
Hey, I like Cooley, and I loved watching him play. But I have to call it like I see it. His temper cost him and his team a good chance at a national title.
Idk I feel like Dryden McRoids just sorta got outplayed by Denver’s goalie in the one NC. Denver had a lead instead of the other way around and Mankato had to open things up a little more. In other years they just ran into a different team of 26 year olds with slightly more skill who also know how to clutch and grab with impunity.
People forget that in that game the Cows had a late 1-0 lead they let slip away. As soon as they got down 1-2, it was no longer Mankato hockey. That's when Denver opened things up.
Unlike Minnesota, Denver had a little sandpaper to their game and waited patiently for their opportunity, and they had the shooters who could finish. Mankato probably tried to salt that one away a little too early--a lesson Bob could have used last April.
Mankato might just as well have beaten Denver that night but things didn't fall their way. The same thing happened to Minnesota in their game against Mankato and then again in the NC game last spring. That's the whole point. Teams that play defense to keep it close can, and often do, beat better opponents. If the refs don't call penalties, the odds go up even more.
My point was that that style of play is often beat in the playoffs by other teams because it feels like teams turn that play back onto the opponent. If the refs are letting players grab, then start effing grabbing. If the refs are allowing a lot of stick work, then do the same damn thing. Adjust for a night even if it kills you because the ultimate goal is to get the W.
Well the gophers did kinda adjust this weekend and start doing more of the stick infractions etc. but when they’re the smaller skill team it doesn’t exactly benefit them when the refs do this. And whether you think the ncaa should clean up the game or Bob should recruit an entire team of Jaxson Nelsons and start coaching like Hastings is up to you.
They don't need to recruit like Hastings to take advantage of what the refs are clearly letting go in a particular game, and this isn't a small Gophers team anyway.
The Gophers will be fine. The good thing is there is much room for improvement. Practice makes perfect, and they will get better every week. Better to lose early and learn to play together, stronger and smarter as the season goes by. This is a team that needs to put more pucks on net they are capable of 4 or 5 goals a game. This year they get another crack at Hastings, maybe more. I'm not giving up on this team! Better to be humble and play with a chip / Gopher pride chip the rest of the of the way, just end the season as the #1 team. Go Gophers!
Brutal. Like watching a car crash - don't really want to watch but can't look away. Of course easy to see from my seat and not so easy on the ice, but many moments in both games where I was silently screaming no, no, no, NOOOOO watching a disaster develop off of a poor decision with the puck or a weak flip that ends up going the other way. That being said, I still have confidence that they will be a good team this year. The pieces are there but don't seem to be really put together yet and some guys need to learn their role. Wisconsin played to their strengths and this time their strengths beat ours. It is up to the team to determine if that will continue. At the end of the day they are really kids playing a game. A difficult game at a level most of us never achieved. Can they do better? I hope YES. Are they going to be perfect? Of course NOT.
They clearly were against the cows those two years which was why everyone was complaining about playing against fully matured 25 year olds. It’s also typically been the case against teams like Duluth, Q, and some of those better Mike Eaves teams over the years. But the bigger issue is that style of play takes away what advantage we have in high end skill and makes the games far less entertaining to watch.They don't need to recruit like Hastings to take advantage of what the refs are clearly letting go in a particular game, and this isn't a small Gophers team anyway.
I don’t think the gophers were the worse team on Friday, they did adjust as you described and kinda just got unlucky with a big mistake at the worst time. The idea that this team is built to win based on that style of play clearly isn’t the case though.
So can they adjust game by game or not? That's rhetorucal.
We’ve seen the same issue against good trap teams under two different coaches over the course of like 15+ years so you tell me ? . If you don’t think the coaches have adjusted anything during that time in terms of strategy and recruiting idk what to tell you.
If you think the only way to beat a team like that is to also have a team like that...
I’d like to believe you’re right because it’s painfully boring to watch those teams but unless the reffing changes and they actually start calling the rulebook as intended I see the same issues persisting for the gophers. Motzko and even Lucia made some adjustments to make the team collectively older, they do adjust and play according to what the refs are doing, they’ve been recruiting bigger dmen, they have a mix of big fifth year seniors to compliment NHL talent etc. And yet they still have similar struggles against these kinds of teams because they on some level know how to take much of the skill differential away and the best coaches money can buy still haven’t seemed to find a consistent recipe to counter it. I just don’t buy that it’s due to some lack of adjusting on their part.
All this talk about reffing and boring play. The Gophers lost because they played like crap. I didn't feel the badgers played a boring game (compared to lots of Mankato games) nor do I feel the refs changed the outcome of the two games.
They were awful Thursday, they have nobody to blame but themselves for that one.
They didn’t play like crap in the second game though, they outchanced and out shot the badgers and lost on a really unlucky play. The PP was pretty bad but they probably were the better team at even strength and didn’t get the result. No idea what the outcome is with refs who call a tighter game but I have little doubt that it would’ve been more fun to watch.
I'm with Trix on this. Thursday, I was unhappy with quite a few calls, but mentioned to SkiUMahLaw several times during the game that the officiating wasn't why the Gophers were behind... it was because we were out there doing impersonations of traffic cones.
Friday was a bit of a different thing. The calls there were more impactful on the outcome of the game. The Gophers still didn't play as well as I'd have wanted them to, but the officiating I think did have an impact on that outcome (not sure it would have mattered with how the PP looked, though)
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
I was unable to watch Friday’s game but I heard they played much better despite the final score. Some would even say they played well. Any truth to this?
They traded chances early and probably had the better of chances and shots etc. when all was said and done. I think the gophers were probably the slightly better team in the 2nd and 3rd though as we’ve discussed Bucky has a way of slowing things down which lead to large periods of uneventful play happening. Idk if you’ve seen the last goal but you can draw your own conclusions. Like I said the second game result wouldn’t have gotten the reaction it did if it was following up a win instead of a truly terrible performance.I was unable to watch Friday’s game but I heard they played much better despite the final score. Some would even say they played well. Any truth to this?
I'm with Trix on this. Thursday, I was unhappy with quite a few calls, but mentioned to SkiUMahLaw several times during the game that the officiating wasn't why the Gophers were behind... it was because we were out there doing impersonations of traffic cones.
Friday was a bit of a different thing. The calls there were more impactful on the outcome of the game. The Gophers still didn't play as well as I'd have wanted them to, but the officiating I think did have an impact on that outcome (not sure it would have mattered with how the PP looked, though)
I also wasn't saying the officiating was the cause for the losses, only that when the refs are letting stuff go it feels as if the Gophers are slower to adjust to equally take advantage. Let's face it - when an opponent can get grab happy it can lead to them getting counter-attacks.
I realize the Gophers are not the kind of team that wants to play that style and I don't want them to change overall. But it's like trying to run the ball in football against the #1 run defense and refusing to try play-action or burn the defense over the top once in awhile.
The good news is that is this team hasn't come close to playing its best hockey so it's difficult to judge what they're fully capable of. The scoring depth hasn't materialized and the D misses Koster. If they're still struggling after putting both of those together only then will be time for concern.
Don’t love the Thursday-Friday series but it is what it is. Still Gopher hockey, still a rivalry weekend. I hope the fans show up and get loud! This team is fun to watch and worth supporting!!
It's been 17 years since I attended a game at Mariucci/3M but will be there tonight. Watched the first two periods last night and would agree - the Gophers did not show up. Hope to see a better effort tonight in person. Doing the frozen tundra doubleheader - hockey tonight & FB game with Sparty Saturday.
Loved the atmosphere in Mariucci Friday - incredible to see a game in person again. Crowd was awesome -thought team looked pretty solid. They'll break through soon - hopefully this weekend.
FB game with MSU also fun. Would recommend doing the doubleheader for anyone - we had a blast at both games. UMN is really lucky to have terrific venues (and engaged fans) for hockey & football.
Bonus - since our Sunday am flight was cancelled Saturday night due to Denver snowstorm, we switched our return to ORD-DEN Sunday night, drove to GB early Sunday & caught the Vikes roll over the hapless Pack.