I would like to say a big thank you to those who will be leaving. It has been an absolute pleasure watching you play.
I said this on Thursday morning, no matter what happened this weekend this has been a fun season. The buzz was back in Mairucci and it was fun again to be there. Losing stinks but....the sun might come up tomorrow.
I feel better thinking of the old saying, "We just reload" after each season.
Said it in other thread, but thank you for an amazing season Gophers. So much fun watching this team.
But being a Wolverine is a character flaw and being a Gopher is a positive character trait.
Bullshit. The voters that know all three Hobey finalists the best picked Kneis as the Big Ten Player of the year. And for good reason. He was the MVP of the best team in the Conference and Nation. THey could have picked Fantili but they passed.
Bullshit choice that was influenced by the East coast media who worships Michigan sports. WHy do you think Michigan played in the prime time spot last night instead of the #1 ranked team in the nation?
Knies and Cooley are PHENOMENAL players but was Fantilli not the favorite to win it? People are acting like our guys got robbed. They didn’t. All 3 are great players and it went to the player with the best individual season. News flash that’s how the Hobey works.
Also I don’t get people that say they know enough about a man’s character based on limited television viewings to say they aren’t deserving of the Hobey. I think Fantilli is a total douche but I’m not ready to disqualify him over it. If I were on the committee I would begrudgingly vote for Fantilli.
If Fantilli wore maroon and gold I think we’d all have a different tune.
And how are we to know that Cooley and Knies aren't just as douchey? Not saying they are but we pretend we know all about these kids cause we see them on TV a lot...we know nothing.
And 100% if Fantilli was a Gopher no one would be whining about his character if he won the Hobey.
I can't argue against this! ?
until they dig up your yard
This might be the deepest, most talented team to not win a title in my 50 years of watching.
MI would have been a better opponent for them. They always struggle against teams like this.
I actually wanted this for Motzko, but his post season woes continue. Gophers were outcoached tonight.
My obligatory no matter what happens post…
This season has been amazing. We got to watch the best line in college hockey every weekend. We got to watch a back to back conference championship. We got to watch our team win EVERY season series. Only one team was able to beat us twice and it took them a 5th game.
We rocked a (mostly) full Mariucci Arena again. We are playing in the LAST GAME OF THE SEASON!!
That said, let’s finish this thing!! But awesome season no matter what.
I stand by it. Incredible season. Probably our best since 2002.
Trying to understand why Faber and Johnson didn’t start overtime. Just doesn’t make sense.
Trying to understand why Faber and Johnson didn’t start overtime. Just doesn’t make sense.
That would have been my preference.
@streakygopher The 89 and 81 teams IMO are the top 2 gopher teams to not win the title and I am putting the 89 team slightly ahead because they had better defense and goaltending. But that crop of forwards on the 81 team with Broten, Broten, Ulseth, Erickson, Hartzll, Bjugstad and company could score at will.
I love Bob and think he has done a great job but I think I am ready for Grant or someone younger to take over the program and maybe have a little change in philosophy when it comes to recruiting.
We won't be playing on the big sheet anymore and I know we all love getting the blue chippers year after year but we need to get older and bigger(I have been saying this for years). Try to mix some blue chippers with some older guys.
When I was watching Q take the ice tonight some of their players looked like they were in their early 30's.
It sort of feels like 89 all over again when we were wondering if Skarda, Chorske, Stauber, and Snuggy were going to come back or not(They all left).
Grant has won a title as a player and wearing that M meant and still means a ton to him.
We are never getting older and bigger that just isnt going to be how this team ever recruits...and getting rid of Motzko is just a terrible idea. Good lord he just coached one of the best seasons and you want to bring in someone else?
Wow...
Trying to understand why Faber and Johnson didn’t start overtime. Just doesn’t make sense.
this is absolutely a game Faber should’ve logged 25+ minutes. If you’re going to load up and play D, do it with your best horse
We were less than 3 minutes away from winning the national championship with a team that ended the season as the Pairwise #1.
Quinnipiac's average age was 22.3
Gopher's average age was 21.1
Quinnipiac had seven 5th year guys due to the Covid season rule. If Covid doesn't happen or the NCAA decides not to give players a 5th year due to the Covid season. Quinnipiac's average age is significantly younger since they would not have had those 7 older guys on the team.
Bottom line replacing coach is ?
@handyman We have not changed our philosophy on recruiting and where has that gotten us exactly? Yeah we have gotten to the title game a few times but we have not won in over 20 years.
The Wooger would not stop recruiting high school players and was fired and Don comes in and wins back to back titles 4 years later.
I love Bob but I just don't think Bob can win the big one. We all loved the Wooger and it was the same thing. Great teams year after year and he just could not win the big one.
We are going to have to change the way we recruit period especially with the NHL sized rink now.
We are never getting older and bigger that just isnt going to be how this team ever recruits...and getting rid of Motzko is just a terrible idea. Good lord he just coached one of the best seasons and you want to bring in someone else?
Wow...
It sucks to lose but the tournament format favors older teams who obstruct and play defense. Teams who can't attract the top talent have to recruit and play that way to win.
MI and MN, the two youngest teams in college hockey, just proved that being very young is enough to balance out the difference in skill. The Cooley line of two freshmen and one sophomore did nothing tonight and the Huglen line didn't fare any better.
Honestly, if I had to watch this kind of hockey all year, I'd get rid of my season tickets. Everyone around us was complaining about how boring the game was.
@streakygopher It's boring as hell to watch but it wins more often than not.
I am not saying we need to stop recruiting blue chippers but there has to be a happy medium there.
And this is why I was complaining about the refs not calling interference. When refs decide not to call interference you are ruining the skill of the game.
Just because it is a Championship game doesn't mean the rules don't apply.
If hockey wants to attract more fans let the skill of the players come through by calling interference.
The beauty of hockey is the speed and skill of the players/game not the interfering, holding, and hooking.
Refs who shallow their whistle do the sport a disservice. Fans don't want to watch boring hockey and without fans you are just playing a game for fun that is no different then when hockey players play a pick up game. College and pro sports have meaning because people (aka fans) are following and supporting (financially) the games.
@handyman We have not changed our philosophy on recruiting and where has that gotten us exactly? Yeah we have gotten to the title game a few times but we have not won in over 20 years.
The Wooger would not stop recruiting high school players and was fired and Don comes in and wins back to back titles 4 years later.
I love Bob but I just don't think Bob can win the big one. We all loved the Wooger and it was the same thing. Great teams year after year and he just could not win the big one.
We are going to have to change the way we recruit period especially with the NHL sized rink now.
If all you care about is National Titles you might as will quit watching. 99.9% of the time you will be disappointed no matter who we recruit.
I will take the games we saw this year over Mankato games. If that means we lose in the title game so be it.
I would rather look bad and win then look good and lose any day of the week.
I think you should look in the mirror.
This was nothing to do with the refs. All about the coaching and soft play. Not by all, but by some. One particular line was out there for the last two and one D in particular was responsible for two of the goals. This was also noticeable in the Michigan Big 10 final. Huglens line didn’t get enough time. The Nelson line was relied on a bit too much imho. The big line could have done more, but no big complaints. Snuggy missed the net a lot. Cooley didn’t seem to have a plan B. And Knies skated into trouble too much tonight, trying to go to much. To be fair he had a nice play to set up the other two for that late 2v1, but otherwise didn’t make too many plays for his linemates. Close was standing on his head for that third period…until that second goal. He battled though and Is not the reason they lost.
@handyman We have not changed our philosophy on recruiting and where has that gotten us exactly? Yeah we have gotten to the title game a few times but we have not won in over 20 years.
The Wooger would not stop recruiting high school players and was fired and Don comes in and wins back to back titles 4 years later.
I love Bob but I just don't think Bob can win the big one. We all loved the Wooger and it was the same thing. Great teams year after year and he just could not win the big one.
We are going to have to change the way we recruit period especially with the NHL sized rink now.
Up until three hours ago Quinnipiac had NEVER won a National Championship and now suddenly they have the magic secret? Which by the way as I already pointed out and you are choosing to ignore they were only just over one year older than us and that was because they had seven 5th year players due to the Covid Rule.
The 89 Gophers coached by Woog hit a post in OT of the National Championship game. Yep Wooger clearly couldn't win the big one. ?
Bob has won a World Junior tournament for the USA and was 3 minutes away from winning the National Championship when a goal from a bad angle was scored after a horrible call by a ref gave Q a 6 on 4 with the goalie pulled. If you watch the replay of the goal Cooley is coming out of penalty box and isn't yet back in the play. But yep Bob can't win the big one. ?
Well neither of them have won the big one have they?
I don't care how many WJ titles he has won.
Dude go look at the last 10 national championship teams and then come back to me.
@handyman We have not changed our philosophy on recruiting and where has that gotten us exactly? Yeah we have gotten to the title game a few times but we have not won in over 20 years.
The Wooger would not stop recruiting high school players and was fired and Don comes in and wins back to back titles 4 years later.
I love Bob but I just don't think Bob can win the big one. We all loved the Wooger and it was the same thing. Great teams year after year and he just could not win the big one.
We are going to have to change the way we recruit period especially with the NHL sized rink now.
If all you care about is National Titles you might as will quit watching. 99.9% of the time you will be disappointed no matter who we recruit.
I will take the games we saw this year over Mankato games. If that means we lose in the title game so be it.
Mankato played boring hockey still ended up losing in the National Championship game last season and then their Head Coach, top assistant and most of their players left after season.
Sure wish the Gophers would model their team after that.
Plus the kicker is people are complaining the team was too defensive in tonight's game yet are saying the team needs to become more like Mankato and Quinnipiac. ? ?
Well neither of them have won the big one have they?
I don't care how many WJ titles he has won.
Dude go look at the last 10 national championship teams and then come back to me.
That's good to know you don't care about your country winning.
Last time I checked college hockey has been played for more than 10 seasons. Look at the history of College hockey and come back to me.
I would rather look bad and win then look good and lose any day of the week.
I think you should look in the mirror.
I would rather enjoy myself. I don't measure my fandom or enjoyment by whether some college kids win a game. You can feel otherwise.
I like what I see when I look in the mirror. Thanks for the concern though.
@handyman We have not changed our philosophy on recruiting and where has that gotten us exactly? Yeah we have gotten to the title game a few times but we have not won in over 20 years.
The Wooger would not stop recruiting high school players and was fired and Don comes in and wins back to back titles 4 years later.
I love Bob but I just don't think Bob can win the big one. We all loved the Wooger and it was the same thing. Great teams year after year and he just could not win the big one.
We are going to have to change the way we recruit period especially with the NHL sized rink now.
If all you care about is National Titles you might as will quit watching. 99.9% of the time you will be disappointed no matter who we recruit.
I will take the games we saw this year over Mankato games. If that means we lose in the title game so be it.
Mankato played boring hockey still ended up losing in the National Championship game last season and then their Head Coach, top assistant and most of their players left after season.
Sure wish the Gophers would model their team after that.
Plus the kicker is people are complaining the team was too defensive in tonight's game yet are saying the team needs to become more like Mankato and Quinnipiac. ? ?
Oh God that's amazing!
@collegehockeyaddict Dude you are clearly missing the point.
It's all about personnel.
I have been saying for the last 10 years that they need to get older and bigger.
I mean dude you seem to care more about them playing pretty hockey then winning.
@collegehockeyaddict Dude you are clearly missing the point.
It's all about personnel.
I have been saying for the last 10 years that they need to get older and bigger.
I mean dude you seem to care more about them playing pretty hockey then winning.
I already point out the age difference wasn't that much so yeah let's talk about size.
Gopher average player 6' 0.3" 191.7 lbs
Quinnipiac average player 6' 0.3" 185.8 lbs
We were the bigger team.
And yep because they lost in OT tonight the team clearly hasn't been winning much. ?
@collegehockeyaddict I said nothing about not caring about my country winning. Learn how to read man. You said that Bob had won the WJC which had 0 to do with what were debating.
We are talking about college hockey. Not the WJC, Olympics, Bantam, PeeWee or whatever the hell else you brought up.
@collegehockeyaddict At the end of the day man I love Gopher hockey as much as anyone.
There is 1 thing I would take over a national title though.
If we could get the old WCHA back I would be fine never winning another title.
You said he can't win the big one if winning a goal medal for your country isn't a big one than yes you don't value that. ?
@collegehockeyaddict I said the big one because Patrick Reusse used to say the "The Wooger can't win the big one" all of the time!
@collegehockeyaddict I was at Lake Placid in 1980 man so I do care.
So wining a gold medal for your country is winning a big one. Thanks for playing. This was fun. Good night. ?
@collegehockeyaddict You said I did not care about my country winning you bozo.
Ciao!
Wait you would trade never winning a national title for bringing back the old WCHA? Now that is quite a take...
And this is why I was complaining about the refs not calling interference. When refs decide not to call interference you are ruining the skill of the game.
Just because it is a Championship game doesn't mean the rules don't apply.
If hockey wants to attract more fans let the skill of the players come through by calling interference.
The beauty of hockey is the speed and skill of the players/game not the interfering, holding, and hooking.
Refs who shallow their whistle do the sport a disservice. Fans don't want to watch boring hockey and without fans you are just playing a game for fun that is no different then when hockey players play a pick up game. College and pro sports have meaning because people (aka fans) are following and supporting (financially) the games.
College reffing isn't consistent at all. The call to send Cooley only to the box is unforgivable, but in general the complete disregard for obstruction infractions will always hurt teams like the gophers. It's the great equalizer. If they called the game like they do in the NHL, teams like Q and Mankato would be on the penalty kill all night.
That said, and the grad transfer equation aside for a moment, Minnesota did not impose its will tonight and gave up 3 consecutive goals after a 2 zip lead. That is on them and the coaches.
The Gophers didn't lose that game because of the age difference. What a horrible take.
You are all arguing with someone who joined the board literally an hour after the loss.
Don’t feed the monster.
The expectations for next year do NOT go down. Next year is a Frozen Four team!
The Gophers didn't lose that game because of the age difference. What a horrible take.
Who said they lost because of the age difference? It's only one of many aforementioned factors.
But of course IT IS a factor. You dont have to be a hockey genius to acknowledge this.
If every player on MI, BU, MN etc. had one additional year of playing college-level hockey, think it would matter? The answer is self evident.
I don’t know enough about who is coming in but the guys leaving the blue line will be tough to replace.The expectations for next year do NOT go down. Next year is a Frozen Four team!
Faber wasn't very good last night and I have to believe played a big role in why the rest of the team was in panic mode for half the game.Trying to understand why Faber and Johnson didn’t start overtime. Just doesn’t make sense.
this is absolutely a game Faber should’ve logged 25+ minutes. If you’re going to load up and play D, do it with your best horse
Faber wasn't very good last night and I have to believe played a big role in why the rest of the team was in panic mode for half the game.Trying to understand why Faber and Johnson didn’t start overtime. Just doesn’t make sense.
this is absolutely a game Faber should’ve logged 25+ minutes. If you’re going to load up and play D, do it with your best horse
personally thought he was fine, which yes isn't up to his usual lofty standards. Pecknold clearly changed something after the first in how they defended our breakouts and Bob could not adapt, which put a ton of pressure on them to try find guys who were not open, which made them look desperate flipping pucks out of the zone. Incredibly boring, frustrating hockey, but it works this time of year when the teams are allowed to grind and not have to worry so much about freedom of movement calls
The male body goes through a huge change from 18 to 23. That's indisputable. It may or may not have affected this particular game.If age didn't matter, there wouldn't be 25 year old college athletes.The Gophers didn't lose that game because of the age difference. What a horrible take.
Who said they lost because of the age difference?
nf89 and I disagree age had anything to do with that loss. ymmv
Pretty much impossible for a physical sport to not be affected by the physical maturity of the players.The male body goes through a huge change from 18 to 23. That's indisputable. It may or may not have affected this particular game.If age didn't matter, there wouldn't be 25 year old college athletes.The Gophers didn't lose that game because of the age difference. What a horrible take.
Who said they lost because of the age difference?
nf89 and I disagree age had anything to do with that loss. ymmv
If age didn't matter, there wouldn't be 25 year old college athletes.The Gophers didn't lose that game because of the age difference. What a horrible take.
Who said they lost because of the age difference?
nf89 and I disagree age had anything to do with that loss. ymmv
Good Lord. Teams have 25 year-old players because they can't get younger ones with more talent. If age was so important the blue-bloods could have been following that recipe for years.
32 teams were older than Q this season including Mankato, Ohio State, Michigan Tech, Western Michigan and Penn State.
Denver's average age last year was 21.4. Before that UMASS was 21.9, UMD was 21.6 in '18 and '19, Denver 21.9, UND 21.2, Providence 21.1...
So no I don't think age was all that especially given how many players for the Gophers that returned from last year that under-performed vs Q - including your much maligned nearly 25 y.o. Close.
Bless your heartIf age didn't matter, there wouldn't be 25 year old college athletes.The Gophers didn't lose that game because of the age difference. What a horrible take.
Who said they lost because of the age difference?
nf89 and I disagree age had anything to do with that loss. ymmv
Good Lord. Teams have 25 year-old players because they can't get younger ones with more talent. If age was so important the blue-bloods could have been following that recipe for years.
32 teams were older than Q this season including Mankato, Ohio State, Michigan Tech, Western Michigan and Penn State.
Denver's average age last year was 21.4. Before that UMASS was 21.9, UMD was 21.6 in '18 and '19, Denver 21.9, UND 21.2, Providence 21.1...
So no I don't think age was all that especially given how many players for the Gophers that returned from last year that under-performed vs Q - including your much maligned nearly 25 y.o. Close.
using close for an age example is probably a poor choice.If age didn't matter, there wouldn't be 25 year old college athletes.The Gophers didn't lose that game because of the age difference. What a horrible take.
Who said they lost because of the age difference?
nf89 and I disagree age had anything to do with that loss. ymmv
Good Lord. Teams have 25 year-old players because they can't get younger ones with more talent. If age was so important the blue-bloods could have been following that recipe for years.
32 teams were older than Q this season including Mankato, Ohio State, Michigan Tech, Western Michigan and Penn State.
Denver's average age last year was 21.4. Before that UMASS was 21.9, UMD was 21.6 in '18 and '19, Denver 21.9, UND 21.2, Providence 21.1...
So no I don't think age was all that especially given how many players for the Gophers that returned from last year that under-performed vs Q - including your much maligned nearly 25 y.o. Close.
The blue bloods won't follow that recipe because they get the best players in the country wanting to play for their schools. Good grief, this is so obvious I feel dumber for writing it. The other schools load up on older players because that's how they can get a competitive team.
What would college basketball or football look like with starting line ups 18 to 26? So long as college hockey allows a 21 year old freshman with full 4 year eligibility this problem will persist. Thank goodness as gopher fans we get to watch the talent.
Kudos to Q for the W against long odds and a little help from the refs, but they are built for this tournament much in the same way UMD was in their wins.