Feel like I’ve said it multiple times now, but Luke Mittelstadt has to be the #1 surprise this season.
Curious to hear any other nominees or any other opinions?
Feel like I’ve said it multiple times now, but Luke Mittelstadt has to be the #1 surprise this season.
Curious to hear any other nominees or any other opinions?
Mason Nevers has made a big jump that I did not see coming.
I'd throw Jim out there as well. I know he was a blue chipper, but I didn't expect he would step in and lead the team in scoring right away. Happy to have underestimated him.
It was mentioned in another thread I think about players with over 11 points. Here is a list of players who have surpassed their single season high in points already.
Nelson -- 7 goals and 19 points are both career highs.
Nevers-- 7 goals and 16 points are career highs
Faber-- 3 goals and 15 points are career highs
Pitlick -- 8 goals are career high
Knies, LaCombe, Brodziński and Koster arę on pace to have career highs.
Hoping for continued success in the 2nd half.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Close has also tied his career high for points ?
Pro teams might have a bidding war over the farm kid at the end of the season.
Pro teams might have a bidding war over the farm kid at the end of the season.
Yeah, I gotta believe he's getting a pro deal. He's got everything that coaches love
Pro teams might have a bidding war over the farm kid at the end of the season.
Yeah, I gotta believe he's getting a pro deal. He's got everything that coaches love
Agree, his value isn't going to be any higher than after this season.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
The other six Big Ten teams (not counting the Gophers) are 37-10-3 in non conference games. They are 2-10 against the Gophers in conference games.
The Gophers in 12 games have beaten them the same amount of times as the other 55 teams have in 50 games. This just in the Gophers are pretty good. ?
Just curious. did anyone on here use the valet service this weekend? Does anyone know many people used it and how well did it work? I saw a review of it on Facebook, and the person seemed happy with it. He also said it seemed they just left the cars parked on 4th street, so to me that means not a lot of people used it.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
At $50, I’m not that interested in saving two blocks of walking.
At $50, I’m not that interested in saving two blocks of walking.
I agree. Just curious on how successful it was or wasn't.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
I saw people using it as I was walking down 4th before the game and on Friday. There were four or five cars lined up with three workers waiting for the next car. The car pulling up and the people in it made sense. If we’re just being completely honest. An older couple in a nice car.
At $50, I’m not that interested in saving two blocks of walking.
I agree. Just curious on how successful it was or wasn't.
Guessing the valets were paid min wage, so half a dozen to dozen cars paid for the service off the bat.
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.
Feel like I’ve said it multiple times now, but Luke Mittelstadt has to be the #1 surprise this season.
Curious to hear any other nominees or any other opinions?
I agree. That, and the additional jump in Never’s game. I can see Nevers wearing the C next season.
Feel like I’ve said it multiple times now, but Luke Mittelstadt has to be the #1 surprise this season.
Curious to hear any other nominees or any other opinions?
I agree. That, and the additional jump in Never’s game. I can see Nevers wearing the C next season.
I was going to ask the same question.
To me, Nevers has been the most improved player. The farm kid has raised his game this year, too, and really makes that line go. (He also plays an honest game in all three zones.)
Cooley has been coming on as well. We all heard about him and about Snuggerud and his shot but seeing them in person....wowza.
Another kid who is playing lights out is Chesley. Way ahead of an ordinary college defensemen at this point ( agree on mittelsltadt as well).
Random question I’ve been meaning to ask for 3 years: why is Koster’s name pronounced Kester when it’s spelled Koster
Random question I’ve been meaning to ask for 3 years: why is Koster’s name pronounced Kester when it’s spelled Koster
Might have been originally spelled Köster in German. Kester still isn't exactly how you'd pronounce it in German but probably was an attempt to convert it to English.
Schroeder: Shro-der or shray-der. Don't get me started on Brett Fahv-reh....
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.
Schroeder: Shro-der or shray-der. Don't get me started on Brett Fahv-reh....
And Schroeder would have been Schröder in German.
I'd throw Jim out there as well. I know he was a blue chipper, but I didn't expect he would step in and lead the team in scoring right away. Happy to have underestimated him.
His dad had 32 as a frosh...Jimmy has 27 before the New Year ?
At $50, I’m not that interested in saving two blocks of walking.
I agree. Just curious on how successful it was or wasn't.
Guessing the valets were paid min wage, so half a dozen to dozen cars paid for the service off the bat.
The U has never paid minimum wage. I think the lowest wage they paid when I was in school was just over $10. This was mid to late 90s.
On campus minimum is now $16 an hour.
Some interesting 1st half team stats for the Gophers--
#3 in NCAA in shot attempts
#2 in shooting %
#21 in Save %
#7 in PP % at 26.1%
#41 in PK % at 78.4%
#17 in Face off % at 52.4%
#1 in goals per game with 4.3
#17 in goals allowed per game with 2.5
#6 in shots per game at 34.2
#1 in fewest penalty minutes per game at 7 minutes per game
Snuggy is 2nd in the NCAA in points with 27, which is 6 points behind McAllister
Cooley is 5th with 25 points
Knies is 12th with 22 points
Knies and the Farm Kid are tied in the NCAA with 4 game winning goals
Snuggy leads NCAA in plus/minus with a +20. Faber is 2nd at +18. Cooley is +16
Farm Kid's face off % is 59.6%
Close has 3 shutouts, 1 behind the leaders
Close is 16th in GAA and 25th in SV%
Gophers are 2nd in attendance at 8387 ( tickets sold )
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
At $50, I’m not that interested in saving two blocks of walking.
I agree. Just curious on how successful it was or wasn't.
Guessing the valets were paid min wage, so half a dozen to dozen cars paid for the service off the bat.
The U has never paid minimum wage. I think the lowest wage they paid when I was in school was just over $10. This was mid to late 90s.
I thought they said they were contracting the valet out to some other company? So who knows what they pay. Probably not minimum wage though. Even Target pays $15 an hour.
Gophers stay at #3
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
The B1G sucks. Only 6 of 7 teams ranked.
The Big Ten has maxed out at 4 teams in the tournament. 5 teams this year seems reasonable. Is 6 achievable?
Having the fewest penalty minutes hides the PK%.
Not surprised by the shot% and it's been a long time since the Gophers had this many snipers on one team.
As far as how many B1G teams could make the tournament, the early season NC successes probably won't save 1 or 2 of them if they don't start improving their conference results.
Agreed. I can't imagine more than 5 teams would make it. Yes, the conference as a whole is doing great this year, but once WisconSIN and likely at least one other team (if not two more) get beat up over the rest of the season, I'd assume they either stay low in the PWR or get knocked down the list a bit.
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
So far the Gophers have 4.28 goals per game. That's #1 and they get to play the Badgers two more times 
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
So far the Gophers have 4.28 goals per game. That's #1 and they get to play the Badgers two more times
I am sure great tickets are still available! Madison is only 4 short hours away.
Feel like I’ve said it multiple times now, but Luke Mittelstadt has to be the #1 surprise this season.
Curious to hear any other nominees or any other opinions?
I agree Luke Mittelstadt is the surprise player so far this year. This is one of the deepest defensive corps in college hockey history and he's cracked the 2nd pp as a legit option there. He handles contact and pressure as a freshman better than a lot of the more highly touted/high draft pick blue liners have done the past two decades. I know he had a good year with Madison in the USHL last year, but to see it on the ice with the schedule Minnesota played the first half is impressive. Mittlestadt is only behind LaCombe and Faber for defensmen scoring... pretty, pretty, pretty good.
I had Rhett Pitlick as my breakout player of the year and feel pretty good about that pick. Even though he didn't stick with Cooley/Snuggerud, Pitlick is still fifth on the team in goals with eight. I think it says something that his linemates right now Huglen and Lamb each only have two goals... so Pitlick is the go to scorer on that line.
I'm surprised that Brodzinski is fourth on the team in goals with nine. He's found a nice spot with Nelson/Nevers. I mean the productivity of that line is massive and elevates the potential of the team.
How possible is it for all 3 of the 89-92-81 line to be first team all-Americans this year?. Would certainly be very unprecedented but it not entirely unrealistic. They basically just have to beat McAllister and Fantilli.
Reading back through commentary leading into the season if posters are being honest Brodzinski has to be their surprise player so far. ?
Reading back through commentary leading into the season if posters are being honest Brodzinski has to be their surprise player so far. ?
He’s definitely making me eat my words. Happy to do so and I hope he keeps it up all season long. It’s been really fun to see him really pop off and play with some major confidence.
There are a lot of good things going on this season but I'm not sure if I would call them surprises...maybe just realized potential. We have had many players in the past with plenty of skill but many don't quite meet the level of potential that they had coming in, Sammy Walker could be an example. Sammy's freshman year he showed a lot of potential, but he didn't trend upward (IMO) throughout his time here at the U. I believe it was @Vegoe that said it best that having Sammy play center, which wasn't his preferred position, may have led to his scoring development on the ice.
Anyway, most all of these storylines this season...Cooley, Snugs, Brodz, Luke, etc...to me are just realized potential not so much a surprise. Maybe it's because of the recent past of ballyhooed players not living up to that hype that we are just surprised now that we have so many players living up to their potential. In the case of Brodz I think it was both a matter of what is between his ears and also finding the right linemates to click with, so a mixture of him putting the work in both on and off the ice...realized potential.
So...to me I'm not surprised that they are playing the way that they were recruited to play. Bob has his program in a place where there is a good mixture of youth and experience with skill and potential. I hope that he has the program where we can get at least two years even from our most talented players...*cough* Cooley/Snuggerud *cough* You mix that with some four year players who improve every year and you got a hell of a program.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Reading back through commentary leading into the season if posters are being honest Brodzinski has to be their surprise player so far. ?
I will gladly eat my words regarding him. I still think its absurd he was on the ice during 3 on 3, and even 4 on 4 seems pretty bizarre considering the skating ability of other players. But I totally underestimated his ability to bury the puck, and his line is obviously one of the X-factors if the Gophers are going to win the title.
Feel like I’ve said it multiple times now, but Luke Mittelstadt has to be the #1 surprise this season.
Curious to hear any other nominees or any other opinions?
I agree Luke Mittelstadt is the surprise player so far this year. This is one of the deepest defensive corps in college hockey history and he's cracked the 2nd pp as a legit option there. He handles contact and pressure as a freshman better than a lot of the more highly touted/high draft pick blue liners have done the past two decades. I know he had a good year with Madison in the USHL last year, but to see it on the ice with the schedule Minnesota played the first half is impressive. Mittlestadt is only behind LaCombe and Faber for defensmen scoring... pretty, pretty, pretty good.
I had Rhett Pitlick as my breakout player of the year and feel pretty good about that pick. Even though he didn't stick with Cooley/Snuggerud, Pitlick is still fifth on the team in goals with eight. I think it says something that his linemates right now Huglen and Lamb each only have two goals... so Pitlick is the go to scorer on that line.
I'm surprised that Brodzinski is fourth on the team in goals with nine. He's found a nice spot with Nelson/Nevers. I mean the productivity of that line is massive and elevates the potential of the team.
I would put Kurth on that line with Pitlick and Huglen. Although, I will admit I am nitpicking here.
I think the key for Brodzinski is he finally has linemates that compliment him. He is hitting way fewer shins with his shots because his linemates create a lot of space for him. That was really my only beef with him...though I never torched him like some did 😉
My only nit pick right now is, whether it’s 5 on 5 or we’re on the penalty kill, we seem reluctant, or unable, to clear opposition players from crease and out of Close’s line of sight. At least two, if not three, of Wisconsin’s goals on Saturday were scored while one of their players was parked right out in front of Close. You could see him trying to look around the Badgers player and at times even trying to push them out of the way himself. I must have annoyed my friend with the amount of times I muttered “just clear the f*$%ing crease”. Smarter hockey minds than mine might be able to explain why our guys didn’t seem to honor their guy in the crease. But it’s not the first time this season I’ve seen an opposition player parked right in front of our goalie and our guys doing little to nothing about it.
Feel like I’ve said it multiple times now, but Luke Mittelstadt has to be the #1 surprise this season.
Curious to hear any other nominees or any other opinions?
I agree Luke Mittelstadt is the surprise player so far this year. This is one of the deepest defensive corps in college hockey history and he's cracked the 2nd pp as a legit option there. He handles contact and pressure as a freshman better than a lot of the more highly touted/high draft pick blue liners have done the past two decades. I know he had a good year with Madison in the USHL last year, but to see it on the ice with the schedule Minnesota played the first half is impressive. Mittlestadt is only behind LaCombe and Faber for defensmen scoring... pretty, pretty, pretty good.
I had Rhett Pitlick as my breakout player of the year and feel pretty good about that pick. Even though he didn't stick with Cooley/Snuggerud, Pitlick is still fifth on the team in goals with eight. I think it says something that his linemates right now Huglen and Lamb each only have two goals... so Pitlick is the go to scorer on that line.
I'm surprised that Brodzinski is fourth on the team in goals with nine. He's found a nice spot with Nelson/Nevers. I mean the productivity of that line is massive and elevates the potential of the team.
I would put Kurth on that line with Pitlick and Huglen. Although, I will admit I am nitpicking here.
Ive been thinking the same thing. I’m a huge Kurth guy and I think he’ll reach the 10 goal mark by the end of the season.
Last year Ben Meyers had 5 goals at the break. He finished with 17 while missing time at the Olympics and also scored 2 against the U18’s and 1 against St. Thomas that went uncounted. Who’s most likely to make that sort of jump this year? I got Matthew Knies.
Knies is 2nd on the team for goals with 11 and is neck and neck for total points. To make a similar jump he'd have to score 26 goals the 2nd half of the year. Even if he did that all it would do is "take away" goals from his line-mates. Knies is doing just fine.
Last year Ben Meyers had 5 goals at the break. He finished with 17 while missing time at the Olympics and also scored 2 against the U18’s and 1 against St. Thomas that went uncounted. Who’s most likely to make that sort of jump this year? I got Matthew Knies.
Huglen seems like a guy that could make that kind of jump.
Last year Ben Meyers had 5 goals at the break. He finished with 17 while missing time at the Olympics and also scored 2 against the U18’s and 1 against St. Thomas that went uncounted. Who’s most likely to make that sort of jump this year? I got Matthew Knies.
Huglen seems like a guy that could make that kind of jump.
He just needs to shoot more. He likes to dance around people instead of going directly to the net. Go to the net and make things happen.
Knies is 2nd on the team for goals with 11 and is neck and neck for total points. To make a similar jump he'd have to score 26 goals the 2nd half of the year. Even if he did that all it would do is "take away" goals from his line-mates. Knies is doing just fine.
Didnt mean to say that he isn’t doing fine. I just think he’ll explode second half.
FYI - Just got this email
SKATE WITH THE GOPHERS |
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Skate with the Gophers is back! Following the Men's Hockey game against the U.S. National Under-18 Team on Thursday, December 29th, Gopher Men's Hockey will be hosting two Skate with the Gophers sessions. Each session will be approximately 30 minutes in length. Gopher student-athletes will also be on the concourse to sign autographs during each session. Space is limited and Skate with the Gophers ticket packages are required - upgrade your ticket for only $5 today!
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“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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