Winning is the magic recipe for PWR success.I remember when some people were panicking in Nov-Dec about the Gophers pairwise position and our "weak" non conference schedule. I think it worked out ok.
Agreed, but I will throw in one additional qualification.... "Winning, in an elite Hockey conference, is a magic recipe for PWR Success"
Mankato is stuck at 17 because in a weak conference you don't have any margin for error.
If the NCHC went 6-5-1 vs the Big Ten this year, just one game flips, would that be the difference between Arizona St. potentially getting in or not?
Winning is the magic recipe for PWR success.I remember when some people were panicking in Nov-Dec about the Gophers pairwise position and our "weak" non conference schedule. I think it worked out ok.
Agreed, but I will throw in one additional qualification.... "Winning, in an elite Hockey conference, is a magic recipe for PWR Success"
Mankato is stuck at 17 because in a weak conference you don't have any margin for error.
If the NCHC went 6-5-1 vs the Big Ten this year, just one game flips, would that be the difference between Arizona St. potentially getting in or not?
well given ASU lost to (and tied) Michigan, yeah probably had they won that game 😎
If you flip that game result, they and Michigan trade places in the PWR right now. The rest won't do enough.
Honestly looking at the PWR before New Years is a waste of breathe. Its a fun discussion but it has no real basis in anything since it is still way too volatile.
Exactly
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Plenty of fans used to rip PSU for their non-con schedule so...
My gripe with it was less to do with potential PWR and more to do with playing more enticing opponents.
Per Drew Cove on his Sota Pod Podcast with Nate Wells. Interesting stat -- The Gophers are 11-0 when Kurth scores a goal...
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Honestly looking at the PWR before New Years is a waste of breathe. Its a fun discussion but it has no real basis in anything since it is still way too volatile.
Exactly
And every season so many people get sucked into that conversation. Just a fools errand to get that wrapped around an axle until New Years or better yet until mid January.
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Per the CHN PWR calculator, if the Gophers had won either of their games @MSU they'd currently be the #2. fwiw of course.
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Per the CHN PWR calculator, if the Gophers had won either of their games @MSU they'd currently be the #2. fwiw of course.
they'd also be #2 had they beaten Bemidji.
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CHN PWR Probability Matrix has run already, looks like the Gophers haven't quite locked in a #1 seed just yet. They're left with a 3% chance at #5, and 0.5% at #6 (being the lowest possible finish, it appears).
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
CHN PWR Probability Matrix has run already, looks like the Gophers haven't quite locked in a #1 seed just yet. They're left with a 3% chance at #5, and 0.5% at #6 (being the lowest possible finish, it appears).
Probably because they have two chances to lose to #45.
100% why.
When will get word on Jmitts and EP? Line chart for Friday or before?
Jackson sits at 599 wins…
When will get word on Jmitts and EP? Line chart for Friday or before?
Bob may give an indication on his radio show, but more likely during his mid week media scrum. Both appeared to be shoulders.
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Moore and Ziemer making the rounds. They were at the T Wolves gave earlier this week.
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Game day with Snuggy
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On Bob's radio show he said they were waiting for x-rays on Huglen and it doesn't look good. Need a miracle he said.
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That's a shame. And it's compounded at the center position by the way Pahlsson seems to have tapered off.On Bob's radio show he said they were waiting for x-rays on Huglen and it doesn't look good. Need a miracle he said.
Jimmy Clark had his first goal this weekend since the Alaska series the end of November. Also may need to put a missing person alert out for Brody Lamb.
Clark didn’t score this weekend and his last goal was a few weekends ago vs Michigan so…
I wanna hear people’s opinions on what specifically this team needs to iron out if they’re gonna make it to the mountain top. For me it’s a little obvious but goaltending needs to be better.
Friday Souliere goes without saying, but even Sunday Airey, while he wasn’t atrocious or anything, leaves a lot to be desired. For instance, dominating the first period and then ND gets one rush and taps in a questionable rebound. Just super frustrating. Even the 3rd period. Gophers mounting a ton of pressure pushing for the tying goal and ND gets one good look and of course they bury.
Goaltending has been pretty solid all season but it still needs to take a step up if they’re serious about hanging a gold banner. I think we all assume Souliere gets the net in 2 weeks but you never know.
Yeah goaltending is an obvious one come NCAA tourney time, can't really afford to give up freebies. The PP is another obvious one, it isn't always going to score but when you don't get a shot off the entire PP that's less acceptable.I wanna hear people’s opinions on what specifically this team needs to iron out if they’re gonna make it to the mountain top. For me it’s a little obvious but goaltending needs to be better.
Friday Souliere goes without saying, but even Sunday Airey, while he wasn’t atrocious or anything, leaves a lot to be desired. For instance, dominating the first period and then ND gets one rush and taps in a questionable rebound. Just super frustrating. Even the 3rd period. Gophers mounting a ton of pressure pushing for the tying goal and ND gets one good look and of course they bury.
Goaltending has been pretty solid all season but it still needs to take a step up if they’re serious about hanging a gold banner. I think we all assume Souliere gets the net in 2 weeks but you never know.
To me, it’s relatively straightforward.
Simplify the game. It’s what playoff hockey always is.
Take the simple pass over the low percentage high reward one.
Take the shot (and hit the net) over trying to make a cute extra pass.
Get the legs going like they can across all the lines and defensemen.
when this team was rolling earlier, that was what they were hanging their hats on. It kept teams on the perimeter when attacking and made our breakouts crisp and effective. And in the o zone, that rolling cycle with pucks getting on net will wear down any team and goalie
This layoff is going to cause the opportunity for rust to set in, or they can use it as a means to reset and come back with a hell of a lot of fire and fresh legs. If it’s the second one, I’m happy with seeing how the chips fall that way. If it’s the former, there’s probably only one more gopher hockey game this year.
To me, it’s relatively straightforward.
Simplify the game. It’s what playoff hockey always is.
Take the simple pass over the low percentage high reward one.
Take the shot (and hit the net) over trying to make a cute extra pass.
Get the legs going like they can across all the lines and defensemen.
when this team was rolling earlier, that was what they were hanging their hats on. It kept teams on the perimeter when attacking and made our breakouts crisp and effective. And in the o zone, that rolling cycle with pucks getting on net will wear down any team and goalie
This layoff is going to cause the opportunity for rust to set in, or they can use it as a means to reset and come back with a hell of a lot of fire and fresh legs. If it’s the second one, I’m happy with seeing how the chips fall that way. If it’s the former, there’s probably only one more gopher hockey game this year.
Exactly!
I wanna hear people’s opinions on what specifically this team needs to iron out if they’re gonna make it to the mountain top. For me it’s a little obvious but goaltending needs to be better.
Friday Souliere goes without saying, but even Sunday Airey, while he wasn’t atrocious or anything, leaves a lot to be desired. For instance, dominating the first period and then ND gets one rush and taps in a questionable rebound. Just super frustrating. Even the 3rd period. Gophers mounting a ton of pressure pushing for the tying goal and ND gets one good look and of course they bury.
Goaltending has been pretty solid all season but it still needs to take a step up if they’re serious about hanging a gold banner. I think we all assume Souliere gets the net in 2 weeks but you never know.
I was too late to reply in the last series thread, so I am partially responding to posts in that thread. But I think the biggest issue is lack of a consistent effort. In the beginning of the year there were games where for 2 or 3 periods they just swarmed the opponent on the forecheck, to the point the opponent would struggle to clear. Back checking could be the same where the opponent had trouble getting to a scoring positions. Yes, games get tighter as the year goes on, but I still think this is an issue for the Gophs in the 2nd half. When everyone is rolling you don't tend to see as many missed passes and other mistakes as when teams are playing a more watch-and-react style. The 2nd period after Huglen got hurt I was hoping to see jump in the legs as a response, but instead they seemed stunned and slowed instead. 3rd they started moving and getting chances but too late. I don't know how one gets a team back to that point they were at earlier in the year. (Just keep watching video of the 4th line and tell everyone to do that?) Coach can only do so much. Players need to find their heart and drive. This team is fast enough to put extreme pressure on any team in the league if they play that way.
And to the people who state that there is inherent problem with recruiting and style of play that means we always lose to these types of teams and we should play the same way, I disagree. We only seem to remember the games the Gophs lose to teams playing like this, and forget all the games in which we play a less skilled team that tries to trap and they lose, sometime in a blowout. As many point out, get the first goal and it is exponentially more difficult for the low scoring trap team to win. Of course when they have a hot goalie, playing more conservatively and not getting as many scoring chances won't help. Someone mentioned Denver. They played one of the better teams at this style in Mankato and didn't try to play a trap. They played their skill game, and once they finally broke through, it was over for Mankato.
I, like many, don't have tons of confidence going into the tourney. The momentum isn't there and not going to build with all the time off. And while not a huge point contributor, felt Huglan could be huge in big games. But there are examples of teams that came in without what most would consider great momentum and won it all. And I still feel the D and F's are still in top 5 in overall skill, so I have not given up all hope.
And I will be gone for first round of NCAA. so maybe by me not being here to watch until later will help their odds. There is one other NCAA game for which I was out of the country and stayed up to watch the recording the night I got home. That was the 0.6 game!
If you have 2 goalies, do you really even have 1?
It's not so much that I don't think the Gophers can beat Notre Dame or trap teams in general, it's more the fact that I don't have much confidence that rosters constructed this way are likely to beat the higher end teams who play like that ie MSU this year or Mankato in the past when the refs are garbage and don't call anything. The only team I felt confident could do that was 2 years ago and even that team lost in the finals to a team constructed to play that type of game and honestly they were outplayed nearly the entire game.
At this point I think I just have to agree to disagree about the effort this past weekend (at least in terms of moving their feet and trying to get something going), the team was buzzing for most of the 3 games they just couldn't score and got bad goaltending. They really needed to bury on the rush chances they got but opted for cute passes and missed the net a lot (especially Snuggy, the Dmen, and Clark from the slot on that one). I do think they need to figure out how to simplify things when the chemistry issues start popping up though and they're missing passes and getting stymied in the neutral zone, there needs to be some type of plan B that works in those instances.
I actually was going to make a post about the Denver/Mankato championship game in the other thread but you're right, Denver getting that lead made all the difference. Before that they were getting outshot something like 18-5 and their goalie was absolutely standing on his head to keep the game tied at nil. Once Denver got that goal and especially after they got the second that game completely opened up and suddenly they looked like they had another life and started outplaying Mankato to get a bigger lead. Mankato might've been the better team in that game other than goaltending but that's hockey for you.
Some other random thoughts I had regarding this roster, I think part of the chemistry issues are related to guys with completely different styles trying to play together and it's not always pretty. Oliver Moore seems like a north/south guy as others mentioned in the past who uses his speed and skill to set things up down low, I think he'd be best complimented by guys who go hard to the net. My guess is this is why Motzko put him with Lamb at times but Lamb has gone quiet the second half of the year (with an 8 and 5 game stretch of zero points, it wasn't until the second WI game that he finally got an assist in the second half). I think this is why Moore could excel in the NHL with the right complimentary power forward types, Moore and Knies would've been an ideal combo. If I had to guess that's probably the biggest issue with the first line and IDK how you fix it, Pahlsson was playing with those two for a bit and it kinda worked but he doesn't really score goals himself and as others mentioned he is struggling post injury.
As I mentioned with Lamb earlier the secondary scoring of this team has dried up a lot, between him Pahlsson, and Huglen (probably out now) your third line was going scoreless for large swaths of the second half of the season. I don't expect the fourth line to score a lot either but Nevers actually has gotten some goals and they still lost games despite that.
I think the main things you gotta hope for would be that Pahlsson looks better with some rest and maybe centers Ziemer/Snuggy again, Clark finds his shot in the NCAA tourney, Huglen miraculously recovers, and Souliere plays to his capablities. That would mean Moore is centering some other line though and IDK what that'd even look like. Maybe you just give him Kurth and Lamb and then figure out who Clark and Wood should play with.
It's not so much that I don't think the Gophers can beat Notre Dame or trap teams in general, it's more the fact that I don't have much confidence that rosters constructed this way are likely to beat the higher end teams who play like that ie MSU this year or Mankato in the past when the refs are garbage and don't call anything. The only team I felt confident could do that was 2 years ago and even that team lost in the finals to a team constructed to play that type of game and honestly they were outplayed nearly the entire game.
At this point I think I just have to agree to disagree about the effort this past weekend (at least in terms of moving their feet and trying to get something going), the team was buzzing for most of the 3 games they just couldn't score and got bad goaltending. They really needed to bury on the rush chances they got but opted for cute passes and missed the net a lot (especially Snuggy, the Dmen, and Clark from the slot on that one). I do think they need to figure out how to simplify things when the chemistry issues start popping up though and they're missing passes and getting stymied in the neutral zone, there needs to be some type of plan B that works in those instances.
I actually was going to make a post about the Denver/Mankato championship game in the other thread but you're right, Denver getting that lead made all the difference. Before that they were getting outshot something like 18-5 and their goalie was absolutely standing on his head to keep the game tied at nil. Once Denver got that goal and especially after they got the second that game completely opened up and suddenly they looked like they had another life and started outplaying Mankato to get a bigger lead. Mankato might've been the better team in that game other than goaltending but that's hockey for you.
And I think we all agree who had the better goalie this past weekend. Unfortunately.
They had Q on the ropes and stopped playing the style of hockey that got them to the title game as well as a 2-goal lead. The makeup of the roster had nothing to do with that choke job. Bob clearly told them to change their style at some point in the 2nd period.
As far as what this team is capable of the rest of the way, as of now they are a 10-loss team. Since 1970 only 7 Gophers teams have finished with fewer than 10 losses yet only 2 won a NC. Meaning they won 3 titles with double-digit losses. Yes I realize Herbie was the coach then not Bob.
Perhaps I'm rambling, but I just don't think any of us truly knows what this team is fully capable of.
Hoping for the best.
I 100% agree with you that the roster makeup of that team wasn't the issue, I had my qualms with how that game played out and I think some of that was coaching related but I don't want to relitigate that argument.They had Q on the ropes and stopped playing the style of hockey that got them to the title game as well as a 2-goal lead. The makeup of the roster had nothing to do with that choke job. Bob clearly told them to change their style at some point in the 2nd period.
As far as what this team is capable of the rest of the way, as of now they are a 10-loss team. Since 1970 only 7 Gophers teams have finished with fewer than 10 losses yet only 2 won a NC. Meaning they won 3 titles with double-digit losses. Yes I realize Herbie was the coach then not Bob.
Perhaps I'm rambling, but I just don't think any of us truly knows what this team is fully capable of.
Hoping for the best.
My point regarding that game is that it can't be both ways, either it was coaching or you think a different type of roster is needed to take down those kinds of teams. I don't see any third possibility.
Jimmy Clark had his first goal this weekend since the Alaska series the end of November. Also may need to put a missing person alert out for Brody Lamb.
Clark didn’t score this weekend and his last goal was a few weekends ago vs Michigan so…
Huh? When I made that post 3 weeks ago, he scored against Michigan, lol.
I actually was going to make a post about the Denver/Mankato championship game in the other thread but you're right, Denver getting that lead made all the difference. Before that they were getting outshot something like 18-5 and their goalie was absolutely standing on his head to keep the game tied at nil. Once Denver got that goal and especially after they got the second that game completely opened up and suddenly they looked like they had another life and started outplaying Mankato to get a bigger lead. Mankato might've been the better team in that game other than goaltending but that's hockey for you.
Hastings teams got a bad rep for being trap teams but for the seven or so seasons I watched them as an usher that isn't how I would describe their style of play. They were defensively responsible but they had their offensive push and a pretty potent PP when it was clicking. Their kryptonite was trap teams like Bemidji, the Cows opponent this weekend. Many Cow fans are worried about facing Bemidji this weekend knowing full well they have to keep winning to make the tournament.
That Denver/MSU game has been discussed ad nauseum here at my work. Between Denver's goalie and the fact that Denver came out and punched MSU in the mouth and kept coming put MSU on their heels. MSU hadn't dealt with that much at all that season because MSU could play fast and physical and get teams out of their game plan. It just took Denver a couple periods to execute their game plan and with that second goal MSU withered...game over. Denver just physically took over that third period and MSU couldn't handle that.
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Jimmy Clark had his first goal this weekend since the Alaska series the end of November. Also may need to put a missing person alert out for Brody Lamb.
Clark didn’t score this weekend and his last goal was a few weekends ago vs Michigan so…
Huh? When I made that post 3 weeks ago, he scored against Michigan, lol.
Haha I should start checking time stamps huh!
Yeah part of what I mean here is that they seemingly always keep a forward high and their D play a bit conservatively to never give up rush opportunities, Duluth does that as well, Notre Dame definitely did too and the only rush opportunities came off turnovers. And then on the other end when the Cows forechecked the first guy that went in was committing some blatant obstruction and contacting guys like Faber and that D core well before they were close to retrieving the puck. That and they locked down the slot and seemingly never got called for the usual stick work and obstruction that big10 refs love to ignore. All of those things are very much kryptonite to the Gophers over the years.I actually was going to make a post about the Denver/Mankato championship game in the other thread but you're right, Denver getting that lead made all the difference. Before that they were getting outshot something like 18-5 and their goalie was absolutely standing on his head to keep the game tied at nil. Once Denver got that goal and especially after they got the second that game completely opened up and suddenly they looked like they had another life and started outplaying Mankato to get a bigger lead. Mankato might've been the better team in that game other than goaltending but that's hockey for you.
Hastings teams got a bad rep for being trap teams but for the seven or so seasons I watched them as an usher that isn't how I would describe their style of play. They were defensively responsible but they had their offensive push and a pretty potent PP when it was clicking. Their kryptonite was trap teams like Bemidji, the Cows opponent this weekend. Many Cow fans are worried about facing Bemidji this weekend knowing full well they have to keep winning to make the tournament.
That Denver/MSU game has been discussed ad nauseum here at my work. Between Denver's goalie and the fact that Denver came out and punched MSU in the mouth and kept coming put MSU on their heels. MSU hadn't dealt with that much at all that season because MSU could play fast and physical and get teams out of their game plan. It just took Denver a couple periods to execute their game plan and with that second goal MSU withered...game over. Denver just physically took over that third period and MSU couldn't handle that.
I'm assuming no one has heard anything about Aaron? Can't imagine the odds are that it will be good, or even hopeful news when we hear.
I'm assuming no one has heard anything about Aaron? Can't imagine the odds are that it will be good, or even hopeful news when we hear.
Being that the Gophers don't play for nearly 3 weeks, they probably don't have to put out any injury reports anytime soon.
Keep your stick on the ice...
CHN is reporting Huglen is out for the NCAAs.
Keep your stick on the ice...
CHN is reporting Huglen is out for the NCAAs.
It is from staff reports with no name attached. I will wait for some clarity from Bob. I know it didn't look good though.
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I 100% agree with you that the roster makeup of that team wasn't the issue, I had my qualms with how that game played out and I think some of that was coaching related but I don't want to relitigate that argument.They had Q on the ropes and stopped playing the style of hockey that got them to the title game as well as a 2-goal lead. The makeup of the roster had nothing to do with that choke job. Bob clearly told them to change their style at some point in the 2nd period.
As far as what this team is capable of the rest of the way, as of now they are a 10-loss team. Since 1970 only 7 Gophers teams have finished with fewer than 10 losses yet only 2 won a NC. Meaning they won 3 titles with double-digit losses. Yes I realize Herbie was the coach then not Bob.
Perhaps I'm rambling, but I just don't think any of us truly knows what this team is fully capable of.
Hoping for the best.
My point regarding that game is that it can't be both ways, either it was coaching or you think a different type of roster is needed to take down those kinds of teams. I don't see any third possibility.
Yeah I think we're fully in agreement.
On the Sunday interview with Jim Rich, Nanne said Minnesota must stop reaching with their sticks and physically engage opponents. He said practices should include checking to get through the long layoff. He also mentioned the tendency for players to give up the puck on the offense blueline or neutral zone when they stubbornly skate into traffic instead of dumping the puck.
When he was talking, I was picturing Jimmy, Ollie, and Ziemer.
I get it but 2 of those 3 aren’t great in a dump and chase/forecheck game either so I’d almost rather they try and carry the puck as much as possible. It needs to be better executed than what we saw Sunday though.
dump and chase/forecheck game
Did any catch during the Tourney on Wed. night during one of the A quaterfinals, the tv broadcast mentioned that Shakopee doesn't call it dump and chase, but "deposit and chase"...
Keep your stick on the ice...
I 100% agree with you that the roster makeup of that team wasn't the issue, I had my qualms with how that game played out and I think some of that was coaching related but I don't want to relitigate that argument.They had Q on the ropes and stopped playing the style of hockey that got them to the title game as well as a 2-goal lead. The makeup of the roster had nothing to do with that choke job. Bob clearly told them to change their style at some point in the 2nd period.
As far as what this team is capable of the rest of the way, as of now they are a 10-loss team. Since 1970 only 7 Gophers teams have finished with fewer than 10 losses yet only 2 won a NC. Meaning they won 3 titles with double-digit losses. Yes I realize Herbie was the coach then not Bob.
Perhaps I'm rambling, but I just don't think any of us truly knows what this team is fully capable of.
Hoping for the best.
My point regarding that game is that it can't be both ways, either it was coaching or you think a different type of roster is needed to take down those kinds of teams. I don't see any third possibility.
The third possibility is that it is hockey and that happens. They score on the 2 on 1 and we aren't having this discussion. MN had the most talented team in the country that year, maybe for several years. With that makeup and that coaching, they win that game more often than lose it. It wasn't team composition that was the problem. And while you wonder how much the apparent change in play was on Bob and how much on the players. Bob could simply say don't give up an odd man rush by taking chances you don't need to take and get the puck out of the zone if we're in trouble. But the individual 18-22 yr old 'kids' when they get the puck in their zone just dump it out every time so 'they' aren't the one who made the mistake. If coaches had complete control of how their players played John Tortorello would be winning cups left and right. But I agree rehashing that game isn't good for any of us. But I don't buy the 'we need more grit players and less skilled players' bit. When skill plays to their level they are capable, that team will usually win.
In the first half the year this team was often overwhelming the opponent, but not so much in the second half. The players have shown at times they are capable of that level of effort but has been less consistent in the second half. I don't think Bob is causing it, as he has seemed frustrated with the inconsistent effort. Maybe it is the team psychologist that is at fault.
Really tough news with Huglen. Pahlsson, you’re up.
Ziemer-Moore-Snuggerud
Wood-Clark-Kurth
Hendrickson-Pahlsson-Lamb
Falloon-Mittelstadt-Nevers
Hendrickson and Pahlsson had good chemistry in juniors. If it doesn’t click you can always revert back to Ziemer-Pahlsson-Snuggerud.
Really tough news with Huglen. Pahlsson, you’re up.
Ziemer-Moore-Snuggerud
Wood-Clark-Kurth
Hendrickson-Pahlsson-Lamb
Falloon-Mittelstadt-Nevers
Hendrickson and Pahlsson had good chemistry in juniors. If it doesn’t click you can always revert back to Ziemer-Pahlsson-Snuggerud.
I personally think Huglen was the best two-way center on the team and the most creative. He's also an older, experienced player who doesn't panic. Losing him at this late stage is depressing, and he sure didn't want his career as a Gopher to end like this.
The Ziemer-Moore-Snuggerud line will need at least a goal a game (or more) to keep them in it. They haven't been playing like they can do it. Wood-Clark-Kurth has been the best line for a number of games recently, and unfortunately, Lamb, Pahlsson, and Fallon haven't done much to pick up the slack.
I almost think Pahlsson should play with Snuggy and Ziemer for stylistic reasons but who knows. I think Moore would benefit from guys who go hard to the net like Lamb and Hendricksen where but guessing Motzko wants to get more out of S/Z and so he put Moore with them. If they want to go with a more top heavy approach then that top line needs to play a lot of minutes and we shouldn't see the fourth line very much in these games but that's not typically what's happened in the past.
I'm not talking about the result as much as them getting heavily outplayed for 2/3 of that game. You're right that people would look past that part if they pulled out an ugly win but they didn't and it wasn't exactly an even game where they got unlucky. That was more frustrating to me than the result. Either way I mostly agree and don't really want to drastically change how these teams are constructed.I 100% agree with you that the roster makeup of that team wasn't the issue, I had my qualms with how that game played out and I think some of that was coaching related but I don't want to relitigate that argument.They had Q on the ropes and stopped playing the style of hockey that got them to the title game as well as a 2-goal lead. The makeup of the roster had nothing to do with that choke job. Bob clearly told them to change their style at some point in the 2nd period.
As far as what this team is capable of the rest of the way, as of now they are a 10-loss team. Since 1970 only 7 Gophers teams have finished with fewer than 10 losses yet only 2 won a NC. Meaning they won 3 titles with double-digit losses. Yes I realize Herbie was the coach then not Bob.
Perhaps I'm rambling, but I just don't think any of us truly knows what this team is fully capable of.
Hoping for the best.
My point regarding that game is that it can't be both ways, either it was coaching or you think a different type of roster is needed to take down those kinds of teams. I don't see any third possibility.
The third possibility is that it is hockey and that happens. They score on the 2 on 1 and we aren't having this discussion. MN had the most talented team in the country that year, maybe for several years. With that makeup and that coaching, they win that game more often than lose it. It wasn't team composition that was the problem. And while you wonder how much the apparent change in play was on Bob and how much on the players. Bob could simply say don't give up an odd man rush by taking chances you don't need to take and get the puck out of the zone if we're in trouble. But the individual 18-22 yr old 'kids' when they get the puck in their zone just dump it out every time so 'they' aren't the one who made the mistake. If coaches had complete control of how their players played John Tortorello would be winning cups left and right. But I agree rehashing that game isn't good for any of us. But I don't buy the 'we need more grit players and less skilled players' bit. When skill plays to their level they are capable, that team will usually win.
In the first half the year this team was often overwhelming the opponent, but not so much in the second half. The players have shown at times they are capable of that level of effort but has been less consistent in the second half. I don't think Bob is causing it, as he has seemed frustrated with the inconsistent effort. Maybe it is the team psychologist that is at fault.