Nice pickup on Souliere. Experienced goalie who can push Airey and likely gets more games than the average backup under tBob.
Where were you when maroon and gold was chirping?
I agree, he had a mediocre year last year, but was the reason they made the tourney the year prior.
So much of goaltending is the play in front of the goalie. I agree that his save percentage is lacking, but none of this is in a vacuum. I would trust that our coaches are able to identify pieces of his game they like and will be complimented by our D play. I also trust our defenders to play a better game in front of him than Penn State. Knowing their game I bet he got left out to dry a ton this year.
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
With that said is it his choice to come back or does Bob tell him see ya later.
I think given the way he performed in Juniors, which was not good, it's probably a decision on the Gophers side to not bring him in. Sucky situation for him, but he took a dive going back to Youngstown, to the point of being dropped to the NAHL.
Like the Souliere acquisition, played behind an awful PSU squad last year. We saw when he had a solid squad in front of him, he was serviceable to sometimes very good. Your best case scenario is Airey takes the pipes and doesn't look back, but Souliere is good veteran insurance with a chip on his shoulder.
I suppose it's still possible Barto comes back but as a walk-on. But yeah probably not the likeliest situation. Denver had 4 goalies om their roster, so it's not the weirdest thing to happen.
I like the Souliere pick up. He's not being brought in to carry the team (we aren't the Whioux), but he's a proven starter at this level who will probably benefit significantly from a change of scenery.
At the same time I think it's completely worthless to judge Airey's potential based on the small sample of his stats this year. Airey had a nice game in his one start against Robert Morris and then was thrown into the fire in games against Notre Dame and Michigan when the team needed a wake up call.
If you were judging Close off the same three game sample (counting Close's start against RMU), Close's numbers would be WORSE than Airey's (.826 SV% vs. Airey's .865).
The same goes for judging Close off of the first few games of his career:
Close turned out OK (BU game notwithstanding...). There's no reason to think Airey won't too.
-What’s the highest number we have rostered in recent memory?
-What’s the over/under on final count? I’m going with 25 (3G, 14F, 8D).
Nevers and Koster back, Whipple to USHL. Begley and Rud only see the line chart if there is an injury, Falloon and JMittleststadt toggle as 13F.
Hey drop the puck.
Also someone commented “next stop: Gopher hockey” on Brady Yakesh’s latest instagram post and he liked the comment so gotta assume he’ll be on campus in the fall as well.
I know the old Instagram tea leaves aren’t foolproof but…
@thebirdman When Airey was recovering from his injury, Bryant was brought in off the club team to help out as a goalie for practice so they could have 3 goalies. He stayed for the duration of the year.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
So apparently the team wants me posting Amadeus gifs all year 🤣
“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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@eric-vegoe mentioned the possibility of Oliver Moore moving to wing next season last night on podcast. As long as Chicago is on board, seems like a great idea to me.
“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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So apparently the team wants me posting Amadeus gifs all year 🤣
20 years later and it will always be funny!
anyone care to explain to the rest of us?
Someone (it was me) started calling Handyman "Dan" instead of his actual name, Dave. It caught on and became a funny thing and grew for no reason other than we are all tad goofy. It didn't hurt that Handy was probably posting 25+ times daily at the time. I think his twitter name is "Handy Not Dan" or something like 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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So apparently the team wants me posting Amadeus gifs all year 🤣
20 years later and it will always be funny!
anyone care to explain to the rest of us?
Someone (it was me) started calling Handyman "Dan" instead of his actual name, Dave. It caught on and became a funny thing and grew for no reason other than we are all tad goofy. It didn't hurt that Handy was probably posting 25+ times daily at the time. I think his twitter name is "Handy Not Dan" or something like that.
In Amadeus a character named Salieri is the protagonist & bad guy in the film.
“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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I live in DC (hence the user name). One of my standard road trips is to State College when the Gophers visit. How much fun will it be if Souliere plays one of those games? The Penn State student section is pretty crazy.
@eric-vegoe mentioned the possibility of Oliver Moore moving to wing next season last night on podcast. As long as Chicago is on board, seems like a great idea to me.
If that were the case, I wonder who would take over the 1C spot?
@eric-vegoe mentioned the possibility of Oliver Moore moving to wing next season last night on podcast. As long as Chicago is on board, seems like a great idea to me.
If that were the case, I wonder who would take over the 1C spot?
Moore - ?? - Snuggy
Not sure if he projects there long term but Wood played a decent amount of center for UConn. I think he was more effective as a wing though.
@eric-vegoe mentioned the possibility of Oliver Moore moving to wing next season last night on podcast. As long as Chicago is on board, seems like a great idea to me.
If that were the case, I wonder who would take over the 1C spot?
Moore - ?? - Snuggy
Not sure if he projects there long term but Wood played a decent amount of center for UConn. I think he was more effective as a wing though.
Was my thought too. Maybe Predators want him to develop there? He does seem better suited for wing, however.
Move Moore to wing and top line center up in the air.
They should absolutely not move Oliver Moore to wing and Moore should absolutely not want to move to wing.
Oliver Moore had a great freshman season but he needs to take the next step up as a centerman. That means lots of work on his defensive zone responsibilities as a center. Development for professional hockey is an important element for these players and it also helps their team.
@eric-vegoe mentioned the possibility of Oliver Moore moving to wing next season last night on podcast. As long as Chicago is on board, seems like a great idea to me.
If that were the case, I wonder who would take over the 1C spot?
Moore - ?? - Snuggy
Not sure if he projects there long term but Wood played a decent amount of center for UConn. I think he was more effective as a wing though.
Yeah, I didn't catch the pod but I can't see how Moore moving to wing benefits the Gophers
@eric-vegoe mentioned the possibility of Oliver Moore moving to wing next season last night on podcast. As long as Chicago is on board, seems like a great idea to me.
If that were the case, I wonder who would take over the 1C spot?
Moore - ?? - Snuggy
Not sure if he projects there long term but Wood played a decent amount of center for UConn. I think he was more effective as a wing though.
Yeah, I didn't catch the pod but I can't see how Moore moving to wing benefits the Gophers
They should absolutely not move Oliver Moore to wing and Moore should absolutely not want to move to wing.
Oliver Moore had a great freshman season but he needs to take the next step up as a centerman. That means lots of work on his defensive zone responsibilities as a center. Development for professional hockey is an important element for these players and it also helps their team.
The Gopher hockey program is not an NHL affiliate. Last time I checked the University of Minnesota signs Motzko’s checks. So, if Moore is a better fit at wing for the Gophers then do it. Vegoe on the podcast likened Walker to Moore. Makes sense to try him at wing.
The only development I care about for Moore is how he can become a better college hockey player that will help the current team he is on. In his case, who cares what Chicago thinks.
The Gopher hockey program is not an NHL affiliate. Last time I checked the University of Minnesota signs Motzko’s checks. So, if Moore is a better fit at wing for the Gophers then do it. Vegoe on the podcast likened Walker to Moore. Makes sense to try him at wing.
The only development I care about for Moore is how he can become a better college hockey player that will help the current team he is on. In his case, who cares what Chicago thinks.
The problem with your view is that it is short sighted. A team that ONLY cares about the high end players as college hockey players will suddenly find itself without high end players.
Moore is a much better fit as a center as a hockey player. Jamming him in at wing is a move that underutilizes his speed and playmaking ability. And, simultaneously it reduces his development as a hockey player.
Until it doesn't work, having MOore center a line between Snuggerud and Wood is a no brainer. Moore must become an even better hockey player to reach his potential as both a college and professional hockey player and he must work at being a solid defensive center in the next couple of seasons.
The Gopher hockey program is not an NHL affiliate. Last time I checked the University of Minnesota signs Motzko’s checks. So, if Moore is a better fit at wing for the Gophers then do it. Vegoe on the podcast likened Walker to Moore. Makes sense to try him at wing.
The only development I care about for Moore is how he can become a better college hockey player that will help the current team he is on. In his case, who cares what Chicago thinks.
The problem with your view is that it is short sighted. A team that ONLY cares about the high end players as college hockey players will suddenly find itself without high end players.
Moore is a much better fit as a center as a hockey player. Jamming him in at wing is a move that underutilizes his speed and playmaking ability. And, simultaneously it reduces his development as a hockey player.
Until it doesn't work, having MOore center a line between Snuggerud and Wood is a no brainer. Moore must become an even better hockey player to reach his potential as both a college and professional hockey player and he must work at being a solid defensive center in the next couple of seasons.
I’m trying to make sense of your first paragraph. I don’t think it’s as deep as you may think it is. He can become a better college hockey player at wing also.
The Gopher hockey program is not an NHL affiliate. Last time I checked the University of Minnesota signs Motzko’s checks. So, if Moore is a better fit at wing for the Gophers then do it. Vegoe on the podcast likened Walker to Moore. Makes sense to try him at wing.
The only development I care about for Moore is how he can become a better college hockey player that will help the current team he is on. In his case, who cares what Chicago thinks.
The problem with your view is that it is short sighted. A team that ONLY cares about the high end players as college hockey players will suddenly find itself without high end players.
Moore is a much better fit as a center as a hockey player. Jamming him in at wing is a move that underutilizes his speed and playmaking ability. And, simultaneously it reduces his development as a hockey player.
Until it doesn't work, having MOore center a line between Snuggerud and Wood is a no brainer. Moore must become an even better hockey player to reach his potential as both a college and professional hockey player and he must work at being a solid defensive center in the next couple of seasons.
I’m trying to make sense of your first paragraph. I don’t think it’s as deep as a may think it is. He can become a better college hockey player at wing also.
I think they mean take top end players choose colleges based on preparing them for the NHL. If a college program is not doing that then the players will elect to go to a program that will. If a program gets a reputation for changing a player's position then prospective top end players may elect to sign elsewhere.
@gopheritall Another thing is that if a college changes a players position from what his NHL team wants, they are more likely to sign the player early.
Nice pickup on Souliere. Experienced goalie who can push Airey and likely gets more games than the average backup under tBob.
Where were you when maroon and gold was chirping?
I agree, he had a mediocre year last year, but was the reason they made the tourney the year prior.
He was very good the previous year. I think he is the starter unless Airey really comes on strong.
Airey has a much higher ceiling. The coaching staff is very high on him. I believe it will start out as a tandem but I bet it’s Airey’s net come crunch time.
What’s the feeling of this forum on the likelihood of Pitlick’s return? Led the team in scoring and can be electric. I know there were a couple of shifts he was sat by Bob, but have to think he would see the potential as a senior to win a Natty. His legacy if that happened would be a 10-3 NCAA tourney record.
