Falloon will/should likely get regular top-9 minutes next season if he can just stay healthy, I’ve liked his game dating back to last year and our PP2 actually got going a bit when he was on it back in the @ Wisconsin series
Falloon will/should likely get regular top-9 minutes next season if he can just stay healthy, I’ve liked his game dating back to last year and our PP2 actually got going a bit when he was on it back in the @ Wisconsin series
Top 9? Over who?
Bob keeps mentioning he is "forced to play a bunch of freshmen". Nobody forced you to have this roster going into the season.
In his defense, even if they went hard into the CHL last offseason they’d still be freshmen. So we kinda are forced to an extant. Portal was noticeably weak too.
I’m not giving Bob a pass, for four reasons.
1. Last year’s collapse was on him.
That was Motzko’s “mature” roster. With that level of talent, it won’t get more mature, and then he lost the locker room. By season’s end the team was clearly disengaged. I wasn’t surprised when they all left. What was surprising was that Motzko seemed surprised. That roster was more talented than this year’s Michigan team, yet never played like it and finished the season completely checked out.
2. The age–talent reality.
The portal will never be a “good year”. You are never going to have physically mature and high-end talent in the portal or on a college roster. Elite players leave early, before they fully develop. Waiting for both is waiting for something that doesn’t exist. Last year should have made that obvious.
3. Choosing to wait guarantees seasons like this.
If Bob believes physical maturity is required to win, he has two choices: get it now through the portal or CHL, or recruit less-talented freshmen who won’t leave early and wait for them to mature. He chose to wait, and this season is the result. The question is why he keeps choosing outcomes like this when the portal can address those needs immediately.
4. He’s behind on roster construction.
The modern approach is clear: recruit the highest-talent freshmen you can, then use the portal to add physical maturity. The exact balance of maturity to talent is up to the coach. PJ Fleck’s incoming class is 50/50 freshman/portal. Motzko still treats the portal and NIL like nuisances instead of core strategy.
If Bob is still complaining about a lack of physical maturity, that means nothing will change. He has had the tools to fix it last season and refuses to use them. That makes it an unsolvable problem by his own design, and after three straight seasons of the same complaint, it’s fair to wonder if the game has passed him by.
Falloon will/should likely get regular top-9 minutes next season if he can just stay healthy, I’ve liked his game dating back to last year and our PP2 actually got going a bit when he was on it back in the @ Wisconsin series
Not that anyone has had a spectacular season, but he has not been good. Even when healthy. 1 assist in 14 games. For reference, LDP has 1 assist in 15 games and he stays in the net all game.
I’d be ok if I never read pj flecks name on here again given it’s an entirely different sport with entirely different recruiting strategy at Minnesota, grossly different dollar amounts, and entirely different style of play between how the two sports are run at Minnesota
Falloon will/should likely get regular top-9 minutes next season if he can just stay healthy, I’ve liked his game dating back to last year and our PP2 actually got going a bit when he was on it back in the @ Wisconsin series
Not that anyone has had a spectacular season, but he has not been good. Even when healthy. 1 assist in 14 games. For reference, LDP has 1 assist in 15 games and he stays in the net all game.
agreed. At the college level, Falloon is a fine bottom 6 role player on a team with a bunch of high end speed that needs a little bit of grind and puck control
I love how Falloon plays but yeah just no production at all.
I hate to dump on your optimism, but I see 2 top 6 forwards and no high end talent. I could see Mooney becoming one of those types of players but he isn't there yet. There is a handful of players who have a lot of potential, but it's hard to know what to expect from that.I really do think the forward group is fine. I think a lot of their struggles are a direct result of the D not being able to get them the puck anywhere on the ice. Break outs have been a problem, activation in the o zone has been a problem, even the neutral zone has been a big issue for the d core.
I just think they’re bringing down the numbers of the forward group.
2026-27 projection:
Hendrickson-Clark-Ziemer
Ludtke-Mooney-Kvasnicka
Cullen-Moe-Moore
Townsend-Pahlsson-Pritchard
Extra: Katz, Nevers, Falloon, Harris
I think that’s a pretty deep group with a mix of high end talent and veteran depth. With the presumed acceleration of Wyatt Cullen it just seems obvious that the staff is anticipating losing a forward or two to the portal.
Listening to overtime and hearing Veegs say he thinks they’re bringing in Harper next season makes me cringe.
https://www.eliteprospects.com/draft-center/2027
Harper has the most points of any junior league defender on this list. He's having a big season.
Interesting story on the coaches developing him this year.
Falloon will/should likely get regular top-9 minutes next season if he can just stay healthy, I’ve liked his game dating back to last year and our PP2 actually got going a bit when he was on it back in the @ Wisconsin series
Woof
Listening to overtime and hearing Veegs say he thinks they’re bringing in Harper next season makes me cringe.
https://www.eliteprospects.com/draft-center/2027
Harper has the most points of any junior league defender on this list. He's having a big season.
Interesting story on the coaches developing him this year.
He’s having a terrific season points-wise, mostly from the PP but the Gophers need a PP QB next season so I get it.
I’ve watched a handful of Saginaw games though and his d zone is a work in progress at the OHL level which is why it scares me to bump him up to NCAA so early. He gets pushed around a ton, and sometimes has problems matching speed, which again, is a red flag if we’re talking about him jumping to college as early as next season.
I hate to dump on your optimism, but I see 2 top 6 forwards and no high end talent. I could see Mooney becoming one of those types of players but he isn't there yet. There is a handful of players who have a lot of potential, but it's hard to know what to expect from that.I really do think the forward group is fine. I think a lot of their struggles are a direct result of the D not being able to get them the puck anywhere on the ice. Break outs have been a problem, activation in the o zone has been a problem, even the neutral zone has been a big issue for the d core.
I just think they’re bringing down the numbers of the forward group.
2026-27 projection:
Hendrickson-Clark-Ziemer
Ludtke-Mooney-Kvasnicka
Cullen-Moe-Moore
Townsend-Pahlsson-Pritchard
Extra: Katz, Nevers, Falloon, Harris
I think that’s a pretty deep group with a mix of high end talent and veteran depth. With the presumed acceleration of Wyatt Cullen it just seems obvious that the staff is anticipating losing a forward or two to the portal.
Mooney and Ziemer are future All-Americans if they stick around. High end. Kvasnicka is coming off a dynamite year in the dub and should be ready to make an instant impact. Moe has the makings of a future star and Moore has immense upside. You’re hoping for the prototypical sophomore leap from those two. Cullen will be super young but the talent is off the charts, put him with someone who can finish. Hendrickson, Clark & Ludtke are good veteran pieces.
Again, give this forward group a d core with a pulse and I think they’d surprise a lot of people on here. I think you might be underselling a bit based on recent results.
I think a lot of what you're saying requires the most optimistic projections and growth from a number of different players. Mooney is good but not sure it's some guarantee that he's an all American, with Ziemer that's a possibility but it'd be helpful if you actually had a center on the team who could score a goal. Clark is ok but I don't see his game progressing substantially and you gotta hope Ludtke's does because he's been not great. Part of that probably isn't his fault with him playing top 6 center where he's out of his depth, which brings me back to the part about needing better center talent. As for Moe and Moore they're freshmen and I guess you can hope these guys turn into something like Brodzinski and Nelson by year 4 (or ideally year 3 because they're not gonna get a year 5 like those two did).
Falloon will/should likely get regular top-9 minutes next season if he can just stay healthy, I’ve liked his game dating back to last year and our PP2 actually got going a bit when he was on it back in the @ Wisconsin series
Woof
Yeah I feel like I am watching an entirely different player than from what a couple others are saying. Falloon would not suit up on a good Gopher team.
I think a lot of what you're saying requires the most optimistic projections and growth from a number of different players. Mooney is good but not sure it's some guarantee that he's an all American, with Ziemer that's a possibility but it'd be helpful if you actually had a center on the team who could score a goal. Clark is ok but I don't see his game progressing substantially and you gotta hope Ludtke's does because he's been not great. Part of that probably isn't his fault with him playing top 6 center where he's out of his depth, which brings me back to the part about needing better center talent. As for Moe and Moore they're freshmen and I guess you can hope these guys turn into something like Brodzinski and Nelson by year 4 (or ideally year 3 because they're not gonna get a year 5 like those two did).
Ludtke has been the biggest disappointment imo this season. Hoping as a senior he can take a step towards his Omaha days when he was one of the best freshmen in the country.
And I think you’re massively underselling Mason Moe by labeling him a Brodzinski type this early.
Falloon will/should likely get regular top-9 minutes next season if he can just stay healthy, I’ve liked his game dating back to last year and our PP2 actually got going a bit when he was on it back in the @ Wisconsin series
Woof
Yeah I feel like I am watching an entirely different player than from what a couple others are saying. Falloon would not suit up on a good Gopher team.
He works hard and is one of the few Gopher players in the last decade not scared to throw a check. Obviously there’s a lack of production there which is why the top 9 projection the original poster played out is a lil crazy to me.
Nah, he's at least a center and could maybe be more like Nelson some day. Brodzinski was brought in a year early and played with two guys he didn't have much chemistry with which was always a puzzling decision by Motzko and not really his fault. Either way I'd like to see them bring in a high end center if possible because Clark and Pahlsson aren't really that and one of them will be a senior anyhow and Lamb (who has played some center) will also be gone next year.I think a lot of what you're saying requires the most optimistic projections and growth from a number of different players. Mooney is good but not sure it's some guarantee that he's an all American, with Ziemer that's a possibility but it'd be helpful if you actually had a center on the team who could score a goal. Clark is ok but I don't see his game progressing substantially and you gotta hope Ludtke's does because he's been not great. Part of that probably isn't his fault with him playing top 6 center where he's out of his depth, which brings me back to the part about needing better center talent. As for Moe and Moore they're freshmen and I guess you can hope these guys turn into something like Brodzinski and Nelson by year 4 (or ideally year 3 because they're not gonna get a year 5 like those two did).
Ludtke has been the biggest disappointment imo this season. Hoping as a senior he can take a step towards his Omaha days when he was one of the best freshmen in the country.
And I think you’re massively underselling Mason Moe by labeling him a Brodzinski type this early.
Nah, he's at least a center and could maybe be more like Nelson some day. Brodzinski was brought in a year early and played with two guys he didn't have much chemistry with which was always a puzzling decision by Motzko and not really his fault. Either way I'd like to see them bring in a high end center if possible because Clark and Pahlsson aren't really that and one of them will be a senior anyhow and Lamb (who has played some center) will also be gone next year.I think a lot of what you're saying requires the most optimistic projections and growth from a number of different players. Mooney is good but not sure it's some guarantee that he's an all American, with Ziemer that's a possibility but it'd be helpful if you actually had a center on the team who could score a goal. Clark is ok but I don't see his game progressing substantially and you gotta hope Ludtke's does because he's been not great. Part of that probably isn't his fault with him playing top 6 center where he's out of his depth, which brings me back to the part about needing better center talent. As for Moe and Moore they're freshmen and I guess you can hope these guys turn into something like Brodzinski and Nelson by year 4 (or ideally year 3 because they're not gonna get a year 5 like those two did).
Ludtke has been the biggest disappointment imo this season. Hoping as a senior he can take a step towards his Omaha days when he was one of the best freshmen in the country.
And I think you’re massively underselling Mason Moe by labeling him a Brodzinski type this early.
Mason Moe will be a stud in college. Agree to disagree. Time will tell I guess.
Nelson was a stud in college so not sure we disagree, if he becomes something like that that'd be the ideal scenario.
I’d be ok if I never read pj flecks name on here again given it’s an entirely different sport with entirely different recruiting strategy at Minnesota, grossly different dollar amounts, and entirely different style of play between how the two sports are run at Minnesota
The comment wasn’t about football or Fleck. It was about NIL and the portal, and that other coaches in Bob’s own department have adapted to use these tools more effectively than the old system allowed.
The point isn’t Bob should copy football. It’s Bob should learn how to use the tools (like his peers), instead of complaining about problems he could fix if he learned how to use the tools.
Nelson was a stud in college so not sure we disagree, if he becomes something like that that'd be the ideal scenario.
Don’t get me wrong Nelson was awesome, although a lot of the cache he holds in our memories was his dynamite 5th year which Moe won’t have the luxury to use.
I legitimately think Moe could be a Rem Pitlick, Ryan Stoa tier player. All-conference, maybe even All-American if he’s playing with Mooney and Ziemer two years from now.
How concerned are people about losing one or more of our better players to the portal? Used to be more of a concern about losing guys who wanted more minutes or bigger roles. But with how historically bad this season has been I wonder if some of the better players might want to move on.
How concerned are people about losing one or more of our better players to the portal? Used to be more of a concern about losing guys who wanted more minutes or bigger roles. But with how historically bad this season has been I wonder if some of the better players might want to move on.
Yes, I am. Last season showed how quickly things can unravel, the team clearly checked out and played well below its talent level. This year, it’s harder to gauge because I don’t know what this roster looks like at its baseline, they just haven’t played well.
If we had one or two true top-tier players (maybe Moony?), I’d already be concerned that their agents are “aware of programs that might be interested $$$$,” typically through family or advisor channels that technically comply with NCAA tampering rules.
How concerned are people about losing one or more of our better players to the portal? Used to be more of a concern about losing guys who wanted more minutes or bigger roles. But with how historically bad this season has been I wonder if some of the better players might want to move on.
Yes, I am. Last season showed how quickly things can unravel, the team clearly checked out and played well below its talent level. This year, it’s harder to gauge because I don’t know what this roster looks like at its baseline, they just haven’t played well.
If we had one or two true top-tier players (maybe Moony?), I’d already be concerned that their agents are “aware of programs that might be interested $$$$,” typically through family or advisor channels that technically comply with NCAA tampering rules.
after all the players we lost last year to graduation, going pro or transfer this season has been really scary
Aloha!
How concerned are people about losing one or more of our better players to the portal? Used to be more of a concern about losing guys who wanted more minutes or bigger roles. But with how historically bad this season has been I wonder if some of the better players might want to move on.
Yes, I am. Last season showed how quickly things can unravel, the team clearly checked
Based upon what - losing 2/3 to ND? Around that they swept #17 UW, LOT and TOT @ #12 UMi, swept #7 OSU, split at #15 PSU and lost to #13 UMA in OT.
There are plenty of reasons to find fault with the program but that accusation doesn't pass the smell test.
Bob keeps mentioning he is "forced to play a bunch of freshmen". Nobody forced you to have this roster going into the season.
In his defense, even if they went hard into the CHL last offseason they’d still be freshmen. So we kinda are forced to an extant. Portal was noticeably weak too.
I’m not giving Bob a pass, for four reasons.
1. Last year’s collapse was on him.
That was Motzko’s “mature” roster. With that level of talent, it won’t get more mature, and then he lost the locker room. By season’s end the team was clearly disengaged. I wasn’t surprised when they all left. What was surprising was that Motzko seemed surprised. That roster was more talented than this year’s Michigan team, yet never played like it and finished the season completely checked out.
2. The age–talent reality.
The portal will never be a “good year”. You are never going to have physically mature and high-end talent in the portal or on a college roster. Elite players leave early, before they fully develop. Waiting for both is waiting for something that doesn’t exist. Last year should have made that obvious.
3. Choosing to wait guarantees seasons like this.
If Bob believes physical maturity is required to win, he has two choices: get it now through the portal or CHL, or recruit less-talented freshmen who won’t leave early and wait for them to mature. He chose to wait, and this season is the result. The question is why he keeps choosing outcomes like this when the portal can address those needs immediately.
4. He’s behind on roster construction.
The modern approach is clear: recruit the highest-talent freshmen you can, then use the portal to add physical maturity. The exact balance of maturity to talent is up to the coach. PJ Fleck’s incoming class is 50/50 freshman/portal. Motzko still treats the portal and NIL like nuisances instead of core strategy.
If Bob is still complaining about a lack of physical maturity, that means nothing will change. He has had the tools to fix it last season and refuses to use them. That makes it an unsolvable problem by his own design, and after three straight seasons of the same complaint, it’s fair to wonder if the game has passed him by.
You are entitled to your opinion but I completely disagree with you that the team was disengaged and checked out at the end of last years season. Yes, it was a tough last few weeks but every team in every sport goes through a rough stretch unfortunately, our rough stretch was at the end of the season. I was with some of the players after the UMass game and there was f'n tears in their eyes. The players were upset and pissed off how the season ended, they definitely cared and were not checked out.
How concerned are people about losing one or more of our better players to the portal? Used to be more of a concern about losing guys who wanted more minutes or bigger roles. But with how historically bad this season has been I wonder if some of the better players might want to move on.
Yes, I am. Last season showed how quickly things can unravel, the team clearly checked
Based upon what - losing 2/3 to ND? Around that they swept #17 UW, LOT and TOT @ #12 UMi, swept #7 OSU, split at #15 PSU and lost to #13 UMA in OT.
There are plenty of reasons to find fault with the program but that accusation doesn't pass the smell test.
Yeah, among other things, but start with the that fact, they lost 2/3 to literally the worst team in the B1G in the first round of the tournament. Then, the reason they play all season, to get to the NCAA with a high seed, they lose in the first round to a team far less talented.
What would you call that?
they did beat those other teams that you highlighted, but they were horribly inconsistent throughout the season, especially given their overwhelming talent
I wasn’t surprised with the mass exodus, they telegraphed it in their play at the end of the season.
were you surprised?
are you surprised how this season is going? I’m not, it was predictable.
With all do respect to our loss to umass the gophers deserved to win that and the refs were transferred out IIRC.
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Pohlad baseball ⚾️ it’s not arrogance, we really are “that good” #”Hey Siri, play “faithfully” by Journey max volume”
How concerned are people about losing one or more of our better players to the portal? Used to be more of a concern about losing guys who wanted more minutes or bigger roles. But with how historically bad this season has been I wonder if some of the better players might want to move on.
Yes, I am. Last season showed how quickly things can unravel, the team clearly checked
Based upon what - losing 2/3 to ND? Around that they swept #17 UW, LOT and TOT @ #12 UMi, swept #7 OSU, split at #15 PSU and lost to #13 UMA in OT.
There are plenty of reasons to find fault with the program but that accusation doesn't pass the smell test.
Yeah, among other things, but start with the that fact, they lost 2/3 to literally the worst team in the B1G in the first round of the tournament. Then, the reason they play all season, to get to the NCAA with a high seed, they lose in the first round to a team (and a couple refs) far less talented.
What would you call that?
they did beat those other teams that you highlighted, but they were horribly inconsistent throughout the season, especially given their overwhelming talent
I wasn’t surprised with the mass exodus, they telegraphed it in their play at the end of the season.
were you surprised?
are you surprised how this season is going? I’m not, it was predictable.
fyp
Also, for all the people criticizing Bob for not doing more with NIL (portal and CHL), do we have any idea how much UM even has in NIL money? We hear rumors about how much PSU and MSU are spending on stars, can MN even compete for players like that? When recruiting was based on school/team reputation, TV exposure and facilities, MN had an advantage over most schools. Maybe with NIL the reason Bob isn't bringing in last-minute guys is because he doesn't have the resources (to compete) financially. I don't know. But people just seem to assume a lot. and I would like to know if anyone knows the answer, but assume reporting on NIL isn't transparent to the general public.
Obviously there’s a lack of production there
Yes, it was an off the cuff remark that amounted to I like Falloon’s game and he’s been here a while. I didn’t realize his point totals were nonexistent, and last year he scored here and there in between IR stints. So to me, he kinda falls in the Hendrickson-type bucket, where he could chip in some big nice moments on a talented team, which this year’s squad is not really.
We hear rumors about how much PSU and MSU are spending on stars, can MN even compete for players like that?
I don’t buy the rumors, last year the line was “Matthew Wood got a $100k NIL deal to go to Minnesota” and we’re supposed to believe Gavin McKenna one year later is worth 7x that? I don’t think so.
furthermore, my surface-level understanding is that donations from NHL alumni of a program underpin much of the hockey NIL spend that is going on, and on that front we’d definitely be one of the strongest programs in the country.
The refs were definitely bad but getting badly outshot in the third and needing a late goal by Snuggy to tie it wasn't entirely on the refs either.With all do respect to our loss to umass the gophers deserved to win that and the refs were transferred out IIRC.
The refs were definitely bad but getting badly outshot in the third and needing a late goal by Snuggy to tie it wasn't entirely on the refs either.With all do respect to our loss to umass the gophers deserved to win that and the refs were transferred out IIRC.
disagree, UMass’ second and third goals never happen if not for the refs screwing Minnesota nonstop to get UMass back in the game. 4th one might still happen, maybe not considering the difference in headspace from “holy crap, we just cannot catch a break right now”, which also goes back to the getting outshot point. But each of the major reffing screwups were probably survivable in isolation, just not altogether.
it was the same team that completely smothered Michigan for 120min straight, allowed the blue guys to press but never broke, even if UMass had started to push hard and get shots on net I don’t think the Gophers would collapse and get so discombobulated if not for the 1-2 punches of terrible officiating
The tragicomedy of Airey being forced to come in for a single shift that game is that the rule in question (which got ignored at the Frozen Four when PSU needed to fix a goalie equipment issue) was added in response to Erik Portillo stalling for time in the 2022 tourney against a surging Qpac. So both Portillo and Qpac got to screw the Gophers one last time.
The refs were definitely bad but getting badly outshot in the third and needing a late goal by Snuggy to tie it wasn't entirely on the refs either.With all do respect to our loss to umass the gophers deserved to win that and the refs were transferred out IIRC.
i guess my point is they didn’t quit on the season, they more than showed up for that game.
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Pohlad baseball ⚾️ it’s not arrogance, we really are “that good” #”Hey Siri, play “faithfully” by Journey max volume”
The refs were definitely bad but getting badly outshot in the third and needing a late goal by Snuggy to tie it wasn't entirely on the refs either.With all do respect to our loss to umass the gophers deserved to win that and the refs were transferred out IIRC.
i guess my point is they didn’t quit on the season, they more than showed up for that game.
yeah. I remember being really impressed how much pace they played with right out of the gate after such a long layoff in demoralizing circumstances
We hear rumors about how much PSU and MSU are spending on stars, can MN even compete for players like that?
I don’t buy the rumors, last year the line was “Matthew Wood got a $100k NIL deal to go to Minnesota” and we’re supposed to believe Gavin McKenna one year later is worth 7x that? I don’t think so.
furthermore, my surface-level understanding is that donations from NHL alumni of a program underpin much of the hockey NIL spend that is going on, and on that front we’d definitely be one of the strongest programs in the country.
one was the consensus (prior to the year) #1 overall pick and “generational talent” and the other was a guy who was pretty good at UConn. Add into that numerous guys nowhere near what McKenna was touted as got 6 figure deals and yeah I can buy it
as far as who has NIL, I’d go with you’re off the mark right now. I think that will change as they get the rules squared, but now it’s mega donors (Pegula, magic johnson and the 4SPARTA fund over at msu, numerous Michigan alums) that let you move your overall bucket around. Same idea that if we had some wealthy person dump 10mil into DTA and earmark it basketball, they can move around money elsewhere and decide to spend the “general fund” on hockey or what have you. Hockey players make pennies compared to their nba and nfl counterparts and our hockey specific NIL group has yet to launch. We will get better, but I don’t think we’re even sniffing numerous other schools who have NIL money spillover
that’s not to badmouth anyone giving or anyone involved. I think the U has just been slow on the uptake of getting donors and focusing on compliance first, where others are bending the rules much more steadily while they can
The refs were definitely bad but getting badly outshot in the third and needing a late goal by Snuggy to tie it wasn't entirely on the refs either.With all do respect to our loss to umass the gophers deserved to win that and the refs were transferred out IIRC.
i guess my point is they didn’t quit on the season, they more than showed up for that game.
agree with this 1000%. They got goalied twice against ND aided by Soulie making the mistake of his career (the full ice shot he missed with his glove followed by the pass directly to ND for another goal). That is hockey. That same ND team lost 1-0 on the road to MSU and hit a post late to miss sending it to OT.
That team was really up and down, but I don’t get the quitting on the season (it’s the same crap people say every year). Moore was crying on the ice post game. The Blues execs we spoke to at the FF said Snuggy was very locked in all year which in part is why they were bummed to not have him but happy to let him have had that year. Those kids (and their parents) looked like wrecks after how it ended. The game never gets close if the refs decide to call a neutral game because they never score the second goal, the Soulie shit never happens, and we see what happens against a WMU team we would’ve matched up against really well. They went 10-8-2 the back half, losing 3 times in OT and playing 9 of those games on the road in a league that sent 4 teams to the tourney and the 5th was the first cut. Not to mention that weekend prior to dropping the ND series, they had an OTL and win at PSU which knocked them out of the tournament prior to their series win over michigan (that PSU team had lost twice all second half).
these guys are adults. They were going to “quit”, they’d quit and go play pro hockey and make money.
I hate that we're still beating this dead horse, but it was like the refs decided before the game even started that there was no way in hell that they were going to let the Gophers win.
I'm aware of all the egregious ref f***ery and will concede that it didn't help but ideally they would've not gotten outshot 16-7 in the third (I imagine that shot disparity was even worse until they were trailing) and I don't think reffing is the sole explanation of that. Either way I don't think the team was checked out per se like Kline is arguing, I think the issues with that team had more to do with not having good power forwards to compliment guys like Moore or maybe other chemistry/coaching issues. I do agree that the team underperformed with how much talent they had especially against Notre Dame.The refs were definitely bad but getting badly outshot in the third and needing a late goal by Snuggy to tie it wasn't entirely on the refs either.With all do respect to our loss to umass the gophers deserved to win that and the refs were transferred out IIRC.
disagree, UMass’ second and third goals never happen if not for the refs screwing Minnesota nonstop to get UMass back in the game. 4th one might still happen, maybe not considering the difference in headspace from “holy crap, we just cannot catch a break right now”, which also goes back to the getting outshot point. But each of the major reffing screwups were probably survivable in isolation, just not altogether.
it was the same team that completely smothered Michigan for 120min straight, allowed the blue guys to press but never broke, even if UMass had started to push hard and get shots on net I don’t think the Gophers would collapse and get so discombobulated if not for the 1-2 punches of terrible officiating
The tragicomedy of Airey being forced to come in for a single shift that game is that the rule in question (which got ignored at the Frozen Four when PSU needed to fix a goalie equipment issue) was added in response to Erik Portillo stalling for time in the 2022 tourney against a surging Qpac. So both Portillo and Qpac got to screw the Gophers one last time.
@trixr4kids I’d have to rewatch the game to refresh the bad memory so no thanks on that but the gophers owned that game until the refs gave momentum and life to umass which should’ve ended up a completely different non factor 3rd period in the first place. But you get the point I made. I don’t wanna think about it anymore honestly.
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Pohlad baseball ⚾️ it’s not arrogance, we really are “that good” #”Hey Siri, play “faithfully” by Journey max volume”
we see what happens against a WMU team we would’ve matched up against really well.
Yeah I’m beating the dead horse but I knew as soon as Chesley fell that our window was slamming shut for some length of time.
I don’t even know if we realistically get past WMU, but UMass played a 1-goal game vs them and that game turned on a 5+10 major penalty to UMass’ 2nd best forward that I know we wouldn’t have taken if it had been us in that regional final. Then at that Frozen Four with BC and MSU both out, that’s probably the clearest potential path to a national title that we could’ve asked for.
Last year’s team lost 4 times in regulation all regular season, a program record. The way the season ended rightfully left a poor taste in everyone’s mouths but the 24-25 team was very good.
Not being in the national conversation at all this season just sucks and should be unacceptable for this program. Bob gotta be sure he’s the guy to turn it around. Kick it into high gear in the offseason or hit the road. Someone else will gladly fill that seat.
One of the best things about watching Gopher Hockey, either at Mariucci or on tv… there’s not signs all over the in the glass in the student sections. Every student section in the BIG does, besides Minnesota. And several non conference programs does it as well.
One of the best things about watching Gopher Hockey, either at Mariucci or on tv… there’s not signs all over the in the glass in the student sections. Every student section in the BIG does, besides Minnesota. And several non conference programs does it as well.
Thats because signs are not allowed in Mariucci. Nor are flags, banners, or the hey song. They’ve granted a front row student who promises to be a goody two shoes a flag but that’s it.
Also, for all the people criticizing Bob for not doing more with NIL (portal and CHL), do we have any idea how much UM even has in NIL money? …. But people just seem to assume a lot. and I would like to know if anyone knows the answer, but assume reporting on NIL isn't transparent to the general public.
That’s a fair question, and I agree NIL reporting isn’t transparent, so I’m not claiming to know how much NIL money Minnesota actually has. But my criticism of Bob isn’t about how successful he’s been with NIL or the portal. I’m not trying to measure outcomes.
My concern is more basic: he doesn’t seem interested in playing the game at all. In his public comments, he’s clear that he likes NIL when it means athletes earning money for things they do outside the sport — for example, the Middlestat brothers running a hockey camp and getting paid. What he clearly dislikes are NIL arrangements that function as contracts to pay players for signing with or staying at a program. Whether that distinction is philosophically appealing or not, it doesn’t change the reality of college athletics today.
That’s where the contrast with PJ Fleck is useful. Fleck openly acknowledges that Minnesota doesn’t have the same NIL war chest as Ohio State or Oregon, but he still articulates a strategy for how he’ll use what he does have. At the same time, he implicitly makes the point that if fans want recruits comparable to those programs, someone needs to open a wallet. It’s honest, strategic, and forward-looking.
Bob, by contrast, tends to talk about NIL and the portal as things he wishes were different, rather than tools to be leveraged. That’s the issue — not how much money we have, but whether the head coach is willing to engage the system as it actually exists.
honestly, I don’t see how you win if you refuse to play by the new rules. I think this is what we are seeing this year.
agree with this 1000%. They got goalied twice against ND aided by Soulie making the mistake of his career (the full ice shot he missed with his glove followed by the pass directly to ND for another goal). That is hockey. That same ND team lost 1-0 on the road to MSU and hit a post late to miss sending it to OT.
That team was really up and down, but I don’t get the quitting on the season (it’s the same crap people say every year). Moore was crying on the ice post game. The Blues execs we spoke to at the FF said Snuggy was very locked in all year which in part is why they were bummed to not have him but happy to let him have had that year. Those kids (and their parents) looked like wrecks after how it ended. The game never gets close if the refs decide to call a neutral game because they never score the second goal, the Soulie shit never happens, and we see what happens against a WMU team we would’ve matched up against really well. They went 10-8-2 the back half, losing 3 times in OT and playing 9 of those games on the road in a league that sent 4 teams to the tourney and the 5th was the first cut. Not to mention that weekend prior to dropping the ND series, they had an OTL and win at PSU which knocked them out of the tournament prior to their series win over michigan (that PSU team had lost twice all second half).
these guys are adults. They were going to “quit”, they’d quit and go play pro hockey and make money.
I’m struggling to see how you can argue that a team with multiple NHL staters level of talent gave 100% in three games against the conference doormat made up of club team athletes. If they had been playing at their best, I don’t see how ND even scores.
To me, the pile-up of excuses — getting goalied, a once-in-a-career goalie mistake, bad officiating, posts, road games — is actually the evidence that they checked out. Those things happen to everyone. Teams playing at peak performance play through them, especially when they have an overwhelming talent advantage. This team had enough talent to win on talent alone. When a team that talented still needs everything to go right, it tells me they weren’t fully engaged.
Sure, they didn’t completely quit. They showed up. They cared. They cried. But you won’t convince me that team gave 100% — played at peak performance — in any of those last four games, and certainly not against ND. The mistakes weren’t bad luck, and those NHL starters weren’t hapless victims of bad officiating. They lost because they couldn’t overcome, and they couldn’t overcome because they were checked out. And honestly, I’d be emotional about that too.
“these guys are adults. They were going to “quit”, they’d quit and go play pro hockey and make money.”
And they did exactly this, to the surprise of Bob.
Continuing on this from the BADgers thread…
After tonight's win the Gophers are now 31 in NPI, 19 in KRACH. I realize KRACH doesn't matter but it does show how different the outlook would be if the NCAA moved to KRACH which does a much better job of factoring in strength of schedule.
the whole NPI thing actually infuriates me whenever I think about it.
(1) it’s flat out stupid to introduce such a drastic change to the sport amidst all the other (CHL, roster limits, pro eligibility) upheavals that were kicking in this season. When everything else is in flux why would you add more on top of it all?
Somehow there wasn’t enough consensus to find a workaround or solution for the absurd and stupid 26-man roster cap, but there was enough consensus to force through a nitpicky set of changes to the entire tournament selection criteria just to soothe the fixated brains of some mathematicians??
(2) the way USCHO and CHN with all their eastern biases talk with so much glee about the NPI’s differences in weights to incentivize certain results and behaviors, like home/road weights that are explicitly meant to try and force B1G/NCHC/HE teams to play in dumpy AHA and ECAC barns for 2500 fans, it rubs me the wrong way. No one wants that! It makes no financial sense for anyone! Which brings me to…
(3) if ECAC gets a bunch of extra irrelevant teams in with NPI throw it out, rework it, I don’t care. Dartmouth with their 61st-toughest schedule doesn’t deserve to be a 1/2/3 seed. I’m so sick of eastern coaches’ slimy gamesmanship with NCAA procedural crap that my instinctual response is “ok so how are you trying to screw us this time?”
I am amazing at how many people in a sport like hockey were games typically end 3-2 think that if the team with the most talent doesn't win it is because they weren't trying hard enough.
I am amazing at how many people in a sport like hockey were games typically end 3-2 think that if the team with the most talent doesn't win it is because they weren't trying hard enough.
That depends on how big a talent gap, wouldn’t you agree? If a USNTDP lost to Lakeville South High School, I would call that checked out, regardless of circumstances.
When that gap is large, the range of credible explanations is small. Coaching is a legitimate answer, but it reflects poorly on Bob. Saying the lesser-talented team won because it “played harder” or “wanted it more” is just the other side of the same coin, it means the more talented team mailed it in. Bad breaks matter when teams are close in talent; they don’t explain outcomes when the gap is wide.
That’s why I give this year’s team credit. I don’t think they checked out. They play sloppy and make a lot of mistakes without enough talent to mask it. but Losses to Michigan and Michigan State happened because those teams are far more talented, not because of effort. This group showed up and played to its level. Those two games this weekend, where they got stronger each of the 6 periods. Their power play successs (something last seasons team was abysmal). All that is awesome and was a thing of beauty. Really proud of our boys this weekend
When the talent gap is that large, you lose most of the time. What I haven”t seen this year was a talented roster mailing it in, which is exactly what happened late last season.
Continuing on this from the BADgers thread…
After tonight's win the Gophers are now 31 in NPI, 19 in KRACH. I realize KRACH doesn't matter but it does show how different the outlook would be if the NCAA moved to KRACH which does a much better job of factoring in strength of schedule.
the whole NPI thing actually infuriates me whenever I think about it.
(1) it’s flat out stupid to introduce such a drastic change to the sport amidst all the other (CHL, roster limits, pro eligibility) upheavals that were kicking in this season. When everything else is in flux why would you add more on top of it all?
Somehow there wasn’t enough consensus to find a workaround or solution for the absurd and stupid 26-man roster cap, but there was enough consensus to force through a nitpicky set of changes to the entire tournament selection criteria just to soothe the fixated brains of some mathematicians??
(2) the way USCHO and CHN with all their eastern biases talk with so much glee about the NPI’s differences in weights to incentivize certain results and behaviors, like home/road weights that are explicitly meant to try and force B1G/NCHC/HE teams to play in dumpy AHA and ECAC barns for 2500 fans, it rubs me the wrong way. No one wants that! It makes no financial sense for anyone! Which brings me to…
(3) if ECAC gets a bunch of extra irrelevant teams in with NPI throw it out, rework it, I don’t care. Dartmouth with their 61st-toughest schedule doesn’t deserve to be a 1/2/3 seed. I’m so sick of eastern coaches’ slimy gamesmanship with NCAA procedural crap that my instinctual response is “ok so how are you trying to screw us this time?”
The difference between the NPI in the pairwise is minuscule. And as far as the Krach goes, yes we’ve played an incredibly difficult schedule, but this team does NOT deserve to be 19th right now that would be a failure of the system imo at 10-16-1