First team to 6 wins?
This picture sure answers the question why do sticks break so much?
Let’s hope the Christmas break re-sets the teams mental side of the game. Waaaay too many mistakes at this stage of the season. The talent is their but not the cohesiveness needed to be a tough team is seriously lacking at this point.
i think Bob has them too cautious in their play & over thinking which leads to mistakes. “Release the hounds” and let these guys kick ass!
I want to see what the leadership on this team can do. Motzko and Co. can only do so much. Classic case of “lead a horse to water” and all that. I remember last year in game 2 vs Lindenwood, the Gophers weren’t playing well and Faber just took it, skated half the width of the offensive zone, and sniped it top corner. It doesn’t always half to be scoring a goal but make a statement somehow. I liked Nelson’s forecheck late in the period. Something like that. Now go into the locker room, grab your teammates by the scruff of the neck, and remind them of who we are and how we play. Let’s bury these guys ffs.
In the middle of the 2nd period I started typing a post "That at times coaches will let the team figure it out and that the second period intermission could be a case of this" but I ended up deleting it.
Sounds like my thoughts are not alone.
I think this team will show a lot of improvement in the 2nd half of the season. This team reminds me a lot of the 2021/2022 team (2 years ago). That team hit their stride in February.
Lamb 5-3, PPG.
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Another multi power play goal game.
Gophs can not get the puck out of their own zone! Embarrassing!
Good timeout. Coach is livid and rightfully so.
The Gophers are struggling to cross either blue line with the puck.
I know the guys are better than they are showing today. Tough to see them struggling with the basics.
Carfagna 4-5.
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I am miserable
As a lifetime Minnesota sports fan I have learned (the hard way) to not get worked up about Minnesota teams. It has REALLY helped my mood and sanity. ?
I can’t imagine being on the Gopher's coaching staff. No wonder Motzko and Miller are bald.
I’m sorry but this team is just not very good.
At what point do you stop throwing the puck up the boards straight to their D? ?♂️
They do this waaaay too often IDK if that’s what the coaching staff is telling them to do but we’ve seen this before and they’re doing it against an inferior team. Not ideal
As a lifetime Minnesota sports fan I have learned (the hard way) to not get worked up about Minnesota teams. It has REALLY helped my mood and sanity. ?
I have found that adult beverages help. ?♀️
At what point do you stop throwing the puck up the boards straight to their D? ?♂️
What’s the definition of insanity?
Not gonna lie I hope a garbage can loses its life this evening.
Just win baby
Never in doubt!!!!! ? ? ?
Game over, Gophs win 5-4.
Not every disease is visible. Not every pain comes from an obvious wound. Some people you see day-to-day may be suffering in ways you or I may never understand and fighting just to live a normal life. Please consider contributing to the Facial Pain Association and together we can find a cure.
Terrible game by the Gophers! They won but will go nowhere if they continue this kind of play. Turnovers & not being able to get the puck out of their own end needs big improvement. Too many mistakes overall. They stopped playing with a 2 goal lead. You need to keep your foot on their throat! Stop this “lock it down “ & play a defensive game. All this does is allow play in your own end. What an embarrassment!
I’m sorry but this team is just not very good.
road win looks just the same in the PWR, enjoy the ride and I bet we’re dancing in the end. We’ll see what happens then
Terrible game by the Gophers! They won but will go nowhere if they continue this kind of play. Turnovers & not being able to get the puck out of their own end needs big improvement. Too many mistakes overall. They stopped playing with a 2 goal lead. You need to keep your foot on their throat! Stop this “lock it down “ & play a defensive game. All this does is allow play in your own end. What an embarrassment!
ill take every single “embarrassing” win I can get. Just win and improve.
Top 5 worst win?
Weird game all around. Close started sloppy and the OSU goalies certainly didn’t have their A game. But Close was really good the rest of the game and kinda stole the win. Not a recipe for success against good teams but against OSU that can work for a game.
That said they gotta stop playing to protect leads and throwing the puck around. If this isn’t a coaching strategy as some have argued then the coaches aren’t doing enough to deter whatever the fuck this kind of play is where their breakout solely consists of throwing it up the boards repeatedly when they aren’t icing it. Against a team the caliber of OSU you’d think that shouldn’t be asking much.
I’ll take the result but that game doesn’t really feel like progress.
Coach said we were the best team on the ice for both teams. That sums it up well.
He also said the team is on fumes right now and is looking forward to the break. That they will be much better tomorrow.
Fish will be out tomorrow.
At what point do you stop throwing the puck up the boards straight to their D? ?♂️
What’s the definition of insanity?
Continuing to let Minnesota sports teams get you down. ? Likely not what you were referring to but it applies too.
On a sort of serious note in the 3rd period the Gophers sure were doing a lot of practicing feeding the points unfortunately it doesn't work well when you are in your D zone.
On to the Wild. This is like the perfect night. Gophers, Wild, a growler of beer to myself. What could go wrong. ??
Who wants to party in the Wild thread? ?
Minnesota Sports causing Decades of Drinking!!!! ?
Ugly, but it’s a road win.
Tomorrow is a HUGE game if this team wants to get off the NCAA bubble down the road.
During post game interviews both Snuggerud & Motzko mirrored the thoughts of some of tonights posts. So what is your point? You think they played a good game being halfway thru the season?My lord...some of you need a hobby.
“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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At what point do you stop throwing the puck up the boards straight to their D? ?♂️
What’s the definition of insanity?
Continuing to let Minnesota sports teams get you down. ? Likely not what you were referring to but it applies too.
On a sort of serious note in the 3rd period the Gophers sure were doing a lot of practicing feeding the points unfortunately it doesn't work well when you are in your D zone.
Lol no but that’s pretty good and fair enough. I’ll echo what coach, Snuggy, and everyone else is saying. Play with some urgency, pass with a purpose, quit feeding the other team’s offense, and you will probably find yourself in the win column.
Interesting Bob said they were gassed. Losing a vast majority means you're already chasing the puck for 15-20 seconds a shift minimum so it's no surprise they were feeling it.
“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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Yep tonight's game definitely left a lot to be desired.
I thought coaches' comment about the team playing on fumes what telling. One game to the break it sounds like they could use it.
On the positive side overall they are 9-5-3 (5-4-2 in the Big 10) and 6-2-3 (5-2-2 in the Big Ten) since Koster came back. They've done this against the 4th toughest schedule in the country.
They won. Period.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
Interesting Bob said they were gassed. Losing a vast majority means you're already chasing the puck for 15-20 seconds a shift minimum so it's no surprise they were feeling it.
Yeah going 22-43 on faceoffs tonight definitely didn't help. All 4 centers were considerably under 500. I got to believe they will be a lot better tomorrow after all going into tonight's game the team was 50/50 on face offs for the season.
Speaking of stats the Gophers power play for the season is 27% 6th in the country out of 64 teams.
Was at a friends for Shabbanukkah. Watching the recording now. Woof.
I think the break is going to help these guys. They seem to be gripping their sticks tighter and tighter. The talent and effort are there, the issue is between the ears and maybe a a few nagging injuries. Take a few weeks off, reconnect and relax with family and friends, come back refreshed and ready to roll.
I think it is fair to say if the Gophers play like they did tonight for the rest of the season they will not be in a good spot and unlikely to make the playoffs. That was probably to worst I have seen them play all season though so I think they are better than what was on the ice tonight. However, this team is a far cry from what we saw last year.
I will take the win though.
Absolutely not pretty. Like the Wild coach said last night - making really poor decisions with the puck in all areas of the ice. It almost seems like they are playing not to lose, which is the surest way to either make the game really difficult or actually lose. On a positive note, they played a pretty ugly game and managed to win. I would really REALLY like to see what this team could do if they put together a full 60 or weekend with all the lines clicking. Those that are saying this team isn't good might be surprised. I think they have tremendous potential but we haven't seen it for an entire weekend yet. We need more.
There’s a constant cliche that good teams win when they don’t play their best. This was not that…we simply didn’t deserve to win that game. That said, nice to steal a game where we basically won by sniping goals cause they’re gonna be watching a lot of tape tomorrow.
Hot take: not a fan of Pat M as an analyst but he’s not Clymer bad