0:05 This is The GPL Podcast, sponsored by Vintage Minnesota Hockey, your exclusive source for throwback Minnesota jerseys. 0:14 Visit vintagemnhockey.com. 0:19 Now, here's Hammy, Vegoe, and your host, Jupiter. 0:39 Good evening, and welcome to the GPL Podcast. 0:43 We're at podcast number 109. 0:48 Well, boys, we had some little downtime on GPL this weekend, and it was completely out of my control. 0:54 I tried to fix it before I left for Winnipeg, but it wasn't. 0:58 And then my provider decided to take over two days to fix the problem, which was causing people to bother me, and there's nothing I can do about it. 1:07 You're saying basically that the word provider was sort of an oxymoron because they didn't do it for two days? 1:13 The strange thing is that it literally took them about 30 seconds to a minute to fix. 1:18 It just took them- 1:20 They were really on board with the customer service. 1:23 It took them that long to just get to my ticket. 1:26 I'm like, are you kidding me? 1:28 I noticed they never did reply to the ticket saying, hey, tell us how the customer service went, because I would rip them a new one. 1:33 But sorry about the downtime, folks. 1:37 It happens. 1:38 We move on. 1:39 I didn't really care because I was in Winnipeg and had fun anyway. 1:43 But I know, Veegs, you didn't get to post that story Saturday night until just like yesterday. 1:47 Sorry about that. 1:49 It was timely. 1:50 Writer's block. 1:54 Well, we had a 3-2 split this weekend, boys. 1:57 Friday night, the Gophers get down 3-0, come back, make it close with two goals from Lettieri, but we've got the 3-2 loss. 2:05 Then Saturday night, the 3-2 win. 2:08 Veegs, your thoughts on this past weekend against the Badgers? 2:14 Well, I think this weekend showed once again that Wisconsin is a pretty good team. 2:18 You could tell from the stats that looking at the out of conference, in conference stats, both Minnesota and Wisconsin are doing better. 2:27 That shows that these guys are both great teams. 2:30 Wisconsin loaded up Frederick and Cunning together for a lot of the weekend. 2:35 I guess that's something they've been doing the second half and I was impressed with both of them. 2:39 Some people on Twitter were giving me a hard time of what's so special about Cunning. 2:44 He gets in the right spots. 2:46 He's a smart player, good puck possession moves. 2:50 I was impressed with him all weekend and I was impressed with Wisconsin. 2:53 I thought they played well. 2:54 We had two entertaining hockey games. 2:57 Hammeh, it is nice to have the Badgers at least competitive again. 3:02 Yeah, well, I mean, it makes definitely for a better rivalry. 3:05 I thought that, you know, especially on Saturday, it seemed like the crowd was kind of what we would want for a rivalry kind of a situation. 3:13 I'm still not quite as high on Wisconsin as Veegs is. 3:16 I think that they've certainly got some good players. 3:20 I'm not entirely convinced that the team is quite that strong. 3:24 I think that the Gophers probably should have won on Friday if they hadn't flubbed it up for a period. 3:29 I thought they outplayed them. 3:30 And I actually kind of felt like better about how they played on Friday at times than they did on Saturday. 3:36 So, you know, it was kind of a tight series and I kind of expected, I said last week a win and a tie, so I wasn't too far off on what I kind of thought it would end up as. 3:47 But, you know, I thought overall the Gophers played a relatively solid weekend. 3:52 Well, the problem, Vig, is that they had that bad second period Friday night. 3:56 Otherwise, they probably would have swept this. 3:58 But like Don always says, you got to keep playing. 4:01 You can't just take periods off. 4:04 You can't take periods off and you can't force the game to happen either. 4:08 I think that happened to them a little bit on Friday night. 4:11 They're trying to force some plays that weren't there and created opportunities for Wisconsin. 4:16 And once Wisconsin kind of got that juice from being back in the game, they started putting the pressure on Minnesota a little bit more. 4:25 And Minnesota took a while to respond. 4:27 The third period, though, was great, the Gophers. 4:30 They peppered the net. 4:32 The only thing I think they did poorly during that period is there are too many missed nets and too many shots right in the goalie's chest. 4:39 I thought Barry played an aggressive style that almost forced them to overpass and hit him in the chest. 4:46 I think they could have probably crashed the net a little bit more, done a little more pass-off pads type action to get those second chances. 4:53 Now, are you surprised that they didn't play Barry for two nights in a row? 4:56 Because he did have a good night. 4:58 Even though we shot him in the chest, he did make some good saves and probably saved that game for them. 5:04 Yeah, I was surprised. 5:05 I talked to Todd Maluski about it quite a bit on Saturday night, and he said Granados stuck to this rotation when both goalies had been healthy. 5:13 They're a freshman and a sophomore combo, and they've both been successful for the most part in wins and losses. 5:22 I think Barry maybe is the better goalie, but he wants them both involved. 5:26 He doesn't want to lose one of them early. 5:28 Yeah, well, if that's what he's been doing, I guess it's something they're used to. 5:34 And I thought the crowd was great on Saturday, too. 5:38 Wasn't it a top five crowd, the least ticket sold? 5:42 Yes, the third most ever ticket sold for a marriage arena. 5:45 And I think the ticket scan was over 9,000. 5:47 From what I heard from people. 5:50 So we're all back Gopher fans. 5:52 I want to say even Friday night, the ticket scan was over 83, 8,500, somewhere around there. 5:57 So it's good that the Badgers are back because people are starting to show up. 6:03 Sure, we still got the corporate seats in the middle, but it's getting much louder at Mariucci. 6:11 And it has been a little quiet for the past few years. 6:13 So to see those fans in the seats is definitely a positive thing for this program. 6:20 Well, it turns out that with the split on the weekend, the Badgers are still now three points behind in the Big Ten standings. 6:26 Minnesota's got 36 points. 6:29 Badgers have 33. 6:31 Penn State's still within striking distance. 6:33 They'll need some help, but they're at 28, and Ohio State's just behind them with 26. 6:37 So this weekend, we could have Minnesota as a champion, or it just depends on how things go, but it's at least interesting. 6:47 And Hammy, we're getting close here. 6:49 It's coming to the end of the season, and it's looking good for the Gophers to, you know, finish off this league and become a six-time champion. 7:00 Well, I mean, yeah, they definitely have the more advantageous schedule, at least based on the quality of the competition. 7:07 I mean, at Michigan and at home against Michigan State, I mean, those are the two, you know, worst teams this year in the league, so you would hope that the Gophers are going to be pulling out at least three some odd victories, and, you know, Wisconsin certainly has got a little bit tougher road ahead of them with Penn State and Ohio State at home, so, you know, you got to like the Gophers' chances. 7:33 The only thing I feel uncomfortable about with the Gophers is that, you know, as we've seen, I think they get a little bit too lackadaisical at times. 7:40 I think that they can come back just because they've been successful sometimes losing leads and getting behind it and coming back to win, and you don't want that to become a habit, especially this time of the year where teams are going to buckle down a little bit better and are not going to allow you to get back in the game, so I just hope that they kind of keep the gas pedal down right from the get-go and don't let off of it and don't have that mentality that they're going to be able to come back from any kind of a deficit. 8:09 Well, we'll get to the Michigan Series and the rest of what's going on in the Big Ten in a little bit here, but we had quite a few late questions come in right before we started the podcast here, and this one should probably be more for Gopher State, Nate, because Skofar is asking, what was Donnie's record while wearing a neck brace back in the mid-2000s? 8:32 I'm sure you got that right on top of your head, don't you, Veegs? 8:37 Yeah, not in my record book. 8:41 Come on, Nate, you got to help us out here. 8:43 Yeah, I'm not really sure what that record is. 8:47 I don't remember. 8:48 Did he have some kind of surgery or something, Hammy? 8:50 Do you remember why his neck was broken? 8:51 Yeah, he had some kind of a neck surgery of some sort. 8:55 Something like that. 8:57 Sorry, can't help you. 8:58 I doubt even Gopher State can come up with that answer, even though he seems to know it all, so we'll see. 9:06 Suffering Soda Fan. 9:08 We'll go this towards you, Hammy. 9:10 Do you agree that a number four seed is much better than a five through eight for NCAA tourney, considering potential first round matchups? 9:21 I honestly don't think that deeply about it. 9:25 I mean, because the fact is, is that we don't know. 9:27 It's all about matchups, you know what I mean? 9:28 I mean, you don't know who you're going to end up. 9:32 I mean, I know by seeding, you're supposed to have an easier draw, but we all know that pretty much everybody who makes the NCAAs has got a pretty quality team, and there are some teams that you're going to match up against better than others. 9:44 I mean, if you're playing a team that's got more of a wide-open style and that kind of fits into what the way the Gophers tend to like to play, I'd feel better about that kind of a team than a team that maybe is sort of that, you know, kind of conservative, grind it out, go for the two-to-one win, you know, frustrate the other team. 10:02 I mean, you know, I... 10:04 So, I mean, it really just comes down to the actual team that you're matching up against. 10:07 I don't know that I really pay as much attention to the seeds, especially in this era. 10:11 I mean, we've seen enough one seed to get beat by four seeds, you know, to know that it's not going to be exactly as it's seeded out anymore. 10:20 So, that's the way I look at it. 10:22 It's just more about the matchup than the seed. 10:24 Well, Veegs, you know, the most recent bracketology has the Gophers facing Bemidji States, you know, out in the East Coast. 10:31 And that's the exact kind of team Hammy's talking about, a team that likes to play slow and slow it down and shut you down defensively. 10:39 That could be fairly problematic, even though the Gophers have beaten them already this season. 10:44 Well, typically those teams that are the automatic qualifiers coming out of the AHA and WCHA and schools like that, you know, they have a great goaltender, they play great defense, and they're going to be tough because they've been successful at the end of the year in their conference tournament. 11:00 So that's a tough matchup for any team, and the top 16 teams in college hockey can beat each other on any given night. 11:10 Sorry, I had my mute again. 11:11 Okay, I'm just going through some of these questions. 11:14 I think let's get to some of these more here. 11:17 We got John Candles wants to know, does this team have what it takes to win a national championship, Hammeh? 11:24 I, you know, I think they have as good of a chance as anybody. 11:27 I mean, I don't really see a team out there that I'm like, oh my God, you know, I don't want to match up against them. 11:31 I mean, Denver is probably the most skilled team that I've seen. 11:35 I mean, some of their individual teams, their individual talent is very impressive. 11:39 But I mean, I had the father of a player ask me like two weeks ago, he's like, so what do you think? 11:44 You know, we got a shot and I'm like, hell yeah, we're all in. 11:49 You know, I'm like, we're all in. 11:51 And he was even a little more reluctant than I was, but I was like, yeah, we're all in. 11:54 I think we got as good of a chance as anybody. 11:57 And I think I might even have talked him into it a little bit that, you know, to be a little more optimistic or whatever. 12:04 So, you know, I feel pretty good, but I mean, I don't think that we're a favorite. 12:07 I don't think that there really is any kind of clear-cut favorite. 12:10 I think that we have as good of a chance as anybody, though. 12:13 I think any of the teams, even UMD struggled a little bit here in their conference, and they're not going to win their league. 12:20 Harvard, hard to know what they have. 12:22 You know, they don't play a great nonconference schedule, and they don't play that many games. 12:27 Minnesota's got all the pieces. 12:28 It's just whether they can get in these one-and-done games and not make mistakes, because lately they've been able to outscore their mistakes, but who knows if they'll be able to do that in the tournament. 12:40 Yeah, things are always so much different in the tournament, just, you know, from the way the games are called by the referees to the, you know, certain teams just, you know, playing a style that just doesn't match up with you. 12:50 It's just, you just never know. 12:52 Well, and, you know, it's also Sheerhorn, you know? 12:56 I mean, he's got to be on top of his game. 12:58 I mean, he, you know, he's played better, you know? 13:01 But, I mean, he's got to really be hitting his stride when we hit those games. 13:06 And I think we have the offense and, you know, we have the skill certainly to match up against pretty much every team. 13:13 But we definitely, from a defensive standpoint, especially goaltending, they really have to bring it. 13:17 And if they do, you know, I like their opportunity. 13:21 But we'll have to see if they can kind of pull that together. 13:26 I do think one of the things this year is Minnesota has looked really good on the NHL ranks, and I think they've got the kind of team that plays well on an NHL sized ring. 13:34 There's a lot of upperclassmen at the forward spots. 13:37 They've got a lot of seniors who have had great years. 13:39 And I think that bodes well for them coming into the tournament. 13:42 There was a couple years back, I think it was either the Yale to the Holy Cross year, they only played on an NHL rank like four or six times the entire season and just hadn't played well there. 13:56 From the most recent I heard too is also the rank change at Mariucci is still probably three or four years away, folks. 14:06 Don't get excited about that yet. 14:08 Veegs, I didn't get a chance to listen to Don's weekly show. 14:11 Did anything interesting come from his show this week? 14:14 Well, I thought one of the interesting things was he talks about metrics and advanced stats a little bit and how they were kind of interested in core scene and things like that when they first got to introduce them. 14:27 They've looked at them more and looked more at how their college stats are taken. 14:32 He's kind of discounted them a little bit and focused more on the scoring chances generated, scoring chances against playing Lions and guys who are in the positive in those categories, which I thought was really interesting coming from Don who's kind of an old school coach. 14:48 Yeah, I mean, I remember you mentioning within the last year that there are times when they're wearing sensors on them. 14:55 Now, that's not during game time. 14:56 Is that just during practice and whatnot? 14:59 No, that's during game time too. 15:00 They have the catapult sensors on them, which are the GPS and it's got the gyroscopes in there. 15:08 They can tell how guys are doing, even down to which leg they're favoring. 15:13 It was kind of interesting to talk to Cal Dietz about two years ago about this. 15:16 He said that they figured out one player was favoring a leg on Friday night, and then on Saturday night, he injured his groin. 15:25 They didn't review the data until Monday, so looking back, if they would have looked at the data earlier, they probably could have seen that something was coming. 15:33 They use that during the week to try to take elements to cut practice time or reduce stress and keep players healthy. 15:43 I think he's really proud they don't have hardly any soft tissue injuries with the hockey program. 15:49 Yeah, I just knew you'd mention it. 15:51 I didn't realize they were wearing it during the game. 15:55 Hammy, I think this was a good one for you. 15:57 Non-GAAP, whatever, non-GAAP, whoever that is, does the gentleman's agreement still exist, and if not, do the Gophers go after recruits who committed somewhere else? 16:13 Hammy? 16:15 Did we lose Hammy? 16:18 Maybe Hammy's on mute. 16:20 Maybe Hammy is on mute. 16:20 Gives you a hard time about it. 16:22 I know. 16:23 Why? 16:24 Apparently we lost Hammy. 16:27 Geez, what a shame. 16:28 Yep, we lost Hammy. 16:29 Well, do you have any thoughts on the gentleman's agreement there? 16:33 Well, I feel like the gentleman's agreement has gone away a little bit. 16:36 I don't think coaches actively go after recruits like they do in other sports, but I do think that players flip now. 16:45 You'll see it every once in a while. 16:47 And it's not an immediate flip for most teams because I think because of the scholarship percentages and the fact that players have to go through the FAFSA process to figure out how much financial aid they qualified for and then how much can the coach offer, it's a little bit more complicated than in basketball and football where everybody gets a full ride. 17:05 So you don't see those immediate flips of players. 17:08 But there's a lot of complications with recruiting and financial aid. 17:14 Well, now that you're back, Hammeh, what are your thoughts on the gentleman's agreement? 17:19 I think for some programs, they still try to abide by it, but I don't think that it's really anything. 17:26 It's not like it was. 17:27 Do the Gophers recruit players that have committed elsewhere? 17:31 I mean, they've done it to a little degree. 17:34 I don't think they do it widely, but I think that there's certainly guys that, you know, how much, how hard they go after them after they've committed. 17:44 I mean, it's going to be a case by case thing, but there's certainly going to be instances that at least that I'm aware of, at least a few where a player committed early, kind of before the Gophers really had an opportunity to kind of make their pitch for a scholarship perspective. 17:59 And, you know, they kind of had to kind of do catch up maybe a year or so later, you know, and kind of just kind of see if there's any kind of an opportunity there. 18:12 And I don't, it hasn't been a case where they have actually flipped the player, but there's certainly been a few instances where they've at least kept the temperature of the situation. 18:25 And I don't know that they necessarily made an offer, but they certainly kept the temperature of what's going on with the player. 18:30 And, you know, I'm sure they wanted to make sure that the player knew that if he did decide to open things back up, that they certainly would be there with an offer. 18:39 So I think also sometimes it will force a school to increase their offer and offer more of their scholarship percentage. 18:47 So really the agreement is pretty much still in use then. 18:52 Yeah, I mean, if you think about it, I mean, and I'm not, you know, hockey players tend, they're not really like, you know, it's just a different culture in hockey than what it is with, you know, football and basketball. 19:07 I mean, players there, it's like, it's pretty accepted that players, you know, they, I mean, that's where the term soft verbal comes from, you know what I mean? 19:15 Like, oh, he's a soft commit to this team or that team. 19:19 It's like, well, you're either a commit or you're not, but the term soft basically is because they're so used to players, you know, reneging on a verbal commitment that that's just the terminology they use in those sports. 19:31 And you really don't get that quite near, you know, as much, although you've seen, I think, a little bit more this year. 19:37 I've seen a few more guys decommit and then commit to another school. 19:42 So I think it's been a little bit more prevalent in the last year or two, but I still think it's not going to ever really be like it is with football and basketball. 19:52 Well, I hope that answers your question on GAP. 19:55 It's kind of floating out in the air. 19:56 It's still there, but, you know, we'll just have to see. 19:59 We've got a few more Twitter questions to get to. 20:02 And of course, a lot going on in the Big Ten this weekend. 20:05 But before we get to that, we need to hear from our sponsor, Vintage Minnesota Hockey. 20:11 vintagemnhockey.com is a proud sponsor of the GPL Podcast. 20:16 Well, what is Vintage MN Hockey? 20:18 Well, it's kind of the place to get all of your history of Minnesota Hockey, from the pros to the minors, the collegiate teams, to even the high school teams. 20:29 All information about any of those teams can be found on vintagemnhockey.com. 20:34 They also have great interviews with some historical Minnesota hockey figures like John Mayessich and Lou Nani, Glenn Sonmore, some of the greats of Minnesota hockey. 20:43 So make sure you check out those interviews. 20:44 It's a really great thing. 20:46 But as I always say, I think my favorite part is the store. 20:50 The store, you can buy a custom historical jersey from the Gophers or the Bulldogs or some of your favorite high school teams. 20:57 And if you do make a purchase, just use the code GPL Podcast, all one word, and you'll get 10% off your order. 21:04 So make sure you visit vintagemnhockey.com and follow them on Twitter at VintageMNHockey. 21:12 Okay, gentlemen, we got a few more questions via Twitter. 21:14 Actually, I just saw a few come in. 21:17 Mark Erickson, am I the only one who wants to end North Dakota season in the first round of the regionals? 21:22 Well, probably not, but sorry, North Dakota's got to make it first. 21:26 So just going to have to wait and see on that, Mark. 21:29 Here we go. 21:30 Andrew Lowell wants to know, any opinion on the quality of officiating in the Big Ten better than the old WCHA? 21:39 What do you think, Veegs? 21:41 How do you rate the Big Ten officiating compared to the old WCHA days? 21:44 Obviously, a lot of those old WCHA guys have kind of retired since then, but overall, what are your thoughts? 21:51 I feel like officiating this year in the Big Ten has been really consistent. 21:56 The players know what to expect as a penalty, and the refs seem to call it the same early in the game as they do late in the game, which is all that matters to me as a follower of college hockey, is call the game consistently, and I think they do. 22:12 When players hit people from behind, they expect the penalty to get called. 22:16 They make contact to the head, they expect it. 22:19 They hook somebody or obstruct somebody, they expect to get a penalty. 22:23 Some of it happens out of fatigue or laziness or just getting caught, but when those things happen, they're called all the time. 22:32 And that's all we can really ask for, isn't that, Hammy? 22:35 It's just consistency, not this roller coaster crap where you don't know really what's going to happen? 22:41 Yeah, I mean, you know, the funny thing is that I haven't really, I mean, I think this is kind of a credit to the officiating, is that I really haven't thought much about the officiating, and I think, I mean, that's kind of what you want out of those guys. 22:53 You don't want them to be, you know, a certain, you know, you don't want them to make an impact on the game like that and be kind of a difference maker with their calls, and you want that consistency. 23:05 And maybe it's because we're not playing the whiners of the old WCHA where, oh, it's always the Gophers getting the benefit of the calls. 23:12 But I mean, there really hasn't been the level of complaining and whining about refs, both from Gopher fans and from the other teams that we play. 23:22 I just haven't seen it quite like that, and I feel like it's been a lot more consistent and just it's been better than what it was. 23:29 And like I said, maybe that's a perception thing because we don't hear as much whining from opposing fans, but I think it's been pretty good. 23:37 If Ohio State had more fans, we would have heard some whining after that game where they got the majors. 23:43 If they actually had fans at all. 23:45 I don't even know if they have a Twitter following out there. 23:50 I really don't know. 23:51 I mean, like we've said in the past, it would help if they got an on-campus facility and kind of cater a little bit more to the hockey fan, but I think we're still quite a few years away from that. 24:05 We'll get served by Wisconsin and Penn State and Michigan, but Ohio State, nothing. 24:13 That's true. 24:15 Paul Chatterton via the Mixler Chat wants to know, College Hockey News just released their top 10 best odds to win the Hopi in. 24:24 They had clues on the list. 24:26 Do you think Justin has a legitimate chance to win the Hopi Baker, Hammy? 24:32 Well, I mean, I already said a couple of weeks ago that he's probably one of my favorite Gopher players in the Lucia era. 24:40 Do I think he's going to win the Hopi? 24:42 No. 24:43 Do I think he's deserving of being amongst 10 candidates? 24:48 Sure, I could see that. 24:49 I mean, he's definitely a leader. 24:51 He's been great for your player. 24:54 He's an all-around player. 24:56 He's just not a one-way kind of guy. 24:59 So I mean, I think he has all the characteristics. 25:01 We know he's a high-character guy. 25:04 So he's definitely the kind of guy that you want to kind of at least acknowledge for what he's accomplished. 25:11 But I don't think he's going to win it. 25:14 And I certainly think, you know how the voters are. 25:17 They get caught up in statistics and whatever. 25:18 It's not that he's got lousy statistics either, but it's just not some dominating kind of a thing where you could say, oh yeah, he's for sure going to be one of those guys. 25:29 And I think he's definitely deserving. 25:31 Nate's belly aching about the on-campus arenas at OSU. 25:37 They're not real arenas. 25:38 We need a good, you know, five to seven thousand seat arena, Nate. 25:42 At least that's what I think they need. 25:43 And it's kind of what you guys have been saying all along too. 25:46 I mean, this gigantic arena they're in is just not going to do to build that program. 25:53 Well, it's tough. 25:53 They rope off basically all the seats in the upper level, put the tarp down in some places in the lower deck to try to make it seem like there's more atmosphere there. 26:02 But really, it's like playing a half empty building. 26:05 If they had a building like Penn State has, it seems like a lot more fun. 26:10 It definitely would. 26:12 And I think Cluice should be a candidate for Hobie. 26:15 He's been such a program guy, does everything right, involved in the community, does all the things that you would expect of the Hobie Baker Award, tremendous student. 26:25 I've got a story coming out on him for Minnesota Hockey Magazine next week. 26:30 I talked to his high school coach, Kurt Weber, talked to Nate Condon. 26:34 Both those guys have nothing but great things to say about Justin. 26:38 Well, speaking of Justin, we got another question on him about him. 26:41 From the state of hockey, he wants to know, Cluice is a true program guy, just like you said, Veegs, grew up wanting to wear the M. 26:49 Are there any other guys like that on the roster or coming in? 26:56 No, I think it's hard to say to be just like Justin. 26:59 Justin is a guy who gave up going to development camp to be the captain and try to be on campus going into his junior year because he knew that they had so much turnover and he took all the losses really hard. 27:12 He's a guy who plays in all situations and wears that M in his heart. 27:18 There are not many guys like that in college hockey anymore. 27:22 It's hard to know if that kind of guy is Ryan Lindgren or if it's another young player, but we'll see. 27:29 Time won't tell. 27:31 The reality is that those kinds of guys aren't as abundant simply because a lot of these guys come into college hockey and they look at it as a stepping stone. 27:42 I'm not saying that Justin obviously doesn't have pro aspirations. 27:46 Of course, I'm sure he does. 27:48 But the reality is that he's one of those guys that really saw being a Gopher as a dream and being in the program and making the most of it. 28:00 He kind of has a little bit of that old school attitude that we all, when I grew up and went to college and whatever, that's kind of how the players were. 28:09 They really had a tremendous amount of pride in wanting to be a college hockey player at the U and not that they didn't have aspirations for more, but that was really a huge part thing for them. 28:21 And I'm not saying it's not a big deal for some of these guys right now, but I think there's just a bit more of a stepping stone mentality with a lot of college hockey players, not just at the U but everywhere across the college hockey landscape. 28:37 And so when you get some of these guys, and I think this is where it goes back to a few years ago, where they were kind of maybe altering their recruiting approach to a degree and not just kind of overdoing it with those pro prospect types of guys, but more looking at those guys that maybe aren't prototypical size NHL guys that are going to be three to four year players. 28:59 And I mean, that's kind of what this year's senior class has been. 29:02 I mean, other than Hudson Fashing, I mean, all that class was going to be, we all talked about it years ago, was that they were kind of three or four year types of guys. 29:12 And that's kind of how it's turned out to be. 29:14 And they've had, you know, for the most part, pretty good senior years across the board. 29:18 And I would agree with you on Cluice being favorite player. 29:21 I mean, he's probably my favorite player since at least Johnny Pohl. 29:25 So, I mean, Johnny Pohl was kind of a similar player, you know. 29:29 Maybe not the most gifted Johnny Pohl, but boy, he was an M guy. 29:32 And I really like seeing that coming from Cluice. 29:37 Veegs? 29:39 One of my favorite quotes from availability today was Lucia talking about how Michigan is struggling because they lost the CCM line, because they lost Wurinski, because they lost Downing. 29:49 And he said he's a lot smarter since Justin and Bischoff came back. 29:55 Yeah. 29:56 And those guys play in all the situations and they're so valuable to a college hockey program that this year is not happening if those guys decide to pursue things for them. 30:07 You know, they're giving their effort to the program. 30:11 It's fun to see success for those guys. 30:14 Well, you look at somebody like Cluus and how many big third period goals has he scored this year? 30:20 Or overtime. 30:21 I know he had the overtime winner in Wisconsin. 30:23 He scored the game on her Saturday night. 30:26 He's just been really clutch when they needed him. 30:31 Yeah, he's leading the nation with the six game winning goals. 30:34 They certainly come timely times and he's on the ice in all the important situations. 30:41 Well, we got another Twitter question here that will kind of bring us into this weekend for the Big Ten. 30:47 Another question from the state of hockey wants to know how many more points do you think we need to win the Big Ten? 30:53 Mathematically, if Minnesota sweeps this weekend and Penn State sweeps, they've won the title. 30:59 It's over. 31:01 Obviously, we don't know if that's going to happen, but by the end of this weekend, they could be Big Ten champs. 31:09 Obviously, they need some help for that to happen. 31:12 Let's get into the talk for this weekend, guys. 31:15 Obviously, we've got Wisconsin heading to Penn State. 31:20 Penn State has been up and down. 31:24 Obviously, they were good earlier this season. 31:26 They need a solid weekend to stay strong in the pair-wise, but Wisconsin also needs a strong weekend to stay within the numbers to get that bid. 31:37 Hammy, Wisconsin and Penn State, do you have any thoughts on that series? 31:40 That's pretty big. 31:43 Yeah. 31:44 Obviously, Penn State had some pretty good success a few weeks ago against Wisconsin and Wisconsin. 31:52 They're kind of fighting for the NCAA opportunity. 31:57 I definitely think that they're probably going to bring it this week. 32:00 We know that one of those teams, especially on home ice, they like to throw lots of pucks at the net. 32:07 Like I said, I'm sure they'll feel pretty confident after having beaten Wisconsin a couple times on the road. 32:15 I think it will be an interesting series, but I think that certainly I would expect Penn State to at least come out of that series with at least one win, if not two. 32:25 Well, for me, I think it's even a bigger series for Wisconsin Vigz. 32:31 They got their butts kicked from Penn State just a few weeks ago, and they have something to prove here, so it's a really huge weekend for them. 32:43 Well, I think from a pairwise perspective, too, Wisconsin needs to get a couple of wins against Penn State. 32:48 They're sitting outside the bubble, I think, right now, and so for them to get back in the picture, they're going to need some wins against Penn State. 32:56 I don't know if it's going to take two, but I think it's going to take at least one, and they're playing really well. 33:03 Penn State's playing really well. 33:05 I feel like Wisconsin has the higher end talent. 33:09 It's just whether or not Wisconsin is able to handle all the traffic, all the net, all the shots coming in on goal, whether their goalies play clean, because against Penn State, that's so key, because they're shooting for rebounds and they're bringing bodies. 33:25 On the other side, we have a little less important series. 33:29 We've got Michigan State heading to Ohio State. 33:32 Obviously, Ohio State is on the bubble as well. 33:36 I don't know if two wins could help them that much against such a lowly team in Michigan State, Figgs. 33:43 But losses will kill them. 33:44 Yes, definitely true. 33:46 If they lose games, they will drop significantly. 33:49 That's the worry for them going into this weekend, because they have not played great lately. 33:54 They lost 1-0 to Michigan last weekend, or Ohio State. 33:59 Yeah, so they need to take them seriously, and you can't just mail it in. 34:04 Definitely a loss to Michigan State would just kill Ohio State. 34:07 Obviously, Michigan State is probably the reason why North Dakota is not currently in the tournament. 34:13 They beat and tied North Dakota in North Dakota, and that's just killed their pairwise. 34:19 Reep. 34:23 Yeah, it's just so sad, isn't it? 34:26 So obviously, Ohio State, they need to kind of keep on going if they want any chance, Hammy. 34:32 Yeah, I mean, it's that time of year, you know. 34:34 I mean, for the Gophers, it's kind of nice to have a comfortable position. 34:39 Granted, you don't want to let up, of course, with the league title still in the balance, but nonetheless, it's a little bit more breathing room. 34:47 You don't really have to fret about it, and you don't really have to look at the other teams and be like, oh, who do we want to win this week to improve our pairwise so we can get in and not be on the bubble or whatever? 34:59 So it's kind of always entertaining to watch fans of other teams, and they're kind of like saying, well, who do we want to win this weekend? 35:09 And who's the most advantageous teams to win? 35:12 And blah, blah, blah, blah, you know? 35:14 And I guess the way I look at it is it's that time of year where you just basically got to win yourself and hope for the best. 35:21 We always talk about you never know, I mean, throughout the season, you don't know when it happens, but when you look back in hindsight, you can always say, if you've just missed the NCAAs, it was that one game that we lost back in November to that one team that turned the tide for us and got us off the bubble and in the tournament and whatever. 35:42 And those are the ones. 35:44 That's why you can never really, we talk about things, but we act like games in November. 35:50 We know they mean something, but you don't really know just how meaningful they are until you're in that position and you're on the outside looking in, and it's because of one or two games that you screwed up earlier in the year. 36:01 Well, if Minnesota swept St. 36:03 Cloud earlier in the year, they're in the number two seed right now. 36:08 Yeah, I think I didn't I see somewhere like if if North Dakota had beat Michigan State at least one time, and if they had beat the Gophers one time or whatever, they'd be like somewhere in the top 10 right now or something like that. 36:24 I think Schlossman might have put that one out. 36:26 Yeah, I think I saw somebody quote that. 36:28 Maybe I didn't see it from him, but I think I saw somebody quote that. 36:32 He hasn't blocked you or anything, has he? 36:34 No, I just don't look at it. 36:38 I don't care about North Dakota. 36:39 I don't care about that conference really, so I don't really pay attention to their beat writers anymore. 36:46 I don't follow me there, so I just can't. 36:48 I mean, it's nothing personal. 36:49 I don't have anything against them or anything. 36:51 I just don't care anymore. 36:53 We don't play them. 36:54 We don't play in the same conference. 36:55 It just doesn't matter, really, to me. 36:58 I'll check it out if there's something interesting, but I tend not to follow. 37:01 Yeah, unless somebody links something on GPL or something like that. 37:05 I just wouldn't know what the hell is going on. 37:09 It's similar. 37:10 I follow Bruce Siskie often on throughout the year. 37:12 If there's something interesting going on, I might follow him for a game just to kind of see what's going on, but then I end up unfollowing him because I just don't want to see all that garbage in my feed. 37:22 Well, that brings us to Minnesota heading to Michigan this weekend. 37:25 If they did switch the state, they'd be nine on the pairwise right now. 37:29 Number nine. 37:30 Michigan, guys. 37:33 Usually a late season road trip to Michigan would be a pretty scary thing, but this year, obviously, Michigan's terrible hammy. 37:45 The problem is we expect the Gophers to win this weekend, but if they slip up here or there, that could damage them, and they could lose a number one seed just by losing once to Michigan this weekend. 37:56 Yeah, I mean, this isn't the level of a rivalry with Wisconsin, for instance, or like when we were back in the old WCHA with some of those teams, but nonetheless, Michigan is a rival of sorts, and I'm sure that they liked nothing better than to spoil the Gophers' opportunities. 38:17 So I expect that they're going to give us a good effort. 38:20 They certainly don't have the talent like they used to, so you're not necessarily going to be worried about getting some one line or two lines blowing you off the rink. 38:33 So I mean, I think that I feel good about our chances on the road, but you at a minimum want to get out of there with at least one win. 38:42 Veegs, they really need to keep the pedal to the metal this weekend. 38:45 They cannot look past this weekend because we expect them to win, but a loss here could really hurt the team. 38:56 Well, I think the way they're playing bodes well for them playing against Michigan. 39:00 Michigan has not put up a lot of goals this year. 39:04 Their top two scorers are freshmen. 39:07 Will Lockwood is a nice player, but he's certainly not a Kyle Conner or a JD Confer. 39:13 You know, it's not that kind of team. 39:16 So I think as long as the Gophers play their game and don't get caught up taking a lot of penalties or turning the puck over, getting fancy at the blue lines, they'll be fine. 39:25 Michigan doesn't even have a number one goalie. 39:27 I think they've played all three goalies equally this year. 39:31 And while they had that one nothing win against Ohio State, might have been more of the Buckeyes than Michigan. 39:36 So what do we think this weekend? 39:38 You think the Gophers could pull off the sweep there, Veegs, then? 39:42 Yeah, I'm totally expecting a sweep this weekend. 39:44 I think Minnesota is playing well enough on both special teams. 39:48 I think they're a deep team. 39:50 All the lines are scoring. 39:51 You know, Pitlick's really going right now. 39:54 I'm a little worried about the team's health coming in this weekend. 39:58 Donald Lucia closed practice to the media this week, which he hasn't done in the last four years, I think. 40:06 So kind of, there could be something going on there within the team with health. 40:11 The only players they say are out already are Smetula, obviously Novak. 40:16 But just something to keep an eye on is the lineup sheets come out on Friday. 40:19 Do we know what's going on with Smetula yet? 40:22 Or is it just a lower body or upper body? 40:24 We don't really know, do we? 40:26 They're just saying lower body. 40:28 It's hard to know what it is. 40:30 Happened during the game, he tried to play through it a little bit and then wasn't back out. 40:34 And initially it was going to be a day-to-day kind of thing and it's just kind of dragged down. 40:39 Yeah, maybe they're just trying to rest him too because he's kind of a spark plug up there. 40:44 Well, they've got things pretty well locked up. 40:46 They've got an easier two weekends coming up. 40:49 They've solidified their spot in the pairwise. 40:52 So it's not like these games are do or die right now. 40:55 And they will need him in the playoffs. 40:59 Yeah, it's obviously not do or die right now. 41:01 They're going to make the tournament, but they can't mess around this weekend, Hammy. 41:06 They just can't. 41:08 Yeah, I mean, I always struggle picking road sweeps. 41:14 But I mean, I believe that this is one that they should. 41:16 I mean, Michigan is what I think they had two wins in their last, I think it's 12 games since the start of the new year. 41:25 And both of them were against Ohio State. 41:27 So I mean, they're not exactly playing great hockey. 41:32 I think that the Gophers certainly have a lot more talent. 41:35 They should win both games. 41:37 But like I said, you never know, especially against the kind of arrival. 41:42 But they just don't have the scoring. 41:44 They're just not that kind of a team like we're used to seeing. 41:47 I mean, when your leading scorer has got 20 points, I mean, that's not what you typically see from Michigan at this time of the year. 41:58 So definitely the Gophers should sweep. 42:00 Unfortunately for Red, this sounds like this is a swan song and not the ideal way to go out, is it, Veegs? 42:08 No, it's a tough season for him to lose all that talent. 42:12 And he's said multiple times throughout the year that these guys just don't know what it takes to be successful in college hockey, and they're just not committing enough to the game. 42:21 He's got special teams. 42:23 I think his power play is in the middle of the country. 42:26 Penalty kills in the bottom half. 42:28 He doesn't have the elite talents that he's used to having. 42:32 So it's certainly a frustrating year for him. 42:34 I think he's one of those guys who's disappointed about players moving on and not going right to the NHL. 42:41 I saw JD Comford just got called up to the NHL this week. 42:44 He's been playing in the AHL all season, all season. 42:49 And so for a guy to leave Ann Arbor to do that, it's got to be frustrating. 42:52 Yeah, but Red has always been whining about that for years, and it's like, dude, you're your own worst enemy when you're recruiting guys that you know are more than likely going to be short timers. 43:06 I mean, I call them kind of like, my nickname for them is like turnstile players where you know that they're going to be gone after a year or two. 43:13 It's like when you recruit those guys, you can't whine then when they go and do that. 43:16 To me, it's like you might not like it, but it's like you're part of the problem, you know? 43:21 The Gophers, like I said a little bit ago, they kind of altered their approach. 43:26 Not that they completely avoid those kinds of guys, but they've certainly been looking for more players that are going to have that college impact, that maybe they have pro opportunities down the line, but they're more likely to be longer term college players. 43:41 You can't whine about stuff like that when you're part of the problem and you're the one that's picking the players to offer. 43:48 So I don't feel any sympathy for the guy. 43:50 Has he said that he's going to be done after this year? 43:52 I haven't seen anything, so I don't know. 43:54 I don't think it's official, but it's kind of a hush-hush behind-the-scenes thing that, yeah, it's going to be Reds last year. 44:02 I'd be surprised if he doesn't, but we'll just have to wait and see. 44:05 I mean, one thing about... 44:08 I kind of agree with you on Red complaining about losing guys early because he had many teams where he was able to keep guys. 44:16 Really good teams where he convinced guys to stay for another year and didn't lose guys early. 44:23 Now it's finally happened to him. 44:24 That's why I read, we just don't care anymore. 44:27 Well, I mean, and we know it's a lot different now because the CBA changes like 10 or so years ago where it just became a lot cheaper to sign your best, your top prospects. 44:40 It was a lot easier to keep them when teams, they knew they had to fork out close to a million plus dollars just to sign a guy, and they're not going to be throwing that kind of money left and right. 44:50 They wanted to be damn sure that they're signing the right guy at the right time. 44:55 Nowadays, it's cheap in comparison to sign players. 45:00 But like I said, I don't feel any sympathy when you're recruiting guys that are in those first few rounds. 45:05 You've got to expect that they're more than likely going to be gone after a couple of years, even if they're not ready. 45:12 So what do we have for the audio lectures this week, Vego? 45:16 You'll have Vinnie Lettieri talk about the end of the game against Wisconsin, where he won the draw right to Sheerhorn, and then the puck bounce right out front. 45:26 Sheerhorn made a great save on the initial shot by Grant Bessey, but Vinnie had to be there for the rebound. 45:32 There's a couple of funny lines by him and Don Lucia on that one. 45:36 Vinnie also talks about how much work he's put in to improve his game to the point where Don Lucia has called him the most improved player on the roster this year. 45:44 All the extra skill work he does, all the people he works with outside the university to get better. 45:50 Kind of some neat notes about him watching Wild Practices and talking to Darby Hendricks about face-offs, things like that. 45:58 Then you'll hear Don Lucia talk about his Hobie Baker candidates, which he didn't know right off the top of his head, and what's working right for this team so far. 46:07 All right, we'll make sure you listen to the end of the podcast with that. 46:12 Vegoe goes to Media Availability every week and captures this audio, so we appreciate it, Vegs. 46:18 It's always nice to hear that stuff at the end of the podcast. 46:23 I think we're good for this week, boys. 46:24 I think we're all kind of thinking it's going to be a sweep from Minnesota. 46:27 We just hope the team comes through and does it, huh? 46:31 Yeah, they definitely have to bring it. 46:33 They can't just kind of coast their way to win. 46:35 Exactly. 46:39 In previous years, Michigan's not a high-scoring team, but they still have good skaters. 46:45 They still have senior Alex Kyle, and they've got guys who are good enough to go play at Michigan. 46:49 So they definitely have some talent to their game. 46:54 They definitely do. 46:55 Remember, you can always follow Vegoe, at eVegoe on Twitter, follow Hammy at Hammy Hockey, and they're tweeting stuff all during the week, Hammy on Recruits and whatnot. 47:06 Vegoe, you just follow everything, don't you? 47:11 We'll be back next week to recap this Michigan series and preview Michigan State. 47:40 So it might be easy to overlook Michigan a little bit, given the season that they have had. 47:45 How do you make sure that your guys go in on their toes? 47:48 There's an old saying, fear no one, respect everyone. 47:51 And it's never easy going to Yost Arena, as we know. 47:55 I think that's one of the great buildings in all of college hockey. 47:59 They always play with great energy in their home rink, and they always start off really fast in the first period, and I've always felt that's the key against Michigan. 48:08 You have to play a really good first period. 48:10 A lot of times you go in their rink, and you have to survive the first 10 minutes because they're usually coming hard and fast. 48:16 They're still a really good skating team. 48:18 They're getting good goaltending this year. 48:20 They're issued. 48:21 They haven't scored a lot of goals. 48:22 And, you know, they went into Ohio State and won. 48:26 They were tied with Wisconsin and Madison the week before in both games, I believe, in the third period. 48:32 So we just want to continue to play well, continue to grow as a team, and just like last weekend, you know, hopefully still be in first place at the end of the weekend. 48:43 Cluse is up to six game winners now. 48:45 Have you seen him take a step forward this year in his ability to produce in those big moments? 48:50 Well, I think that's his history. 48:52 And you look at his point totals, he's been a strong contributor all four years in his career here, and he's the kind of guy that's always thrived in the big moments, going back to high school and youth hockey, and no different here. 49:06 He's had a great career, he's a tremendous leader, and he's one of those guys when the game's on the line, he wants to puck on a stick, he wants to be out there and make a difference. 49:14 What impact is Cluces' speed going to have in the series? 49:17 Well, I mean, Michigan's always a really good skating team, so the pace of play will be up there, and the guys that can, at a high tempo, high pace, continue to make plays, I think those are the ones that are really becoming lead players, and that's why Justin's had the career he has, because he can do things at a high rate of speed. 49:34 Have you watched much of Michigan's game this year, and what's missing for them? 49:38 Well, Comfort, Mott, O'Connor, Barinsky, who might be rookie here at the NHL and Downing, you lose 500 classmen like that, and it's a kick in the gut. 49:53 It's hard to recover from that, not to mention they had some good seniors on last year, so it's the high-end offense of a player that Michigan normally has. 50:04 I mean, you think of Michigan, you think of some guys who are going to have 50 points, and they just don't have that this year. 50:09 They have some freshmen that are kind of leading their team. 50:11 And in some ways, to a degree, we had a young team last year, and you just have to build through it. 50:18 And as much as you like to be at the top each and every year, it just becomes more difficult right now. 50:24 I mean, I made the comment, you look at the NCAA started today, three of the teams in the frozen four last year wouldn't be in it, including the two teams that played for a national title. 50:34 It may not end that way, but that's how it's changed. 50:38 You kind of just mentioned that and hit on it, where all these teams had lost a lot of players early with BC and North Dakota and Michigan are kind of sitting on the way out. 50:48 How as a coach do you work it through? 50:51 Well, there's not much you can do, and that's the hard part. 50:54 As much as the fans think it shouldn't matter, it does matter. 50:58 I mean, it's hard to plan for when you don't know at what point you're going to lose players. 51:03 I mean, Michigan lost two elite forwards back-to-back years in Larkin and O'Connor. 51:09 And I'm sure that when they recruited them, they were thinking that will happen for a couple years anyway, but then all of a sudden you lose them back-to-back years, and it's a huge hole. 51:16 I mean, you only have 18 scholarships, we don't have 90. 51:21 So our kids have to come in and play right away, and when you lose those kids early, it makes it hard to recover sometimes. 51:27 Sometimes you're covered, you've got that elite player coming in the following year, but the Larkins don't come along every year either. 51:34 Can you talk a little bit about each player that's up for the Hobie Baker Award, each of your players? 51:38 I don't know who it is. 51:39 Sheeke, Kluus, and Bishaw. 51:45 Well, I mean, the nominations, and there's a lot of guys on the list now. 51:49 We'll see who the ten are. 51:50 But all three of them are having great years. 51:52 I mean, yeah, there are two captains, and 74 Bish has grown so much each year. 51:56 He's been here. 51:58 He's a program guy. 51:59 He's a tremendous leader. 52:00 He's one of the top scoring defensemen in college hockey. 52:03 He runs our power play, leads the Big Ten in block shots. 52:06 At least he did go in at the weekend. 52:08 And just a hard-to-solid guy. 52:10 Same with Kluus. 52:10 I mean, he's one of our top scorers and six game-winning goals and plays in every situation. 52:16 And a guy that you can count on at the end of a game. 52:21 I mean, Tyler Sheehy, has really had a terrific sophomore campaign. 52:28 He's on a really good line. 52:29 That helps when you play with a couple other guys that can make a play. 52:32 But I think he's got about 50 points right now. 52:36 And so he's really put together a nice year, scored some big goals. 52:38 But he can not only score goals, but he can feather some nice passes, too. 52:43 He's very unselfish with the puck. 52:45 And, you know, with Rem, that's been a really good line. 52:47 And they've all benefited by playing with each other because not only they all have great stick skills, but they all have a really high hockey IQ. 52:54 This show obviously includes opportunities to go elsewhere this year. 52:58 And they returned. 52:59 How big is that for you as a coach to have guys like that in the program? 53:01 Well, I guarantee I'm a lot smarter because they're back. 53:04 They're guys you can't replace. 53:06 I mean, you're just not going to replace a Bischoff and a Kluse with a freshman. 53:11 It's just not when they're going to be a senior. 53:12 And you have to have those guys in your programs at the end, you know, if you want to be good at the end of the year. 53:20 They're the difference makers. 53:21 They've been through it. 53:22 You know, Justin's out there when it's six on four with a minute to go. 53:25 And Vinnie Lettieri and guys that have been through it. 53:28 You know, I don't think we can forget about Vinnie the year he's had. 53:31 I mean, he's just had a tremendous senior year. 53:35 Every year he's been better. 53:37 He can play wing. 53:38 He can play center. 53:39 He's done it all for us. 53:41 And he's a guy who wants to be out there in those situations, too. 53:44 I mean, Vinnie'd play 30 minutes if I let him. 53:46 And he's in phenomenal shape. 53:48 He can probably do it. 53:49 But some of our seniors are really having great years. 53:53 Was that save of his even more impressive when you watched it on tape the other day? 53:57 Well, I'm not sure the shot on goal on Shearhorn off the draw that he had. 54:02 You couldn't have dropped the puck for a right-handed center on the opposing team and shot any harder at our goalie. 54:07 In the typical Vinnie fashion in our video yesterday, I go, Vinnie, what would you do different? 54:11 Just tell the goalie to be ready. 54:16 You know, and actually Shearhorn is the one who made a phenomenal save by diving across. 54:21 It got a piece of his arm and he was just kind of crawling towards it. 54:24 That probably would have gone in. 54:25 But Vinnie was in position to reach back and deny that big hole. 54:29 Do you have an update on Smetula? 54:32 No, he won't play this weekend. 54:33 What are you looking at with your team in this last four games of the regular season? 54:37 Well, I mean, to win. 54:39 I mean, stay on the plan. 54:42 If we can win three out of four of these last four, we'll be in good shape for the end of the playoffs. 54:47 Everybody else healthy? 54:49 Yeah, other than, well... 54:51 Smetula and Novak. 54:52 Yeah. 54:55 Did the guys take a step forward last week in the series against Wisconsin, and if so, what areas did you see them take a step forward? 55:01 I don't know. 55:02 I thought we were pretty good in the last month. 55:04 It was a good, tough gauntlet of games and emotional games. 55:09 You know, the guys had a great crowd this weekend. 55:12 The one thing I like this weekend is we gave up one five-on-five goal. 55:18 I mean, that was a real positive for us this weekend. 55:21 Did you get a lot of flack from your teammates for winning the draw and Sheeran last week? 55:28 Yeah, I got a little bit yesterday during video. 55:31 Honestly, I learned it from watching NHL players, and it's a great play just because if you're going like a short side out, our inside deep can just wheel, but I was not expecting to win it as clean as I did. 55:45 And good thing Sheeran was paying attention, so that was kind of me, but he made an unbelievable save to start it off. 55:53 Kind of saved yourself too. 55:54 Yeah, it's the right place at the right time. 55:57 How often do you study NHL players? 55:59 Even a couple weeks ago when the Wilds were practicing at Ritter, I saw you kind of duck in there and watch them practice. 56:04 Yeah, whenever the Wilds here, I try to make it a priority to come watch them practice just because that's where you get to learn the little things that they do when they're not playing the game, because when you're playing the game, you see systems and whatnot. 56:17 You've got to study NHLers and people who are better than you, because that's how you learn new things. 56:21 That's how you improve as a player. 56:23 So I think it's definitely a big thing for me to watch people who are better than me. 56:27 What's the bigger play, scoring a goal or pulling a puck off the goal line? 56:31 I guess it depends on the situation. 56:32 If we're down, then it's scoring the goal, but there, I was lucky enough to make that happen. 56:38 Sean and I, it was both of us, so I can't just say it was me there, but just like I said, right place at the right time, we got lucky. 56:46 And the guys who were on the ice with me, Lingo and Bischoff and Kloos, we did a tremendous job getting the puck out, and Kloos had a great stick at the end there. 56:55 It was a big win for us. 56:56 Kloos is up to six game winners now. 56:58 How confident is the team when he's out there in the big moments? 57:01 Yeah, no, we have a lot of confidence in our captain. 57:03 That's how it should be. 57:06 He's been one of our top scorers since he's been here for a reason. 57:09 He's a great player, great leader. 57:11 And yeah, we have confidence throughout the whole lineup in him. 57:13 Is there something about his game or his personality that has contributed to the fact that he scores so many very important goals? 57:21 Well, he just... 57:21 one thing that's really good about him when he's in the defensive zone, he cares about defense first. 57:26 And then when it's the offensive zone, then you transition your mind to scoring. 57:29 And so he doesn't play just an offensive game. 57:32 He plays all three parts of the rank, the defensive zone, neutral zone, and offensive zone. 57:37 And he has a great shot, great hockey sense when he has the puck and the stick. 57:41 You know, there's a good chance it's going in. 57:44 What is special about playing at Yost? 57:47 I love it just because there's a big rivalry there between us. 57:50 They always have a great student turnout. 57:53 I mean, it's a historic building, and every time we go there, it's packed. 57:59 And I love how loud it gets there, too. 58:01 So it's a big series for us, and we need to make a step here. 58:06 What factor does speed play in the overall production of the team? 58:10 Yeah, speed's everything for us. 58:13 When we go north with the puck, we create a lot of our opportunities. 58:16 When we go east and west, it's, you know, we're slowing down ourselves, we're slowing down the game, and that's when we turn over the puck. 58:21 So one of our big things that we do and one of our priorities during the game is just to take it north and put everything below the goal line and try to get the puck on net. 58:30 Don said you're probably the most improved player on this year's team. 58:33 What is it, other than hard work, that's helped you improve so much? 58:37 My linemates for sure. 58:39 Anyone who I'm playing with always helps me. 58:42 Sometimes I'm just in the right spots at the right time, but, you know, I got to have linemates give me the puck for me to have success, and when I'm giving them the puck, they're putting in the night and giving me their assist, so definitely not an individual game here. 58:56 It's been a great team, and everyone's helping each other, and my coaching staff's helped me, all the trainers, Cal Deets in the weight room, so it's a combination of everyone around me that's helped me have the success I've had this year. 59:07 You've got to put the work in, though, right? 59:09 Some of it's individual, isn't it? 59:11 Yeah, throughout the summer and before practice and stuff at the beginning of the year, you're definitely putting the work, and that's just little things that I always say that hard work pays off, and that's one thing that my dad has always taught me. 59:23 You know, you're going to be in the slump sometimes, but the harder you work, it's going to pay off eventually. 59:28 You've been one of the top face-off guys in the conference for the last couple of years. 59:33 Are there some tricks you've learned from some of these NHL guys that you've observed that have helped you? 59:38 Yeah, well, I started with Grant, and obviously he's helped me throughout the whole year, and he's been doing a great job with face-offs and watching us on video and helping us, but then I also got some tips from Darby Hendrickson, just when I'm watching them practice, and I watch them do face-offs at the end of practice. 59:54 I know someone like Holla and Covey, and those guys are just unbelievable when it comes to face-offs, so I want to ask them kind of like some of the tips, and they showed me some things. 1:00:03 So I brought it back here and just try to incorporate it in our systems and show Grant some stuff too, because everyone has their own ideas, and you've got to change it up. 1:00:13 You can't just do one thing because I'm the guy that's going against you. 1:00:16 We'll know what you're doing. 1:00:18 Grant and Darby have helped me a lot with my face-offs and definitely my wingers, because if I lose a draw and they get it back, then I win the face-off. 1:00:25 So it's a combination of those three things. 1:00:27 You guys have a class of seniors who have developed a ton over the years. 1:00:30 Is that something you're trying to instill in the younger players as well? 1:00:33 Yeah, definitely. 1:00:34 You just got to pass the torch down. 1:00:36 The guys, when I was here as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, you just keep passing it down. 1:00:41 We've been a very successful group since I've been here. 1:00:44 We've had great leaders in front of us, and now we're the leaders of the group. 1:00:48 So now it's our job to pass the torch down and show them the right way so when we leave, they can lead and carry the team. 1:00:56 Clues, Bish and Conner, they're doing a tremendous job this year as leaders and they're helping us a lot. 1:01:02 Vinnie, go back to last September, when you were preparing for your senior year, what did you put in your mind about what you wanted to accomplish and what kind of player you wanted to be? 1:01:11 One thing is you just always want to improve from the year before. 1:01:13 You always have some individual goals with your stats and stuff as a forward. 1:01:18 But one of my things is just to always improve from the year before. 1:01:21 And that comes with hard work in the summertime and going to different camps and stuff with PJ Atherton, doing the beauty league at Raymar and Barry Carnage, all those different things just incorporate to you having some success in the year. 1:01:36 You just got to keep that up and you can never let go and just think you're comfortable because then someone's going to pass you by. 1:01:45 Did you put in your mind that you could be a senior leader on this team? 1:01:49 Yeah, I've always had that in my mind. 1:01:51 I'm confident in myself. 1:01:53 I'm confident with my ability to do what I can do. 1:01:56 What I've done this year, there's still another level that I have and hopefully I get there by the end of this year and when we make the right push for the playoffs. 1:02:04 Thanks. 1:02:05 Thank you.