0:08 This is The GPL Podcast, sponsored by Vintage Minnesota Hockey, your exclusive source for throwback Minnesota jerseys. 0:17 Visit vintagemnhockey.com. 0:32 Now, here's Hammy, Vego and your host, Jupiter. 0:45 Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 151. 0:53 Well, boys, I guess we could say it was another Jekyll and Hyde weekend for our favorite team, the Gophers. 1:01 Vegoe, Friday night, jump out to a two-goal lead, looking good in that first period, and then not much happened the rest of the game. 1:12 Yeah, it was a really good start for them. 1:14 I liked the way that they got their first two goals. 1:17 They were really attacking the net, and then you just saw that second period lockdown that seemed to be an issue this year. 1:25 I feel like the Gophers had been outscoring the second period by 12, 14 goals, something like that. 1:30 It's been a difficult 20 minutes for them, and they reared it tight against Notre Dame, and Notre Dame took advantage of it. 1:38 I think Minnesota was leading a little heavy on Matt Robson, and he can't hold the flood back every time. 1:48 That's definitely the case. 1:52 Well, Hammeh, what do you think about it? 1:53 Great start, and then they just fell apart. 1:59 Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it's just a matter of you're starting to feel a little bit too good about yourself, and you rest on your laurels a little bit, and you have to, of course, give Notre Dame some credit. 2:09 I'm sure that they got a little bit tired of getting beat up by the Gophers, you know, given the first series that they had this year. 2:16 So I'm, you know, I don't, it's hard to read this team sometimes, you know, even from, well, let alone one period to the next, I guess, from one game to the next. 2:26 And I think the only consistent thing we've seen this year is the inconsistency. 2:31 So tough one. 2:36 Yeah, the inconsistency is pretty much where it is. 2:39 Well, I mean, we're seeing it, you know, whole games, we're seeing it half games, you know, like, like you said, Big Ten started out really well, what they were doing well. 2:47 And then they took the second period off and then they couldn't recover. 2:51 And then on the opposite end, you know, they do similar the next night, they come out doing pretty well, get to nothing lead, but they didn't give up the lead on Saturday. 3:03 Yeah, I think the key in Saturday was, not only did Robson play a little bit sounder, I thought, you know, the night before, it sounded like there were bad goals, but they're not goals that an all American goalie is going to give up. 3:18 You know, when the puck goes through you as a goalie, that's not what you're looking for. 3:23 I think on Saturday, he looked really sharp, you know, he froze one of the pucks, he moved calmly side to side. 3:30 There were a ton of deflections on Saturday, and he gobbled them all up. 3:34 It was like it didn't bother him at all. 3:36 You know, you hear some of these goalies talk about, you know, I didn't have a chance on it, it got redirected, I didn't see it. 3:44 None of that bothered Robson on Saturday, and he covered up a lot. 3:48 And I think for this team to be successful in a playoff series, that's what needs to happen, is he needs to be really sound like that and they can win a lot of games when he plays that well. 3:59 So what was Matzko's summary of the weekend, either this past Saturday night or just today at the weekly media availability? 4:09 Well, I think he was just happy to see the response on Saturday. 4:13 Again, he was probably overly frustrated with Friday night, just basically because they had the 2-0 lead and then gave it away. 4:22 And he felt disappointed in that and didn't think they worked very hard. 4:26 And then Saturday, I think the fact that they stuck to their ground game, you saw a lot of times where Minnesota had the puck on the rush, there wasn't much there. 4:35 They either put it deep and won the battle to gain possession or they made a play entering the zone to buy some time and allow their lines to catch up. 4:46 And you saw some great plays where they'd have a possession down low and Tyler Nanny would come in to the slot and capitalize on a scoring opportunity. 4:57 I think you saw later in the game, Scott Reedy got his goal, kind of a similar deal where there's a lot of pressure put on by the freshman line. 5:06 They continued it with that next line getting on the ice against the tired Notre Dame team and they were able to capitalize there. 5:13 So I think just that's the style that this team is going to have to play to be successful. 5:18 Well, you know, you talk about how he was frustrated one night and then happy the next night. 5:22 I mean, that's kind of been the story of the entire season, hasn't it? 5:26 I think so. 5:26 I mean, that's this team. 5:28 They're just not good enough in transition to really dominate. 5:33 And so they have to play a really hard game to win. 5:38 It's frustrating, Hammeh. 5:40 Yeah, welcome to our World Coach. 5:45 If you at least they have some control of what happens during the week, us fans, we're just going to sit there and take it. 5:52 So yeah, I mean, it's frustrating to watch. 5:55 I mean, as our predictions, we've had a week in and week out. 5:59 I mean, it's just really hard to read, you know, who they're going to do good against, who they're not going to do good against. 6:07 You know, I think obviously we have a team this year that's very kind of matchup dependent. 6:12 It's not one of those teams that you can just throw out there against any style, against any team, and feel like you have a pretty good chance to win. 6:20 This is one of those years where it's either hot goaltending or, you know, we have to have a good matchup in order for us to, I think, be a pretty competitive team and win against pretty good teams. 6:31 But Hammy, that's kind of one of the reasons why we've been a little more positive at times this season, is that we've seen this team play really well against good teams and done the right things on the ice and on defense and in goaltending. 6:49 And then we see them just totally lay an egg another night. 6:52 So I think that's where the frustration is, because we've seen this team do really good things. 6:57 And you know what, they, you know, Penn State might be their kryptonite, but they did beat them 4-1 in one of the games this year. 7:03 So we know they can play with them. 7:06 And I think that's where all the frustration is from, you know, us and from the fans, is that we know this team can do well. 7:12 We just want to see it. 7:15 Well, I, yeah. 7:17 But like I said, I mean, sometimes we get lulled into believing that the team is better than it is, depending on the actual team that they played in the matchup. 7:26 But you know what I'm saying? 7:27 It's like you think, oh, well, that was a good team that we just beat, or that we played pretty well against. 7:33 But it's also a matter of how does the matchups work. 7:36 It's just not one of those seasons where we're all accustomed to the saying, yeah, they can beat this team, they can beat this team. 7:43 I mean, where you could just say, well, doesn't matter the style, doesn't matter how the other team comes at us. 7:48 We can take it and we can still win. 7:50 And it's just not one of those seasons. 7:52 It's just one of those things where if it's not the goalie playing great, we really have to hope that we connect with their style of play. 8:04 If you're listening live, you could always send us a chat message in the Mixler chat window, which many of you do. 8:11 Or on Twitter, just use the hashtag GPL Podcast and we'll try to get to them. 8:16 Jess27 says, he's got to talk about one of the things that I know Moscow talked about this weekend. 8:22 Nanny being physical is much needed. 8:24 We need more of that. 8:25 But Moscow was really happy with the way Nanny played, especially Saturday Night Vs. 8:31 Yeah, I think they've really found that they have four defensemen they can count on to play a lot of heavy minutes. 8:37 And Nanny and Brinkman has been a really good pairing. 8:39 You know, Brinkman's done a great job of not making mistakes. 8:44 You almost don't notice him on the ice sometimes, but he plays heavy and with some grit in those battles and he plays with just enough physicality to win those. 8:55 And I think he's also covering up for Nanny a little bit, you know, closing off attacks so Nanny can shine with some of his offense. 9:03 I think the big thing with his play this year is he's picking his spots a little bit. 9:08 I've got my part three of my series on Gopher Hockey right now that I'm working on. 9:14 And one of the plays on Saturday night that he scored his goal on, you know, there was a moment before he stepped into the slot to take the pass that Gates had the puck behind the net and you could just see Nanny wanted to go and he held back and drifted back to the blue line and then when the next opportunity came, he jumped at it and capitalized and you're seeing that a lot in his game right now is he's better at picking his spots and he's not going all the way to the net every time, he's joining the rushes, the fourth guy late being pretty dangerous and he's playing good hockey right now. 9:52 He lays the hits when he needs to and he's getting them in the transition quickly and I think there's structural changes that they made last couple of weeks has helped his game a little bit. 10:03 They hit him from the forecheck a little bit, allowed him to get to pucks without somebody right on his back and that's helped their breakout quite a bit. 10:12 So, where the split left us for the weekend is it left Minnesota with 36 points, second place in the Big Ten as of right now. 10:22 But of course, their Big Ten season is now over, Hammey. 10:26 But considering how it was a few weeks ago before going to Ohio State, they're in pretty good position and they did at least earn home ice for the first round of Big Ten playoffs. 10:40 Yeah, I mean, I'm sure that the people at the U are happy about that, certainly. 10:44 Definitely. 10:44 You know, so I mean, I think it's a good thing. 10:48 You know, once again, I think the playoffs and whether we get to anywhere as far as getting an NCAA birth, it's really going to be, I think, matchup dependent and how well our goal-tending is. 11:00 And I don't think that any of us are, I mean, I honestly can't say that I would be shocked by anything. 11:08 I mean, whether they get beat in the first round or they make it all the way through and somehow get a birth to the NCAA, I wouldn't be shocked with anything because it's been that kind of season. 11:19 Now, I would be more likely to say that, you know, they get through the first round and then probably get beat. 11:25 But you just never know with the way things have been going. 11:30 Well, it kind of comes back to what you just said. 11:32 They're hamming matchups. 11:35 Veegs, I could see Minnesota, if they play maybe a Wisconsin or even a Michigan, Michigan State, there's still so many things that could still happen. 11:49 You know, they could play them on home ice, get that advantage. 11:51 And you know what? 11:52 They know they can win at Notre Dame. 11:54 They know they can win at Ohio State. 11:57 They know they can win at Michigan. 11:59 They know they can win at Michigan. 12:00 You know, but like, it's just, we just won't have a clue what's going to happen until at least Friday night. 12:08 There's just so many things that can happen with, you know, with the standings where Minnesota ends up. 12:14 It is kind of a mess right now, Veegs. 12:16 Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny. 12:19 Someone, I think it was Jess Myers, I asked Tyler Sheehy how it felt to secure home ice. 12:25 And the first thing out of his mouth was, you know, it's awesome. 12:28 I'm glad we're not going to Happy Valley. 12:30 You know, I think that's in their head that going to Pagool Ice area is not a good match up for them and they know it. 12:38 But at the same time, you know, they talk about having these teams come to Mbuji and play on the big ice and they feel really confident in that. 12:45 And it's a huge advantage for them right now. 12:48 It's a huge advantage, but you know what? 12:50 They haven't swept a team all year long. 12:52 I don't think they swept a team at Mariucci, the calendar year of 2018 at home. 13:02 So there just haven't been a lot of splits in the Big Ten, besides Minnesota going to Ohio State and going to Notre Dame and sweeping on the road. 13:11 There haven't been very many in the Big Ten as a whole. 13:13 And we were talking with Jeff Jackson after the game on Saturday and he said, it's going to be an interesting weekend for the Big Ten because he thinks there will be a lot of games on Sunday. 13:24 EastSider wants to know, does the U of M have any say on who does their games on TV? 13:29 I might be old school, but I like play-by-play guys that actually call the game and McCloud and Climber are brutal. 13:38 I'm sure that you have some say with it, but it's really all up to Fox and at least in that case, it's up to Fox who's going to call the games. 13:50 I don't really know what to say to that Veegs. 13:53 He's not happy with that. 13:54 Well, a lot of people have been on Climber for a while, and I'll admit that McCloud, we liked his play-by-play a long time ago, but he's kind of lost quite a few steps. 14:05 So I think it's just frustration with TV overall. 14:10 Yeah, there's always a lot of frustration on TV, and there's only so much you can do. 14:16 It's not going to be the same two guys every Friday and Saturday. 14:20 Even in the old days, it wasn't every Friday and Saturday at seven o'clock. 14:23 It's just, you know, the plane in Denver and CC and Anchorage, there are other things going on as well. 14:28 So it's not as good as it used to be, and it's probably people's perceptions of what it used to be isn't as good as it was. 14:38 Yeah, that's that's definitely the case. 14:40 Well, I even heard Lou Nani on Brero this week, lamenting the old TV days. 14:46 And I'm just like, Lou, you should know it was not always, oh, always seven. 14:53 People have selective memories. 14:55 That's just how it is, selective memories, and that's about it. 14:58 You know, one thing that has been set, you know, we don't have the teams yet for the Big Ten tournament, but we do know that Minnesota will play that first game Friday night at Mariucci. 15:07 It's at 6 p.m. 15:08 start. 15:10 Saturday would be a 4 p.m. 15:12 start, and if it comes to Sunday, it would be a 4:30 p.m. 15:16 start. 15:17 And people are going to complain about the times and that, too, but I'm guessing it's all because of television. 15:21 You want to see them on TV, you got to change the times around. 15:26 Just like watching the Vikings, you know, they play it all kinds of different times, too. 15:31 So they play on Thursday, they could play on Saturdays at the end of the year, they could play at noon, they could play at 3, they could play at 7, they could play at Monday. 15:39 It's all for TV. 15:40 It's all changed in the last 15 years. 15:43 I can never find the Gopher basketball team. 15:46 They're on so many different networks, and so many different times, so many different days. 15:51 I don't know how people keep track of that. 15:53 Oh, that's right, there's a guide. 15:54 You can find the games. 15:58 But, you know, hammy people are going to bitch, you know. 16:01 4 p.m. 16:01 start on Saturday. 16:03 That's not right. 16:06 Well, I mean, you're not going to please everybody. 16:09 You know that. 16:09 I don't get into that stuff because it's just old by now. 16:13 I understand that people like what they like, but the reality is that things are not always going to stay the same. 16:19 You just kind of have to adjust with the times and make the best of it. 16:23 And hey, if you can't watch it when it's live, you can always DVR it and watch it at your leisure, too. 16:29 So whatever. 16:31 It's not that difficult. 16:33 It is not difficult at all. 16:34 So I want to get more into what's going to happen to Big Ten this weekend and how it's going to affect next weekend. 16:41 And then also a couple more questions we've seen on Twitter and the Mixler chat. 16:45 So if you got more questions, send it to us. 16:47 I know Mote is already wondering, is this overtime yet? 16:50 No, Mote, we just started the show. 16:53 It's not overtime yet. 16:54 And he's just pissed because he missed it last week. 16:55 So you got to tune in live, Mote. 16:58 Got to tune in live. 17:00 But before we get to that, let's hear from our sponsor. 17:04 vintagemnhockey.com is a proud sponsor of The GPL Podcast. 17:09 Well, what is Vintage MN Hockey? 17:11 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. 17:21 All information about any of those teams can be found on vintagemnhockey.com. 17:26 They also have great interviews with some historical Minnesota hockey figures, like John Mayessich and Lou Nani, Glen Sanmore, some of the greats of Minnesota hockey. 17:35 So make sure you check out those interviews. 17:37 It's a really great thing. 17:39 But as I always say, I think my favorite part is the store. 17:43 The store, you can buy a custom historical jersey from the Gophers or the Bulldogs or some of your favorite high school teams. 17:50 And if you do make a purchase, just use the code GPL Podcast, all one word, and you'll get 10% off your order. 17:57 So make sure you visit vintagemnhockey.com and follow them on Twitter at VintageMNHockey. 18:05 Well, like we had just been discussing, Veegs, the Big Ten is a mess. 18:12 We know that Minnesota has secured all mice, but below that, I mean, we've got teams who could still drop out. 18:19 We have teams that could still pop up. 18:21 I believe even that Wisconsin can still even get home mice if weird things happen. 18:27 So how do we, is there anything we can do but just kind of wait and see what happens? 18:32 Or what do we want to happen here? 18:36 Well, you know, I think it's going to be fine for Minnesota. 18:40 Whatever happens, we know how our state's going to get the buy. 18:43 I think what you're kind of hoping for is that, you know, the teams that are kind of at the top of the conference with them lose, putting Minnesota in the best chance to host a second round game. 18:54 I think that's what you're hoping for. 18:56 So I think you're hoping for, you know, the Notre Dame's and Michigan's to fall in their face this weekend, and, you know, drop down and push Minnesota up a little bit. 19:06 Well, the interesting thing is, you know, Wisconsin is hosting Michigan. 19:12 So that's, but Wisconsin could get, you know, right back up there in points. 19:16 They can't catch Minnesota. 19:17 Penn State is going to Notre Dame. 19:20 The team right behind, the only problem with that is, is like you said, if Penn State does take out Notre Dame and Wisconsin takes out Michigan, that means Penn State could jump Minnesota, and which would cause, which could possibly cause Minnesota to go to Happy Valley on a second weekend, couldn't it? 19:40 It couldn't. 19:41 I think that's one of the scenarios you want to avoid. 19:44 Yeah. 19:44 You know, Tyler, he jumped right to it. 19:46 He's like, I do not want to go there, basically. 19:48 So I think if you're a Minnesota fan, that's now where you want to go, especially for a one game series where anything can happen. 19:55 I mean, in all likelihood, I mean, if you want to avoid Penn State, you're in the future. 20:05 You're cheering for Notre Dame this weekend. 20:07 Yeah, maybe, but, oh, Hammy, you don't want to avoid, apparently. 20:11 Well, no, I just, I don't like hearing that. 20:13 You know what I mean? 20:14 It's like, if you are a competitor, don't, why not, I mean, I'm not saying that you want the toughest road necessarily, but what I'm saying is like, take on the challenge, you know what I mean? 20:25 You should be pissed off and say to yourself, you know what, we got our butts kicked there last year. 20:30 Let's get some revenge. 20:32 Let's get them back for it. 20:33 Let's, you know, I just, I don't know. 20:35 I just don't like hearing that kind of talk out of my guys on my team. 20:39 Like we want to avoid a team or whatever. 20:41 It's like, if you're a real competitor to me, you don't shy away from those kinds of challenges. 20:45 I'm not saying, yeah, you want, like I said, you don't want the necessarily toughest road, but if it happens, it happens. 20:51 You don't want to like shy away from it and talk as if, you know, ahead of time, like, oh, well, I don't want to be going there because, oh, my God, we're just gonna get our asses hand to us if we go there. 21:01 I mean, that's the mentality that you're kind of hearing. 21:03 I just don't want to go there. 21:04 It's like, screw that, dude. 21:06 If you're a competitor and, you know, let's battle it out. 21:10 But I don't know, maybe that's part of the problem that we've been seeing here in the last couple of years is we just don't have that mentality. 21:17 What do you think of that, Veegs? 21:18 I think he's got a pretty good point. 21:20 I mean, you're already showing fear. 21:23 You're already showing fear of going to a place. 21:27 I just think the players have already put it out of their mind that that's even a possibility. 21:31 So I don't think they're thinking of it like Hammy's thinking of it. 21:34 I think they're looking at the standings and they see Penn State near the bottom and they haven't really put it together that if Penn State were to sweep, they would jump ahead and then they would potentially be an opponent on the road. 21:47 I don't think they're thinking like that. 21:48 I think if that's the matchup that comes, you won't hear them talking, oh, this is the matchup we didn't want to have happen. 21:56 They'll refocus themselves, but I think it was motivation for them to win that game on Saturday to make that a small possibility of happening. 22:07 So Jess has mentioned he heard you on the radio this Saturday. 22:11 You were on with Frank and Wally during the Saturday game there, Veegs? 22:15 Yep, I was on during the first intermission and we talked a little bit about what I've been writing about this year. 22:20 We talked about the Gopher season, how it's been under Motsgo and then how crazy the Big Ten's been this year. 22:27 I'm really surprised how poorly Wisconsin's played this season. 22:31 Nothing else has really surprised me. 22:33 I thought Ohio State might be a little more consistent, but these teams have been beating up on each other. 22:38 If it wasn't for their poor non-conference records, I think this league is better than it looks in the pairwise. 22:45 Well, we all know Minnesota would be better in pairwise if they won two really important games earlier in the season. 22:52 It's really a frustrating season when you look back at it that way. 22:56 It is, but it is what it is. 22:57 They've earned their fate. 22:58 Exactly. 23:01 Frozen 4 Champ says, can't wait till some kid blows up at the state tourney and some Gopher fans want to sign him ASAP. 23:07 I know you're a big favorite of that, Hammeh. 23:11 See, people are just trying to get under my skin and get me going. 23:16 I see how, yes, every single year, it seems like we always have some random kid who's off the radar, who blows up at the state tournament. 23:25 Pat White. 23:27 Inevitably, we hear about, are the Gophers recruiting him? 23:31 Why are the Gophers recruiting him? 23:35 It seems like every year, and I know it's sort of become a running joke on GPL for some people now. 23:40 I'm sure there'll be some person, maybe it's going to be some newbie that pops on there and starts asking that stuff, or somebody will probably just create an account to just ask that question, to get people going. 23:51 But yes, but I guess I can't say I blame people, at least they're interested and that's cool. 23:59 But yes, that shouldn't be why you would ask that question. 24:05 Over on Twitter, Skyyura wants to know, how is Don Lucia been? 24:10 His contract is almost done. 24:13 Is he planning a big expo with Vegoe? 24:16 Expose, sorry. 24:17 Expose with Vegoe. 24:19 You're going to try to get Don on the record to say something? 24:25 Maybe I'll touch in with him as his days wind down here and find out what's next for him. 24:31 He's enjoying being a grandfather with his kids. 24:34 I saw him at the Notre Dame series with his family up in the clubroom, and wearing a Notre Dame jersey, right? 24:40 No, he wasn't. 24:42 He had his Gopher gear on. 24:43 He's trying to fundraise. 24:45 But he looks happy, fit, healthy. 24:49 He's got the weight of the world off his shoulders, and life's probably a lot easier for him these days. 24:55 I'm sure it is because it is a stressful job. 25:01 And I'm guessing Mr. 25:02 Motska was just figuring that out. 25:04 I mean, he knew it was bad, but you never really know until you're in the chair. 25:11 Yeah, I think Bob might be just a little more comfortable just being out there and dealing with it. 25:17 I think Don may be underestimated how big the microscope was. 25:21 And that certainly wasn't his strength, being out and engaging with people. 25:27 And I think Bob handles it just a little bit better than Don did. 25:31 And even Bob's surprised, though, at the demands. 25:35 You just look at media days, all the requests for interviews and the national media and the TV and the radio stations. 25:43 It's quite a bit. 25:44 Definitely more than St. 25:46 Cloud State would attract, even as the number one team in the country. 25:50 And there's definitely more people there on media days than typically game days, aren't there? 25:54 Because they're out getting their stories. 25:56 That's, you know, it's kind of how things are. 25:59 I mean, I usually see a lot of people at media days that you don't see on the weekends. 26:04 Right? 26:05 And that's just the way that's just the way the local media works here, you know, because the weekends get a little bit busy with the pro sports. 26:11 So, you know, people are working ahead as much as they can. 26:14 And there is a big microscope on how things are going. 26:19 Well, there is some truth there. 26:22 So Big Ten is out of their out of their hands. 26:26 You know, whatever happens this weekend, we'll just have to wait and see. 26:29 We will have a better idea Friday night. 26:31 Obviously after the games happen, where Minnesota is going to end up, I believe there's I don't know. 26:39 I don't know if these are there any way they can still finish second. 26:42 There's some weird convoluted things, but I think I'm not even sure they could. 26:48 I'm not sure they could without either Notre Dame or Michigan getting up there. 26:55 I'm not really sure. 26:58 Yeah, I think there's a scenario like with Notre Dame gets some ties in there or something. 27:03 But I think Penn State can jump up there as well. 27:06 So it's going to be hard for them to get any higher than third, I think. 27:11 Do we know what the tiebreakers are? 27:13 Is head-to-head any part of that anymore? 27:15 Because I know I've been hearing conference wins or first or something like that. 27:20 But what is the criteria? 27:25 I'm not sure. 27:26 I think it's head-to-head if it's just two teams. 27:28 But I think when you're looking at it, it can get into a three-way tie and then it starts getting complicated. 27:34 Yeah, because there's a couple scenarios where Penn State jumps up and Penn State gets points this weekend, Notre Dame gets their two points, and there's a three-way tie with Minnesota and whatnot. 27:46 Yeah, because I think wins are a tiebreaker if you're tied in points and so on. 27:55 It's a mess. 27:55 It's complicated, yeah. 27:56 It's a mess, and we're just not going to be able to figure it all out right now. 28:04 So did the Gophers officially crap can the gold diagonal jersey? 28:10 According to Jess, did they get rid of that jersey? 28:15 We haven't seen more of it here for a while, so. 28:20 I don't even remember anymore. 28:21 I'm guessing what I know about the jerseys is that if that was the decision, they probably took off all the lettering off a jersey and put on the M. 28:32 So I don't think they have a fourth set of jerseys based on what I know. 28:36 I think they just have the three sets. 28:38 So what they would have done is they would have had the equipment, Lee, take off all the stitching and redo it. 28:44 So they wouldn't buy another set. 28:46 Yeah, that's because that would be too expensive. 28:48 They can't afford that. 28:51 Well, they can, but it wouldn't be good for the books. 28:56 Well, yeah, we know they can afford a lot of things, but they're not going to because of leadership above them. 29:02 And that's a whole other fiasco. 29:04 But this weekend, Jesse, I will try to find out officially for you this weekend, if that's what they did. 29:12 But Hammy, this weekend, we've got a brand new team playing Minnesota coming in, Arizona State. 29:16 And usually when there's a new team that move up in club within the last few years, you get to kick some ass. 29:22 But this Arizona State team is not to be taken lightly, and right now are pretty much in the tournament if they don't really screw the pooch towards the end of the season here. 29:34 Well, yeah, and as far as predictions go, I asked for feedback from the lady, and she's like, Arizona State has a team? 29:46 So apparently she's still in the old school mindset, but she didn't even realize they had a team. 29:51 So I've got nothing this week, but yeah, I mean, it's certainly you gotta give them props for being able to kind of get in this position after only being around a short period of time. 30:04 So, obviously it just kind of goes to show if you get your ducks in a row and you kind of get things where you need them to be, you can be successful in it. 30:14 I mean, there's no excuse when you see a team like Arizona State in the hunt for things is that there's no excuse for the Gophers not to be in that kind of a, as good if not better position year in, year out. 30:26 I mean, we know it's not gonna be perfect all the time, but there's just really no excuse when you have the facilities and the school to recruit great players to not be in that same kind of a position. 30:38 And it's a little embarrassing in that sense. 30:40 So maybe that the Gophers will take some inspiration from that and do well this weekend. 30:48 Well, one thing that Arizona State has done, Vegues, is they've attracted quite a few good players. 30:55 But when it comes to their program, they still have a lot of things to do. 30:59 I mean, they're still playing in an arena that's smaller than the Bloomington Ice Garden right now. 31:06 Yeah, I mean, for them to be a real program and get accepted into a big conference like the Big Ten or even Hockey East, as I saw somebody theorizing, they're gonna have to get a real building that they can establish a season ticket base and establish a program. 31:23 People are gonna be attracted to playing hockey in a warm weather spot. 31:27 The Arizona State campus is a nice place for a young hockey player to go spend a couple of years on their craft. 31:34 But I do think they penstated themselves into their pairwise position. 31:40 You look at their schedule. 31:43 They haven't played a particularly difficult schedule. 31:46 They have played Ohio State, but they got swept. 31:49 They played Penn State, they split. 31:52 They played Harvard, they split with that one. 31:56 Other than that, they haven't played a whole lot of great competition. 32:00 So I think they've done what they've needed to do to put themselves in a good pairwise spot, but how good they are, it's really hard to know, I think. 32:10 Well, we'll find out this weekend, and we'll find out which Gopher team shows up to play them. 32:14 But I believe it's coming close to 30 years since the last non-conference affiliated team has made the tournament leagues. 32:25 I think it was Alaska Anchorage way back in 91 or somewhere around there. 32:31 And then I think college hockey was just a little bit different than two. 32:34 It definitely wasn't this. 32:36 The depth of the player pool, we talked about this with Bob Motsgo today, is just so deep. 32:42 Never have the junior leagues been so successful and produced so many college hockey ready players. 32:47 There's probably more hockey players in the country right now than there are Division I scholarships. 32:53 So I just think it's made it easier for a program like Arizona State to become relevant really quickly. 33:00 You look at their roster, there's a lot of 94, 95 birthdays on that team. 33:05 So that's 23, 24, 25 year olds playing college hockey. 33:10 And they're a big team that's physical and aggressive and likes to forecheck. 33:15 That's been a bad recipe for Minnesota this season to play a team like that. 33:21 But it's made Arizona State successful. 33:23 It's a team you can't take a night off against because they're going to be in your face. 33:28 Well, that's comforting. 33:33 I mean, I mean, that's why Bob Motsgold's changed the structure of this team is to buy his defense been a little bit more time to use their skill. 33:41 You know, when they go back and they're panicking, it's not a recipe for success. 33:45 But if they get a little bit of time and space to make the right reads, you know, this team can be more successful, especially if they use their ground game and buy some recovery time in the fun zone. 33:56 By the way, Frozen 4 Champs did post a long description of the tiebreakers, and it was too long for me to read. 34:03 Sorry. 34:06 But basically, you know, East Center is saying, you know, Ohio State's locked into one, Minnesota is pretty much locked into a three or four seed, Michigan two to six, Notre Dame two to five, Penn State two to six, Wisconsin five to seven, Michigan State six to seven. 34:22 So basically, it's still a mess. 34:27 That's just how it is. 34:28 When you can see a team like Penn State or Michigan, they can be either second or sixth after this coming weekend. 34:35 That pretty much tells you that it's just a jumbled mess. 34:42 So I don't really know what else to say about that. 34:46 Mote's already says, we're doomed this weekend, Hammeh. 34:52 Doomed in what way? 34:54 He's just saying, we're doomed. 34:55 Well, I think when I brought up the point that Arizona State's a big heavy team that likes to forecheck, I think that put the dauber down on Mote. 35:05 Definitely. 35:05 Just wants to know, will Arizona State have a conference home game anytime soon? 35:11 I'm not sure what he means by that. 35:12 Or maybe he means, when will Minnesota go down there and will they, will they, no, will they move to Hockey East? 35:18 Will they move to WCHA? 35:20 Will they move to NCHC? 35:22 And I think it all depends on when they get their building figured out. 35:26 Once that's finalized, they become a much more attractive piece of a conference. 35:32 Yeah, I would agree with that. 35:34 Do we know what Minnesota going down there? 35:38 I don't know for sure yet. 35:40 I haven't gotten my Freedom of Information Act request fulfilled yet. 35:45 But we should find out soon. 35:48 I heard Bob Motschkow say that Arizona State has no problem scheduling home and homes right now with other teams. 35:57 I wonder why. 36:00 The thing is, Minnesota still travels well. 36:03 So with a tiny arena, that might be a tough ticket to get, Veegs. 36:10 Yeah, it's a really small place. 36:12 You know, it's it'd be like going to the super rink almost for a game and trying to get in there. 36:17 You know, that's what it's like. 36:19 And they've they've kind of got a press box that's kind of pieced together right over the benches. 36:24 Jess Myers went there for a game when he happened to be in the area and he's like, you can hear everything going on on the bench from the press box. 36:31 So it'd be an intriguing place to go cover a game. 36:35 And just don't just don't repeat what's said in the in the bench on a podcast like I did. 36:45 But yeah, there's that. 36:50 So what happens this weekend then, guys? 36:52 I mean, you got Arizona State coming to town. 36:53 There may be an inflated record because of who they played. 36:57 But you know, Hammy, Minnesota's got to be concerned because this is a similar team to how Penn State is. 37:04 They just go after you. 37:08 Well, I mean, I'm not going to claim to be any kind of expert on that because it's not like I see a hell of a lot of Arizona State games. 37:15 But you know, I do think that it's kind of a series where the Gophers should be able to rise to the occasion. 37:22 I mean, it is a little different when you play, you know, in a very large rink like that and for them to come up and have to kind of go through all that. 37:33 And of course, the weather changes and all that kind of good stuff. 37:37 It's not exactly a pleasure trip for an Arizona team to come to Minnesota in February or March, I guess, it will be at that time. 37:46 But I think, God, I don't even ever want to, I don't ever want to say sweep with this team. 37:55 You know, I guess I'll go with a win and a tie. 37:58 I think the Gophers will come up on top. 38:00 But I, you know, maybe one of those games just doesn't kind of happen quite as well as the other game does. 38:07 All right, Veegs, don't let me down here. 38:08 This team is a brand new team. 38:10 I don't care where the ring Gophers got to sweep, man. 38:14 I think we get a sweep and I think Shearhorn gets a shutout this weekend to tie Wilcox for the school record. 38:22 Maybe Shearhorn should go both nights. 38:26 Don't think we'll see that happen. 38:28 I think he wants to keep both goalies in the rotation here for this weekend. 38:36 Moscow did say he went back to Matt because he played pretty well against Notre Dame and just had a lot of confidence in him and that paid off on Saturday. 38:44 But I think we see both goalies get a look this weekend. 38:48 Shearhorn could be a big night for him on senior night. 38:52 I think he'll play on Saturday. 38:54 So hopefully that motivates the team to play well in front of them. 38:58 A sweep and a shutout Saturday. 38:59 I like the boldness there, Vegs. 39:02 Thanks. 39:03 I like it. 39:07 Especially Arizona, I don't think they have a ton to play for here. 39:13 There are chances of them to get swept and get knocked out of the tournament. 39:17 They're pretty well locked in too. 39:20 They didn't play last weekend and they've got a three-week break coming up after the series. 39:26 They need a conference badly. 39:29 It helps at the end of the year, that's for sure. 39:34 Yeah. 39:38 They need to get that building built. 39:41 They really do. 39:43 Then I think they could get into a conference. 39:45 But until then, it's going to be a tough road to hole. 39:49 Even though if you get three weeks off, even up here in the tournament, that's not ideal, Veeegs. 39:57 No. 39:57 I think that's a tough break for any team to deal with. 40:01 Then they'll be going into an atmosphere where they're going to be in a big game against probably a well-known program after perform in a one-game shot. 40:10 You can't ease yourself into that weekend with the first period where you're not sharp. 40:17 Then the Pac-12 has got issues with their TV network right now. 40:20 They're trying to figure out how to keep that together, and it's not like the Big Ten where they're getting a $40 million check every year. 40:27 So, there's a lot of issues at stake there in Arizona State. 40:31 Will Mariucci be a ghost town this weekend, Jess asks? 40:36 I'm guessing. 40:38 I don't think it's going to be a packed house. 40:40 I know fans can get seats for $10 apiece, but there's a lot of suction games going on this weekend, and it's just not the hot ticket in town right now. 40:51 And I believe selling the Big Ten games the following weekend are going to be even more difficult. 40:59 They were not part of the season ticket package. 41:02 It goes up against the state hockey tournament. 41:07 It could be a tough sell, even though it's home games, the following weekend, Veegs. 41:12 Well, you just have to hope they play someone like Wisconsin then, and that creates some sort of added atmosphere where you might get some fans traveling in the Twin Cities for Madison or people who are living here who are Madison grads. 41:26 There seem to be quite a few of those who didn't want to live in Wisconsin after they graduated, but they like to follow their hockey team. 41:32 Sort of like the North Dakota. 41:33 I think that's the best case scenario because it's revenue shared by the Big Ten and the ticket share as well. 41:42 Good news, Greenway, Beats, Hermantown, Goodbye. 41:48 I know. 41:49 Greenway hasn't been down here in eight, well, I guess they could have been here for a tournament. 41:54 I don't remember. 41:55 I remember them in the double A tournament. 41:56 So, yeah, that's great news. 42:00 Yeah. 42:00 He said it was just last time, 2001. 42:03 Really? 42:04 For her, Greenway. 42:06 So it has been a while. 42:06 Back in the Gino Geyer and Andy Sertich days. 42:09 There you go. 42:11 Wow. 42:13 So Vig, you're working on part three. 42:14 When are we going to see part three of your state of the Gopher Hockey program on the athletic? 42:19 I think barring Jason Zucker talking about how he didn't get traded to Calgary, we'll see it this week probably either tomorrow afternoon or Friday, depending on how the cue goes with the Athletic Minnesota. 42:36 A lot of drama with the Wild these days and the Tim Wools and the Vikings are even somehow making news these days. 42:43 There's drama all over everything in sports, politics, religion, whatever you got, there's drama right now. 42:51 What can you do? 42:52 Hammy, what are you writing this week? 42:55 Oh, I don't know, probably bills I have to pay, something like that. 43:03 All right, well, you know, that's our show for this week. 43:05 Be sure to follow Vegoe on Twitter, at eVegoe and Hammy, at Hammy Hockey. 43:10 For those of you listening live, stay tuned. 43:13 We'll have some overtime coming up for you next. 43:15 For the rest of you, we'll be back next week to recap this series against Arizona State and preview the Big Ten Tournament, whoever that may be and whoever else is playing, whoever else. 43:25 So until then, we'll see you next time on The GPL Podcast.