0:03 This is The GPL Podcast, sponsored by Jerry Peters and First Class Mortgage. 0:08 Our expertise, your peace of mind. 0:10 Visit us at firstclassmortgage.com. 0:24 Now, here's Jupe and Vego. 0:37 Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 166. 0:45 Excuse me, I'm a little bit under the weather, and it sounds like, Veegs, you're a little bit under the weather as well. 0:50 It's just that time of year. 0:53 A lot of hockey day Minnesota activities, a lot of outdoor hockey the last couple days, so, you know, I'm at not 100% day to day. 1:01 Luckily, the weather's perking up here. 1:02 It looks like it's gonna be in 30s for the next week, which is nice, things start getting melting, and hopefully moving towards spring, not like a February week like we had last year, hopefully, so better. 1:12 But we have a guest again tonight. 1:14 We've got Paul Caponigri joining us in the Big Ten Network, former OSU Buckeye, and his weather situation's a little different, isn't it? 1:25 I guess, you know, I'm down here, guys. 1:28 How we doing? 1:30 Down in Florida for a couple days, trying to enjoy it, but it is a little chilly for down here, you know, you're saying the 30s there. 1:36 Well, 30s there is like, I don't know, like 30s in January in Minneapolis, probably like 80 down here. 1:45 So I guess, you know, being 50 down here right now is quite surprising. 1:49 You know, you're looking at palm trees and see it and having 50 degrees is an odd thing. 1:52 Oh, man, we just feel so sorry for you. 1:55 Oh, it's cold weather. 1:56 It's just ruining your vacation. 1:58 Sorry. 2:01 I'll try to cheer up for you. 2:04 Good weather back up north. 2:06 Well, it's winter. 2:07 We expect it here. 2:08 And I actually had a lot of friends visiting Florida the last couple of weeks when it was a little nicer. 2:12 So I'm so sad it's bad for you. 2:14 So that's just just too bad. 2:16 Hey, I mean, Chicago is the same way. 2:18 I'll be back there in a couple of days. 2:20 And they're expecting, you know, mid thirties and like the last year was ridiculous around this time. 2:26 So it was January's fantastic. 2:27 Yeah, last year in late January, it was 25 below zero. 2:31 So yeah, it's hard to complain. 2:34 Well, you know, you know, we took the last week off because the Gophers had, you know, an exhibition game and the previous to that, you know, the Gophers were at Michigan State and. 2:44 Boy, Veegs, I know you love the part about a split on the road, but it still concerns me, the effort that's happening on Friday nights with this team. 2:55 It's still just not great. 2:58 Win or lose, the effort is just not there yet. 3:03 Yeah, and I think that's part of it, being a young roster. 3:06 There's a lot of inexperienced players out there who just don't understand the grind that they're gonna get night in and night out. 3:12 And sometimes it's taken this team. 3:14 They had a couple periods on Friday night to figure that out. 3:17 And I think part of that is having a lack of veteran seniors who've been through it before. 3:22 Last year, you know, there are a lot of returning players who knew what to expect every night. 3:27 And this year's team, there's not quite as many of them. 3:30 And we saw that on Friday where they did not play very well for the first 40 minutes and built too big of a hole to come back out of. 3:39 Cappy, you and I were kind of messaging back and forth that night. 3:44 I think you're kind of more of the feeling that I am, that you thought that Gophers, they should be a little further along than they are right now. 3:53 Well, I think at this, you're in the second half now, right? 3:57 You got home, everyone's back. 3:59 You're not, you say you're not freshman anymore to a certain extent. 4:03 You know what to expect a little bit. 4:05 It's not perfect. 4:06 It's not a guarantee. 4:08 But you should learn a few lessons from the first half. 4:11 And in something like that, they had a great weekend coming out of the holidays. 4:16 They dominated in two teams that, you know, Bemidji is a pretty tough team and St. 4:21 Cloud just swept Duluth. 4:23 So, you know, and they beat them pretty handily, you know, both games. 4:26 And I think it's handling now it's maybe, oh, we had some success. 4:31 How do we handle it? 4:32 And they clearly didn't handle it well, having two in a row. 4:36 It's like, wow, okay, now we're on just it's just going to happen. 4:39 But maybe that's the final kind of piece to getting over the hump on that. 4:45 Some experience, okay, we had a little success, but we did not respond well to it the next Friday, we got to learn one more lesson from that. 4:53 And to even go further on that Friday night, you know, Vig, you did say, you know, that third period, they did play well, but you know, they were kind of on the power play a lot for the third period ended up did end up out shooting Michigan State that that game. 5:06 But before that, would they have eight, nine shots for the game through two periods? 5:11 It was, I think it might have been worse than that. 5:14 It was bad. 5:15 But I think we've seen that this year with this team where the defensemen are very passive and they have a hard time getting themselves involved in the game. 5:24 And I think it's a little bit because the upper classmen who play defense have struggled at times. 5:29 So maybe they're pulling themselves back and you have these freshmen who are still trying to integrate themselves in a team. 5:35 And I think when we saw them play St. 5:37 Cloud State, that was the best they had done at getting into the offense and starting the transition and playing confidently. 5:44 But it went back to square one again in the Michigan State series. 5:48 Yeah, it was ugly. 5:51 I think on that one, I can remember, I think when I messaged you, it was early in the third period and the shots I think were 18 to 7. 5:59 Yeah, it was bad. 6:02 I think that's where I can remember that one to that point. 6:05 But from then on, yes, they did play much better. 6:09 Well, they had a couple of five on threes and they were on the power play for quite a while. 6:14 So a lot of that period. 6:16 So it's a matter of bringing it for the full 60 and that's going to be a continuous message. 6:22 I'm sure that Coach Motzko is relaying to the team now. 6:26 I do think it's interesting with this team how patient Coach Motzko is being with them though. 6:33 Power play hasn't exactly lit the world on fire, but he's giving them lots of opportunities to find some cohesiveness. 6:42 The lines, sometimes they're not impressing and he changes things up on Friday, but he goes back to what's comfortable late in that game on Friday or into Saturday. 6:53 He's just giving these guys a lot of opportunity to grow and it's almost like he is treating this like a year zero. 7:01 A lot of people gave PJ Fleck a hard time about that when he took over the Gopher football job treating that first year as a year zero. 7:07 Well for Bob, he lost most of his team after the first year, so this is really like a year zero and he's just trying to let these kids have an opportunity to grow and develop. 7:19 But it does seem like he may not show up so much, but I'm guessing he is a little frustrated with those Friday performances. 7:25 I do recall listening Saturday night to the Frank and Wally and they said that Monsko actually walked back to the hotel after the game Friday night. 7:37 Just kind of clear his head and just kind of say, I need to be away from these guys just for a little bit so I don't kill them. 7:45 Well he's been that way a couple of times this year where he's like, old coach has to watch himself on Friday night or going too hard after these guys. 7:56 Well, I'll kind of, on that one, I think, you know, it's not, I think, execution is something, yes, young guys can make mistakes. 8:07 I think, though, any age of any player, effort and being hard on pucks, and that kind of stuff is something that you can do at any age, whether you're young or not. 8:18 You know, you excuse the guy that, you know, was a little too aggressive on the four checker, you know, mental stuff more. 8:25 But I think it's, you want to compete and clearly you're getting seven shots and two periods or less. 8:33 It's clearly, you know, compete because you could see it the next night when they were physically just dominating and four checking hard and they were, you know, out out muscling or, you know, taking it to Michigan State, a team that was a veteran team who knew they were going to come harder and they still didn't have an answer for it really. 8:49 So I think it's it you got to be a little frustrated with the maybe not bringing the, you know, the physical part of it day in and day out. 9:00 You can deal with the young mental mistakes. 9:02 It's at this point of being the not being physically ready. 9:06 And V, that's got to be kind of part of what Moscow's got to really ingrain into these guys. 9:11 Like if you don't work, you're going to lose. 9:13 And when you do work, you have really good success. 9:18 Yeah, and I think the coach is struggling with how hard to push this team. 9:22 He's kind of talked a couple of times about how there's a couple of ways to coach. 9:25 You can coach with a feather. 9:28 You can coach with a stick or you can coach with a two by four. 9:33 And too many times Saturday morning, he's having to coach with a two by four. 9:38 And they always seem to respond that next night. 9:41 So it's hard to take too many lessons away. 9:43 But you can't be a successful hockey team a tournament hockey team and need that kind of motivation every weekend. 9:52 So we've got a couple more weekends here to see what's going to happen with this program. 9:56 But I think, you know, he's going to give them an opportunity to grow out of it because they have responded every Saturday after a stinker Friday. 10:04 But they just can't be doing that every weekend. 10:07 And then Cappy, you look on the flip side, you look at a Michigan State team that's just been at the bottom of the league for quite a few years now. 10:14 And they have turned it around quite nicely. 10:17 They're an older team, they're more veteran, but they really started to put it together here. 10:21 And that wasn't really expected, at least by the other coaches and the other people out there. 10:29 Yeah, I mean, when you think about it, they didn't. 10:32 They added a couple freshmen who have, you know, played and they're solid contributors. 10:38 Dakota Joshua's younger brother, Jagger, has been pretty good. 10:42 But nobody's standing out like a top freshman year. 10:46 But, man, you lost your best player, you know, and Tara Hirose. 10:50 But right now, I think you didn't lose much else. 10:53 So everyone's a little older, a ton of seniors on their last year at it. 10:58 And I think I mentioned this about their goalie, John Lefkerman. 11:04 And it's happened a few times in Big Ten that I can think of, and I'm sure other places, that a senior that not comes out of nowhere, but hasn't had a great career, but then all of a sudden just turns it to a different level their senior year and is phenomenal, has become, you could say, the best goalie arguably in the league. 11:26 It's staying statistic wise. 11:27 And you get a goaltender like that with those things. 11:30 I think it just builds, you know, I could see this from experience that about a million hockey players can do. 11:34 You see a goalie that you have trust back there like that. 11:38 It just gives everybody else in the lineup just that much more confidence to play well. 11:44 You know, arguably with quarterback, the most important position, it's been fantastic for Michigan State. 11:50 And going off that, Veegs, you know, it tends to free up the other players in front. 11:55 When you've got a guy you can rely on back there like that, it just relaxes everybody. 12:01 And you just step up your game all the way around. 12:04 Yeah, and you can play a little more aggressive. 12:06 You're not so worried about taking penalties because you know, if you're on the kill, you've got your best penalty killer between the pipes. 12:12 So you can play aggressive and you can play hard. 12:15 And that just translates into being a difficult team to play against. 12:18 And credit to the Spartans for turning things around. 12:20 They were picked last by the coaches. 12:22 I don't think the expectations were very high for them, but they've got some skill in their top line and they've got enough depth where they're a tough team to play against. 12:31 Yeah, and they're just a point out of first place, folks. 12:34 Michigan State is back on the map. 12:36 So, you know, I actually like to see this, Figs, because, you know, we had the college hockey showcase for all those years. 12:43 Michigan State had some good teams in there. 12:46 They won a national title, but, I mean, they were in kind of in between. 12:51 They weren't bad. 12:52 They weren't always great, but, you know, they were always a solid team. 12:55 And then ever since the Big Ten League came, Figs, they just really haven't performed. 13:01 Well, and I think when you have a coaching transition in college hockey, it takes a couple years for them to get their players and grow their roster the way they want it. 13:10 And they've done a tremendous job turning things around. 13:15 And it's just better for the league all around. 13:16 So I'm looking forward to a resurgent Michigan State. 13:21 Well, we've got some questions for some people, and I've got some topics I'd like to get into with Cappy. 13:25 But first, let's hear from our sponsor. 13:28 There has never been a better time to buy or refinance. 13:32 So call Jerry Peters of First Class Mortgage in Maple Grove for all your mortgage needs. 13:37 Interest rates are at a near all time lows and property values are on the rise. 13:42 Lower your interest rate and remove monthly PMI at the same time to save thousands of dollars. 13:48 Or you could use the equity in your home for debt consolidation or home improvements. 13:53 The spring housing market is gonna be hot, so make sure you're prepared by getting a pre-approved letter from Jerry Peters before you start shopping. 14:01 Mention you heard about him on the GPL Podcast and receive a $300 closing credit. 14:07 Some restrictions do apply. 14:09 Call Jerry at 612-940-3291 or visit firstclassmortgage.com to fill out a free application. 14:18 Jerry's NMLS number is 480200. 14:22 First Class Mortgage's NMLS number is 322842. 14:26 This is not an offer to lock in an interest rate agreement under Minnesota law. 14:30 First Class Mortgage is an equal housing lender. 14:33 All right, well, we got Tim Hapke always throwing us questions on Twitter, and he's actually got some specifically for you, Paul. 14:39 So let me throw this at you. 14:41 He goes, a couple of questions for Paul. 14:43 Number one, any Mike Hastings stories at Omaha? 14:48 Oh, God, we could do it all separate podcast. 14:53 Yeah, that was kind of loaded question. 14:55 Yeah, I mean, I, three years with him in, in Omaha, which I believe I played the most games for him under any player or close to, I'm right there. 15:07 But I'll say this, you know, tough coach, but a great coach. 15:12 She, I, I, I have a good story kind of post, Omaha, my first year out, I'm playing for the Buckeyes. 15:22 We have our playoff series in, in Omaha, playing against UNO in the first round. 15:28 And I'd had a pretty good freshman year. 15:30 And that night we ended up going to three games. 15:33 So we're playing the Sunday night game. 15:35 And so all my friends that had played on Omaha last year, all the players were there because they were off on a Sunday, they were able to come to the game. 15:42 And I had a good game, had a couple of goals. 15:44 I had a tying goal with about 30 seconds left to send it to overtime. 15:48 We ended up losing the game. 15:50 But after the game, the players weren't there because of curfew, obviously, in the USHL. 15:56 But coach Mike Hastings was down in the under the stands waiting. 16:03 And I came out and the first thing I said to him was thank you. 16:07 And he looks at me with this kind of confused look on his face. 16:10 And he's like, and I said, thank you, you made the transition to college hockey. 16:16 Not easy, but great. 16:18 I, you know, I just thanked him for preparing me for what college was going to be like in hockey. 16:24 And he just kind of was a little shocked and then smiled and we just had a good laugh and a good meeting. 16:30 But that was kind of the gist on that. 16:33 And I'll tell you one other thing is he is the funniest storyteller I have ever met in my entire life. 16:39 I would agree with that. 16:42 Not even close. 16:46 Yeah, I had the opportunity of spending an evening with him after a game when he was an assistant coach here. 16:53 And I don't think the laughs ever stopped. 16:56 It was just rolling the whole night. 16:59 My stomach was in pain. 17:02 And on top of that, I mean, he's really hitting his stride there at Minnesota State. 17:07 I mean, my goodness, that's a great team. 17:09 And he's really put it together and they still need to get that NCAA win. 17:13 But boy, are they in the going in the right direction down there. 17:17 Yeah, he's I mean, I, you know, it's been a long time, but I still can remember everything. 17:24 You know, there were a lot of times that he would drive me crazy because he was hard on me. 17:27 But you know what, that, I can't even, he made college practices seem like country club. 17:34 But in a good way that he prepared me for it. 17:37 And it was, it did nothing but great things for me. 17:41 I've kind of heard this a few times, that sometimes going from high school or, you know, club team to juniors is a tough transition because these coaches have all this time to work with players. 17:52 Is that kind of true for you when you went to the USHL, where all of a sudden there's all this ice time and expectation of almost being a pro as a young kid? 18:00 I think, yeah, oh yeah, because I mean, at the time I was 18, so I was out of high school. 18:05 So you know, our job was to get a little job on the side in the morning. 18:09 But you know, our life and our, you were a pro hockey player at a certain point because hockey was your world and that you were trying to get to the next level. 18:18 So that was, it was so big part of your life. 18:22 And then if you, I think the jump is much harder from like from midgets or, you know, I played team Illinois AAA going to junior than it was junior to college. 18:34 I think the gap is much bigger, you know, just because it just, it's every most guys in the USHL are going to college. 18:42 You know, most half of your AAA teammates aren't, you know, going juniors and college. 18:48 So, yeah, it was, and plus even as an 18 year old, this is, you know, 20 years ago, the USHL, I was 18, I was the third youngest guy in our team. 19:01 So, you know, that's changed a lot too, in terms of how many older players you have and all that kind of stuff. 19:07 So, but yeah, I, oof, USHL, getting there was by far the biggest step I took in hockey was, the hardest was AAA to USHL. 19:19 Did Hastings kind of give you an introduction, like this is what I'm expecting, like right away, or did he kind of let you warm up to him at first? 19:28 Oh, no, I just think, when we got there, I think you just put your head down and tried to blend in. 19:33 And I mean, shoot, the first couple of weeks, we weren't even on the ice yet. 19:37 And I mean, me and my roommate, my good friend, both came from Team Illinois. 19:42 His name was Kevin Spiewak. 19:43 He ended up playing at the University of North Dakota. 19:46 And I think we were living together. 19:48 And we must have went through like 20 boxes of Advil because our bodies were so sore after these workouts and these off ice training. 19:56 And it was just like a shock to your system that you were not in Kansas anymore. 20:05 That this was real and this was like a treated like a job, like you kind of said that it was tough. 20:13 But it made me a good stronger man and hockey player, that's for sure. 20:18 And Veegs, you talk about how the juniors are today compared to when Cappy, I mean, Cappy saying he's the third youngest guy in his team. 20:25 Boy, it's a lot different now. 20:27 They're a lot younger in the USHL now. 20:30 Well, I think the USHL is growing more as a developmental league, rather than kind of a post high school league. 20:37 Yep. 20:37 I think back then it was more, if you're done with high school and you weren't quite ready for college, juniors was kind of the route where kids would still go straight from high school to college. 20:47 Now, there's a lot of 16, 17-year-olds in the league. 20:51 Yeah. 20:53 And I like that. 20:56 But I also think, and we're looking at it right now, in the battle with how things are evolving in college and what teams are having success are the, you know, the Minnesota States and the Luthts that have some older players. 21:12 I think it's, you know, and I think Coach Masco is trying to find a happy medium there, but it's tough when you got these guys going into the USHL at 16 and 17. 21:21 And that might be even a little too early for them. 21:24 And then, hence, they're getting on to college, maybe a year earlier than they need to because of someone else might take them, or, you know, they might commit to somewhere else. 21:34 And I think, you know, obviously, the rule change here coming down in terms of recruiting is going to help. 21:39 But it's just, you know, it's the pressure of, hey, I got my scholarship. 21:44 I'm going to go. 21:45 And I think a lot of times it benefits to be a 19-year-old freshman sometimes. 21:52 And not everybody, obviously, there's plenty of guys at 18 that are dominant. 21:56 But I think it's going to be interesting to see how that rule change and just the evolution of it all. 22:03 It's getting very young. 22:04 And, you know, that's, I think, what is making the parity so great in college hockey. 22:11 Well, parity is definitely where college hockey is right now. 22:14 We've seen, you know, in this last decade, we've seen quite a few, you know, new schools or new NCAA champions that we have not had before. 22:24 And then, obviously, you've got somebody like Duluth that didn't win one for their entire, you know, history. 22:30 And then they've won three in the last ten years, Vig. 22:32 So the tide has definitely changed for that kind of recruiting, a little bit older. 22:40 Well, and I think that's something that the Gophers are going through right now. 22:43 We just looked at their latest commitment, Carl Fish, who's a St. 22:47 Paul Johnson kid, who's played a couple years of junior, and he'll be coming at some point here. 22:53 As Bob tries to balance out his roster, I don't think he planned to have the second youngest roster in college hockey. 22:59 He would like to have some more veteran players back there to rely on, because they can be more consistent. 23:05 You know, these young kids, you know, they have a lot of talent, but they just don't have the consistency to their game to compare to someone who's played 180 junior games. 23:15 Sure, and that's timing, too, right? 23:16 When he comes in, you're kind of dealt the classes you're dealt with. 23:20 They had a huge, you know, senior class last year. 23:24 So you're, you know, you have to bring in young players because you got to replace these guys. 23:28 So, yeah, I think it'll slowly kind of work itself out. 23:33 And I think any coach would tell you they'd love to have like six, six or seven of each class instead of having threes and nines and all that kind of stuff spread out. 23:43 But, you know, the way it is now with guys leaving early and whatnot, there's no way to perfect that art. 23:49 And I'm sure as a coach, you'd love to have more guys like Ben Myers coming in as 20 year old freshmen. 23:55 Perfect example right there. 23:56 And he looks like, you know, he stepped in and it took a few games, but he looks like, you know, a veteran guy with, you know, you know, some mature, you know, maybe not the experience at college level, but just, you know, he's played a lot of games against some older players. 24:13 And he knows what to expect a little more often. 24:16 And I just think his maturity makes sense when you see him on the ice. 24:20 He understands game situations so much more than the younger players about shift length, who he's out against, when there's a place where he needs to make a puck possession play versus where he can make a skill play. 24:33 He's much better on puck retrievals. 24:36 And those are all things that come with time. 24:39 Right. 24:39 Right. 24:40 And that, you know, and he doesn't, he's kind of creating that on his own. 24:43 And he's going to eventually be a great leader in terms of when two year, a year from now, two years from now, a guy's come in and see how he handles it. 24:53 He's going to be the junior that these, they're going to be maybe a little more of a mirror to look at. 24:59 This is, this is the guy. 25:00 This is the way we got to do it. 25:04 All right. 25:04 Well, we have another question from a Ted Schminke, who sent us one yesterday. 25:08 It was a little confusing, but I basically, the gist of it is he says he really likes how, you know, college handles hits to the head. 25:16 But he seemed to be a little concerned on how the NHL isn't quite the same. 25:23 How do you think the NHL should be handling this type of, you know, the more violent hits? 25:27 Are they doing the right thing? 25:28 Are they, should they maybe go more towards the college rule there, Veegs? 25:33 It's really hard. 25:34 There's so much ingrained in the pro game with the hard hitting, and physical play, and just the Canadian perspective, I think, on everything, and the power of who's controlling the game. 25:46 Because you'll see scouts shake their heads at what's called in the college game. 25:50 They're completely different. 25:52 I think for the amateur game, you want to protect the players as much as you can. 25:56 And I think college players do a really good job of adjusting to that. 26:00 I think it's going to be hard to translate that completely in NHL. 26:03 They've taken their player safety way more seriously the last couple years. 26:07 I think fighting is diminished in the game, which is a good thing. 26:11 You've seen less enforcers in the game because everybody needs to skate now. 26:16 And it's encouraging for the evolution of hockey. 26:20 But I just, I think there's always going to be that little bit of difference. 26:24 Well, Cappy, you know, we're, the only thing is, you know, college is really trying to get rid of this stuff. 26:28 And then we're still seeing plays that, you know, some of these kids are doing them like, what are you thinking here? 26:34 I mean, we had, you know, I don't recall his name, but the North Dakota player actually was the kid on the USA team, wasn't it? 26:40 Who basically just cross checked the kid on the back of his head in front of a goal. 26:45 He was given the boot, but it just seems like, it just seems like maybe it's not enough. 26:51 Maybe the college needs to be a little stricter. 26:54 Well, I can go back. 26:56 I don't know if you guys caught any of this, but I think you were, Jupiter, you mentioned you were watching the Wisconsin-Ohio State game that was on ESPNU, the Friday night game, and there were three hits from Wisconsin. 27:12 It could have went either way, but it happened to be Wisconsin guys on Ohio State guys. 27:16 Two of them that got reviewed, one was an ejection, and I think the third one that didn't even get reviewed was maybe the worst one was on Tanner Lazinski in the first period on a shot where he came through and a guy's shoulder came in and whipped his head back. 27:32 It was pretty blatant, but two of those aren't called. 27:38 The one on Meyer, I think it was Donovan, big guy. 27:42 Maybe not a headshot, but then I think Weisbach got the one-game suspension. 27:50 I mean, he broke a guy's neck. 27:51 I mean, that guy won't play hockey the rest of the year. 27:54 Luckily, CJ. 27:55 Regula is okay and he will play hockey again, but he's got a brace on his neck. 28:02 And I'm sure Linus Weisbach, he's got barely any penalty minutes. 28:07 But you've got to send a message, not just to him, but to everyone else. 28:14 And I don't know. 28:15 I think that's pretty important when something like that happens. 28:21 Sending a message, maybe to the whole league too. 28:24 In fact, when you see it like that and he only gets one game suspension, you're kind of like, oh, OK, well, that's not so... 28:32 I'm not going to try to do that, but if I do it by, you know, and I don't know, it's tough when you watch a bunch of plays like that in one game and see that. 28:42 So I could see college needing to be a little more consistent and maybe a little harsher. 28:50 Veegs, any more thoughts on that? 28:51 I heard you kind of himmin and hawin there. 28:53 Well, I completely agree. 28:54 I mean, that has no place in the game. 28:56 You almost want to see a coach sit his own player for doing something like that. 29:01 It should send a message to your team that that's unacceptable, especially for college hockey. 29:08 One thing I was going to ask Paul was, you played a bunch of years of minor hockey, in the ECHL and such. 29:15 That's kind of a different game entirely for physical play. 29:19 What was like that for a transition for you? 29:22 Well, I think the biggest thing that pro, I mean, in college, you're playing these two games every weekend, and it's super intense, and everybody is go, go, go. 29:32 There's a little less structure. 29:34 It's a little faster because, not so much the speed of players, but everyone's going and attacking more. 29:39 When you get in the pro level, even in the East Coast League, it's a longer grind, the schedule's tough, and you play a little more of a passive structure game. 29:51 There's a little less speed going. 29:55 You're not just going in 1,000 miles an hour on the forecheck all the time. 30:00 So I actually think there was a little less of those kind of hits because of that. 30:08 There's a little less reckless play in pro hockey, I think, day in and day out. 30:14 Now, obviously, playoffs and when the occasional regular season game thing did get ramped up. 30:20 But I think consistently in college with there being such a short schedule, you're playing 1 team every weekend 2 times and that's it. 30:27 So it is go, go, go all the time. 30:30 I think that was a big difference between the games. 30:35 Well, we'll just have to wait and see. 30:36 I mean, players, if you cost your team a penalty, it costs you a game. 30:42 Maybe there needs to be a little more internal punishment. 30:44 Like maybe the coach does need to sit the player just to kind of wake them up. 30:49 Well, I think it also costs your team discipline wise if you're getting all these penalties, you know, but they're not super bad, but they're costing you the game. 30:59 You know, you're going on the penalty kill for 5 minutes or you're getting other penalties. 31:04 You know, maybe it's not enough message just, oh, you're sitting in a box. 31:07 Maybe you got to sit one of your best players and say, hey, I got to send a message and you got to sit another game or two because we can't consistently. 31:16 I need everyone to get on my page and it's not happening if my best player is doing it and I let him slide and that could be any team. 31:23 That's just a message I think for anybody to send to their players. 31:27 It's tough to do though. 31:28 You know, I only have so many games in college hockey. 31:31 I know there's a Glenn Mason saying that, you know, whatever I do as a coach, I'm going to make sure it doesn't hurt me. 31:37 So, when you sit your best player to send a message, it's going to hurt the coach. 31:41 I know Jess in our Mixler chat suggested sitting the coach too. 31:47 I think fines for coaches for reckless conduct by their players goes a long way. 31:52 We saw in the NHL, you know, the coaches would get fined if there was something that happened at the end of a third period of five minutes ago. 32:00 I'm not opposed to seeing some sort of measure being taken against coaches if their players are reckless. 32:06 I think that's maybe a hard sell by the hockey commissioners around the country, but I think it would improve the safety of the game. 32:13 Would the North Dakota ever have coaches then? 32:18 I mean, really, I mean, they might not ever see the ice again. 32:24 Well, they probably wouldn't have any alums. 32:25 I'm kidding folks. 32:29 I think there should be a degree much like, you know, I think basketball has it with their flagrant fouls. 32:37 I think football needs it. 32:39 And I also think hockey because, I mean, some of these are really obvious. 32:42 If a guy's got his back to you, you're seeing numbers, you can't go through with your check, with a cross check or any kind of hit like that. 32:51 I mean, there's some where a guy is taking a shot or goes down and he's, he's up full, then he goes down because he's leaning in on the shot or something that happens split second where a guy's almost arm hits the guy's head because the guy fell, not fell, but went down into position to shoot. 33:10 I feel like there's got to be a little bit of a, some are pretty obvious it was intent and some are, hey, this is a fast game and it's accidental. 33:19 I think there should be some kind of way to judge that. 33:26 Kicking a guy out to giving him a five, to getting a two and a ten, something like that, I think. 33:32 But that might get people more confused. 33:35 So who the hell knows? 33:37 I think putting that on the refs is difficult. 33:40 I think that's where the commissioners step in with the additional suspensions. 33:44 If there's a player who clearly is being reckless, that's what, to me, deserves a suspension. 33:50 When it's the player who's making a split second call, at the same point, we're trying to take those hits out of college hockey, so it's on the player a little bit not to make such a violent hit to a player who is maybe going to be vulnerable. 34:04 Because the idea of a hit is to separate the player from the puck, not to send a message in college hockey. 34:09 Yeah, it's tough. 34:11 And it'll never be perfect. 34:12 And there's going to be times where a guy has no intention of doing it and does it, and he's going to get it. 34:18 But in the long run, that's going to benefit everybody. 34:24 We're just trying to make the game safe. 34:27 You see some of these players over the years, with the concussions and everything, it's not looking great. 34:34 So they're just trying to prevent it from getting that far. 34:38 And you got to start somewhere. 34:39 You got to start at the youth leagues and into the college and onto the pros eventually. 34:46 You just have to kind of build up a different attitude with how you play out there. 34:52 Yeah. 34:53 I mean, I remember when all the rules changed after the lockout in 2004 and 5, when all the hooking and holding and all the stick play was taken out. 35:06 And I'll remember this forever. 35:09 I'm in preseason, I'm playing for Bridgeport in the HL. 35:14 And we have a preseason hockey. 35:17 And this is like the first real year it's been implemented. 35:20 And I'm telling you, there were more penalties than you could imagine. 35:23 Like you didn't play. 35:24 I don't think we played five on five for 10 minutes of the game, because guys just you were playing the way you've always played. 35:31 You know, a little hook here, a little slash there. 35:34 And they just went from zero to a thousand in terms of the rules. 35:38 And it slowly over that game to the season to the next year changed the game. 35:45 I mean, and now you see it. 35:47 There's none of those are are let go. 35:49 And everybody's the game is so much faster. 35:51 I mean, you go back and watch the 2004 Stanley Cup final. 35:55 I think it was Calgary and Tampa Bay. 35:57 And you just watch a guy dump a puck in and the defenseman just peels them off into the boards and rides them. 36:04 And you're just like, wow, that's how it used to be. 36:07 And that's not that long ago. 36:09 No. 36:09 And you see where it is now. 36:10 And it's just a faster, smoother game. 36:12 And I think that's going to be, you know, has to be a slow build up with the hitting as well. 36:20 But some of them are just so obvious. 36:21 I think it's just the other smaller ones that guys need to get away from more. 36:25 I think one thing that those rule changes have also done, Veegs, is actually allowed the college players to go on to the NHL have more success. 36:34 I mean, a lot of times, typically in the past, a lot of times the college players were a little bit smaller. 36:40 And it seems like the NHL is much more friendly for the smaller player these days than it was pre 2004. 36:50 Well, I think the game has just been opened up more. 36:53 You watched some of the old highlights of Mario Lemieux coming up the ice. 36:57 And you understand why he walks with a limp still today. 37:00 Because every time he had the puck, he was getting banged around, held, whatnot. 37:06 The game is different. 37:07 I think it's better. 37:08 It's more fun to watch, to see guys have the ability to make skill plays. 37:13 And I just wish they carried that through into overtime and the playoffs as well. 37:21 Because you can say that the ref is changing the game, but they're also changing the game when they don't make the calls. 37:26 That is true. 37:27 I mean, I've had the frustration for years in college and in pros, you know. 37:32 Late in the game, you see a guy get cross-checked right out in front of that, knocked down his butt, nothing called. 37:39 It's always been a huge frustration of him. 37:41 Like, it's clear cross-check, guy got knocked down, they just kind of let it go. 37:47 And that's still some of the things they need to clean up. 37:49 But one can only hope. 37:54 Well, this weekend, we've got your alma mater coming into town here, Cappy. 37:58 Ohio State are at the top of the league right now. 38:00 They're ahead by one point on Michigan State. 38:04 But things are looking pretty good for your old Buckeyes. 38:08 Yeah, I mean, I was there Friday night, and I've seen plenty of Big Ten Hockey this year. 38:16 And I could say I was lucky maybe enough to see maybe the most exciting game we've had. 38:21 Maybe this year to date, and it was very surprising. 38:26 I don't know if you guys kind of caught up on any of that. 38:29 Well, I watched the entire game. 38:30 It was very entertaining, because they did nothing most of the game. 38:36 And then third period, they just woke up. 38:39 Yeah, I mean, I think that's what's key to this team. 38:44 And not everyone says it, but not everyone is able to do it, is have the next man up mentality and not let an injury or missing some players affect you. 39:00 You're down 3-0 in order to aim in the third period. 39:02 You're like, with 10 minutes to go still, and you're like, OK. 39:06 This is over, right? 39:07 And somehow, they find a way to tie a game. 39:12 And I think I tweeted this the next day. 39:14 I'm like, Ohio State comes back, ties this game up. 39:18 Notre Dame gets the extra point in overtime, so both teams really win here. 39:23 Because Ohio State had no business getting anything out of that game near the end, and they somehow got it. 39:29 And then, Notre Dame gets two out of three points on the road. 39:33 But the Buckeyes, they don't score a lot, but somehow find a way to score that night. 39:39 And then, with the backup goalie, again, he plays the next night and came up big for them in the third period. 39:45 He had 12 or 14 saves with a 2-1 lead in the third, and they're finding ways. 39:53 Sometimes I said this about Notre Dame in the past. 39:55 You look at their roster, sometimes you're like, man, how are they getting this done? 39:58 Or they're doing it shorthanded, or they're down, and they find a way. 40:02 And some teams just have that built inside of them with guys that have been there before, guys that are now older guys that have slowly built up over the years to learn the quote unquote way how to get things done when things are tough. 40:18 And I think that's what the Buckeyes are doing right now. 40:21 Because you look at their roster, it's pretty good, but it's not one that jumps off the page at you from top to bottom, but they're fine ways and the guys are buying in. 40:35 How is the Ming goalie looking? 40:40 Well, it's kind of up in the air, isn't it? 40:43 Yeah, he's day to day. 40:46 Tommy Napier, he's got a little bit of a sprained ankle and I guess he played the whole game. 40:52 He heard it against Wisconsin the Friday game and played with it throughout. 40:56 Didn't tell anyone until after the game and then didn't obviously play the Saturday. 41:02 And then he's questionable this weekend. 41:05 I don't know if he's skated, but the young guy played pretty well, but clearly Napier is in that. 41:13 It's definitely going to be a little more difficult task for the Gophers. 41:18 Well, let me tell you, Veegs, as we've seen in the past, the Gophers can make a backup goalie look pretty good. 41:26 Sometimes they do. 41:27 I think this year's Gopher team matches up pretty well with a team like Ohio State because they're not as high pressure as some of the teams like Penn State. 41:37 Penn State's just an awful matchup for the Gophers right now until their defensemen get a little bit more confidence and their forwards get a little stronger on pucks. 41:46 But I feel like a team like Ohio State is a better matchup for Minnesota. 41:51 I know Ohio State plays a real tight structure, especially through the neutral zone, and they they don't give up very many shots. 41:58 And I think that's a strength of them. 41:59 I think it's going to be entertaining hockey this weekend. 42:02 I just will be interested to see if Ohio State is able to suffocate Minnesota like they can with some teams. 42:10 Any word on Reedy's injury? 42:12 Have you heard anything from a media availability this week, their weeks? 42:17 I think it could be iffy for him this weekend. 42:22 It's one of those injuries where it's hard for him to get back and play full strength. 42:27 I wouldn't count on this weekend, but you never know. 42:29 He's an older player, so he'll know what to do. 42:32 If I recall, he went down on the third period of the USA exhibition game, correct? 42:37 Yeah. 42:38 They'd set their top guys on the bench for most of the third period. 42:42 Then after the development team scored, Bob wanted to throw his top guys back out there to try to get the game back, and that's when he picked up his injury. 42:50 So it's kind of one of those things where I think the coach is regretting that decision just a little bit, because you'd like to have them because they're going to be playing here the next six, seven weekends here all in a row. 43:02 What do you think? 43:03 Go ahead. 43:04 Oh, I'll tell you. 43:05 I mean, I mean, that's obviously a guy that's got ten goals. 43:08 That's that would be a big blow. 43:10 But the guy that stood out to me, especially in the previous series with Ohio State, that I would say maybe, arguably the best player on the ice for the series, definitely on Saturday was Sam Poranta. 43:23 He was... 43:28 Looks like we lost Paul there a little bit. 43:32 He's big, he's heavy, he's hard to handle. 43:35 He's like a freight train out there. 43:37 I think he's a guy that I want to see, keep building that. 43:44 And a team like against Ohio State, where he can use his physical size and his speed, I think, can be a real game changer. 43:53 And Paul's kind of got a point there, Veegs. 43:56 Sam Poranta, we need him to be strong. 44:01 If the team wants to make any noise, we don't think they're going to go very far, but if this team wants to start keeping improving and keep getting better, we need guys like Ranta and Walker to really step up and put the team on their shoulders a little bit. 44:16 Well, I think Ranta has been one of their most consistent players this year. 44:20 He worked really hard this offseason to actually lose a little bit of weight. 44:24 He was a little top heavy, and so he lost some mass in his upper body, and he actually put on a little extra fat to help his recovery from one game to the next. 44:37 And I think those body adjustments have really helped him on the ice. 44:41 He's looked strong the entire year, and the coaching staff is saying he hasn't lost a step during the season, even playing in the World Juniors. 44:51 And he's a player that they can count on to possess the puck, draw some penalties, take the puck to the net. 44:56 And especially if they're missing a guy like Scott Reedy, they need more players like that. 45:03 What about in goal, Veegs, Mo, or LaFontaine? 45:06 Oh man, I don't know what to make of this goaltending crew this season. 45:10 It's so up and down. 45:12 We talk about the inexperience of this year's team. 45:15 The goaltending has been a mystery. 45:17 Just when you think it's going, it's gone. 45:20 Just when you think it's gone, it's back. 45:23 I think each guy will probably get a game unless the guy plays lights out on Friday night. 45:27 And I put them in a hat and pull them out for who gets the first game. 45:32 And, Cappy, it's just like you said, you know, with Michigan State, you know, you got some guy back in net there that's so strong. 45:39 Maybe a team that's not as good can kind of play above their level and have a great season. 45:44 And with the inconsistency Minnesota's had, that's kind of part of the problem. 45:49 Yeah, I mean, I just offhand right now, I'm thinking you would go with Mo on Friday night after, you know, his shutout against, you know, MSU. 46:01 I didn't see, did they split on Saturday or Friday night against USA or I didn't see. 46:07 Yeah, they lost that night. 46:09 Oh, who did? 46:10 Closer got the whole night. 46:12 Oh, he did. 46:13 Oh, I think going. 46:13 Neither of them played. 46:14 Yeah, neither of them played. 46:15 Going into the night, I think coach wanted to play more than one guy, but Closer played pretty solid and deserved the opportunity. 46:25 Now, I also think the coach didn't want to tip his hand to who was the number two by playing some either. 46:32 And I don't think he knows for sure, to be honest. 46:35 I think he's trying to find the guy. 46:37 I mean, shoot, two years ago, I'm watching Notre Dame early in their first year in the Big Ten, and they haven't played a Big Ten game yet. 46:44 I actually went and saw them play. 46:46 They're playing Omaha and Sacred Heart, and it was between, it was, it was Morris and St. 46:54 Sear. 46:54 Morris was a sophomore, St. 46:56 Sear was a freshman, and they were both giving up. 46:58 I mean, Sacred Heart scored five on them. 47:00 Omaha scored six. 47:02 And you're like, who's gonna, you know, they're just gonna go back and forth. 47:04 They're two young goalies to figure it out. 47:07 Well, I remember, I did their first game against Ohio State. 47:11 They beat them three to one, and that started a 16-game winning streak, and Kale Morris has not lost in that since. 47:19 So I think they're still waiting. 47:21 They'd love to see Jared Moe or LaFontaine, whoever, just take it. 47:27 Obviously, it's not easy to do. 47:29 And, you know, so that's why I'm thinking Moe is the guy coming off of the shutout at Michigan State where he played pretty well. 47:37 He didn't have to make 48 saves, but he played pretty well. 47:40 And you could, I remember seeing his emotion when that buzzer went off winning that game. 47:46 And I'm like, this guy wants it. 47:48 You know, he's got some pretty good talent there. 47:52 So I'd like to see him get that start Friday. 47:54 This is just my opinion with the young guy and see what happens. 47:58 Because you never know when a guy can take it. 48:00 And then you always still have LaFontaine. 48:02 He's a pretty reliable guy, too. 48:05 Could end up doing it as well. 48:08 Well, there you go. 48:09 Cappy says Moe is starting. 48:11 Well, that's the thing, if I was the coach and I had a guy shut out Michigan State the night after we lose, I'm going to give him the next game and see what happens from there. 48:20 Well, based on how Bob's handled the goaltending position, that's what I would expect to see. 48:25 But he hasn't been very predictable either with how he's played the goalies. 48:29 I think LaFontaine came into the season. 48:31 He's the more veteran player. 48:33 I'm going to give him first chance at it, but I'm still going to give Moe some experience. 48:37 We got through the season here a little bit. 48:39 LaFontaine got a couple of back-to-back weekends, and then after that first game, he gives Moe a chance. 48:44 I think he starts with Moe, and if Moe plays lights out, then maybe he gets two games in a row. 48:49 But Moe didn't do very well last time he got that opportunity either, so it's hard to see. 48:54 This would be considered two in a row, right? 48:57 Even though they're two weeks apart. 48:59 It would be. 49:01 Well, also this weekend, Veegs, it's Doug Woog night on Saturday night, and it's also Military Appreciation Weekend as well. 49:09 But finally, Minnesota gets its night to celebrate the Wooger. 49:16 Yeah, it'll be nice. 49:18 All the family will be there. 49:19 It wasn't possible last time they were trying to pay tribute to the Wooger because of the funeral and things that they had going on. 49:26 But they'll have testimonials during the game to play on the video board and it should be a nice night to celebrate somebody who had so much to the Gopher Hockey program. 49:36 Cabby, did you ever get a chance to meet the Wooger? 49:38 I didn't, you know, but the name, I always remember. 49:42 I remember playing when I was in Omaha, the college games, you would hear, you know, because Minnesota was on every weekend and you'd hear his name all the time and they'd talk about the history there and that name was just Minnesota Hockey. 50:00 When you didn't know much about Minnesota Hockey as a non-growing up around there. 50:05 So that was definitely the first name you thought of when you heard about Gopher Hockey was Wooger. 50:14 And it will be fun. 50:18 You got Ohio State coming in. 50:21 You know, a lot of the fans are still going to say, oh, I don't care about playing Ohio State. 50:24 Well, yeah, you got to shut up now because Ohio State has been pretty good for a while now. 50:30 And the rest of the Big Ten is pretty darn good now too, except for maybe Wisconsin. 50:37 I'm sure that hurts all the Minnesota fans. 50:42 But the thing is, I think the Big Ten needs a healthy Wisconsin to have a healthy league. 50:48 Oh, for sure. 50:49 I mean, there's a lot of tradition there. 50:51 They've won titles, but they're kind of in the same boat that Minnesota is in, Veegs. 50:57 They're just, they're young. 50:59 They've got a lot of young talent, probably more young talent than Minnesota, but they just can't quite get it together. 51:06 I think it just proves that it's really hard to have a team of 18 and 19-year-olds compete at big time college hockey these days. 51:14 I'm a little surprised that we're not hearing any heat on Coach Granago's chair right now, but he has not done very well at Wisconsin. 51:23 He's kind of embraced trying to get as many first round type talents as he can into the program and they just have not produced. 51:31 And it's surprising. 51:32 I think a healthy Wisconsin is good for the Big Ten, but they are under expectations right now. 51:39 Not that Minnesota is any better right now, but Minnesota is in sixth place, but they do have two games in hand and a good weekend this weekend would kind of vault them up a little bit. 51:51 But I thought that both Minnesota and Wisconsin would be third or fourth, kind of around there. 51:57 I didn't think Wisconsin would be this bad, Cappy. 52:00 No, and it's just, you got to wonder, and I was never near any kind of this situation as a player, but when you come in and there's so much talk, there was so much hype about these guys. 52:17 And you watch them play and they're really good players, but I've seen it even with some of them taking frustrating penalties because things aren't, I think they came in to expect to, not things to be easy, but to go better. 52:33 And I think it's hard as an 18-year-old with such expectations on you to be this guy. 52:40 You're going to play one and done. 52:41 And that's the other thing too, is I think, I don't know and I can't speak for them, but it looks at times maybe with guys that they're not, they're worried about the long-term, where they're going to be next year, or where their pro prospects are, as opposed to enjoying your time in college and being part of that 100 percent. 53:02 Like I said, I have no inside scoop on that. 53:05 It just looks like it's, and it's got to be hard for them. 53:07 You know, you have a lot of people in your ear, you have a lot of fans, you have social media telling you this and that, and then it's not as easy as it looks when you get there. 53:17 And you know, it's a growing up, it's a good tool, it'll probably help them in the long run when they do go pro, when you have some failure a little bit. 53:27 But I just think it's a lot harder than you think, and all the build up and hype you get, it's not easy to deal with, and it's had them struggle a little bit. 53:38 The Veegs, the one thing I will say is, Wisconsin might not be doing well this year, but they do have the talent in a one game or a couple game scenario. 53:49 They could knock off the top team, or the top team they would play in the Big Ten Playoffs. 53:54 I mean, they've got the talent. 53:56 They could put it together. 53:57 And it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were to do something like that. 54:03 Yeah, they're kind of a similar boat to Minnesota, where they could get hot in a conference tournament and get through. 54:10 I would just be surprised if this Wisconsin team is there because of the way Cappy was talking about all these guys with their mindset is to be professional hockey players. 54:20 I don't think their mindset is to be NCAA champions. 54:23 And so Don LaChia always used to say he felt good going into the tournament when he had guys who were focused on that goal, not the next goal. 54:32 And with a team like Wisconsin has constructed right now, you just don't get that feeling. 54:38 You don't see that intensity and purpose in their play. 54:43 One other big aspect, and it's not one guy, but their goal-tending hasn't been great either. 54:49 And when you're not getting that, get that, like I said, it's the most important position in hockey, not even close. 54:55 And in sports right there, you're not getting that. 54:57 And you have a little doubt in that, you know, you might try to do more than you should try to do as a player. 55:03 And the perfect example of that is look at Michigan now. 55:08 They've looked like they've found their goalie too now with Strauss Mann. 55:11 And I think that's bolstered them. 55:13 They've taken 11 of their last 12 points on the road at Notre Dame and at Penn State. 55:19 And I think it correlates right back to that, that position. 55:24 You know, exactly. 55:26 I was thinking the same thing. 55:27 I was thinking the same thing. 55:28 Michigan, all of a sudden, you know, after being at the bottom of the league, all of a sudden, look out, they're putting it together and they're doing it against the good teams as well. 55:38 So it's going to be an interesting end of the season because, you know, from here on out, Veegs, there are no more weekends off. 55:44 It's solid games until the end of the season. 55:46 It's put up or shut up for the Gophers. 55:49 That's right. 55:50 And I just want to tie one more kind of tangent onto this thing about players looking ahead or young teams. 55:56 You know, we've got one team that's kind of an outlier right now, and that's Boston College. 56:02 And that's because their young player, Spencer Knight, goaltender, is playing lights out. 56:07 And I think, as we talk about, goaltending is the most important position for a lot of teams. 56:12 If it's solid, you're going to be successful. 56:14 If it's shaky, it's hard to overcome. 56:17 And I think that's the thing that's going to determine what happens here for the season for all these teams in the Big Ten. 56:24 That's why Michigan State's doing so well this season, is they've got somebody they can count on. 56:28 We'll see what can happen here with Ohio State, maybe having to go to their backup, and Minnesota still trying to find a number one. 56:36 Yeah, let's just think where goal-tending was in the Big Ten three years ago. 56:41 And I love Eric Shearhorn, and he was a really good goalie, but the same percentages, I think, you were a good solid goalie in the Big Ten if you were like 9.05. 56:53 And right now, the numbers are 9.50, 9.35, 9.33. 56:58 And goals against averages are 1.6 and 1.9. 57:02 The evolution of goal-tending in the Big Ten has changed a lot in the last couple of years. 57:08 And it's showing how important it is. 57:10 The scoring, I think there's only like four or five guys in conference play that have scoring more than a point of game, which is in five of three of the five at Inger and Penn State. 57:19 So the league has really evolved the last couple of years and become much more about defense and goal-tending. 57:28 Well, let's get your prediction on the weekend, Veegs. 57:32 Split, obviously. 57:35 What happened last the Ohio State Minnesota prediction? 57:39 You were close. 57:40 You just had the wrong, you had to switch the two. 57:42 Yeah. 57:43 Yeah. 57:45 I wasn't right either. 57:47 I wasn't right either. 57:48 Yeah. 57:49 Well, I think I see a split coming this weekend. 57:51 I think Minnesota playing at home is going to help. 57:53 The big ice should help Minnesota a little bit. 57:56 I think it's hard for a team like Ohio State to play their style on the big ice. 58:01 Makes a little bit easier for Minnesota. 58:04 Getting the matchups at home should help them. 58:07 They'll be able to figure out where they want to put their young defensemen out on the ice. 58:11 The only caveat on this is I'm interested to see how they play if they have to go without Scott Reedy because he is such an important player to their team. 58:21 Okay, Cappy, you're going to pick a split too? 58:24 Man, you know what? 58:25 I was thinking that and I was going to go maybe with one of the games in overtime. 58:31 But I actually I think when I look at it now, I actually think Minnesota is going to take four out of six. 58:42 They're going to win one and then they are going to, the Ohio State is going to win a overtime three on three or shoot out in the other day. 58:52 So I'm going a little more in depth for you there. 58:56 It's going to be a go for sweep, guys. 58:59 Okay. 59:00 I'm just going, I'm trying to send some positive vibes to this team. 59:04 Come on. 59:05 They cannot. 59:05 The power of the Wugger will motivate them on Saturday. 59:09 There you go. 59:10 Maybe Moscow is going to. 59:12 I think that's a no-brainer for Saturday, but if Friday night is anything like, you know, two weeks ago, that's where, you know, maybe. 59:18 Not happening. 59:19 Or a Buckeye win. 59:20 Not happening. 59:21 It's going to be go for sweep, man. 59:24 Part of me wonders if the coach breaks out the two by four on Friday morning. 59:28 There you go. 59:29 He's usually been breaking it out on Saturday morning. 59:32 I wonder if, you know, the exhibition game performance and all that, he breaks it out Friday morning and tries to change it up and change the tone. 59:42 Bring it on. 59:43 Bring it on. 59:43 Get out the big two by four. 59:46 Smack them around. 59:46 Let's go. 59:47 Let's go. 59:48 Come on. 59:50 No, I mean, this would definitely, you know, I think, you know, Michigan gained their confidence a couple of weeks ago and they're riding it. 59:58 I mean, Minnesota, you get a young, dangerous team. 1:00:01 You get them confident. 1:00:02 You get a hot goalie possibly. 1:00:04 And Jared Moe, you know, you start riding them. 1:00:07 I love these six point weekends. 1:00:09 I mean, things can change real fast in the standings. 1:00:12 And there's nobody running away with the Big Ten this year. 1:00:14 That's what I think is so fun. 1:00:15 That's got three teams within a point of each other pretty much. 1:00:19 You know, it's not like two years ago, Notre Dame. 1:00:21 And last year, Ohio State was pretty much ahead this year. 1:00:24 It is pretty up in the upper grabs. 1:00:27 Well, it's going to be a fun weekend either way, Veeze. 1:00:29 You know, we're kind of finally getting back in the groove here after the long winter break. 1:00:34 And then, you know, just you haven't really gotten it back together yet. 1:00:39 And plus the Wuger thing. 1:00:42 College hockey is back at Minnesota. 1:00:43 Let's go. 1:00:45 Well, they're center stage now. 1:00:47 Football season is done around here. 1:00:48 So this is their time to take an opportunity and draw some attention to themselves. 1:00:54 And it is kind of a window right now. 1:00:56 You know, the Wild are struggling. 1:00:57 Vikings are done. 1:00:58 Timberwolves are in the abyss right now. 1:01:01 They've got some time here before the twins line up. 1:01:04 That's going to bring the rain comes into play. 1:01:07 So they've got a chance here to maybe draw some attention to themselves. 1:01:10 And I think if any sport, if anybody and I, you know, you guys know is better than me, but if any sport can get hot and any team in the area that could like bring some real jam to that city is Gopher Hockey. 1:01:24 If they were to rip off five in a row or something like that, I think that would really start to make things kind of buzzing around in Minneapolis again. 1:01:33 We need that buzz, Cappy. 1:01:36 I think they do, everybody. 1:01:39 I think everybody wants that. 1:01:43 That was what it was envisioned when you had the Big Ten was mighty Minnesota right there at the top and everyone else trying to stay with them. 1:01:52 It's coming, man. 1:01:53 It's coming. 1:01:55 I hope so. 1:01:56 I love it. 1:01:57 I love it. 1:01:58 Veegs, are you working on anything? 1:01:59 I'm seeing tournament every year, you know. 1:02:01 Oh, go ahead. 1:02:02 Veegs, are you working on anything at the Athletic right now? 1:02:05 Not yet. 1:02:06 Fighting for some space. 1:02:07 There's lots of competition out there. 1:02:09 Now that the Vikings are out, we'll see. 1:02:12 And then I know you might be doing a little attendance thing for GPL coming up, correct? 1:02:17 Yep. 1:02:18 That should be out for Friday morning reading. 1:02:20 You'll get the Scandal Tense numbers from last year and some quotes from people around the program. 1:02:26 All right. 1:02:27 Remember, you can always follow Vegoe at eVegoe on Twitter. 1:02:31 And Cappy, thanks for coming on with us again. 1:02:34 Absolutely, Paul. 1:02:35 I enjoy it every time. 1:02:37 I can talk hockey for hours. 1:02:39 So anytime you want to invite me on, I'll come on and ramble all about it. 1:02:44 So you're considered one of our regular guests now. 1:02:47 So I'm happy with that. 1:02:53 Hopefully, I don't know what feature we'll see on BTN on Saturday. 1:02:59 I know they showed the nanny one a little bit. 1:03:02 And the dine-a ones. 1:03:04 I know I did a Sammy Walker one. 1:03:07 We'll see what the boys clip together for Saturday in between intermissions. 1:03:12 All right. 1:03:13 Well, not my call. 1:03:15 Well, we know it's not your call. 1:03:17 You would have had them all on already. 1:03:19 Oh, yeah. 1:03:20 If I knew how to do that stuff, I'd be all over that. 1:03:24 Well, that's going to do it for this episode of The GPL Podcast. 1:03:28 We'll be back next week to recap the Ohio State series and preview Bucky Badger. 1:03:34 For those of you listening live, stay tuned for a little bit over time. 1:03:38 For the rest of you, we'll be back next week. 1:03:42 Thanks for listening.