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 170. 0:45 Well, Veegs, it was a very successful weekend out in South Bend. 0:49 The Gophers went out there and got five out of six points. 0:53 Obviously good. 0:56 Came back in both games when they were behind. 1:00 Good. 1:01 Power play, not so good. 1:03 Special teams, not so good, but they did get a power play goal. 1:07 But in the end, it was five out of six points. 1:10 It was a big, big victory by coming away with five or six points on the road. 1:16 Yeah, it was really a result that they needed to get back into their spot where they're hoping to be at the end of the season. 1:23 Splitting with Michigan State, not ideal, especially playing the way they did in the last period of that weekend. 1:31 They just kind of gave the Spartans a chance to get back into that series and get back into the race. 1:36 If they had taken care of business, they would have had the opportunity to start to pull away, but they responded the right way. 1:44 This has been kind of the MO of the team this year is when they do screw up or have some issue in a game, they come back the next night or the next weekend and recover. 1:55 I thought they might have gotten away with one a little bit on Friday night, but on Saturday we saw probably one of their most disciplined games I've seen under Bob Motzko with the Gophers and that's the way you have to play against Notre Dame and they took care of business. 2:10 Well, let's talk about Friday night, you know, Gophers came out and got a nice two to nothing lead, Notre Dame got right back into it and then ended up taking the lead, but perseverance, Gophers get that tie and goal, can't quite, you know, it was a fun overtime, couldn't quite get that overtime victory or three on three, go to a shootout and kind of a goofy goal and the shootout gives the Gophers that extra point. 2:35 Hey, you'll take it, right? 2:36 Hi, yeah, off the pipe, off the back and in, that's, I think he called that. 2:41 Yeah, well, they do call him the goat. 2:44 I don't know if that's a self-proclaimed nickname or not, but we'll go with it and he earned it by coming through with the extra point. 2:53 I didn't think in the first period on Friday night, Minnesota played the way they've been playing when they'd play well. 2:59 They put a lot of pressure on the other team. 3:02 They got some good zone time. 3:03 They blocked some shots. 3:05 They generated some chances off the rush. 3:08 I thought it was a really good start for them on the road with Reid A. 3:11 McLaughlin getting some big goals for them. 3:14 I think we saw the emergence of that line even more at Notre Dame. 3:18 I thought they were dynamic all weekend, probably one of McLaughlin's best back to back games of his career. 3:26 When he's engaged and he is on the forecheck and he's getting in people's faces, that's when he plays his best. 3:32 And it's just something about South Bend that brings that out of McLaughlin. 3:36 He scored that late game winner last season, you know, seven seconds left and gave the Gophers a sweep in Notre Dame. 3:43 He does play well out in South Bend. 3:45 I see, you know, Jess here is saying in the Mixler chat, now I thought we were goner when we went to a shootout, but unlike previous season, Veegs, three on three and the shootout have been very successful for Minnesota. 4:00 And they were going against a team that had been, you know, really successful as well. 4:03 You know, we've got four, three on three slash shootout wins. 4:07 And Notre Dame has three, the rest of the league has pretty much, you know, one or zero. 4:11 So a big turnaround from the past, you know, well since the beginning of the Big Ten conference. 4:18 Yeah, it's hard to know exactly what's contributing to that. 4:21 If it's just raw luck, if it's talent, if it's a little bit more relaxed atmosphere, if it's all the offense that they practice and during the week in their ice times, but they look pretty confident. 4:33 I think a big part of it has to do with, you know, the speed that this team has right now, three on three, they're very dangerous. 4:39 And I think they all understand how to play three on three hockey. 4:43 I think they understand it better than the Minnesota Wild do. 4:47 They use their speed, they support the puck. 4:50 When they need to regroup, they do. 4:51 And they look really comfortable there. 4:54 You're not going to see too many shootout attempts in college hockey just because of the way that the Big Ten knows the sudden death. 4:59 But it was nice to see them come through. 5:03 It was a fun three on three, I'll say that. 5:05 Overtime was fun, but three on three was a little crazy. 5:09 I think that's what they were, you know, what the leagues, all the leagues that do that that we're kind of going for, trying to go for that craziness in overtime. 5:18 So they get the, they get two points Friday night, Saturday night. 5:22 Well, you say... 5:23 I do want to touch on the glaring mistakes that Minnesota made on Friday night. 5:28 Okay, okay. 5:28 To kind of let the Irish back into it. 5:30 Just because it's worth discussing, because I did see some people go after the captain, Tyler Nanny, on the first goal. 5:37 You don't expect your goalie to spill it right out front to the guy. 5:42 Yes, I agree that defensemen coming back, if they don't have the rebound clear to knock to the side, they need to turn around and find their guy. 5:50 He didn't on that goal. 5:52 It's unfortunate, but a lot of issues on that goal all the way around. 5:56 I think Tyler has gotten into these situations this year where his partner is completely out of position or his teammates have given up this weird chance where he's on his own. 6:06 And he's a guy who's going to make a decision. 6:08 Might not always be the right one, but he's going to try to do something. 6:12 So, a little unfortunate there. 6:14 The next one is one of those situations where Minnesota is kind of trying to block shots, but sometimes they are just not getting the job done, and they screen their goalie. 6:25 I think there were two or three Gophers screening the shot more so than Notre Dame players. 6:30 So that's a self-induced net presence. 6:33 And then the third one, they just fell asleep. 6:35 They didn't get their neutral zone trap set up. 6:40 Notre Dame beat them on a quick one and took the lead. 6:43 So when you talk about Minnesota getting away with one, coming back and tying that game up to get the, not only going to overtime and get the point, but then get it in the shootout, very fortunate for them based on the way they gave up those three goals. 6:58 But one thing I will argue is that in years past, especially the last few years, none of that would have happened. 7:04 Yes, the mistakes would have happened. 7:07 We've seen them make those mistakes for the last years. 7:10 But the resilience to say, hey, we're not out of this, and to get that goal to tie, and the extra points, those parts we haven't seen. 7:20 Yeah, I think we saw that in the second half last year with Moscow's team. 7:23 Once the team started to buy in, even falling behind didn't phase this team. 7:28 They were able to generate enough offense and get back into games that you couldn't count them out of anything, even when they did give up goals like that. 7:36 So I agree, it's very encouraging to the staff that they have that mindset. 7:40 So actually, before we get to that Saturday game, we did have three on three over time after the regular over time to get that extra point. 7:47 And like I mentioned, it was crazy. 7:50 And on a fast rush coming up the ice, Mr. 7:53 Nanny went flying through the crease and ended up losing his footing and going shoulder first into the boards. 8:01 It looked a lot worse than it may be. 8:03 He was hanging his shoulder low, didn't play Saturday. 8:07 How is he looking? 8:10 I think he's going to be able to play this weekend. 8:12 You know, Tyler Nanny has had shoulder issues, I think, throughout his entire career. 8:17 And he has a lot of these situations. 8:19 I think the previous time he hurt his shoulder this year, it was a three on three situation where he went crashing, an overtime situation, went crashing in the boards. 8:28 He knows only one speed, fast. 8:30 That's true. 8:31 And so even though they're just playing for extra points here, he's going all out. 8:35 And I think it just kind of sets him out for a little bit. 8:39 He didn't skate on Tuesday, but he skated today. 8:44 And he played a little bit with his power play unit. 8:46 I think Bob is probably going to go with Ryan Johnson and Jackson Lacombe on that unit this weekend and just kind of ease Tyler back into it and not force him to play on that power play. 8:59 But he should be available this weekend for the Gophers, which I think is important for them because I think they are going to need six defensemen this weekend who can skate. 9:08 Even though it's an upper body injury, I think Tyler is one of their best skating players and he should be an important piece back there. 9:17 Well, you notice you were mentioning how he goes all out all the time and even when it's for the extra point. 9:21 But the funny thing is, Veegs, every point's counting at this time of the season. 9:26 We're tied for first place and we wouldn't be without that extra point. 9:29 So these guys are working. 9:32 They're working hard to try to get every point they can under all the different circumstances they're in. 9:38 Yeah, if they don't have those four extra points in the extra period, they're behind Michigan right now. 9:45 They might be behind Michigan State even or Ohio State. 9:48 Yeah, because the other team gets those points. 9:50 Yeah, the other team would get those points. 9:51 So they could easily be further back. 9:55 So, now we move on to Saturday and you loved how they played that game. 10:00 One nothing for Notre Dame for most of the game. 10:04 Third period comes along and the Gophers, they played solidly defensively the entire game and they finally got their offense going. 10:11 They finally broke through with two goals in the third to get the victory. 10:16 Yeah, I thought that's one of those games where Minnesota, even though they gave up the first goal against, stuck to their game plan. 10:24 Very few turnovers during the game. 10:26 You know, I really hate turnovers at the blue line. 10:29 You couldn't count many of those against Notre Dame on Saturday. 10:31 They played a really disciplined game. 10:33 I thought they got pretty good goaltending when they needed it. 10:37 Only giving up one shot in the first period sure helps your goaltender, but he stayed engaged. 10:42 You know, sometimes I think for goalies, that can be a really tough period to get through where you only see one puck hit your pads and he stayed engaged. 10:51 He made some big saves when they needed to. 10:52 The pipe helped out as well. 10:55 That was good. 10:56 But then we saw some rush scoring chances there for the Gophers and Ben Myers capitalized on a great pass from Brandon McManus. 11:04 Then we saw the power play actually contribute. 11:06 I thought they were going to go through the weekend here and maybe, I think it was like 0 for 8 or something like that or 0 for 7. 11:15 A boatload. 11:15 It was not a good weekend for the power play. 11:19 But they did get one because I think one of the things we saw was McLaughlin and Walker switched spots a little bit on the power play. 11:27 I think that confused Notre Dame's prep and they just gave a little extra time for the shot to get off and then the rebound attempt for McLaughlin. 11:37 He got that, you could see from a certain camera angle. 11:41 He had that upper corner. 11:42 There's plenty of room there. 11:44 You know, you met from the original TV angle, it's like, how did he sneak through that? 11:47 All those guys there, but he knew exactly where he was going with that puck. 11:52 And he knew he had a little bit extra space. 11:54 He talked about it with me this week when I asked him, you know, what happens when you guys change spots? 11:59 And he's like, you get that extra half second to get your shot off. 12:03 And when that happens, the penalty kill gets into a chaotic situation and you get even more space. 12:09 And he's like, that's really important for our group to be a little unpredictable at times. 12:13 I think they do get pretty static with how they set up and if they add that layer of complexity to their power play, it should unlock a few more chances for them. 12:24 So later on, we've got a nice rush coming up the ice and our boy Meyer puts one away and gives the Gophers a two to one lead on a wonderful setup. 12:36 It was a little bit cheeky. 12:38 Sometimes we talk about not getting too cute with the play. 12:43 It's not cute when they score, so it was an important goal for them and some exciting hockey to watch. 12:48 Yeah, if he turns that puck over there, it's Vegoe all over him for turning the puck over in such a great position, but it did turn out pretty well. 12:56 Yeah. 12:56 Yeah, you just got to score on those. 12:58 Otherwise, you'll invite the criticism. 13:00 But of course, greatness courts failure, so good result for the Gophers in that one and an important weekend for them. 13:08 I thought that game Saturday showed that they can play against the style of Notre Dame. 13:13 That's something that they've proven this year during the second half. 13:17 They've looked very good against teams who play this tight defensive style. 13:23 Minnesota has shown that they have the discipline to stay out of the box for the most part. 13:28 They've shown the ability to not turn the puck over the blue lines. 13:32 I think we just need to see a little bit more scoring chances come out of them. 13:36 But I thought they played pretty well this weekend. 13:39 And the result of that is that they are tied for first place with Penn State, but they do have two games in hand with Penn State at 36 points. 13:47 Michigan is just three points behind with 33. 13:51 At one time earlier this season, Michigan was in last place. 13:55 And boy have they turned it around. 13:58 Yeah, they have been good. 13:59 I think a big key for Michigan is they have gotten the best goal-tending they have had in probably the last five years. 14:06 You look at their goals aloud, I think they are leading the conference, which is pretty surprising for Michigan. 14:12 You don't think of them as a tight defensive team, but they are not letting their opponents get on the scoreboard much this year. 14:18 And that will change their record in a real quick fashion. 14:24 And then just a few points back are Ohio State and Michigan State with 31 points, and Notre Dame with 29 points, and poor Wisconsin. 14:34 They have locked up last place. 14:37 Poor Badgers. 14:39 But they helped Minnesota last weekend. 14:41 They did. 14:42 That's good. 14:43 We need them to be good the rest of the way. 14:45 Yeah, we certainly do. 14:48 Well, let's go to some Twitter questions, because I kind of want to talk about Special Teams, and our boy, Tim Hapke. 14:54 Hey, hey. 14:55 The Gopher Power play is awful. 14:57 It all starts with their zone entry. 14:59 Could they please stop using the drop pass play and just attack the zone? 15:03 Thoughts? 15:05 I don't know if that's it. 15:08 It was just a good way to get the start of it because, well, Tim loves to send us questions. 15:13 And people love to rip on the drop pass. 15:15 It's probably one of the newer things in hockey the last 10 years, that old school people just don't like. 15:23 The key with the drop pass is that you need to do it when you can get the penalty killer on their heels. 15:30 You never want to do the drop pass when there's a gap where that player can jump on the puck and get an opportunity out of it. 15:38 So that's the number one key. 15:39 I don't think we've seen the Gophers have too many issues with that, where they turn it over when they do the drop. 15:44 And then the second key is for the player who gets the opportunity to gain the zone against flat-footed defenders to gain the zone. 15:52 And we've seen a couple players be able to do that almost at will. 15:55 Sammy Walker is pretty talented at that. 15:58 Sam O'Rant is pretty talented at that. 16:01 I feel like it makes everybody nervous when Tyler Nani takes his turn through the neutral zone because he's a risk taker. 16:08 And so he's got a lot of speed, but sometimes the puck doesn't come with him. 16:12 So I don't think the entries are the big problem with the Gophers power play. 16:16 I think it's when that top unit gets set up. 16:19 They just have too many issues being static. 16:22 That second unit, I don't know if they've gotten enough power play time this season. 16:26 I thought maybe we were going to see a change up to how they're putting the personnel out there. 16:31 Maybe the change up is going to be they get more opportunities. 16:34 But they've been pretty impressive in the time I've seen them. 16:37 I just don't think they get enough time. 16:40 And let's put on the flip side, the penalty kill. 16:46 Penalty kill is a little bit new. 16:48 They're trying to do this kind of triangle wedge in one kill this year. 16:52 It's something that's been pretty successful in the NHL. 16:55 I just think it's pretty new for the forwards. 16:58 We have new killers to begin with, but they've got this new system in place. 17:03 The idea basically is that when you commit three players to the house, it's going to be really hard to get scene passes through. 17:12 The problem is that there's a lot of point shots that can come through on this as well. 17:16 And what we've seen is the goaltender gets screened either by his own teammates who don't block the shot or rebounds coming out and the defensemen don't pick up the players. 17:27 So I think it's a lot of issues that are contributing to it looking not so great, but it is something that works really well in the NHL. 17:34 You just need your goaltenders to play well, and you need your players to buy in. 17:38 They can't be lazy with it. 17:40 And I know it's something they work on a lot, because I think they think it's the better system in the modern game. 17:47 And in turn, I don't recall ever the Gophers not having a shorthanded goal on the season. 17:57 I think it's probably part of that new system. 18:00 They don't know when to take chances to win pucks. 18:03 And it's also a system where you kind of sit back a little bit more and defend the seam pass. 18:07 You're not as aggressive on the points. 18:10 When you're not as aggressive on the points, you're not going to get those breakaway chances. 18:16 So it's kind of a different look. 18:19 So there's just all problems all over the place with Special Teams is what you're really saying. 18:23 Well, there's a lot of adjustment. 18:25 I mean, we knew that going into this season when they basically lost their entire first power play unit except for Brandon McManus and they lost some of their top killers. 18:35 So I think it's been a big adjustment and I think Brandon McManus really capitalizes on the power play when there are those loose pucks around the crease and the first unit just has had a hard time getting pucks to the nut. 18:46 There haven't been as many chances for him to bang in. 18:49 Yeah, of course. 18:52 I'm noticing that Jess is saying, we have our regular assistant coaches behind the bench on Saturday. 18:57 I was streaming it on my phone so I couldn't see. 19:00 In fact, I was at a party so I couldn't watch it very intently, but we're both the normal assistants back there or Mr. 19:07 Bickle gets some time on the bench. 19:09 Mr. 19:09 Bickle got some time on the bench. 19:10 He's been a lot more active this year coaching. 19:14 I think he's gotten a lot more comfortable. 19:15 I think they've given him a little bit more responsibility. 19:18 You see him in practice working individual skills with guys. 19:22 You see him talking through situations about how to play. 19:27 A defenseman near forward attacking the net. 19:30 He talks a lot about spacing and angling and creating space. 19:34 I think he's a little bit more comfortable. 19:35 Whereas last year, he was basically the guy out there moving pucks around and just kind of learning how to be a coach for a Big Ten team. 19:44 Ben Gordon was out recruiting. 19:47 He's done that a lot this year when Minnesota has been on the road. 19:50 It's kind of an opportunity for him to get out and see players in the USHL, the NHL and kind of firm up guys who are committed and figure out, you know, are there some late bloomers that they want to add? 20:03 I mean, I have noticed that Mr. 20:06 Bickel has been, at least on the bench, you know, usually helping the forwards since, you know, Gordon's usually gone. 20:14 Where is he working during practice? 20:17 Is he working with the forwards or is he working more with the defensemen? 20:20 He's working a lot with the forwards and how to play against defensemen. 20:23 Okay. 20:24 He knows what defensemen are trying to do to shut down forwards. 20:28 And so I think a lot of times when coaches get started in the business, putting them on the other side is a good place to put them because they have to stretch themselves to learn how to coach the other position. 20:40 And if you want to go far in hockey as a coach, you got to learn to coach both sides. 20:44 And so he's working a lot with the forwards, I think. 20:47 And he brings a young player to the staff who can help get the messages through. 20:53 Hitting up more Twitter questions. 20:55 And remember, if you're listening later on and you have a question for us on the podcast, you can just use the hashtag GPL Podcast at any time. 21:04 And either VEGES or IOC, we'll try to get it on the next show. 21:07 A lot of times we ask for it the day of, but during the week, if something pops in your mind, just tweet it out and we'll try to get to it. 21:15 I got Cameron Myers asking, he was wondering, have you heard anything about the Gopher Commit? 21:19 Chaz, I don't know how to pronounce his last name. 21:23 Lucius? 21:24 Lucius, is that how it is? 21:25 I wasn't sure. 21:27 Will he be here next year? 21:29 I would think it'd be very unlikely for him to come to the U next year. 21:33 I know he's getting a look at some of the U18 development team games here down the stretch. 21:40 I think he's playing tomorrow night for them. 21:44 He's been an outstanding player for them at the 17 level. 21:49 One of the best goal scorers the development team's seen. 21:52 And he can really fire the puck. 21:54 So I think he's going to be one of those players who'll be a high draft pick when he's eligible. 21:59 And he'll probably come in as a young player. 22:03 Okay. 22:03 Hockey fan had a few questions, a couple of comments, but let's go with kind of the big one that he asked. 22:09 Will Bob continue the goalie rotation? 22:11 And I'm basically thinking here, Veegs, we still don't have a clue what Bob's going to do at the beginning of each weekend. 22:19 Yeah. 22:20 It's really hard to say. 22:20 You can't tell in practice which guy he's going to go with. 22:24 Both goalies last time out against Penn State didn't really play very well. 22:29 We even saw the closer get a look in that series. 22:32 That is true. 22:33 And it was just ugly all around for the Gophers. 22:36 So it's hard to get a read. 22:38 You know, he says that he wants to give both goalies a chance. 22:43 But the way LaFontaine played last weekend, I would think he would get the start, but I've been wrong so many times when we try to pick the goalies. 22:52 Basically, just toss a coin up. 22:55 I mean, we're just not going to know. 22:57 Okay, well, we'll get into Penn State and the rest of Big Ten. 23:00 And just to bet, I know Srozafor's got a special teams thing that has pretty good status for Penn State. 23:06 So we'll get to that in a minute. 23:07 But first, let's hear from our sponsor. 23:10 There has never been a better time to buy or refinance. 23:14 So call Jerry Peters of First Class Mortgage in Maple Grove for all your mortgage needs. 23:19 Interest rates are at near all time lows and property values are on the rise. 23:24 Lower your interest rate and remove monthly PMI at the same time to save thousands of dollars. 23:30 Or, you know, you could use the equity in your home for debt consolidation or home improvements. 23:35 The spring housing market is going to be hot. 23:37 So make sure you're prepared by getting a pre-approved letter from Jerry Peters before you start shopping. 23:43 Mention you heard about him on The GPL Podcast and receive a $300 closing credit. 23:48 Some restrictions do apply. 23:51 Call Jerry at 612-940-3291 or visit firstclassmortgage.com to fill out a free application. 24:00 Jerry's NMLS number is 480200. 24:03 First class mortgages and MLS number is 322842. 24:08 This is not an offer to lock in an interest rate agreement under Minnesota law. 24:11 First class mortgage is an equal housing lender. 24:15 Okay, Vegas, we got a bunch of things going on here. 24:19 We've got a lot of interesting series this weekend in the Big Ten. 24:24 We've got this Gopher series as well going to Penn State, which has been a gosh awful place, but we also have other things going on in College Hockey. 24:33 And it was finally revealed this week that the old CCHA is coming back and it looks like finally the final death of the WCHA, at least on the men's side. 24:48 Well, what is dead may live again. 24:50 You never know. 24:50 True. 24:51 Someone can create the conference again later on. 24:54 It is a catchy name. 24:55 It has a lot of history, as does the CCHA. 24:58 But I think this was just kind of inevitable that these schools are going to move together. 25:02 I think they're going to be looking for another program to try to pull into their mix and we'll see who that could be. 25:10 A lot of people think Miami wants to be there, but we'll see. 25:14 The NCHC, I'm sure, doesn't want to go to seven, just like the Big Ten doesn't like being at seven. 25:21 It's kind of an odd number with teams going on by. 25:23 I'm sure Penn State would like to be playing next weekend. 25:26 Well, I think geography-wise, we know that Western doesn't want to go anywhere, but geography-wise, Western Miami to the CCHA, Minnesota State and Bemidji to the NCHC, I think that would really build those regional rivalries really big. 25:47 Don't think that's going to happen, but we can only hope. 25:51 Yeah, I mean, it would make sense for both Bemidji and Minnesota State to move back into a conference with more schools from Minnesota, but I think there's a lot of moving pieces that would have to happen there. 26:05 And I'm not sure the NCHC wants Minnesota State. 26:08 They've applied to get in that league a couple of times, I think, now and have been turned away. 26:14 Just still feel horrible for the Alaska schools and Huntsville. 26:20 And he's right, Alaska just barely got by. 26:27 They were saved at the end, right at the beginning of the season. 26:30 They're still playing, but it's looking like those two schools could be folding their programs pretty quickly here. 26:37 I will think it could be interesting because you get to play an extra weekend if you play the Alaska schools. 26:44 If we might just see them play a bunch of the big name schools who want to get the extra games because you don't get a lot of exhibition time in college hockey and it would be advantageous to play those schools in the first half of year to kind of try out your lineups a little bit, get the experience going on the road. 27:02 So I think that is the one thing I think that could keep them around until they figure something out because I know players do enjoy the road trip out there. 27:11 It's kind of a fun experience to go on the long plane ride with your teammates. 27:14 And if your school can afford it, more power to you. 27:18 Well, going to Alaska Anchorage is one thing. 27:21 Going to Alaska is a different thing. 27:24 It's much colder. 27:27 Old hockey players like the cold. 27:29 They find going to either rink. 27:32 Well, here's the problem I have, though, is that, yes, those teams will get their extra games in. 27:39 We already have one independent in Arizona State. 27:41 If you add three more teams as independents out there, they're going to have a very difficult time finding games come January, February. 27:53 Yeah, and I think that will be a problem. 27:54 Occasionally, you've got the Big Ten, which works out well, because every weekend a team's got a weekend off. 27:59 And you see Wisconsin's going to be playing in Arizona State. 28:03 I mean, you could sneak them in just like Minnesota did last year. 28:06 But when you have three more teams now, you need to try to sneak in. 28:10 All these teams are not going to be able to play them at this time of year. 28:15 Yeah, it could be tricky. 28:16 But, you know, Atlantic Hockey's got an odd number. 28:19 Hockey East has an odd number. 28:21 WCHA will now have an odd number. 28:24 So there are going to be these teams that are working for... 28:27 That's right. 28:28 CCHA. 28:29 They are going to be looking for games. 28:31 So I think it could work out schedule wise where, you know, maybe the Big Ten could actually come to an agreement with these schools to fill their bi-week problem in the second half of the year. 28:41 You know, that would be something that the Big Ten would have the pocketbooks to do. 28:46 Jess thinks all the Colorado schools should get together with Fairbanks and Anchorage and Arizona State. 28:52 Bring out the Great West Conference again. 28:55 It would be great. 28:56 I don't see Denver ever doing that. 28:57 But maybe you could sneak Colorado College and Air Force out. 29:01 You might, but Colorado College has that new rink that they've spent all that money on, and they're hoping that they can turn things around. 29:08 Boy was I wrong about the Tigers this year. 29:10 I thought they would be much better than they've been, but their defense has still shown it's got a ways to go. 29:16 They're having a hard time keeping the puck out of their own net. 29:20 Trouble indeed. 29:21 Yeah, we thought they'd be better, but, you know, we also thought Minnesota would be better at the beginning of the season, so. 29:29 Well, I think we already know how much time it was going to take this year's team to come together. 29:35 I mean, boy, in that Penn State game, early in the season, they got taken to the woodshed. 29:43 To say the least, well, we're going to get to the big series of Penn State, but let's just touch a little bit on, you know, what the rest of these teams chasing Minnesota has. 29:53 You know, Minnesota's got Penn State and Michigan this weekend, but you know, Michigan's got a key series with Notre Dame, and you know, and if Notre Dame can get a winner here, they're right back into it as well. 30:05 So it's just, it could be an interesting weekend for Michigan and Notre Dame. 30:12 Yeah, it sure can. 30:13 You know, Michigan's been able to keep the puck out of their net, but they still do trade chances with teams. 30:18 That's just going to be the style that they play, so it could feed into a situation where they're playing Notre Dame, and they could touch the stove too many times and fall behind. 30:28 Because as we saw, it can be tough to crack them if they're disciplined. 30:31 Minnesota got lucky with some turnovers created and a power play chance, but that's not typical Notre Dame hockey, and Jeff Jackson is too good of a coach to let that happen two weekends in a row. 30:44 Yeah, so that could be interesting. 30:46 A split there would help everybody. 30:48 It would just keep the jumbled mess a jumbled mess. 30:51 We got Michigan State playing Ohio State this weekend, two teams tied with one another. 30:58 We might not see anything solved there either. 31:01 Yeah, I mean, these matchups are all going to be tough. 31:04 I think, you know, you can't count anybody out in the Big Ten, the way things are going. 31:08 You know, it's interesting to look at the Big Ten in hockey and how parity has just hit those leagues. 31:16 You know, you win two games, you could go from sixth to first. 31:20 In hockey, you could go from ninth to first. 31:23 Whereas in the NCHC, you have these two teams in Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota who are basically walking away with the league. 31:30 And so I think with the programs the Big Ten has right now, any of these teams can win. 31:36 I think the teams from the bottom have kept their players around for three, four years. 31:41 They have these veteran teams. 31:43 And now you have some of these younger teams who have developed their programs over the season where they're just as competitive. 31:49 And maybe they have a little more talent even. 31:52 Oh, I did want to get to another tweet from earlier today. 31:55 He didn't get the hashtag on it, but Gopher Martin was asking, what is the simple explanation on why the team has been much better in 2020 versus 2018 and 2019, I should say. 32:09 Talent alone or something else? 32:11 And he said he's going to listen to us in the morning. 32:13 So let's try to, is it the talent thing, or is it just kind of Coach Mosco's, the way he wants to do things coming together? 32:23 I think it's just they're coming through in a few more key moments than they did last year. 32:28 But at the same point, last year by the end of the season, this team was really rolling. 32:33 Mosco had got things figured out by the end of the year. 32:36 They had just dug themselves too big of a hole with the losses they had to Ferris State, the loss to St. 32:41 Lawrence, not doing well against the NCHC teams they're playing. 32:46 So they just kind of dug themselves a bigger hole. 32:49 They've done a much better job this year of taking care of business in the Big Ten. 32:54 And I think that's what's keeping them around. 32:57 So I don't think there's too big of a difference between the two years. 33:01 Is it, you know, if that penalty on Tyler Sheehy doesn't get called at Notre Dame last year, I have a good feeling that that team could have won another game and gotten into the tournament. 33:13 Could have, should have, would have. 33:15 Got to win the games when you got the chances. 33:17 That's true. 33:19 We don't know if Minnesota would even have won that game, but we all know that was a pretty BS call. 33:24 So got to move on, move forward. 33:26 And obviously the boys did well this weekend. 33:28 Hopefully they continue to do that. 33:30 But Veegs, they're heading to Happy Valley, which has basically been a house of horrors for them the past few seasons. 33:38 I'm not sure. 33:39 I don't think they've won since maybe that wonderful weekend when Clues got the tying goal in the under the last minute and then Pitlicks scored an overtime to win, it's been rough. 33:54 It has been a rough place for them to play. 33:56 And I think it's partially the style that Penn State plays. 34:00 They are so aggressive on your defensemen. 34:02 If they're not sharp, you are chasing the puck a lot. 34:07 If you're not good on the faceoff circle, you're going to be chasing the puck a lot. 34:10 And I think one thing that Penn State does is they have such a high volume chance team that if you are nervous about playing them, you are going to have your goaltender tested and go for goaltending is cracked against Penn State. 34:26 And I think right now, this team is playing pretty solidly, but it's going to be a different experience this weekend in Happy Valley. 34:35 It's a loud crowd. 34:37 They're into it. 34:38 Penn State obviously built their D1 hockey program the right way. 34:42 It's full for most games, and it's going to be a big challenge for those freshmen defensemen that we've put a lot of laurels on this season. 34:52 Do Ryan Johnson, Jackson Combe, and Matt Stoddaker keep it going this weekend? 34:57 That's one of the big questions for me. 34:59 And some of this has got to be psychological, though. 35:02 Isn't it, Veegs? 35:02 I mean, they came into Mariucci, kicked our butt the first night, second night. 35:07 Gophers get out to a 3-1 lead, something like that, end up getting their butts kicked in that one as well. 35:13 It could be a thing where, you know what, Penn State gets that first goal, that second goal. 35:19 It's just in their head. 35:21 So there's a lot to overcome besides the play on the ice. 35:25 Yeah, Ryan Zoolstorf admitted that he was talking to Brandon McManus earlier this week, and Brandon basically said, I've never won there. 35:35 You try to treat each game like a new one as a player. 35:40 When that's in your head going into the week, you need to really have a good start so it doesn't creep into your mind on the bench. 35:47 It's been a tough spot for them, and they've had some bad losses there, 7-2, 6-2, having leads and blowing them 6-5. 36:00 It's been tough. 36:02 When things are going poorly there, they can really steamroll on you. 36:11 What else can we say though? 36:13 I mean, I think it is more of a psychological thing this weekend. 36:16 Well, I do think Penn State's got a pretty talented offensive team. 36:21 They've got players who can hurt you and can score goals, and they're going to get their chances. 36:27 Evan Barrett's a really good player for them. 36:30 Brendan Biro is really talented. 36:33 They still have the big Pavlichev, who's a tough player to play against. 36:38 Lomogas, Foulkes, I mean, they've got players who can put the puck in the net. 36:42 Smirnoff, who's maybe not as good as he was when he first came in the league. 36:46 But those guys have been around for a long time, and they've had a lot of success against the Gophers. 36:51 I haven't seen my Penn State notes, but I'm sure when you look at how well some of these players have done against Minnesota, they're going to have double-digit points against them. 37:02 So I'm guessing the key to this weekend is just discipline. 37:06 To keep the discipline no matter what. 37:09 Because they've shown that they can come back, but they just have to play smart, don't they? 37:16 They do, and I think it's more than just discipline staying out of the box. 37:21 That's one thing that killed Minnesota last year. 37:24 Yeah, it's just positioning and making the right pass, doing the right thing. 37:29 It's just that kind of discipline, not getting out of the way that Matzko wants them to play. 37:36 Yeah, the biggest thing you have to avoid at Penn State is feeding their offense by making those turnovers at the blue lines. 37:43 I think sometimes it's really bit Minnesota in the butt when they play against a team and they want to beat them so badly that they force plays that aren't there. 37:53 And we've seen that in the in-state games, we've seen that with Penn State. 37:57 They just so badly want to make a play, they don't treat a chance as a one-off chance. 38:03 They treat it with all that history that they want to make back in one play. 38:07 It's like a poker player who's pushing his chips in just because he wants to make a point. 38:13 Not a very good way to play poker or hockey. 38:18 That is true. 38:22 You know, personally, I think Minnesota does well this weekend. 38:26 They're not going to sweep. 38:27 I don't see that. 38:27 But I could see them getting a solid split or maybe, you know, I'll just say split on the weekend. 38:35 I think a split would put them in wonderful shape to win the league title. 38:41 And I think it would just do wonderful things in, like I said, in their head and get that out of the psyche that they could beat this team and that they have turned it around. 38:50 Thoughts? 38:51 Well, if they do get a split this weekend, I think it pretty much makes it so Penn State can't win the league. 38:59 Yeah, then they would just need one point then. 39:03 And it also puts Minnesota in the position where they're most likely playing Michigan for the regular season championship. 39:11 So they control their own destiny. 39:12 So if they basically split out here and you don't see someone like Ohio State sweep out, they're in good situation for the Big Ten. 39:21 Pairwise, I think they would probably need three wins out of these last four to put themselves in that 12, 11 category. 39:30 It's a weird year because the hole that they dug in their games against North Dakota, Minnesota, Duluth to really elevate in the pairwise. 39:38 But I think getting that by in the first round of the Big Ten tournament would be huge for this program. 39:44 And actually, you think of pairwise, we know that winning is good. 39:48 You actually showed that a split is not bad either. 39:51 It looks like another weekend where we're rooting for Wisconsin again because they're playing Arizona State and Arizona State is up there again. 39:59 Yeah. 39:59 I just I don't think that really matters as much right now. 40:04 Other things happen in the pairwise. 40:05 I think it's going to be really hard for them to raise their ranking much above 10 or 11, even if things go well for them and which can't they get the auto bid anyway. 40:16 I think if this team were to drop and split their way out and crash out of the Big Ten tournament, they'd be right back to 14 or 15. 40:25 I don't think there's a lot of room there for them to get in with the pairwise if they don't start winning games. 40:31 It doesn't mean you can't win this weekend, Wisconsin. 40:34 You helped us out last weekend. 40:36 You kept us in there and now we're tied with Penn State. 40:39 So just do a neighbor another favor and just take care of Penn State. 40:44 Or Arizona State, I should say, because you never know, Veegs. 40:49 Arizona State could lose out and they're gone. 40:51 So go Wisconsin. 40:53 That's very possible. 40:55 I think if Minnesota go in three out of four, they'll be in good shape. 40:59 Getting that Big Ten game at home would be nice. 41:02 Might be good for the fans to see that game. 41:05 It would only be one game to try to sell, maybe two games to try to sell. 41:09 Since those packages are on sale right now, it could be easier for them to get a good crowd for those games. 41:15 And it looks like it's a great deal for the season ticket holders that already bought it. 41:21 Yeah, I mean, 95 bucks for some of those fans for five games. 41:25 You talk about getting to see Gopher hockey for under 20 bucks a game. 41:29 That's a pretty good deal. 41:30 And these should be fun games to see. 41:32 Bob's really got this team playing well right now. 41:35 We've seen a lot of development this year, and I think there's more to go in that standpoint. 41:41 What are you working on or planning at the Athletic right now? 41:44 Well, we're working on this Sample Ranta Cal Deitz article. 41:49 Yeah, I remember you mentioned that. 41:50 Hopefully we'll see that here soon. 41:53 All right. 41:54 You never gave us your prediction. 41:56 What do you think this weekend? 41:58 I've got the feeling we're going to see a split. 42:00 Hey, I'll take that. 42:02 Yeah, I think this team has enough talent where they're going to be able to pull off one of the games, but they also have enough looseness to their game where Penn State could get rolling. 42:11 It could be too much for the Gophers to overcome, but you never know. 42:15 You can't count this team out this year. 42:16 I think they're playing pretty good hockey right now. 42:19 It'll be exciting. 42:20 Both games on the Big Ten network this weekend. 42:23 We've got that later 730 start on Friday night because it's a double header of hockey, and then the earlier start on Saturday, which I kind of like these. 42:33 Well, it's one of the things that Penn State likes to do because they have so many fans who come in on Friday for the game, stay the night, watch Saturday, and then try to get home afterwards. 42:44 So it's something that they do because of their location. 42:47 Boy, the hockey team was home pretty soon last weekend after that early game. 42:51 I mean, they were 11 o'clock. 42:52 They were already in bed almost. 42:54 Good for the players too. 42:56 They were pretty fatigued after last week. 42:58 They've been keeping practice pretty short right now. 43:01 Caldita's weight room is under construction at the moment. 43:04 So there's a little bit less lifting stress on the players right now. 43:08 They're just trying to use rest as a weapon. 43:11 There you go. 43:11 Good luck, boys. 43:12 We're looking forward to it. 43:13 We're hoping for a big weekend out of the Gophers. 43:15 A split would be great. 43:17 And you can get four points or five or six. 43:20 Obviously, that would be icing on the top. 43:24 That's all I got this week, Veegs. 43:26 You got anything else? 43:27 Any other thoughts in your brain there? 43:29 One last thing. 43:29 I was talking to Nate Wells, Gopher State, who will be joining us soon on the podcast. 43:34 Next week, actually. 43:35 Yeah. 43:36 Keep an eye out for the Nittany Lions trying to sneak guys down the ice. 43:40 It's something that they've been having some success with this season in the Big Ten, where they slip a guy out and try to do either one of those passes where it's an icing that they beat out or just trying to sneak somebody behind the defense. 43:52 So watch out for those cherry pickers and see how the Gophers handle it. 43:56 There you go. 43:58 Well, you know, that's going to do it for this week episode of The GPL Podcast. 44:01 We will be back next week with that guest, Nate Wells and the boy who's listening right now, Drew Cove. 44:07 They'll both join us on the podcast and we'll obviously recap the Big Penn State series and hopefully preview what could be a championship weekend for the Gophers up against Michigan. 44:19 So we'll have to wait and see there. 44:22 For those of you listening live, stay tuned for a bit of overtime. 44:25 We'll find out the beer of the week from Veegs. 44:28 For the rest of you, we'll be back next week. 44:30 Thanks for listening.