0:03
This is The GPL Podcast, sponsored by Jerry Peters and First Class Mortgage.
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0:24
Now, here's Joop and Vego.
0:37
Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 184.
0:44
Well, we've got Drew Cove back with us tonight for his third appearance on The GPL Podcast.
0:49
Drew, from The Zone Coverage these days, you've been growing up from the daily to doing little things for the Pioneer Press and whatnot, but now you're at Zone Coverage, and now you're at a little piece of Zone Coverage, aren't you?
1:03
Yeah, we're kinda spinning off the wild and hockey side into 10K Ranks, so I'll be sure if you can.
1:09
If you're interested in, I'm sure if you're interested in the Gophers, you're probably interested in pro hockey too, so follow at 10KRanks on Twitter and follow our stuff.
1:16
You can just go to Zone Coverage and you'll see the little wild banner, but that's kinda where all our hockey coverage lives.
1:22
Well, I must say that I'm not seeing many videos from you this year.
1:27
Yeah, I know.
1:28
I was able to go to that first series, and then it kinda, that was, I know I got the message from Deutsch that he said, yeah, we're scaling back a little bit, and totally understand.
1:39
So I was like, I'll probably feel a little bit better just being from home anyways, so.
1:44
Well, I miss those videos.
1:46
I miss sitting there either after a game with the gang at Maxwell's, giving you a hard time, or even one time, Rob Schiel and I were at, oh, White Castle one time, commenting on your video.
2:04
But it's fun videos, you have a great time, and I enjoy those videos when you do do them.
2:09
So keep doing them, kid.
2:11
Couple times I did them, because I live in Stadium Village now, so I pretty much just walked down the street all the way home, and it was pretty cold the one day I did it, so.
2:19
You were doing it when you were walking too, weren't you?
2:22
What, sorry, what'd you say?
2:23
I wish you'd walk in and kind of walk.
2:25
Yeah, I was just walking down University, and kind of the hum of the cars coming by, but my hand was pretty cold by the end of it, just holding the phone up.
2:33
Well, we've loved your coverage over the years, so it's nice to have you back on the show.
2:38
Yeah, I guess the old elephant in the room, Veegs, swept by the Fighting Irish.
2:45
Not defensively, not a terrible weekend.
2:49
Offensively, they just couldn't get anything going.
2:53
Yeah, last year, Bob really talked about this series being a rock fight, one of those series where you get the rock, you throw it over to their side, maybe they mishandle it and you get a scoring opportunity.
3:06
Otherwise, they pick up the rock, take it to their side of the red line and throw it back over.
3:11
And Minnesota made enough mistakes over the weekend where it cost them on both nights.
3:18
You know, against a team like Notre Dame, you would like to get out the leads, maybe extend the leads and not let them get back in the game.
3:27
But Minnesota, even getting out the leads on Friday, the first game of the series, they gave them up by making careless mistakes.
3:35
And this is a worry with this team, is that they get in situations where they make too many mistakes.
3:42
And let's be honest, College Hockey doesn't allow you to really make up for that all the time.
3:48
And also, Veegs, is that you get behind the Notre Dame, they're going to lock it down even more.
3:56
Yeah, I think in the second game, that was one where Minnesota just got frustrated and they let it show on the ice.
4:03
They weren't winning enough of the battles.
4:05
Their power play, they had plenty of chances, but they didn't really stick to getting good flow, getting good puck movement and getting good scoring chances.
4:14
You know, they were kind of taking whatever shot they could get or whatever drive to the net they could get.
4:21
And they were satisfied with that.
4:22
And I think as we've seen, when this power play group gets going, you know, they can create some chaos and second opportunities.
4:30
And against Notre Dame, there's no second opportunities if you're not organized.
4:35
Well, one thing I was noticing, Drew, is that besides the lack of opportunities, it seems like even the opportunities they had were not really great ones either.
4:46
Yeah, it just seemed like most of the time they were, yeah, like Veegs was saying, getting into the zone was really tough.
4:53
And when they would, they'd just kind of get a shot and it'd be saved and either St.
4:58
Cyr or Bischl would just kind of glove it and go down and then face off what happened and they'd lose it.
5:04
But it just, well, not a lot of threatening shots, a lot of threatening chances.
5:08
And they just, just getting the puck into the zone first off was just like pulling teeth itself.
5:14
It just didn't really work that well.
5:16
Well, especially game one too, Drew.
5:18
I mean, they supposedly adjusted the second night, but it was ugly.
5:25
I don't know if there was much of an adjustment the second night.
5:27
Well, supposedly, we were looking for one, but...
5:31
Maybe on the whiteboard they made an adjustment, but on the ice there wasn't one.
5:38
I just noticed that, you know, at least the second night, Vigz, it seems like they did dump the puck a little more, but then they didn't do what they're supposed to do.
5:48
They didn't pursue it.
5:49
We've seen this earlier in the season.
5:51
When they have dumped the puck, they've gone in and got the puck or caused problems for the defense.
5:55
The defense turns it over.
5:56
There was none of that, especially on Sun, the second game.
6:01
Well, I think when we've seen the Gophers be effective, they put the puck in the right spot where a four-checker can get on it.
6:08
I asked Simon Walker about this after the game, because you could see them doing different things.
6:12
They're doing some soft dumps.
6:14
They're doing some hard rims.
6:16
They're doing some cross-corner dumps.
6:18
They're putting it in hard.
6:20
And there just didn't seem to be enough organization to their four-check, where they were always late.
6:26
And I don't know if that's when you get into a situation where you're playing a team like Notre Dame and you're behind, and maybe you get fatigued or maybe you're just not totally engaged.
6:36
And that point, your game isn't sharp.
6:39
And the flow and the speed and the anticipation that we saw just was not there.
6:45
You saw some kind of robotic play at times.
6:47
I know getting back to the power play, you know how Minnesota sometimes like to drop the puck to that late trailing defenseman.
6:54
Notre Dame read that and were playing that, and the Gophers didn't adjust at all.
6:59
Now, here you have a defenseman coming up, getting into the neutral zone, and there's a Notre Dame player behind him, and he's dropping the puck anyway.
7:06
That player is like, thank you very much.
7:11
There were instances of that where it was like a two-on-one type turnover, and it kind of boggled your mind by the time the third time it came around.
7:20
You just say, wow, this is kind of a very dangerous play.
7:23
I mean, just about bound to be a short-handed goal at some point with that.
7:26
Could another thing be Veegs is that when a team stops you at the blue line, you need to jump and chase.
7:34
That can work when they got two guys on the blue line, but when they've got three and four guys, it's tougher to get through just to go get possession of the puck back in the corner or whatever.
7:45
So they just couldn't figure it out.
7:49
But you know what?
7:50
If they want to be successful this season, they're going to have to figure it out.
7:53
They're going to have to figure it out.
7:55
And it was maybe two years ago where Bob brought this up, but he noticed that teams were targeting a forward as that back line of three players.
8:04
Now, usually there's going to be 2D and a forward as that third guy.
8:07
He noticed that other teams were targeting that forward on dump ins and plays at the blue line.
8:14
And that's what a structured smart hockey team picks up on, is they identify a weak point either on the blue line or among the forwards who are back defending.
8:23
And that's where they attack.
8:25
And everybody knows that and they're on the same page.
8:28
And so when Bob comes to the media this week and he says, it's my fault, we've had these weird schedules and we're getting off our normal practice plans and we didn't prepare to play Notre Dame the way we need to play Notre Dame.
8:41
Part of me wonders, did he almost fall into a trap too of relying on the skilled team that he has and not put out the game plan that he needed to?
8:56
Well, I've got some questions on Twitter.
8:58
It's kind of pushes us in that direction.
9:00
And it looks like Steve Larson, who is actually in the chat, he's shortening, he's, should we be concerned with the play from the Gophers last weekend or is it just an off weekend?
9:12
I'll throw that at you, Drew, off weekend or not?
9:17
Because the way I see it, Wisconsin started doing the same thing, sort of exposing it and maybe, you know, Notre Dame kind of picked it up from there.
9:24
Yeah, I think just with how structurally sound Notre Dame is, I think this is one team that just the Gophers hadn't seen.
9:32
One, I guess a play style that the Gophers hadn't really seen that works so well yet.
9:38
And I think a combination of Scott Reedy being out, probably their best guy entering the zone.
9:43
And I mean, you take him away from Sample Ranta that takes a little bit of, obviously, some of the dynamic abilities of those two guys when they're together is just incredible.
9:54
And when just entering the zone and how good Scott Reedy is with possession, I think that would have helped just generate at least a few more offensive chance.
10:03
I don't know how many more if it would have been a difference maker, but he was certainly missed.
10:12
I think it's mainly a blip because it seems like they're pretty gung-ho to say we're not going to try and throw away this 10-0 start.
10:22
We're pretty diligent that it's going to be fixed here soon, especially against Arizona State, I think, which is just a definite different team than Notre Dame.
10:30
I think they'll be able to regain some confidence this weekend.
10:33
And then, Veegs, you add to the fact that the power play was powerless this weekend.
10:38
I'm noticing a comment in the YouTube chat, Tim Hapke, could they quit dropping the pass back on the power play?
10:47
They're going to get burned.
10:48
And he's not only far off.
10:50
That's kind of the new thing now all over the place.
10:52
But it seems like Notre Dame kind of jumped that a few times.
10:56
Yeah.
10:57
And if you get too robotic on your power play, predictable breakouts and entries, you know, a good team like Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame is going to pick up on that and take that away and force you to do something different.
11:08
And you know, the players just have to recognize that on the ice.
11:11
It was pretty clear, even on the TV feed, that that first F1 was just going to drift behind him and take that away.
11:19
And so when you're Ryan Johnson or if you're Jackson LeCombe or if you're Mike Castor, you just have to read that and go, okay, there's a guy behind me.
11:29
I only see three players in front of me.
11:31
That means there's someone gone.
11:33
I have to take that mental picture and put that into play and just attack.
11:38
Because if they know that that's going to happen, they're just going to let you go by, turn on the jets and go play your five on three.
11:46
If they're just going to give it to you, take advantage of it.
11:48
And that's just something that I think as players get more experienced, they'll be able to pick up on.
11:53
And even further on the power play, Drew, is that even when they did have possession in the zone, Notre Dame kept them to the outside.
12:01
They couldn't get anything.
12:02
They had a really hard time getting someone out of position.
12:05
And I did notice that on the second game, they started moving a little bit more, but Notre Dame really did stick to their guns and stay in their positions.
12:13
Yeah, I mean, they kept NetFront away.
12:16
And obviously, I think Sample ran to probably had the best shot of anybody there, just getting in tight and actually staying there and kind of making it tough for the goalie to really see at all.
12:27
And it is kind of an outlier because they were having a lot of success there.
12:33
But I just think they really kept them.
12:36
They got the sticks in the way, skates in the way.
12:39
They just kind of found just from what we've seen Notre Dame do all the time.
12:42
It's just they're really good getting plugging those lanes and just being a really structured defensive team and not really showing any signs of being able to deviate from that structure.
12:57
So, Veegs, we go to Notre Dame not too long.
13:01
Matsko felt it's on him.
13:05
What can they do different next time when they go to Compton?
13:10
Well, I think they need to stick to their game plan that the coach is implementing.
13:14
And maybe the coach needs to spend a little bit more time defining what that is to the players.
13:19
I think it can be tricky sometimes for these hockey programs to focus on systems a lot and implement those.
13:27
But this is a veteran group.
13:30
You know, Bob talked about this after the weekend.
13:31
He's like, these players played Notre Dame four times last year.
13:35
They played a three game playoff series.
13:37
They should have known what to expect.
13:40
And to me, that's Bob saying, I was disappointed that my players didn't remember their experience from last year and apply it to this weekend.
13:49
They're going to have, they're going to get reminders going into that next series with Notre Dame.
13:53
You know, Bob's not going to leave anything to chance with that.
13:56
He's going to want his team to be able to make a statement and they just have to stick to their game plan.
14:00
They can't take penalties in the offensive zone.
14:03
When you're in the offensive zone, 200 feet from your net, you cannot put your stick in another player's hands or skates.
14:10
You just can't, especially if you're, you know, just flying by a guy.
14:15
If you're coming in on an entry and you're not going to be able to get to the net, and it's maybe a 40, 60 chance to make a play, you're going to have to make the percentage play and take the 60%, which is putting the puck behind their defense.
14:27
They're going to have to pay attention to, you know, what the other team is doing during the game, because, you know, they're not just going to play the same trap.
14:35
They're not just going to play the same foreshack.
14:37
They're not going to do the same puck retrievals and breakouts.
14:40
You're going to have to go a little next level to play against them.
14:43
And Drew, Vig's brought up a really good point there.
14:46
You can't be taking offensive zone penalties, and they've taken quite a few this year.
14:52
Yes, their penalty kill has been pretty good, but it's not going to always be that way.
14:56
And it did burn them.
14:59
Yeah, it's just they got to be a little bit more disciplined, as Vig's was saying.
15:03
It's just you have all the advantage when you're there, and you just kind of, you've got to make the moves, keep your feet moving, to make sure that they, I mean, just give yourself every opportunity for that, for you to draw one against them.
15:15
And it's not, I guess, with Notre Dame for how, I guess, experienced they are and sound they usually are defensively.
15:24
It should be, they're maybe not going to make that mistake too often.
15:27
But yeah, the Gophers were on the wrong end of that last time.
15:30
And they're really going to need to improve the next time around, especially when they have so much trouble entering the zone five on five anyways.
15:40
I think it will help that they should have Scott Reedy back by then.
15:43
I think he makes a big difference in their offensive zone play.
15:48
Not having him in the lineup, I think impacted a lot of guys.
15:51
I think it impacted Sampo because when Sampo and Reedy are on the ice together, they win a lot of second chances, whether it's because Reedy makes a power play and, you know, Sampo is able to pick up the rebound or vice versa.
16:05
I think they feed off each other and they're a really tough pair to play against because they can battle at such a high level.
16:12
When we asked Brandon McManus about it, he's like, yeah, we've got some big bodies on this team that are tough to play against.
16:18
And when they're missing Reedy, I think it really impacted them.
16:22
Yeah, it's amazing between that line.
16:24
Oh, sorry.
16:25
That line too with, I guess, compared to the McManus, McLaughlin and Walker line, just how much the size disparity and how much that would, I mean, I feel like Reedy and Ranta definitely would have had so much.
16:38
I mean, even add, just add another one of the, I mean, a Ben Myers type or a Jackson Nelson.
16:44
Imagine three of those type of guys on the same line, especially when you have kind of a smaller line like that.
16:49
It just, that type of size and that, those powerful types, they're just so strong on the puck that they really needed to kind of keep possession in the offensive zone, at least at some point, sustain some pressure at five on five.
17:07
Now, Veegs, do we know that Reedy and I believe Stoddicker, are they both gonna be back?
17:12
I mean, we've been kind of hearing some strange things.
17:14
Like we're hearing the coaches think they're gonna be back, but are they medically cleared to come back yet?
17:18
I see your smile on your face there.
17:21
We don't really know for sure.
17:23
Bob was trying to think that they might be back for this previous weekend, but they weren't, obviously.
17:30
So he's hinting at them maybe being available this weekend, but it's not really clear if that's gonna happen.
17:38
And it's not a league game, but...
17:41
It's not a league game.
17:42
They could use it back in the lineup, but I think they could use it more for when they go to Ohio State.
17:46
So I would imagine if they have some caution, they might wait an extra week to play them, but they might not want Arizona State to know that.
17:55
So, you know, we're not allowed to see practices like we usually are, so we can't even tell if they're skating.
18:00
You know, in other days, we knew enough by showing up for practice that you could ask a better question.
18:06
And Bob is being awfully coy about it.
18:09
You know, it was pretty funny in the radio post game, Frank Mazzocco and Molly Shaver were, you know, giving a compliment saying, well, Bob, you never short answer us.
18:19
And then just seconds later, they were on the media availability with us and, you know, Jess goes, so any update on Scott and Matt?
18:28
Nope.
18:32
We got some games going.
18:36
Well, I see some questions that we can probably handle in the chat and as well as another, we got a Rhett Picklick question on Twitter.
18:44
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Of course, we always thank Jerry for that.
19:45
I'm going to hit up the chat here.
19:48
Our favorite GPL lawyer, Brever.
19:51
Does Moe, New Prague's finest, get another look this weekend?
19:55
What do you think, Corey?
19:56
Corey, jeez.
19:58
I see Corey Cove, you're related to him.
20:01
Yeah.
20:01
I was just thinking Cove, Cove, eh.
20:04
Yeah.
20:04
What do you think?
20:05
Does Moe get another shot this weekend?
20:06
He's been in one game so far, and he gave up quite a bit.
20:10
He gave up a lacrosse goal against the same team.
20:13
I don't know.
20:14
I think if he gets a start, the non-conference team makes sense, especially when Jack is playing so well, just to get some time.
20:32
Obviously, Bob has been keeping Jack in there, because he's been one of the best goalies in the country so far.
20:36
It depends on...
20:37
I don't know if he'd get the first game, but maybe the second game, maybe if it looks like LaFontaine struggles and just give him an extra day to get ready for the Wisconsin series.
20:46
Obviously, you get what's five or six days if you add one or two.
20:53
I just think it could be the second game if they give him a shot, but obviously no insider info there.
20:59
What do you think, Veegs?
21:01
Throw Mo in there?
21:03
I mean, I would definitely play him if I was coach of the team, because you're not sure what you're going to have the rest of the way.
21:09
I don't know what the COVID situations are, but I think you want to keep one of your goaltenders active.
21:15
He looked okay once he kind of got into the games against Arizona State last time, so give him a chance to redeem himself.
21:23
Take away his fetch the cough, Michigan the goal, if it comes up again.
21:26
Okay, our boy Tim Hapke again.
21:30
Rhett Petlik asked for a trade, and it was traded to Tri-City this week.
21:35
Any word on why?
21:36
And do college coaches have any influence on such trades?
21:40
Veegs, I'm going to throw that at you.
21:44
You can't have a smile on your face.
21:45
What do you think there?
21:47
I mean, sometimes a family advisor like Lance Petlik might have some sort of influence in this if he's not encouraged with the direction of where things are going.
21:58
You know, some USHL teams are different than others.
22:01
I've heard experiences of kids who get on teams where if the coach doesn't like the way they're playing, they'll just get skated into the ground and their strength and conditioning programs are a mess and they're not happy with how the development is happening.
22:16
It can burn out a player and make a season really unpleasant.
22:21
You know, the flip side, you have some programs like the Chicago Steel with Hardy down there who's just a developer.
22:28
You know, he's got all these NHL draft picks who want to play there and stay there and play with his system.
22:33
It's it's much more in the process of developing the best hockey player at the end of the season.
22:40
So, he did ask for the trade and I think Tri-City is going to get a good player back and Knives has decided to stay at Tri-City.
22:50
He's another Gopher recruit.
22:51
So, it's a it's a good program for him.
22:54
He wanted to stay there rather than leave mid-season or leave early.
22:59
So, I think there must be something there that he likes.
23:02
So, we'll see what happens.
23:03
You know, Rett's playing pretty well in the USHL.
23:06
So, we'll see what happens.
23:07
What's his timing bigs for coming into the U?
23:10
I gotta think he's a next year player.
23:12
Okay.
23:14
He'll he'll be the right age.
23:15
He could have maybe come in this year but he'll he'll be here next year.
23:20
I would think if he's playing for the Gophers.
23:23
You never know these days but he signed and he should be there.
23:28
Another question.
23:29
Any word on the rest of this year's games are strictly on FSN.
23:34
We know nothing, do we, Drew?
23:36
I mean, we don't, I mean, I've heard some rumors that the games next weekend are at 5 PM.
23:42
The Ohio State Games but we don't know what TV.
23:45
My guide says nothing.
23:47
It's just a different year, Drew.
23:49
Yeah, it's, I mean, I've heard it on this podcast a few weeks in a row but the Gopher fandom is getting what they what they most of the time wanted with the FSN, right?
24:00
But I mean, I'm I'm kinda glad it's on FSN just cuz it, I mean, most of the time when it's just kind of more regular, it's easy to find especially when we're not going to Mariucci really much anymore but yeah, it's just if it's on some sort of I know Big Ten is maybe carried a little less than Fox Sports North but yeah, who knows what the new Sinclair situation and the new contracts and with is it they gonna keep doing this or who knows?
24:34
I don't know but yeah, it's kind of a it's an adventure just like Bob was saying a few weeks in a row.
24:39
He said, well, we'll know the schedule soon and then next week, we'll know the schedule soon and then the next week, we'll know the schedule after Christmas.
24:46
Well, we'll know it by the by the by the by the new year and then finally it came out but I don't know.
24:52
It's it's definitely playing everything by year right now and I don't think the last nine, ten months of experience that that's bound to change anytime soon.
25:03
One thing that's strange is that Big Ten has been kind of quiet.
25:10
Usually, you know, I looked at that next week's schedule.
25:15
There's just basically reruns and stuff going on at at 5 PM if that is in case the in fact the case with the timing.
25:24
I'm a little surprised that BTN is a little quiet.
25:26
Are you?
25:26
Or are they just kind of in the same boat?
25:29
They don't know when basketball game is going to be with.
25:30
They don't know when wrestling is going to be.
25:32
Is it just all big cluster this year?
25:36
I think it is all a big cluster.
25:38
You know, they're just trying to figure out the volleyball schedule, which came out this last week.
25:42
They're just getting that underway.
25:44
I'm sure Big Ten Network wants to get some of those games on.
25:48
We've had all these cancellations come up.
25:50
You know, Gopher Basketball getting their Nebraska game canceled.
25:53
So I think that the leagues are trying to figure out ways to satisfy their TV partners.
25:59
You know, they want to get as much of that TV revenue that they can by getting games on the different networks and meet all the obligations that they have.
26:09
So trying to get that programming on means that they would probably rather have Minnesota-Nebraska basketball on than Arizona State Gopher Hockey.
26:19
You know, it's just that's the way it is.
26:21
Heck, they might want to have Gable Stevenson on more than Gopher Hockey.
26:26
You know, he's very entertaining to watch and wrestling has a very passionate following.
26:31
You know, so there's all these things that they're trying to weigh.
26:33
And I know that Minnesota's pushed a lot to have games on FSN.
26:37
And they've done a great job.
26:39
They filled a lot so far.
26:41
Yep.
26:42
It was nice to see Charlie Beatty get a game and Anthony LaPanta's anxious to do more Gopher Hockey games.
26:48
So, you know, they're fortunate to have those kinds of options on their network.
26:54
And we always know that the TV is going to be good for Minnesota because the local camera guys are always great.
26:59
So that helps.
27:00
Well, we did lose a cameraman this past fall.
27:06
A local cameraman, you know, I'm forgetting his name right now.
27:10
I apologize for that.
27:11
But he did a lot of wild games.
27:14
He did a lot of twins games.
27:16
He did a lot of Gopher games.
27:18
He was the main camera guy up at, you know, the main shot for Gopher Hockey.
27:25
A lot.
27:26
But you are right, though.
27:27
We have a lot of great camera people and production people here in this area.
27:32
So it's usually good stuff.
27:34
And then you see you see another broadcast.
27:37
You're like, what is going on?
27:40
Or even, you know, even, you know, some like the wild games went on the road.
27:44
Sometimes you're like watching these things go on.
27:47
We do really have it pretty good here in Minnesota when it comes to production, Veegs.
27:52
Yeah, you watch some of these road games and some of these NHL games, and now they have different camera angles because the seating changes.
27:59
So they're using different ones.
28:01
And every once in a while, it's just like, oh, this is awkward.
28:03
Just zoom out and hopefully keep the puck in the screen here.
28:07
What are you guys' thoughts of the behind the net cam?
28:12
The one kind of the top of the glass kind of they use in the power play?
28:15
What are you guys' thoughts on those?
28:18
Okay, I'll tell you a little inside story on that.
28:21
We know FSN has been using that for quite a while.
28:23
At least they used to use it for Gopher hockey.
28:25
They'd have the robot camera back there.
28:26
I noticed it in the wild games the last few days.
28:29
But this was more like 10 years ago.
28:32
They were doing this.
28:34
And they would love to do that on a Gopher power play.
28:39
Get that view from behind the power play.
28:41
And it was kind of annoying because you couldn't see the play setup.
28:46
And back then, the producer for the games would sit in the GPL chat as we're doing the game.
28:56
And sometimes we would say, can you turn that view off?
29:00
And he would actually turn it off and go back to the above view.
29:04
Chris Withers was the producer back then.
29:06
Good guy.
29:08
And he would love to sit in the chat just to see what people were saying about the broadcast as it was happening.
29:15
And sometimes we were effective.
29:16
We got to influence the broadcast because I'm kind of like you, Drew.
29:22
I like it once in a while.
29:23
I like it on replays.
29:24
But when the action is happening, you're used to a certain view and you're kind of used to the wide view.
29:30
So you could see how things are developing.
29:32
When they have that little camera, the robot view, it seems like you cannot see it develop as easy.
29:38
Yeah, I feel like it's just a little harder to see in the corners, too, especially when it gets down.
29:41
And just the depth perception is a little off.
29:44
I can understand like if we have if it was used on every power play for my entire life, but I've seen it wide angle most of my life and I just kind of am used to the depth perception there.
29:54
And I just kind of it just throws me off a little bit.
29:57
Sometimes I feel like I'm watching something and then I say, oh, well, this is a little different than a different than it looks in different.
30:04
I thought it would look so I V's.
30:07
I kind of like those cameras for replays.
30:10
I mean, we've seen those Dasher cams where it follows the player up the ice, you know, along.
30:15
We haven't seen that a little while, but that's something we've seen.
30:17
And you really got to more feel the speed of the game because the camera is going right with them.
30:22
It's moving.
30:23
But don't do that live.
30:25
Let's see those on replay.
30:27
I don't mind it a little bit sometimes if you have a power play that's working from the top.
30:32
You know, I imagine when Robbie Stucker has the puck up there, I think you'd see some interesting things about what he's seen from his view, because he's got his head up and he's usually looking towards the net.
30:43
So you can kind of probably get a little bit of an insight about what he's seeing there.
30:48
Sometimes when you get players coming off the wall, it's probably less effective because you just can't see it as clearly what they're looking at, as you can from a normal play-by-play.
30:57
But I don't mind the change up as long as it's wide enough.
31:00
It can capture the whole zone and you can see it.
31:04
And it's just a change up.
31:05
I do really like to see it too, like on a power play breakout.
31:09
You know, as a D gets behind the net and looks up ice and you can see where the four checkers are.
31:15
You can tell where they're swinging.
31:17
Sometimes that tells you where the penalty kill is trying to influence the puck.
31:21
And that's just not something you can see in the normal TV view.
31:28
I would actually like to see a camera center ice underneath the scoreboard.
31:34
Looking at the offensive zone when something's going on.
31:37
Because then you are seeing what the defense was seeing.
31:40
It's not coming at you.
31:41
You're seeing kind of the whole part of the screen.
31:43
Here I'm doing all this hand stuff for the video people.
31:46
Of course, the people listening aren't going to understand that.
31:48
But something like a scoreboard middle of the ice, hanging down, robotic, it could turn either way.
31:54
We've seen things like that.
31:56
I wouldn't mind that.
31:57
But these companies are not going to go overboard.
32:00
Not right now.
32:01
Not with the way the finances are.
32:04
Well, if they don't have to fly out there announcing crews to every game, maybe they could start investing in these robotic cameras to give people better views.
32:12
Maybe.
32:12
I mean, we're getting the advertisements on the glass.
32:17
We're getting all this kind of stuff.
32:19
Who knows?
32:20
Well, let's get into this weekend, boys.
32:21
Arizona State coming back into town.
32:25
Drew, they just spent last weekend in Madison.
32:28
Why?
32:31
They went after their former player, Sean Doogie.
32:37
Yeah, Arizona State did not have a good weekend.
32:39
And I think probably also a combination of Wisconsin finally kind of hitting its potential so far this season.
32:49
Obviously, we thought Wisconsin was going to be one of the better teams.
32:52
They struggled a little bit out of the gate.
32:53
And obviously, they had some COVID issues too.
32:58
They've definitely kind of fallen into their stride.
33:00
And just like I think the Gophers did a few weeks ago against Arizona State, Wisconsin did what they should have.
33:07
But yeah, Arizona State comes in as a physical team, a high-octane offensive team, obviously.
33:14
But I think the Gophers are going to have a lot better chance, better time establishing the zone and kind of just getting those entries and getting more confidence kind of on the offensive side of the puck.
33:26
And obviously, I think missing Matt Stoddicker is going to be big.
33:32
I thought it was a tough situation for them when Notre Dame had such an effective and aggressive forecheck.
33:40
Missing a bigger guy like that who can kind of establish his presence there.
33:45
But I think, especially this weekend, when Arizona State is going to be kind of heavy and flying with the puck, they're going to miss Stoddicker.
33:53
But the Gophers will have a chance to really reestablish their offense.
33:59
So, Veegs, obviously, Sean Doogie's former team kind of went after him.
34:06
I didn't see the hit.
34:07
Can you describe it?
34:08
Tell me what happened there?
34:10
Because, boy, it's kind of weird.
34:11
They go after a former teammate when his younger brother is on the team too.
34:17
Yeah, it is kind of a weird situation.
34:19
I think it's one of those hits where the player committed to the path and went through it and Dougie is not a very big guy.
34:28
And so it was kind of an ugly hit.
34:32
It is probably a little bit curious how that would happen and why that would happen.
34:37
I think Todd, when he was on our show, talked a little bit about who Dougie maybe didn't get along with Granado and how he was coaching the team.
34:46
And, you know, some players get different lengths of rope to learn how to play and with ice time and things like that.
34:56
And I don't think Dougie liked, you know, being rushed back from injury.
34:59
So there's all kinds of things that went into that relationship there and with that Wisconsin locker room.
35:06
So tough to say.
35:07
I think it's a better matchup for Minnesota playing ASU again than Notre Dame.
35:13
If they have a tonic to get healthy, playing ASU is probably it.
35:18
You know, they get up and down the ice, there's going to be chances.
35:21
You know, people could maybe start feeling good about themselves again, because after that Notre Dame series, there are a lot of daubers that were down in the locker room.
35:32
I think the question everyone wants to know, Drew, is, will Walker have another lacrosse goal?
35:41
I got to say the odds of that are pretty low, but we'll see.
35:44
You know, College Hockey, you never know.
35:47
So, yeah, who knows?
35:50
I mean, maybe if LaFontaine gets both games, it doesn't happen.
35:53
Could you imagine if Moe, it happened to Moe again?
35:59
Obviously nothing against Moe, but that would just be kind of funny if he happens to be in and the opportunity presents itself.
36:05
Moe was a pretty good sport about it, Veegs.
36:08
He was.
36:09
You know, he definitely is like, it's going to be on Sports Center.
36:11
Just try not to think about that the rest of the game.
36:14
My question is, will somebody from Minnesota try it on ASU?
36:19
I mean, this would be one of the things where I would love to have been at practice this week to see if guys were practicing the move.
36:25
I mean, it's something that if you have enough time and you have kind of a flexy stick, it's not super challenging to do.
36:35
You just got to have kind of the moxie in the situation to do it.
36:38
So I'm kind of curious, you know, is there somebody on the Gopher roster who might try to get back and serve some revenge goals?
36:47
Did someone try it last weekend real quick and it dropped off?
36:50
Or maybe I was watching another game, somebody was either Gopher or...
36:54
I remember Climber saying something that went for the Spetsnikov.
36:59
Climber was very clear to say Spetsnikov, not the mission.
37:02
We're not going to say it's the Mike Leigh goal for anyone.
37:07
Oh, boy.
37:09
Yeah, it is obviously...
37:11
Walker is a great player.
37:12
And we talked about this on the podcast.
37:15
A lot of things came together just perfectly for him.
37:18
It came off the wall perfectly.
37:20
It was already on edge.
37:21
He was going by.
37:22
But I guess things were working.
37:26
But he had the thought that I can do this.
37:29
It was the smoothest thing we've seen.
37:31
All because everything came together.
37:33
But he pulled it off.
37:37
I hope we see one from a Gopher this weekend.
37:40
I'd like to see one from a Gopher period any weekend.
37:44
I mean, when's the last...
37:46
What's the last amazing goal?
37:47
Maybe Oposso in Mankato when he went between the legs?
37:52
That's a long time ago, Veegs.
37:55
I can't think of any other circus type goals since then.
37:59
I mean, Drew was like 10.
38:02
You're honestly probably right on.
38:05
When was Oposso here?
38:06
2007, 2006?
38:08
Yeah, it was around that time.
38:11
All right, I would have been, yeah, 8, 9, 10.
38:13
I was there for that game in the stands as a fan.
38:17
And I was on the other side, you couldn't see it as well.
38:22
And we were down low.
38:23
I'm like, what just happened?
38:24
And I think at that time, I don't think they even had a video replay there in Mankato.
38:29
So we didn't really know what happened until I got home.
38:31
Yeah, Brent Hoeven, he's saying, you know, Blake Wheeler, Final Five, that was a luck goal.
38:40
He's just swiped at it and the goalie, he just missed it.
38:43
I'm thinking just tier skill.
38:46
The oposo goal is the last one I can remember with that kind of goal.
38:52
Vig's got a, I don't know, look at his face.
38:54
We'll see, it could be a fun one.
38:55
Maybe they'll get one this week.
38:59
Hapke thinks it might have been Meyer who tried the lacrosse goal this week.
39:02
I think maybe it was Meyer.
39:04
He just tried to get up and just couldn't get the stick up.
39:08
Jesse Emberg, Hall, Hall's goal?
39:10
No, that's another kind of luck goal.
39:13
I mean, pure skill when somebody's doing something with your stick, you know.
39:16
Unfortunately, you know, we haven't seen too many successful shootouts for Minnesota.
39:23
You know, when that started in the Big Ten, it took them forever to do anything with it.
39:29
And that's typically where you'd see it.
39:32
But Hapke saying, Vanik versus Ferris State, that was a pretty good skill play, but that was just kind of speed going around and Sharp shooting up over his shoulder.
39:45
Yeah, I'm going with O'Paul, so I can't think of anything else.
39:49
Let's get your predictions then.
39:53
Drew.
39:53
All right.
39:58
I want to say GopherSuite just because it's kind of the wake up call if you're getting swept on the other end of last weekend, especially against a team they've had recent success against.
40:12
Notre Dame, but I think it shakes out the way Minnesota wants roster-wise, I think, especially from their last weekend against each other.
40:25
If it's a shootout, I think, not a shootout shootout, but if it's a kind of a back and forth, pretty exciting action game, I think the Gophers are going to win it, even though they are kind of a, they can be a chippy, grinded out team, but they have the guys that can really, really, really get it done.
40:44
And I think Walker and McLaughlin could really combine for some goals this weekend.
40:50
And yeah, McLaughlin needs to get going.
40:52
And I think he was on the cusp of that before this past weekend.
40:56
And I feel like he could really get going, especially if they have Scott back, because that's what Bob said.
41:01
It's that Reedy could be back, but Sautiker is definitely not back this weekend.
41:05
And even if they get Reedy for one game, I think it would be just a good barometer to see where he's at for the Wisconsin series, too.
41:12
And maybe it works in that maybe Bob says maybe we don't want to play him and just make sure Wisconsin doesn't know how he looks right now.
41:19
But yeah, I think the Gophers lineup is still deep enough where I think they'll have a pretty good chance to get a sweep this weekend.
41:27
Veegs now having Reedy back would be great.
41:30
He'd be a key, but I still think the key is similar to what Drew said.
41:34
Walker McLaughlin, they need to kind of pick it up.
41:37
And if they do, this team is really good.
41:42
Yeah, I don't know what it's going to take for them to get going.
41:46
You know, they need to play a more direct game and they need to play within their system and they need to create some second chances and havoc.
41:54
You know, they're not going to be a team that allows those guys to just score on the rush all the time.
41:59
There's too much structure in college hockey.
42:01
They're going to have to find other ways to score.
42:04
They need to figure it out.
42:05
I think they need to focus on their defense.
42:07
That's what Bob talks about a lot with these guys.
42:09
They need to create those turnovers and some rushes and create some chaos to get something going.
42:15
So that's what I'm going to be watching for this weekend.
42:18
And if Ranta can maybe take a step up as well because I thought he played okay without Reedy in the lineup and whether or not they get Reedy back, you know, we'll see if he can answer that.
42:30
But time will tell.
42:32
I think it's going to be a lot easier for the defense to play against ASU.
42:36
I don't think it will be as hard and physical a game.
42:38
We heard Jaxilla Combe talk about that after the first night.
42:41
And, you know, it's tough for him knowing that he's going to get hit every time he went back to get a puck.
42:47
It's not going to be like that this weekend.
42:49
They're going to be able to make some plays and show off their skill a little bit.
42:54
What do you think, Sweep?
42:56
Sweep.
42:57
There you go.
42:58
I mean, I think a shootout benefits them.
43:01
It does.
43:02
It does.
43:03
I know after, you know, they gave up quite a few goals to Arizona State last time, and I know that Matzka was not happy about that.
43:12
But like you said, the key is not just, you know, it's the team defense coming back, supporting the guys when you don't have the puck.
43:21
So, of course, I'm going to pick Sweep because that's what I've been doing all year, and it's worked until the last two weeks.
43:28
Stick with it.
43:29
I may as well because I thought about going split just to throw you guys off.
43:33
But no, it's got to be sweet.
43:37
So, Drew, what you working on over there at The Zone?
43:42
Mostly a lot of wild stuff right now.
43:44
Yeah, just kind of working out.
43:46
You got the game on in the corner right now as we're doing the podcast?
43:49
No, I listened to the first period.
43:51
I was on NBC, so I don't have the credentials to get into that right now.
43:56
So I listened to the first period before we started here, but it looked like they were up last time.
44:02
But just obviously a lot of Kaprizov stuff, a lot of figuring out how this wild team is not great on the power play, even though they get a lot of chances and a lot of movement, just still kind of that.
44:13
They looked good the first night when they had all their guns going, and then they got worried about the faceoff stuff and just killed it.
44:19
I'm just worried, too, that people are getting their hopes up, especially when they get victories against the Kings who are supposed to be bottom two in the league, and the Ducks who are supposed to be maybe bottom three, bottom four in the league.
44:30
I'd say anyone who's a Wild Fan, don't get your hopes up for all these victories, if there's victories against the Kings, the Sharks and the Ducks.
44:38
I'm looking at it.
44:39
They did go up.
44:40
When they went up 2-0, it was a power play golden night for the Wilds.
44:44
Nick Bonino from Eric's Neck.
44:47
Your prototypical power play center.
44:51
Two of them.
44:52
The game is now tied now.
44:54
That was to go up 2-0, but they've given up 2-0 and it's tied now.
44:58
But they did get a power play goal, so that's good.
45:00
I hope to be working on some Gopher stuff here down the stretch of the season.
45:05
I think if you're at home, you should do the videos anyway.
45:08
I agree.
45:09
Maybe go for a walk.
45:10
Yeah, go for a walk.
45:15
You could head down to McDonald's.
45:18
McDonald's isn't there anymore.
45:20
You could go to Campus Pizza.
45:23
Oh, no, you can't go there anymore either.
45:25
Village Walk.
45:29
That was my absolute favorite right there.
45:31
That was the best one.
45:34
Yeah, you were openly weeping for that one.
45:37
My first season going regularly was the Kent Patterson's bona fide starter year in goal.
45:43
That was my first full season going to games.
45:46
We went Friday nights.
45:48
That was it.
45:51
That was Village Walk before the game, Big Ten before the game.
45:56
See, when we used to, we used to try to do the campus pizza after the games.
46:02
And that was fun.
46:05
Now Maxwell's is just benefiting from that closure.
46:09
Yeah, well, we do pretty well at Maxwell's.
46:13
I feel like I jinxed it.
46:14
I joined you the last time, the last time before everything shut down.
46:17
You son of a bitch.
46:20
I got ready to go to Blue Door once.
46:22
That was a win for me.
46:24
It was, but it was a long line that night.
46:27
We waited for a while.
46:28
It happens to get in.
46:29
I like to go to a popular place.
46:30
What can I say?
46:31
Well, we can actually get in at Maxwell's.
46:39
All right, well, do you got anything else, Veegs?
46:43
Just keep an eye on that power play.
46:46
I am interested to see if they stick to what they're supposed to do.
46:49
Set up, move the puck around, create some chaos.
46:53
They need to do that, and I think to be successful, even against ASU, so that's what I'm gonna be watching for.
46:59
I think they'll get some opportunities.
47:02
All right, well, thanks for coming on, Drew.
47:04
It's nice to have you on, and try not to call you Corey again.
47:09
It doesn't happen that often, and it's all right.
47:11
It's just, I had Cove in my mind, and let me see it.
47:14
How many people do you know with the last name Cove?
47:17
Nobody, DC, nobody.
47:20
That's all right.
47:20
No, but thanks for having me on.
47:21
It was a great time, and I'm glad to pop on anytime you need a guest.
47:26
Well, it's always nice having you on, and like I said, we were talking about you last week during the broadcast, because we saw you in the chat, so it was always nice to you to watch us live as well.
47:36
But that's going to do it for this episode of The GPL Podcast.
47:39
Obviously, we thank Drew for coming on again, and we'll be back next week to recap the Arizona State Series and preview Ohio State.
47:49
Trying to get Cappy on too, so we'll have to wait and see.
47:52
For those of you currently watching live on YouTube, stay tuned for some overtime.
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