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 185. 0:45 Well, it's Buckeye Week, and when it's Buckeye Week, we always have Paul Caponigri on. 0:53 And Paul, Cappy, how you doing? 0:56 Good, good, guys. 0:57 How are you? 0:59 Yeah, Buckeye Week, I mean, you don't have to label me as just- 1:02 Oh, no, we're gonna. 1:02 You're Buckeye Guy. 1:04 Okay, well, that's fine. 1:07 But yeah, it's good to be back. 1:08 What's this number? 1:09 Is this my sixth time? 1:11 You had the record. 1:12 You had it on Twitter a while ago. 1:14 Yeah, it's getting up there. 1:15 I believe I made it in there. 1:17 It's getting up there. 1:18 I believe that- 1:20 Twice a season, I'm expecting it. 1:24 Oh, a little cut out in the audio there, but that's not so bad. 1:28 But VEG's quite the interesting weekend this past weekend. 1:33 Arizona State came in missing some guys, COVID this. 1:41 Maybe the message was also sent by Coach Machko after the Notre Dame debacle. 1:50 But 20 to 2 was the weekend VEG's. 1:56 Not pretty for ASU at the end of nearly a month long road trip. 2:01 Anxious to probably get back under some sun for a couple of days of R&R. 2:06 The team that was missing 7 players due to illness or injury or precautionary COVID reasons. 2:14 They were definitely outmanned and outgunned on the big ice. 2:18 And they have not looked good when they've come to 3M at Marriottchee Arena. 2:23 And just chalk up another weekend where they disappoint. 2:26 I kind of hope that ASU gets their footy under them and they could come a program that could join the Big Ten. 2:33 And I know they've played games along the way where they've been competitive and they can score goals. 2:39 Heck, they put up plenty against Notre Dame. 2:41 But when it came to playing with the Gophers this last weekend, they had a hard time getting the puck. 2:47 It's one of those games where they should have brought two pucks. 2:52 And Cappy, I just think they were just out of gas. 2:54 You're short guys. 2:56 You've got a club goalie playing part of the first game. 3:00 They've been on the road forever. 3:01 It has been just a flat out grind for Arizona State. 3:06 Yeah, I think at the start of the year when they were saying you're glad that we had a season, right? 3:14 Because they're just happy to have what they have. 3:15 But at some point, I don't care how mentally strong you are. 3:19 When you lose guys and this is the end of the road trip, they know they haven't had success. 3:25 So your mind is already kind of coming in there like, man, and Minnesota is coming off of a sweep there. 3:30 So you know they're coming like all the dominoes were lined up for this. 3:35 Maybe not this much of a pounding both nights, but you could, you know, you sense that if this there was a good chance this might happen, at least the first night, second night, the game stayed, you know, they got it to four to two and then it was like third period. 3:51 You know, wham-o. 3:53 But yeah, hey, I mean, the Gophers kind of needed to do that, get back on track a little bit too. 3:58 So Arizona say, I think, you know, their coach is going to look at this, like this year is kind of like a, hey, this is, you know, we got a long way to go. 4:07 We did have some success in the past, but we weren't playing a schedule like this before. 4:11 But Vegs, it really is more about, you know, Arizona is just trying to stay alive. 4:18 And I think they did a great thing, you know, they're on the road all year, but they're playing and quite a few schools that don't have conferences, they're not playing right now. 4:29 Yeah, I think ASU, all the players would say they'd much rather be playing their entire season on the road than having to hang up the skates for the year. 4:37 I mean, there's a lot of other schools where it's difficult for players to be on the ice. 4:41 You know, you look at the D3 schools and the smaller schools, it's a struggle. 4:45 And so I think they're thankful that their administration is allowing them to go through all the protocols that the Big Ten wants them to go through and they get a season out of it. 4:56 It's just too bad that they ran into a very motivated Gopher team because that first game, they came ready to play. 5:04 You saw a team that was getting in on the four check, very cognizant that they had to get their ground game fixed. 5:11 Very aggressive. 5:12 Working and very aggressive. 5:13 There are numerous shifts where you just saw people add on the train cars. 5:19 And when that happens, the opposing D gets tired and you just keep working the puck in the offensive zone and you get easy goals around the net. 5:26 And I think that's a recipe for success that Minnesota has to take out of this weekend. 5:31 We know that sometimes they get in some bad habits. 5:33 We'll talk about it as we go on. 5:36 Coach Motzko talked about it a little bit on his radio show this week and then again at availability. 5:41 You know, he kind of wanted to walk it back a little bit, but there are some things about the Gophers game that show themselves at time and keeps it a tight game. 5:51 And when you're playing against a really defensive team that's got veteran guys that can counter on you, it can be a recipe that'll get you into trouble. 6:00 But one thing Motzko's been talking about a lot, he's got to get McLaughlin and Walker going. 6:08 They did get going this weekend, so maybe a tired team from Arizona State was something that allowed some of these guys who haven't been scoring as much, kind of kick their game into gear and get them going. 6:23 Well, I thought it was a good weekend for them against ASU, and I think putting Scott Reedy on that line puts them more into that possession mindset because he makes so many intelligent plays on the rink where he maintains possession or extends the possession by winning a puck race, and he adds a lot to that line. 6:40 I think Walker McLaughlin can get into trouble when they turn into a one-and-done type line rush unit. 6:48 They're coming down the rink, they're trying to beat a guy one-on-one, or they get in a position where it's pretty much even up and they throw a puck on net that just turns into a turnover. 6:58 I think having Reedy on that line maybe gets them into a higher level of playing and maybe that will rub off on them and just make them more dynamic. 7:06 So now one thing, Cappy, is that Arizona State, obviously they've had guys out from illness, they've had some COVID things, and now that's starting to hit some other teams. 7:17 You've got somebody like a Michigan who's shutting everything down for a couple weeks now. 7:23 Looks like they're going to, you know, they may need to use that kind of open weekend at the end of the year to sneak in a couple of games. 7:33 Yeah, I mean, ironically, they're the one team not playing this weekend. 7:37 I mean, obviously Arizona State is leaving, so there's going to be some gaps and they're the team that's not on the schedule this week. 7:49 They've already canceled the Penn State. 7:51 I don't think they're going to be able to play Michigan State that following Tuesday, even though they're eligible, because at least from what I read, they're shut down for 14 days. 8:00 Like, it's not like, I could be wrong, but I don't think they can do anything for those. 8:05 So they'd have one day of practice after doing that. 8:07 So I don't see that feasible. 8:10 I mean, they do have a talented team, but not even those young guys could, I don't think, could do that after 14 days completely shut down. 8:17 So, you know, I talked to, you know, we'll talk more about Ohio State recently, but, or more on, but they've had it. 8:23 They haven't had a full team all season. 8:25 They've had guys out bit by bit as the season's gone on. 8:28 So everyone's dealing with it. 8:31 You know, Wisconsin obviously had it earlier. 8:35 So, you know, it's kind of a timing thing. 8:38 Michigan's probably happy this happened now and not a first week of March, you know. 8:43 So, I mean, if it's going to happen. 8:45 So, yeah, not ideal, but this is the world we're in. 8:48 And knock on wood, the Big Ten has had some pretty good luck. 8:51 I mean, most of the teams have been getting in there in a lot of games. 8:55 And I see Tim Hapke in the chat kind of saying, UMass has gotten in 17 games already and BU has only gotten in six. 9:01 So, you know, you look at the Big Ten, they've been doing pretty good getting their games in. 9:05 But you look out east and in other places, it's kind of been a disaster. 9:12 Go ahead. 9:14 Yeah, I mean, I think that just shows you how fragile everything is with hockey. 9:22 You know, even with all the testing, you know, the testing is on a metal, it's a metal detector for that moment, but it's not gonna show you that you're not gonna be contagious the next day or the day after. 9:34 It's just a point in time thing that they're trying to do to contain things. 9:38 And I feel like some groups are doing it better than others about isolating, you know, we just saw the Washington Capitals have to have some of their star players out for four games because they're gathering in hotel rooms. 9:51 And the NHL found out. 9:53 And it's a big sacrifice that these players are making to try to make this season happen. 9:59 And even when the infectious thick cases come up, you know, it's such a contagious virus. 10:04 It's not really their fault for, you know, going to their dorm room or walking to class or picking up some food or going to Costco or whatever. 10:12 Whatever it is, you know, it doesn't take much for the virus to get in. 10:16 You just hope that the testing allows them to contain it and keep the season going. 10:21 And I think that's one of the reasons why the Big Ten's still able to go, is because they are doing that testing. 10:26 So anything that does hit the team can get contained fairly quickly. 10:31 Well, since the other groups, they're not doing that. 10:33 Well, since the Big Ten is doing so much better, they went ahead and announced a few days ago, Cappy, that the Big Ten Tournament is going to be in Notre Dame at Compton Arena. 10:43 It's just kind of a nice central place where all the teams will be, a 17-team tournament at one place. 10:53 Do you think that's the way to go? 10:57 I guess. 11:01 Was Detroit going to be the spot or Minneapolis? 11:04 Or I actually think that maybe the NCAA tournament might be in Minneapolis come end of March. 11:11 That's a whole other discussion. 11:13 But yeah, I think a lot of people have talked about it. 11:15 It's centralized, so it's kind of in the middle for buses if you're going to go that way. 11:22 South Bend is a small town. 11:23 There's not a ton of people around there. 11:27 And there's not going to be fans. 11:28 And I think someone noticed that Notre Dame is the horribly at home this year. 11:32 So it's not going to be a big home advantage. 11:35 I don't, you know, if there's not going to be any fans. 11:38 You're like, I think the theme of this year is how do we make it as fair and how do we get it done, you know, safely? 11:47 And I think it checks off the box. 11:49 It's a beautiful arena. 11:50 I don't know if you guys have either been there. 11:51 It's a beautiful facility. 11:54 The Blackhawks have had training camp there several times. 11:57 So it's set up to host some extra people. 12:01 There's a second rink right now. 12:02 You know, they have a practice rink right there, too. 12:07 So I'm sure there are a lot of discussions. 12:10 It makes sense in my mind. 12:13 I think Todd Mielewski pointed out that when the Big Ten was wondering if they wanted to do a bubble to start the year like the NCHC did, that Notre Dame was the likely site just because of all the conveniences of the different lock rooms, the connected hotels, the two rinks. 12:29 There are just a lot of things that made it possible for them to host a lot of teams on site for an event like this. 12:36 And I'm just glad that they're going to be able to try to get it done. 12:40 Exactly. 12:41 I mean, that's really the bottom line, right, is finding a way to get it done. 12:44 And this is, you know, if you can't have fans, you might as well go on campus. 12:49 It makes sense. 12:50 It could be any campus, but I think it's a good choice due to that central location. 12:54 And, you know, there won't be fans there. 12:58 And they set the hybrid rink. 13:01 A little bit wider, so that should be good for Minnesota. 13:04 But, you know, the benches are on the opposite sides, which, you know, it's strange. 13:08 I don't know how many rinks are set up that way, Veegs, but we know that Michigan State is and Notre Dame is. 13:14 It's definitely not the norm. 13:16 No, everyone's gone away from that, so it's kind of a little quirk to get used to old marriage. 13:20 She was like that, too, so it's something to watch during the game. 13:24 Players just have to remember, they have to get two feet on the ice before they can touch the puck. 13:31 I don't know, Cap, if you saw that, we had that come up in a Gopher game recently, and everybody was confused about someone coming right out of the box to play the puck. 13:39 I didn't see that. 13:40 I mean, I've seen, well, I remember that there was, they changed the rule a couple years ago back, because the guy was coming from the bench, and the puck was down at the other end, and it had nothing to do with the play, but the guy wasn't within the feed. 13:59 I think they got rid of that, if I recall. 14:01 I know Penn State, we were doing a game, I think, and Penn State had that happen, and you're like, looking, we're trying to find out where this penalty happened, and it was a guy coming from, I think, it might have been the goalie even, just like, I would say, kind of ridiculous over refereeing or ruling kind of thing. 14:21 But Veegs, in this case, it was more like, wasn't that the Notre Dame series when a Notre Dame player came out of the box and played the puck before both his feet were on the ice? 14:28 So the puck was coming up the ice, he reached out with his stick before he was fully on the ice. 14:32 Isn't that what happened, Veegs? 14:33 Yeah. 14:34 He had the expiring penalty, penalty was expired, puck was coming, and he just played it with the stick before he stepped on, which apparently is the penalty. 14:41 See, that's the kind of play that I don't want to happen if I'm doing the game because then I'm not going to pull out the rule book and go to the 78th page. 14:51 I think, I'm like, I don't need that. 14:52 That game, I don't know if you guys, it was on NBC, Ohio State, Notre Dame where they had all kinds of things going on in that game, where the guy got a penalty or they didn't get a penalty, and then Notre Dame went down and scored. 15:07 But then, they went back and reviewed it, and they called it a penalty, and so they took the goal. 15:11 First, they weren't going to take the goal off, then they did take the goal off, then Ohio State got a five-minute penalty and scored two. 15:17 So, instead of being down one, they were up one, or up two, I think. 15:21 Yeah, yeah. 15:21 They were down two, something that... 15:23 It was really goofy, and they were asking... 15:26 They were asking... 15:26 Thank God I wasn't doing that game. 15:29 That was an interesting game. 15:30 I was watching that game, and it was like, did they really just do that? 15:36 Right. 15:36 But the thing is... 15:37 I mean, the hockey is crazy with rules, and it's tough, but it makes sense. 15:41 I think in that specific instance, they made the correct calls, because it was a check from behind, it was a major penalty. 15:50 I think, I don't know, I think they were kind of getting permission. 15:53 Hey, can we do this? 15:54 Can we take the goal off? 15:57 Yeah, I'm pretty sure they had the guy come down with the rule book to show him, yeah, the goal has to come off too. 16:02 Yep, so like even the referees, you know, didn't know which, okay, then I would have felt better if I was calling that game, didn't know the rule. 16:08 Okay, if the referees don't know, I'm okay with that. 16:13 Always learning. 16:14 Always learning, oh boy. 16:18 Well, I see we got quite a few people in chat. 16:20 If any of you people, folks, would like to ask questions, you know, they're there. 16:26 I know we got one question on Twitter I'll hit right after this, you know. 16:29 But first, you know, we need to hear from our sponsor. 16:34 Hey, fellow GPLers. 16:35 This is Jerry Peters from First Class Mortgage. 16:38 Interest rates are near all time lows and property values are on the rise. 16:42 Lower your interest rate and remove monthly PMI at the same time to save thousands of dollars. 16:47 Or use the equity in your home for debt consolidation and home improvement. 16:51 The housing market is still hot, so make sure you're prepared by getting a pre-approval letter from me before you start shopping. 16:59 Mention you heard about me on the GPL Podcast and receive a $300 closing cost credit. 17:04 Some restrictions do apply. 17:06 Call me today at 612-940-3291 or visit firstclassmortgage.com to fill out a free online application. 17:15 My NMLS number is 480-200. 17:18 First class mortgages is 322-842. 17:22 This is not an offer to lock into an interest rate agreement under Minnesota law. 17:25 First class mortgage is an equal housing lender. 17:30 All right, and of course we always thank Jerry for sponsoring The GPL Podcast. 17:39 Are you still there, Cappy? 17:42 He's gone dark. 17:45 We've got some connection issues way down there. 17:48 By the way, yeah, Cappy is in Florida right now. 17:52 Son of a, you know what? 17:55 That's kind of what happens, though. 17:57 Well, Veegs, I do notice a question in here. 17:58 It looks like it's about a recruit, you know, Tim Hapke. 18:01 He was in the chat earlier, but I noticed he answered or asked earlier today, your thoughts on Hughlian? 18:06 I think that's how he pronounces his name. 18:07 And if he stays healthy, is he expected to join The Gophers next year? 18:11 I see him as a bonus recruit since he's been kind of forgotten about in the last couple of years. 18:18 Yeah, I think he's definitely forgotten about Player. 18:23 We got you back, Caponigri. 18:24 We got you back, Caponigri. 18:25 We can hear you. 18:26 We just can't see you. 18:26 And that's okay. 18:28 If that's what the Wi-Fi allows, that's what it allows. 18:31 Yeah, Hughlian had the back injury that he had to have surgery on. 18:34 He tried to play through it, rehab it, tried to avoid it. 18:37 But he's back now with Fargo, and he's looked really good in the first couple of games back. 18:45 And they're still saving a spot for him, I think. 18:49 You know, he hasn't de-committed or anything. 18:51 He'll look for another spot on Twitter. 18:53 You never know with college hockey with how things go. 18:55 But I think he is a player who's shown offensive skill where he could be a top six college player. 19:01 And I think you find a way to make it work with a guy like that. 19:05 Wow, that was really weird. 19:06 It's like Cappy disappeared, and then he showed up at another window on our thing. 19:12 And now I wonder if he can hear us. 19:13 Can you hear us, Cappy? 19:15 Are you there, Cappy? 19:17 I just see a frozen picture. 19:19 I think he's trying to figure it out. 19:22 This is fun. 19:24 I hear something. 19:26 Is he there? 19:27 This is what happens when you go live. 19:29 Hey, I don't mind it. 19:30 It's fun. 19:32 People are dealing with this type of stuff every day now with Zoom and connections. 19:39 Am I back? 19:40 Can you hear me? 19:41 We can hear you again. 19:44 I can hear you. 19:46 Well, that's good. 19:46 It's not the greatest audio, but we can hear you. 19:48 That's all that matters. 19:50 If you want, you can even pause your video. 19:52 I can hear you. 19:55 I can hear you. 19:55 How about now? 19:57 We can hear you. 19:57 Yes. 20:00 Come on. 20:01 Well, maybe he can't hear us. 20:06 Hello, guys. 20:07 I bet you he can't hear us. 20:09 He can't hear me. 20:09 Okay. 20:10 What a mess. 20:13 Okay. 20:14 Hey, Cappy, try that. 20:15 I can hear you guys. 20:16 I can hear everything. 20:19 Yes, I can hear you guys. 20:21 Sweet. 20:23 I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. 20:28 Am I delayed? 20:30 I don't know. 20:30 Are you delayed? 20:35 I'm just going to go quiet for a second. 20:37 I see him nodding. 20:39 This is great podcasting right away. 20:41 This is great stuff. 20:44 I wonder if I... 20:44 Clearly, because you're not hearing me until five seconds later. 20:49 I wonder if I should kick him out. 20:51 Wonder if I can kick him out. 20:54 All right, guys. 20:55 I'm going to bounce off and come back. 20:57 That would be a great idea. 21:00 Just to keep going with that question a little bit. 21:04 I think that next year for forward recruits, the ones coming in look like Pitlick, Huguen, Lucius and Nyes. 21:17 Those look like the forward. 21:19 Those are all guys who are talented, drafted type players, a lot of skill. 21:27 They're all kind of top nine type guys. 21:30 It's really hard to know what's going to happen with the seniors and juniors on the roster. 21:36 They have the option to come back and play another year of eligibility. 21:41 There's a lot of talk around college athletics of whether or not schools will have the kind of budget where they can afford to bring players back for an extra year of scholarship, hockey, or football or basketball, whatever it may be. 21:55 But they have guys that are talented coming back in the lineup. 21:59 So I think any kind of guys that they lose, will obviously probably see Reedy Munson move on, LaFontaine move on, but you never know. 22:10 Okay, I see Cappy. 22:11 Can Cappy hear us? 22:12 Oh, he's nodding his head. 22:14 Loud and clear. 22:15 You guys, I've been hearing you the whole time. 22:17 You're synced up again, though. 22:18 Yeah, you're synced up again. 22:19 Yes, right, good. 22:20 I went into airplane mode, did everything I had to, did all the little things, turned it on and off. 22:27 It's usually what they tell you, turn it off and turn it back on. 22:31 Hey, think about this when we were kids, or any kind, 10 years ago, that we'd be meeting all like this and broadcasting at the same time. 22:40 I think it's pretty amazing. 22:42 I thought it was cool that we would broadcast live audio all the time for our podcast. 22:47 No, this is great. 22:48 I mean, try to hang in there as long as I can now. 22:55 Were you guys talking about seniors and that kind of decision? 22:58 Well, we were kind of talking about some future recruits coming in and how that's going to affect things and some of the more quiet guys coming in and things like that. 23:08 Well, that's, I mean, how we were just talking about with Arizona State, they're going to, everyone playing this year can come back next year for what I've been told. 23:19 So and I think I was talking to one of the coaches, Ohio State assistant, JB. 23:26 Bittner, who I played with. 23:28 I'm like, what do you guys, I mean, how does that work? 23:32 What are you guys talking about? 23:33 Who's staying? 23:34 Is Tommy Napier coming back? 23:36 When is that discussion? 23:37 What about the goal you're bringing in for him? 23:39 All that stuff. 23:40 Are there extra scholarships right now? 23:43 Like, how is that going to work for Minnesota? 23:47 If McManus and Reedy want to come back or whatever, they want them to come back. 23:51 And you know what I mean? 23:52 Like there's just, how are you recruiting guys right now? 23:56 How are you, what are you telling people? 23:58 It's wild. 23:59 Veegs, I'm assuming they're just, you know, with Minnesota when they've got people coming in, they're just going to try to just keep things the same, aren't they? 24:08 I think that's the thing that they're floating out there. 24:12 They're going to have to get Mark Coyle to sign off on having guys like Reedy and McBannis, if they want to come back, keeping scholarships. 24:21 Because I think they'll be able to go over the 17 in this case to handle situations like that. 24:27 But you have players as they age out and they get drafted, you know, they're going to want to be playing college hockey too. 24:33 So it'll be interesting to see what happens, because Pitlick and Lucious are the only two that have their analyze signed. 24:40 You know, I think we'll see guys like Hugh Glynn come in, but it's hard to know. 24:45 I think guys like Braz and Miller, the way things are going, they would probably benefit from another year in the USHL. 24:53 And Motz has been able to convince guys to do that in the past. 24:57 He was talking that a lot with Kester this week, how him agreeing to go back in the USHL for another year has really allowed him to come in as a freshman and contribute. 25:09 You know, when those three guys went away, the World Juniors, he stepped up and was ready to play. 25:14 It wasn't like he was a learning to play kind of guy. 25:16 He was ready to plug in and staying that extra year of junior hockey really prepared him for that. 25:21 So I think that's going to be kind of the thing that they're going to be focusing on as they figure out who to come in. 25:28 I think hockey too is lucky to have that, to be honest. 25:33 Look at the other sports. 25:34 Where are you going to go if you're a football player or a baseball player? 25:38 They don't have juniors. 25:40 So I think hockey actually, you know, and you've seen a lot of schools, Michigan and Wisconsin do it a lot because they get so many young guys that might leave the next year that they put guys and say and tell them, hey, you might come in next year, but you might come in in two years because Quinn Hughes decided to come back for his sophomore year, you know, stuff like that. 25:59 So I mean, hockey's got some luck on its side. 26:02 The fact that guys have an option and the team, you know, the coaching staff can have an option. 26:09 But who do we, you know, as long as we are allowed to by the school, because obviously it costs more money. 26:15 But yeah, hockey's kind of in a better situation than most sports. 26:19 Yes, it's going to cost more money. 26:20 And that's kind of one of the things here is that every program is bleeding right now with the loss of football money coming in. 26:31 You know, we saw Todd Mielewski talking about that today, talking about how Wisconsin is going to lose like 40, 50 million or whatever, even though they've made even a lot of adjustments. 26:42 So we know all these programs in the Big Ten, whether they play football or hockey or not, every dollar is going to make a difference these days. 26:53 Yeah. 26:53 And that's why I think fundraising is the big issue right now for these schools to try to figure out how to balance their budgets as much as they can. 27:01 I did misspeak earlier, Nye's and Braz did eventually sign their NLI later. 27:05 It was just late for them to come through. 27:07 But I have a hard time seeing Braz fit in right now with their pipeline. 27:12 It could be like that Mason Nevers situation where he signed his NLI a year early. 27:18 And maybe it was just to stop the phone calls. 27:22 We're going there. 27:23 I'm pretty sure that I myself as a high school kid want to play another year of juniors, but I just want people to stop. 27:31 Is that, can you do that? 27:33 You can, but the school can't tell that player then that they don't have a spot. 27:39 The player himself can go, I want to delay a year, but the school can't tell him, sorry, we don't have a spot for you. 27:47 And I think there's a couple schools have gotten into trouble a little bit with that. 27:52 It's hard to know on these kids. 27:54 The current coaching staff doesn't like to talk recruiting very often. 27:58 And they dodge a lot of questions there, but that's okay. 28:02 And we should talk about players on campus. 28:04 And recruiting is all messed up right now, Veegs, isn't it? 28:07 They can't see anybody. 28:08 They can't have anybody in. 28:11 It's kind of affecting the pipeline of the people they haven't even seen yet, I guess. 28:20 Yeah, it's a dead period right now for the Big Ten. 28:22 You know, they're not allowed to do any recruiting, so they're stuck watching video. 28:28 And it's pretty good for the USHL. 28:30 It's okay for the NHL. 28:32 High school games really depends on the manager, whoever is doing the stream. 28:37 Some of the streams are really good, but then others are just like, okay, not going to get much out of this. 28:43 But imagine this happening back in your day, Cappy. 28:47 I mean, everything is shut down, you don't get to go visit. 28:50 I mean, are you going to send them a VHS tape of your games? 28:56 I mean, we talk about this technology that we're using right now in Zoom, and I guess they could do that type of stuff. 29:06 But if this happens 10, 15 years ago, it would be much more damaging to probably all sports. 29:16 Yeah, you'd have to rely on a lot of coaching relationships in juniors, I think. 29:25 And it would be harder for like maybe a surprise guy that kind of jumps up. 29:30 A lot of these coaches have seen so many players already. 29:34 They're recruiting them when they're 15, 16. 29:38 You know, it would be a lot more on the coaches and looking at numbers. 29:42 I mean, like Europe, you know, you used to go to Europe based on numbers. 29:46 Nobody knew if you were any good. 29:48 But if you played in the AHL and you played 20 games, you would get a better chance and a better spot in Europe based pretty much on that, not really on anything other than having games at a certain level. 30:04 So it would be like that was, you know, and relying on coaches. 30:09 That was kind of how I got over to Europe, was based on a friend coach who knew that I'd play, you know, all that. 30:16 So yeah, old school would have been interesting, but now luckily now every game is on video somewhere. 30:21 So. 30:24 So now we head to Ohio State this weekend, Veegs. 30:27 We've got, you know, Ohio State was here earlier this year with a 4-1 loss and a 2-0 loss. 30:34 They hopefully want to kind of avenge that and maybe get back into the race here. 30:39 You know, we've got a 5 o'clock p.m. 30:41 game on Friday, a 4 o'clock p.m. 30:43 game on Saturday. 30:44 It's a little early times. 30:44 We're all adjusting to that this year. 30:46 But what are your initial thoughts about this weekend? 30:49 And what does Ohio State need to do to kind of get back into this, Veegs? 30:54 Well, I think this is a back to business weekend for Minnesota. 30:57 You know, Steve Rollick plays a very tough style of hockey. 31:02 And he shuts down the neutral zone. 31:05 And he has a lot of good special teams work with Steve Miller operating those crews. 31:10 And it's going to be a challenge for Minnesota. 31:12 If they play kind of some of the sloppy hockey that you saw at times against ASU, you're not just going to get soft rushes back the other way. 31:21 There's going to be a lot of speed going the other way and pressure. 31:24 And if you are a team that starts having one-and-dones, or you extend your shifts too long, you're going to get caught. 31:30 So I think this is a real measuring stick. 31:32 That first series against Ohio State, I don't think the Buckeyes were quite ready for big time hockey. 31:38 You know, they looked soft on the draws. 31:41 They looked a little loose with their structure, and Minnesota took advantage. 31:44 I think it's going to be a very different series this weekend. 31:48 And of course, I'm always making fun of him, but Cappy, Mr. 31:53 Napier is pretty darn solid back there. 31:57 You know, he's one of those goalies that is kind of a guy you can make fun of because he doesn't play like a quiet game. 32:07 If you watch him, he's talking to players. 32:11 He's up and out of his net. 32:12 He's very quirky. 32:13 I mean, most goalies are quirky and weird, but he initiates with the coat with the referees and players on the other team if they come near him. 32:22 So he reminds me a little bit of Ron Hextall a little bit, old, old school, but you know, he's not a guy that just focuses on the game. 32:31 I think it actually helps him. 32:32 I talked to their coaches about it. 32:34 He feels like he's engaged more. 32:36 I think if he's talking and doing his thing, but yeah, he's a guy that can steal a game. 32:41 He hasn't done that. 32:43 He's kept him in games yet, but he's getting more shots this year. 32:47 That's the biggest thing is, you know, if he's getting 30, he's going to win you some games. 32:51 He's been getting 35, 40 in a lot of games. 32:53 And, you know, that elevates the task, and they don't have the scoring depth as they've had in the past. 33:00 And they don't have the team defense they used to have either. 33:03 They lost three seniors last year that played a ton. 33:06 The young guys are coming, but it's hard to, you know, that five-man thing that he talks about. 33:12 And they didn't have the excuses are out the window, but they didn't have a full team going the whole time to implement their subject. 33:20 I mean, everyone else. 33:21 But if you had a veteran team like Minnesota does, that doesn't help you. 33:25 But you get along quicker as opposed to a young team that doesn't have the talent like Michigan does. 33:31 Michigan can, those young guys, they can just run out there and out-talent the hell out of you. 33:35 Ohio State's got some nice talent, but they don't have enough that if they're not playing the game that Rolloc wants them to, they can struggle. 33:44 So they're a building process there for sure. 33:48 And Veegs, you know, goaltending, we've talked about this. 33:54 Minnesota's been better this year with LaFontaine, but what makes a goal even better when the team in front of him does the smart thing, gets the puck out of the zone, does much better defensive coverage, and maybe Napier doesn't have that as much this year, but he's still doing pretty good, but it is really a team effort. 34:15 Yeah, I think team defense goes a huge way into a goalie's numbers, and we saw that with Minnesota in the first half. 34:22 They did such a good job of shutting all their opponents down. 34:25 There are hardly any rushes against. 34:28 Their special teams was really good. 34:30 I think that's one thing Minnesota has talked about, building some depth to their special teams. 34:36 I think when Walker McLaughlin takes a penalty, they kind of get out of sorts, because that first group of Nelson and Meyers is really good. 34:45 Winning draws, establishing the first couple 30, 40 seconds of a kill. 34:50 And then when they can go to Walker McLaughlin with that next group, you know, they're speedy. 34:55 They put tons of pressure on the other power play. 34:58 The other power play might be trying to extend their shift and get a chance. 35:02 And they can create turnovers against ASU. 35:05 I mean, those guys are just hounding the ASU power play and being really dangerous. 35:11 But when those guys take penalties, you know, then you've got some other guys filling that role and they've struggled a little bit. 35:17 So I think that's really key to a goalie's numbers is getting the support from units like that. 35:23 I'm seeing a question, another one from Tim Hapke in the chat V, he's asking about Stoddicker. 35:27 How's he looking for this weekend? 35:28 I know Mazka talked about that a little bit today. 35:31 Yep, Stoddicker's supposed to be back. 35:33 Apparently he could have gone against ASU, but they're being cautionary with bringing him back into action, being non-conference and things like that. 35:41 So he should be good to go. 35:42 He's practicing. 35:44 Scott Reedy, they probably could have brought him back even earlier too, but they're just being really cautious with his injury. 35:50 It's something he's dealt with a lot the last couple of years. 35:53 It's always kind of been a nagging thing. 35:55 He was hoping it wouldn't come back this year, but it did. 35:58 And that's why he's on the wing, because his injury, he doesn't like to go in the faceoff circle with this one. 36:05 So read into it as you want there folks, read into it as you want. 36:10 So, Cappy, you're vacationing in Florida again, aren't you? 36:14 Are you going to get in any golf down there? 36:16 Have any fun? 36:18 No fun. 36:19 I don't want to rub in. 36:23 Because I left Chicago on Monday, and then they got dumped six or eight inches of snow. 36:31 So sad. 36:32 That's just terrible for you. 36:33 Yeah. 36:34 Well, I'll try to enjoy my time here a little bit. 36:39 It's a little warmer down here. 36:41 So, and I'll have my... 36:44 Do you get BTN on your TV down there? 36:46 Are you going to be streaming it on your phone? 36:48 I do not. 36:50 I don't know. 36:51 Well, I'm going to have to watch the replay. 36:53 I won't be able to stream it on my phone, I don't think, or my computer. 36:58 Because I have the BTN to go. 37:00 But when it's on BTN, you can't watch it live, I don't believe. 37:04 Or I'm missing on something. 37:06 I think you have to watch a replay. 37:08 I don't know. 37:09 Maybe I can. 37:10 I don't know. 37:11 But those usually don't come up on there with the option. 37:14 You know, Pizzo's got to get you connected or something. 37:18 I mean, he's got it. 37:18 Well, they do. 37:19 I mean, they do. 37:21 They get me connected. 37:22 I get, you know, I get to watch all the games I want, but it's usually the ones that aren't on BTN, you know, and maybe you're the team. 37:30 You get the SEC network down here. 37:32 Oh, yeah. 37:34 Yeah, exactly. 37:35 Yeah. 37:36 So a lot of hockey in the SEC network this time of year. 37:40 Right. 37:41 Alabama versus Auburn. 37:43 Yeah. 37:44 So but no, I'll get to the I'll get to watch them. 37:48 You know, it's funny with with Ohio State. 37:51 You know, I watched last week. 37:52 I lost watched, you know, Friday's game or Saturday's Saturday, the first game against Michigan State. 37:59 And after kind of, you know, doing their game against Michigan the week before, I was like, you know, they just look lost or Michigan looked, you know, just in peak form. 38:09 And I don't know if they can, you know, I think Minnesota may be the only team that can stop them if they're going on all cylinders. 38:14 So they had a great game Saturday. 38:17 They were awesome. 38:18 They outshot Michigan State. 38:20 They went into MUN and went five to one. 38:21 MUN is a tough place to play for anybody. 38:24 And they went in and played a really good game. 38:26 You know, I watched that game. 38:27 I was, I'm starting to prep my kitchen for some painting. 38:30 So I like, I left the room for a little bit to do some work. 38:32 And all of a sudden it came back and it was like, cause it was like tied in the third period, wasn't it? 38:38 And then all of a sudden- 38:39 Yeah, they were down, actually. 38:40 They were down, but they were out shooting the whole game. 38:42 Yeah. 38:42 Finally tied it and then they got ahead. 38:44 And then it was boom. 38:45 I come back and it's like three or four to one already. 38:47 I'm like, what the heck did I miss? 38:49 It was real quick, so I try to keep all those. 38:52 I try to put those games on because, you know what? 38:54 There's nothing else on TV I'd want to watch right now. 38:56 So it's college hockey. 38:58 I love it. 38:59 You're pre-scouting too, you know. 39:03 So, Campy, what does Ohio State look like when they're playing well this year? 39:08 Well, watching that game, they were just skating really well. 39:11 They looked confident versus Michigan. 39:13 They didn't look confident. 39:14 They looked scared to have the puck on their stick. 39:16 And, you know, and that has a lot to do with your opponent, I think. 39:19 So, I think they had a little more fear going into those games, and maybe they didn't against Michigan. 39:26 Michigan State is a good team, but they don't have, like, the firepower. 39:30 They're going to grind you kind of like, so they're looking themselves in the mirror. 39:33 I think they had a little more confidence. 39:35 I think when you have confidence, you play faster. 39:37 When you don't, you slow down, you throw the puck away, you're chasing the game. 39:41 So when they're confident with the puck and playing their game, they're, you know, they're playing the Ohio State game that you would remember. 39:49 They just don't have that consistency yet as a young group, you know, learning on the fly. 39:58 So, you know, that's why I think, you know, this weekend could be interesting if they can, you know, they might be able to split because I think they can pull, bring that game at least one time against Minnesota. 40:09 I'm not doing any predictions yet. 40:11 I'm just saying, I'm just saying, you know, if they, Saturday's game was like, wow, they looked really strong. 40:20 And then, you know, Sunday, they get shut out to nothing. 40:22 So, they're not, they, they're not going to score a ton. 40:27 I mean, they can. 40:28 Roller coaster. 40:29 They don't have those, they don't have those top end guys like Lysinski and and Jobst and those guys right now. 40:35 I got some nice couple young guys like Treylor is a really good little player. 40:39 I love his attitude. 40:40 He could be a, he's going to be a future captain there. 40:44 But, you know, Quinn Preston, Gustav Poulasson was back. 40:49 That was good for them. 40:50 They're missing him for games. 40:52 I mean, he's center. 40:53 They can be able to fin. 40:53 Treylor and him up front. 40:54 That's the number one and two. 40:55 That's a good one, two punch at center. 40:57 But, you know, they're still trying to get some young guys on the D end, you know. 41:02 They're just a little fin back there at experience. 41:05 And that's when a veteran team like Minnesota comes in and can kind of, you know, put some pressure on them and maybe take that confidence away. 41:15 What's their special team has been like, like their power play units? 41:18 Cause there's just so many new guys on those spots. 41:22 Well, yeah. 41:23 Well, the one guy that's kind of taken a big step this year on defense is Gabriel. 41:30 You know, he's always been known as an offensive guy. 41:32 My friend of mine coached him in Waterloo and called him a riverboat gambler. 41:37 Cause he was a very, my friend is a very, you know, chip it in, chip it out guy and didn't like the, that kind of game, the risky play. 41:48 But he came to Ohio State and we actually interviewed him previous to the series against Michigan. 41:53 And he talked about how he came into Ohio State. 41:56 It was the first time he ever got healthy scratched. 41:58 And it was like a shocker to him. 41:59 And he slowly built his game to where by his junior year, he was a regular playing in the top four. 42:05 But then this year is his first chance to kind of implement the offensive side more. 42:10 And he's kind of running the quarterbacking that first power play. 42:14 So I think he's done pretty well. 42:16 He got a big shot back there. 42:18 But their power play has been inconsistent. 42:20 I think the numbers are okay. 42:21 But it's one of those things where they'll look bad and then they'll get one on the rush. 42:24 Or, you know, it's one of those kind of power plays where it doesn't look dynamic, but somehow they've got their 1-4 on the power play. 42:31 That kind of thing is how I see it. 42:34 That was the Gophers like all last year. 42:37 Man, the Gophers on that big ice. 42:39 I was against Arizona State. 42:40 They reminded me of my time, you know, like zipping it around and just using those seams. 42:47 And it's fun watching them when they know where they are and how they can take advantage of a team on that ice. 42:55 Yeah, it's been a while since we've seen 10-goal weekends. 43:00 It almost seemed like a 20-goal weekends, you mean? 43:03 Well, like 10-goal games, I should say, 10-goal games. 43:07 I mean, even at the second game, it was like, it's 4-2 coming into the third. 43:12 You know, it might be 5-2 or something like that. 43:14 All of a sudden, they just blew up and that was it. 43:17 So that was kind of odd. 43:19 But, you know, you talk about, you know, they had a great game, you know, Ohio State, the first game. 43:26 Then they get shut out. 43:28 You know, we've seen Notre Dame come into Mary Uchee, do a great job, and then they struggle against other teams. 43:34 You know, they struggle against Arizona State, Veegs. 43:38 You know, Minnesota has been kind of up there so far. 43:42 But everyone else is just kind of up and down and kind of very unpredictable. 43:48 And then, you know, Notre Dame comes into Minnesota and we're thinking Minnesota's doing really well. 43:52 They've been predictable and then they're unpredictable. 43:54 So it's kind of all over the place this year in the Big Ten. 43:58 I think that's just college hockey right now. 44:00 It's hard to have consistency. 44:03 You heard the players talk about how the coaching staff is almost kind of going easy on them up until the Notre Dame series. 44:09 It's just like, you know, let's just enjoy this season, stay healthy, keep everybody fresh, you know, you guys have been through this before, you'll be fine. 44:19 And then they play a real hard game like that. 44:21 And it's a real strike to the reality. 44:25 And I heard the practices have been more intense, a lot more battling. 44:31 I think it's going to be a tough stretch for the players down the road here as they try to stay focused. 44:36 But I think coaches this year with all the weird schedules and all the unknowns, I think there's just more roller coaster because they're not in their usual season plan. 44:46 College hockey coaches take things pretty serious. 44:49 When they get their season plan, they kind of put together their season practice plan, their season travel plan, their season conditioning plan. 44:56 They're planners. 44:58 And this year, that's all out the window. 45:00 And so everything's a little bit more on the fly. 45:03 We were even kind of talking about planning, you know, when it comes to television before you came on, Vig. 45:08 So I was talking with Cappy. 45:10 Cappy, you know, we're used to, you know, you get the second half TV schedule, you know when everything's going to happen. 45:16 And now you're kind of like, it's a week by week decision thing going on right now, especially for these TV networks. 45:24 Yeah, it's, you said second half schedule, usually you get the whole thing, you know, and a month before the season starts. 45:32 Obviously, that wasn't going to happen this year. 45:34 And what's making it even more difficult now is you have women's volleyball in there. 45:39 And they do really well in the Big Ten Network. 45:42 Yeah. 45:42 And, you know, they've already started their season. 45:45 And now you're, so you're, now you got hockey, women's volleyball, wrestling, and then the basketballs. 45:52 And obviously the men carry the freight there. 45:54 But so I just think they're really just trying to piece things together. 45:57 I think the good thing is that they are being able to play games earlier, like on a Friday. 46:01 Yeah, you're going to have maybe a four o'clock game. 46:04 You know, they're adding a few slots there, which you can, you're not having fans. 46:08 So, you know, most people, a lot of people are at home, maybe working, but they're finishing their day at four or five o'clock, so they pop right on to watch TV. 46:17 I kind of like it. 46:18 I kind of like it. 46:20 You know, a couple of these days, like on a Friday, we play at five, it's like, or you kind of finish up your day, you don't have that long wait and you're ready to go. 46:29 I think it benefits too. 46:30 I think it's helping turn the wheel on the old, oh my God, it's got to be Friday and Saturday, seven o'clock every week. 46:40 I think that might have, that ship has probably sailed for good now in terms of for everything, for everybody, in every sport now. 46:49 I think the times are going to be forever different for all sports, for a lot of sports going forward. 46:55 On the Minnesota side, Veegs, you know, people have been concerned, oh, we're not going to be able to watch the games. 46:59 The games are going to be on TV. 47:00 Well, the funny thing is, every game so far, except for the very last series, is on TV. 47:09 We don't know what's going to happen with Michigan. 47:11 Someone's going to put that on because it's going to be two really great teams playing in Mariucci at the end of the season. 47:16 That's going to be, yeah. 47:19 But we've got one game that's stream only. 47:22 That's that second Notre Dame game in a couple of weeks. 47:27 Actually, some networks will be picking it up, but not locally here. 47:32 But yes, the TV schedule is weird this year, but this might be the best year for video slash TV we've ever had. 47:41 Yeah, you might not get your Valley Sports Network, but there are ways to watch the game. 47:46 And I'm sure if Cappy were to get in touch with JB, I'm sure he'd figure out a way to get him a stream and get him logged in so he could watch his Buckeyes. 47:56 But if you're a fan, there are ways for you to watch. 48:00 Maybe a little different than you're used to, but the games are there, the games are fun. 48:06 This Gopher team has really got it humming, I think, in terms of talent. 48:11 This is a great blue line that they have. 48:13 They've got great goaltending. 48:16 If they can get their forward scoring at the level they're capable of, they're going to be a fun team to watch. 48:22 Yeah. 48:23 All right, go ahead. 48:25 Well, one last thing was, with that is, nobody's spending money on tickets. 48:30 So by getting the BTN app, you can watch any of the games, besides the ones, like the ones, if they're games on FSN, you know, that maybe some people don't have, you can watch those. 48:46 I know you can watch those on BTN app. 48:48 So, you know, you spend that money on that, because you're spending, but that's about a quarter of what, maybe a quarter of what season tickets would be at most places, maybe a little more at Minnesota, but we don't need to talk about that. 49:03 Don't get the fans going now. 49:06 You get everything on there, and you're, you know, you're not paying for any tickets, so why not a few bucks is watch all the games. 49:14 All right, Cappy, it's time for your prediction. 49:17 Minnesota, coming into Ohio State this weekend, your alma mater, how you feeling about it? 49:26 You know what, I feel, you know what, it's interesting. 49:30 I kind of gave it away earlier, but I think it's going to be a split. 49:33 I do. 49:35 I think the Buckeyes are going to find a way to play their best game one of the nights and Tommy Napier is going to play well enough. 49:44 And you know, I think the ice at Ohio State is not the best. 49:47 You get a lot of quirky bounces in there. 49:51 It's a smaller sheet now. 49:52 Minnesota has been flying around in their arena. 49:55 I think they're going to find a way to get one of the two. 50:00 Okay. 50:01 All right, Veegs. 50:02 I was just remembering, I think it was last year, there was really bad ice for the Gophers-Buckite series, wasn't it? 50:10 It was a game that came down to the last couple of seconds. 50:12 It was just like every scoring chance down the stretch was just puck bouncing. 50:17 Bouncing over a stick and yeah. 50:20 I mean, Napier is not going to be able to knock off the goal post off its moorings like he does when he's at Mariucci all the time. 50:27 You can't do that to your home rink guy, but we can watch and see if it happens. 50:33 You might go to it. 50:36 I do like the way Minnesota played coming out each game against ASU. 50:42 I thought that they answered the bell after their weekend against Notre Dame, where you just saw them get frustrated and try to do too much on their own. 50:50 I think there was a real strong effort to get the ground game going, to look for possession plays and to win those second pucks. 51:00 I think that's the biggest thing in hockey. 51:02 You can't be one and done. 51:04 If you're going to put the puck on that, you have to have players there to get rebounds or to chase down pucks in the corners. 51:11 If Minnesota is on their game, they're able to do that and apply consistent pressure. 51:16 We will see if they are able to do that again. 51:20 Is this a prediction or is this a... 51:22 I know. 51:23 I mean, what are we doing here? 51:25 I got five minutes of show left. 51:27 I got five minutes of show left. 51:28 You can have as much show as you want. 51:30 Well, in that case, I want three more minutes. 51:33 Equal time. 51:34 Equal time. 51:36 I'm kidding. 51:38 So here's the thing. 51:40 I think that Minnesota is going to be able to play that game against Ohio State. 51:44 I still think Ohio State is a little green and it could be that situation where Cappie was talking about how Ohio State against Michigan got a little starstruck, got a little nervous, and we've seen that out of young Minnesota teams, too. 51:57 When they play against somebody, they are not interested in extending their shifts. 52:01 They don't want to get minus when they're on the ice. 52:05 They're not looking for scoring opportunities. 52:07 They're looking, how can I shut down the other team? 52:11 And how do I stay off the minuses? 52:13 So I think sweep for Minnesota. 52:16 There it is. 52:17 I mean, I heard it coming. 52:18 There it is. 52:19 Just say it already, man. 52:21 I knew you were saying it, just say it already. 52:24 I do think that second game is gonna be a one goal game. 52:29 Oh. 52:31 So you're like four one three two? 52:34 Yeah, I could see like a five two four one and then like a two one three two game the next night. 52:42 I just think Minnesota right now has enough firepower where they can overcome some growing pains if Ohio State is there to answer the bell each night and I think they have enough to get through right now. 52:54 Especially if they get in a special teams battle. 52:56 I think Minnesota's got way more experience there than Ohio State does. 53:01 I know Steve Miller does a great job with those units, but right now they got it going at Minnesota. 53:07 It'll be fun to watch though. 53:09 Let's put it this way. 53:11 The sweep one way or the other is way less rising if it's Minnesota. 53:15 I'll say that. 53:16 Okay. 53:16 Which is why I'm predicting sweep by Minnesota. 53:19 That's just kind of what I do. 53:20 That's what you do. 53:21 That's what I do. 53:22 I mean, come on. 53:24 Not all the time. 53:25 I just started it more this year when I felt the team was better. 53:28 I was a little slower to get on that. 53:31 They are. 53:31 I'll take my what have I got? 53:33 Three seconds. 53:33 No. 53:34 I just wanted to kind of mention the whole Big Ten and how I see it right now. 53:39 If you are going to break it down into kind of power ranking. 53:45 Not power, tears. 53:46 I'll go tears. 53:47 Tears. 53:47 I think it's clearly Minnesota and Michigan at the top. 53:51 I think Wisconsin is kind of that team below them. 53:55 Then I think the other four, you can put them all, mash them all together. 54:00 Penn State's coming on and I think if they can get goaltending, they got a shot. 54:07 And I'll say this, anybody can beat anybody. 54:09 When we get to those one game, you know, it's going to be anybody. 54:14 But right now, man, when Michigan now, it's sad that they're going on a thing, but Michigan looked so good the last four games. 54:23 They look like where they were at the start of the season. 54:25 I think they got all those guys now. 54:27 They're not worried about World Juniors or any of that stuff. 54:31 The guys that didn't make it, like the Beecher didn't make it. 54:37 He's got four goals and three, you know. 54:39 I just think Michigan, they got the goalie. 54:42 I think them and Minnesota are just, whoo. 54:44 But now Wisconsin's got guys back, Holloway's back, and then those other four are tough, but they just haven't been able to kind of scare you as much. 54:53 So that's how I kind of break it down. 54:55 I'm sure a lot of people think that way, but that's just kind of how I see it. 54:58 Well, Michigan did move up in the second place this weekend, but that day you have two games in hand, which is significant. 55:06 They got the talent that could go on a run and win nine out of ten easily, if they get on a roll. 55:13 And then, what is it, March 6th-ish or 7th is the big series that could be for first place, but they get really hot. 55:22 Yeah, it's the last series of the year, March 5th and 6th. 55:26 Yeah, those, I mean, you know, six-point weekends, you know, if Minnesota has one more weekend where they don't get any points, you know, that's where it can flip. 55:36 If not, I think, you know, they're, and it's gonna be very hard for them not to get points in a weekend. 55:41 I think they're just too good, but that's where it could, you know, that's a 12-point weekend. 55:47 One more of those, say, in a Michigan, getting six and them getting zero is how they could flip it, but, you know, it's gonna be very difficult for that to happen. 55:55 I give a lot of credit to Notre Dame for getting the six points out of that series of Minnesota, but I think a lot of it had to do with Reedy and Stoddicker being out of that lineup, and the team just coming into that weekend unprepared. 56:09 They just did not play with the right mindset to put themselves in a situation where they could win that series the way they played. 56:16 Yeah, I mean, look at Notre Dame. 56:17 Look at four, they have four regulation wins against Minnesota and Michigan. 56:25 They swept both of them on the road. 56:27 On the road, but then Michigan went in and swept them, and I could see Minnesota easily going into South Bend and doing that. 56:34 So, and it's a wild card. 56:36 I said it was four teams at the bottom. 56:39 They're at the bottom, but they could beat anybody. 56:41 Anybody can beat anybody. 56:43 That's why this is a fun league. 56:45 That's why it's a great league. 56:47 It always seems to be close. 56:48 I mean, you know, we had Notre Dame run away with it a couple years ago when they first came in the league. 56:52 But, you know, and I guess when Notre Dame came in, that's when things got competitive. 56:59 Because at first, the first league, you know, Minnesota just kept winning the league title. 57:03 Minnesota was winning it. 57:04 Yeah, because all the other teams are down. 57:06 They didn't have great playoff runs, but that's kind of what it was. 57:09 But now the leagues are much more competitive. 57:11 I mean, it's, it usually always comes... 57:13 Goal-tending has gotten better. 57:14 I feel like Cale Morris said, I like got every, gave like everyone the goal to go out and get good goal-tending. 57:22 Cause like, you know, no one had, nobody should have been winning the Big Ten goalie of the year. 57:27 And so, I mean, it was, the numbers were pretty awful. 57:30 You know, it was fun. 57:31 I love goals and the league was exciting that way. 57:34 When Notre Dame came in, it kind of just changed the league completely into like a more of a defensive, brought them back down to the college mean, so to speak, in terms of goals. 57:45 I mean, games were seven, eight, nine goals every game. 57:48 It was fun to watch, but it kind of wasn't the best hockey. 57:54 Well, Cotner, it was a lot of fun to watch. 57:57 Oh, CCM line. 57:59 Yeah, that was a good one. 58:00 Yeah, they were pretty good. 58:02 Yeah. 58:03 Well, thanks for joining us, Cappy. 58:04 It's always great to have you on the podcast. 58:07 Absolutely. 58:09 Hey, if you want me on, you would be a great one at the end of the year if we get to the end where they're trying to figure out NCAA stuff and how they're doing it and who's in it. 58:20 Maybe they'll add me to the selection committee. 58:24 That's a shit show. 58:30 It's going to be complete. 58:32 How can it not be? 58:35 I think, yeah, hi there. 58:38 Well, you look at the college hockey news, they've got their power rankings of the top 16, and they've got four WCHA teams in there. 58:47 Come on. 58:47 Bit aggressive. 58:50 How many Big Ten teams do they have? 58:52 Just three? 58:52 Just Minnesota probably. 58:54 I think Wisconsin might be in there still. 58:57 They should be. 58:58 I mean, they've got the talent. 58:59 They've been up and down, I think, with them, with the COVID stuff and the junior stuff that really hurt them more than a lot of other programs. 59:06 But I think people know. 59:07 Yeah. 59:07 And I think people know. 59:08 Just like with Michigan. 59:09 Michigan was 500 and they were still in the top 10 because people aren't stupid. 59:13 They know. 59:15 Unless they start losing games, which, I don't know, a ton of games, I don't see it happening. 59:20 Well, they'll get swept at Minnesota at the end of the year. 59:23 So that'll put them down. 59:24 Right. 59:24 But that's not a bad sweep. 59:26 You know, those bad sweeps out. 59:27 That's not a bad sweep. 59:30 But yeah, no, it's going to be a shit show. 59:32 I don't know how else to put it. 59:36 Well, it's not only going to be a shit show, but we don't know what it's going to be. 59:42 No one has said anything from the NCAA about what they're going to do. 59:45 So we're assuming it's going to be a smoky room. 59:48 I asked Mel Pearson about it last week and he gave the shoulder shrug. 59:53 He doesn't know. 59:54 I think Mike Kemp and Bob Daniels are the only two that I know of right now that are in that committee. 1:00:02 As of right now that I know, that I've heard and saw that they were named to this committee that is going to choose teams. 1:00:12 So boy, I hope the Big Ten is represented in that committee somehow, someway. 1:00:19 But, you know, in September, October, we were like hoping we were going to get a season. 1:00:24 So if we're arguing about that in March, and we got to that point, great. 1:00:29 But it's also going to be interesting how they do it. 1:00:31 You know, I'm sure it's going to be a bubble. 1:00:33 I can't see how it's not. 1:00:35 But like I said, we can talk about that another time. 1:00:38 I hope you have enough of your time tonight, guys. 1:00:40 Veegs, you got anything else for this weekend? 1:00:42 What should we look for? 1:00:43 Anything odd? 1:00:45 Just look for that first period if they're getting pucks deep or if they're turning it over and doing one-and-dones. 1:00:50 I think that first 10 minutes is going to tell you a lot about how the weekend is going to go and if the message is there for them. 1:00:57 Having Scott Reedy back, I think, is tremendous for their forward group and an important player for them. 1:01:05 All right. 1:01:06 All right. 1:01:07 Well, that's going to do it for The GPL Podcast. 1:01:09 Like, once again, thank Cappy for coming on with us. 1:01:12 You know, we'll be back next week to recap the Ohio State Series and then preview the Badger Series with Todd Maleski. 1:01:22 For those of you currently watching live, stay tuned for a little bit of overtime. 1:01:24 For the rest of you, we'll be back next week. 1:01:27 Thanks for listening.