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. 0:37 Thank. 0:37 Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 186. 0:45 Well, it's Badger Week, and when it's Badger Week, well, it's become a tradition. 0:50 We always have Todd Milewski on. 0:52 Todd, thanks for joining us yet again. 0:55 Hey, happy to do it. 0:56 Love, I love this week every time it comes up, Badgers and Gophers, but man, when it's like this, when we're in February and these teams are first and second in the conference, doesn't it feel a little more like, there's just more of a buzz here, even if there's like no fans in the building? 1:17 Well, there is, but- 1:19 A few, yeah. 1:20 But the fan thing is just such a downer. 1:25 I mean, it would have been a packed house at Colson. 1:28 I think with the Gophers researchers this year, it would have been pretty packed at Mariucci. 1:33 Obviously, they've been having attendance issues the last few years, but I think it would have been so fun. 1:39 But- 1:40 Border battle was always a good draw. 1:43 They always had a good crowd for that game. 1:46 I think in the last four or five years, the Wisconsin series, when they did the throwback concessions, that's one of the best crowds we've seen at Mariucci in a long time. 1:57 They even had the retro scoreboard. 1:58 Was that that same- 1:59 Mm-hmm. 2:01 Same weekend. 2:01 Yeah, that was fun. 2:03 They brought back to life. 2:04 Which team did they bring back? 2:07 I know they brought back, was it the Olympians? 2:11 I can't remember. 2:13 Vig, you're like, that was a Broughton involved, but that's all I got. 2:19 That doesn't really narrow it down to a particular- 2:23 Well, no, I definitely remember the Broughton thing, so maybe it was that episode. 2:28 It's a good chance, I think. 2:32 Yeah, I think it might have been the Olympic team at that time. 2:38 Because I did get a photo of myself with quite a few, three of those Olympians in the Mariucci elevator, which I cherish. 2:50 Well, Vig, it was a good weekend for the Gophers this past weekend. 2:53 You know, we had Cappy on last week and he was hoping to see a split. 2:58 But if anything, if any team got the sweep, it would be Minnesota. 3:01 And that's exactly what Minnesota pulled off this past weekend. 3:05 A nice sweep on the road. 3:07 Yeah, I thought Minnesota answered the bell. 3:11 They checked all the boxes of the things they need to do to play successful hockey. 3:15 I know Ohio State is not the cream of the Big Ten this year. 3:18 They're still developing some players. 3:21 But I didn't think Minnesota let them in the game. 3:23 You know, their special teams came to play. 3:27 I thought they got pretty good goaltending from LaFontaine. 3:31 And they played a hard forechecking game, which they need to do to be successful. 3:35 They got a couple of goals on the rush here and there and a couple goals on the power play. 3:39 But I think it was a good growth weekend for them to prep them for what's ahead this weekend. 3:45 And Todd, on the flip side, a successful weekend for the Badgers as well. 3:51 Yeah, 6-0 on Friday against Michigan State and then 4-1 on Saturday. 3:56 I mean, two really different games, which is kind of I feel like what did you get out of Michigan State this year? 4:02 I mean, they weren't really there on Friday and, you know, the score showed it. 4:10 They had no answer for the top two lines of Wisconsin and they were just cycling for, you know, 20 and 30 seconds on end and waiting for something to happen, basically. 4:21 Saturday was different that they, you know, Michigan State was right there with them as much as they could be, really. 4:27 They were without three really good forwards. 4:31 But the talent gap was pretty apparent throughout the whole weekend that Wisconsin has guys that are going right now and talented guys that are on top of their game. 4:43 And Michigan State doesn't seem like they really have that in their arsenal right now. 4:49 You definitely got your top guys going. 4:50 I mean, Cole Caulfield, just what a weekend he had. 4:55 Yeah, well, was it eight points, seven points? 4:58 I forget myself now, but I know it's 13 in his last five games, 10 goals in his last 10. 5:05 It's yeah, everything we thought he was going to be, he's been in these last few games, really, since it's been a progression since he came back from World Juniors. 5:17 You know, that was his first week back, obviously, when it was the Badgers and Gophers last time, same with the three guys for the Gophers, but he's picked it up every step of the way since then, and really kind of peaking last weekend with a couple of two goal games. 5:35 I mean, one was an empty header on Saturday, but yeah, he's founded whatever he needed to find, he has founded these last few weeks. 5:46 You know, just seems to be playing a more complete game, too. 5:50 I felt like in the past, you know, he was kind of floating around and waiting for the game to come to him and only working the offensive zone. 5:58 He definitely seems like a more complete player out there and creating his own opportunities and winning pucks and second chances. 6:06 And that's something I don't think we saw last year. 6:09 That's the preview of my story for this week is, yeah. 6:14 There were two times last week, one in each game where he was, I mean, he did work in the D-zone that one led to a Holloway goal that made it 6-0. 6:27 So at that point, it was, you know, the game was out of reach. 6:30 But the second night, it was 1-1 in the third and State came out with a 3-on-1. 6:35 That became a 3-on-2 and Caulfield was the back checker, back checking forward, first back. 6:40 And he got to the guy just as the drop pass came back to him and lifted his stick up and the puck turned over and went the other way. 6:47 And that's, you know, yeah, that's, and it was 55 seconds into his shift. 6:51 He was at a dead stop in the offensive zone and he caught up to everyone. 6:54 So that was, I mean, you put that all together and that's what they needed to see out of him. 7:00 That was his growth for this year. 7:01 And we all know what he's got the puck on a stick in the offensive zone, what he can do. 7:05 It's the rest of the time, which is, you know, what, 85, 95% of the game that he had to be better at. 7:12 And yeah, for the most part, he has been. 7:16 So Veegs, I'm looking at the standings and there's, you know, we're always used to being close, but there is a little bit of separation this year. 7:24 I mean, the team's more spread out, Veegs. 7:27 You know, we do have the top four teams all have a game in hand off the bottom three teams. 7:33 So there's going to be separation there, even though Penn State has been playing a lot better recently. 7:39 But really, it could be a three or four team race. 7:42 I mean, you know, Notre Dame, you never know what's going to happen with them. 7:45 Michigan. 7:46 And I think it's awesome that, you know, Minnesota and Wisconsin are there at the top. 7:52 This is what this league needs, the Minnesota team and the Badgers being really good. 8:01 Yeah, I think it's going to be an interesting stretch for the Big Ten, especially when you look at the NCAA tournament implications this year and how that's all going to sort out. 8:11 I think that's been a big topic nationally as the coaches start to kind of ponder where they sit and how things are going to shake out, because I don't think it's real clear what kind of guidance the coaches are going to get for the selection criteria. 8:28 You know, it's still unclear what's going to happen there. 8:31 I think the NCAA is kind of dragging their feet a little bit on that. 8:35 And so the only way for these teams to really solidify themselves is to beat and finish in the top two of the Big Ten right now. 8:44 So it kind of looks like maybe just two Big Ten teams are going to make the tournament. 8:49 And to see Minnesota and Wisconsin as the two is pretty exciting for fans in this area, because that's the rivalry that we want. 8:58 We want to see these teams going up against each other. 9:01 And I have been giving Granado a hard time for the last five or six years on what kind of roster he's been putting together. 9:09 But he's got the magic dice this year, and he's pulled out the lineup that's very competitive. 9:16 And I'm still not sure what kind of goaltending they have. 9:19 I think in the series at LeBron, it was a little bit different than I was expecting. 9:27 And then the next night, it kind of disappeared again. 9:30 So you kind of go, is that a trend or a mirage? 9:33 What's going on with the goaltending situation there? 9:35 Because I think that's going to be a big key for Wisconsin down the stretch as they play teams like Minnesota and Michigan, who can really put the puck in the net. 9:44 Well, all it means for us, Todd, is fun. 9:49 Because we need this kind of fun. 9:53 Obviously, we've got this COVID thing that's bringing everyone down, not playing in front of fans, but at least that, you know, like I said, a strong Minnesota, a strong Wisconsin, a strong Michigan really helps. 10:05 Yeah, I was thinking back to when the Big Ten started in 2013. 10:10 Everyone thought, you know, it was going to be Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, as the dominant teams. 10:16 And it was that first year, right? 10:17 I mean, Minnesota won it and Wisconsin was right there, you know, for a while with them and finished second. 10:23 And I think Michigan was third that year. 10:25 But after that, obviously, the bottom fell out at Wisconsin for a few years. 10:30 And Michigan was up and down. 10:32 And Minnesota had, you know, a couple more championships, but, you know, had a couple of years where it fell off, too. 10:40 And, you know, now we're back to that where, you know, you've got the big three, so to speak, that are back in the top three spots. 10:52 And yeah, that's, I mean, from a, you know, from a big picture of the game, you know, giving everyone more opportunities. 11:02 Yeah, you like to see Penn State doing well. 11:04 You like to see Ohio State doing well. 11:06 You know, Michigan State, if they can get it going, again, that's great. 11:10 But I mean, these are the teams that carry the water, College Hockey in a lot of ways. 11:16 It's true. 11:17 It's true. 11:18 Getting them doing well, doing it well on TV, doing, you know, getting big numbers on TV, like we saw earlier this week from, come out from the Ohio State Minnesota game last week. 11:31 That's what you need. 11:32 You need a fan base that's intrigued by what is going on. 11:37 Well, one thing that I find interesting is that, you know, people have been complaining. 11:43 You know, we haven't had any good teams, you know, really in title contention, I should say. 11:49 And there's been a lot of parody, which has made the league a lot of fun for us. 11:54 But a lot of those teams aren't making it, you know, further beyond that. 11:58 I mean, last year could have been really fun because by last weekend, we had no clue who was going to finish anywhere. 12:06 But maybe this league does need, you know, a little more dominance on the top end teams just to get some clout for this league. 12:14 Because, you know, you look at how many consecutive titles has the NCHC won? 12:21 And we need to get a national champion in there somewhere, Todd. 12:27 We need some clout going before it gets any worse. 12:32 Yeah, it would help. 12:33 I mean, it would help the argument anyway. 12:34 I mean, you're never going to convince some people that, you know, the NCHC isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. 12:40 But you need a team, yeah, to see it through. 12:47 You know, Minnesota had its chance, obviously, in 14. 12:54 But then the three Big Ten schools in the Frozen Four in St. 12:59 Paul a few years back and Duluth wins it anyway. 13:05 It's not easy to fly the flag for the Big Ten in a lot of ways when you're talking about a national picture. 13:14 So yeah, until that happens, you've got to salute what the other conferences are doing, I guess. 13:22 We need a breakthrough, Veegs. 13:23 We really need a breakthrough. 13:26 Well, hopefully we can get to a tournament this year and see where this all goes. 13:31 That's another whole deal right there. 13:34 But I think the teams at the top of the Big Ten have the top end talent. 13:38 I think some of the talent in the Big Ten sometimes has been really young and has left early and really hasn't invested in being a successful college player. 13:48 It's all about developing for the next step. 13:52 I'm starting to get the sense that the teams right now at the top of the Big Ten, they've got players who are invested and they play the game the right way. 13:59 And you look at how Minnesota and Wisconsin are playing right now, that's winning hockey. 14:05 And we haven't seen that for a while consistently out of these programs. 14:09 And they've all got some senior leader type guys who can probably control the locker room and keep guys in check. 14:17 And I think that's really important. 14:19 I think we've seen a couple of Gopher teams at least where the young guys make mistakes and you can just tell that they're not being held accountable. 14:29 The seniors maybe aren't the kinds of players that have the talent and the confidence where they feel like they can speak up and be heard. 14:37 I don't think that's a problem right now for Minnesota. 14:40 You've got LaFontaine who's very vocal and can get guys' attention. 14:44 Scott Reedy, same way there. 14:47 So you've got some guys who can get everyone's attention when things start to get off the rails. 14:52 And another thing, Veegs, is that Mr. 14:54 Blake McLaughlin has woken up in 2021. 14:59 Maybe not so much in 2020. 15:01 At the beginning of the season here, but 2021, the kid has woken up. 15:07 Well, I think one of the issues with his game is it's a game built on hard work and determination, and he creates his chances out of chaos. 15:17 It's never going to be really a pretty, pretty game for him. 15:21 And when he tries to do that, I think he can maybe get himself into trouble and have to play a lot more defense than he should. 15:28 But when he's on his game and he's grinding and cycling pucks and getting second chances, he's a dangerous player because he does create these creative plays out of nothing. 15:39 And that's how you can be a dangerous player in college hockey because you're not usually going to get a lot of good rush scoring chances and big matchups. 15:46 Well, he's kind of playing the game right now where he can consistently be a threat and put points on the score sheet. 15:52 And I have noticed that Walker on the penalty kill has been awful for other teams, Veegs. 16:01 He is just aggressive out there, especially when he's attacking the other team in their defensive zone. 16:08 He's all over the place, stealing pucks, holding onto pucks, hiding the puck. 16:12 He's doing excellent on the penalty kill right now. 16:15 Yeah, he's a threat out there because he's so quick and that's really his strength. 16:20 And sometimes when you're on the five and five game and you just don't have anywhere to go with your legs, so you have to try to create some plays that way, on the penalty kill, there's usually a place for you to get to. 16:32 And he's very knowledgeable about how to apply pressure and how to stay in position to apply the pressure. 16:38 Sometimes you'll get guys who start chasing outside the dots and things like that when they shouldn't. 16:43 He's making a lot of the great decisions. 16:46 And part of that's the experience that he's been able to put together. 16:49 I think the Gopher penalty kill when they lose one of their top four guys because they've taken a penalty, you notice a little bit of a drop off there. 16:57 But when they can just roll those top four killers, they're very effective because they're all respecting the game. 17:06 They know where to be and they know when to take chances and when to apply pressure and when to pull back. 17:12 Well, let's talk about those special teams. 17:14 We got Tim Hapke on Twitter earlier this afternoon asking, Todd, the Badgers power play is really good this year. 17:21 Are they still using five forwards on the first power play unit? 17:25 And is that unit getting the majority of the power play goals? 17:29 Yes, yes, yes and yes. 17:32 Yeah, they've all year, I mean, they started with the youth they have now, which is Caulfield, Holloway, Ty Pelton-Bice. 17:43 Terrible lineup, by the way. 17:44 Yeah, that's just awful to have that. 17:46 And Linus Weissbach running the point. 17:50 And so, Holloway was there for two games, then he was gone for Canada's World Juniors Camp. 17:56 Forever. 17:56 Just threw a couple different guys through there. 17:59 Brock Caulfield got a look for a while. 18:01 And so, it didn't really get back to where they wanted it to be until January. 18:10 Now they've built it back up a little bit. 18:13 Did score against the Gophers, I think, in five tries that weekend with those units intact. 18:18 But it is that, I mean, a lot of times the top unit is out for a minute 30 before they even think about getting off the ice. 18:25 So, they're getting most of the opportunities, they're getting most of the goals. 18:29 I think last year was something ridiculous. 18:32 Like, only one of the power play goals was from the second unit for the whole season. 18:39 And I think it's not quite as stark this year, but it's still the same kind of concept. 18:47 I mean, we saw it last week. 18:48 And part of it, it's hard to compare how one team plays penalty kill to another sometimes. 18:55 But Michigan State was fairly passive, and so Wisconsin was basically just doing the same. 19:05 They were waiting for something to develop. 19:07 And they have enough talent there to make that happen. 19:11 And they popped a couple of power play goals on a major in the third period on Saturday to win that one. 19:19 So I know they were happy to see that because last year was a struggle even with the talent that they had. 19:28 I mean, think of who they lost. 19:29 They lost Mike Kalnuck, who ran the power play for three years basically, Keonjay Miller and Alex Turcotte. 19:40 But they've brought in this group that's a little bit more, got a little bit more grit in front of the net with A'Shawn and Pelton Bice maybe. 19:48 And obviously on the wings, you've got Holloway and Caulfield to line it up and shoot. 19:55 It's been working pretty good so far. 19:58 And then you look on the opposite side, Veegs, Minnesota had struggled. 20:03 I would say for quite a few years. 20:04 I don't believe they even had a shorthanded goal last year. 20:07 And LeCom had two last weekend, Veegs. 20:12 Helps to have a defenseman who can just quickly jump in the rush like that. 20:16 And I think that's one of the strengths right now for Minnesota that it has over a lot of their opponents is how fleet of foot they have on the back end. 20:26 I mean, they've got four or five defensemen who can all skate just as well as anybody on the ice. 20:32 And it just gives them that advantage. 20:35 With LeCom, you worry a little bit because of his defensive chops. 20:40 He can get into trouble from time to time and he needs a partner who can back him up a little bit. 20:45 But when you have guys like that who can skate, they're always going to be dangerous to jump into the rush. 20:50 And I think that's been a key for Minnesota is figuring out how to create those transitions. 20:55 How to position opportunities and really just green light. 20:59 Everybody get up in the play and try to put some pressure. 21:03 And if it's not there, don't force it and get a turnover going the other way. 21:08 But you notice how quickly they jump up in the rush. 21:11 And that's interesting because this weekend, the speed limit goes up on the penalty kill. 21:17 You take a chance, Wisconsin comes back the other way and you're short, even more short. 21:24 They can make you pay for it, Veegs. 21:27 Yeah, it's going to be interesting this weekend. 21:30 The special teams are going to be huge and the goaltending is going to be huge. 21:34 And I'm interested to see how Minnesota does against Wisconsin because I don't think they've been really challenged on the special teams too much the last couple weekends with OSU and ASU. 21:45 I have a lot of respect for OSU and their staff and what they do, but they just don't have the talent that some of the other teams in the big teams have. 21:54 All right, well, we've got more questions from Twitter and I've seen a couple questions within the chat. 21:59 But before we get to that, we need to hear from our sponsor. 22:05 Hey, fellow GPLers, this is Jerry Peters from First Class Mortgage. 22:09 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here. 23:11 Let's go right to it. 23:14 I see Dale Beers on Twitter a little while ago. 23:17 Will Brodzinski ever become a consistent player? 23:19 Always two steps forward, one step back, Veegs. 23:23 Brodzinski might be in the doghouse a little bit, isn't he? 23:27 He is a little bit in the doghouse. 23:29 There are some forwards who maybe get a little more rope with taking penalties. 23:33 I don't think Brodzinski is one of them right now. 23:37 And offensive zone penalties, bad penalties late in the game that could cost your goalie a shutout, things like that are going to show up in the coach's office and you'll have to deal with it. 23:49 I'm kind of happy to see Matzko go after a player and have some real consequences for those actions because I think that can really hold this team back and we've seen it the last couple years where players do that kind of stuff and nothing happens. 24:05 But he's got a shot and he's got offensive ability. 24:08 If he can just raise his skating a little bit more, he's going to be a consistent player. 24:13 And I think we heard maybe some rumors of some illness that impacted his start to his season. 24:22 Now is the time when he's really got to put that in the rear view and compete all over the ice because he does have talent and I think Bob trusts him, but he's got to be consistent. 24:34 Look, I'm seeing in the chat here, this one's for you, Todd. 24:37 Are Caulfield and Holloway assumed gone after this year? 24:39 And even another perennial, even Eric Brewer is saying, did Caulfield and Holloway finish the semester? 24:46 I think they finished the semester, yeah. 24:51 I would say leaning definitely, well, can you lean definitely? 24:58 Leaning towards gone for Caulfield and maybe leaning slightly towards probably like 51-49 towards going for Holloway. 25:14 I think Caulfield is reaching the point where he's, especially if he keeps playing like he has lately, where he's done what he can do at this level. 25:27 And I'm sure Montreal would love to get him in, especially with there being the extra regular season after the college season this year. 25:37 They could get him in for, I don't know exactly how many games it is, but more of a look than you would normally get in a NHL season. 25:51 Holloway, I think, could use a little bit more time, just because he's playing center now. 26:01 He's probably going to be a wing with Edmonton just from the depth that they have at center. 26:09 So maybe he could use another year at wing here in college. 26:13 I don't know. 26:15 I feel like his game is still at a point where, yeah, he's doing a lot of good things, but it's got a ways to go to play NHL consistently. 26:26 So if you're putting the odds on it, I would say it's pretty good that Caulfield goes, but maybe about 50-50 for Holloway right now. 26:36 I feel like he could probably learn some lessons from Scott Reedy's game. 26:41 He's a player who really wins those second chances, and Holloway's got all the physical tools to be that kind of impact player and really control possession. 26:51 I think that's something he can add to his game that's right there waiting for him. 26:56 It's just going to take time and experience, I think. 27:01 Definitely. 27:02 Yeah, I would agree with that, yeah. 27:04 You know, Veegs, it's kind of funny you mentioned that when we start talking about people leaving early, it always brings me back of what Daniel Lucia believed, and I think he was 100% right here. 27:16 He was always like, you know, don't leave until you've dominated the current situation. 27:22 Because we've seen it so many times, players leave early, they haven't done dominant, they end up, maybe they make it to the NHL, maybe they end up, you know, in the AHL for a long time and don't ever really quite make it. 27:34 But you look at somebody like a Cole Caulfield, Veegs, and I think he's definitely going to be ready at the end of this season. 27:42 Well, he'll get a lot of rope, too, to continue developing at the NHL level. 27:46 I mean, he's got so much skill that they're going to put that out there and let him figure out the rest. 27:52 You know, some of these other guys that don't quite have that high-level skill who aren't going to be powerplay-type players right away, you know, you're putting a lot at risk by shortening your runway and leaving too soon. 28:04 And I think that's the big thing with college hockey is you are going to have an opportunity to get some rope and develop all of your game. 28:12 You know, if a player starts taking offense and zone penalties in the AHL, he might be in the ECHL. 28:19 You know, they don't wait around for you to figure it out. 28:21 There's no full-year guarantees there. 28:25 So they'll replace players pretty quick. 28:27 So I think maybe we'll start to see some players stick around a little bit longer as they learn from that and see that, but it's hard to tell. 28:35 You know, people come to the college ranks too early and then they leave for the pro hockey too early too. 28:41 All right, this is for either one of you from Dan Hogan earlier today. 28:45 Any current recruiting battles between the Gophers and Badgers right now? 28:49 Do we know of anything that's going on? 28:51 Todd, I mean, do either of you jump in on that? 28:54 Or do we need to bring Hammy back for this? 28:58 Yeah, you know, it's a bit tough to kind of peek inside it is true. 29:02 right now with, for a lot of reasons, you know, that they're not at ranks. 29:08 They're supposed to be at ranks anyway. 29:14 We don't get that face to face contact with them to kind of just shoot the breeze about people. 29:21 But I don't know of any specific ones that are, you know, hotly contested right now between these two. 29:31 Yeah, it's hard because usually when you're at the games, you'll often see the players there too that are on visits. 29:39 Or at practice, yeah, right. 29:40 Yeah, or even at practice. 29:41 It's like, you know, when I saw Strobel sitting in the stands at Ritter Arena and I see Bob get off the ice, take off his skates in the penalty box and walk up and talk to him, you know, that's a good recruiting insight moment there that you just don't get now because everything's closed off. 29:59 So that's a big we don't know. 30:00 Yeah, sorry. 30:02 No good answer there. 30:04 You know, it's one of those things that, like you said, Vig, you would have seen that if you were at practice. 30:10 Todd, you know, we talked before we came on the air that it's nice to have this Zoom thing to be able to see, you know, meet with coaches and things like that, but you're not at the rink. 30:22 You're not seeing things. 30:23 You're not around people. 30:24 You're not talking to your connections as much. 30:27 So it's just an odd time right now, isn't it, Todd? 30:31 Yeah, it is. 30:31 And it's, you know, you have to be a little bit more creative in some ways that you never really thought you'd have to be. 30:37 But it's, we're all piecing it together as we go in a lot of ways. 30:44 I mean, it feels like it's weird that we're a couple of months in the season already. 30:47 We're still trying to figure out how this all works. 30:49 But hopefully by the time this pandemic is over, we'll have it figured out and then we'll do something new and different. 30:58 All right, I get another question on Twitter from Darren Bakken. 31:02 Which Gophers do you see taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility next season? 31:06 I think this is going to work for both of you for Wisconsin and Minnesota. 31:09 And Minnesota, do you see anybody vegs? 31:11 I think hockey is a little different with the upper end programs is that you kind of have to stick to a schedule and plan ahead. 31:19 I mean, if someone stays back, that could just mess up the whole line of people coming in, couldn't it? 31:25 It could. 31:26 It gets really complicated as well with scholarship money too. 31:30 Because with the budgets impacting college athletics a lot, it's going to be difficult to come up with extra money for scholarships. 31:40 I think for Minnesota, someone I'd watch maybe would be like a Brandon McManus and see if he wants to come back and stick around for another year. 31:48 He's a kid who really likes college and enjoys being around. 31:53 You're not too sure about how his pro game projects for him. 31:57 He might be somebody who sticks around. 31:59 Scott Reedy, he's dealt with an injury that's popped up pretty frequently. 32:06 You'd wonder, does he want to maybe spend another year to shore that up and give him the best chance to make the Sharks? 32:14 It's hard to know. 32:16 Then you have guys maybe who can get through that loophole and become a free agent as well if they stick around that next year because they have that, I think it's the five years after graduating high school, if you're not signed, you could be a free agent. 32:31 That's a new thing that we would never have thought of until now. 32:36 Todd, if you also think about it as well, you look at somebody like a Wisconsin, if you have a caulfield leave, you have a hallway leave, maybe having another guy who is a senior and maybe a second year senior hang around could really help and make up for those lost bodies and all. 32:54 Everyone I've talked to about this, that's part of the big unknown, is that you can project who you think is leaving, but do you also have a Ty Emerson leave as a defenseman? 33:07 So those kind of things, you're going to have to patch. 33:10 I mean, and Veegs knows this better than anyone, that it's not like there's a shortage of players that they have kind of waiting in the wings to come in and play here. 33:22 But you do have to patch that as it goes, instead of trying to think, you know, well, this is our roster for next year and we're not deviating from this. 33:31 That's not the way it works, obviously. 33:33 You're going to have potential for three or four guys leaving. 33:38 And then you never know who's going to want to transfer out. 33:41 We saw that last year with Sean Doogie leaving and Mick Messner leaving the Badgers. 33:46 I don't know if anyone would have predicted that at midseason last year. 33:53 So the picture is ever evolving, it seems like, in terms of what that next year is going to look like. 34:00 And when I've asked players directly if they have plans, if they know what they're doing for next year, the seniors, they say, at least to me, they say, don't know yet, have thought about it, and are talking to coaches about it. 34:16 But it doesn't sound like there's a lot of answers to that yet. 34:20 And part of it, too, is everything going to be back to normal by next fall. 34:28 Are they going to want to come back to this again? 34:32 That's another thing right there. 34:35 Because you mentioned Dougie there. 34:37 He went to Arizona State. 34:38 He's probably a really good candidate to hang around an extra season there in Arizona. 34:44 Yeah. 34:46 Maybe they're playing some home games, and he's around that weather a little more for one extra year. 34:51 Right. 34:52 I mean, if you go there thinking you're going to have a season where you're playing a bunch of games at home and staying at home, and then all of a sudden you're on the road for three and four weeks at a time a few times in the season, that's not exactly what you signed up for. 35:09 So maybe, yeah, you want to see a more regular year out of that for him next year. 35:16 When I talked to him back in the first half of the season, he didn't rule it out. 35:21 He was one of those that wasn't sure, but he thought it might be worth it for him to play golf again. 35:29 And go to school and play some hockey for another year, especially because I don't think there's going to be anyone beating down his door to sign him right now. 35:38 So, yeah, I could totally see that happen. 35:43 Interesting. 35:44 I noticed that Eric Brewer just said in the chat there, Veegs, he says, we looked this up last week. 35:48 Seniors who stay don't have their scholarships, counts against the limit. 35:54 It might not count against the limit, but it's still a cost. 35:57 You still gotta pay for it. 36:00 And as much as the Gopher Hockey program is in the black every year, the athletic department is going to be in trouble. 36:09 They're going to have to take out a bridge loan. 36:11 I think we'll find out in the next month or two at a Regents meeting how much money the athletic department thinks they need to take out and a loan to cover the costs. 36:19 And I know that they've got a Topgolf event coming to TCF Bank Stadium this summer. 36:26 It's an extra rental thing that they can figure out to try to get some money. 36:30 The Regents are going to be approving some alcohol licensing next week at their meeting to generate some more revenue. 36:37 They're just trying to do what they can. 36:40 So I think trying to find $40,000 or $50,000, whatever it is, to support a hockey player for another year, that's a tough discussion for Mark Coyle to have with Bob Monsko. 36:52 And we've got N. 36:54 Johnson in the chat. 36:55 He's asking, is there any talk of more than just parents at the arena? 37:00 Mariucci, I don't think it's going to change in the very few games we have left, Veegs. 37:05 No, the University of Minnesota is one of the most conservative groups out there in terms of not having any COVID issues, whether it's fans or students or what have you, staff even. 37:18 So I don't think it's going to happen. 37:20 I think they're begrudgingly trying to get some boosters and parents in there right now. 37:28 We're in this for another couple months, everyone. 37:31 One name that I think will also be interesting about Departures is Ben Myers. 37:36 He's an undrafted center. 37:38 Older? 37:39 Older guy who could get a pro contract. 37:41 And I don't know if that's where his head's at, but he will get offers at the end of the year. 37:47 Todd, how's it looking at LeBond? 37:49 Are they going to have any more than just parents? 37:52 No, I don't foresee that happening, especially because they're already... 37:59 I don't know if warring is the right word, but Dane County, which is the county that Madison is in, has shut everything down basically since the start of the pandemic for sports. 38:11 So if you step off of campus, you can't have a sporting event, but campus being state lands is governed differently and doesn't have that rule. 38:20 So they're already drawing some attention for that just by having the games here, obviously. 38:29 So when there are other teams, like Madison Capitals, aren't playing this year because they can't here in Madison, the pro soccer team had to move temporarily. 38:43 So I don't think there's any interest in having that expanded at all beyond parents. 38:50 They didn't even have that sort of season. 38:53 That came in later. 38:54 And I noticed you did mention the pro soccer team, and I'm just going to give you a plug. 38:58 It was great coverage just past them when we were following you. 39:03 Had you covered soccer before? 39:08 Maybe as a kid, as a youth? 39:09 Yeah, high school soccer. 39:11 Not when I was in high school, but back when it was with the Cap Times, I had to cover high school soccer for a while too after hockey season was over. 39:23 Was it a nice change up for you? 39:25 Oh yeah, I loved doing it too. 39:28 It was nice that this year they played actually in my hometown. 39:33 So I was able to go say hello to the parents, do all that kind of stuff while also getting the mileage to go cover the game. 39:42 So that turned out okay. 39:46 Yeah, it's a fun team to cover. 39:47 It's a little bit of the old St. 39:53 Paul Saints kind of idea that the biggest thing you're there for might not be on the field necessarily. 39:58 That's kind of the thing with the Loons. 40:02 It's almost become a cult-like out there, hasn't it, Veegs? 40:06 Yeah, they've done it right. 40:07 They've built up that fan base, that fan section where the dark clouds are thundering and getting into the game and chanting. 40:16 It's impressive to see. 40:18 I'm glad that Minnesota finally has that. 40:20 There was always strong US national team support here and supporting the Thunder for a long time. 40:27 It was fun to see them get an MLS team. 40:29 They made a nice little run this last year. 40:31 I'm sure it would have been nice to see the fans there a little more prominently. 40:36 Well, now forward, Madison has a former... 40:40 What were they before? 40:41 Minnesota United. 40:42 There's the Thunder. 40:43 Yeah, that's right. 40:45 Carl Craig, former coach, is now the coach here in Madison. 40:49 He is a colorful, colorful dude. 40:52 Yes, he is. 40:54 I'm looking forward to that a little bit, too. 40:57 But it's fun that you get to do some of that stuff. 40:59 I mean, it's not all hockey for Todd Milewski, is it? 41:04 No, no. 41:07 Did they have you covering any riots or anything? 41:10 I did not have to go out and cover any riots this time around, no. 41:16 Maybe next time. 41:17 Hopefully not. 41:19 Hopefully not, yes. 41:23 You know, coming in about where to get the bulletproof vests in the office, that was kind of the sobering, like, oh, kind of moments. 41:34 You know, we talked about, you know, it's not going to change for fans. 41:37 I mean, the funny thing is that the media is pretty well cut off. 41:40 Todd's one of the lucky ones. 41:42 He's an essential media, so he'll be at Mary Agee this weekend. 41:47 We cannot because we're not really essential. 41:49 We're just a little website. 41:50 So that's just the way it is. 41:52 And you know what? 41:52 I'm fine with that because pretty much every game is on TV this year, so I'm happy about that. 41:59 But the only thing is we don't get to see you, Todd. 42:02 You know, a couple of years ago, we even had a birthday cake for you. 42:05 Yes, that was one of the highlights of all the years coming up at the Mary Agee. 42:11 It was the 40th birthday cake up in the press box. 42:15 And we were talking about before we came on the air is that it's likely that people like Veegs and I, if everything does get back to more normal next season, it will be like a year and a half time since we had been at Mary Agee. 42:30 Because my last Mary Agee game was that Sunday game against Notre Dame in the playoffs last year. 42:35 And it looks like it's going to be October. 42:40 It sucks, but that's just how... 42:42 We just got to get through this. 42:43 And that's what we really need to hope. 42:45 We got to get through this and so everything can get back to normal, hopefully next season. 42:50 But on top of that, Veegs, we still don't know what's going to happen this season. 42:54 We don't know what's going to happen for the playoffs, the NCAA. 42:56 But we know it's Big Ten, but what's happening? 42:59 Do we know anything about NCAA right now, Veegs? 43:02 We know that one regional has dropped out of hosting. 43:08 And who is that? 43:08 Who has dropped out? 43:11 Manchester. 43:12 Manchester. 43:14 You know, in the East, where they're having issues. 43:17 So does this move to a central site and try to just do it all at once? 43:22 I know Loveland is one of the places I would actually kind of would love to drive out to Loveland and get put there. 43:29 I think it would be fun because that area is a beautiful area. 43:33 Todd, do you have any insight? 43:35 You don't want to go to Fargo? 43:44 That's where you're going, not us. 43:46 You're going to Fargo. 43:48 Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, right? 43:54 The few things that I've heard on this are that the NCAA committee, so the two layers here are the NCAA committee. 44:02 So the six people that will end up picking the teams are waiting for guidance from the NCAA itself on how to, you know, one, do selections, two, put teams where they go. 44:19 And now they have this other element to deal with finding a new regional site. 44:27 And it was interesting to me today to see that the NCAA came out with their plan for the Women's Volleyball Tournament, which happens. 44:37 And hockey. 44:39 And women's hockey, but specifically the volleyball tournament because that doesn't happen until April. 44:44 So they got that one done. 44:46 I understand getting women's hockey planning done because that happens first. 44:50 That's, you know, coming up in, what, a month now? 44:53 Or a month and a half. 44:57 But yeah, they got the volleyball one lined up already too without doing men's hockey in there. 45:06 And that was a little bit of a surprise to me. 45:09 But I also understand that, you know, volleyball is a bigger tournament. 45:13 They need to get that squared away. 45:15 I mean, even though they're downsizing at the 48 teams, if you're going to bring everyone in the one location, you've got to figure that out pretty quickly. 45:24 Well, one thing, Veegs, I know Steve says in the chat, is that they did get email saying that the four of us before were still going to be in Pittsburgh. 45:30 So it looks, is that really going to happen though? 45:33 Or is that just somebody in marketing just automatically sending an email? 45:38 It's hard to know. 45:39 I was surprised when I saw that email too, because I'm like, I haven't really heard any confirmation that it's actually going to happen. 45:48 I think one of the things with volleyball, figuring it out, I don't think there's quite the provincialism in volleyball as there is in hockey. 45:56 In hockey, you definitely have some entities out east, you know, and in the west trying to put themselves in the best situation and have strong opinions about how things should go. 46:10 So I have to imagine that it's harder to get a consensus in hockey. 46:14 I mean, we've had debates about the format and sites of regionals for the last 20 years, and there hasn't been a lot of change. 46:23 There's been a lot of conversation, but has anything really changed about the regionals in the last 15 years? 46:31 No, I mean, they couldn't figure out overtime in hockey. 46:33 They couldn't come to a consensus on that. 46:36 So yeah, there are no easy answers when you get that group of coaches and then administrators. 46:42 Coaches have one idea, right? 46:44 And then the administrators are like, hmm, I don't think that's the right way to go. 46:51 So we might be waiting another couple of weeks until we can... 46:56 But the plan, if there is a plan, is that it ends in Pittsburgh. 47:03 They're kind of backfilling to get there, I think. 47:08 But hopefully sooner rather than later. 47:12 I mean, you can hear it when you ask coaches, they're just kind of this exasperated, just like... 47:19 They just want to know. 47:20 They just want to know. 47:21 It was like the schedule. 47:22 They didn't know the schedule. 47:23 They can't plan. 47:25 They just want to know. 47:25 And especially when you have teams like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the Big Ten, I'll have legit chances of getting into whatever form this NCAA tournament is going to be. 47:35 It's just all up in the air. 47:40 And like you say, we lost a regional. 47:42 Does somebody... 47:43 I personally think maybe... 47:47 Let's do three regionals out west. 47:49 I mean, let's balance it out. 47:51 We've had enough Midwest in Pennsylvania. 47:55 Is Allentown available? 47:55 Allentown, yeah. 47:57 That's a west region. 47:58 They can have an eastern one this year then. 48:02 Change it up. 48:03 Right. 48:03 Change it up. 48:04 I mean, I'll be interested. 48:05 I'd like to see a super regional where they just put up, you know, eight teams in one site and get down to your frozen four that way. 48:14 It would be kind of fun to maybe see a Big Ten, NCHC, WCHA type regional. 48:22 You might be a little top heavy of talent there compared to the east, but it would be a heck of a weekend to watch. 48:28 And I think you'd get the fan bases going. 48:31 That would be quite the weekend. 48:33 I mean, you could put like a North Dakota, Minnesota State, a Minnesota, Wisconsin, something like that in a regional. 48:41 And no fans? 48:43 Yeah, that's the tough part. 48:46 I know. 48:49 We might see some TV records for regionals if that's what happened though. 48:54 Yeah. 48:54 You know, the tough part for me, well, one of the many tough parts in this is that if you get down to 16 teams and you've got them scheduled for, okay, you're playing over these three days, you know, throughout the country, what are the chances? 49:11 I mean, the chance has got to be pretty good that at least one of those 16 teams is going to have some issue with COVID over those three days, right? 49:19 Because look at what's going around. 49:21 Have we gone a week without having a team impacted yet this season? 49:31 Or a game postponed or something like that? 49:34 It just feels like if we get there and get it done, thank goodness. 49:41 I mean, because... 49:42 Well, you and I were talking about this earlier, Todd. 49:46 We were saying like, you know, let's just get to Friday afternoon and hopefully no one is... 49:51 everything happens. 49:52 You just never know this season. 49:54 It could be a last minute thing. 49:55 The Badgers are in town. 49:56 All of a sudden, well, oh darn, Minnesota can't play. 49:59 And all of a sudden you're like... 50:01 you just never know. 50:03 I always get my stories ready to go for the next day's paper, but I'm so worried about in that interim between when it might go online and between then and the rest of the day, is something going to happen that the games are going to be canceled and I've just wasted a story. 50:19 It's out there and I nearly can't use again. 50:25 I thought it was pretty funny that after the first game the Gophers played, the question comes to Bob, did you ever think this day was going to get here? 50:37 How relieved are you that the season's under the way? 50:40 And he's like, if you would have been in my office at 10 a.m., you'd be surprised that we're here. 50:45 Because I was crossing my fingers hoping we were going to get off without a hitch because it sounded like maybe something was up in the air at the start of the season for how things were going to go for Minnesota. 50:58 Every day is a gift. 50:59 And the interesting thing is that media availability today, Mr. 51:03 Robbie Stucker just flat out said, hey, how you been doing with the testing and everything this year? 51:07 He goes, well, I haven't had a test because I haven't had a test yet because I had it and I have to go 90 days after. 51:14 I was like, he just kind of outed himself having COVID. 51:19 And that was kind of the first real official one we've heard on the Minnesota side, Veegs. 51:24 Yeah, other than the coach, everyone's been pretty mum about who's had it so far for Minnesota. 51:29 There's been some rumors of a couple of guys, but no one's really come out and said, I've had it until Robbie today. 51:36 So I like a little bit of transparency with this stuff. 51:39 It'd be interesting to know how things are going. 51:42 I just watched the HBO Real Sports show last week where they talked about the long haulers, about athletes who've gotten COVID and have long-term fatigue effects, chest pain, heart problems, lung scarring, heart problems. 51:59 And these are athletes. 52:00 There's a player in the WNBA who is a very successful young player who isn't allowed to shoot free throws. 52:08 And we see that with Marco Rossi right now at The Wild. 52:11 He's obviously got some long-term effects from COVID. 52:15 And, you know, that could pop up at any time. 52:17 And that's the thing. 52:20 Even if it hits one out of a million people, one of those 100 million people could be someone that is on a sports team and could have really, really bad issues by continuing to try being an athlete out of this. 52:38 Okay, enough Debbie Downer stuff, guys. 52:40 We got a series this weekend. 52:44 Veegs, thoughts right off the top of the head. 52:47 This is going to be fun. 52:48 It's going to be fun. 52:50 It's going to be fun. 52:51 I don't think we're going to see low-scoring games. 52:54 I've been thinking in my head that if Lafontaine were to have an amazing weekend, it would boost his Hobie credentials. 53:04 If he can show up against Wisconsin and just play lights out, I think it puts him in a good spot nationally for that award. 53:12 So something to think about there. 53:14 I think the key for Minnesota to give that to him is to stay out of the box. 53:19 As successful as the Gopher penalty kill has been this season, I don't think you want to keep testing yourself against Wisconsin's power play. 53:27 They've just got too many shooters who are so dangerous that eventually it's kind of like playing Russian roulette. 53:34 I think they gave them five bullets or five chances in the last series. 53:38 Don't give them many more this weekend. 53:40 I think that's going to be key. 53:42 I don't think Wisconsin's got the goaltending to pull off a sweep. 53:45 Hold on, but they did last time. 53:49 They did the first night. 53:50 The second night wasn't as good. 53:51 And I thought the first night, if Minnesota is a little more determined, hunting rebounds and hunting pucks, I think they might have been able to get some easy goals that way, greasy goals that way. 54:03 And they just didn't have that determination. 54:05 It was more there the next night. 54:07 So I think it's going to be a mindset thing, but I'm thinking split this weekend. 54:12 Ooh, split. 54:15 I don't think that's a bad call. 54:17 Todd, we were just talking. 54:20 Your goaltending was very good, especially, like I said, in that first game earlier this season when they met at Le Bon. 54:29 But the thing is, your big boys have really stepped up now. 54:33 Well, and like Vig said with LaFontaine having a chance to boost his hobby candidacy, I think... 54:39 Against another hobby candidate. 54:41 Right, Caulfield could do the same this weekend. 54:44 Oh, is he nominated for the award? 54:46 He is now, yes. 54:48 It took a little while, but yes, he'll be a part of it. 54:54 So if he can put in a couple against the second best statistical defense in the country, that means a little bit more than scoring against Michigan State or Arizona State, right? 55:07 And especially in games that are going to be, you know, they may be on the plus channel, but they're usually pretty widely viewed border battle games, right? 55:19 So, you know, having said that, you mentioned goaltending and starting last week, they committed to a rotation where it seems like it's going to be Bay Do in the first night, Roe the second night, at least for a little while here. 55:42 Because Granado said that he wanted to do that. 55:45 But every time, like what happened against Minnesota, Bay Doon had a great first game, felt like he had to go back with them the second game, didn't have it as, wasn't as sharp, wasn't as focused, maybe. 55:57 And at Penn State, he gave Roe the first start, had a great game, had to go, felt like he had to go back with them. 56:07 He didn't have a good second game. 56:08 So he like locked himself into this, like saying, I don't, no matter what happens Friday night, I'm going with the other guy Saturday night, and he stayed with it last week. 56:20 So that's what he says is going to happen again this week and going forward for how long, I don't know. 56:26 But that's an interesting way of doing it. 56:32 And he's going to change his mind if something happens. 56:36 At some point, yeah, it's probably going to have to change. 56:40 But I mean, I look back to what Denver did back in the mid-2000s, right? 56:44 I mean, when they had, was it Fisher and Menino going back-to-back nights and then won the national champion. 56:50 Those guys were nightmares. 56:53 Yeah, I mean, and they played that way until the Frozen Four, if I remember it right. 56:58 Like where they, Guaz was faithful about one guy got one night, the other guy got the next night, even in the regionals. 57:06 And so it can work. 57:09 You've got to have the right guys with the right mentality, not to be, not to feel slighted by not getting both of the starts. 57:18 And, you know, it seems like these guys, Baydun and Roe are okay with it. 57:29 It's hard to get in their heads though and know for sure, right? 57:31 We'll see over time. 57:32 But I think that might be a decent alternative for them because they've had, you know, stretches where, you know, coming back with the same guy two nights in a row hasn't been a great idea for them. 57:51 And it seems like it's a good idea going into the second game, but then it turns out to blow up. 57:56 So I think this is worth a try now for them, this rotation. 58:03 So what's your prediction? 58:05 So I'm going to call split. 58:06 I'm going to call Badger's first night, go for a second night. 58:11 What are you thinking for all runners for this weekend? 58:14 What kind of goals? 58:15 Goals scored? 58:16 What's your total? 58:20 18. 58:20 Yeah, I was going to say, the mountain bread popped in my head. 58:24 Five fours and something like that. 58:25 Yeah, it was like, so Brian Postig gave me this stat earlier in the week that Badger's have scored four or more in six straight games. 58:36 And we looked it up. 58:37 They haven't done that since 99-2000 Brian Precht and Heatley year when they won the VCHA and came a game short of the Frozen Four. 58:48 And it's, you know, it's as you guys probably saw a couple of weeks ago, it's one thing to do that against Arizona State. 58:56 It's another thing to do that against Minnesota. 58:58 So, well, I guess maybe I'd be surprised if they score four in both games this weekend. 59:06 Watch, it's a defensive struggle. 59:08 Yeah, right. 59:09 Right. 59:10 Well, you know, the funny thing is, Veegs, you know, you could hear on the broadcast with the Gophers last weekend, a kid saying on the Ohio State side, this isn't Arizona State, it's a little different. 59:24 They still put up five on them both nights, and now they're leading the country in total offense. 59:30 And they're doing pretty well on the defensive side too, Veegs. 59:33 Yeah, you look at the gold differential for Minnesota, it's pretty stark. 59:37 Putting 20 up against Arizona State is a pretty good feat. 59:40 Putting 10 up against ASU is a pretty good feat. 59:43 But you look back at that Notre Dame weekend, it was a struggle. 59:48 And I think it's going to be more of a struggle this weekend. 59:50 I think we could see a 3-1 type game, a 4-1 type game, maybe an empty netter at the end. 59:57 I think this is going to be a tighter weekend than we've seen in the past. 1:00:01 I think both teams know there's a lot at stake, and I think both teams are playing more the right way. 1:00:06 So there's going to be less freewheeling open hockey that we have seen a little bit in the past with these two teams. 1:00:13 No, no, it's going to be wide open. 1:00:15 It's going to be fun. 1:00:17 It's going to be fast. 1:00:18 It's going to be GopherSweep, baby. 1:00:22 Shocking. 1:00:23 Shocking that I would pick a GopherSweep, because that's what I like. 1:00:26 It is shocking. 1:00:26 I was surprised. 1:00:27 Were you surprised, Todd? 1:00:29 Yeah, I almost fell off my chair here. 1:00:32 My shocked face. 1:00:34 The funny thing is, if there's a split, we're still in the same position, league-wise, points-wise. 1:00:42 Badgers come in and sweep, it's on, because then they'd be up by a point. 1:00:47 A Minnesota sweep, and then they put some 11 points between the two. 1:00:53 It's just all over the place. 1:00:54 With these three-point games now compared to two-point in the old days, it's... 1:01:00 wow. 1:01:01 It could be anywhere, Veegs. 1:01:04 Could be anywhere. 1:01:04 This will be a big measuring stick to see who's going to be in the driver's seat down the stretch. 1:01:09 It will be. 1:01:10 It will be. 1:01:11 And we still have Michigan kind of lurking right there, and you never know what's going to happen leading up to that... 1:01:15 Oh, wait, when does... 1:01:17 Do you guys play Michigan again? 1:01:18 Or have you all done with it? 1:01:19 After this weekend, the Badgers are at Michigan next weekend. 1:01:22 You hope. 1:01:22 This two weeks is kind of the deciding period of whether they're in the race for Big Ten title, and probably also whether they're in NCAA position too. 1:01:35 Because obviously they take that two-week break, and it ends right before they play you, so... 1:01:42 So yeah, a lot at stake for the Badgers these next couple of weeks. 1:01:50 Table stakes this weekend. 1:01:51 It's not table stakes. 1:01:52 Because you're not just playing for what's at stake that night. 1:01:55 You're playing for the season. 1:01:57 You can write an extra check if you need to go into this weekend, because there's Hobie considerations, there's NCAA considerations, there's Big Ten title considerations. 1:02:08 It's a big one. 1:02:11 Exactly. 1:02:12 Let's go. 1:02:13 Let's go. 1:02:14 Well, Todd, thanks for being on with us again. 1:02:18 Hey, anytime you guys want me on. 1:02:21 Well, only during the Badger Series. 1:02:22 We don't care about you any other time. 1:02:24 It's going to be a weekend when you guys are playing Notre Dame or something like that. 1:02:26 Oh, you want to come on next week, then? 1:02:28 I think we might have a big roundtable at the end of the year. 1:02:31 Kathy wants to be on our Big Ten tournament show. 1:02:33 Maybe we can have you. 1:02:35 Maybe we could reach out a little bit. 1:02:37 Absolutely. 1:02:38 That would be fun. 1:02:39 That would be fun. 1:02:40 Veegs, are you working on anything recently? 1:02:42 I'm working on distance learning with my kids. 1:02:45 We're getting there. 1:02:47 I shouldn't have mentioned it because, boy, that is just a handful. 1:02:51 That is just a handful. 1:02:52 Todd, well, you got to come in this week. 1:02:53 You kind of teased it a little bit. 1:02:56 Yes. 1:02:57 On the distance learning thing, we just learned that the district my wife teaches in and our kids go to is off tomorrow for a snow day, virtual snow day. 1:03:07 They're all virtual still. 1:03:08 It's still a snow day. 1:03:10 So they're not schooling tomorrow? 1:03:14 Correct. 1:03:17 Back in my day, we would have gone to school. 1:03:23 That's weird. 1:03:24 They don't even need to leave the house, right? 1:03:28 That's weird. 1:03:29 I thought this was the answer for snow days. 1:03:32 This was the end of snow days was the start of virtual learning. 1:03:35 But I guess not. 1:03:38 Who knows? 1:03:39 Anyway, yes. 1:03:42 We also have the border battle on the women's side as well this weekend. 1:03:45 Yes. 1:03:47 Which is another reason why it kind of stinks that there's no fans because I know there would be some badger fans that would come up for being able to hit both of them. 1:03:57 But then I'm also kind of upset that the women's game on Friday starts at 6 o'clock and the men's game starts at 7 o'clock. 1:04:04 Why? 1:04:06 There's no reason to do that. 1:04:07 They should separate it because then you'd be covering both easily. 1:04:10 Help me out here, right? 1:04:13 Well, you can go watch the first part of the first period. 1:04:16 The first 10 minutes and then you can't even go through the tunnel though. 1:04:20 That's the thing. 1:04:21 You can't even just go through the Zamboni tunnel. 1:04:23 You got to go all the way back around the building. 1:04:25 Really? 1:04:26 Man, that sucks because I love that. 1:04:28 They obviously don't want anyone. 1:04:30 They don't want anyone downstairs. 1:04:31 Definitely. 1:04:32 I understand that because that is such a convenient thing. 1:04:35 It's the same thing with Le Bon and the Cole Center, too. 1:04:37 You just go underneath and you're there. 1:04:41 VXU and I have done it. 1:04:43 Before Gopher Games, there's a lot of times women's games. 1:04:45 We'll head down to the Zamboni tunnel, stand there and watch some games. 1:04:48 Sometimes go up over to the press box and just enjoy some hockey. 1:04:53 You can't even do that. 1:04:54 You have to go outside and be cold now. 1:04:58 That's how it is. 1:05:01 Well, that's going to do it for this week's GPL Podcast. 1:05:04 You want to thank Todd for coming on with us. 1:05:06 Boy, it's going to be a fun weekend. 1:05:10 It's going to be a fun weekend, but we'll be back next week to recap the Badger Series and preview Revenge at Notre Dame. 1:05:19 For those of you currently watching live, we'll have a little bit of overtime coming up next. 1:05:23 For the rest of you, we'll see you next week.