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0:24
Now, here's Jup and Vegoe.
0:37
Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 190.
0:46
We're getting up there, Veegs.
0:47
We're getting close to 200.
0:48
We might just have to have a 200 show celebration, probably sometime next fall.
0:53
Next fall is probably the time to do that.
0:55
There's a lot at stake right now to break down.
1:00
Well, it's too bad we didn't have some games at Penn State this past weekend.
1:04
We're going to get this week off.
1:07
I don't know if that's good.
1:08
Bob seemed to think that get guys a little healthier, things like that, and things will be better.
1:18
Wisconsin's taking the lead in the conference by points, but they're going to determine it by win percentage.
1:25
It's going to come down to the last game, and that's how it's going to be.
1:29
I wouldn't have it any other way, Veegs.
1:32
Well, we hope it comes down to the last game, right?
1:35
I mean, that's what we're hoping for.
1:36
Well, if Wisconsin loses Friday night, you know, that's probably their...
1:41
I don't expect the Badgers to lose.
1:42
The way they've been playing and the offense that they've got going right now, I'm pretty confident they're going to come away with six points this upcoming weekend.
1:52
So it's really going to be on Minnesota to play well on Friday night and give themselves an opportunity Saturday to do something special, and that's raise a banner, because that's what is special about college hockey is, this is banner season right now, this is a chance for the players to raise one, so that when they go back to 3M and Mariucci Arena, they can point up at the rafters and say, yup, I was on that team.
2:16
And you talk to players who've done that, they will do that for the rest of their lives when they go see Gopher Hockey games.
2:23
Is look at the team pictures and the concourse and check out the banners hanging from the rafters.
2:29
That is true, that is true.
2:32
Before we get into this, Veegs, we don't have a game to recap this week or games to recap.
2:37
I'm just checking out the Twitter questions from earlier today.
2:43
And Steve, 2120, nothing but sweep this weekend.
2:47
But does one win get them the title?
2:49
No.
2:50
If one win does not get them, well, one win could get them the title, I guess, if they win Friday night and like you mentioned, if the Badgers were to happen to lose, then the Gophers would likely win with that one win.
3:04
Has anyone done that?
3:06
They're basically like a game and a half ahead.
3:09
So if they get nine points and Wisconsin gets 12, Minnesota can clinch.
3:17
If Minnesota gets nine points and Wisconsin gets six, they'll clinch that way too.
3:23
So just look at it.
3:25
They've got a half game cushion here on Wisconsin heading into the weekend.
3:30
So based on who the Badgers are playing, I think winning a tie would get it done.
3:36
Keep in mind that if they get to overtime, a shootout is required to get the tie.
3:42
If you get to the three-on-three overtime and you lose in the three-on-three overtime, that's a win.
3:47
So just getting to OT would not be enough.
3:51
It's going to be a fun weekend.
3:52
I'm excited.
3:54
It's going to be a fun weekend.
3:55
I mean, this is the team you want to see in a game like this too.
3:58
Michigan's got talent and that's going to be fun to see.
4:02
I think we were all cheated for that game during the World Juniors where all the talent was missing for Michigan.
4:09
Minnesota was missing a lot of players as well.
4:12
But I think we were hoping that would be a show me weekend.
4:16
But then the quarantine situation came in and everybody had to leave early.
4:21
So this will be a totally different series than the one we saw last time because Michigan will have all their thoroughbreds run in.
4:29
All right.
4:29
Well, Steve 2120 has another question.
4:32
He's like a little early.
4:33
But what are your thoughts on the NCAA tourney?
4:36
Looks like the Gophers should be a one or two seed.
4:40
Fargo or Loveland?
4:41
Well, I guess technically if they are a number two seed, they could go to Fargo.
4:46
But if they are a one seed, they are not going to Fargo because North Dakota is going to Fargo and they are going to be a number one seed.
4:53
Yeah, North Dakota has done enough.
4:54
They could probably lose pretty quick in the NCHC and still be a number one seed.
4:59
You know, with some of the other teams involved who are competing for one seed, it's a little more up in the air about how that could happen.
5:08
And we've seen some interesting things happen in the last week with teams losing, you know, and with the Boston schools out east, and we've seen some of the WCHA teams struggle a little bit here down the stretch.
5:19
So it's very unclear what's going to happen.
5:22
The one thing that I think is pretty evident is Minnesota and Wisconsin have done enough where they're going to be in.
5:28
It's just who wins the league and who finishes stronger will probably get a number one seed.
5:33
I don't see two Big Ten teams getting number one seeds.
5:35
No, but the team that finishes better between Minnesota and Wisconsin should get one.
5:40
Our boy Nate put together a bracket today.
5:46
Mancato just must love him right now because he puts them out there at Providence again.
5:53
A chance to redeem the demons.
5:55
Minnesota fans want to see the Gophers go to Happy Valley and redeem themselves.
6:01
I'm sure Mike Hastings is thinking the same thing.
6:03
He's like, let's get to that Dunkin Donuts arena or whatever and not commit a bunch of penalties when we have a lead.
6:11
Let's finish this thing.
6:11
I'm sure he'd love that.
6:18
If it's a really good possibility, if Minnesota wins out, wins the Big Ten title, if Mancato wins the WCHA title, and North Dakota, you've got three number one seeds all together here.
6:32
Somebody will have to go east.
6:34
It's just the way it goes.
6:36
And since Loveland is going to be a flight anyway, a flight is a flight is a flight, probably according to the NCAA, Mancato or Minnesota out east.
6:47
It's just going to be that simple.
6:49
One will go to Loveland, one will go out east.
6:50
And that's just how it will happen.
6:52
Unless one of those teams falters and doesn't qualify as the number one seed, somebody's going east.
7:00
It's going to happen.
7:03
It's hard to know what they're thinking.
7:05
You know, we asked Bob today at Media what he's heard from Jeff Jackson, who's advising the committee.
7:11
And he's just hoping that while they've said that they've thought of travel as something to influence their bracket set up this year, Bob's like, please don't do that.
7:22
Just stick to bracket integrity and do what's best and figure out your teams one through 16.
7:27
And just deal with that.
7:29
Just only focus on, you know, a host team that wins a bid, gets to go to their regional, like North Dakota, and just go from there.
7:38
But don't be trying to mess around putting a bunch of Western teams in Fargo and Loveland just because they're at West.
7:44
Because the NCAA determines anything over 400 miles when they do these kinds of things, that's a flight.
7:50
So even for teams like Wisconsin and Michigan, you know, they're a flight to everywhere too.
7:56
It's not like they're a flight to Fargo and not a, you know, not a flight to Loveland or...
8:03
You know what I'm talking about.
8:04
I got myself trapped in a sentence there.
8:07
I got the left-wing lock on my bracketology.
8:10
And you haven't even started drinking yet.
8:12
Not yet.
8:13
Save that for OT.
8:14
Looks like we got some barrel-age extra bake on tap.
8:18
Thanks voters.
8:19
Oh boy.
8:21
Darren Bakken asks on Twitter earlier today, who are the top incoming recruits next season?
8:26
We haven't talked much about recruiting.
8:28
And actually, we haven't talked much since Hammy left us.
8:32
What's it look like, Veegs?
8:35
Well, Cruz Lucius looks like he has developed into a top-end talent.
8:40
He is going to be a first-round pick despite a lower body injury that held him out for the first half of the season.
8:47
But he came right back, and I think he's got five goals in five games, goal in every game that he's been back with for the development team.
8:54
And his skill isn't really skating.
8:55
It's deception, it's moving away from traffic to find an opening, changing angles on the goalies, being really deceptive, beating people to lose pucks around the net.
9:07
And it looks like he hasn't lost a step in that part of his game.
9:10
So he's really the top-end kid coming in.
9:13
And he committed when he was a pretty little kid, as you can look back at Twitter photos of him and his brother when they committed.
9:20
But he's developed.
9:21
Can you pronounce his last name again?
9:22
What is it?
9:22
Lucius?
9:23
I'm pretty sure it's Lucius.
9:25
Lucius.
9:25
Okay.
9:25
Well, I really wasn't sure.
9:27
I mean, we might have to wait till we actually hear him say it, but.
9:30
Yeah.
9:30
The tricky one is Matt Nyes.
9:32
He's a player who's in the USHL from Arizona.
9:35
He's playing for Tri-City.
9:37
He was kind of looked at as a potential number one pick.
9:40
He's struggled a little bit this season, I think with some of the expectations put on him.
9:45
He's trying to develop a real complete game there, and he's been pressed to do that.
9:50
He's part of that Shane Doane Youth Hockey Movement in Arizona, and he's gotten some coaching there.
9:58
But he just hasn't scored like he did last year, and it could just be part of the pandemic and things like that.
10:04
I know he picked up an illness, non-COVID, in the middle of this year that set him back a little bit.
10:09
But he's a player who should be expected to compete at Minnesota.
10:13
I know the coaching staff was very high when they landed him because North Dakota was hard after him.
10:19
And he's a big kid, he's 6'2, 200 pounds.
10:23
I like that.
10:24
He'll be a player right away for them.
10:26
Tristan Braz, we don't really know what to think with him.
10:29
He's moved up the draft rankings a little bit as a player from Blake in the USHL.
10:36
And then there's guys like Rhett Petlik, who's an older kid who's already drafted by Montreal, who could come in.
10:42
Joe Miller, older kid who's already drafted by Toronto, could come in.
10:45
It's going to be interesting to see what they do.
10:47
They've got some good players.
10:49
Hugh Glynn, the Rozo kid who had the back injury, is back playing for Fargo and looks really good there.
10:55
So they've got lots of scoring options at Ford.
10:58
Defense, there's not a lot there.
11:00
So I do think if they have some departure issues, maybe they'll look at the transfer market because there's just not a lot of skating defensemen who could fill a hole.
11:10
I think Chelsea and Middlestad are probably too young for that.
11:15
And Nick Williams from Edina, he's the other one committed.
11:18
Probably not ready to step right into college.
11:20
You just don't want to get there as a college coach.
11:23
Yeah, he definitely don't.
11:26
Could anybody stay?
11:29
Could a senior stay?
11:31
Which could throw a wrench into the whole thing.
11:36
There always could be.
11:37
I'm not expecting any of them to stay.
11:40
Brandon McManus got asked about senior night a little bit today and he says it's going to be emotional when it comes and he doesn't want to talk about it.
11:48
Scott Reedy, he'll probably be a free agent after this year because of his development path taking a little bit longer.
11:56
So he might be able to be signed by anyone that he wants to play with eventually.
12:01
Then you've got guys like LaFontaine.
12:04
He's a big goalie.
12:05
If he got a shot to play pro hockey somewhere, I think he's going to take it.
12:10
He's had such a good season.
12:11
He's mentally ready as well.
12:14
And then Cullen Munson, he's a grinder kind of guy.
12:17
I wouldn't expect him to be back, but you never know.
12:21
I mean, that's the weird thing.
12:23
It could happen.
12:25
I'm hoping not a lot of players do it.
12:27
Just league-wide.
12:29
I mean, we had a lot of kids leave their Eastern schools this year and just because those Eastern schools didn't play or what have you.
12:38
But I'm hoping not a lot of kids do it, because it could really mess the whole train up, couldn't it?
12:48
It really could.
12:49
It could.
12:50
Minnesota has got a little bit of a backlog at forward anyway.
12:53
Then they've got guys, I know someone in the chat mentioned Charlie Strobel.
12:57
He's going to be an older kid.
12:58
I think when he signed, he knew it wasn't going to be play one year juniors and come to Minnesota.
13:03
He knew he was getting into a longer development path to join the club.
13:09
So it's going to be interesting to see what happens.
13:12
Then the financials of it is always tricky too, because the budget at the U is going to be stressed with everything around the pandemic and not being able to sell tickets and things like that.
13:25
So it's going to be hard maybe to come up with $50,000 extra for something like this.
13:33
Our boy Drew Krove in the chat on YouTube.
13:37
Thoughts on the pro future of one Brandon McManus.
13:42
You know, Brandon's a great kid.
13:44
He's a little small though.
13:45
He is a little small.
13:47
And his pace isn't quite what you'd expect for an NHL player.
13:52
You know, maybe he has kind of that Tommy Novak-like future where he gets a spot in the HL and can be a guy who maybe can fill in from time to time.
14:01
But it's hard to see Brandon getting into an NHL line up and being able to be productive in the bottom six.
14:08
Like, I just don't know if I see that in his game where in 10 minutes a night is he going to be effective, you know, chipping that way.
14:16
So we'll see.
14:18
You know, it'd be great to see him back in college for another year because he's definitely a fun player to watch in college.
14:23
And when he's on, like he's been the last couple of weeks, he can be a very productive player for Minnesota.
14:29
He can be.
14:32
We don't have too much to talk about this week, so we're going to head to our commercial here in a second.
14:37
But if you guys in chat have any questions for us, I've seen some come through, feel free to send it towards us and we'll try to get to it.
14:44
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15:50
I see another question and I know Tim's in the chat here.
15:53
He asked us earlier today, do you think Rossini will be able to get into the game Saturday for senior day?
16:00
And or will it depend on the position the Gophers are in?
16:03
And I think that's kind of exactly it.
16:07
It may be the Gophers get lucky and Wisconsin loses Friday night and they've got a little more options of what they want to do.
16:14
You think he you think he tries to get all the seniors in Saturday night, Bigs?
16:19
I think he's going to want to, especially with being able to address a seventh D like they've done from time to time.
16:27
I think the issue is, what is their power play going to look like this weekend?
16:32
Because after Robbie Stucker made the turnover that led to a short-handed goal, he got taken off and scratched the next night.
16:40
And Moxco then went to one D on each unit with four forwards.
16:44
And they actually looked pretty good in the games, generating chances with that look.
16:50
So is that something that Bob wants to do going forward?
16:54
He said they've worked on power play a lot the last two weeks, trying to get that thing going, because he knows it's something they're going to need down the stretch here.
17:02
You know, special teams, goaltending are huge, and he needs goals out of his power play.
17:07
The penalty kill has been pretty good, but the power play has been pretty inconsistent.
17:11
And they get frustrated, they show it, and they start trying to do too much.
17:16
So he's trying to figure out what's the way to make the unit the most simple.
17:21
And I know Stucker is a guy who can put pucks on net, and he's usually a simple guy up there.
17:27
I was surprised to see the quick leash on him with that kind of move, because he's one of those defensemen who can get pucks to the net, and all the players know that.
17:36
So we'll see what happens there.
17:37
But I would think they want to get Rossini in the line up.
17:43
Couldn't hurt.
17:46
Senior day, I really do think if Wisconsin wins, Minnesota wins Friday night, I think he's really going to try to lock it down and say, hey, we're not messing with this.
17:58
We're going with our best line up.
18:02
Though, I mean, can they make last second changes there, Veegs?
18:09
You know, the Minnesota game, we've got a double header.
18:13
Saturday, Big Ten Network came through.
18:15
We're having a double header.
18:16
MSU, Michigan, or Michigan State and Wisconsin on before our game.
18:23
Maybe he could make a last second change.
18:24
Like, hey, we already know we're going to win this.
18:27
Or something along those lines.
18:29
I guess, do we know what the kind of the rules are for changing lineups?
18:33
I mean, usually you just have to have it once you submit it.
18:36
You can't change it.
18:38
So sometimes coaches will do this.
18:39
They'll address two guys for one spot, go out for warmups, and then make up their mind afterwards.
18:45
And then once you submit it, it's set.
18:50
Hapkies right in the chat, though, by the way, Stucker did cost him a goal with a lazy offside by an inch.
19:00
I was surprised how good that camera was.
19:03
That was like a really good camera.
19:07
That was down the line.
19:08
It was good.
19:09
I mean, he was offside.
19:10
Yes, he was.
19:12
And he got a little anxious, shouldn't have done it.
19:17
But there you go.
19:20
Steve Larson.
19:20
Yeah, they will know.
19:21
Yeah.
19:22
Steve Larson will be a goalie battle next year.
19:28
Looks like it.
19:29
I mean, I don't think they're going to bring in their recruit that they got from Pittsburgh.
19:36
That's kind of a young prospect who's down playing a lot right now.
19:42
He's playing in the NHL and he's a Bobby Geppert recommendation for Motskow.
19:48
So we'll see what's going on there.
19:50
Will they see a transfer?
19:53
Which is something that we could see.
19:54
I know Bob's very high on the closer as an option for goaltending, but it's a little different to pump his tires versus start up for 20 games.
20:05
We've seen Bob be pretty hard on Mo.
20:09
Lot to be decided there.
20:11
This staff does not like to talk about those things during the year, though.
20:15
Even in the off season, they don't like to talk about them.
20:17
They do not.
20:18
It's going to be a question mark for them next year.
20:20
Dale Beer is asking in the chat, What do you think of the bros?
20:23
What do you think of bros on his new line?
20:25
Rod Zinski.
20:28
I think Moscow is just trying to find a place for him where he actually can succeed.
20:36
Yeah.
20:36
His pace of his game needs to increase a little bit.
20:40
Playing with Blake and Sammy helps him a little bit because those two draw so much attention.
20:46
He just needs to keep the chain going, as Bob is fond of saying.
20:50
It's like when there's a cycle and there's possession, you can't be the guy that's always breaking possession.
20:56
You have to keep it going and play your part.
20:59
And I think that's one thing that he needs to really focus on is Don Luchia always said, if you don't have your A game, get your B game ready.
21:08
Don't bring the team down by flunking it.
21:11
Find a B game, be safe, be steady, be consistent, contribute what you can.
21:16
If you start to feel it, elevate your game.
21:19
But don't be out there and just be a minus player.
21:22
And I think that's something he needs to realize.
21:24
You can play a part on a line.
21:26
You don't have to be the star.
21:28
You mentioned Don Luchia there, coach of the 2000s in the WCHA today.
21:34
He won a couple of titles in NCAAs and the conference.
21:39
Those were WUGS players.
21:40
What are you talking about?
21:41
Right.
21:44
Still can't break the recipe.
21:45
Still got to cook the meal.
21:48
That is true.
21:51
And then a couple of Gophers on that all team as well with the Johnny Paul and, oh jeez.
22:01
Jordan Leopold?
22:01
Leopold.
22:02
He just froze up there.
22:04
Free and free.
22:05
Some little defensive player.
22:06
Yeah.
22:09
You know, I think 2000s was obviously the best the WCH ever had.
22:18
I mean, you think of the players left off those lists.
22:24
You know, I can even think of someone as Ryan Patoni.
22:27
38 goals in that 2005-2006 season.
22:30
No one had scored that many goals in 10 years in a season.
22:35
And nobody has scored that many goals in a season since.
22:40
And I'm guessing he didn't even get a sniff because there are a lot of good players that played in the WCH in that decade, Veegs.
22:50
Those are the glory years.
22:52
That's when they were at the X for the final five and so much pro talent was starting to come through the WCH.
22:59
I think that was part of the thing with that era.
23:02
There's so many of those guys left early to sign pro deals.
23:06
That was after the new CBA was signed where teams were able to get these guys on pretty cheap deals and they didn't have to commit to them.
23:14
They could sign them, show them the fanciness of the NHL and then stick them in the AHL.
23:20
And a lot of these guys had to pay their dues there before they could get to the NHL.
23:25
And it would have been nice to see them in college hockey for longer and maybe they could have had better numbers and made this glorious team.
23:34
But it's a fun thing that WCHA is doing, going back to the history books and looking at these players because it's bringing back a lot of good memories when they announced the rosters.
23:43
I mean, you have Hobie Baker winners not even making the final team.
23:47
That tells, that says it all right there.
23:50
Yeah, that was quite the era for college hockey.
23:54
Yes it was.
23:54
Well, let's get into this weekend, Veegs, Michigan Wolverines coming to town.
23:59
We didn't find out until just this week what the TV situation was going to be.
24:03
I mean, I was speaking with Mr.
24:07
Deutch over there over at the U and he was incredibly busy earlier this week, on Monday and Tuesday, trying to get everything settled for TV this weekend.
24:20
The U busted their butt to get it done and they got it done.
24:22
I mean, Friday night it's going to be our boy Charlie Beatty and Lou Nanny.
24:29
Calling the game on FSN Plus and then Saturday night we've got an, or Saturday afternoon we've got a nice double header on BTN.
24:38
So they got it done, 25 out of 26 games on local television this year, Veegs.
24:44
That other game actually was on a couple other markets.
24:49
Phenomenal job by the U.
24:51
We got to see it.
24:52
We really got to see every game and I don't want people adding me about, you know, FSN and not getting FSN.
24:57
That's not my problem.
24:58
That's your problem.
24:59
Get real, get it.
25:00
Just get BTN plus people.
25:02
Veegs has been saying it all year.
25:04
You've been saying it all year.
25:05
BTN plus you can see all the games.
25:07
It's a lot cheaper than season tickets.
25:09
But it's okay.
25:10
It's a lot cheaper than season tickets.
25:11
So just get it done or get it.
25:13
And it's a lot cheaper than getting the dark TV package.
25:16
Like if you have YouTube TV and BTN plus, you're still saving 50 bucks.
25:20
Yeah, there you go.
25:21
But, you know, we didn't know what the game times were going to be, but we got 7 o'clock and 4 o'clock.
25:28
Let's roll, Veegs.
25:30
It's going to be great.
25:30
We got Cappy and Vosters on the Saturday game.
25:33
So our regional breakdown guest, Cappy, will get some action this week as he preps to do the BTN studio piece, our pizzo.
25:44
So that'll be fun to have Cappy on there.
25:46
He's a big college hockey fan and he'll stay up late to do the analysis to make sure he's on point for the weekend.
25:54
And we'll have him on the podcast next week along with Todd Molesky from Badgerville.
26:00
It should be a fun show next week with those two as we preview the Big Ten tournament.
26:05
But we don't know what's going to happen yet.
26:08
We kind of know where some of the seeds are going to go.
26:11
You know, it looks like Notre Dame, Michigan and Penn State are kind of stuck in a spot.
26:15
They're not really going to change.
26:18
Minnesota, Wisconsin, 1-2.
26:20
Ohio State, MSU are going to end up last place somehow.
26:24
That's really close.
26:27
So it's kind of a wait and see.
26:28
But I would say our task this weekend against Michigan is quite a bit more difficult than Wisconsin's at Michigan State.
26:39
Yeah, you could say Michigan's a little better than Michigan State.
26:44
I mean, they're in the same state, but they're totally different teams.
26:47
So you look at Michigan's roster with all their talent.
26:50
Scott Wheeler just released his draft midseason rankings.
26:55
He's got three Michigan players in his top five, and they all deserve to be there.
27:02
Owen Power, big 6'5 defenseman who can skate and move.
27:07
I think some of the offense in his game is still coming.
27:10
It's very difficult, I think, for young players to make the transition to D1 college hockey.
27:15
It's such a big game where there's a lot of structure.
27:19
You have to play smart first.
27:21
It's been probably nice for him to defer to Cam York for a lot of those power play and penalty kill and tough matchups, and he can kind of learn from there.
27:30
But he's still a very good player.
27:31
He can erase situations in his own end and then join the rush very easily.
27:37
And then you've got two other top players, there's Kent Janssen and Manny Benyars.
27:43
Benyars for the World Junior Team, he was just a water bug.
27:47
He was competing all over the ice.
27:49
He's going to be a tough player to play against this weekend.
27:53
I think that's something that they really missed when they played Minnesota last time because he plays down the middle of the rink, and he plays all 200 feet.
28:01
And he's kind of like a combination of like a Justin Cluse and a Jonathan Tabes.
28:06
You know, he's just kind of, he's there all the time, skating, competing, battling.
28:12
And it'll be a challenge for Minnesota Centers to keep up with him.
28:16
I think one of the biggest things this weekend, Veegs, and with Michigan all around is that you can't really predict how they're going to do.
28:26
They really are in a roller coaster team.
28:28
And they're that way because they're young.
28:30
But when they're on their game, they can play with anybody in the country easily.
28:36
But they just don't have that consistency.
28:39
Yeah.
28:39
And that's what you get with young players is you get that roller coaster season.
28:43
I think that's part of what's been fun this year with Minnesota is they have enough veterans where a lot of games, even if it's not going quite the right way, it never dips too far.
28:54
They're always able to come back up and get their head above water.
28:58
It's just when they played Wisconsin, I think the game got away from them and you can't do that against top end talents.
29:04
And you can't let that happen this weekend against Michigan.
29:07
And you can't just get lulled to sleep and start going all in every hand on every rush and really pushing the game.
29:14
You got to be patient even though it's going to be an up and down weekend.
29:18
Would they rather be playing this game at Ritter this weekend, Veegs?
29:23
With the rink size?
29:27
You know, that's a good question.
29:28
It seems like Minnesota has been playing better on the smaller sheets the last two years because I think the game is faster and more intense and forced a little bit more.
29:42
They haven't lost a game on the small sheet this year, have they?
29:46
I don't think they have.
29:48
Right.
29:49
But at the same point, Minnesota's defensemen are such great skaters.
29:54
Playing on the big sheet is not a detriment to their game because they're able to get back into the deep corners and retrieve pucks and start the breakout.
30:03
They've got centers who get back for the breakout.
30:06
So I think it's not a detriment to them from that standpoint, which it could be maybe for some of Michigan's lower defensemen.
30:15
But yeah, Ritter certainly would be nice for this team.
30:19
So Minnesota is coming in pretty healthy.
30:22
We've had some bumps and bruises here, but then they've been really healthy.
30:27
Whereas Michigan just did lose one of their players for the entire rest of the season.
30:32
How does that affect them?
30:35
Beecher is a big player for them.
30:36
He's one of their more physical bigger players, and he's got a shoulder injury that he couldn't play his style of game with.
30:44
And didn't want to play through it.
30:45
Wanted to have surgery, so he's ready next fall.
30:48
Maybe he's got some pro ambitions there that influence that decision.
30:53
I think it impacts them from BMO play that heavy game.
30:56
And so it's going to be more of an up and down type game for these two teams.
31:01
And I think it gives Minnesota a little bit of an advantage too, because Minnesota can still play heavy if they want to.
31:07
You know, Ranta and Reedy, Meyers, Nelson, those guys can be big and physical, and it's just one less big bowl to go against.
31:15
Soken Brodzinski.
31:19
If he wanted to, if he wanted to get in that game, he's got a big body.
31:22
He's just got to figure out how to use it a little bit.
31:24
Yes, I think that's kind of one of his issues.
31:28
Well, you know, and he wasn't 100% healthy going into the season, and just he's been playing catch up, it feels like, all year.
31:34
And, you know, he's the guy who can shoot the puck.
31:37
And so he wants to find ways to shoot the puck.
31:39
But sometimes you got to go, you know what?
31:41
Those shots aren't there.
31:42
I got to find other ways to contribute.
31:44
You do.
31:46
What's your prediction for the weekend then, Veegs?
31:50
Are they bringing home a title?
31:53
I feel like they're going to do it.
31:56
I feel like they're going to get two wins.
31:59
There we go.
32:01
This team has been so consistent all year other than two weekends.
32:07
This has been a team that's been more consistent than hardly any we've watched in 20 years in terms of their consistency.
32:16
Was it 10 or 9 or 10 sweeps or something like that?
32:19
Nine sweeps.
32:19
Yeah.
32:20
It's not just like they get away from a weekend and have a bad game and come back and play good the next night.
32:29
They usually put together three pretty good periods every night.
32:35
They might have a little lull here or there where they start to get away, but usually this team is playing better than their opponents all three periods.
32:43
And that's something we haven't seen for a long time.
32:46
And I think it's because of the center depth, the goal tending and the defensive play.
32:54
Well, of course, we know what I'm gonna pick.
32:58
Of course, I'm picking a sweep.
33:00
Steve Larsen, Action Jupiter, are you gonna pick a sweep?
33:02
Of course, I am.
33:03
Come on.
33:06
I still want to see Wisconsin trip up and have Minnesota win the point, win the league on points.
33:12
I know they're only down by one point, aren't they?
33:15
It could happen.
33:16
I think it's unlikely.
33:17
Wisconsin looks pretty good right now.
33:19
Definitely unlikely, but let's just go with it.
33:22
Win on points.
33:23
Yeah, a little bit aggressive.
33:28
I know.
33:29
That's just how it is.
33:30
I'm not even drinking like I did last week in overtime.
33:34
For those of you who missed overtime last week, I had not had dinner and may have drank an entire bottle of wine fairly quickly.
33:47
It happens.
33:48
When you have John King on your podcast.
33:53
Well, you started with the beer and then you went to the whiskey.
33:56
Well, John King started breaking out some brown liquor, so I had to respond.
34:01
Can't let that go unchecked.
34:03
If someone challenges you, it's like the enforcers stepping on the ice and going, hey, what are we doing here?
34:09
Are we doing this?
34:10
Oh, okay.
34:12
John King comes on.
34:12
He starts pouring some screwball.
34:14
I'm going to come at him with a little smoke wagon or something.
34:19
What can you do?
34:20
You got anything else, Veegs, or can we wrap this up and move to overtime?
34:24
I think we're going to move to overtime.
34:27
Just when you watch the game this weekend, again, focus on Minnesota in transition.
34:34
Are they turning pucks over or are they getting pucks below the D?
34:39
Are they going to play the long game this weekend?
34:41
Because Bob has been very, very clear about this all season.
34:45
This is not a high-end, high-octane offensive team.
34:49
This is a team that has to play together in the structure that they have.
34:54
They have to get pucks deep.
34:55
They have to get on their forecheck.
34:57
They have to get on their ground game.
34:58
They have to rely on goaltending and special teams to pull out wins.
35:03
Against a team like Michigan, just like when they were playing Wisconsin, there's a tendency to want to force action.
35:10
I talked about this with John King.
35:12
It's like, you don't have to go all in every hand.
35:15
It's okay to fold.
35:17
It's okay to call.
35:18
It's okay to extend things out and let the better team win.
35:22
But it's not okay to let Cole Caulfield get behind your defense on the first shift of the game.
35:27
Got to be aware of who you're playing against.
35:29
Bingo.
35:30
I mean, we asked this to Scott Reedy after the Wisconsin game.
35:33
He's like, yeah, you need to see who's on the ice for the other team and play on the right side of the puck against those guys.
35:41
That's going to be a test, a discipline test.
35:43
It's not an effort thing.
35:45
It's not a they aren't being coached well.
35:47
It's like, are they cognizant and taking it seriously?
35:51
And hopefully there's enough senior leaders on this team where you don't see that pop up and cost them.
35:55
But that's why they play the games on the ice.
35:59
And that's why college hockey is so fun.
36:01
Because you never know.
36:03
Let's hope we bring home the title this weekend, Veegs.
36:05
That's all we can hope for.
36:08
Number one seed.
36:10
Let's get her down.
36:10
Number one seed is going to be big for this team, I think.
36:12
It is.
36:13
It is.
36:13
They may be healthy now, but that could just be gamesmanship.
36:17
They've had some injuries that they've been dealing with all year that they're not talking about, but they're there.
36:25
All right.
36:25
Well, that's going to do it for this GPL podcast.
36:28
We'll be back next week to recap this big series of Michigan.
36:33
And then we're also going to bring in Cappy and Todd for a big, big ten preview.
36:41
A big, big ten preview.
36:42
There we go.
36:43
For those of you watching live on YouTube, stay tuned for overtime.
36:46
For the rest of you, we'll see you next week.
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