0:03
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Now, here's Jupiter and Vegoe.
0:37
Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 191.
0:44
Well, it's league tournament time, and since it's league tournament time, we thought we'd bring in a couple staples as our guests.
0:51
And we've got both Todd Milewski from the Wisconsin State Journal, and Paul Caponigri from the Big Ten Network, and former OSU Buckeye.
1:00
Gentlemen, how are you?
1:05
It's playoff time.
1:06
Yeah, we're great.
1:08
And we're hoping we get further in the playoffs this year than last year.
1:11
Last year, we didn't get very far.
1:14
I was mildly chastised by Badger movement's coach Mark Johnson for looking too far ahead on a Zoom earlier this week because he said, hey, we haven't gotten anywhere yet.
1:24
Like, all right, knock on wood or whatever you want to knock on.
1:27
But we still got to ask you about it.
1:31
And Cappy, we really have to be careful because, you know, we just had Clarkson drop out today.
1:36
Denver is only bringing 16 players for their tournament.
1:41
Skaters.
1:42
Skaters, I should say.
1:45
Anything could still happen here, Cappy.
1:49
I don't want to speak on it.
1:52
I think Cappy knows something.
1:54
No, I don't.
1:55
I just, you know, this has been a busy week and doing a lot of, you know, preparation, which I love.
2:02
This is great.
2:04
But yeah, I'm just kind of knocking on wood every night.
2:09
Let's go.
2:10
Go.
2:11
So, you know, one day at a time.
2:14
Well, thanks for both of you joining us.
2:16
And of course, Veegs, not the weekend Minnesota wanted.
2:19
They thought they could wrap up the Big Ten regular season.
2:24
Wisconsin took it right out from underneath them, all due to not a great game Friday night against the Michigan Wolverines.
2:31
They started well, just couldn't get anything by Mr.
2:34
Mann.
2:35
Yeah, I thought it was a little different than their series against Wisconsin, where they didn't impress in the series against Notre Dame, where they just fell into traps that Notre Dame was setting for them.
2:46
It was a little bit different game for them.
2:49
Strauss Mann played really well for Michigan and probably earned the W for the Wolverines and allowed Wisconsin that chance to win their first title in 21 years.
3:00
But it wasn't a dud by the Gophers.
3:02
I thought they still rallied in the third period, gave themselves a chance.
3:07
And it's just one of those games where it's just enough mistakes to cost them a win.
3:13
And it was different kinds of mistakes.
3:15
It was taking a long shift.
3:16
It was trying to create offense for too long and being tired.
3:21
But it wasn't some of the mistakes we saw earlier in the year.
3:24
Hopefully those are corrected.
3:26
So it was a little something different, a new lesson for Bob to teach to his players.
3:32
Yeah, it wasn't fun.
3:34
And I've already got some questions.
3:36
Why did the Big Ten use win percentage instead of point percentage?
3:39
And people can complain all they want.
3:42
This was decided back in November.
3:44
It was decided the week before the season started, hey, this is the way we're going to do it.
3:48
If people didn't like it, they could have complained then.
3:52
And that's just how it turns out.
3:54
That's kind of how it goes, Todd.
3:55
It's too little, one-hundredth of a percentage point or whatever it was.
4:02
Yeah.
4:04
I was wondering whether it was going to come.
4:07
I mean, at certain points along the way, you're wondering whether there was going to be a difference between a winning percentage champion and a points percentage champion.
4:15
And of course, there had to be, because that's the way the season's gone, right?
4:18
This whole year has gone.
4:22
And going back to November, I remember getting that e-mail.
4:28
I think it was the first day of the season.
4:30
Everything came out that this is what we're using in case there's an uneven number of games being played.
4:36
And I saw it, you know, winning percentage and I had to go back and make sure to check on that, because other leagues that had been putting things out were all points percentage.
4:45
You know, Atlantic Hockey was already saying, look, we're not even going to bother keeping points this year, because we know there's going to be an uneven number of games.
4:52
We're just going to start with points percentage and go from there.
4:55
Hockey East comes up with this, you know, formula that, you know, they won't share with anyone and just says, trust us, you know, this is the way that, you know, numbers shake out.
5:04
They go a completely different route.
5:06
But, yeah, winning percentage was an interesting choice because it takes away, it basically puts it on different, you know, criteria.
5:15
You know, overtime games don't count the same when you're talking about winning percentage as they do in points or points percentage.
5:22
So it was an interesting choice.
5:24
But yeah, you're right.
5:25
It was the choice they made.
5:26
The coaches voted on that.
5:30
It was it was made a long time ago.
5:31
So I know people complained about it.
5:33
And, you know, of course, now Moscow's like, oh, we should have gone the other way.
5:36
But hey, they had they had the chance to to figure that out.
5:39
He was joking.
5:40
He was joking.
5:41
Of course he was.
5:42
He was deadpanning it.
5:43
You know, I do think this is one situation where the Big Ten kind of shoots itself in the foot.
5:48
You know, I have a feeling that people that were drafting these are not necessarily hockey people who are used to shootouts and over times and things like that.
5:56
And you just didn't really think it was going to come up the way it did and that there would be a difference between a points percentage and a win percentage.
6:05
And it's just like your fancy football league.
6:07
When you've got your rules set, that's just the way you're going to go through the season.
6:11
And if you want to change it for future years, make those plans known early.
6:16
Now, Minnesota did come back to second game and Cappy, you and Chris Vosters were calling that game, probably from a closet in Chicago.
6:31
Closet in Madison, Wisconsin.
6:35
Yes, for the second time, we were up there in November for Wisconsin, Penn State for a pair.
6:43
But they didn't have anywhere in the studio in Chicago.
6:46
And they didn't, I don't know, protocols right now at the University of Minnesota, didn't want more people than, you know, whatever.
6:53
They, you know, they didn't want to bring in people that weren't normally there.
6:57
So our third option was, you know, the place we had been before to Rush Media in Madison, Wisconsin, where they pretty much have a setup just kind of like how we have in Chicago.
7:11
I mean, some, you know, monitors and all that.
7:14
And we actually got to be in the same room for this one, which was nice.
7:17
We wouldn't have had that in Chicago, but they had proper protocols or they had been doing it enough to now kind of have it set up more.
7:27
And so, yeah, we were in Madison.
7:29
We drove up to Madison to do the Gophers' Michigan game in Minneapolis.
7:34
So that, you know, it's par for the course for this season, but hey, it worked out.
7:40
That is a bit goofy.
7:43
But the key, at least, Cappy, Minnesota played better.
7:46
Minnesota played better that Saturday game than they did.
7:51
Even though they had nothing to play for.
7:53
You know, I think, right.
7:55
Well, yeah, I mean, I think that's their mature older team.
8:01
You know, they reacted better.
8:05
I mean, their team, now you watch them, they're so much better.
8:07
They play so well and relaxed with the lead.
8:10
It's like the norm.
8:11
They got so used to it.
8:13
And, you know, Friday, you even heard Bob in his comments, you know, he didn't like the way the bench was, you know, when they got down as much.
8:25
But, you know, when Michigan tied it up again in the second period, and you're like, oh, where are we?
8:32
You know, what's going to happen next?
8:36
But they are players full.
8:38
You could, they just felt like they were in control of the game.
8:40
You know, calling it is Minnesota kind of had control of the game.
8:45
You know, got a little dicey there at the end when they backers scored.
8:48
But I think Minnesota answered nice for a team that, you know, didn't really have anything.
8:53
They're probably going to be a number one seed, most likely in the tournament, you know, the NCAAs.
9:02
So, you know, I thought it was a mature, a sign of a mature team answering the bell.
9:07
Didn't want to get swept at home for the third time this season.
9:11
That would have been ugly, Vegs, if they would have lost that second game.
9:14
Yeah, and I didn't see it quite as a meaningless game.
9:17
I thought there were a lot of things at stake.
9:19
You know, there's Jack LaFontaine fighting for national awards.
9:23
You know, this is an individual award team.
9:26
But, you know, that means something not only to him but to his teammates.
9:30
I think Minnesota is fighting for seeding and then the NCAAs.
9:34
I'm not so sure as Cappie is about Minnesota's position for number one seed.
9:39
I think they might be drifting into that two seed territory, especially if Wisconsin were to win the conference tournament.
9:46
And third, I don't think you want Minnesota even going in that lower tier second seed.
9:53
You'd like to be that higher tier second seed so you can make the argument to the committee, don't send us to Fargo to play North Dakota in a regional.
10:01
Send us somewhere else to play somebody who's not the number one overall seed.
10:05
And I thought that was important for them.
10:08
On the flip side, Todd, your Saturday game was a lot more interesting and it basically, Mr.
10:14
Hobie Baker, bailed you out.
10:18
He was so good again.
10:21
Don't call it me.
10:22
I mean, I don't play for the team.
10:27
Yeah, Cole Caulfield was, I mean, he scored three goals over the weekend, but I mean, kind of forget about the one he scored Friday because of the ones he scored Saturday being the first one just being ridiculous and the second one being so consequential that it gave him the lead.
10:42
I mean, they're both consequential.
10:44
I mean, he scores in the last 15 seconds of the second period to tie it.
10:47
And it struck me along the way just how tight the Badgers were that whole game until Cawfield scored.
10:56
And you could tell that was like the exhale.
10:58
They were like, okay, let's just play now.
11:01
Because they knew everything that was on the line.
11:03
They knew they could go out and win the championship.
11:08
And they all said it afterward.
11:10
They haven't had a lot of games like that with that kind of meaning in any of these seniors' careers at Wisconsin.
11:18
I mean, think about these last four years.
11:19
There hasn't been anything along those lines in terms of games with that level of importance.
11:25
And so it was new for all of them.
11:28
Now, guys like Cawfield and Holloway, they've just been in the World Junior Gold Medal game.
11:32
So obviously they have that kind of knowledge.
11:36
That's a different plane.
11:37
But for a lot of those guys, yeah, those shots were going a few feet wide, wider than they normally would.
11:46
Passes weren't crisp.
11:49
And then Cawfield's score is just out of nowhere, really hitting a...
11:55
A broken plate, also the puck's out front on a stick.
11:57
Yeah.
11:58
And then they started the third period, and you could tell it felt like a different team, a team that was just more relaxed, you know, seemed a little bit more like we'd seen in the last few weeks.
12:08
Cappy, do we just give the hobby to Mr.
12:11
Cawfield?
12:13
I mean, I don't know if there's anyone else out there right now.
12:16
Maybe the Mankato goalie, but...
12:21
I mean, he's had a great year, but he's had that year the last three, I think.
12:28
And it's very hard.
12:30
You don't see them play at all.
12:33
You don't really get to see that league at all.
12:36
It's kind of the one and maybe the ECAC that doesn't get a lot of...
12:41
But, you know, the Hoggies is on Nessun all over the place right now.
12:45
And then NCHG has a lot with CBS and, you know, us with, you know, Fox Sports and Big Ten.
12:52
You just don't...
12:53
He almost feel like he's mythological, you know, like he's really good.
12:58
And, you know, I played for Mike Hastings and I'm sure Mike Hastings would, you know, talk him up and I'm sure he's great.
13:05
You know, I feel like the Richter is kind of taking the goalie.
13:09
The goalie, you'd have to, you know, a 10 shutout kind of season, I think, now, for a goalie to get the hoey because of the Mike Richter Award to an extent.
13:19
So I don't know how Cole Caulfield doesn't win it.
13:23
You know, tough toe at Quinnipiac's got a ton of siss, but man, it's just not as sexy as 25 goals in 28 games.
13:32
18 and 15, coming down the stretch, doing what he did, where a lot of people were watching on Saturday, I'm sure.
13:42
It was a hobey moment, and he might have more coming up, but that was his hobey moment Saturday, for sure.
13:48
Todd, are you a voter for that?
13:50
Not this year, no.
13:52
It was a few years back, but no.
13:53
The reason I ask is that I'm just curious when the vote would be due.
13:59
Is it due after tournaments or after, I should say after league tournaments or how does that work?
14:05
They do it the week after the regionals, unless it's changed this year.
14:09
Yeah, it's always the final vote.
14:11
That Tuesday, I think, is the vote.
14:13
They do a call with everyone that's on the committee, and then you vote after that.
14:20
Because, you know, Vegs, maybe if McKay has a, obviously has a huge, you know, league tournament and then goes into the regional and knocks out of North Dakota or something, that could be his way of really stepping it up.
14:36
I think it's gonna be really tough to give it to anybody other than Caulfield.
14:40
I mean, we talk about this with all major awards.
14:43
If you want a shot at those awards, you either need to have like back to back, hobby type worthy seasons in a row and elevate your program to that power five type status.
14:56
Like a Heisman winner coming from a group of five team would need to have back to back years.
15:02
Yeah.
15:03
Putting their team into New Year's Day bowls.
15:06
You know, McKay probably should have had that kind of season last year to put himself in this conversation, but we didn't get to see it in the tournament.
15:14
And then he would have to follow it up with the same kind of year this year where it was almost like in no doubt that he was the top goalie leading his team to that top ranking.
15:23
And we're just not going to see that this year because we don't have the out of conference stuff to compare it to.
15:28
Unless he shuts out the Badgers.
15:30
He shuts out the Badgers in an NCAA tournament.
15:34
That could be a big thing.
15:36
You can bring up some pretty old wounds with Badgers fans with that from 2000 when everyone thought Steve Ridenprecht was going to win it.
15:44
And he gets shut down by Mike Motto in the regional final.
15:50
And there's your Hobie Baker winner the next week.
15:52
So some wounds there.
15:55
You could open up real fast.
15:58
I just think the hype, of course, McKay has been great.
16:03
And so he had expectations.
16:04
But there have not been many guys that have had the hype of Cole Caulfield.
16:10
Because you just thought about that, that USA program class was so good.
16:14
You know, and everyone obviously with Hughes first.
16:17
But and the way they won and then they come to college.
16:20
And then, you know, they're drafted first.
16:23
He just had so much expectation.
16:25
And then to come back to when a lot of people like now, it's almost just crazy for a guy to come back for his second year.
16:32
You know, everyone else leaves and he comes back and he's so much better now, I think, because he looks like a grown man so quickly, you know, still got the baby face.
16:44
But man, he just looks the part and looks like a leader.
16:48
And taking those steps, I just think he answered it.
16:51
And I just don't see how it doesn't happen.
16:54
And I'm probably, you're probably 100% correct.
16:57
But Vig's like, we kind of mentioned, you know, what Ryan Patoni scoring 38 goals, you know, back in the mid 2000s wasn't even a finalist for the Hobie.
17:07
Well, Johnny Paul, when he led the team, correct, way back in 2001 to 2002.
17:15
So there have been players like that.
17:16
I think it's a different deal with Caulfield, because I think the hype was there coming into the season.
17:20
True.
17:21
Enough people have seen him play.
17:23
And he is a complete player this year.
17:25
You know, you've heard Granado talk about it in his availabilities the last couple of weeks.
17:29
You know, this is a team that's learned from their mistakes last year.
17:33
They have the right leadership.
17:34
Caulfield is part of that.
17:36
And he's just been a dynamic player to watch.
17:39
And it's not just shooting.
17:40
It's skating.
17:41
It's defense.
17:42
It's turnovers.
17:44
He's an impressive player.
17:47
Indeed, he is.
17:48
Yeah, I'm just trying to be devil's advocate here, because obviously you're so good at that.
17:52
You're just, well, I just, you know, I've kind of felt bad for Mankato these past couple of years.
17:58
They had a great team last year taken out right from underneath them.
18:04
One of the keys was their goalie then.
18:06
He's doing it now.
18:07
But like you said, Cappy, we don't see it.
18:11
It's kind of a mythology out there.
18:13
We're not seeing him on TV.
18:14
We're not seeing anything like that.
18:16
Not many people are probably I'm not watching the games on flow.
18:19
I'm guessing, Todd, you've watched quite a few games on flow this year for the women's side.
18:24
Yeah, right.
18:25
But really, you know, if it's not visible, it's really hard to hype the kid up unless he just, you know, shuts out the rest of the season.
18:35
And you know, it's sad as, you know, every year is a new year.
18:38
But they have, you know, they're known now for not ever winning a game in the NCAA.
18:45
So when you get, you know, just like any other sport, oh, that's a weaker conference.
18:48
That's this, that, while you can obviously prove it, there's only those small moments when you can prove it in the NCAA tournament.
18:55
And when you're number one seed almost every year and you don't have a win, that does not help your, you know, arguments and stuff like this.
19:05
As unfair as that still might be, that's just the way it is.
19:10
It is unfortunate.
19:11
It's just kind of the way it goes.
19:13
Todd, we had a question for you actually earlier today.
19:17
Tim Hapke, Wisconsin has seven seniors.
19:21
Do you have a feeling on any or how many might come back for an extra season?
19:28
Or might, and he said it might also depend on how they do this year in the postseason.
19:33
Yeah, I feel like there's a few guys that, you know, might want to give it a go, but there's some guys that are, I mean, they're 24 and you feel like maybe they're ready to be done with college.
19:48
I think of Ty Pelton-Bice, him being one of the older guys, and I, he didn't say it, but I kind of felt like he was leaning towards, yeah, this is probably it for me.
19:59
Not a lot of them are guys that are going to have, you know, real obvious pro, I mean, there's some drafted guys in there, but there aren't a whole lot of obvious pro looks for them.
20:10
So maybe that does give them more of an opportunity to say, yeah, if there's a spot for me, I'll come back.
20:18
But, and Granado has said that, you know, yeah, we'd love to have them back.
20:24
But when it comes down to it, you've got a class coming in that you've, you know, wanted to come in, you've promised them, you know, there's been, promises don't always come through at the end, but things have been laid out for them.
20:40
You want them, if they're coming in to play, and so it's going to be tough for everyone.
20:46
I mean, this is not a one team thing.
20:48
This is, you know, anyone that, that this door has been opened to is going to have to deal with some issues if there are players that, one, want to come back, and two, that they say, yeah, we'll take you back.
20:59
And VEG is basically the, most of Arizona State's coming back.
21:04
That's what it sounds like.
21:05
Greg Powers in his end of the year presser just basically opened up and said, this is going to be free agency for college hockey.
21:13
We could be adding guys, guys could be leaving.
21:16
Every program is going to have their own mess to deal with and try to figure out how to shuffle things around to make it fit.
21:23
You know, Bob's been pretty coy about what's going to happen in Minnesota.
21:27
You know, he's kind of hinted that it would be great if Jack LaFontaine decided to come back for another year.
21:32
We'd be happy to have him, but he hasn't really been talking about other guys.
21:37
And then this weekend on his radio show, he mentioned that Brandon McManus, age-wise, should be a junior and has just been a key player to their power play because he just gets it.
21:46
He just knows where to be in space.
21:49
So maybe he's a guy who could come back for Minnesota.
21:51
But it is going to be the craziest off-season in college hockey that we've ever seen, because it could be a lot of movement.
22:01
I'm looking forward to it.
22:03
Yeah, I honestly, you know, I mean, it depends on, you know, a team like Wisconsin and Michigan or those any of those guys going to come back, the young, not the seniors, but freshmen and sophomores, right?
22:16
And, you know, hockey is in a good place compared to many other sports because every sport has this scenario.
22:23
Hockey has the junior aspect where they already tell guys, hey, we might bring in this year, we might bring in the next year.
22:30
It depends on who is here and who's not.
22:32
At least hockey has that kind of, you want to call it minor leagues, whatever.
22:37
But if you're a basketball player, I guess you can get red-shirted.
22:42
But hockey, you can at least go play another year juniors if, say, they do want to bring Ty Pelt and Bice back.
22:49
At least they have a little bit of a wiggle room, if you want to call it.
22:54
Todd, I got some people chat saying that how fast has Cole Caulfield gone by the end of the season?
22:59
But he's also saying that you may have said he's going to stay the rest of the academic year no matter what.
23:05
Well, the issue is there's not that quick departure, especially when you're a team whose rights are owned by a Canadian team and you're playing in the US.
23:15
The quarantine is going to be the issue this year.
23:18
Now, I do feel like he'll be gone when the season is over.
23:24
There's not a lot of question in my mind about that.
23:26
But as opposed to Holloway, who's got a US option to play in the AHL, I believe Edmonton's AHLT or has an affiliate.
23:39
I don't remember exactly what it is, but he could play somewhere in the US as a pro and not have to quarantine, do all the crazy stuff, the hoops to jump through to play in Canada right away.
23:54
Caulfield is going to have something to deal with there because the way that the border is, there's not a lot of wiggle room with that.
24:03
So that throws a wrench into a lot of the plans of him, if he's done on a Saturday night playing the Sunday or the Monday in Montreal.
24:14
It's not going to happen like it has in the years past, even though the schedules are a little bit different, you've got some more time to play with.
24:22
I'm really curious how that's going to play out, but yeah, there's no doubt in my mind.
24:29
He's in his last games in college here.
24:32
But I guess Vegas, he could just sit out and join Montreal, come play off time too.
24:39
Could always happen because he's a drafted player, and those players can typically join the roster as they're eligible.
24:45
So he's done a lot at the college level and worked on his game and he's ready.
24:50
He's ready to be on NHL Power Play right now.
24:53
He's so good off the wall, so good changing into other spots on the Power Play and getting shots off.
25:00
He's ready.
25:02
All right, before we get to the actual tournament this year, we need to hear from our sponsor.
25:10
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26:13
Well, Cappy, you're going to be a busy boy Sunday.
26:17
You get to call Three Games with Ben Holden.
26:21
I hope your voice holds up.
26:24
Yeah, I mean, fortunately, unfortunately, I've had some time to rest it.
26:29
I think I've had four games cancelled this year due to the virus.
26:34
But yeah, it's been a lot coming into the brain this week.
26:39
I mean, I've seen everybody play.
26:40
Fortunately, it's six teams, but I've seen everyone a lot, know all the players.
26:46
But that's going to be fun.
26:47
I had first time with Ben.
26:48
Ben's awesome.
26:49
Watched him a million times and heard him with Fred a couple times this year.
26:55
That's going to be a fun, new experience, new energy in the booth with me.
26:59
And yeah, I'm excited.
27:01
I've never done two games in a day, let alone three.
27:04
So let's get it.
27:05
Let's just do it.
27:06
Are you going to be at Notre Dame or are you going to be in the studio?
27:09
No, we will be there.
27:11
We will be on site.
27:12
All the games.
27:14
I'm knocking on wood right now.
27:15
I'm not going to lower it.
27:18
Yeah, all games on site.
27:21
Fred and Dan will be there for the semi and the final.
27:23
And I will be back in Chicago with Rick Pizzo on Monday and Tuesday.
27:28
We'll be back together in the studio.
27:30
We'll have some pre-game and post-game half hour shows going on Monday and Tuesday.
27:37
So it should be fun.
27:38
And Veegs, you know, when it comes to actual games for Minnesota, this actually didn't work out so bad for the fans.
27:45
I mean, they'll play 3 o'clock or 3.30, whatever it is on Sunday, but then they play the night game on Monday if they get that far.
27:51
And obviously that's a lot better than playing the 3 o'clock game or whatever on Monday.
27:58
Yeah, it'll be a good TV schedule for Minnesota.
28:03
You know, they've lucked out this year.
28:04
We've had lots of fans be very critical of the TV package coverage for the Gophers.
28:11
It's been great.
28:11
Every game has been available.
28:13
And it's going to continue with this event.
28:16
You know, I think it'll be interesting to see if there are some people there that aren't usually there.
28:21
I know the coaches have been hinting that, you know, there's going to be like a pass list for some parents and friends and family.
28:28
Maybe there's the possibility of some more people being welcomed into the building with the Big Ten's recent announcement saying they would allow capacity up to state guidelines for these events without specifically talking about the hockey tournament.
28:42
So there could be some atmosphere in there which we haven't seen in quite a while for college hockey.
28:47
And one thing that kind of throws a wrench into this, Todd, is that, you know, Notre Dame is hosting, but Notre Dame has not done well at home this year.
28:54
So it's, it really could be anybody's tournament.
29:00
Yeah.
29:01
You never know, it's kind of enjoyable to see that.
29:05
You normally, you know, get some people crying out when a tournament is at one school's building that, hey, there's, this is unfair, home ice advantage.
29:17
Not feeling that this year, other than, you know, having your own locker room and things like that.
29:21
But I do buy into what Jeff Jackson has said all year that, yeah, they, you know, you don't miss the fans on the road or you don't miss the the atmosphere, not being there on the road.
29:32
Some people do, but you miss it at home.
29:36
You kind of expect that, that environment, you know, at least the returning players, that, you know, that noise level that, you know, and the fake noise doesn't work.
29:46
I mean, it's good.
29:48
There's some noise, but it's, it's not right.
29:50
And it, it really felt like I was noticing that it's Michigan State last week, that it felt like sitcom, like soundtrack.
29:59
Laugh track?
30:00
Yeah.
30:01
Because you get the, you know, they do the, the reactions, you know, somebody makes a, a goalie makes a save, there's a hit on the board, there's a reaction that they play, but it's like a half a second too late.
30:15
And so it's, it's almost comical the way it's done, because, but that's getting off track.
30:21
Yeah, us get off track.
30:23
We always get off track on the show.
30:25
It's great.
30:26
But no, I'm, I'm not expecting that, that home ice advantage to mean anything this weekend, this week, next week.
30:36
Veegs, what are your initial thoughts?
30:37
You know, Minnesota's going to play in Michigan State.
30:40
We've got Notre Dame and Penn State, and then Cappy's team against the Michigan Wolverines.
30:48
Man, I think we've got three pretty good games.
30:51
Definitely.
30:51
Based on the way the season's gone.
30:53
You've heard all the coaches pump the tires of Michigan State this week, saying if they were in a different conference, their record would be different.
31:01
If they had the opportunity to play out of conference games, you wouldn't look at them the way you look at them after going through the Big Ten, where I think they're one in nine in their last five weekends, and it's just been a tough stretch for them.
31:14
But they are a big, strong team who's really good in the faceoff circle, and that's proven to be a challenge sometimes for Minnesota.
31:22
So it's not a pushover game, and if Minnesota thinks they have a pushover game, we've got some film we could show them where they've struggled against Michigan State in the past.
31:31
So I think it's a pretty good matchup for the Gophers.
31:35
Michigan looks like a really talented team.
31:38
I think in this scenario, they're going to be tough to beat, and Penn State, I don't really know what to expect out of them.
31:47
They just kind of have a lost season about them.
31:51
So it's hard to see them doing well.
31:53
Now, Cappy, let's talk about that OSU and Michigan game because just a couple weeks ago, they split, didn't they?
32:02
Yeah.
32:03
I mean, Michigan, I still see as this team that's up and down, and Ohio State beat one game and then they get, I mean, it's just, you never know what those two teams playing each other, what's going to happen?
32:18
Yeah, you don't, well, Ohio State's been pretty...
32:22
They're all over the place too.
32:24
They've been, well, they've been consistently pretty good on Fridays or first game of series and then been dreadful the second.
32:31
I mean, they had a ten goal swing in their last, they beat Arizona State by five and then lost by five the next day.
32:38
So, you know, I think if that's their formula, they got a shot against Michigan because they play well that first game.
32:48
So we'll see.
32:48
I guess I don't I if I was going to, you know, you're going to call me biased or if I was going to pick an upset of the first those three games, that would be the one just based on recent recent way things have gone and and way Michigan has been looked unbelievable at times and then maybe just a little inconsistent because of you.
33:09
And then that's kind of what I was thinking, Todd, too, with with Michigan and Ohio State.
33:13
Yeah, if Michigan's good, Ohio State's done.
33:17
But the inconsistency, you just never know because, you know, they could win and then go play the Badgers and or whatever or actually guess you'd play.
33:28
Actually, they would play us when the Gophers they play the Gophers.
33:31
So it's just Todd.
33:32
You know, it's like they're all over the place.
33:35
It's really hard to predict that game.
33:37
I feel like Michigan and Ohio State are kind of in that same boat of, you know, Michigan's just so young and counting on that youth for so much that that's where you get those peaks and valleys.
33:49
That it's, I think when those guys are playing at their best, I don't know if anyone beats them because that's just the talent level they have.
34:01
Ohio State and add a really good goalie to it.
34:05
When man's playing that well, one of the best in the league, maybe the best if all things are equal.
34:12
But at Ohio State, I remember that series against Notre Dame a few weeks ago and watching that.
34:18
And it's like I didn't recognize any of what I've come to expect of Ohio State.
34:26
I think in the second game, it was an afternoon game, I think, and they were just getting just beat down.
34:31
And it was kind of stunning that like I know they lost a lot of players from last year and a lot of talent from last year.
34:40
But Steve Rollick teams have this way of, regardless of the talent, they're going to play to a style.
34:48
They're going to play with some gumption.
34:52
Some, you know, and I just didn't see that.
34:59
And that was a surprising thing to me.
35:00
And a week or two later though, when they were here in Madison, one game was pretty awful.
35:08
One game they were right in it.
35:10
And so that is the MO with them this year, is that they bounce around from side to side and all over every lane on the highway to get to the finish line.
35:22
And Veegs, I see Brent commenting in the chat.
35:25
He goes, personally, he thinks the Jekyll and Hyde team is Notre Dame.
35:29
And I mean, I think they've been much better on the road than at home, but they are very kind of Jekyll and Hyde-ish as well.
35:38
I think this kind of applies to both Ohio State and Notre Dame, but I don't know if anyone out there listening or on the podcast has tried to coach while wearing a mask.
35:48
It is very difficult on a hockey rink to communicate and teach and get everybody engaged.
35:56
It's hard to read your players because you have a face that's covered with a mask.
36:01
It's hard to see if they're picking it up, if they're connecting.
36:05
And when you look at teams like Ohio State and Notre Dame, they are usually very well structured.
36:10
They have been coached very well.
36:12
And I think this kind of year that we're under is probably a challenge for those kinds of teams.
36:18
Because you're not doing all the team bonding, the team film work, the instructional sessions on the ice are probably a little discombobulated because there's confusion out there.
36:28
And so I think that's probably had an impact on those two teams.
36:31
Because Todd's right.
36:33
When we look at those programs, you're expecting tight checking, well-coached players and it's a little bit loose this year.
36:44
Well, personally, I think if Minnesota and Wisconsin does get to the final, there's your number one seed whoever wins the game.
36:51
Don't you agree?
36:52
And they'll avoid going to Grand Forks because I'm guessing the other team may end up going to Grand Forks.
37:00
Because, you know, I see...
37:02
Fargo.
37:03
I'm sorry.
37:04
Feels like Grand Forks.
37:08
It does.
37:09
My mistake, yes, Fargo.
37:12
Because I do see Minnesota State and North Dakota probably winning their leagues.
37:17
And then we're going to have that scenario, Cappy, where we're going to have three Western teams with number one seeds and somebody's going to have to go east.
37:25
Yeah.
37:26
And I don't think that's a bad thing this year.
37:28
No, honestly.
37:30
You know, the seeding thing, man, I don't know.
37:35
This year is going to be, there's not that big drop down.
37:41
Like 16 could be Notre Dame or 15.
37:45
There could be, you know, I think Notre Dame needs to win minimum one, probably to get to the championship game at least.
37:52
I think they get to the championship.
37:54
They got a really good shot at getting in.
37:56
But then where is Michigan?
37:57
You get Michigan in as a three or maybe a four.
38:00
Maybe they're playing North Dakota.
38:02
You know, who knows how these guys are?
38:06
Michigan is a tricky one because in the poll, they're in the top seven, top eight and they've stayed there.
38:11
Even when they've lost games, everyone has voted them and kept them up there.
38:15
Yet in the pairwise, they're like 20.
38:18
You know, so I could see that.
38:21
You know, there's some imbalances.
38:23
Duluth, St.
38:24
Cloud are higher in the pairwise.
38:25
So where are they going to get seeded?
38:28
And you know what I mean?
38:29
Like they could be four seeds.
38:32
And are they four seed?
38:34
You know what I mean?
38:35
It's a strange year.
38:36
It's par for the course.
38:37
And there's just a lot of questions about it.
38:39
And Veegs, we really still don't know what's going to happen with COVID.
38:42
We just had a kind of bubble team Clarkson gone.
38:46
Anything could happen.
38:47
You know, you got somebody like at Denver now coming in with 16 skaters, CC's had problems in the past, you know.
38:54
It's just, it's literally going to be, you know, you could have a team win a tournament, and then all of a sudden they have COVID, and all of a sudden they're gone.
39:02
So there's just so much up in the air, Veegs.
39:05
Yeah, I think Clarkson calling it a season makes things maybe a little bit easier for some of this bubble watching going on.
39:12
Because, you know, with only four teams in that league, if they got two beds, that would have been complicated for everything else.
39:19
Now with them out, you know, now you're probably looking at, you know, how many teams can the WCHA can get in?
39:25
You know, I think a lot of Duluth fans were worried if their team lost to Western Michigan, would they be out for the NCHC?
39:31
Would NCHC only get three teams in and Omaha would get in ahead of Duluth?
39:36
So I think some of that maybe simplifies things and does create room for Notre Dame to get in.
39:42
You know, you look at their record against the top three in the Big Ten, and Jeff Jackson was laying this out this week is, you know, you could probably consider Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan as at least the top eight in the country, and Notre Dame kind of held their own against them, and if they do well in this tournament, you know, it's a better argument for them to make.
40:04
So there's a lot of interesting things here watching the tournament bids as they come down the stretch.
40:11
Todd the Badgers won their first regular season league title in 21 years.
40:16
They've actually, they've had a lot of good teams.
40:18
They just haven't been able to put it together.
40:21
They get the bye.
40:24
Just give us your initial thoughts on that, just kind of the whole process here.
40:27
I mean, they had to come from behind.
40:31
They beat Minnesota.
40:32
They passed Minnesota.
40:33
They're resilient.
40:35
These young kids are playing out of their minds now compared to previous seasons when they just couldn't quite get the young guys together.
40:43
It's a whole different story for the Badgers right now.
40:46
Yeah.
40:46
It's hard to find a spot of the game that isn't going well right now.
40:51
Power play is going great.
40:52
Goaltending.
40:53
You're throwing two guys out there that both seem like they're pretty confident and have had pretty good results lately.
41:02
They've been a little banged up on defense.
41:03
They played basically all of last weekend with 4D and sprinkled in the two other guys that they had on the line chart a couple of times here and there.
41:13
But they still only gave up one goal.
41:17
You can say, yeah, that's against Michigan State, a team that hasn't exactly filled the net a lot of times this year.
41:22
But still, that's asking a lot of guys to play 28, 30, 32 minutes, whatever it ends up being on back-to-back nights, and they seem fine with it.
41:34
They didn't show like they were having any problems with that.
41:40
One of them is a freshman, one of them is just getting basically his first year of playing a regular role, and then you've got two seniors.
41:49
So now it sounds like they'll be getting back to a full six guys on D this weekend, getting Tyler Inomoto and Mike Bortlecki back.
42:01
But I just feel like they've put themselves in a really good position, and you get down to this point in the season, and you just need to get there and see what happens.
42:10
Because the regular season championship is about that long, who can be better and not fall off for long stretches of time.
42:22
These are one game deals.
42:24
One weekend to the one to the next.
42:29
And so this really changes the mentality of how you have to look at things.
42:33
But I don't feel like they need to change a whole lot from what's been working for them lately.
42:40
Because it hasn't shown a whole lot of sides that need correcting, I guess.
42:48
And Cappy, one thing that Vegoe and I have talked about, and we've probably talked with you over the past, since Big Ten started is, the Big Ten really needs a successful Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
43:02
And really Wisconsin is really up their game this year.
43:08
And it's really good for the conference as a whole, Cappy.
43:12
Of course, they're the mother ships, so to speak.
43:15
And, you know, they talk about it.
43:17
And it's weird in basketball this year.
43:20
There's no Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky up there.
43:23
You've got Michigan, Ohio State, Arkansas.
43:27
You know, it's weird like that.
43:28
So it definitely helps.
43:29
And with Wisconsin in general, I really think the best, you know, obviously was not a good thing.
43:35
But the best thing for them was when early in the year, when they had lost guys, hallway left, they had COVID issues with Baker and a ton of guys were out.
43:44
So they were down, they weren't dressing, I don't think the full amount of guys.
43:48
And they had guys like Brock, Brock Caulfield step up, Jack Gornick, they were getting chances what most likely they would have never got early in the year.
43:57
And I think those guys gained confidence in their game.
44:00
They gained confidence from the coaching staff to play in certain situations that they probably would never have gotten a chance to.
44:06
And it's made their team deeper and not just been all about Caulfield and Holloway.
44:12
And it's made them a better all around team.
44:14
And it's built up, as you can see, as they came on late this season.
44:18
It's definitely an exciting time, Veegs.
44:21
It's, you know, I, when I see Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota in the top ten of the country, it gets me excited again.
44:27
Because when we started this thing, it was Minnesota.
44:32
Michigan had a down time.
44:34
Wisconsin was having a down time.
44:35
And everyone was like, oh, Big Ten, they stink.
44:38
It wasn't really the truth, but you kind of need the big kids on the block to be good at times.
44:45
And I think when you make a coaching change in college hockey these days, it takes a couple of years to figure it out.
44:52
Because you're coming into a program where the roster is a little broken, and you're coming into a sport where kids commit at the age of 16 or 15.
45:02
And so the next four or five years of recruiting classes are often already kind of spoken for and it's hard to violate that gentleman's agreement and get those guys to flip.
45:12
You know, it does happen in a couple of cases there, but usually it's the player wanting to make a move more than the coach.
45:19
So I think it's very complicated to turn over a roster.
45:22
And it took Granado a while to do that.
45:25
And he's finally, he's finally done it.
45:27
I was not a believer in what he was doing last year when I saw all the chaos going on on the program and some of the coverage about the players and their attitudes toward the program.
45:38
But he's figured it out.
45:39
I think Michigan is still kind of on the cusp of how to figure this out.
45:44
You could hear Mel Pearson this week talking about, even though it's a COVID year and the Scouts and everybody isn't around the locker room after games and stuff, there's still a lot of conflict.
45:57
And who are you playing for?
45:59
Are you playing for the crest on the front of your jersey or are you playing for the Scouts in the stands?
46:04
And so I think that's a really tricky thing to balance in college hockey.
46:07
And if these coaches and programs can figure it out, the league is going to be really strong for a couple of years here at least.
46:15
All right, well, let's go around the table here.
46:17
Let's get your predictions for the tournament.
46:19
We're going to start with you, Cappy.
46:20
I know you're like, oh.
46:22
I have no prediction.
46:23
Oh, come on.
46:24
You've got something.
46:25
It's just an oil state.
46:30
Man, you want like.
46:32
Well, okay, let's pick your championship game.
46:36
Pick your championship game.
46:39
I am going to go with a.
46:47
Oh boy, I can get burned for this.
46:48
I'm going to go with a Notre Dame and Minnesota championship game.
46:58
How do you feel about that, Todd?
47:01
So, that is, I mean, they end up losing to Penn State, but I don't know.
47:05
We never know.
47:07
Tournaments like this are totally different.
47:09
Notre Dame's track record in the playoffs is what it is.
47:14
Jeff Jackson gets his teams to peak at the end.
47:18
I just, you know, I don't know.
47:20
That's, Wisconsin is peaking, too, but this, Notre Dame is playing for their season if they get to that game against Wisconsin, whereas Wisconsin is playing, yes, for a Big Ten title again, and maybe a number one seed, but it's not desperation.
47:36
And I just think Jeff Jackson has that knock sometimes.
47:40
Todd, you were-
47:40
We've seen that with a couple of Minnesota teams in the past, where they'll have won the regular season.
47:45
They get to the conference tournament and they're playing against somebody hungry.
47:48
They fall behind and they just kind of pack it in.
47:51
You know, that's been a recipe that happens in these conference tournaments a lot.
47:55
I think Cappy's right, where Notre Dame is a dangerous team this weekend.
48:00
All right, Todd, let's get your rebuttal.
48:03
Well, I can't rebut that.
48:05
That's a good argument.
48:06
I mean, I don't see anything wrong with that.
48:08
But I am going to say, just because I've been waiting to cover a game, this game for, well, I haven't been working for this long, but 31 years since the Gophers and Badgers last played for a championship.
48:23
Think about 31 years since they played for a trophy.
48:26
And that's, I thought it was going to happen in 2017, but the Penn State beat the Gophers and the semis in overtime, right?
48:37
They won overtime games back to back.
48:39
Yeah, something like that, yeah.
48:41
I can't, but maybe this is the year.
48:45
I don't know.
48:47
That's what I'm thinking anyway.
48:50
What do you think, Veegs?
48:54
I've laid out a lot of potential arguments about how this weekend can go, but I do think it is going to be a Wisconsin-Minnesota final.
49:02
I think it's going to go by chalk.
49:04
I think these are two elite programs this year who have a lot of depth, especially down the middle.
49:10
Wisconsin, now that they have their centers back coming, they are tough to play against.
49:14
Minnesota, they've got five centers who can play down the middle.
49:18
If they could get Walker going, Minnesota would be, I think, talent-wise equal to Wisconsin and Michigan, but he seems to be stuck in a rut.
49:30
And so I think that's holding the team back a little bit.
49:34
And what Bob has done on the power play is maybe relieve some of the pressure on him to produce offensively, you know, by moving, reading that half wall and freeing up Walker to be kind of more in space in the power play and be more of a breakout guy.
49:47
Maybe that relieves some of the pressure on him and he starts to produce a little bit.
49:52
But I do think it's going to be a Minnesota-Wisconsin final.
49:57
I'm going to agree with that.
49:58
I think it's going to be Minnesota-Wisconsin final.
50:01
I put my little green box that's not the same as everyone else's.
50:05
I should have went last and then I would have been like, hey, you guys all picked the same, so I'm going to pick this.
50:10
But I'm going to actually pick Wisconsin winning.
50:18
I think what's going to happen is that Wisconsin will win.
50:22
Minnesota will play them sometime in the NCAA tournament on a normal ice sheet, and it will be a little bit different outcome because I believe Notre Dame is 95 wide.
50:31
It's still a pretty big sheet of ice.
50:33
90, I thought.
50:35
I just thought, so maybe it's...
50:37
It doesn't look that big.
50:38
I just like how much further Minnesota goes.
50:42
I like them getting better because the ice sheet is going to keep shrinking on them.
50:47
And they've done really well.
50:50
They haven't lost a game on standard ice sheet this year.
50:54
Well, I don't want to break any secret news here, but one of the coaches for Minnesota might have said something at one point.
51:04
I didn't want it to be told, but he likes his team on Small City.
51:08
He'd rather be playing the old Sioux City Bar, and that was 80 by 120.
51:16
But I won't name any names on that.
51:21
Do we need to go to overtime real quick?
51:22
Just emergency overtime?
51:26
I know.
51:26
So I just, okay, maybe it's 90, so it could be a really good game, boy.
51:31
But I just like Minnesota's chances as they move on further into the postseason.
51:37
Because after the Big Ten tournament, it's all standard sheets of ice.
51:42
Vs, we've talked about that, that it seems like Minnesota can really lock down teams defensively on a standard sheet of ice.
51:51
Which we've seen them struggle at Mariucci with so much.
51:55
It's a pond out there.
51:56
It's a huge lake.
51:59
I think it slows the game down for Minnesota sometimes, especially when they fall behind.
52:04
They struggle to push the pace for whatever reason.
52:09
You know, the bigger ice, the width, the game slows down for them, and they don't force the action on the power play.
52:16
They're more content to wait out a perfect play rather than just force it to the net and create chaos, which is when McLaughlin and Walker really flourish.
52:25
Like, when they get a penalty kill running around and out of shape, that's when they're dangerous.
52:31
So I think sometimes they struggle on the bigger sheet.
52:34
We'll see what happens.
52:35
I'm not as confident in Minnesota advancing this year in the postseason.
52:40
For whatever reason, how they've played from behind makes me a little nervous.
52:45
Hearing all the talk about them discuss how the energy is on the bench when things aren't going well, those are red flags for me.
52:54
And you hear the opposite in Wisconsin about what a great bench they have, what a great leadership they have.
52:59
You know, having Cole Caulfield probably makes that a lot easier because you know, he'll take care of his business.
53:04
Minnesota doesn't have that kind of player.
53:06
When's the last time they got out of a regional that wasn't in Minnesota?
53:13
Ten years at least.
53:14
It's been a long time.
53:15
Been a while.
53:16
Well, does it go back to maybe even 2003?
53:21
I mean, it goes back a long ways where, you know, it was a time there, you know, they'd have, they had originals at Mariucci, a couple of them.
53:30
One of them they didn't get to, but they had regionals at the X.
53:35
All the other regionals, they have not gotten out of since.
53:39
Probably not since they got out of campus sites.
53:43
As I remember, they got out of Michigan once.
53:46
That was 2002.
53:49
Why?
53:49
So that's kind of still a ghost.
53:52
And then you've got, you've got Matzko's five and seven record at St.
53:57
Cloud.
53:57
And it took them a while to get a win.
54:01
So you never know.
54:01
Yeah.
54:03
I like, I like them in the NCAA because of the LaFontaine.
54:07
I think goaltending is always will be the most important thing in hockey.
54:15
And they got one and, you know, I, I, I don't want to say he's going to steal a game, but I don't think he's going to give up that goal.
54:26
You know, I think he's proven not to do that.
54:28
So that's something to be looked for.
54:30
You know, I actually, somebody actually put this on my site earlier, so I forgot to ask you, Cavi, but now we got Tom Welty action.
54:36
Will there be more TV timeouts?
54:38
Will the TV timeouts rules change for the Big Ten tournament this weekend?
54:42
Obviously, this whole year, they've been doing the, they've been doing the 10 minute mark.
54:47
Do we know if that's going to change?
54:50
I, you know what?
54:52
I don't think so.
54:53
They've loved the flow of these games and getting them done quick.
54:57
And I know on Sunday, they have the NCAA Selection Show at 530 between game two and game three.
55:06
And they want to make sure that that, or six o'clock maybe.
55:09
It's an hour in.
55:10
I know they want that to flow.
55:11
So they've been loving the game.
55:13
You know, college basketball is two hours.
55:15
That's what they know.
55:16
So like hockey being 220 and then 240 when it goes to overtime and shootout.
55:22
Now, basketball is never two hours anymore.
55:25
I mean, come on.
55:26
Now that they're reviewing every play at the end.
55:28
Yeah.
55:29
Now that they're reviewing every play, every touch on.
55:32
Yeah.
55:33
Cappy, every Gopher fan watching this.
55:36
Every Gopher fan watching this goes, if there's a basketball game before the Gophers, you better get your streaming set up and figure it out ahead of time.
55:43
Cause there's going to be a delay.
55:44
And I'm sure Rick Pizzo knows cause we point everyone to tweet at him when it happens.
55:49
I love that Rick Pizzo.
55:51
He's got such a good sense of humor about it.
55:54
We've been doing it for years and he just blames himself now.
56:00
Hey, if Michigan State would have somehow tied Wisconsin on Saturday, that game was going to get delayed.
56:07
Or it was going to not, we were going to start without you.
56:11
So I'm just saying, yes, basketball has been the problem most of the time, but that could have happened Saturday.
56:18
Back to the question, I think they're going to stick with the program, at least on Sunday, for sure.
56:24
I don't see why they would change it.
56:25
They're liking the way it is.
56:27
Todd, do we know when we're going to hear about the all Big Ten teams?
56:32
Finalists are supposed to be coming out tomorrow, Thursday.
56:37
Finalists.
56:38
Finalists for some of the awards, right.
56:41
Voting is closed.
56:42
Voting has been done, correct.
56:45
And the awards are scheduled to be announced next Wednesday, so day after the championship game.
56:52
And in a personal note, I'd like to thank you for voting Mike Crowley, the best player of the 90s.
56:57
You're welcome.
56:57
I appreciate that.
56:59
He was my guy.
57:00
I was thinking of you the whole time.
57:06
Sorry, I'm a little biased, but he was a special player.
57:11
I'm sorry.
57:11
He just was.
57:12
So can we go back into the archives to see how many Mike Crowley references or how many of your episodes have had a Mike Crowley reference over the years?
57:20
I could do it every week.
57:21
You have transcripts?
57:22
Yeah, I know.
57:24
I'll let you go back and listen to every single podcast.
57:27
We'll let you find it.
57:28
Offseason project.
57:30
Yeah, bingo card for the podcast.
57:34
Oh, boy.
57:35
I think we should save that for over time.
57:39
Drinking bingo cards for over time.
57:42
Any other thoughts, Veegs?
57:44
It's a big weekend.
57:45
It's going to be fun.
57:45
I kind of like this condensed thing.
57:48
Big weekend.
57:49
It should be pretty good hockey.
57:52
The Big Ten has got things figured out with Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin.
57:56
I think there's a lot at stake here still for seeding with teams and how they perform.
58:02
Notre Dame is playing for their lives.
58:03
I think Minnesota and Wisconsin are playing for a one seed.
58:07
Michigan playing for a two or three seed.
58:09
So there's a lot at stake for these teams right now.
58:12
Cappy and you just never know.
58:14
If a team above drops out, it could even give a Notre Dame.
58:18
They might not think they're going to make it.
58:19
All of a sudden, some other team drops out.
58:21
So like Vegoe said, it's critical.
58:25
Yeah, and I guess I kind of, I had my own different final thought here.
58:31
Kind of goes with the TV thing.
58:33
But I think the tournament is set up perfectly timing wise to get good viewership.
58:40
The basketball is, the basketball is pretty much over.
58:44
You got a championship game, that's it.
58:47
And it's on an obviously different network.
58:49
And you have Sunday, three games of hockey.
58:52
There's, you know, whatever, a few other basketball things going on.
58:56
But then you have Monday and Tuesday.
58:59
There's no basketball.
59:00
There's no, you know.
59:01
There's other hockey though, the NCHC though.
59:03
Well, great.
59:05
That's great.
59:05
And I think they're staggered a little.
59:07
Like seven, that one's, they're half hour separated, I believe, in the start.
59:12
But that's great.
59:13
I'd rather be fighting with hockey viewers.
59:15
Maybe a lot of people have two TVs or they have their computer going and then they have their TV.
59:21
So, I just, you know, obviously, I don't think we're going to be in this situation of going in the three day, who knows what they might decide for the future in terms of Big Ten tournament.
59:31
But in terms of dates, if they were going to do it this way in the future, these are the dates to do it.
59:37
You know, and attendance, I don't know if that's going to, you know, obviously, there's nothing with that this year.
59:43
But I just think having that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday of this time, I've been in that room at the studios and in the network.
59:50
And it's all about basketball.
59:52
And that's just, it's NCAA March Madness.
59:55
That's what it is.
59:55
But that's what you're going up against that next weekend.
59:59
So I just think timing wise of putting it on this Sunday, Monday, Tuesday is as good as you can do right now.
1:00:06
I'm with you 100% on that.
1:00:07
I'm looking forward to it.
1:00:10
And Todd, you'll be able to just sit back and relax on Sunday.
1:00:12
Just watch some hockey, won't you?
1:00:14
That's the plan.
1:00:16
I mean, hopefully we'll be doing it in person.
1:00:18
I'm playing, I'm going, so yeah.
1:00:21
I mean, if you're there, that's even better, man.
1:00:23
Yeah, that's the plan.
1:00:24
I mean, I haven't had to recognize you through your mask.
1:00:27
Right, yeah, I'll be in my plexiglass booth somewhere where they've set us off to the side.
1:00:33
But yeah, I mean, that's like the old days of just popping down and watching hockey and we haven't had those chances this year, obviously.
1:00:43
So yeah, the three games in a day on Sunday will be fun.
1:00:49
Is anyone else doing anything?
1:00:52
I don't think anyone else is doing anything like that as far as the leagues, are they?
1:00:56
Because like other leagues are doing things at different places for their earlier rounds.
1:01:03
NCHG split their days.
1:01:04
Right.
1:01:05
They're two Friday, two Saturday.
1:01:06
Yeah.
1:01:07
And then a day off and then their semifinals and finals.
1:01:10
The women's tournament, too, is doing two quarterfinals Monday, two quarterfinals Tuesday, and then going to the Frozen Four.
1:01:17
So that's...
1:01:21
It's going to be fun.
1:01:22
It's going to be fun.
1:01:24
Let's hope we don't get any fog issues or anything like that, you know, laying things in...
1:01:30
Zip it!
1:01:31
I don't think you gotta worry about that at a conference, that's for sure.
1:01:35
No.
1:01:37
Well, that's going to do it for this GPL Podcast.
1:01:40
Of course, we thank Todd and Paul for joining us this week.
1:01:45
We'll be taking the week off.
1:01:47
We won't be back next week because we figured, let's just wait until we hear what's going on with the NCAA tournament first.
1:01:53
But we'll be back and recap the Big Ten tournament and hopefully preview the NCAA tournament.
1:01:59
For those of you watching live, stay tuned for some overtime.
1:02:03
For the rest of you, we'll be back in two weeks.
1:02:05
Thanks for listening.
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