0:03 This is the GopherPuckLive Podcast, episode number 21, recorded Tuesday, March 20th, 2012. 0:20 Welcome to this week's GopherPuckLive Podcast, along with Hammeh and Cardinal. 0:26 I am your host, Jupiter. 0:28 Well, boys, the Gophers sure did start out great this past Friday night, but then they completely collapsed against our favorite team, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and the Final Five was over for them. 0:43 Cardinal, what the hell happened? 0:47 Yeah, I don't know. 0:48 It's just kind of upsetting me that the Sioux are making me look good for my prediction that they'd win the league. 0:53 They obviously didn't do that, but they are clearly the best team in the league. 0:57 I don't think there's any question about that, especially if you're just looking at probably who has the best chances to making it to Tampa. 1:04 But yeah, I mean, it's weird. 1:05 There's not a lot, I guess you can really say about Friday night. 1:08 I mean, it was one of the weirdest games I've ever seen, and Gophers were dominating in every way, shape and form. 1:15 And then North Dakota got that goal late in the second, and then even then you're kind of like, well, okay, you knew they were gonna kind of, probably weren't gonna shut them out. 1:24 And I guess in the back of my head, no matter how much you're up against North Dakota, I was kind of worried just cause they obviously have a tendency to, they're not gonna quit in a game, they're gonna come at you hard at some point. 1:35 And I, not in my wildest dreams, I think the Gophers would lose that game. 1:38 I thought it would be tough and a tight game at the end. 1:41 And I thought the Gophers would win four, three, five, four. 1:44 I thought for sure it would tighten up, but obviously it went in the other direction. 1:47 So yeah, I mean, big time props to them. 1:50 And yeah, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions for the Gophers heading into a pretty big weekend here. 1:55 What are your observations, Hammeh? 1:57 Are you done on them like we were? 1:59 Well, I mean, it's one of those things for me where it's sort of the mentality that you see with football teams where they get a lead and then they kind of, you know, last few minutes of the games, they sort of change their entire strategy and become more passive. 2:14 And that's the way I looked at that game for the Gophers is that, you know, they are basically for two thirds of the game, you know, pretty well dominating it. 2:24 And all of a sudden it was like somebody flicked a switch and their entire mentality just changed to, let's just, you know, let's, they just lost, seemingly lost their aggressiveness. 2:32 I mean, they were just not playing in my opinion, the way that they obviously were before that. 2:37 And it's not because suddenly one team becomes more talented than the other. 2:40 It's all about, you know, your aggressiveness and how you're approaching the game. 2:44 And I've always kind of looked at hockey as being sort of like boxing matches without the knockout punches. 2:51 And, you know, you're gonna take shots and you're gonna have to kind of also kind of counter punch and still maintain your aggressiveness. 2:58 You can't just sit there and take punches and expect to win. 3:01 And I just think that that's sort of the mentality that I saw with the Gophers. 3:05 I'm not saying the coaches were talking that way, but in terms of how the players were actually reacting to the game, it just seemed to me like they lost their aggressiveness. 3:13 And you can't, you know, if you have a team down and you have your foot on their throat, you gotta, you know, you don't let them up. 3:20 You twist your foot and snap their neck, and the Gophers just didn't do that. 3:24 And props to the Sioux for taking advantage for that. 3:27 Now, a couple of the media and obviously a lot of people online on GPL and everywhere else criticized Lucia for not taking a timeout. 3:37 You know, maybe you were after the Sioux's second goal or maybe the third goal, you know, not taking a timeout. 3:44 Because it seemed like the timeout on the Sioux side did make a difference. 3:48 But you know, Lucia said, you know, right after the game that he didn't think it would have made any difference. 3:53 What do you guys think about that? 3:54 Do you think it would have made a difference or is this team already gone already? 3:58 Well, I mean, I thought it got really overblown. 4:00 I know listening to Beyond the Pond on Saturday and talking about Haxdell taking the greatest timeout in hockey history and just- 4:06 Oh, that's a bunch of crap. 4:08 I know, I mean, and some of that was hyperbole, but I think it got really overblown. 4:11 I mean, the commercial breaks there are a minute long, so that's essentially a timeout. 4:15 And I know in one of them, again, the game kind of turns into a blur once the suit started just piling on goals. 4:20 But I mean, I distinctly remember the one commercial break where Lucia was, I don't know if he was chewing them out per se, but I mean, he had their attention. 4:27 It wasn't just a commercial break. 4:29 And usually you see the five skaters on the ice kind of gather near the bench, but there's not really a lot of back and forth with the coaching staff. 4:35 So, I mean, with the commercials being so long, I mean, yeah, I mean, you hate to kind of leave that bullet in the chamber and that, you know, there probably could have been a place for it, but at the end of the day, I don't think you can, you know, anyone could in their right mind say, well, if Lucia would have called a timeout at point X, it would have made a difference. 4:50 I think he's a hundred percent right in that. 4:51 I mean, it would have been nice to use at some point just to try, but at the end of the day, I don't think it would have made a difference. 4:57 Well, another thing on the timeouts though, you know, like the TV timeouts is with the Final Five, you go back to a four minute timeout schedule. 5:05 So at 16 minutes and on down every four minutes, there's a timeout. 5:10 Whereas during the regular season, it's every five minutes. 5:14 So there's an extra timeout in there as well. 5:18 So I think that's what he was kind of counting on using those TV timeouts. 5:22 Well, if I remember correctly, I think I saw, or I don't know if he said it on his radio show or whatever it was that in hindsight, you know, he seemed to change his tune that maybe he should have taken a timeout at three to two or three to three or whatever it was, but honestly, I'm kind of with Cardinal. 5:38 I think that that is very overrated. 5:40 I mean, how many times have we seen a coach call a timeout and not, and diddly squat happens afterwards, you know? 5:47 Most of the time. 5:47 Yeah, I mean, it happens on occasion where that works, but more often than not, it doesn't really pan out the way it did on Friday. 5:57 And so for me, it's like, yeah, I think that it's kind of reaching for reasons for why the team lost, you know? 6:03 I just think that, look, the team, I feel their mentality just changed in that last period. 6:09 I think they lost their aggressiveness. 6:11 I think they were like, okay, we got the lead. 6:13 Let's just hold onto it instead of continuing to play the way that you did that to get you to that point in the first place. 6:19 And so the whole time out bit and all that, I just think that's completely overrated. 6:24 And I think that even if we had taken a timeout, you know, maybe it does something, but I really think more often than not that whole time out stuff really ends up being meaningless. 6:34 I would agree with both of you on that. 6:36 Well, let's kind of look, you know, at the other games of the Final Five and kind of go back to Thursday and get your thoughts on those games. 6:42 Obviously, we had Denver squeaking out a victory over Michigan Tech. 6:48 What are your observations on that game? 6:49 Did you guys see both games or that game? 6:52 I saw that game. 6:53 I actually wasn't surprised. 6:54 I remember when we talked last week with Drunk Hockey. 6:58 I mean, I was not entirely convinced Denver was going to win that game. 7:01 But I know I went with it in the end, but I'm not surprised at all. 7:05 I just think that that kind of, you know, when you have teams that are sort of that open ice, you know, like the skate up and down the rink and all that kind of, sometimes they struggle with those teams that, you know, like to kind of clog it up and slow it down and, you know, do that and do things that tech seems to kind of do. 7:21 I mean, they're a little bit more offensive this year, but nonetheless, they're not as talented as a Denver. 7:26 So I'm not surprised that it was, you know, close and that, you know, Denver had to squeak it out. 7:32 But, you know, it props to Denver. 7:34 You know, they kind of been a little bit more clutch lately. 7:37 They weren't obviously in the final game, but they played well, you know, to get that game in the clutch. 7:42 Yeah, I saw most of the game kind of watching it work. 7:45 And yeah, I mean, it's tough to end a team season two. 7:47 And I think, you know, you saw that with St. 7:48 Cloud. 7:49 They gave a really good effort. 7:49 I'm sure we'll talk about that in a sec. 7:51 But you know, Michigan Tech was on a bit of a roll after, you know, go pull in the upset at CC. 7:55 And yeah, you know, they played tough and, you know, I think, you know, one of the other factors too, I don't know if this gets overblown or not, but I'm kind of a believer of it, especially when it comes to regionals. 8:03 But some of these, you know, the teams that are used to playing in front of bigger crowds and then they, you know, you get the afternoon game where there's, you know, it was a pretty empty building. 8:11 I mean, the crowd is decent, but compared to the number of seats, it's, you know, pretty cavernous and I don't know, it just feels like whenever that matchup happens, it kind of favors the underdog and the intensity may not be there or whatever. 8:22 But, no, I mean, props to Michigan Tech, they obviously had a great year and a lot to build on and, you know, good for Denver. 8:27 I mean, they had a pretty good weekend, all things considered. 8:29 I mean, they obviously ran out of gas later in the weekend, but to get a couple of wins at the Final Five, I'm sure they had to be pretty happy. 8:35 And of course, that game was followed up by North Dakota beating St. 8:38 Cloud State. 8:40 Game was fairly close until the very end. 8:42 What did you think, Ryan? 8:44 Yeah, I mean, it wasn't the, you know, most aesthetically pleasing game. 8:47 I mean, the first two periods were kind of, you know, not a lot going on and then at the third period got pretty good, you know, especially, you know, later when St. 8:55 Cloud seemed to press a lot and, you know, certainly had a lot of chances to tie it again. 8:59 It kind of goes back to the, you know, their season was going to end if they lost that game and I think it showed in their play. 9:04 And I think, you know, Bob Motzko and his whole staff up there, I mean, considering the injuries and everything else, we've talked about it all year, but to have, you know, that kind of an effort, especially against, you know, Red Hot Sioux team that we saw what they did to a couple of other pretty good WCHA teams the rest of the weekend. 9:17 And so St. 9:18 Cloud State, they certainly represented themselves well and hopefully it gives them something decent to build on heading into next year. 9:25 Yeah, I didn't honestly, I didn't see it, you know, I saw parts of that game, I watched the whole game. 9:29 And, you know, I think that it was kind of the game you expected. 9:34 I mean, I thought it would be a little bit lower scoring. 9:36 I mean, Lee has been playing pretty well at first St. 9:39 Cloud here towards the end of the season. 9:41 And, you know, I think that when you have two teams that are playing pretty well, you never know. 9:47 It's just going to be a few things here or there in a game like that. 9:49 And, you know, I thought North Dakota would win that game, but, you know, I'm not surprised that it was, you know, relatively close. 9:57 Well, that moves us on to the Friday game between Denver and Duluth. 10:01 And Denver jumps out to the lead. 10:04 Duluth finally slowly gets back, you know, get a goal here, a goal there, ties it up. 10:11 We go to two overtime and Denver pulls it out in the end. 10:14 You know, I thought that at times, especially in the overtime, that Denver was really just kind of coasting. 10:22 And then every once in a while, they would turn it on. 10:25 What would you, what did you guys think of that? 10:28 Well, I think Denver's sort of been an enigma this year for me. 10:30 I mean, I expect, I mean, they, granted, they have a good record, you know, and some of it's injury related for how they've been this year. 10:37 But they've been really, some games, you really wonder what's going on there. 10:41 And, you know, when I look at the shot totals, you know, 70 to 49, you know, I mean, that's a ton of shots in the game. 10:47 And granted, you know, UMD tends to throw a lot of stuff on net, even if it's not high quality. 10:53 But yeah, I mean, I thought that there was, you know, I wasn't, for some reason, I guess I wasn't surprised that Denver jumped up early on and got the lead. 11:03 I think that, you know, sometimes there is something to be said for having played the day before, and maybe you have a little bit more underneath you early on for your legs and whatever. 11:13 Whereas the other team, you know, they're kind of, it's not rustiness, but it's just, you know, they're just not, haven't had that competitive for a week, so. 11:20 But you know, UMD is a good team, you know, they're going to come back. 11:23 And I just think that, you know, Denver, like I said, has been kind of clutch lately with some, you know, game-winning goals and stuff like that. 11:30 But so you have to kind of tip your hat to them on that. 11:33 Cardinal, it turned out to be the longest WCHA Final Five game in history. 11:38 Yeah. 11:38 And, you know, it was a great game again this one. 11:40 It's kind of the same deal where the afternoon game, it started a little bit slow. 11:43 But by the, you know, second period obviously got rolling. 11:46 And, you know, I thought for sure at the end of the third period, Duluth got that penalty right at the end. 11:50 And, you know, you knew Denver was going to have the power play coming out, had the fresh ice. 11:54 And it was a situation where, you know, Denver, they played three games a weekend before and they played the previous day. 11:59 So I thought for sure that if they didn't score on that power play, that Duluth is going to end up taking it, especially the way the second half of that game really turned. 12:05 And, you know, obviously, as it turned out, because that power play expired less than two minutes into overtime, of course, and it went for a lot longer. 12:12 But, yeah, I mean, give Denver big time credit. 12:15 I mean, they, you know, to as tired as I'm sure they were and to bounce back. 12:18 And like Hammy said, they're a tough team to kind of get a handle on because, you know, they're really good most of the time. 12:23 And every once in a while, there's kind of that clunker game where you're like, each, what's going on? 12:26 But yeah, I mean, I think, you know, if they can, you know, the Zuckers thing, I'm sure we'll get to that. 12:31 But, you know, if they can be reasonably healthy, I think they're a team that, you know, every year there's three or four, you know, the lower type seeds are the ones you don't think that are going to make a frozen for run. 12:40 I think they're the exact kind of team that can, you know, pull a few upsets this weekend and make their way to Tampa. 12:45 Well, obviously, we know what happened with Minnesota and North Dakota. 12:48 So that put North Dakota against Denver in the WCHA Final Five championship game, just like Drunk Hockey Guy kind of predicted on the show last week. 12:59 Hammy, UND, six straight goals against the Gophers, and they just kept on going against the Pioneers. 13:08 Yeah, I mean, I only, I'll be honest with you, I barely saw any of that game. 13:11 The only thing I really saw was a little bit. 13:15 I don't blame you. 13:17 I didn't even go down there. 13:17 I just kind of watched part of it on TV myself. 13:20 Yeah, I saw a little bit of the game, very little of it. 13:23 You know, I saw when they went up 1-0 on the, I think it was Brock Nelson scored a power play goal or whatever. 13:28 But I honestly didn't see a lot of that game. 13:32 I, you know, it's interesting since both teams have, you know, played three games. 13:36 So there wasn't really any distinct advantage in that sense, although DU did have the, you know, the overtime games. 13:42 So maybe there's a little bit of a North Dakota advantage in that sense. 13:46 But yeah, I mean, you know, North Dakota's had the hot hand, you know, and so I'm not entirely surprised and like we talked about, Denver's sort of been a bit of a mystery at times. 13:56 So, you know, I think in that matchup, you know, it's not a shock that North Dakota would win that game. 14:02 Yeah, I mean, there's not a lot to say. 14:03 You know, the way North Dakota finished on Friday against the Gophers and, you know, pretty much having the whole crowd behind them. 14:09 And, you know, the fact that Denver, you know, three of their previous four games went to OT and he had the double OT game the day before. 14:15 And, you know, I just think, I think North Dakota, they probably knew that if they won, they were going to hang on to that one seed and be back in St. 14:21 Paul. 14:21 So when you factor all that in, I mean, I would have been floored if Denver would have won. 14:24 And, you know, I think four nothing was about, you know, kind of how I thought it would go. 14:28 I mean, Denver might be able to hang on to them for a little bit, but just too much going for them for Denver to take them out on that night. 14:35 So what did you guys think of the attendance? 14:36 I thought it was quite a bit down this year. 14:39 What do you think was the deal with that? 14:41 Because, you know, obviously, Minnesota was back there. 14:43 But what was the Friday night game? 14:46 What was it, 16? 14:47 Yeah, I just looked it up, 16, 738. 14:50 Yeah, that was kind of a common theme that we were talking about. 14:52 I mean, I don't know if the weather played a part. 14:55 I mean, obviously, it was pretty nice outside. 14:56 And if people were kind of eager to get out. 14:59 I mean, but yeah, I mean, you think of Minnesota, North Dakota Friday night game at the X. 15:02 I mean, if you could, you know, the WCHA could handpick a game. 15:05 That's what they'd want. 15:06 And, you know, to be a few thousand seats short of a sellout. 15:10 I mean, I don't know if the prices have gone up. 15:12 I don't handle that for our group. 15:14 So I don't totally have a handle on it, but it feels like it goes up a couple bucks each year. 15:18 And I don't know if that's kind of driving some people away. 15:21 Or if, I don't know, you think Gopher fans would have been eager to get back there. 15:24 It had obviously been a while since the team played at the X. 15:26 So, yeah, it's a tough one to put a finger on. 15:28 But, yeah, like you said, it was kind of a common theme of discussion throughout the weekend. 15:32 How was the championship game? 15:33 I mean, I left pretty quick once after the first period. 15:37 Once you kind of see the way it was going. 15:39 I mean, it was full of North Dakota fans, but I mean, it didn't, it's kind of, again, it's sad as a Gopher fan, you're kind of getting used to them not being around at the Final Five. 15:46 So it kind of, it felt like any other game where, obviously, Minnesota and North Dakota carry the male there. 15:51 And when it's good, the Gophers playing anybody but North Dakota, it's usually maybe not 100% full, but pretty close. 15:58 And it had the same feel. 15:59 I mean, with the whole crowd being on one side versus Friday night where it was pretty much split down the middle, it's a little bit tougher to gauge. 16:06 But I'd say there was a little bit less than Friday night, but not by a whole lot. 16:10 Got a Twitter question from Brandon. 16:14 Fans seem to blame Patterson a lot for the goals Friday night, but the defense seemed non-existent in the third. 16:21 Agree? 16:22 That's his question. 16:25 Well, I don't know. 16:26 I mean, did he win the game for him or anything like that? 16:29 No, but Enolucia pointed it out, and the goal that pissed me out the most is the Lamaroo goal, where he cuts to the net and there's three, four Gophers around him, including Patterson. 16:39 And nobody takes him out or does anything. 16:41 And it's one thing, yeah, you don't want to take penalties, but if a guy's going right to the front of the crease, do something. 16:46 I mean, yeah, you'd like to see a good defensive play and you'll lift the stick or whatever. 16:50 But if it gets to the point where he's going to tap in a centering pass, take him out, tackle him, do anything you can. 16:56 So I think it was just the freight train effect. 16:59 We're not to quote, it just went harder than that. 17:01 And the Gophers, for whatever reason, kind of softened up. 17:04 And I think, obviously, we've complimented the Gopher decor, and the job that Mike Gensel's done all year. 17:10 But you watch a team like North Dakota, where they don't quite have the defensive stats of a Minnesota. 17:14 But on the back end, they have a Ben Blood, or just that one. 17:17 Because the Gopher back end has a bunch of B or B- 17:21 players, and an A-plus goalie. 17:23 Whereas North Dakota, their lows on the back end might be a little bit lower in terms of the caliber of player. 17:28 But I think where you saw them shine this weekend is having that shut down guy, or even two, if you want, Andrew McWilliam. 17:35 And those guys are both big. 17:36 It doesn't necessarily have to be huge guys, but just that one stopper, the guy you can put out there after a goal, if you need to make sure you shut somebody down. 17:45 And that's the one thing where the Gophers don't really have that yet. 17:47 And granted, it's a very young decor. 17:49 And next year, hopefully, it's a Mark Ault, or somebody kind of takes that step and turns into that player. 17:54 But I think that's one of the big differences between the two teams. 17:56 I think you saw it this weekend. 17:58 Well, Hammey, where did that team defense we've been talking about all year go in the third period? 18:03 They were just not helping Patterson out at all. 18:07 And obviously, Patterson has bailed them out a few times this year, but I thought it was really bad. 18:12 Well, for me, when I look at it, I don't look at it strictly as the D-Core. 18:16 I look at it as the team defense. 18:18 How are the forwards playing? 18:20 It's not just... 18:22 We always think about, okay, the other team scores goals, it must be the defense, or it must be the goalie, but it's a team defensive concept. 18:30 And when you see guys like that second, the whole second line is a minus three for the game. 18:35 To me, that says something like that group was not... 18:37 I don't care if they put some points on the board in their own right, to be minus three is pretty pathetic. 18:43 And I'm not a big plus minus guy, but that's something that when you see that, that really stands out. 18:51 That's an area, quite frankly, that Gophers should have an advantage on North Dakota. 18:54 You sort of expect those top lines to be relatively evened out as far as, because they're both pretty talented and they have good players. 19:01 But when you look at the team's two through four lines, the Gophers have an advantage. 19:07 They have a talent advantage. 19:08 But you still have to go out there and prove it. 19:10 And the fact that that second line was all minus three, and then you have some of the guys that have been rather steady on defense. 19:18 I mean, Parenteau was a minus two in the game. 19:20 I mean, those are things that you haven't seen most of the year. 19:23 And so it's a little bit unexpected. 19:25 Like I said, I think a lot of it comes down to mentality, too. 19:27 I mean, if you're sort of taking more of a passive mentality, you're going to let the other team gain confidence. 19:35 And, you know, when you're going into the last period with a two-goal lead, you can't have that type of an attitude. 19:39 You have to continue to be aggressive. 19:41 And, you know, it's not going to be unexpected to have breakdowns if all you're going to do is sit there and let them take the punches and you're just sitting back. 19:52 Another question via Twitter. 19:54 Mr. 19:54 Jake P asks, what will it take for Lucia to show the intensity that he had in the Tech Series and get his team fired up during a game? 20:06 Well, I don't know. 20:07 I mean, I think that can be kind of overblown. 20:09 I mean, whether it's players or coaches in terms of showing emotion, I mean, you know, yeah, it's fun to when your coach is, you know, fired up. 20:16 I remember one of my favorite Lucia memories is up at Duluth and was it 06, 07 or whatever it was where Duluth scored the goal or the guy came out of the box and it was the old deck. 20:25 So, you know, the penalty box and Duluth bench is on one side and they go for benches on the other and ended up being a too many men on the ice situation. 20:31 But the guy scored and Lucia just went off on Don Adam and it was right in front of us. 20:35 And it was like, yeah, you know, I need to get behind this guy. 20:37 He's going ballistic and spitting and screaming and ended up working. 20:41 But I mean, that's just not his deal. 20:43 And I don't think, you know, like in one example, not hockey, but, you know, like Tom Kelly for the twins back in the day. 20:48 I mean, that wasn't his thing. 20:49 He's not going to go out there and get ejected or his garden hair gets ejected every other game. 20:53 So if it's not in your DNA as a coach or whatever, I don't think you need to force it. 20:58 I mean, I'm sure behind closed doors that, you know, some coaches would rather handle it that way. 21:02 And, you know, I'm assuming what she is that kind of guy. 21:04 And you've heard it from players every once in a while where, you know, especially, you know, proposed game with GPL or so and so will say, yeah, and they really, you know, strip the paint off the room after the first period and we played really bad. 21:13 And so I get where fans might be frustrated with that. 21:16 And they'd like to see him kind of read him the riot act, especially with how frustrating Friday night's loss was. 21:20 But I'm sure that happens behind closed doors. 21:23 And, you know, obviously the last few years have been disappointing. 21:26 But in general, Donald Litchey is a very good coach and I'm sure, you know, his way of doing things has been more successful than that. 21:32 Yeah, I mean, I don't really have much to add to that other than I've always felt that, I mean, I understand why fans like the whole fiery coach, because then I think like, well, if the coach is fiery, then teams can always be pumped up. 21:42 But, you know, that's not necessarily the reality. 21:45 I mean, I think that fans tend to focus a little bit too much attention on, you know, well, how's the coach reacting, you know, and if he doesn't seem to be up in arms constantly, then they sort of take this attitude like, well, he must be passive and doesn't care what's going on out there too much or whatever. 22:00 And, you know, I just think that there's certain coaches that they want to maintain a certain kind of facade, you know, out on the ice and then granted that, you know, they'll let loose if there's something they could do with the refs. 22:13 But as far as aiming things towards their team, you know, you don't see a lot of guys, you know, yelling and screaming, calling out specific players and all that, you know, when they're on the bench, you know, when you get back in the, you know, in the locker room, that's one thing. 22:25 But, you know, I just think that we get a little bit too caught up in that kind of stuff. 22:29 You know, we see the cameras on the coaches and then expect like the guy's going to be going ballistic all the time. 22:34 So I get where the fans are coming from with that. 22:36 But at the same time, I think it's a little overrated. 22:39 You know, I think Don just picks his spots where he goes off on them on the bench. 22:44 It doesn't happen very often. 22:46 You know, obviously he'll go after a ref if he needs to. 22:48 But he rarely does go after the players. 22:51 And maybe he just does that, you know, just because maybe he doesn't want to embarrass them or he's not that kind of guy. 22:56 But every once in a while, he will put his foot down and give a good yelling to the players. 23:02 But I think he kind of picks and chooses when he wants to do that on each situation. 23:08 Well, again, you have to look at it from the standpoint of, you know, you do have to maintain morale. 23:12 And of course, nobody likes to get their ass chewed out in front of, you know, the TV audience and everybody that's around the bench. 23:20 I mean, you know, that's just not a good feeling. 23:23 I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I mean, in sports, I've been chewed out in front of, you know, eight to ten people that I'm teammates with. 23:30 And that doesn't even feel good, let alone having a broadcast all over, you know. 23:34 So, I mean, naturally, it's one thing when you're back in a locker room, it's kind of, you know, the safe haven for everybody. 23:41 And what's said in a locker room generally should stay in the locker room. 23:44 So, you're kind of comfortable when it happens in that environment. 23:47 But out in front of everybody, I think that's usually a pretty bad idea. 23:50 About five years ago or so, he did go off on the players. 23:55 When I was down there in the photo box at Mariucci, I believe it was the third period against Ohio State when they were just shelling Kangas. 24:03 And Kangas was just amazing. 24:05 Didn't he have to make 21 saves in the third? 24:08 Was that his first win? 24:09 It wasn't like that. 24:11 I remember getting a few photos of Lucia just red in the face, screaming at the guys, veins popping. 24:18 He was pissed. 24:20 But it's just something you just don't see that often. 24:23 And you can't go to that well too often either. 24:26 Because at some point the players just totally tune that crap out. 24:31 Like you said, you kind of have to pick your spots. 24:33 And maybe that would have been a good time to go off. 24:35 But I just think that in that environment, in a big game environment like that, it's just probably not the right idea. 24:42 Because I think players can also sense when a coach is sort of panicking. 24:47 And if you kind of start doing something that's out of the ordinary as far as how you're behaving and acting in a key game, I think that players can sense that kind of stuff. 24:58 And so it's probably better to maintain more of your typical demeanor than it is to suddenly go off on a tangent that you usually don't do. 25:07 Another Twitter question from Rye Anderson Nine. 25:13 After a lackluster third period against UND, who do you see being the scratches? 25:18 Will energy players like Joey Miller be in? 25:21 I guess he's just kind of wondering, will we see any lineup changes this weekend? 25:26 Yeah, I know somewhere in GPL or wherever, I thought the one, hopefully Nick Larson. 25:31 I mean, I don't know if whatever happened, it was a neck injury or something like that. 25:35 And so I would assume that he might not be available, just because he wants to say anything with his neck or head or anything else. 25:40 You think they'd give it a little bit of time. 25:42 I guess the one change, I wouldn't mind seeing Ambrose out completely. 25:46 I mean, that turnover he had was atrocious. 25:48 And I think that's kind of one of the things where this team's going good. 25:51 The Kahn and Madsen duo stands out, but it feels like since that Omaha series, those guys, for whatever reason, I don't know if they're banged up or they haven't really popped that much to me out there. 26:00 And I don't know if that's because, you know, whosoever the third guy on that line, I mean, it was Ambrose the whole first half of the year. 26:06 And then they've, you know, tried Siketty up there. 26:08 And it's frustrating just because there's that, you know, the top two lines have been set all year. 26:11 And then just trying to find that, you know, that Ambrose spot, whether it's him or somebody else. 26:16 But I mean, I think I wouldn't mind getting some, you know, whether it's the Siketty or even, you know, put Saratori up there and Nick Larson. 26:22 Just maybe try somebody different. 26:24 I don't know if Travis Boyd might be the type of guy where he might fall out just because being a freshman. 26:29 But again, if you don't have Nick Larson and Boyd is a center man, so, you know, you need somebody to play up the middle. 26:34 So I don't know. 26:35 I mean, the decor is set. 26:37 And again, aside from Ambrose, I don't really know if there's anybody you could really, you know, swap in or out at this point. 26:44 Yeah, I mean, I kind of agree with that. 26:45 I might, you know, certainly that's not to pick on Ambrose. 26:48 I mean, I think, you know, obviously there's a lot of people you could point at in that game that didn't play well in that third period. 26:55 But you're not going to really do much with the top two lines. 26:59 They've basically been the same all year. 27:00 And they've, for the most part, been pretty successful most of the year. 27:04 So to me, you don't tinker around too much with that. 27:07 If you're going to do anything, you know, it might be adding a guy that's more of a, you know, because when I think of Conn and Matts and their energy players and, you know, maybe you get somebody like Siketty, who's, you know, he's not the greatest offensive guy in the world, but certainly, you know, the effort's there. 27:22 And, you know, he's a pretty good skater. 27:23 And those things, you know, I think that you may need to match up a little bit better in that sense. 27:28 And, you know, Ambrose dropping him down to the fourth line, you know, it's not going to really hurt anything to do something like that. 27:34 So I do like the idea of maybe, you know, popping up a senior on that line. 27:38 But, you know, I wouldn't tinker a whole hell of a lot with the lineup. 27:43 Any other thoughts on the Final Five, guys? 27:48 Nah, not the net. 27:49 It's pretty diseased. 27:50 Yeah, I mean, you know. 27:51 You know, they've been gone for a few years. 27:55 I mean, the last time they were there, they lost on Thursday. 27:57 And it's been a while since they've had any success there. 28:01 Well, the last game they won was the Wheeler game, right? 28:04 Where he dived and... 28:05 No, actually, I believe it was the... 28:07 Oh, no, then. 28:07 The following year was... 28:08 Yeah, because the next year, that's right. 28:09 They beat... 28:10 It was CC and overtime with the Howe... 28:13 That's right. 28:14 Who was it? 28:14 Yeah, was it Howe or... 28:16 Yeah, because then they lost to Denver in the championship game. 28:19 They would have been the first team to win three in three days to win it, but they lost in the... 28:22 That's right. 28:24 So it's been a little... 28:25 Still, it's been quiet on the Final Five front. 28:30 Well, let's move on. 28:30 Let's go to the NCAA Tournament. 28:32 Obviously we've got four teams from the WCHA that made it. 28:37 North Dakota got a number four seed, which gave them the one seed in the West region. 28:43 Minnesota had the eight seed, so they're in the same region there in the West. 28:47 Duluth got thrown out in the Northeast, and Denver is out in the Midwest in Green Bay. 28:55 Earlier this season, we thought that two teams might make it, but as things moved along, it seems like a fairly normal year with the WCHA getting four teams. 29:08 Yeah, I actually thought that as of even just a month or so ago that we might only get three teams in, but then North Dakota started playing much better, and Denver kind of squeaked the third in there and played good enough to get in. 29:24 So, I mean, it's a typical year in that sense, but honestly, I mean, I don't see it as a typical year in the sense that I really believe a WCHA team is going to win the title. 29:38 I just, it won't shock me if one does, don't get me wrong, but to me, from what I've seen throughout the year, I feel like, you know, out east and some of, I just think that there are teams out there that are better than WCHA teams. 29:55 And I really will be a little surprised if a WCHA team wins the title this year. 30:02 Not that they're not capable. 30:03 I think both, you know, I think actually all four teams are capable because they certainly have enough talent to go on a run. 30:09 But I think there's also been enough inconsistency and, you know, and, you know, some of like North Dakota is not the deepest team in the world. 30:18 And so I do believe that there's enough flaws there where you can't say, oh yeah, that there's a front runner in WCHA that's for sure going to, you know, come home with it. 30:27 So in that sense, I think it's a little different. 30:31 It's not like last year where North Dakota was so good, you kind of expected like, hey, they should win it. 30:36 Yeah, it's just weird. 30:37 I mean, all four of the teams, I mean, you know, the Duluth or Duluth and the Gophers were, you know, more first half teams and have been probably close to 500 teams since Christmas. 30:46 And in Rose Dakota, obviously got off to the horrible start and then been awesome since. 30:50 And, you know, Denver has just been a weird team all year just because they're missing their goalie and they've had been, you know, banged up a little bit more. 30:55 And, you know, Jason Zucker, it sounds like he may not be available this weekend. 30:58 So all four of the WCHA teams, it's kind of tough to get a handle on them. 31:02 Like Cami said, it's not like North Dakota last year where you knew going into there, they were going to be really good and they were the best team in the country all season long. 31:08 It's just they didn't happen to win it at the end. 31:10 And you see that happen in hockey, probably more than any other sport. 31:13 But yeah, I mean, I think, you know, this year, I mean, I don't know if there's one team you can really point to, you know, it's tough to watch out the Eastern teams a whole hell of a lot being out here with so many local options to watch. 31:23 And obviously, that's more pertinent. 31:25 But I mean, it doesn't feel like this is a dominant Michigan team. 31:28 And, you know, like Boston College, I mean, they're always really good. 31:30 But I mean, this doesn't strike me as, you know, like as good as the Gerby teams from, you know, four or five years ago without, you know, the ones that I was upended, those really good North Dakota teams. 31:39 So, yeah, I mean, I think it's super wide open. 31:41 I mean, Union again, like, yeah, they have a great record. 31:43 But, you know, we've seen ECAC teams fall off the face of the earth more times than not. 31:48 So, yeah, I mean, I think it's super wide open. 31:50 And I think you're going to see a lot of a lot of upsets this weekend. 31:53 Well, this is my favorite weekend of the year. 31:56 Obviously, from Friday afternoon through Sunday, it's just solid college hockey. 32:02 And obviously, it's sudden death, do or die hockey. 32:06 And it's always my favorite weekend of the year when I could sit in front of the couch and watch it. 32:11 Obviously, it's a little different this year because obviously, we'll be at the X. 32:14 But it's a great time of the year and great time to watch some hockey on some TV. 32:21 So let's get to it. 32:22 Let's start with the Midwest region in Green Bay, Michigan and Cornell. 32:28 Obviously, Michigan's been kind of rolling except for their little blip in the CCHA Tournament and Denver and Ferris State. 32:35 What do you guys think? 32:36 Who's going to come out of that region? 32:40 Well, I think I'd probably, you know, I think Denver, excuse me, I think Michigan will come out of that region. 32:45 I think, you know, I can't pick Denver because they've just been so inconsistent and we don't know entirely what their health situation is. 32:53 I know that, I think I saw Gwazdeky said that a number of their players are going to be kind of game time decisions and, you know, I don't know what the status of some of those guys are. 33:02 But nonetheless, you know, they've, even if they have their, you know, full complement of players, they've been, you know, kind of inconsistent. 33:09 And Michigan, I think, you know, is a pretty good team this year and I've been, from what I remember, being relatively consistent and I just think that they'll be in the sea that they are, that they should come out of that region. 33:21 Ryan, do you think Ferris could maybe surprise in that region? 33:24 Obviously, they've had a little extra time off to maybe get a little fresh. 33:29 Yeah, I mean, I'd be lying if I said I saw him play more than maybe one five minutes on a Friday night somewhere where they were on the CBS or whatever. 33:36 But I'm actually kind of leaning Denver in that region just because I always catch myself taking the chalk on these college hockey things and just taking the one seeds because it seems like it makes sense. 33:45 But the last five years, it's just like there's at least two teams every year that are three or four seeds in that region that seem to make their way to the Frozen Four. 33:55 So I kind of like Denver. 33:56 I mean, I think Guaz Dekhi is a hell of a coach. 33:58 I think he's the best coach in the country. 34:01 And they are a little bit banged up, but they have the goaltending. 34:03 Obviously, we saw that this past weekend, especially the Duluth game, and they're strong up the middle and Zucker can give it a go. 34:11 And their decor, I mean, with Allegia, and it seemed like John Lee, especially that Duluth game, he played like every other shift it seemed, and he's so tough to go against. 34:19 And I kind of like Denver to come out of there. 34:21 I mean, Ferris State again, it's, you know, obviously, could they win one game? 34:25 Yeah. 34:25 Were they really good all year? 34:27 But at the same time, it's, you know, you got to, I don't know, I just feel like a team like Denver that has the experience and obviously is more talented. 34:34 And with the coaching advantage, I think they'll take it. 34:36 And yeah, I think Michigan will for sure up in Cornell, Michigan has been good all year and, you know, it'll be two really good goalies going against each other in the, you know, championship game if it's Michigan-Denver, but I kind of like Denver to pull the upset and come out of there. 34:50 Let's move to the East region where we've got Miami taking on Massachusetts Lowell and Michigan State taking on Union. 34:59 Ryan. 35:00 Well, this is another one where I kind of, I'm a Miami guy for this region. 35:04 They've been pretty good here the second half of the year and they're kind of one of these teams that over the years, they've come up short a lot and it seems like some of their better teams, they've kind of laid eggs at the end of the year and then maybe when they weren't necessarily supposed to get there and wasn't a 30-win team, they made their way to the Frozen Four, but I mean, they've won or excuse me, lost once in their last 10 games and they've been playing fairly well. 35:27 Obviously again, UMass Lowell is one of those teams where they're not usually in it and they're pretty decent. 35:32 They probably have a little bit of a home ice advantage being out East, but I like Miami there. 35:36 And then the other game, you know, again, Michigan State was the last team in and I'm sure for them being a four seed, Union's for sure the number one seed that you'd want to play. 35:44 So again, I haven't seen Union a ton. 35:46 I do like their chances a little bit more maybe than some of the other ECAC teams from past years such as Yale in that, you know, it seems like the Ivy League schools or the ECAC when they're more defensive minded, they might have a little bit more success in the NCAA Tournament versus, you know, the Yale team the last few years is so wide open, but you saw them really get exposed by Duluth and I forget who beat them the year before. 36:08 But so I'll take Union to play Miami for the championship there and I think Miami is going to pull off the upset and move on to Tampa. 36:17 Yeah, I agree with everything Ryan says there. 36:20 I kind of expect Miami to come out of it. 36:22 You know, maybe it's a little bit of that bias against, you know, you know, you kind of see these teams like Union pop up and you're like, yeah, you know, they're not typically up there and maybe it's a little bit of that bias, you know, and I'm not saying that they certainly couldn't come out of there. 36:38 But I don't know, ECAC, they just haven't gained that kind of level of respect, I don't think. 36:44 And so for me, I would have to go with Miami, even though they've been a little bit, you know, they've been better, like Ryan said. 36:51 What do you mean? 36:51 I mean, Melrose picked Union to come out of the whole thing. 36:57 Did you see that on the selection show? 36:59 He has Union playing BC for the title. 37:02 It sounds like Greece is getting through to his skull, I think. 37:07 Well, and whoever takes ESPN seriously on anything, especially college hockey, so. 37:12 What do you mean? 37:13 You mean when Brett Hall played for North Dakota back in the day? 37:15 That was good. 37:17 Did they say that this week? 37:19 Yeah. 37:19 One of the guys, the analyst guys did. 37:22 I'm sure a drunk hockey guy was happy about that. 37:25 He was highly offended. 37:26 They did correct him about five minutes after that. 37:30 Well. 37:33 Let's move to the Northeast Regional. 37:36 Number one, BC taking on Air Force and Maine taking on the UMD Bulldogs. 37:43 Hammy, can the Bulldogs survive and make it to another Frozen Four? 37:49 Not as easy as last year. 37:52 I thought when they had Yale in their session last year, they had a really good set of teams to play against. 37:59 But this year, it's much different for them. 38:01 Yeah, when I saw how they all shook down, I was like, wow, out of all the teams in the WCHA, I thought that Duluth probably got the toughest road. 38:13 I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if Maine beats them. 38:17 I'm not saying that's going to happen, but I think it's pretty tough to pick against BC in that region. 38:23 I mean, it's pretty much their neck of the woods. 38:25 And they've been strong pretty much for a number of years. 38:30 They're good this year. 38:31 I just think that it's tough to pick against BC in that region. 38:34 And Maine's not going to be a pushover for Duluth. 38:37 And maybe Duluth gets by in that game, but I just think that BC is going to be tough to beat. 38:45 So I would take BC in that region. 38:48 Yeah, I'll echo what Hammeh said. 38:49 I mean, from a Gopher perspective, that was one of the only question marks in terms of the bracket on Saturday night into Sunday morning, was are we going to get to play Maine or BU? 38:58 And I could end up eating my words on Saturday, but I would much rather play BU, just given the defections. 39:04 But Maine's been one of the best teams in the country since them and North Dakota kind of turned it on at the same time. 39:08 And they may be startled here a little bit in the past month or so. 39:13 But yeah, Duluth, I mean, I think they have a senior net and they have a pretty strong leadership core. 39:18 So I think they'll be able to get by Maine, although it's going to be a tough game. 39:21 But yeah, I mean, Boston College is, I think, them and North Dakota, again, are the two best teams in the country. 39:26 And BC hasn't lost since the middle of January. 39:28 So between BC having the home ice, essentially, and just being, I think, clear cut the top team in the country, again, it's a tough job for Duluth. 39:39 But again, like I said, Duluth has that strong leadership core. 39:42 And I went with Jack Connolly, so I want to put a lot past him. 39:46 But yeah, I would be pretty surprised, I think, if BC didn't come out of that bracket. 39:51 And that brings us to the West Regional at the Xcel Energy Center with Minnesota taking on Boston University and Western Michigan taking on the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. 40:03 Cardinal, let's first start with Western Michigan, North Dakota. 40:06 I don't think it's going to be as easy as people think it's going to be. 40:10 Yeah, that's a tough matchup. 40:12 It is. 40:12 And as you know, North Dakota, they've had a ton of success under Dave Haxtel, but they have had their few hiccups here and there in the tournament. 40:19 And Western Michigan, it's for North Dakota. 40:22 I mean, it'll help with their fans there. 40:24 But just to kind of get up for that game and with the intensity they played with last weekend, I mean, you think at some point here, they might kind of run into a wall. 40:32 And Western Michigan, they have Andy Murray as their head coach. 40:35 He's a former NHL guy. 40:37 And to come in there this season, this is his first year there. 40:40 I think Blais Hill was his name. 40:42 The coach, he went to be the assistant for the Red Wings. 40:44 And obviously, he took over a good team. 40:45 But to come in there and keep them solid and have that awesome late season run where they go through Miami and Michigan to win the CCHA. 40:53 And yeah, they're going to be a tough team. 40:56 I mean, again, I think North Dakota is going to be able to pull it off. 40:58 But yeah, I don't think it's going to be a 6-7-0 type thing where the suit is going to kind of cruise through them. 41:06 Well, I mean, I think the thing you have to look at is Western Michigan is a top-10 defense this year. 41:11 I mean, you look at scoring defense, they're top 10. 41:13 And certainly, you know, I know that they played well against some of the WCHA teams. 41:19 And I just, you know, I think that it's going to be a tough matchup. 41:23 I certainly, you know, you got to like the suit, you know, because of the momentum factor. 41:28 But at the same time, I think that, you know, it's going to, I think, be a lot tighter of a game than people probably expect. 41:37 And, you know, if it goes into one of those, you know, late third period, overtime kinds of games, all it comes down to is, you know, making the one play or the one bounce and, you know, how that can go. 41:48 And North Dakota has had their, you know, issues when it comes to NCAA time. 41:51 Yeah, they do get the frozen four, but, you know, they've had their hiccups. 41:54 And so I would pick them to win that game, but I think it's gonna be close. 42:00 And finally, we got Minnesota and Boston University. 42:05 Quite a bit of history with these two teams and the NCAA Tournament. 42:08 Looks like they've played each other seven times with Minnesota coming out on top four of those seven times. 42:15 Most recently, they lost to Boston University in 1995, seven to three. 42:22 And I believe that was a Frozen Four semifinal. 42:25 Hammy, give us your thoughts. 42:28 Well, I mean, I know that they've had some of the issues at BU with some of the off the ice stuff. 42:34 So you kind of have to wonder how that's gonna have an effect on their squad. 42:39 I haven't really, can't say that I'm super up to date on what's been going on with BU. 42:43 I know that they've been a good, you know, I look at their numbers and certainly they've been statistically, kind of, at least offensively, a mirror image of the Gophers. 42:52 I mean, they're number two in the country in scoring. 42:54 So obviously they have some good scoring. 42:56 Of course, like we talked about earlier, though, you know, they've lost some guys to some off the ice issues. 43:02 Defensively, they're not as strong as the Gophers are, you know, at least most games. 43:07 A little asterisk there. 43:10 Yeah, so, you know, I, you know, given that it's at Excel and it's pretty much, you know, a home ice kind of a situation, I think the Gophers should come out on top of that game. 43:19 I do think, you know, they're going to have something to prove this weekend. 43:22 I mean, I think there's no doubt about that. 43:24 They're going to have a bad taste in their mouth from what happened last week, you know, on Friday night. 43:29 And, you know, I think that they've been pretty resilient when I think back on the year when they've had some tough losses. 43:35 They've generally rebounded pretty well from those games. 43:38 And so I expect them to kind of, you know, have a good week of practice, be very focused. 43:43 And I think that they're going to come out and play well, you know, this weekend. 43:46 So I think they'll beat BU. 43:49 So if we go along our predictions, it's a Sioux Gopher Final Sunday afternoon. 43:57 Can the Gophers do it, Ryan? 43:59 Well, I don't know if it's as much of a lead pipe block. 44:02 I mean, I don't know how anyone has any idea what the Gophers are going to do. 44:06 I mean, like Andy said, they've been resilient, but Friday's loss was so unique. 44:11 And now you go to the NCAA Tournament, which is not just another game. 44:14 And, you know, like Jack Parker said today in that conference call, you know, there's some pressure on the Gophers and, you know, their fans are there. 44:21 And, you know, it should be full house. 44:22 But, you know, I'm sure there'll be some Sioux fans there and not that it's going to be like Holy Cross. 44:27 But I mean, you know, any Sioux fan that's going to be in the house is going to be cheering against the Gophers. 44:30 So, you know, I'm sure that, you know, it's not going to be completely one sided. 44:34 I mean, anyone there, again, that's going to be going against them. 44:37 So I don't know. 44:38 It's just it's too I think it's by far the toughest first draw matchup to pick just because, you know, the Gophers obviously coming off the Friday night deal. 44:46 We know how that went and the pressure that's going to be on them. 44:49 And then, you know, BU on the other hand, where, you know, they've had been a good team all year, but they've missed some guys. 44:54 And, you know, they have the coaching edge. 44:56 So I don't know. 44:57 I've gone back and forth on it all week already. 44:59 And it's what, Tuesday night? 45:00 So I'll probably change my mind 100 times. 45:02 I think the Gophers can win just because, like Hamme said, they're at home. 45:05 And I do think, you know, it's a good group and that, you know, they're going to bounce back and be resilient. 45:09 I think it's going to be, you know, maybe a low scoring game. 45:11 Obviously, BU's got, you know, Keira Milan in that, and he's the guy who's won a national championship. 45:16 So it is kind of one of the rare occasions where the Gophers don't have a huge edge in that. 45:20 I mean, I think it's pretty even there. 45:21 But I think the Gophers are a little bit deeper up front and a little bit deeper on the blue line. 45:25 So I think they can win it. 45:27 Yeah. 45:28 And then come Sunday, I mean, seriously, how can anyone again, how can you have any clue? 45:33 I mean, North Dakota clearly has any mental edge the Gophers may have had. 45:37 Going into Friday is obviously gone. 45:40 But, you know, at the same time, the Gophers have played well against them for the most part this year. 45:44 And, you know, it's not unheard of for them to win. 45:47 But I just think that with how strong North Dakota is right now and the whole mental thing after Friday night, you know, I think the Sioux are going to come out of this bracket regardless of who wins the Gopher BU game. 45:59 See, my feeling on that is there's different ways of looking at the mentality of a team when you come out of a game like that. 46:06 I've been in situations, I had talked about this on GPL personally where I remember playing baseball when I was a teenager and we were at State and we got our asses kicked by Minnetonka. 46:17 Like, I don't even remember, it was like 18 to 1 or something horrible. 46:20 And it's a double elimination tournament. 46:22 We came back, won the next game against, I think it was like Crystal, and we got a shot at Minnetonka in the State Championship. 46:29 And we were fired up because we were like, you know, we get a second chance at these guys and we have something to prove. 46:36 And I could tell in that game going into it that Minnetonka was concerned because they knew we were fired up. 46:42 And I think, you know, you can look at it different ways. 46:45 You can look at it like, well, you know, they're going to fold their tent because they lost so badly in that third period last week. 46:52 Or you can look at it like they got something to prove, they're pissed off. 46:56 And now they're going to, you know, it's not going to be a situation where they let up this time. 47:00 It's going to be full bore, 60 minutes. 47:01 And I think the Gophers can win that game. 47:05 And I think it's going to depend on their mentality, of course. 47:07 And I don't know what that's going to be. 47:09 I mean, we can't predict that. 47:10 But if they have that kind of mentality, they've shown that they're, you know, they have been a better team than North Dakota this year. 47:17 They've been, you know, I think people forget that outside of that third period, the Gophers have pretty much taken it to the Sioux most of the year. 47:25 And so I'm not going to say that it's a given that they're going to, that Gophers are going to win, but I think they have a good shot to win that game. 47:32 See, but I mean, I hear what you're saying, but I mean, the first two games were in North Dakota was flying at their absolute lowest and they were in Minneapolis, obviously. 47:40 And then, you know, the games up there, they split. 47:42 But I mean, North Dakota has just been so strong in the second half and they're playing their absolute best hockey. 47:47 And, you know, the Gophers, I mean, they probably played their best hockey in that series against North Dakota, I mean, early in the year. 47:52 And since then, I mean, they've been probably a 500 team. 47:56 So, I mean, I for sure want them to come out flying. 47:58 I mean, it would be the best ever to end their season. 48:00 But it's just with how good North Dakota has been in there, it seems like they're just ramping up and, you know, they've got all the pieces and it's just, I don't know. 48:08 Again, it's just, it's so tough to get a handle on this weekend because like, like Ami said, I mean, they can take, you know, what happened on Friday night and it can go one of like a million different directions. 48:17 And it's just, you know, you don't really have, there's hardly a reference point for it because it was such a unique game and such a unique set of circumstances where now you're going into the NCAA Tournament in the same building, potentially against the same team. 48:28 Again, it's a super tough thing to get a handle on, but like I hope Ami is 100% right. 48:32 And I mean, we definitely owe them in terms of ending seasons. 48:35 We ended, there is an 0-2, but they've ended ours, I think, three times since then. 48:39 So I'd like to not make it four, especially when it happens in our own backyard. 48:44 Well, and I, you know, I understand the whole, I mean, if you look at, they've, the Gophers did win, what, seven of the last eight going into the final five. 48:53 So it wasn't like they were playing crappy. 48:54 And granted, it wasn't like they were playing a murderer's row of teams. 48:58 I mean, Bemidji State's been solid, you know, UNO was solid, but up and down, Wisconsin was playing much better towards the end of the year. 49:06 So I would say that they were better than what their record showed. 49:09 And, you know, you have Anchorage. 49:10 But nonetheless, those aren't, those aren't pushover teams, and they won seven out of eight. 49:14 So for me, it's like, well, yeah, maybe they weren't playing like flying high like they were early in the year, but they weren't exactly playing crappy either. 49:21 And I think that people, I just think if you look too much at one short 20 minute or so period of time, and I think people overrate that to a degree, it was terrible. 49:33 Don't get me wrong. 49:34 But that I don't think that should completely overshadow what it's been like for most of the year. 49:39 And so I just think, can you predict while the players are going to respond to that? 49:43 Not 100 percent. 49:44 But I think if if they are as resilient as they've shown throughout most of the year when they've had a loss, I think that they'll do well. 49:50 I mean, they did come back in North Dakota and pretty well take it to North Dakota 6 to 2, you know, on that Saturday night. 49:56 So it's not like they're not capable of that kind of performance. 50:01 You know, I think it's going to be a Western Michigan, Minnesota final. 50:07 I'm just going with it. 50:08 I mean, I think Western Michigan has shown they could beat the good teams. 50:12 They're well coached. 50:13 They took out Michigan at the Joe last weekend. 50:18 And I think North Dakota thinks they're already thinking about Sunday. 50:22 They're already thinking, we get the Gophers again or something like that. 50:26 I think Western Michigan has a real good chance of up-siding the Sioux. 50:30 And I'm just going to go with it. 50:34 Well, you know, it's hard to argue against any kind. 50:36 I mean, anybody can make logical arguments. 50:40 But sometimes you see teams, you know, that they have like a big weekend and then they just go out and completely lay an egg their next game. 50:47 I mean, you know, we've seen that happen, you know, where teams, I mean, you know, you have to tip your hat to North Dakota for shutting out Denver the next night. 50:56 But, you know, after having had such an emotional win against the Gophers, but you kind of start to say to yourself, well, does that continue? 51:04 Or, you know, sometimes teams do tend to have issues when they had some success. 51:09 So it's hard to predict, but I'd be surprised if that happened. 51:14 But, you know, you can't rule anything out when you get to this time of year. 51:17 And all it takes is a few bounces and a good goalie, you know, to kind of turn the tide against you. 51:23 And hopefully quite a few Gopher fans cheering against the Sioux. 51:28 Get your tickets, folks. 51:30 Plenty available. 51:34 What else, guys? 51:35 I don't know. 51:38 You got any recruiting things going on? 51:40 Or is it going to be quiet for a while? 51:42 I know that I heard that Mr. 51:45 Gensel is up at the tryouts for the National Team Development Program right now. 51:51 So I believe he's there. 51:53 That's what I was told by somebody. 51:54 So I don't know that 100 percent, but I would be surprised if somebody wasn't up there from the Gophers. 52:00 And I believe Christian Horn from BSM will be making a visit pretty soon. 52:06 And I know he's got a number of opportunities that he's looking at. 52:10 So I don't know if he'll end up here or not. 52:12 But certainly that's a possibility. 52:14 But other than that, it's been relatively quiet. 52:17 All right. 52:18 Well, if there's nothing else, let's wrap it up, guys. 52:21 Nothing? 52:23 I don't think so. 52:25 Go Gophers? 52:27 Yes. 52:28 I'm trying to be positive here, guys. 52:32 You know, I was shooting Friday night and it was all great. 52:36 Well, midway through this third period, I just stood there and started tweeting and didn't even bother shooting anymore. 52:43 So I was pretty negative. 52:46 Well, I mean, I don't know many people who that probably weren't, but it's kind of a case study and how does a team respond? 52:53 I mean, that's pretty, you know, when you're playing your biggest rival or one of the biggest rivals that you have, and, you know, you're kind of laying egg. 53:01 And one period, I mean, basically it was one period, I mean, that they had a really bad period. 53:06 And it is, you know, do you kind of just say, well, you know, you learn from it, you realize, recognize what your mistakes were, and you kind of try to capitalize on what you did do well and take a, you know, their kind of strong attitude into the next game? 53:21 Or, you know, do you kind of be like, yeah, you know, do you focus all your attention on the negative? 53:27 You know, I felt that they're focused on the negative. 53:30 They have another chance here. 53:31 I'm a big believer that, you know, when you see a second chance like that in front of you, and especially if they face each other on Sunday, I really believe that they'll have the right attitude. 53:40 They have to go out and prove it, though. 53:42 Yeah, and part of me wonders, too, I know this has been bandied about a little bit on GPL, but, you know, obviously the team and Lucia, you know, specifically has got back a lot of goodwill based on the regular season performance, but I wonder how much of that goes out the window if they end up losing on Saturday, and, you know, obviously this program is, you know, they hung up anter this year, and that's great, but, I mean, if they go out and, you know, lose the way they did in North Dakota and then lose, you know, on home ice as a favorite in a regional game, I don't know, I mean, I think the fan base wants to embrace everything right now, but I think if things go off the track on Saturday, then it could be kind of ugly, and, I mean, I don't know if that's right or wrong. 54:17 I mean, they obviously rebounded, but, you know, you look towards the future, and, you know, you want this team to be back winning NCAA Tournament games, and, you know, it's been a while since that happened. 54:26 I think the last one was Air Force, and that was, you know, the Wheeler year in 07, and, you know, so, I mean, that's a long time to go without an NCAA Tournament win, and, you know, if this whole season you've had this, you know, regional at the X, and you win the conference, and go wire to wire, and, you know, you get to an NCAA Tournament one game, anything can happen, but I think it would be a pretty big disappointment, in the sense I get just from the fan base, that they aren't able at least to get to Sunday. 54:48 I mean, if you get to Sunday and lose in North Dakota, yeah, it would really suck, but, you know, North Dakota's the hottest team in the country right now, and so, you know, there's no shame in that, unless something atrocious happens, like last Friday, where you get killed, or you have a big lead, or, you know, if you lose 3-2 to North Dakota after beating BU, and you tip your cap to them, and, you know, it was a good building step, but I think this weekend can go one of two ways and really sway some people in terms of kind of where the program's at and where it's going. 55:13 I would agree with that. 55:15 Ryan, you gonna be on with PA this week? 55:18 I think so. 55:19 I know he's out in Vegas right now, so I don't know when he's coming back or if he's gonna hit it big and to stay out there or what his deal is, but yeah, I hope so. 55:27 We'll tweet it if you are. 55:29 Obviously, people can follow your work on GPL and on Twitter, at Ryan Cardinal. 55:35 Hammy can be followed on Twitter as well, at Hammy Hockey, and of course, GPL, we're at GopherPuckLive on Twitter. 55:44 Most of you probably know that. 55:47 That's it for this week's GPL Podcast. 55:50 We'll return next week and recap the NCAA Tournament, the regionals, and hopefully preview the Frozen Four for the Gophers, but we'll stay positive there. 56:02 Until then, thanks for listening.