0:06
This is The GPL Podcast from gopherpucklive.com.
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This podcast is sponsored by Jerry Peters and First Class Mortgage.
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Our expertise, your peace of mind.
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Visit us at firstclassmortgage.com.
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Now, let's start the show with your hosts, Jupiter and Vegoe.
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Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 212.
0:46
Well, Veegs, it was a very good weekend, and when we have good weekends like this, we need to celebrate.
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That's right, it's banner season for University of Minnesota Hockey.
0:57
Wow.
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And who better to celebrate with than one of our favorite guests, Mr.
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Pat Micheletti.
1:04
There he is, Pat, back with us.
1:06
Gentlemen, great to see you.
1:08
Great to be back.
1:10
Yeah.
1:11
My third appearance.
1:12
He's got his Golden Gopher sweatshirt on.
1:14
He's ready to go, folks.
1:15
I work just for you, Veegs.
1:18
That's nice.
1:18
That's a throwback.
1:20
Yeah, I had to buy it because I don't get free stuff anymore.
1:27
But that's all right.
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I'm supporting the program, right?
1:32
Well, yeah, you are.
1:34
It's a great time, too, because it is, you know, Pat, we've been tough on the team this year because we didn't feel that they performed up to expectations and they've slowly gotten it together.
1:48
And it's possible that maybe even having the Olympians gone and LaFontaine leaving brought them together even more recently because they won the entire month of February.
2:01
I think you have to hit adversity before you, you know, start your way up.
2:09
I, you know, when I looked at the year and you guys too with, you know, different teams throughout the country and the transfer portal and the guys getting another year, and then you look at Minnesota, okay?
2:25
And they had what?
2:27
Pitlick, Lucius, Hugh Glenn, Nyes.
2:31
I'm probably missing somebody, but correct, you know, feel free to jump in.
2:37
But young guys, it takes a while to make that next jump.
2:42
I don't care if you're a first-round pick.
2:44
I don't care if you weren't drafted.
2:47
It doesn't matter to me, you know, it takes a while to get adjusted to college hockey, to school, to being, you know, by yourself on campus, all that.
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And finally, you know, the young group all of a sudden isn't a young group anymore, the way they're playing.
3:07
I mean, they're playing off the charts, in my opinion.
3:12
And now we're seeing it.
3:14
Now, one thing I will say is through all of this, and I've had many conversations with Bob.
3:21
And he said, you know, I believe in this team.
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They believe in themselves, you know, and did make excuses, just, you know, knew at some point in time that they would come together.
3:33
And, you know, man, eight in a row.
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It's been really, really fun to watch.
3:41
Veegs, you know, we had a great month of February.
3:46
The players, Olympic players are gone.
3:48
They come back, you know, part of that last game, you know, you know, very tired.
3:53
They come back, we play Wisconsin.
3:57
I know we thought they would do well, but it was 13 to nothing on the weekend against your biggest rival currently.
4:06
Yeah, it definitely wasn't a flawless weekend.
4:10
You know, moments in their game where things weren't clicking.
4:14
But I think in those situations, having a goal like Justin Close kept them in a positive mindset and kept them going.
4:23
You know, maybe if a goaltender lets one of those in early, the energy of the team falls off and maybe the weekend becomes a risk.
4:34
But he played really well, I thought, against Wisconsin when Minnesota needed him to play well.
4:38
And Minnesota's got enough depth now where certain guys aren't clicking.
4:44
There's other lines that Bob can turn to and put out there for ice time that can get them going again.
4:50
And seeing some guys who can put together some continuity with pressure and shifts, where they can string them together, and everybody's pulling on the chain the same way, that really helps in a weekend like this.
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And you just saw Wisconsin at the end of both games just kind of fall off.
5:06
And their compete fell off and Minnesota stepped on their throats.
5:11
But that's one thing that I think has been missing these last couple of years, Pat, is that when you have a team where you want them, you do step on their throats.
5:19
Take their will away, and they clearly did that against Wisconsin towards the end of each game this weekend.
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And, you know, to me, you know, going forward, if we're looking about going forward, which we are because the playoffs are starting, you know, the two biggest guys that I'm looking at that have to perform are Walker and McLaughlin.
5:43
You know, because there are nights where they're there, and there are nights when they're not there, and there, you know, there have been a lot of times where the young guys have really carried the mail.
5:53
And, you know, it's a team, and they do it as a team, but they need those two guys to say, okay, you know, and their games have been better.
6:06
No doubt about it, okay?
6:08
But here's where it's time to go to the next level.
6:13
And then the guys on the bench see that, the younger guys, and for the younger guys, and let me tell you, because I was a freshman once, and I went to the NCAA Final Four at the time, right?
6:28
But in reality, I didn't know I was at the Final Four.
6:32
You know what I mean?
6:33
Because I had three more years.
6:36
And so, Butcie Erickson, Scott Dugstead, Steve Griffith, Paul Butters, Dave Jensen, those guys were there to, you know, win a championship.
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Not that I wasn't, but I didn't know what it meant.
6:51
And so, it's imperative that, you know, the upperclassmen really instill it in those guys that, hey, there ain't no tomorrow.
7:05
You know, we're here to win this thing now.
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Because it can, you know, it can just slide by you without even knowing.
7:13
And Veegs, we've been a little hard on Walker this year.
7:16
I mean, we have seen those times where he has completely disappeared.
7:18
And when he disappears, McLaughlin tends to disappear.
7:23
And I don't want to get negative, but I don't think it was Sammy Walker and Blake McLaughlin that really were clicking this weekend against Wisconsin.
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You know, I was talking to Todd Maleski after Friday, and we were just kind of like, you know, you didn't really see much of Walker that night.
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No, not on Friday, no.
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And I don't know if we saw a ton of him on Saturday.
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He did get the goal, but it came on a rush scoring chance, which is where Sammy Walker is one of the most dangerous players in college hockey.
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No doubt about it.
7:53
He's really good on the rush.
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And I think, you know, maybe Minnesota's depth allows him to pop up like that more often as teams get worried about the Myers line and now this Hugen line that's looking really, really good.
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Maybe that allows Walker some space to get more of those rush chances.
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Because if you look at last time they were in the tournament, Minnesota State didn't give him any rush scoring chances.
8:17
There's no room on the ice.
8:18
So there's more there, I think, for Walker to give.
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Yeah, I would concur.
8:23
And, you know, he's the captain of the team.
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And, you know, I love Sammy to death.
8:28
And I can say this because, you know, and I've told him to his face, you know, you got to kick it and then you know what?
8:36
And so, but you know what?
8:40
He can, you know, that's the thing.
8:42
And McLaughlin can be a wizard, you know, and he loves to play the game.
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So I'm not worried about them.
8:51
I'm just saying now is the time for those guys to really carry the mail in terms of, and it's not necessarily getting two goals a night, okay?
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It's not.
9:05
It's just, wow, what a shift.
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Let's follow that up.
9:09
Wow, what a shift, you know, because then Myers is up next, and then Hugh Glenn is up next.
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And then all of a sudden, that team is looking at you like, whew, you know?
9:19
So there's no breaks in the game.
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And I think they need to take the mindset of, wow, having a really good shift, where you just put the pressure on the other team, is just as good as getting that goal on the rush.
9:30
No doubt.
9:31
And they have to get that mindset into their heads as they get to this part of the season, where, you know, just have a good shift.
9:39
That should be your focus.
9:40
You know, and here's the deal, Sammy with his speed, you know, he's got to be the first one in on the floor check, right?
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Get in there, cause havoc, cause havoc.
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Be a pain in the, you know what?
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And, and, you know, and I, again, listen, I'm not being negative.
9:58
I'm literally praising him because I know he's there and he's done it.
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And I'm just saying now is the time that, okay, let's shine and take this thing where we need to take it.
10:11
And this kind of, you know, our guy, Mote, he says, turnovers are his identity, unfortunately.
10:15
And that's one thing you've kind of talked about this year, Veegs.
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You know, first half of the season, you know, Walker would try to do it on his own a lot of times.
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He'd get to the blue line, try to go through some guys, lose the puck.
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He might do this at the end of a shift.
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He's tired.
10:30
He can't get back.
10:31
You know, if anything, this is kind of one thing that he has thought back, okay, play smarter.
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If I play smarter, we're more successful.
10:38
Yeah.
10:39
And I think it's been better.
10:40
I think the turnovers have been cut down quite a bit.
10:44
And you're not seeing that as often, especially at his own blue line.
10:47
You know, sometimes at the end of the shift, you know, you wish there was just a little bit more puck management going on in the brain.
10:54
But at the same time, when you've got the brain of an artist, it doesn't work in a, you know, percentage way all the time.
10:59
So, you know, it's a give and take with that.
11:02
And that's why, you know, Ryan Kay in here is, you know, was talking, I think about, you know, playing with McLaughlin.
11:08
You know, that is a great advantage for Walker.
11:10
And, you know, I'm sure you take that in the calculus when you're making plays out there.
11:15
Yep.
11:17
So, Veegs, you know, Minnesota needed a little help this weekend.
11:20
They got it from Notre Dame.
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Notre Dame sweeps Michigan on the season.
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I mean, there was a couple of overtime wins in there, but they essentially beat Michigan four straight games.
11:29
And that's the difference in the conference.
11:32
Minnesota sweeps this weekend, wins it by four, wins the Big Ten by four points, has a bye.
11:39
I know, I know maybe some people aren't so happy about it.
11:41
I guess it's, I see it as the team hasn't had a break since winter break.
11:47
Usually gets at least one break, at least one weekend off during the second half of the season.
11:54
And since they didn't get to play the Alaska Fairbanks series, they made it up on their week off.
12:00
So they've been playing straight.
12:02
Is this maybe not such a bad time for this break?
12:06
I think it's good for the team.
12:08
You've got Lucia who's healing up with some sort of injury, that kept them off the ice.
12:14
It's extra time off.
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Brock Faber is a player who plays a ton of ice time, whether it's in the Olympics or for the Gophers.
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Let him rest up.
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Rest is a weapon.
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I think this team has to be on edge because they're only going to get the one game in the semifinal.
12:29
And then depending on how they do, they get one game in the championship two weeks apart.
12:33
I think Bob wishes that those games happen back to back or on a Thursday, Saturday or something like that.
12:40
A little bit differently because that can be tricky.
12:43
But I think rest is good for this team right now because they've been playing teams coming up by for the last five weeks.
12:49
So I think it's probably okay that they get a bye here this weekend.
12:52
Get away from the rink a couple days and then get back, be energized, short practices initially.
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You want to get, you're at a point in the season now where you're mad when you're not on the ice.
13:08
And so you want to get that in their heads, that man, I want to get on the ice.
13:14
But you prevent them from getting on the ice as much.
13:17
And so by the time you get to game time, you are so ready to go because there's nothing better than playing games.
13:24
We all hate to practice.
13:26
I mean, who likes that?
13:27
Practice.
13:31
Listen, I got every Monday off, regardless.
13:35
And that Mondays was when we got skated.
13:37
And I had an injury every Monday for four years.
13:43
And guys weren't happy, but I was.
13:48
Veegs, I just wanted to touch on something real quick.
13:51
When you and I arrived Friday night, that student section was almost full.
13:58
30 minutes or around 30 minutes before the puck dropped.
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The students have led the crowd this year, and the students led the crowd this weekend.
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Tip of the cap to the student section.
14:11
They have been awesome when they've been in the building.
14:14
They were awesome for the football program in the fall.
14:17
This is a group of fans that I think Minnesota needs to hang on to.
14:22
This is a group where, when they graduate, they better be getting young alumni discounts on season tickets for as long as you can give it to them.
14:30
Because they have so much energy in the building, and I think it changes it for the players, too.
14:36
I don't think I've ever seen a student section that full as we did this week.
14:42
I would guess that this is probably the largest student section ever for a Gopher hockey game, besides maybe the outdoor game.
14:51
Because they had three full sections, and they went into the sections on the sides.
15:00
Give them a reason to come.
15:02
Give them a reason to come.
15:03
That is true.
15:04
Exciting.
15:05
You got Olympians.
15:09
You got all-stars on this team that are going to be playing in the National Hockey League.
15:14
You have a reason to come now.
15:16
And, you know, we can go, we could do this for eight more hours and, you know, talk about the reasons why, this, that, and the other thing.
15:26
But the bottom line is, you know, they've got a team that is pretty darn good and pretty fun to watch.
15:35
And so, and they want to have a good time, you know.
15:38
The fans, when they come to a game, they want to be entertained.
15:42
And this is a team that can entertain.
15:44
And so, when you have that, they're going to come.
15:49
Let's keep it going, students.
15:51
Keep showing up.
15:53
I believe next week might be on spring break, Veegs.
15:58
It might be.
16:00
Which, anyway.
16:01
Don't go to West.
16:03
Yeah, don't go to Cabo.
16:04
Don't go to Daytona Beach.
16:06
You want to be in a hockey rink.
16:08
This is your team and you can play a factor.
16:12
I know that PJ Fleck has talked about this with football fans, is that those fans want to make an impact in the game.
16:20
I think they have the ability to and I think it happens.
16:23
Ask any player who plays and the crowd is going crazy.
16:30
You want to talk about something that energizes you.
16:34
It's unbelievable.
16:36
I mean, that's why you play.
16:40
Because guess what?
16:40
The players are there to entertain too and they want to show off their wares.
16:45
Right?
16:45
And it makes a big difference.
16:49
Jacob says the next game will be coming back some spring break, but I'm just guessing a lot of students will be back that Saturday night.
16:56
But hopefully they are.
16:58
Get to the championship game folks.
17:01
It's only one game too.
17:02
It is true.
17:03
So championship game or at least both those games, they have five sections of student tickets.
17:11
So besides the three, they're expanding one section on each side.
17:15
So, I mean, let's fill that thing up.
17:18
And, you know, if it's Ohio State or whoever, you know, next Saturday or Michigan or Notre Dame, the next one, let's go.
17:26
The football program has had pretty good success with students coming back even for that Thanksgiving week game.
17:33
So I think if the fans have a reason to show up and they want to support this team, they will.
17:38
So I don't know if the break is as much of an excuse as some people might make it out to be because this team is on a roll and it seems to be having some momentum there.
17:47
Yep.
17:47
Agreed.
17:48
Agreed.
17:50
All right.
17:51
Well, before we get into a little bit more material, make sure, you know, if you have questions for us, send us questions, you know, through the YouTube chat or even on Facebook if you're watching on Facebook.
18:00
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All right.
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Thank you, Jerry, for sponsoring The GPL Podcast.
19:11
Pat, I had a question sent to me on our message board.
19:14
I thought I'd bring that up here.
19:15
We've got a question for Pat from Magic.
19:18
Who do you think is the best NCHC matchup for the Gophers and the Regional?
19:23
We've got North Dakota, Denver, Western, Duluth, and St.
19:28
Cloud.
19:29
Who's the best matchup for this Minnesota team?
19:33
Who's the best team or who do you think they would have a matchup best against?
19:39
I think that's what he's asking.
19:40
Yeah.
19:41
You know what?
19:42
I think a team like Western Michigan.
19:45
Now, Western Michigan is really good, but I think Minnesota out-depth them.
19:53
You know, they have the leading goal score in the country in Ethan Frank, Ronnie Adderd back on D is really good.
20:02
A kid by the name of Joyu is really good, but they don't have, in my opinion, enough.
20:11
All right?
20:12
I mean, they've got two solid lines.
20:14
Their third line is okay, and their fourth line is, you know, it doesn't match up with what Minnesota has.
20:21
So, I think a team like Western who is really sneaky good, I think, but I think that would be a really good matchup.
20:32
You know, Veegs, I'm looking at all the people putting their picks together for the NCAA tournament.
20:37
They've been putting Minnesota and North Dakota in a lot of these regionals, and I've noticed that not one person has put Western in with Michigan yet.
20:46
I mean, the NCAA has got to put Western in with Michigan in that same region.
20:51
They're pretty traditional, aren't they?
20:52
Only if they have a sense of humor, which they might have a sense of humor.
20:56
I would love to see that.
20:58
But you know, the way the numbers are looking, if they go by chalk like they've done lately, it won't happen, but I'm still pulling for it.
21:06
That would be interesting.
21:09
It would be very, very interesting.
21:12
I long talk with the Western head coach, Pat Verschweiler, that will remain inside of me, you know, for now.
21:21
But it would be an interesting match up.
21:26
I think if they have any chance, they should try to put them in the same regional.
21:30
I just really think they should do that.
21:32
Yeah, I think it'd be great for college hockey, too, to be quite honest.
21:35
And hey, listen, people want to see Minnesota and North Dakota play, too.
21:39
They do.
21:43
And congratulations to Brad Berry on his extension.
21:49
He's done a fabulous job this year with what left the program and what he had to do to bring guys in.
22:02
They surprised a lot of teams this year, to be quite honest.
22:08
So, okay, I'm done.
22:10
Let me try a different layout here.
22:11
Let's try this.
22:13
There we go.
22:13
Let's put Pat up on the big screen there.
22:17
You know, I get this question from Motay Veegs.
22:20
What can happen with Paramount?
22:21
Not many games left.
22:23
Are we gonna see much shifting around?
22:27
I mean, there's room for shifting around if things start to go sideways for teams.
22:32
You know, you look at CHN, they've got that Monte Carlo simulation.
22:37
And that's kind of my gold standard for what is possible for teams to move around.
22:42
Like you can look at, you know, UMD making the tournament with their ranking, but not having above 500 record where they would qualify.
22:51
You know, that is a possibility in the simulations that go out there.
22:55
And you have to remember these Monte Carlo simulations take into account, you know, which teams are favored in matchups going forward when they calculate their percentages.
23:05
So it's not just like raw percentages.
23:07
It's, you know, this has a chance of happening based on how that's playing out on their chart.
23:12
So I think that's the best place to look.
23:14
You know, Minnesota can fall down to a two-seat if they crash out for some reason.
23:18
It's really hard for them to get ahead of Denver and Michigan at this point.
23:26
They've pretty much got number one seats locked up.
23:28
Pat, I think the Loveland Regional is going to be the regional of death.
23:34
I could see Denver moving to the highest number two seat.
23:38
They're going to go to Loveland.
23:39
No, Denver is going to be number one.
23:41
They have to be.
23:43
It's right on the border right now.
23:45
Yeah, it is.
23:46
But, you know what, I think they'll take care of business and secure that.
23:50
I really do.
23:52
To be quite honest, of all the teams I've seen this year, as far as the collection of forwards, I would say Denver is at the top of the list.
24:04
And they are really, really talented up front.
24:09
And they're going to be a handful.
24:12
You know, we don't talk about Denver a lot because A, they're in the NCHC, they're in Denver, right?
24:21
And they, you know, you're not going to see them a lot on TV, blah, blah, blah.
24:26
But they're, they're a really, really well coached team and a, you know, really talented up front.
24:32
Speaking of TV, Pat, you were going to make your Big Ten network debut and then the game got cancelled, didn't it?
24:39
Well, I made it in December.
24:40
Thanks for watching.
24:42
Catch them all.
24:43
Well, you were going to do one recently and that was Wisconsin.
24:46
I was going to do one Wisconsin in Notre Dame and, you know, Wisconsin got hit with COVID.
24:53
They moved it to Super Bowl Sunday.
24:54
So Big Ten said no chance, you know, and so, you know, that was unfortunate.
25:00
But, you know, well, speaking of the Badgers, yes, what is going on over there, Pat?
25:07
I mean, you know, I, they really miscalculated what was going on.
25:14
And they did a very poor job of, of, excuse me, managing their players.
25:22
You know, if you didn't think that Hallway and, and Caulfield were leaving, and, you know, what other guys they were losing, Turcotte and Miller, I mean.
25:36
Yeah, not, not to, not to have a better plan on how to replace that.
25:40
Then it's on them.
25:42
It is.
25:43
And I don't know.
25:44
Veegs, you've been talking about that too.
25:45
I don't know, I don't know if it's the assistant coaches or the head coach or what, you know, I like Tony a lot.
25:53
I hope, I hope, you know, they don't make a move there, but you know, you never know in this day and age, you know, if you don't win, you're in trouble, so I don't know.
26:10
It's not so bad for us fans.
26:12
It's always good, but you know, we think of it as a fan, I love to see the Badgers lose, but then you think of it as a conference, conference needs teams like Wisconsin.
26:22
Yeah, I mean.
26:23
And we've been talking a lot about the Michigan State lately.
26:26
They just cannot get it together.
26:28
No, no, and that's too bad, because, you know, I mean, I mean, let's take Wisconsin.
26:35
That was our rivalry.
26:37
And, you know, a lot of people want to talk North Dakota, you know.
26:40
I mean, back, back in the day, Wisconsin was the was the rival.
26:48
There's no doubt.
26:49
And, you know, going into the old Dane County Coliseum, that place got eighty six hundred fans a night, different fans on each night.
26:58
It was crazy.
27:01
And, you know, that program has a lot of pride.
27:06
And college hockey needs that.
27:09
They need them to be good.
27:10
I want them to be good.
27:13
You know, I want to kick there, you know what?
27:14
But I still want them to be good.
27:17
And so, you know, hopefully they'll turn it around and sustain it.
27:23
Yes.
27:24
Okay, Veegs, a little bit on this weekend.
27:27
Obviously, we know Minnesota is not playing.
27:30
Is there anything else happening that would change?
27:34
Or do you think pretty much all the home teams are pretty much going to win?
27:38
Yeah, I think in the Big Ten, it's been proven that there's a pretty decent gap here between the top teams and the bottom teams.
27:46
You know, I could see maybe, you know, some upsets of a team's not playing well.
27:52
But I think there's enough depth right now where the top of the Big Ten is going to come through and advance to the semis as expected.
27:59
I do have to correct myself because I did misspeak earlier and I'm kicking myself.
28:03
It's Minnesota State and Michigan that have those top seeds.
28:06
And I've been thinking lately about, can a NCHC team pass Minnesota right now and leapfrog into three?
28:15
And I think that's really the threat for Minnesota's seeding purposes is if someone gets hot in the NCHC, those winds are really going to boost their pairways, I think, and they can jump ahead of Minnesota that way.
28:28
Yeah.
28:29
Could a Minnesota defeating a Michigan, though, help them stay up high?
28:34
Yeah, it clearly would.
28:35
I mean, Michigan with their pairwise status would be a help for Minnesota, as we saw with Notre Dame, you know, climbing into a two seed with their dominant performance over Michigan this year.
28:46
They're in the tournament.
28:48
And good for them.
28:49
Now, here's one potential, I'm going to say potential, upset this weekend.
28:58
Penn State and Ohio State.
29:00
And let me tell you, and here's why.
29:06
Now, here's the if, right?
29:09
If Penn State gets a lead, can they hold it?
29:16
And if they are able to hold it, because let me tell you, you guys know this, and it's been a pattern with Ohio State all year.
29:25
They get down and they've outscored their opponents, I think, 32 to 14, 32 to 18 in the third period.
29:35
And they've had a lot of comeback wins in the third period.
29:39
But they're a slow starting team.
29:42
And so, you know, if Penn State can get a lead and then lock it down, they've got a shot.
29:49
Now, it's kind of a long shot, but they've got a shot.
29:54
But it sounds like Ohio State's an intimidating atmosphere.
29:58
They've had more people there.
29:59
But I think Veegs, I think Pat's right on this.
30:03
I think Ohio State, you know, they lost four straight games.
30:07
Then you go to a week off.
30:09
They're on the edge of the tournament now.
30:12
So there's got to be a lot of nerves with them.
30:14
So, you know, you get behind, you know, you lose game one.
30:20
It's do or die time for Ohio State because their season is most likely over.
30:25
Yeah, OSU has played themselves under the bubble here the last two weekends.
30:29
And you know, they're in that 13-14 range of the pairwise.
30:33
So they need wins and, you know, losses, even if they drop one game to Penn State, that could hurt their position because that's kind of a bad loss right now because Penn State is in the 20s.
30:45
They have to come beat Minnesota to get back up.
30:48
And here's the deal.
30:48
Here's the deal, too.
30:50
Ohio State's been playing without their best defenseman, Mason Leroy.
30:55
The kid's a stud offensively.
30:58
He's not great defensively yet, but he will be one of the top offensive guys in the league next year for defenseman.
31:06
And he's been out and, you know, from what I've heard, it's still if he's going to play this weekend.
31:16
And if he doesn't play this weekend, you know, I mean, they generate a lot of their offense from him.
31:23
He's up in the play, you know, he opens things up.
31:28
And if you don't, and if they're built like that, well then, you know, who's gonna create that offense for him?
31:34
You know what I mean?
31:35
And they're built young too.
31:37
Like they've been counting on their freshman to lead them this year with scoring.
31:41
And, you know, it's a long season for guys like that who are just getting into college hockey.
31:47
So you kind of wonder if that's maybe an issue for them as well.
31:50
Yeah.
31:51
Steve's saying that Penn State is good at holding a lead.
31:54
Well, unless they're playing Minnesota at home.
31:56
Yeah, what I don't think they are.
32:01
I don't want to argue with you, Steve, but they haven't been, to be quite honest.
32:08
I talked to their people today.
32:10
Yes.
32:11
In fact.
32:13
So you're doing the Michelettis now, Pat, you're holding the award.
32:18
And tomorrow, I should announce the Micheletti Elite 5 will be released.
32:25
Oh, okay.
32:25
We'll be looking at that on Twitter tomorrow, folks.
32:27
Yeah.
32:28
You know, hopefully, they'll edit it and have it all done by Friday.
32:34
So, but we will be making a little announcement of that tomorrow.
32:40
So to go along with the first ever Micheletti Awards, you know, we had to have some fun with it.
32:49
Josh was asking if we're open to questions.
32:50
Of course we are, Joshua.
32:52
Bring it on, Josh.
32:53
Bring them on.
32:54
You know, we don't have any Gopher Games to preview this weekend.
32:58
So we're opening up for these questions.
33:00
You know what else has questions?
33:02
Let's hear them.
33:02
You know, we had this person ask Pat what his favorite Glenn Sonmore story is.
33:09
So we just kick back and have a drink now and let Pat go.
33:13
You know what?
33:14
Just being in the same room is my best story.
33:17
Yes.
33:19
He lit up a room.
33:24
Glenn drafted me, really.
33:26
I mean, Louie did, but Glenn was Louie's Assistant General Manager at the time.
33:33
I got the call from Glenn.
33:38
I was thrilled to talk to him because he talked for about an hour.
33:42
He said, yeah, we drafted you, blah, blah, blah, and I was laid around, whatever.
33:45
But he wouldn't get off the phone.
33:48
It was wonderful.
33:49
That was the beginning of our relationship that went on forever until the day he passed.
33:59
So he loved the game so much and he loved the Gophers so much.
34:09
There are a few people who love Gopher Hockey more than Glenn.
34:14
I mean, you can talk Louis, you can talk Meyessit, you can talk all the guys.
34:19
But I mean, that literally bled maroon and gold.
34:23
And it was Glenn.
34:26
And just thinking, you know, he took over the North Stars in the late 70s when, you know, he probably couldn't pay as much attention to go for hockey then.
34:36
And boy, they were really good.
34:40
I mean, when he could, I mean, he didn't catch many games, but that must have been just special for him after he had coached the team many years before.
34:48
I have a lot of memories of rushing back to the 4th Street ramp with my father to get to the radio so that we could listen to Glenn talk about his three stars of the game and break down the game in post game.
35:01
And it was a lot of fun to listen to him on the radio and just his love of the program was something special.
35:09
Yep.
35:09
No doubt.
35:11
Oh, Pat's pick to win the Big Ten tourney.
35:16
Well, that's a little early.
35:17
We got some show left.
35:19
We're going to come back to that.
35:20
Oh, okay.
35:22
Sorry.
35:22
Come on.
35:25
Oh, well, Tim's going to know.
35:26
Will Lashon get another major this weekend, Veegs?
35:32
I mean, odds suggest yes.
35:35
That was quite the hit he had this weekend on Sammy Walker.
35:40
I did not see it.
35:41
I obviously wasn't there this weekend.
35:43
If Sammy had the puck, Veegs, I believe it would have been a legal hit because he didn't hit him in the head.
35:51
He hit him at the chest.
35:52
He hit him hard.
35:54
The problem is Sammy left the puck back at the net when he came running.
35:57
Yeah, well, that's the problem then.
35:59
Yeah, especially in college hockey.
36:01
Yeah, I mean, you can't deliver hits that are designed to intimidate, to injure, to, you know, you got to be separating players from the puck, or it's got to be just like that split second.
36:14
College hockey, you just can't deliver hits like that.
36:17
And it was a pretty hard hit.
36:20
I was surprised to see him popped up like he did.
36:23
But the thing is, Pat, A'shaun on the other teams is what makes more of a rival.
36:29
You got to have someone you love to hate.
36:33
And, you know, I was even tweeting, I replied to his dad after his dad was going out for some people this past week, and I just said, what's the over under that A'shaun gets a major and he did?
36:44
I don't know if I've ever told you guys this, what I used to do.
36:49
So back in the day, both teams were allowed to skate in both ends, right?
36:56
I missed that.
36:57
Okay.
36:58
So what I used to do is I used to I used to look at, because I always I always studied the other team's lineup, what number they were, what position.
37:12
Yeah, some I knew, right, that I played against and blah, blah, blah.
37:15
But I always used to do that.
37:19
And I'd pick one guy that I didn't know or wasn't familiar with, didn't think he knew me very well, whatever.
37:27
And so when we'd skate around, I used to just skate right next to him.
37:33
And I'd look at him and I'd say, you're my worst nightmare this weekend.
37:40
And I honestly got, it would trigger him.
37:45
And the guy would be after me all weekend.
37:48
And I knew, okay, boom, he's going to take a penalty.
37:51
I'll let him take the penalty.
37:53
We'll go on the power play.
37:54
Thank you very much.
37:59
Veegs, I would say I miss it when the teams have come skating out.
38:04
You have to have the tricks up your sleeve, guys.
38:07
I just, I miss that.
38:09
You have to.
38:12
Yeah, what can you do?
38:13
What can you do?
38:15
So we think there could be one upset this week, and maybe Penn State.
38:21
And if that is the case, Penn State comes to here because the lowest remaining seed will come to Mariucci next weekend.
38:27
Correct, Veegs?
38:28
That's right.
38:29
So they re-seed it.
38:30
Yeah, that'd be good.
38:33
That would be good.
38:34
Let me take a look at some questions here.
38:40
Steve does say PSU is 13-2 this year with a two-goal or more lead.
38:45
He's got stats.
38:46
He's got stats to back him up.
38:49
I could pull up my stats, but I'm not going to.
38:53
Okay, because they talked.
38:56
You know, that may be true when they have a two-goal lead.
38:59
He says, excuse me, 15-2.
39:01
Oh yeah, when they have a two-goal lead, right?
39:04
When they have a two-goal lead.
39:07
Yeah, they lost to Michigan and Minnesota, giving up a couple of goal leads.
39:10
Correct.
39:12
But here's the thing, Penn State, I think, only has 14 regulation wins.
39:17
Right.
39:17
Though maybe that's the only way they can win.
39:22
You know, and I had this stat in my head, because it was told to me by their people today, what they are when they're down.
39:31
Anyway, doesn't matter.
39:32
And also, they're five and 16 in the Big Ten.
39:37
They built some of that record on playing the Little Sisters of the Poor.
39:41
Correct.
39:42
And that's how Penn State schedules their season.
39:45
It's kind of what they do.
39:47
They're one of the reasons why the coaches want to put in some more strength to schedule things into their requirements for the tournament, because it's pretty amazing that...
39:58
And they lost to Michigan State this past weekend, Veegs.
40:01
Yep.
40:02
They could have finished ahead...
40:04
Oh yeah, they still finished ahead of Wisconsin anyway, because of the tie, but...
40:07
Right.
40:08
It's amazing that Wisconsin finished fifth after seeing that program this past weekend.
40:17
Well, it's Michigan State.
40:19
I mean, come on.
40:20
We know when Lewandowski was gone, they just fell apart.
40:24
They'd had one victory in 2022, Veegs, and that was last week.
40:29
I really came close in the Micheletti Awards to naming Dorit or my Goaltender of the Year, because I think he's really, really good.
40:37
And I think he kept him in a lot of games, even though they lost 10 or 11 in a row or 13 or...
40:42
I don't know what the...
40:43
But you know what?
40:44
He wasn't bad.
40:46
And he just doesn't have a lot of help.
40:49
But he's a hell of a goaltender, in my opinion, anyway.
40:53
You know, so he was close.
40:56
And you know, in all these years, this is the ninth season of the Big Ten of Eigs, Michigan State still does not have a playoff win in the Big Ten.
41:06
And that's just shocking.
41:08
And that's eight years, because obviously we had the canceled playoff year.
41:12
Right.
41:15
It is shocking.
41:16
I mean, they're a team that's...
41:18
Pat, you know, they're a team that's always kind of middle of the road, for the most part.
41:23
They don't really bottom out like they have these last few years.
41:25
They're middle of the road, and then every once in a while they jump up.
41:28
And, you know, every 10 or 15 years, they win a national championship.
41:32
But it's been since the Big Ten, it's just been a struggle for them.
41:38
Well, I'll take you back.
41:39
I mean, they used to be a power.
41:41
I mean, they used to be a power, and Michigan was nothing.
41:45
You know, there was a time where Michigan hit rock bottom, and then they brought Red in.
41:50
You know, but before Red, they were not a very good program at all.
41:57
You know, they were back in the early 70s and, you know, through the 70s, but in the 80s, they tanked.
42:05
I mean, they were terrible.
42:08
And then Red came and, you know, they turned things around.
42:13
So I don't know, I don't know what, I don't know if Ganton's in trouble there.
42:18
You know, you know, with all of his experience in the USA Hockey and, you know, national development team, that he'd be able to pluck some of those guys.
42:27
But it's, you know, they've had a hard time recruiting.
42:31
And if you don't get the recruits, you're not going to win.
42:33
Is Granado in trouble?
42:36
I, you know, I...
42:39
That's tough because, you know, they tend to hold on to guys a little long there.
42:44
And...
42:45
Yeah, I don't know.
42:47
What's next with that?
42:49
Who gets the job?
42:51
You know, like, they throw money at Rolick.
42:53
I mean...
42:55
Yeah, maybe.
42:56
We think that makes the most sense.
42:58
Don't you think, Veegs?
42:59
Rolick is...
42:59
I mean, if I was the AD for the Red Team, that's who I'd be looking up right now.
43:04
And I'd be saying, hey, just keep us in mind here.
43:09
We can make you a wealthy individual and you'll have all the resources you need.
43:13
There's a great bunch of kids that are coming here, regardless of what Granado has been doing, they still have commits coming, and there's something to work with.
43:22
It's just when you have a program like Wisconsin, you can't count on getting the top kids every single year.
43:29
So you have to build some depth in your program somehow.
43:32
So when guys leave, you have some structure for the next wave to kind of fill in.
43:38
You know, I've had this talk with Tony, and you know, and maybe this has got to change.
43:44
You know, he recruits, and he tells guys, I'm here to coach you to get ready for the next level.
43:51
Okay?
43:52
And to get you off the door and get you in the National Hockey League.
43:56
And I think that's the wrong mindset to have.
43:59
You know, sure, of course you want your kids to go and go on and blah, blah, blah.
44:04
But the mindset has got to be, you are here to win a national championship.
44:10
And to play with your other guys.
44:12
You know, because they have had issues with guys checking out.
44:16
You know, they have.
44:19
And in big games.
44:21
Because they knew the next day they are going to sign.
44:24
You can't have that mentality.
44:27
You have to have the mentality of, you know what, I know it's there.
44:32
And, but right now, my goal is right here on this, on the front of my sweater.
44:41
And we got to win a national championship.
44:44
If you don't have the mindset, if you don't have everybody in, forget it.
44:49
Forget it.
44:50
Winning hockey is development too.
44:52
Yeah.
44:53
Learning how to win is an important part of development.
44:56
100 percent.
44:58
Just look at Edmonton.
44:59
Just look at Edmonton.
45:01
They have some of the best players in the world, but they're not winners.
45:06
I could not agree more.
45:07
And you have to learn how to win.
45:10
You know, the easy ones, the hard ones, the ones when you're hurt, the ones when you're this, that, the other thing.
45:18
There's no question.
45:21
I mean, yeah, I, you know, I'm with you.
45:27
I see Jared Klein saying, Todd posted that there are some fans that are getting restless in Buckyland.
45:33
He's referring to Todd Molesky.
45:37
I read the article.
45:39
Yeah.
45:39
I mean, who wouldn't be, right?
45:41
So does Tony think he can win doing what he's doing consistently?
45:47
Like I know he wants to get the players and develop them.
45:50
You know, I think Bob's kind of seeing that too.
45:52
It's like, I can get the best players that I can get.
45:56
But is that really what I want to do to build a program?
45:58
Does he think that that's the best way to win?
46:01
Well, you know, I don't know.
46:04
I don't know.
46:05
I know that the message is, you know, I'm here to get you to the National Hockey League.
46:09
And if that's the message, that's the wrong message.
46:13
And, you know, I mean, look at, look at how good, imagine this team.
46:18
Now, you know, a lot of teams can say this, but Keandre Miller would be there now.
46:23
Caulfield will be there now.
46:25
Holloway would be there now.
46:27
Do you not think they're a different team with those guys in their lineup?
46:30
I mean, for sure they are.
46:32
But when you get guys like that, you're expecting them to leave.
46:35
Like when Minnesota gets Logan Cooley, I don't expect him to be there for three years.
46:39
If it is, it's a bonus.
46:41
Yeah, but I get, but you get him for two years.
46:44
You know, I mean, we hope he'll be here two years.
46:48
Nice will be here next year.
46:50
Oh boy, I think Cooley coming in is kind of the thing.
46:55
The only way Nice goes, in my opinion, is if Toronto is such in a bad salary cap position, which they may be, that they need a guy that's going to make a million bucks.
47:08
And is it worth it for a player to leave for just a million?
47:13
Because a player like Nice is going to make that million the year down the road anyway.
47:19
So do they want to give that up for that chance?
47:23
Yeah, I mean, you've got to take the minimum, right?
47:26
I mean, that's your first contract.
47:28
And so listen, we've seen it with players, even though as good as Nice is, it would benefit him to the nth degree.
47:42
Coming back for one more year, it would benefit him because even watching the Olympics, I mean, it was boys against men, they handled themselves fine.
47:54
But hey, ask Brock Weber when he got hit a few times, right?
48:00
It was a different type of hit than it was him getting hit in college hockey.
48:06
And Veegs, even part of that is one thing that the Don used to always say, before you go to the NHL, make sure you're dominating this league first.
48:15
Yeah.
48:17
Any player, any player that leaves and hasn't dominated, good luck.
48:24
And we've seen it a lot, Veegs.
48:26
We've seen a lot of players leave and it takes them a while or else they just disappear, Veegs.
48:31
And they go back and forth to the AHL, which is, you know, it's pro hockey, but it's not Big Ten hockey in terms of conditioning, fitness, nutrition, travel.
48:42
You know, it's different.
48:44
It's a lot of buses and, you know, some flights and things, but it's not chartered flights.
48:48
It's a grind.
48:49
It's a grind.
48:50
And if you're not playing well, you're not going to be coddled.
48:53
No.
48:54
You know, there's only 50 contracts for every NHL team.
48:57
Every player I've talked to who has signed and gone down, says, boy, do I wish I would have came back.
49:07
Every player.
49:09
I'm not kidding you.
49:10
But the problem is they all think I'm different.
49:14
Sure, but they're told that.
49:15
That's just the nature of being.
49:16
But they're told that too.
49:18
You know, there's a coach who told me, he had a player, and I'm not going to name the team, and the player is thinking of signing.
49:30
So, what he did was he pulled out the lineup of that team, NHL team, and he said to his player, okay, tell me where you fit.
49:46
Tell me where you're going to play in this lineup.
49:49
And right there, the kid said, oh man, you know, I guess I should come back.
49:55
And, you know, it's a conversation like that, to bring, you know, because we all have egos and we all, you know, think, oh man, look at how great I'm doing.
50:06
And then you realize, well, you know, a little dose of reality hits you.
50:14
So, you know, I just think the longer you can stay here, and not for selfish reasons, for the development of the player is to stay.
50:27
Now, there's a difference.
50:31
There's a Brock Faber.
50:33
There's a Ben Myers.
50:35
These guys are ready.
50:38
They're ready.
50:38
They're gone.
50:40
Because they're ready, you know.
50:42
Brock Faber will step in the LA.
50:44
Kings lineup as soon as the Gopher season is over and play in the playoffs for them.
50:50
In my opinion.
50:51
What?
50:52
He could.
50:53
If you're a drafted player, when your team's done, you can sign in and go right.
50:57
Myers is the one.
50:58
So Myers can't play in the postseason.
51:01
Right.
51:03
Unless it was, you know, in three weeks.
51:06
He's got three weeks.
51:08
So.
51:09
Well, we hope that doesn't happen.
51:10
No, it won't happen.
51:12
But so, you know, but, but, but, you know, there's no rush.
51:18
Everyone thinks there's no rush to get there.
51:21
You know, and this is the best time of your life.
51:24
The best thing for these players is to get out of that entry level deal.
51:28
And so you sign with a team that burns a year of your contract and you get on a successful path to age 27 when you're a UFA.
51:37
Yeah.
51:37
And I think I think players should be focused on that trajectory.
51:41
Yes.
51:41
Rather than just getting there and playing games.
51:44
Just playing games might be what you want, but it's probably not best for your long runway.
51:51
Nope.
51:53
All right.
51:54
Well, I do want to get Pat's pick for the Big Ten tournament.
51:59
Okay.
52:00
I mean, honestly, I think three teams have a chance at this.
52:04
Notre Dame has really gotten better and better.
52:07
They started off slow, but they've gotten better and better and better.
52:11
They could easily go into Yost the following weekend and upset them.
52:16
Minnesota is going to win it.
52:19
There you go.
52:19
No, they are.
52:23
They'll win the Big Ten title.
52:25
They will.
52:26
I'm very confident of that based on everything that's happened in the last month.
52:39
I like that.
52:41
And I think you've seen a team rally together.
52:49
I think they've heard enough BS from people like us about why, you know, what's wrong, what's wrong, you know, you have all this talent, da da da da da.
52:59
I think they love their goaltender.
53:01
I think they play for them.
53:03
I think they want to win for them.
53:05
And I think, you know, I just by seeing the maturity of the freshman, which was a concern of mine, Tristan Brose, that's the name I forgot.
53:24
As you know, I did mention him earlier.
53:27
Early in the year, I thought, okay, you know, he's fine.
53:32
He's fine.
53:33
And all of a sudden, you know, he's turned into a player.
53:37
He's turned into a player.
53:40
And I think guys understand their roles.
53:42
And I'm thrilled with Jackson LeCombe.
53:49
I think he has been an absolute stud the second half of the year.
53:56
I don't know if there's any better D in the country than him in the second half.
54:05
And there are a lot of good ones out there.
54:07
And there's four on this team.
54:09
But I think he has been phenomenal.
54:11
And, you know, I just, I think they, I think they're in the right place right now.
54:18
So that's my answer.
54:19
I know, I know it went too long winded, but you get my drift.
54:25
Can you hang around for a little bit over time, Pat?
54:27
Let's do over time.
54:28
I score big goals in over time.
54:31
Veegs, do you have anything else for the regular episode here?
54:34
I think just the biggest thing for me is seeing this team mature and be better in the second half.
54:40
You know, Broz, you know, he was not a confident player.
54:43
He made scared plays.
54:44
Lacombe, he was a player who made panic plays, and he is not a panic player.
54:49
So it was so confounding to see that.
54:52
And now he's playing to his strengths.
54:54
He's skating to space.
54:55
He's giving himself opportunities to make plays.
54:58
And it's made all the difference.
54:59
I just hope this team takes the next two weeks, works on that power play a little bit more, and we'll figure that out.
55:06
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
55:08
I need two picks out of you guys.
55:13
I'm going to say Minnesota.
55:14
Okay, Veegs, come on.
55:16
We were probably going to save it till next week, but.
55:18
Oh, you were.
55:19
Yeah, we wanted to get your opinion.
55:21
Yeah, okay, fine.
55:22
Save them till next week.
55:24
Minnesota is on a pretty hot stretch.
55:26
I made it easy for you.
55:28
It's hard not to pick Minnesota right now in the tournament.
55:32
I think we'll see Chalk here, though, and they'll have some tests here.
55:36
Yeah, I like it.
55:38
Well, Pat, thanks for coming on the show.
55:40
Hey, it's great to be on with you guys.
55:43
Always fun to have you on.
55:45
We're going to make you more regular now, so.
55:46
Well, you should.
55:49
I've been waiting, but that's all right.
55:52
I get it.
55:52
You know, I know where I sit.
55:54
You know, honestly, we've got better technology now to have people on easier.
55:59
Perfect.
55:59
The way we used to have in the past, so it's kind of nice.
56:01
Perfect.
56:02
Well, definitely.
56:03
Thank you, Pat, for coming on.
56:04
You bet.
56:05
And that's going to do it for this episode of The GPL Podcast.
56:08
Of course, we want to thank Pat Micheletti for coming on the show this week.
56:12
We'll be back next week to kind of preview the Big Ten semi-finals and see what all happens there.
56:20
For those of you currently watching, stay tuned for us a little bit of overtime.
56:23
And then for the rest of you, we'll catch you next week on The GPL Podcast.
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