0:16
This is The GPL Podcast from gopherpucklive.com.
0:37
This podcast is sponsored by Jerry Peters and First Class Mortgage.
0:41
Our expertise, your peace of mind.
0:43
Visit us at firstclassmortgage.com.
0:49
Now, here's Joop and Vegoe.
1:05
Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 219.
1:13
Well, good evening, Veegs.
1:14
How are you doing tonight?
1:16
Good evening.
1:17
I'm back in the rink like six days a week here right now.
1:21
It's just, it's feeling like hockey season, and we got off to a good start with a gopher sweep.
1:27
We did, and of course, it's the, you know, the first episode of the season, we always tend to not have a guest, so it's time to bring in a guest, and it's one of our favorite guests, the one and only Pat Micheletti.
1:40
Pat, thank you for joining us again.
1:43
How are you doing tonight?
1:46
Uh-oh.
1:47
Oh no.
1:49
Say something, Pat.
1:50
We heard you a second ago.
1:51
You can't hear us?
1:54
Interesting.
1:55
Interesting start.
1:57
Interesting start.
1:58
Kind of like the Gopher Pelony kill, not hitting on all cylinders right away.
2:02
Are you on mute, Pat?
2:06
Restart.
2:09
We'll come back to him.
2:11
We'll see what happens there.
2:13
I'm not sure what happened to Pat there.
2:14
He was, we were just talking before he came in.
2:16
Maybe you broke it, Pat.
2:19
Yeah.
2:20
Let's try again.
2:21
Are you there?
2:23
No.
2:27
Looking good, though.
2:28
Yeah, he's looking good.
2:30
Hold on.
2:35
I'm going to text him real quick.
2:37
You talk about Lindenwood, Veegs.
2:40
All right.
2:42
Lindenwood, I think we saw in the first game, kind of an opening night for the Gophers that we were expecting.
2:50
A lot of skill, a lot of offense.
2:53
I think we saw Minnesota's offense start to click a little bit here.
2:56
We saw the speed.
2:58
We saw the passing.
2:59
We saw some freshmen who really liked to shoot the puck.
3:02
But we also saw some issues with shots getting blocked.
3:06
And that's kind of been an issue sometimes for the Gophers at the start of the season.
3:09
You know, it's kind of a broken record.
3:11
It's like, once you really get going into real games, there can be issues because the defense all of a sudden wants to block shots.
3:19
And so the shooters have to maybe change their angle a little bit.
3:23
You know, they have to pass quicker and be making quicker decisions.
3:27
And maybe we saw some of that throughout the weekend, but it definitely wasn't there at the drop of the puck.
3:34
Yeah, it was a little goofy.
3:36
Okay, now we're going to try Pat one more time now.
3:40
Are you there?
3:41
There we go.
3:44
Vigz, did you not want me or what?
3:46
You could have just...
3:47
You know, we added Vigz and then we couldn't hear Pat.
3:50
No, I'm super excited to have you on.
3:52
It's great to see you.
3:54
It's great to see you.
3:54
It's great to see you in the rink.
3:56
Yeah.
3:57
Hey, Mary, it's you too.
3:58
We didn't get to chat very much.
4:00
No.
4:00
Very busy game.
4:01
It was busy.
4:03
It was busy.
4:03
It was kind of fun to be back in the rink.
4:05
I was yapping.
4:06
That's what it always is.
4:07
It's always fun to just be back at the rink.
4:10
Yes.
4:12
So much fun.
4:13
I remember being a ticket holder.
4:14
You go there, you get a couple of walk-arounds in, you see people you haven't seen in a year.
4:17
Right.
4:19
I was so excited to get there to see all these young kids play.
4:25
I wasn't disappointed.
4:29
I would say I wasn't either.
4:32
I mean, boy, that Cooley kid can, they're going to have to concentrate on him because if you don't, he's going to kill you, Pat.
4:48
When I look at teams, I typically don't even want to analyze a lot of them for three months.
4:59
And this team especially for me, because when I counted nine guys without the goalies, nine players, position players in the lineup, both nights, eight, I think, eight on Friday, nine on Saturday, whatever it was.
5:16
And I look on paper and I say, this might be his most talented team that he's had in his tenure.
5:27
But then I, and I back up and I'm, and I say, okay, they're really, really young.
5:35
They're going to take their lumps.
5:37
They're going to have to learn how to play in tough situations.
5:42
And then I say to myself, well, wait, a lot of these guys were playing in high level situations.
5:50
The pressure won't get to them.
5:51
You know, so the only difference I really see is, you know, the pounding from some of the heavier teams, some of the older teams, the mature teams, night in, night out, that sort of thing.
6:06
So, I, you know, to a certain extent, I'm reserving judgment, but man, oh man, it's an awfully talented group.
6:16
I can't disagree with that.
6:20
I've got, I heard a couple, saw a couple of questions in the chat area.
6:23
Let's get your thoughts on this, Veegs.
6:25
Thoughts on both goalies, close, yes, he had a shutout, but I really don't think Lindenwood was really, they didn't put much together on Friday night compared to Saturday night when Bartoszkiewicz played.
6:39
Yeah, I think the big difference between the two goalies was that Bartoszkiewicz had to see Lindenwood's power play a little bit more frequently.
6:47
And I felt like the Gopher penalty kill wasn't as sharp as they needed to be.
6:52
And there was some traffic and there were some screens that Bartoszkiewicz had to deal with that Closer didn't.
6:58
You know, Closer did his job.
6:59
You know, as we saw down the stretch last year, he is a very calm, steady goalie who makes the saves you expect him to make.
7:07
And he did that very much so on Saturday.
7:10
I think it was a much tougher game for the goalie on Sunday night.
7:14
And welcome to big time college hockey playing for the Gophers where you're going to have to be on the toes of your skates as a goalie to make those saves and to come up big when you're shorthanded.
7:24
And you know, it's a good introduction for him to see what it's like to play at Marriott Arena.
7:30
You know, ultimately, for me, for me guys, you know, you look at Minnesota's D-Corp and there's no question, it is the best in the country.
7:41
Now you know, so I think a lot of the goaltending will be predicated on how well they're D-play.
7:51
How well their forwards come back.
7:53
I think at times they got a little loose Saturday night and you know, whatever, maybe thinking, you know, again, one of those situations where, okay, let's put the hammer down, but they didn't and they kind of backed up a little bit.
8:08
So, you know, that may be part of it.
8:11
But the interesting thing is I talked to Closer after a Saturday before the game and I'm like, you know, he's got some food and he's eating.
8:19
And then I said, obviously, you're not playing.
8:21
And I said, no, no, I'm not.
8:23
And I asked him, how difficult was it?
8:29
Because I think there was a stretch where Minnesota shot him 15 to three or something like that.
8:34
And he said, you know, I really have to find a way to keep myself in the game.
8:41
And, you know, that, that I thought, because I don't know how good, I mean, goalies are weird, right?
8:48
I mean, they're, they're, they're just weird.
8:50
And, but I was really interested to see how he would handle it.
8:54
Now, Pat, one thing I noticed, you know, on the broadcast, at least on Sunday was you really want Brodsinski to shoot more.
9:04
And he had quite a few times where he should have taken the shot instead of trying to make that extra play, because as we've seen kind of over the years, he's not as much, he's a playmaker, but he's not as much.
9:16
But really, he needs to go to his forte, which is his shot.
9:22
And he was giving up so, and you sounded a little frustrated on that.
9:25
Well, it's very interesting because after the game, right?
9:28
I mean, literally after the game, I get off the broadcast and I'm going to my car and I go down the steps and entering the hallway.
9:37
And lo and behold, what family is right there?
9:40
The Brodsinski family.
9:43
And Mike and I go back a long way.
9:46
And then there he is, up talking to his parents.
9:52
And his dad grabs him and he says, see this guy?
9:56
He had blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
9:59
You know, will you shoot the damn puck?
10:03
And then I said to him, you know, I said that about a hundred times on the air.
10:09
You know, and listen, I'm not trying to coach him and whatever, but I know the kid's got a heavy shot.
10:16
I know he knows how to score.
10:19
I reminded him of his family and everyone in his family, other than Mike, the defenseman, Michael.
10:29
The two at St.
10:31
Cloud were snipers, and he is a sniper.
10:35
His father was a sniper.
10:37
They know how to shoot the puck, and I just think that he could really help this team by being a go-to guy.
10:47
He came over the blue lining, he's looking to make a play, and you get to the top of the circle and you're a goal scorer, you got to be thinking, be selfish and shoot the puck.
10:59
And I hope he does that more.
11:02
Isn't that what Connor Kurth did Sunday, Vig?
11:04
He came right in the zone.
11:06
And that's what Connor Kurth did.
11:08
That's what Brody Lamb did.
11:09
That's what Strobel did.
11:12
That's what Snuggeroo did.
11:13
And I asked this about Bob today.
11:15
I said, hey, you've got a group of freshmen that's not deferring out there.
11:20
When they have chances to shoot the puck, they're letting it go and they're getting on net and there's something on it.
11:25
And he goes, that's right.
11:27
This is a good, confident group and their experience.
11:30
This isn't a group that just went from high school to college and was deferring to guys they had seen on TV.
11:36
This is a group of guy that's played two years of juniors.
11:40
They played with a development team.
11:41
They played in international tournaments.
11:44
They may not be older, but they are definitely a more experienced freshmen group and it shows.
11:51
Let me ask you this, guys.
11:53
I'm going to bring it back to Friday night.
11:56
This is something I have not seen in probably 10, maybe 15 years.
12:03
A guy go down the right wing and take a slap shot.
12:10
You know what I'm talking about?
12:12
Snugger root.
12:14
Came down the right side and I'm like, and he took the slap shot and that hasn't happened.
12:24
I can't recall in college hockey and we've all watched a lot of college hockey.
12:28
Yeah.
12:28
When, when can you?
12:30
I said, jeez, was that Mike Bossy coming down the right side?
12:35
Because you don't see that anymore.
12:40
Veegs, getting back to Brudzinski, and I feel that if he does start to shoot more and use his skills, he could really take this team to the next level.
12:51
I mean, he could be a really key part along with senior leadership, couldn't he?
12:56
I mean, the spot's there for him.
12:57
You know, Bob wants his returning veteran guys to fill these roles and fulfill their potential.
13:03
You know, we've kind of seen him show flashes, but Bob is looking for these guys to be consistent and consistently do what they do well.
13:12
And for Brudzinski, it's definitely shooting the puck.
13:15
You know, he's got chances on the off wing.
13:16
He's got chances on the power play now.
13:19
I think he's playing with guys who distribute the puck a little bit, so he'll have those opportunities.
13:24
He's keeping up with his line mates right now.
13:26
They seem to be a little more cohesive as a unit of forwards.
13:29
So the opportunity is there for him.
13:31
And, you know, for this team to do well, they need those returning players to have their best season.
13:37
And what worries me a little bit, and this is really, it's really important in my mind, is that, you know, I mean, we don't know what the lines are going to be.
13:46
They may change a little bit here and there, tweak here and there.
13:50
But you got to be able.
13:52
You have to be able to trust your line mates.
13:56
Your line mates have to trust you.
13:59
And what I mean by that is, you know, I played with pretty much a lot of the, you know, give or take a guy here, a guy there, but they knew what their role was on the line.
14:12
Okay?
14:15
And guys got to know, you know, because sometimes, you know, you feel like, God, geez, you know, should I shoot or, you know, maybe I should pass it, you know, just to be a good guy.
14:25
And you can't have that mentality.
14:28
You got to know that, you know what, we got to get the puck to this guy.
14:32
This guy is, he's our shooter.
14:34
You know, they all can shoot it, I get it.
14:36
But, you know, you just have to have an understanding amongst your line mates.
14:42
If your line is going to be successful.
14:45
And then if your line is successful, you know, your team is going to be successful.
14:49
So I think it's really important.
14:51
And, you know, listen, we're only into two games.
14:55
And so, you know, you got to, you know, that stuff will take care of itself.
15:02
Veegs, one thing you were reporting today is when, when the team was, you know, down by a goal or tied this week weekend, you know, with Lindenwood, a vocal person on the bench was letting them know, we need to get things going.
15:18
And that's maybe a presence we hadn't seen the last few years.
15:23
Yeah, I feel like some of the leaders for Minnesota have worn the C haven't always been that vocal guy.
15:29
It's been a guy who wants to lead by example, set the tone and show guys the way.
15:35
I think with Brock Faber, you have a guy who's been a defenseman who's worn the letter for national teams, has been a leader in the rooms for all these groups, and he's confident enough now where he's going to be the voice on the bench.
15:49
And you want that as a team, good teams, the coaches lead, great teams, the players lead.
15:57
And I think Brock has that opportunity this year by coming back for this extra year of college hockey.
16:01
You know, he could be a pro right now, but he's getting that opportunity to be a leader and be a producer right now for the Gophers.
16:09
It's really interesting.
16:10
He's one of the most mature kids I've ever been around in college hockey, bar none.
16:15
Bar none.
16:16
One of the most mature.
16:18
And I think he's learned.
16:19
I think he's listened.
16:20
I think he's watched how other leaders lead.
16:24
And you know what, just because you have a letter, half the people who wear a letter don't know what the hell it's for.
16:36
They don't, I mean, I'm a captain, okay.
16:39
I'm a captain.
16:40
Well, what do I do with a, you know, how do I begin?
16:43
How am I a good captain?
16:44
You know, and that's being tough.
16:46
And that's being, you know, that guy you go to and, you know, pat him on the back.
16:52
But there's times you got to be tough.
16:54
And there's, you know, it's just some, some, some guys aren't good, aren't good captains, you know, because they don't know how to be a good captain.
17:03
And sometimes, you know, guys are going to get ticked off at you.
17:07
Sometimes guys are going to come and, you know, really seek your advice and you got to be, you got to be all sorts of things.
17:14
And I think he's a perfect guy to lead this team.
17:20
I got to say, I agree.
17:22
Pat, what are you looking forward to the most about this team this year?
17:27
I mean, we obviously got a lot of youth, a lot of superstars kind of came in.
17:32
We've got some guys that came back that are superstars.
17:37
What are you looking most forward to seeing or happening this year?
17:42
Well, for me, it's the growth.
17:45
It really is the growth of the, and I'm not going to say it scares me.
17:52
But if there was one concern, it would be their youth.
17:57
And even though, Vegas, you mentioned it, they, you know, the one difference is a lot of these guys have that experience of playing, you know, at a higher level against better competition, you know, all those, been in the tough spots, all that.
18:17
But again, college is a different animal.
18:20
It is a real different animal.
18:22
And they're going to find out this weekend when they play Minnesota State.
18:27
You look on paper, you look on paper, if the game was played on paper, Minnesota wins easily both nights.
18:34
That's not the way college hockey works.
18:36
We know that.
18:37
You know what?
18:39
Minnesota State is going to be in their face.
18:41
They're going to be hitting them.
18:43
And so it's going to be a good experience for them and should help them grow up faster because they'll say, okay, huh, this is what it's like.
18:55
This is how I got to play.
18:57
And so I think it's really good timing that they're playing these guys right now because they'll pick that up in a hurry.
19:05
But listen, it's all about what forwards are really going to step up and say, I want it.
19:19
Give me the puck.
19:20
Listen, they haven't even begun to mold their team yet.
19:26
Bob played three power plays on Friday night.
19:29
Three, guess what?
19:31
That's going to be down to two.
19:33
Then it's going to be trying to get that first unit out as much as you can.
19:38
You've got nine defensemen, seven dress.
19:42
I mean, is he going to play five at some point?
19:45
Is he going to play four at some point?
19:47
The guy's fighting for minutes.
19:48
I love that internal competition.
19:51
But then you have to answer this question.
19:55
How are those guys that aren't on the first power play, that think they should be on the first power play, how are they going to handle a different role?
20:06
Okay?
20:07
So those are the things that all...
20:13
Well, it's all about that growth, just like you said.
20:15
It's all about that growth.
20:16
It's everything.
20:17
It's all about how you become a team.
20:23
And do you put that ego and put it aside and say, I'm gonna do whatever it takes for us to win a national championship.
20:31
All right, we got a question from MG here.
20:34
Need Pat's thoughts on Strobel.
20:37
Loved him on Sunday.
20:40
Love him.
20:42
There you go.
20:42
Love him.
20:44
Love him.
20:44
Because you know what?
20:47
He knows, you know, he knows his role.
20:51
He knows he's not Mr.
20:52
Flashy.
20:54
He knows he's got to go out and bang.
20:56
He knows he's got to protect guys.
20:59
And he is your perfect, right now, your perfect fourth liner.
21:06
And he's a great kid.
21:07
And he's an energy kid.
21:09
And he can skate.
21:11
And you know what?
21:13
He knows he doesn't have to score goals.
21:16
He doesn't have, you know, and I think he's, I think he's going to be a kid to keep an eye on all year because he's going to be that energy guy that is really going to be needed when, you know, when push comes to shove.
21:31
So, hey, I'm a big fan of his, a really big fan.
21:36
While we're here, Vakes, your thoughts on Strobel, did you get a chance to view the game?
21:40
I know you were a little out with the kids and stuff Sunday.
21:43
I was able to view the game.
21:45
I was one of those people who was counting on the Big Ten plus stream, but I did sign up for the seven day Bali free trial to get the experience of the Bali streaming.
21:55
So I was able to watch the game.
21:57
And I, and I agree with Pat.
21:58
I really like Strobel's energy of the game.
22:01
You know, you don't need everybody to be a top six score type, but the guys who are lower in the line up, who might get less ice time, need to find a way to impact the game as well.
22:12
And I thought that that Sunday game got a little more physical and nice recognized it.
22:18
And he started being physical and Strobel recognized it.
22:21
He started being a little bit more physical.
22:23
And you need players like that because I think that gives you energy on the bench to say, oh, yeah, we got some guys who can knock too.
22:29
If that's the game you want to play, they'll do that and they'll take care of that.
22:33
And they'll send the messages.
22:34
And then we'll send out Cooley, Snuggert and Pitlick and they'll score some goals and we'll go on the power play.
22:39
So you got to have that mix.
22:41
I remember talking to Strobel right when he committed to Minnesota.
22:47
It was right after the state tournament.
22:49
I think he had a great state tournament.
22:51
And you know what?
22:54
He was so happy to become a gopher.
22:58
You know, knew it was going to take a couple of years, but he just, he was so happy.
23:03
And you know, and then I, you know, I saw him for the first time in three years or whatever.
23:08
And down in the locker room, and he had a grin from ear to ear.
23:13
Like, I can't believe I'm in this room.
23:15
You know, and I love that.
23:17
I love, because he embraces it.
23:19
He embraces what it means to put on the M and be a gopher.
23:26
And I just, I freaking love it.
23:29
I love to hear that, Pat.
23:31
Love to hear that.
23:32
Well, before we get into Minnesota State, which is going to be, I'm excited for the series, we need to hear from our sponsor.
23:41
G-Go for hockey fans, Jerry Peters here with First Class Mortgage.
23:44
Mortgage rates have gone up in 2022.
23:47
We've seen it on the news all year long.
23:49
And many first time home buyers are asking themselves, can I still afford to buy a home?
23:54
My question is, can you still afford to rent?
23:57
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently came out with their American Home Ownership Survey.
24:03
It shows that the median renter now pays almost the identical monthly payment as the median homeowner.
24:09
In fact, over the past two years, the national median monthly payment for homeowners has gone up 5.5 percent, while at the same time, it's gone up 10.6 percent for renters.
24:21
What does all this mean?
24:23
It means it's still a really good time to buy a house.
24:25
And if you're in the market, let me help.
24:27
My telephone number is 612-940-3291.
24:32
My email address is jerry at firstclasscorp.com or go to firstclassmortgage.com and fill out a free online application.
24:40
Mention you heard about me on the GPL Podcast and receive a $500 closing cost credit.
24:45
Some restrictions do apply.
24:47
My NMLS number is 480-200.
24:51
First class mortgages is 322-842.
24:54
This is not an agreement to lock into an interest rate under Minnesota law.
24:57
First class mortgage is an equal housing lender.
25:03
All right.
25:04
Thank you, Jerry, for sponsoring the GPL Podcast.
25:08
I'm going to throw this question out here by Tom Michael.
25:11
I like it.
25:12
What series this year will be the good measuring stick to see whether they have something special and not jumping off the bandwagon no matter what?
25:21
Well, glad you're not jumping off the bandwagon there, Tom.
25:24
But Veegs, I mean, you could say this weekend is a good measuring stick, but it is still very early in the season.
25:30
I think it's going to be hard to take too much away from the next two weekends as much as we want to.
25:35
You know, for people who follow this program, you know, Minnesota State, North Dakota are measuring sticks for Minnesota because of the way they've performed in the playoffs the last couple of years.
25:46
But I think you're not going to know everything about this team until, you know, probably a month or two in.
25:52
I even think the Notre Dame Series might be too soon to tell, just because even Bob Today was saying, we're still getting our systems in.
26:00
Yeah.
26:01
You know, that's going to be tough when you're playing against a team like Minnesota State and you're still working on your forecheck, your back check, your power play, your penalty kill, and you're introducing that to 11 new players, nine new skaters.
26:13
That's challenging.
26:15
So I think it's going to be tough to measure it until probably after, you know, even after World Juniors, you know, sometime in January or February with this team.
26:24
And there's, Brevver just suggested the same thing.
26:27
Maybe St.
26:27
Cloud in January.
26:30
You know, again, you know, I'll go back to what I said earlier.
26:34
I'm not going to really judge this team until January, you know, mid-January.
26:41
When you get into the thick of the Big Ten schedule, you know, when games are really, really on the line.
26:49
Yes, we want to say this weekend, we want to say the North Dakota weekend, you know.
26:57
But in reality, you know, this is a, you're going to see a completely different team in two and a half months.
27:06
You will, you will.
27:08
And that's when we see most teams, you know, you get to that point where, okay, you know, your line up, you know, your systems, you know, your attitude, you know, you know, where you are compared to some of the other teams in the league.
27:24
Are you going to go up or are you going to, you know, or are you going to go down?
27:28
And, and I think that all happens, you know, beginning of January.
27:34
But I'm just glad to see at the schedule.
27:35
I see that road Notre Dame series after a little juniors mid January.
27:39
That's your perfect measuring stick.
27:41
Cause I think Notre Dame is probably the biggest challenge right now for the Big Ten.
27:47
Number two and Pat's power rankings.
27:50
Ooh.
27:52
But I was going to say here, Veegs, might not be a measuring stick, but at the end of the season, wins against Minnesota State and North Dakota can be really big when it comes down to number one seeds and just that whole thing.
28:08
It's like every game counts when it comes to putting the tournament together at the end of the year.
28:13
Well, I'm not saying these games don't count.
28:17
I know the fans want the wins.
28:19
You don't want to punch these cards.
28:20
Those in-state games are huge to everyone.
28:21
Their record has not been good in state the last five, ten years.
28:26
And I think Minnesota fans are sick and tired of that.
28:29
I think the shining silver lining for the Gophers right now is their defensive core is so strong that I think they'll be in good shape the next two weekends.
28:39
You're not going to see this team get under siege for very long.
28:42
There might be moments, but these defensemen are solid enough at shutting down plays and getting the puck back that they'll be able to escape pressure, I think.
28:50
Not easily, but it won't be an issue.
28:53
Now Pat, the one thing I know, while you love to promote the Minnesota schools and it keeps growing, obviously we just can't save Thomas, but we also need Minnesota to do well in the last ten games.
29:04
Minnesota is two and eight versus Minnesota State.
29:08
Their last win November of 2016, a one to nothing victory.
29:14
So it's been a while since they have beaten Minnesota State.
29:19
Yeah, it's not going to get easier this weekend.
29:23
You're going to face one ornery team.
29:25
They got thumped in Nile Granite, it was an exhibition game, all that in Omaha last weekend.
29:32
They will be a different team this weekend.
29:36
And they returned the majority of their decor.
29:45
They've got some guys up, they're going to miss Nathan Smith.
29:49
I mean, he was the guy last year.
29:52
You know, it certainly wasn't all him, but you know, he was a big part of that offensive engine.
29:59
But you know, it's going to be tough.
30:01
It's going to be, you know, you're going to play in front of a raucous crowd there.
30:08
You know, it's nice to get them here Friday night on the big sheet, and maybe you can expose them a little bit.
30:14
But listen, Mike Hastings, well, you know, he understands, he knows all these players, you know, that Minnesota has.
30:22
He's talked about the decor.
30:23
He knows how good they are.
30:25
And so, you know, he's a very, very, very good coach, and he'll devise some system to try to shut Minnesota down.
30:34
So it'll be interesting to see which team cracks.
30:39
You know, I'm looking forward to it.
30:41
Well, Veegs, they also don't have a Hobie Baker winner, who probably should have won the last two Hobies, really.
30:47
I mean, back there with his numbers.
30:49
And Dryden McKay, the defense, yes, they're still good, but it's always something good to have in your head when you know you've got a guy like that behind you.
31:02
I think it helps.
31:03
And now they have a goalie who hasn't played a lot of games.
31:06
And I've talked to a lot of people who evaluate goalies over the years.
31:09
And they say as much talent as that goaltender has for them to develop their game, they need to play.
31:16
They need to have the experience of giving up a big goal and having a crowd on them.
31:21
Or having their team count on them to make big saves.
31:24
And if you haven't done that in a while, it can be a shock to the system.
31:29
And the brain can get a little nervous and all of a sudden the glove and the reactions don't work quite as well.
31:35
And you don't play up to your potential.
31:37
So I think that will be a big change for Minnesota State.
31:39
I think the big advantage the Mavericks have is they return three centermen who are very experienced.
31:45
And Minnesota is replacing a bunch of centermen.
31:49
And I think that will be a big thing to watch this weekend, is matchups on the dot for draws, as well as coverage down around the net.
31:59
Can Minnesota create odd man situations at the Mavericks net to test the goalie?
32:03
And can the Mavericks give Closers some traffic in front of him, fighting against the Pino and the Coolies in front of the net?
32:13
So I think that's something I'll be watching for this weekend.
32:16
Here's my take, guys.
32:18
And it's happened the last two years.
32:22
Minnesota State is a team that can absolutely lull you to sleep.
32:30
They can make you play the type of game they want to play.
32:36
They like to look at the clock and have it go down, down, down.
32:41
And nothing happened in the game.
32:43
Nothing is happening.
32:45
Nothing is happening.
32:46
Oh, they get a goal.
32:49
And then they watch the clock go down, down, down.
32:54
The big...
32:55
It's like they're rope-a-dope in boxing.
32:57
They just kind of sit there.
32:58
They're very structured.
32:59
Boom.
33:00
They're very structured.
33:01
They don't give up a lot of shots.
33:04
And it's funny, I had this conversation with a coach at Denver.
33:12
And he said to me, you know, we got them out of their game.
33:17
We got them.
33:18
We made them feel uncomfortable in the third period.
33:23
And once you make a team feel uncomfortable, well, then not that panic sets in, but, you know, they start to cheat a little.
33:33
They start to, you know, do things that they're not accustomed to.
33:38
They get out of their rhythm.
33:40
And Harvard started to do that to them in the regional last year.
33:46
But it was too little, too late.
33:48
If Harvard had 10 more minutes, I think they beat Minnesota State.
33:53
And, but if you don't do something to get them off of their game, off of their system, they'll beat you all night because they don't give up a lot of shots.
34:07
They clear out the front of the net very well.
34:09
And so you've got to make them feel uncomfortable.
34:13
In my opinion.
34:15
And let me tell you folks, they lost what, 7-2 to Omaha in an exhibition, and it means zilch.
34:22
Right.
34:22
I don't think anybody should read into that at all.
34:25
I mean, it's warmed up.
34:28
It doesn't mean anything.
34:30
No, no, not at all.
34:33
They'll be ready to play.
34:36
The crazy thing about that game against Denver was in the third period, all of a sudden Minnesota State started having trouble with simple plays.
34:45
Simple breakout, you know, receive the puck, chip the puck.
34:49
All of a sudden they started fumbling the puck a little bit and their chip wasn't clean out of the zone or that player coming into the neutral zone to get the puck deep wasn't getting it deep.
35:00
But why Veegs?
35:01
Why?
35:02
Pressure.
35:03
Thank you.
35:03
Pressure.
35:03
Denver was able to apply pressure.
35:06
You get on somebody, you don't give them time and space.
35:09
You don't, you know, you know, you don't block a guy for, you know what I mean, if you don't feel comfortable, if you feel rushed, if you feel panicked, you will give up the puck.
35:21
And that's what Denver made them do.
35:23
And then Denver started moving the puck around and, you know, then they stopped moving their feet.
35:29
And, you know, they take over the game.
35:32
I think Bob brought this up Saturday night when talking about his defensive core.
35:38
You know, as talented as they are, sometimes they want to be perfect.
35:42
They want to make the perfect retrieval.
35:44
They want to pick the perfect pass on the breakout.
35:46
They want to wait for everyone to regroup.
35:49
And he said, you know what, sometimes we just got to go.
35:53
And make it up on the fly and we'll do the best we can.
35:55
Because if you wait too long, you have now given the other team time to get in structure.
36:01
And that's exactly what Denver did.
36:03
Bob wants to get that puck and go.
36:07
Get it and go.
36:08
He wants it north of south, get in, go to work.
36:12
And, you know, and that's why, again, he says, you know, that's what I want to do.
36:17
We haven't implemented anything yet to get that going.
36:21
And, you know, I just wanted the guys to get out there this weekend, you know, get used to it, get, you know, play their first game, whatever the case may be.
36:31
And so as much as he, you know, yeah, this is correctable, that's correctable.
36:36
You know, it's like, gotta let him play that first weekend.
36:40
And I think that, you know, they accomplished a lot.
36:45
Well, let's get into the specifics, Veegs.
36:48
What does Minnesota need to do to win this weekend, or, you know, split or something like that?
36:54
And what does Minnesota State need to do?
36:56
Well, I think from the Gopher side, no bad penalties.
37:00
We saw on Sunday that the penalty kill isn't quite sharp yet.
37:04
And we saw players taking maybe not so great penalties.
37:09
So I think if they want to win this weekend, they've got to clean that up.
37:13
Don't don't show that weakness against Minnesota State, because I think Minnesota State has enough people coming back where they could give Minnesota some real problems there that they don't need to.
37:23
I think that's the first thing for me.
37:25
And another thing is the defensemen have to go.
37:28
You know, as Pat's just saying here, make decisions quickly, put some pressure on Minnesota State.
37:34
Don't wait for everything to be perfect, because it's not going to be perfect.
37:36
Keep them on their heels.
37:37
The systems aren't in.
37:38
The players are all new.
37:40
Everybody's kind of gelling.
37:41
Bob's talked about how every day the defensemen are playing with different partners.
37:46
Because he wants to play all 7-D when he dresses 7.
37:49
It's not a situation where you play 6 and you got the extra 7th.
37:53
No, no, no.
37:54
All 7 are playing.
37:55
They're playing with different guys every shift, and they just got to go out and execute.
38:02
Well, here's my key for the weekend, guys.
38:04
Here's my key.
38:07
My key is for them, if they reach 30 shots on goal, 30 shots on goal, they win.
38:18
Anything under 30, they will not win.
38:22
If they get 30 goals, that means they're putting pressure on.
38:26
They're getting shots to the net and they're following them up.
38:32
Minnesota State does not give up a lot of shots.
38:35
They keep you to the outside, and it's very, very difficult to get to the net.
38:40
Shots going on net, they'll be able to get there better.
38:44
So, you can't be cute against them.
38:47
You got to be north-south, and you've got to get pucks on net, and you have to get to the net.
38:52
If they get 30 shots each night, they win both nights.
38:56
One thing that did hurt them again this weekend, this past weekend, Veegs, was block shots.
39:04
Boy, a lot of times, you just got to take one step east-west to look for that opening.
39:10
Look when they scored.
39:11
Look when they scored.
39:12
That's true.
39:13
Connor Kurth goes from his left, moves about a foot and a half right, lets it go.
39:19
Grady Lam or Brody Lam, same thing.
39:23
Came over the blue line, moved a little bit, boom, you know.
39:27
Mike Kessler, Brock Faber, same thing.
39:30
Just slight adjustments, waiting for traffic to clear, waiting for the screen to get in the way.
39:35
Critical difference.
39:36
Yep.
39:37
Yep.
39:39
But Lyndenwood did sell out, didn't they have over close to 30 blocks on Sunday?
39:42
35.
39:44
Wow.
39:45
Minnesota had 96 shot attempts.
39:51
On Saturday.
39:53
And quite frankly, Veegs, the last 10 years, Minnesota has been victimized by that type of play for a long, for forever it seems like.
40:02
They just haven't been able to get that shot from the point through and things like that off a shin or whatever.
40:09
It's been weird.
40:09
As much talent as they've had on the blue line, they haven't had great shooters back there, which is strange to me.
40:17
That they have people who they kind of get mechanical and they're receiving the puck, walking the blue line, and they're kind of walking right into the shooter rather than catching the puck, seeing where the shot blocker is and then making a play.
40:31
You got to react to what's out there instead of just going through the mechanics of a drill.
40:37
I think guys like Mike Kester did a nice job of getting pucks to the net.
40:40
Ryan Chesley I think does a nice job getting pucks to the net.
40:43
I think some of these other guys they're still getting more comfortable.
40:46
Brock Faber, his ice time came up today in talking with Bob and how, with all these guys on defense, you're not going to be playing 30 minutes a night.
40:56
We really needed that last year, but this year that's not going to happen.
40:59
Brock's retort was like, how much less?
41:02
He's like, you're still going to play a lot, but a little bit less.
41:06
He plays a little bit less on the weekend and his points went up.
41:12
He was able to produce a little bit more.
41:13
Can I quiz you guys on something?
41:18
I got a question for you.
41:20
Multiple choice?
41:23
Well, not really, but how many of the defensemen from the point took a slapshot last weekend?
41:37
None.
41:38
Did Chesley get one off?
41:41
Go ahead, Veegs.
41:42
What?
41:42
Did Chesley get one off, Ryan Chesley?
41:45
Then I'd have to tell you the answer.
41:48
That's my guess because I've seen him shoot slapshots quite frequently.
41:52
Zero.
41:52
All right.
41:53
Zero.
41:54
A point of contention with Bob, I'm in there before the game, we're talking and he wants his defenseman to hammer the puck.
42:11
We don't see that anymore.
42:13
Yes, that wrister works because you want to get it through when there's a lot of traffic.
42:19
But sometimes, guys, even if you don't get it through, if you wind up and take that and hammer that puck and you hit a guy who's blocking it, his thought process may be, you know what, maybe next time, I don't want to get in front of it.
42:39
That's what opens up space for you.
42:45
It doesn't have to be to score every time.
42:49
It is to open things up.
42:50
It is to give those guys a little different thinking.
43:00
I know Bob's been harping on them.
43:02
You get it back there once, you got to hammer it.
43:06
It doesn't happen enough.
43:08
When that doesn't happen, as a defender, you know, so you can go out and try to block it, or you can get in the way, or you can pack things in, because it's not going to be coming at the velocity that you know, a guy hammering it from there does.
43:28
So, you know, I think they're, you know, they're talking to the guys about that.
43:34
And like I said, it doesn't have to be all the time.
43:36
But once in a while, you got to let her fly.
43:40
Like they did on the transition.
43:42
I mean, we hadn't seen that in recent, really college hockey for Minnesota, or at least around here.
43:49
I mean, somebody just, instead of trying to go all the way to the net, you know, they saw an opening, bam, shoot the puck.
43:56
Yep.
43:58
And an old friend who is a Marine, and he said, sometimes the artillery just fires for effect.
44:05
You're just sending a message to the enemy.
44:07
Thank you.
44:07
You can bring it.
44:08
Great analogy.
44:10
Go hide in your foxhole.
44:11
Yep.
44:13
Exactly.
44:13
You may or may not be following it up really quickly.
44:16
You know, it was funny.
44:18
Reed Larson, former Gopher great, Detroit Red Ring, no one shot the puck harder than Reed.
44:25
And I will tell you, there was a game I played against him in Italy.
44:30
And I thought it was him at the point.
44:33
And he brought that stick up.
44:36
And I said, no, thank you.
44:38
Ole.
44:39
And I got out of the way.
44:42
Later, he started laughing at me.
44:43
I said, well, I'm not going to get hit by that thing.
44:46
But no, to your point, you don't want to take a hard slap shot off the ankle.
44:52
I mean, you don't.
44:54
And so, you have to do that.
44:57
It's all part of the psychological part of the game that sometimes guys don't think about.
45:04
Yeah.
45:06
All right, Veegs, let's hear your prediction on the weekend.
45:08
Home and home, Friday at Mary Uchee, Saturday at, is it, I can't remember.
45:17
The Mayo Center.
45:18
Mayo Center, yes.
45:20
They've changed like three or four times.
45:22
It's still the Civic Center to me, the Mankato Civic Center.
45:27
What do you think, Veegs?
45:29
I think we're going to see a split.
45:30
I think the home teams are going to win these games.
45:32
I think Minnesota's just got too many moving pieces right now to withstand the fire of a road game against Minnesota State and come out with a sweep.
45:42
Although we did hear Brock Faber say the word sweep on Sunday night in the post game, which was interesting.
45:49
It shows you where his mindset is.
45:51
He knows that Minnesota State's ended his year, two years in a row.
45:55
So he's got a little extra motivation this weekend and he's going to be vocally trying to get that sweep to happen.
46:01
But I will be surprised if it does.
46:05
I could see a situation where Minnesota maybe takes a couple of poundies in that environment and puts them shorthanded on the road.
46:11
And, you know, the Mavs will be ready to play the Gophers, as every in-state team always is.
46:19
All right, Pat, what are your predictions on the weekend?
46:22
Well, I think it's going to be a split.
46:24
I take what Minnesota State did last weekend and throw it away.
46:28
They will be ready to play.
46:31
They're still an older team, a mature team.
46:34
A grizzled team.
46:35
This is a very, very youthful squad that Minnesota has, more talented.
46:41
But I think Minnesota wins at home, and I think the Mavs win at home also.
46:50
I think it's going to be a great series.
46:52
You know, so, you know, let's enjoy it.
46:56
Mavs are the 15th oldest team in the country this year.
46:59
Gophers, second youngest.
47:02
Yeah.
47:03
So, there is a little bit of difference there.
47:04
But, yes, but they don't care.
47:06
Gophers don't care, you know, no excuses, you know.
47:10
You go out and play hard.
47:11
I love Faber's attitude that, you know, you don't go to accept anything, you know.
47:17
You go to win, and both teams are going to try to win.
47:21
Both teams have a lot of pride.
47:23
Both teams think they're really good, and we're going to have a hell of a series.
47:28
And we might, we might see them again in, in April.
47:34
How's that?
47:36
Well, I'm going with two, five to three victories by Minnesota.
47:43
Empty net goal each night.
47:45
Minnesota's going to sweep.
47:46
I'm just going with it.
47:47
I'm on the bandwagon.
47:49
That's a lot of goals.
47:50
That's a lot of goals in this series.
47:51
There's going to be a lot of goals, man.
47:53
Kato's not going to know what hit him.
47:57
Well, if Minnesota gets 30 shots, they get four goals.
48:00
Then you're thinking to my why I think Minnesota could win if they get 30 shots.
48:09
That means they're going to get 30 shots, right?
48:13
Each night.
48:16
I already see.
48:17
Oh, jeez.
48:19
Tim Hapke.
48:20
Can't wait for the GPL meltdown of the Gophers.
48:22
Don't sweep.
48:25
No meltdowns.
48:27
I'm just I'm trying to bring the positivity.
48:29
Too early for meltdowns.
48:31
Oh, you know, Gopher fans, though.
48:34
I mean, people were freaking out when Lindenwood just scored a goal Sunday.
48:41
High expectations.
48:44
Well, that's why players come to Minnesota.
48:46
That's why Logan Cooley came to Minnesota.
48:49
He is not your typical Minnesota recruit.
48:52
He said, I want to come to a place that's great for my development and a chance to win a national championship.
48:58
And that's the same reason Cole Iserman's come into Minnesota, too, is it's the best place for his development and a best place to win a national championship as a young player.
49:08
A Boston kid coming to play for Minnesota, Pat.
49:11
Wow.
49:15
That's a great get.
49:16
That's great recruiting and it's years and years of history about the program.
49:25
And good for him.
49:29
I'm really happy for the kid.
49:31
While we still have you here, Pat.
49:33
Yes.
49:33
What are your thoughts on Wisconsin?
49:35
What is happening over there?
49:38
I talked to Tony Granado, I want to say a week and a half ago.
49:43
And you know what?
49:44
He's, he's very calm in his demeanor.
49:49
You know, he thinks they're going to be better.
49:52
He knows their, their specialty teams have to be markedly better.
49:57
And you know, he knew that they were in for a rough ride last year when they lose Holloway, when they lose, when they lose Coughfield.
50:06
You know, you go from the best power play in college hockey to the worst.
50:11
You know, you had guys on the power play last year that never had played the power play.
50:16
I think at the end of the year, they found their mojo a little bit.
50:20
They almost beat Notre Dame, you know, in the playoffs, took them to three games.
50:26
And so, you know, I think parts of their game, I think they still lack a lot of depth.
50:32
I think their decor is still an issue.
50:36
I think Jared Moe has been fine in the Nets Forum.
50:41
And so, I really don't know where to put Wisconsin this year.
50:46
They, you know, I have them in Pat's Power Rankings, which will be coming out this week.
50:53
I have them at number six in finishing sixth in the league with the caveat that they could jump Penn State, okay?
51:03
I don't think they'll be a top four team, but, you know, I think they'll have enough, you know, to surprise some people.
51:12
All I care about Vegues this year is that they put another eight nothing drubbing on them.
51:18
Well, could happen again.
51:20
I think there's a big discrepancy between the top four teams and the Big Ten this year and the bottom three.
51:26
I think that's just a big talent difference right now.
51:28
I think the top four teams are Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan.
51:35
Wait, say that again.
51:37
Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan.
51:42
In that order.
51:43
Did you steal my notes the other night?
51:46
No, actually, he mentioned this last week when he was talking about it.
51:49
Did you?
51:50
You did.
51:51
You went and stole my notes, huh?
51:53
I did while you were talking to everybody at the rink.
51:55
I just snuck up in the radio booth and grabbed your notebook.
51:57
You got to speak of Pat's Power Rankings.
51:59
Or maybe you guys are just good hockey minds?
52:02
No, maybe.
52:04
Maybe.
52:06
I don't know.
52:07
What do you think, Beaks?
52:08
No, you're right.
52:10
I have Michigan 4, I have Penn State 5, Wisconsin 6, Michigan State 7.
52:18
Michigan State.
52:19
We need Michigan State to get healthy again.
52:22
I hope they can do it.
52:23
Do you know how close I was to putting Notre Dame 1?
52:29
Listen, they're going to be awfully tough.
52:34
They're going to be tough.
52:35
A tough league makes for better teams at the end of the season.
52:39
100 percent.
52:40
So there you go.
52:42
All right, Beaks, you got anything else for us right now?
52:45
Really like the way the power play looked this weekend.
52:48
I thought Lacombe looked much more comfortable at the top of the point.
52:51
My state Kobe pick.
52:54
With a guy like Jax Lacombe, you got to remember, he didn't play a lot of defense growing up.
52:58
So he's needed that time to mature.
53:01
And I thought he looked really good on that unit with Cooley, Snuggerud, Nyes, and Nelson.
53:06
I thought that was good.
53:07
And I also thought Kester looked really good running the top of his unit.
53:11
I'm not sure who's going to fill out the rest of that second power play yet.
53:16
You know, it's hard to tell how Huglin is going to look there, how Brodzinski is going to fit in.
53:21
Are there other young guys like Brody Lamb who could fit in?
53:24
I thought he had a great opening weekend for the Gophers, which was surprising to me.
53:29
I know he played on a Green Bay team that wasn't very good, but he still produced points.
53:34
So you just wonder what his play was going to be like with the Gophers.
53:37
Early returns looks like a good fit.
53:40
Really good.
53:41
Really good.
53:42
So I think there's a lot of exciting things to take out of the opening weekend.
53:46
Agreed.
53:47
All right.
53:48
Well, Pat, thanks for joining us again.
53:50
Hey, guys, you know, when I got the call, I was like, wow, you know, I better be back again.
53:58
Well, of course not.
54:00
I'm going to look for you guys in your regular.
54:03
You got it.
54:04
Vig, you coming to the coming on Friday, Veegs?
54:07
Sure am.
54:08
I got to make it into a hockey rink every night this week.
54:10
So let's stay away from my notes.
54:13
You better protect him better.
54:16
Thanks guys.
54:16
Protect him better.
54:17
I appreciate it.
54:18
Good to see you.
54:20
Well, that's going to do it for this GPL podcast.
54:25
Since the team is off next week, we'll be off as well.
54:28
So tune in in two weeks as we recap this Minnesota State Series and preview the North Dakota Series with our guest, Brad Schlossman.
54:37
For those of you watching live, stay tuned for a bit of overtime for the rest of you.
54:41
We'll see you next time on The GPL Podcast.
Search Transcript
No matching lines.
