0:15 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 Vego! 0:52 Thanks. 0:53 Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast, episode number 225. 1:13 Well, Veegs, how are you doing this week? 1:16 I'm doing well. 1:17 Are you feeling a little better, a little more healthy? 1:20 I know you've been kind of fighting it the past couple weeks. 1:22 I've got the crud that's been going around. 1:24 This is about three weeks of it for me. 1:27 I've kept it away from the team. 1:30 I've been going to the availabilities to try to keep my bugs away. 1:34 Although I think it's probably going through that locker room as well. 1:37 It's just been a battle to get through week to week. 1:41 And the Gophers certainly had a battle out in the desert this past week with Arizona State. 1:47 And I think we expected that a little bit from my end going into the holiday trip and maybe too much vacation and not enough hockey. 1:59 Well, we do have a guest tonight. 2:00 It's Ben Holden, who's gonna be calling the games this weekend with Fred Plutch. 2:04 He was just at the Detroit Buffalo game, which went to a shootout in Detroit. 2:09 And he's gonna try to join us as quickly as possible. 2:11 He was just sending a message as we started the show. 2:13 So he's gonna get to us as soon as he can. 2:16 But while we're waiting for him, a split in the desert, Veegs, and defensively didn't look good at all. 2:26 And I'm not just saying the defense. 2:28 I'm saying overall defensively as a team, it was bad. 2:33 And I just remember Jack Ramsey saying one of those nights, you know, I counted like five or more turnovers at the offensive blue line that cost them. 2:42 So that's not just the defense, is it Veegs? 2:46 No, that's not just the defense. 2:47 That is a team that just wasn't ready to go to work and play hard hockey like they would do if they were playing an opponent. 2:57 Maybe they expected a little more from like a Michigan or a Penn State where they're motivated to play that series. 3:03 I think going against ASU, they're kind of saying, oh, we got this. 3:08 Points are going to come easy. 3:09 We're going to score goals on the rush. 3:11 We're going to get healthy on the score sheet tonight. 3:14 And this is going to be an easy weekend. 3:16 And Arizona State has all these grad transfers. 3:19 They've got a veteran team. 3:21 It was not going to be an easy weekend. 3:24 And I thought they probably played more careless with the puck on Friday than they did Saturday. 3:31 It's just Saturday. 3:32 The mistakes were critical mistakes at bad spots on the ice. 3:36 I thought Friday, they were probably a little bit more careless than on Saturday. 3:40 They just gave up the wrong chances the next night. 3:44 Well, one unique thing that did happen, Veegs, is a lacrosse goal. 3:48 Four Minnesota actually happened this time. 3:51 First time we've seen a gopher be successful at it, and it's against the team who last did it to them. 3:58 Yeah, I thought Cooley pulled off a little bit more skill than Johnny Walker did against the Gophers. 4:06 He actually did it under pressure, smoothly picked it up and tucked it in really quickly. 4:11 I mean, on the TV broadcast, since we didn't get a replay, you're just like, that was lacrosse, right? 4:17 You're just kind of like, he did it. 4:20 And it was a good response from that line. 4:22 They got benched a little bit on Friday night. 4:26 You know, Bob was not happy with how they were playing. 4:29 And the only group he was really happy with was the Nelson Nevers line, which I agree with. 4:34 You know, that's a line that puts on the hard hat, gets pucks deep, tries to string shifts together, holds on to the puck, makes the other team work. 4:43 The other lines were not doing that. 4:45 There were so many turnovers at the hash marks along the wall or where they're at the hash marks and they're turning the middle of the ice and they just weren't keeping their feet moving and finishing plays and connecting shifts, which I, that's all I talked about at Michigan. 4:59 You know, that was how they started that series is they just connected shift after shift after shift. 5:05 They had offensive zone face-off after offensive zone face-off. 5:09 That's how you dominate a hockey game. 5:11 When you turn pucks over and you always are starting on defense, it's hard to be successful. 5:16 Well, I see Ben Holden is in the green room. 5:19 It might be just audio only. 5:21 From the last I heard, he was in his truck. 5:22 Let's try to bring him up. 5:24 No promises here, folks. 5:25 Let's see if he's there. 5:27 Ben, are you there? 5:29 What's up, boys? 5:30 Look at that. 5:31 The beauty of technology. 5:33 Thanks for helping me out with that. 5:36 My son helped too, man. 5:38 Hey, that's what kids are for, trust me. 5:40 Yeah, he's 21, so he's my tech guy. 5:44 Well, thanks for joining us. 5:45 I know you were just at a very interesting Detroit-Buffalo game where Buffalo could not have choked more, but then did get home. 5:53 They did get the overtime shoot or shootout goal, but it was kind of an exciting third period for you at the game you were just at. 6:01 It was. 6:01 And thanks for being understanding. 6:03 I'm sorry I'm tardy. 6:04 I don't like being late. 6:05 But, you know, we're making work, guys. 6:08 So it's always fun to talk to you guys. 6:10 I know we're going to get into a lot of gopher talk, so I'm excited for that. 6:14 But, yeah, it was a lot of fun. 6:16 Great seats we had. 6:18 My CPA gave me the seats for my son and I. 6:21 And right in the end zone, so we were in the end that the wings shot in first and third. 6:27 So it was a good game. 6:28 I mean, I thought Detroit was dead and they came back. 6:31 And I said to my son, Luke, I said early in the year, Buffalo was doing what they did tonight. 6:37 They were scoring a lot of goals. 6:38 I watched a lot of their games where they were up three, four, five, one. 6:42 But I think in the last two, three weeks, they've had the collapse like they had tonight. 6:46 And, you know, to the wings credit, they battled and and, you know, the veterans stepped up and it was good, man. 6:53 It's good to be back and watching the Red Wings. 6:55 I haven't been to a game there since 17 when Luke and I first went there. 6:59 So it was good to see good to see him play well and give a good push at the end. 7:04 You've been you've been catching a lot of games that you haven't been calling it. 7:07 I thought you were you were at Michigan Harbor this past weekend, didn't you? 7:11 Yeah, I had a buddy another buddy out East and said that to me on Twitter. 7:15 And yeah, just I love being in the rink, guys. 7:18 And I really wanted to go. 7:21 I got Michigan, Michigan State next week after the series this weekend. 7:26 And so I really wanted to go. 7:27 And as you guys know, it's a different perspective when you're watching the game and you're able to watch players as opposed to calling the game, where you just really kind of focus on the play and the periphery and, you know, things that are coming from the production truck. 7:41 So, you know, that Harvard team, man, I'm telling you guys, I had them last year in the regional against Minnesota State. 7:50 And we all know how hard and heavy Minnesota State is. 7:54 And that was the problem for Harvard in a one and done. 7:56 But that team, my goodness, they are skilled and they are good. 8:01 Their back end's really good, like Minnesota's. 8:04 Their forwards like Minnesota's. 8:06 They got some skill up there. 8:08 And so it was a fun series to watch. 8:10 And, you know, I kind of really dialed in on Fantilly. 8:13 I wanted to watch him play. 8:14 And he's got a lot of Marion hosts in him. 8:17 And what I mean by that is, is that I think the key to his game is not so much. 8:24 Well, it's obviously when he has the puck, but when he's not with the puck and what he does to get open and put himself available and make those kind of plays and get into space. 8:35 I mean, it's just so impressive to watch him. 8:37 And so it was fun to get down there and hang with Al Randall, a longtime Michigan radio voice and my buddy and partner on BTN, Fred Pledge in the booth. 8:47 It was a good time last weekend. 8:49 Yeah, you obviously you both called one of the games and both games for Minnesota at Michigan where all these players are missing. 8:56 So you didn't really get to see an ideal series. 9:02 So many players are out sick. 9:05 No. 9:07 Yeah, you know, and you know, last year, you know, everybody was healthy in that series that Freddie and I did in early December. 9:13 But it was Minnesota smacked them around on Friday, 5-1, and then Michigan came back. 9:18 I think that game was 6-3 on Saturday. 9:21 But, you know, it was you could tell there was some concern around the Michigan program. 9:26 I mean, not to discredit Minnesota. 9:28 You know, they had Justin Close out and Huglund sat out and those guys and, you know, talking to Bob. 9:34 I mean, there's, I think there's concern on both sides. 9:37 There was a lot more concern on the Michigan side because, you know, you had Steve Holtz in the Intensive Care Unit, a defenseman that, you know, gives them some minutes here and there. 9:47 And, you know, it's pretty serious stuff when you're dealing with 18, 19, 20, 21-year-old, you know, college athletes and they're getting, they're getting sent to the ICU. 9:58 So, yeah, it was from a, from a game standpoint, sure, it was not what you want to see or expect to see out of two teams of skilled and as good as Minnesota and Michigan. 10:10 So, maybe I'll get lucky and get them again in the playoffs like last year at Mariucci. 10:14 So, we talked, we talked a little bit about that with Nice today. 10:18 I know we're going to dive into that stuff more, but we had some good thoughts on that too. 10:23 So, yeah, it's just, it's fun. 10:25 It's, I'll be honest, guys. 10:27 I mean, to have Michigan State being a player again has made the, obviously Penn State too, it's made the conference that much stronger. 10:35 And I'm not going to lie, selfishly as a play-by-play guy, it should make these games really good this weekend and next and throughout the rest of the year. 10:44 Oh, oh, Stefan. 10:47 Before we get back to that, Veegs, does Minnesota just kind of throw away that weekend at Arizona State? 10:56 I mean, I think Bob kind of has that mentality, but it's not always that simple to do. 11:03 Yeah, he was pretty upset with his team on Friday night in the postgame. 11:08 You could just tell this tone in his voice. 11:11 He knew it being Thanksgiving weekend. 11:13 He knew letting the team watch the Vikings game under the stars at the Nice household maybe was a bad idea. 11:20 You know, Bob's been coaching hockey a long time, and he's always joked. 11:24 He's like, hockey coaches don't get Thanksgiving's. 11:27 Well, he kind of let his team have one this year, and it kind of bit him a little bit on the weekend. 11:32 I mean, they did get a win and they did get to overtime. 11:35 So pairwise situation wise, they're just fine. 11:39 They're number two in the pairwise, so they're fine there. 11:42 But I think it kind of maybe gets their attention a little bit coming into this Michigan State Series, because when we've seen Minnesota have an off weekend, they usually fix it going into the following weekend. 11:53 So that might be bad news for Sparty with how focused Minnesota could be this weekend. 11:58 Well, before you get into that, I want to hear from our sponsor first, so we can kind of concentrate on that Michigan State Series. 12:04 So let's hear from our sponsor. 12:07 Jerry Peters here with First Class Mortgage. 12:10 Inflation and the tightening economy have taken a significant bite out of our monthly budgets, and many of us have become reliant on credit cards to pay our bills. 12:18 According to the Federal Reserve of New York, Americans now owe $887 billion on credit cards. 12:25 That's a 13% increase in just the past 12 months alone. 12:29 And with interest rates on credit cards in the high teens to over 20%, it's time to look for a better alternative, a cash out refinance from first class mortgage. 12:39 Fortunately, we have record amounts of equity in our homes. 12:43 Use that equity to combine high interest rate credit card debt, car loans, and replenish your savings account, even if it means giving up that super low interest rate you refinanced at a couple years ago. 12:56 Late payments crush your credit scores, and once you get on that merry-go-round, it's hard to get off. 13:02 To find out if a cash out refinance is for you, give me a call at 612-940-3291. 13:09 You can email me at jerry at firstclasscorp.com or go to mnmortgage.com and fill out a free online application. 13:17 Mention you heard about me on the GPL Podcast and receive a $500 closing cost credit. 13:23 Some restrictions apply. 13:24 My NMLS number is 480200. 13:27 First Class Mortgages is 322842. 13:30 This is not an agreement to lock into an interest rate under Minnesota law. 13:34 First Class Mortgage is an equal housing lender. 13:39 Alright, thank you to Jerry for once again sponsoring the GPL Podcast. 13:45 Ben, who would have thought Michigan State and Minnesota being a marquee matchup in November? 13:56 I guess it's right, December. 14:01 Probably just the Michigan State side, man, to be honest. 14:07 Look, they can equal their win total from last year with their next win. 14:12 That 7-1 Minnesota, though, I believe the number is 18-3 in the last 21 against Michigan State. 14:19 State hasn't beaten them in going on three years. 14:25 We had a great conversation with Adam Nightingale, and I've known Adam a long time and did a lot of his games at State. 14:34 Same with Brandon Narada. 14:35 I said, Narada, I said, I'm getting old, man. 14:38 Now you're coaching. 14:39 I did your games 15 years ago. 14:41 Same situation, but all kidding aside, you're going to hear a lot from if you're listening to Nightingale and the post press conferences Friday, Saturday, if you listen to him talk, it's about playing winning hockey. 14:58 It's about doing stuff the right way. 15:00 And it's that, you know, it's cliched, but it's sports, right? 15:03 It's a day at a time. 15:04 It's a shift at a time. 15:05 It's a minute at a time. 15:07 And they've all bought in. 15:08 And I love the pieces they brought into their team. 15:11 They've got some older guys. 15:13 They've got their captain's a guy, was at Lake State, Mukha, Slovakian guy, hard guy, heavy guy. 15:20 They've got some great youth. 15:22 Their top two scorers are freshmen. 15:24 I mean, so, you know, and they got Jagger Joshua on the top line to help create some space for those two guys. 15:30 And so it's pretty remarkable. 15:33 It really is to see that program. 15:36 And I've said for the last couple years, guys, to a lot of people, to me, there has not been a program in college hockey in the last decade that's been more down than Michigan State. 15:46 I think for that time span, I think teams have had down years, obviously, but to be where they've been, they haven't made the tournament since 12 when they had Torrey Crooks. 15:57 So changes are coming. 16:00 And, you know, I was at Mariuchio a couple of times last year, you know, saw what they have in their facilities. 16:07 You guys know I've been to North Dakota multiple times and a lot of these buildings and it's a huge recruiting tool. 16:13 These kids want to be wild and Michigan State, their facilities are as good as anyone in the country. 16:19 That's not going to win you games. 16:20 I know that. 16:21 But it's going to help them. 16:23 And when they get some super skilled players in there, which I think they're going to do like Minnesota is getting, I don't know, they'll get the volume that quickly. 16:30 But if they get players like that in the next year or two with the players they have in there now, look out, because I think they're getting close to me saying they're officially back as a player in college hockey. 16:43 And Veegs, you know, Ben talked about it, they haven't been to the tournament in a long time. 16:48 They haven't won a game in the Big Ten playoff yet. 16:53 Yep. 16:57 And you and I have talked, Veegs, in order for the Big Ten to be healthy at teams like Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, they need to be healthy, Veegs. 17:06 And it's kind of nice. 17:08 Obviously, Wisconsin is down now. 17:10 But like Ben said, it's been a while from Michigan State. 17:14 That seems like Michigan State has either gotten by with a good goalie to be competitive or they'll have one line that is elite. 17:24 But the rest of the team has no identity, has no continuity, and it's really tough to compete in the Big Ten when you have a roster like that. 17:32 And it was just easy pickings for the top teams to go against Michigan State and for the most part, lock up some points because your depth would always shine against them. 17:43 If you could pay attention to that top line and kind of keep them quiet, you were going to win the other three shifts that were ensuing. 17:51 And so I think Danton Cole did a great thing with ice arena and improving the facilities and getting that for Adam Nightingale to have because they're starting to recruit pretty well. 18:04 Like Danton Cole didn't get any development team kids. 18:07 Nightingale's already got two, I think. 18:09 And if he can start to kind of string that together and get more kids from that program into Michigan State, they're going to be able to compete. 18:17 And Ben, you know, one thing we have talked about is the Big Ten itself. 18:28 We're down. 18:31 Say that again. 18:32 I'm walking inside. 18:34 Sorry for the wind. 18:34 It's windy out there. 18:35 We'll give you a couple seconds. 18:37 We'll wait till you get inside. 18:39 Because you couldn't even answer that. 18:40 The Big Ten started, you know, when a lot of teams were down and maybe now is probably the time that Big Ten is finally showing their strength. 18:49 And it just took probably longer than we expected. 18:52 Anticipated. 18:53 Yeah, I think, you know, if you don't have the right coaching hire at an institution, it doesn't matter what all the other things are. 19:01 It's just not going to happen. 19:02 And it was kind of surprising. 19:03 Denton Cole couldn't be that guy for Michigan State. 19:06 You know, being an alum and working with the development team and being a hockey guy, you know, it didn't work. 19:12 Nightingale, you know, he worked at Shattuck. 19:15 He did NHL video. 19:17 He knows his stuff and he's ready. 19:19 And it looks like he's recruiting very well already. 19:22 And he's got his team playing the right way. 19:24 And I think it was smart of him to get as many graduate players as he has on the roster. 19:30 The portal, he used it very well. 19:32 He used it effectively. 19:33 He plugged some holes and get their team playing the right way. 19:36 And it feels like, I don't know, a hundred percent, I don't follow Michigan State hockey that closely, but these guys seem like they fit roles and they play consistent. 19:47 And so when you can do that in the lineup, you know, it's going to make you more competitive. 19:50 I still don't know where Sparty fits. 19:53 I know they split with Penn State, but some of their strength of schedule, not sure it's up there yet. 20:01 It's not Minnesota strength of schedule. 20:03 I know Michigan State's top ten in the pair wise, but I think this is a show me weekend for Sparty to see just how good are they. 20:11 And really, Ben, it's kind of a show me for Minnesota after struggling at Arizona State. 20:16 Can they, you know, stick? 20:18 Hey, there he is. 20:19 Look at that. 20:20 What's up, fellas? 20:21 I got to show you what was waiting for me when I got home. 20:25 Oh, yeah. 20:26 I saw that little husky. 20:27 My girlfriend's there too, but she'll appreciate that. 20:31 Instagram star. 20:33 How many TV remotes has it eaten yet? 20:38 He's pretty good with that. 20:39 It's just everything else he chews on, you know? 20:42 Phone cords. 20:46 Every hat I own, but I have a little bit of a problem with hats, so now he's a good dude, man. 20:53 This is why I love technology right here. 20:55 You were in your car doing audio. 20:58 Yeah. 20:58 Just think about 10 years ago doing something like this. 21:01 Live. 21:03 It wouldn't have been possible. 21:06 Well, I probably would have just got on with you guys, so again, thanks for understanding, boys. 21:10 I appreciate it. 21:11 Hey, we made it work. 21:13 And this is why I love doing things live, too. 21:16 Just feel the real deal, the real show. 21:19 Jared Klein, one of your biggest followers, he was kind of running, he was bent in his car. 21:23 I'm like, yeah, Jared, this car. 21:27 He's a good guy, man. 21:28 I appreciate all the love and support he gives, and you guys know I love the sport, I love the people in it, and you know, long time doing it. 21:37 And I told Starman last year in Albany, I said, you know, I looked at him at one point, I think it was before the Minnesota State Notre Dame game, and it was right before we came on. 21:46 And I said, you know what, dude, I'll be 70 years old. 21:48 They're still letting me call games, I'm still gonna call games. 21:51 I'll do college hockey my whole life. 21:52 I love the sport, it means the world to me, and I'll do anything to help it and be a small part of it. 22:00 So we know you've called so many NCHC games over the years, you know, through CBS Sports Network. 22:07 Obviously, the NCHC came out gangbusters. 22:10 They're still the, I'm still, they're still the top, still somebody knocks them off, they're still the top. 22:14 Yup. 22:15 And like I was talking to Veegs here is, you know, the Big Ten started at the wrong time for quite a few schools. 22:23 Michigan was down, Wisconsin was down, Michigan State was down, Penn State was a brand new program. 22:29 And it just, it just kind of all came together and it made Minnesota look so good, but there was no one else there. 22:37 But now really the Big Ten has really kind of built it, slowly built it up over the last couple years where they're competing with the likes of the NCHC on a national level. 22:48 No question and you know, you guys, I'm sure you guys know this, but the last Big Ten team school to win the national title is where Minnesota is coming this weekend. 22:57 Isn't that hard to believe? 22:59 I mean, that blows my mind. 23:01 Minnesota, Michigan, look at the teams both those programs have had. 23:06 It's amazing to me. 23:07 But Michigan State's the last Big Ten school to win the national title. 23:11 But to your point, yeah, I mean, it's, you know, what Penn State did, if I would have had a vote, I'm not kidding you guys, after they went in and beat Minnesota, I would have voted them number one. 23:22 I would have, it was October, right? 23:25 I would have voted them one. 23:26 I mean, look what they did in four games against the two number one teams in the country. 23:31 I mean, I would have given them the check mark and said, you're number one. 23:34 So yeah, it's great, you know, and hopefully Wisconsin can turn it around. 23:39 You know, they had those couple good years with Caulfield and Holloway and the group they had, but, you know, like we were talking earlier, I mean, to see Michigan State doing what they're doing, they need to be a top 15 program in college hockey. 23:53 There's no reason why they shouldn't be. 23:56 And I love what you guys said about Danton. 23:58 And Danton does deserve a ton of credit for what they have now. 24:01 He really does. 24:03 It just, for whatever reason, it just didn't work. 24:06 And, you know, and then I think back personally to when Adam was hired, and I was like, man, they're gonna try this again, right? 24:16 Like, you're sure you want to do this? 24:19 And I mean, no disrespect to Adam. 24:20 I told you guys, I've known him a long time, but it's just like, are you sure you want to try this again? 24:27 But, you know, 16 games in, it's working, but they still got a long way to go. 24:30 I think the portal has definitely kind of evened the playing field for these teams that use it properly. 24:37 You know, they get players who can play that fifth year, so they're older, they're mature, they know what to expect in college hockey, they're more consistent. 24:45 You know, you have a line like the Gophers have with Nyes, Cooley and Sagerud, they play inconsistent and their coach has to bench them. 24:52 You know, they might be the most talented line in college hockey, but Bob said Friday night, hey, you guys sit down for a little bit, watch what's happening out here. 24:59 You need to raise your level. 25:01 And that's what you get with those young players is that roller coaster play. 25:04 Yeah, well, they should have just taken what they did at Michigan, and we had fun with both, well, more so Jackson than we did with Nyes on it. 25:12 But Fred looked at me and he goes, this is the doughnut line, you know, the night that Cooley was suspended. 25:17 So it was Snuggerud and Matt, and the Colm, of course, rips one in, scores. 25:25 And I think Pitlick then went out with him, and then he scored. 25:28 So, no, you're right, though. 25:30 And it's, you know, I love Jackson Nelson. 25:33 I mean, I think he's a real major key to this team. 25:36 And he's got to be well for them. 25:39 And he has been. 25:40 That line with him and Brodsey has been really good. 25:42 And with Nevers, you guys were talking about him earlier. 25:45 And they need that line to be consistent every night because you're going to get the ups and downs, like you said, with some of these young guys. 25:52 You just don't always know what you're going to get. 25:57 Jimmy Superfly Snuggeroo is one of them. 26:00 Can I use that? 26:02 Superfly Snuggeroo right there. 26:05 That's not bad. 26:06 Yeah, that's good. 26:09 Well, you know, Ben, one thing I noticed is that, you know, from one of your tweets this week is that you're getting the whole band back together this weekend. 26:16 You got Ewan Pletch on the game. 26:18 You got Cappy and Pizzo in the studio. 26:21 This is an old school, which I personally love because I think, you know, obviously we have Cappy on multiple times a year. 26:30 We had Pizzo on years ago. 26:32 He's always a great guy, loves his college hockey. 26:35 It's going to be kind of great to see the whole Big Ten Network gang back together. 26:39 I'm excited, man. 26:41 I'm sure you can't tell, right? 26:42 I'm smiling ear to ear, man. 26:44 No, it's cool. 26:45 And, you know, that's the way it should be. 26:48 You know, these are big games. 26:49 I mean, this is, I said it two weeks ago. 26:52 I'm going to say it again this week. 26:53 This is a series of the weekend in college hockey. 26:56 Show me another one that's bigger. 26:58 And I don't think you'll find one. 26:59 And I don't think you will find a better story at this point in college hockey than the team Minnesota is coming to play. 27:05 I mean, you know, teams have had good, you know, wins here and there. 27:09 Penn State, yeah, they beat the number one team twice. 27:11 But, you know, I think after last year, I didn't do a ton of Penn State games. 27:16 But, you know, I watch as many games as I can. 27:18 And when I'm not doing them and, you know, you could see the guy had a young team and they were going to be pretty darn good coming back. 27:25 I don't think anyone expect them to do what they did in back-to-back weekends. 27:28 But to their credit, they did. 27:29 And, you know, they've got a good group on the back end. 27:32 They've got a good group up front. 27:34 And that youth from those, all they had a lot of freshmen last year, you can see those guys have gotten better too. 27:40 So, you know, I thought they'd be a better team. 27:43 But, you know, now I don't think Michigan State would be, I don't know which one of you guys said it, but they're going to, they're one and two in the Big Ten in the first weekend of December is that to me is the story in college hockey right there so far. 27:58 Alright Vego, what does Minnesota need to do to be successful this weekend? 28:03 I know us on Twitter you're saying they just didn't play the same game that they played against Michigan. 28:09 But if they play this, that type of game, they can be very successful. 28:14 Yeah, I think the biggest key for this team is to play connected, is to be disciplined and not just look for rush scoring and easy chances. 28:24 This is a team that needs to learn to play below the dots. 28:28 And we've seen that at times. 28:30 Against Penn State, we saw the struggle of where they had to play below the dots and they just, even though that was the only way that they were going to be successful, they wouldn't do it. 28:38 They were still trying to play that high game, that high cycle, and it just got them into trouble. 28:44 Against Michigan, we saw it kind of get a little bit deeper. 28:47 We saw a lot of offensive zone face-offs. 28:50 We saw them control the game. 28:52 And I think they made life easier on their goalie that weekend as well because they had Bartoszkiewicz in that for that series. 28:58 And he didn't see a lot of quality chances against, you know, Gophers go to Arizona State, they gave up a ton of quality chances that Closer had to take care of. 29:08 And Closer did a pretty good job on Friday night. 29:11 I think he saw 30 shots. 29:13 He did pretty well, you know, he gave up two. 29:15 You know, the next night he didn't see as many shots, but they're higher quality and it was an off night for him. 29:22 So I think for the Gophers to play well, they have to play disciplined and let their talent shine in the right moment. 29:28 Don't force it. 29:29 There's so much skill on this roster for Bob to deal with, but they can't force it. 29:35 And Ben, I would say what Michigan State needs to do to be successful or partially successful this weekend is not let the spotlight get to them because they are the center of attention this weekend. 29:47 It's been a long time since it's been this way. 29:52 That might be one of their keys. 29:55 Well, I think you're right. 29:56 I think can they deal with that pressure? 30:00 You know, I started watching them probably three weeks ago in the second Penn State game. 30:05 This is an example. 30:07 I know it's a different kind of spotlight, but it showed me a lot about the growth and the character and the maturity of this team, even though at that point, you're only about 12 games in. 30:18 They go up 3-0 at Penn State. 30:21 Penn State gets one. 30:22 They take a major penalty. 30:24 They tie the game up. 30:26 It's 3-3. 30:27 They get a late goal, really late goal in that period. 30:30 And then Michigan State comes out, and they play, you know, boat race hockey, and they're up 6-3. 30:36 So the response from them, and, you know, Penn State isn't, you know, going into Yost or Mariucci when it's full. 30:43 It's a great environment. 30:45 But, you know, I still, that character, that team, it showed me something in that weekend. 30:51 And, you know, there hasn't been this kind of buzz around this program, I'm telling you guys, in a decade. 30:56 And it's going to be packed. 30:58 Both games are going to be jam-packed, and the fans are ready. 31:02 And I think it's a great point. 31:03 They've got to, they're going to tell you, and they've told us, nothing changes for us. 31:09 We're going to go out and do what we've been doing, and can they continue against a team that's, you know, might be the most skilled team in the country? 31:17 So, you know, but skill doesn't always beat will. 31:21 And, you know, I think that's a big part of it. 31:23 I think Minnesota's got to have an edge to their game as well in a disciplined way, but dominate with the skill, take the game to them. 31:34 And that's one thing Michigan State does, for those that may have not seen a ton of them this year with this team, a big MO of Adam Nightingale's teams are, we're going to play fast, we're going to play in your face, and we're going to get after you. 31:47 And that's something they haven't done in a long time. 31:50 So, Ben, would you say that they're an aggressive forechecking team? 31:53 Are they a team that's going to get pucks deep and put two guys on the puck hard and be real aggressive on the strong side of the ice? 32:01 Are they a team that, you know, wants to dump and chase? 32:04 What are they like? 32:06 Well, they want a puck possession team, and that's what they are. 32:09 And I just think they make plays so quick now with the system they're playing. 32:14 It's simple. 32:15 It's just get it and go. 32:17 Maintain it. 32:18 Get on the puck. 32:19 Yeah, they're going to bang you, but they're not, to me, they're not an overly physical team. 32:23 They've got a few guys that can do that. 32:25 Obviously, Joshua is a guy that can, you know, get under the skin of the opposition. 32:29 And they've got some other guy, Mukha, I'm telling you, their captain. 32:32 I think he's, I don't know how much you guys have watched Andre Pavel at Minnesota State, but he's kind of that kind of guy. 32:38 In fact, I brought him up because their stories are so similar and they actually played together in junior. 32:44 I didn't know that. 32:46 So he's a guy that I think can add some of that, you know, physicality and that forecheck. 32:52 But as far as their system, the way they forecheck, I mean, I don't know. 32:56 I don't really see the game that way. 32:57 I just know that they're moving and they want to play at a pace in every zone, and they want to play fast. 33:04 And that's, I mean, to me, we know what Minnesota is going to do. 33:08 So that's a wonderful matchup if it's going to be, you know, that kind of game throughout. 33:14 But I think they're going to be amped. 33:15 And again, I think that's a great point. 33:18 Can they deal with the spotlight now that they're at home and you got the Gophers coming in? 33:24 Because that's always a big deal. 33:26 That's kind of sort of the reverse key for Minnesota. 33:29 They know that Michigan State's going to be amped up. 33:34 First 10 minutes, Veegs. 33:35 And, you know, if they could, like, I don't want to survive those. 33:40 Stay calm. 33:43 They could kind of reverse it, couldn't they? 33:46 They could. 33:46 I think one of the things Minnesota struggled with a little bit is we saw it against Arizona State. 33:51 We saw it with Penn State. 33:53 When they put a lot of pressure on the Gophers with those plays at the top of the circle on the wall and they create turnovers and they go north immediately, Minnesota Fords would get caught behind. 34:07 And if Michigan State can be real aggressive in those spots and get three, four guys getting on the rush, I think that's where Minnesota's gotten in trouble because the only Ford who does a really good job staying high is Jackson Nelson. 34:22 He does not let himself get beat back the other way, but you see it with the other centers like Huglin, Cooley especially, sometimes the younger guys like Pinomini, they get caught looking for the offense and trying to anticipate their teammate winning that play on the wall. 34:42 And so when there's a turnover, they're getting beat the other way. 34:45 So I think a part for maturity for Minnesota is being able to be on top of the puck to support your players and not just expecting them to win that battle and cheating for offense. 34:54 And here's the rule, discipline, discipline, discipline. 34:58 And that really is the story for Minnesota Beaks. 35:01 They have to be disciplined. 35:02 They can't play dumb like they did last weekend. 35:05 Well, it feels like when Minnesota gets in trouble, it's because they're giving the other team offense. 35:10 It's not necessarily because they're getting beat and hemmed in their defensive zone. 35:14 We haven't seen that for long stretches. 35:15 I think we saw it at times with Penn State, at times with Michigan, but not long stretches. 35:22 And when Minnesota gets in trouble, it's because they're behind the play and getting caught transition. 35:26 Let me tell you, Ben, watching a game with Veegs is interesting. 35:29 He notices all these little things. 35:31 He got me thinking just, you know, five or six years ago, watch the offensive blue line. 35:35 If they lose the puck there, they're always in trouble. 35:37 And sure enough, he was right on. 35:40 Good eye. 35:42 Don't cheat to the dark side of the puck. 35:45 It's not wrong. 35:46 I mean, I mean, we had Jack former Gopher, Jack Ramsey on last week. 35:51 And the first one of the first things he tweeted after their loss Saturday at us was they're turning the puck over five or six times at the offensive blue line when they're coming in the zone and they just that that's the end of it. 36:05 All of a sudden, your offense has gone. 36:06 Also near their counter attacking. 36:09 And then all of a sudden you're on your heels. 36:13 You have to make the plays at the right time. 36:15 Correct. 36:15 You've got momentum and you see the ice and you know that that's your time to let your skill shine. 36:22 That's when to do it. 36:23 But when you're the only forward up and maybe there's a line changing or you're at the end of a shift, that is definitely not the time to get fancy with the puck. 36:31 You have to be smart with the puck at that time and finish your shift so you can transition it to the next line. 36:37 And I think when Minnesota gets in trouble, they just they forget that and that shift discipline just goes out the window and we call it they leave their brains in Dinkytown. 36:46 That can't happen against a team like Michigan State who's feeling the momentum right now. 36:51 Well, I personally, I'm seeing a split all the way this weekend, three points for each side. 36:57 And we still are the same way in the standings. 37:01 Ben, you know, you're probably going to pick something similar. 37:04 You can't take one team with the other. 37:05 Otherwise, you look as a favoriting a team. 37:08 But here's what I hope for. 37:10 Both games go to overtime. 37:12 There you go. 37:15 That's what I... 37:17 Every time I put the headset on, that's all I hope for in a hockey game. 37:20 Let's just go down right to the last play of the game. 37:23 I think they're going to be close games. 37:25 I do. 37:26 I think they're going to be close games. 37:27 And they're going to be tight. 37:30 And it's going to be played at a high pace. 37:33 And you're going to see a team that, if you haven't watched a lot of them play, they're a lot different than they have been in the last two years in the Spartans. 37:41 So, you know, it's, you always hear that stuff. 37:45 You guys were talking about it earlier. 37:47 Connected, you know, staying connected, five in the frame. 37:50 And I mean, I watched them play last week, you know, doing our homework like we always do, both games at Miami. 37:56 And I mean, it was like, am I watching the same program here? 38:00 Like, because that's like, you know, I went up and saw them play Ohio State and, you know, watch those Penn State games, like I said. 38:06 But, you know, when you're doing your homework, it's a little more detailed and you're focused a little bit more on that. 38:10 And, you know, but I think Minnesota is going to come back. 38:14 I mean, that's too good of a team. 38:15 I don't mean come back. 38:17 I mean, yeah, they lose one game. 38:18 But I think they're going to come in here pretty focused and Bob will have them ready to play. 38:23 And, you know, I think that they'll be ready to play as a group. 38:26 You know, we had a good time talking with Lacombe and Nyes today. 38:29 And, you know, I said it last year after that Big Ten title game. 38:34 I mean, Matthew Nyes to me is so similar to Ben Myers. 38:39 And that's something I talked to him about. 38:40 In terms of his approach and his mental approach and even his physical approach, I mean, and I love Myers. 38:46 I thought he was, he's one of the best college players I've ever seen in all my years, just the way he could take over a game. 38:53 And Nyes has got that kind of ability. 38:56 And I asked him about, you know, what he took from Ben last year in that regard. 39:01 And he just said, he didn't accept defeat. 39:04 If he got beat on a draw, he was going to go out and beat a guy five times in a row, just things like that. 39:09 And that's what Nyes, you know, kind of share with us. 39:12 And that's what he wants to keep adding to his game. 39:15 So I love him as a player and he's fun to watch, man. 39:18 You just, in the booth, I can sense those kinds of guys. 39:21 And they're both those kinds of guys. 39:25 Nyes is the same way. 39:26 You can tell when he's going to take the game over. 39:29 And I think he'll be a major factor in this game, in this series this weekend. 39:33 What do you think, Veegs? 39:34 What's your prediction? 39:36 Well, as I said earlier in the show, when Minnesota kind of has an off performance, they snap right back to it the next week. 39:44 And I think this team knows that they didn't give their best in Arizona. 39:49 And they're going to be on top of their game against Michigan State. 39:54 As much as we think Sparty's improved, I think the Gophers are going to play a solid weekend and get the sweep. 40:00 Wow! 40:04 I wonder a little bit about Sparty's blue line. 40:06 I think they've done a nice job with Fords and they're getting goals up front. 40:11 I just kind of wonder about how they're going to hold up against the Gopher skill in the defensive zone because they're going to be under more pressure, I think, this weekend than they've probably been most of the season. 40:21 You know, the Penn State series, I'd look at that a little bit, but Penn State plays a different way to create offense than Minnesota does. 40:28 So I think it's going to be a little bit of a different series for them from that standpoint. 40:33 And this could be big for when it comes to the pairwise, Ben. 40:36 I mean, you look at Michigan, Minnesota, it vaulted Minnesota right up to number two and number one and right away because the computer doesn't care if Michigan's missing five guys. 40:49 So that's going to end up big at the end of the year. 40:52 So if Minnesota were to or even if either team dominates this weekend, it's going to be big pairwise numbers. 41:00 No question about it. 41:01 No question about it. 41:04 All right, Ben, thanks for joining us, man. 41:06 Are you going to stick with us for a little bit over time? 41:09 I can stick for a couple. 41:11 I got my boy here, man, wanting to play. 41:14 I'll stick for a couple minutes if that's cool. 41:16 But no, that's totally cool. 41:18 We'll get to meet the little pupper then. 41:21 I thought if I could get him up here or not, he's kind of wound up. 41:24 A puppy wound up? 41:26 No. 41:29 See him there? 41:30 Oh, yeah. 41:34 The first dog is fighting on a podcast. 41:38 Oh, my dog used to sleep behind me during podcasts for a long time. 41:43 You want to take my shoe off right now. 41:46 I appreciate you guys having me on. 41:48 It's always fun talking with you. 41:49 Well, it's great to have you on again. 41:52 I think we just need Fred Plutch. 41:53 We've had pretty much everybody from BTN on. 41:57 You know what? 41:59 You should have Freddie on. 42:00 The guy, I've had a lot of partners. 42:02 Well, not so many in hockey. 42:04 I've had a lot of other partners, excuse me, in other sports. 42:08 But I've had three main partners in hockey. 42:13 That's Sean Richland. 42:15 Rich and I started in 04 and then of course Starman and I did a few games here and there until we spent a decade in the boot together. 42:22 And Fred and I did some games here and there when I was at CBS Comcast here and there, maybe a Fox game. 42:30 And now for the third year with Freddie and the dude is an absolute encyclopedia. 42:36 Yeah. 42:37 I mean, he and I pride myself on like research and finding nuggets. 42:43 But the guy is like, he's so good, man. 42:48 He's just got a knack for it and he loves the game. 42:51 And it's so much fun to work with him. 42:53 And, you know, I mean, we're stoked the next two weekends. 42:56 You know, the four games we got coming up and that's going to be a heck of a week, couple of weekends, man. 43:02 So I'm really excited. 43:04 And I would highly suggest getting him on. 43:07 He would love to do this with you guys and he'd be a great guest. 43:10 We might have to do that. 43:11 I tell you, we get some of these other broadcasts and we just reminded of how blessed we are with Big Ten and what we get from week to week. 43:19 It's quite special. 43:21 Yeah, we got a good group and I'm just happy to be a part of it. 43:24 You know, I wasn't sure what was going to happen a couple of years ago. 43:28 And, you know, Sue Marriott is the coordinating producer and Sue and I worked together probably 10 or 12 games together when she was a producer at CBS, did some football and basketball with her. 43:39 And, you know, we always had a good friendship and, you know, I'm forever grateful. 43:43 It's, I'll tell you this, man, it's, I love doing the NCHC. 43:48 I loved it. 43:49 I loved every second of it. 43:51 Except the 5 a.m. 43:52 flights out of Grand Forks. 43:54 Ooh. 43:55 Or the one at 1 p.m. 43:57 And it's nothing against North Dakota. 43:58 I loved going there. 44:00 But my point is this, and even going to Duluth is a challenge. 44:04 But my point is this, to be able to go 20 minutes south of Yost, to go 50 minutes west of East Lansing, or wherever they send me, I don't have to spend 3 days to go do a hockey game anymore. 44:16 And that's cool. 44:19 Yeah, that part I love. 44:20 And I love doing these big schools. 44:25 It's fun. 44:26 It's cool. 44:27 It was fun doing all the other games I've done in the CCHA for 9 years, and then the NCHC for that run. 44:34 But it's cool. 44:35 I'm happy. 44:35 And I'm just, again, glad to be a part of this with you guys and still be involved in the great sport of college hockey. 44:42 Well, we appreciate you coming on again. 44:43 We'll definitely have you on again. 44:45 And stay tuned for a little bit over time. 44:48 We'll have a little bit more with Ben coming up at overtime. 44:51 But that's going to do it for this episode of The GPL Podcast. 44:55 We'll be back next week with Todd Molesky joining us to preview the Badgers series. 45:00 So those of you watching, like I said, a little bit over time. 45:03 And for the rest of you, we'll catch you next week on The GPL Podcast.