0:07 This is The GPL Podcast from go4pucklive.com. 0:22 If I can't take my stow-mobile to the game, I'm not going. 0:31 You're making mistakes, I love it. 0:41 And they dedicate their building at this time of year. 0:44 They've got the wild going tonight, and they want to have that continue. 0:48 But I said once, player Uchi, can you mute yourself? 0:55 Now, here's Jupiter and Vegoe. 1:03 Good evening and welcome to the GPL Podcast, episode number 228. 1:11 Well, let's bring in Mr. 1:13 Eric Vegoe. 1:14 How's it going, Veegs? 1:16 Going great. 1:17 Row of the boat. 1:18 Skye, go Gophers. 1:20 Thanks to Wagle Golf for this lovely polo that I'm pimping tonight. 1:24 So appreciate that. 1:26 Very nice. 1:27 Very nice. 1:28 As you can see, a couple more different audio if you're listening or video clips in the beginning from last week's show, where I almost choked on the whole glass of water. 1:38 That went really well, but this is what makes it fun. 1:43 So Veegs, we've got another returning guest this week. 1:47 That's right. 1:48 He was at the game on Sunday, along with a lot of his fellow alums. 1:52 Great turnout. 1:54 Not just 2002, 2003 either. 1:57 Yeah. 1:57 I mean, I saw Chorsky there. 1:59 I saw a bunch of others there that I haven't seen in a while. 2:01 Well, let's just bring him in. 2:03 Former Gopher goalie, Eric Schierhorn. 2:06 Eric, how's it going, man? 2:08 Nice to have you back on the show. 2:09 Good. 2:09 Thanks for having me back. 2:10 Third time here. 2:11 I'm honored. 2:13 That's more than your buddy, Ramsey, now. 2:15 He's been on only twice now, hasn't he? 2:17 So as long as I stay ahead of him, my ego can be maintained. 2:22 If he gets ahead of me in that, we're going to have a problem. 2:28 Well, Veegs, the weekend went exactly like you said it would. 2:33 Maybe it's not so much scoring, but I know the home team winning both nights. 2:40 Tell us your thoughts. 2:41 I know a lot of Husky fans think that the food poisoning thing was an excuse. 2:46 They tend to have this bias against Bob. 2:50 Anything that he says, they just say he's making excuses. 2:52 But I think it was pretty legitimate that some of the Gophers didn't have their full level of conditioning for the series. 3:01 And I was impressed with their ability to persevere and continue to play really hard through what was probably an adverse weekend for them. 3:10 I thought playing St. 3:12 Cloud, you know, they play so tight defensively for you to get scoring chances. 3:16 You have to be really, really engaged and to not give up chances against you have to be disciplined. 3:22 Well, I actually have a little clip from Mr. 3:26 Moscow from Sunday when he was talking about. 3:38 It all happened after a team meal and it happened like to all the guys at the same time. 3:46 So that's what made us look and then it was over and then they blew through it. 3:59 It was nasty and then so eight guys and we had two that are not here tonight. 4:03 So then that might be the good news if it was because you're hearing bad stories on the flu last. 4:11 It was this adversity. 4:14 You got to have it all. 4:15 You're going to be a good hockey team. 4:16 Just figure it out. 4:19 Vegs just blew through it. 4:21 How sick were these guys? 4:23 I think it's like one of those food poisoning things where you're sick and you can't keep anything down. 4:28 And when you've got to play hockey, you need to keep some fluids down. 4:31 You got to get some energy. 4:32 And so I think they were just not able to do that going into the weekend. 4:36 And I think it obviously impacted them. 4:38 You look at some of the shift lengths, especially like Matthew Nice, he was coming off the ice pretty quick, and that led to some confusion, I think, because Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud like to take long shifts. 4:50 So they got kind of jumbled up with their continuity, which became an issue here and there. 4:54 Rep Pillock took advantage of the extra ice time. 4:56 I thought he looked really good all weekend, but it was impressive to see them push through it. 5:02 Now, Eric, being on many hockey teams you have, that's the one thing that just has got to suck. 5:11 I mean, one person gets sick with the flu, or in this case, you're all eating the same meal. 5:17 A lot of them get sick. 5:20 There's just not much you can do about it because you guys are with each other all the time. 5:24 Yeah. 5:24 Yeah, you're with each other at the rink. 5:26 You're living with them. 5:27 We had something similar. 5:29 I want to say it was my sophomore year or junior year, but it just ran through our team like 10 to 12 guys all of a sudden dropping like flies right before. 5:39 I want to say we're playing Michigan. 5:40 I can't remember when, but yeah, I've been to that movie and it's not fun. 5:45 I was talking to a couple of the guys down below and they said like eight to 10 guys were battling it. 5:52 So it wasn't three or four guys were fighting, so that's not nothing. 5:58 It's not really an excuse, but it's also not nothing. 6:02 You got to note it, but I still thought they played well, so credit to them. 6:09 So three nothing shut out up in St. 6:11 Cloud, Saturday night, Veegs. 6:14 Basically a one nothing game. 6:15 A one nothing game. 6:17 I know Bob said it was an exciting, fun defensive game. 6:21 I was bored the entire game and it just seems like that boredom went through at least the first period of Sunday's game as well. 6:29 But on Saturday, tell me what I should have been excited about. 6:35 Well, again, it was one of those games where both teams were pretty cautious. 6:40 And I do think that the food poisoning thing is a little bit of an excuse. 6:43 But the thing that I thought was missing from Minnesota's game was they weren't on time to forecheck the puck. 6:49 They were always kind of a step, step and a half behind where they were just kind of easing up. 6:54 They weren't going hard in the corners to battle for those pucks when they dumped them in. 6:59 I thought Minnesota all weekend did a really, really nice job of not feeding the St. 7:04 Cloud offense. 7:06 I think we've seen in some of the Gopher teams from the past in a game like this, they force offense, they force chances, they lose pucks at the blue lines and they put themselves behind. 7:15 I think the most important thing for fans to take away is Minnesota didn't do that. 7:20 They were pretty disciplined with the puck. 7:22 And at times I thought they had possession in the offensive zone and they did a good job of having that possession high enough in the zone where St. 7:31 Cloud wasn't gonna chase. 7:32 And I thought that allowed them to control the game a little bit better and never really let the Huskies get long periods of possession. 7:41 And Eric, on the flip side, I bet you just love those defensive games. 7:47 Yeah, if I'm playing, well, I was the same as you, Drew, if I fell asleep on Saturday, I mean, I was at the game Sunday, so it was a little better. 7:56 But Sunday was pretty boring, too. 7:57 But I think it's good, though. 8:01 We know that they can win run and gun games when they score five. 8:05 But learning how to win 2-1, that's what you're going to have to do against, if you look at last year, like a Mankato, you got to learn how to win those games come March. 8:17 So I thought it was a good showing by them. 8:19 I thought they actually could have got their crown game going a little better, which I guess you could also credit to St. 8:26 Cloud. 8:26 It's not just about the Gophers not being able to get it going. 8:29 St. 8:30 Cloud did a good job stifling them. 8:33 But yeah, it was a boring neutral zone, nothing doing series really, not just Saturday, it was a whole series. 8:41 Well, I did have Pat McCullough go walking past me at the end of the first period and he says, that was the most boring effing period ever. 8:49 Of course, he played in the 80s where it was like six, five, eight to two. 8:55 I mean, he's used to offense, so obviously Pat's a little different beings, but yes, winning defensive games is great. 9:05 But I still would. 9:07 It's tough though, because Brett Larson comes from that Scott Sandlin coaching tree, and when they play a team that's probably more talented than them, this is the way they can win, is to play a tight game and wait for them to make mistakes. 9:20 I think that the takeaway is Minnesota didn't make many mistakes. 9:24 Obviously, the penalty expired, the player jumps out of the box, there's a three on one the other way. 9:30 That's a critical mistake. 9:31 You make one more mistake in that game and you probably lose it. 9:35 So the fact that they limited to that just one is a nice sign. 9:39 I thought the penalty kill looked better. 9:41 Ryan Johnson is improving as a player and figuring out how to take away passing lanes and how to win pucks when he sees those loose ones. 9:49 I thought he had a nice weekend. 9:50 And I think we saw Jackson Lacombe and Brock Faber pushing into the play more, which is when you play teams like this, you need those talented defensemen that outnumber the other team down low by joining the play and joining the ground game. 10:04 That's one way to get up there. 10:06 And I think the lower ice time for those guys is paying off and allowing them to have those chances. 10:12 OK, I'm seeing Mr. 10:13 Johnson here in the chat talking about the commercial breaks on the NCHC games. 10:18 We're kind of spoiled here with VEGS with these, you know, one one-minute breaks during the middle of a period. 10:25 You know, those games, we were getting three breaks during the period, longer intermissions. 10:32 I didn't like it either, but really, it's going to be the same come NCAA tournament time. 10:38 It's going to be longer than NCAA tournament. 10:41 It's good. 10:41 It's going to be more minutes for Faber and Lacombe and Nyes, Cooley and Snuggerud and Minnesota's building their depth over the season without it. 10:49 So I think it can only help a team like Minnesota come tournament time. 10:53 Or the Big Ten even. 10:54 Or the Big Ten because they'll be used to it. 10:56 So I, you know, it's annoying to watch. 10:59 I love the two-hour hockey game. 11:01 The best, the less change that they've made, you know, you talk about getting more people in the building and more eyes on the college hockey game. 11:11 I mean, that's it right there. 11:14 I mean, it's not everything, but that is a phenomenal way. 11:18 I mean, it's great. 11:18 You sit down at five, you're done at seven. 11:21 You weren't watching commercials half the time or an intermission half the time. 11:24 They just go, go, go. 11:26 It's phenomenal. 11:27 Oh, yeah. 11:29 I love it. 11:30 After a couple of games, you got used to it. 11:32 You're like, I love this. 11:33 Yeah. 11:34 And then, you know, it was four or five minutes into the period in the third period on Saturday Beegs. 11:41 And I'm like, this game should be over. 11:44 Yeah. 11:47 So we're spoiled here in the Big Ten with certain rules. 11:51 I love it if other leagues would do that. 11:52 But, you know, when it comes to NCAA tournament, NCAA is going to say, ESPN, do what you want. 11:58 You're going to get three breaks, probably two to two, two to two and a half minutes. 12:04 I mean, Eric, you've sat there in those games. 12:06 It's like you get some long breaks there just in the middle of a period. 12:11 Yeah. 12:14 The three commercial breaks is long. 12:16 So it depends on the game. 12:17 Sometimes you love it because sometimes you're gassed and you're like, OK, let me just catch my breath, but other games, it just makes it choppy and have no flow. 12:30 So I guess as a player, I would be split on that. 12:32 But as a fan, I love, couldn't love the one break more. 12:38 And I don't think I'm in the minority there. 12:41 You're not. 12:42 I mean, like you said, we get spoiled. 12:44 And just even from 12 to 15 minutes on the period breaks, I'm like, let's go. 12:52 I'm ready. 12:52 I've gone to the bathroom. 12:53 I've got my snacks. 12:54 Let's go. 12:55 I think the only thing I don't like about the short intermission is it's tough to take your lap around the concourse when you're a fan, which is one of the best things ever about hockey is going around on a lap and seeing who you run into, even if it's just like a 30, 45 second, hey, how you doing kind of thing. 13:13 Like I saw our old goalie, Dougie Sullivan. 13:16 He wrapped one of my squirt games the other night and it was fun to see him. 13:19 I don't think he noticed me on the bench until after the game, but he's very focused, but it's fun to run into people in the hockey world. 13:27 But it was Sunday was the perfect day to do that reunion thing, Veegs, because other teams aren't playing, you know, like Grant Batoni wouldn't have been there if it was a Saturday. 13:40 His series was over. 13:41 He, from what I understand, he drove down from the UP just for that celebration on Sunday. 13:48 He probably twinned it with a recruiting aspect as well. 13:52 He didn't. 13:53 Well, he might have a recruiting aspect. 13:55 He drove down because... 13:57 Down in Fairbough, that might be a slap on the wrist on the home front, maybe. 14:04 But apparently there's no direct flights anymore. 14:06 He would have had to go to Detroit and then come to here. 14:09 So he's like, I'm just going to drive it. 14:11 That's what he did. 14:12 That's good. 14:13 And, you know, there was only a few players missing on Sunday from those teams. 14:18 You know, Vanek wasn't there, but I believe he was coaching at the time. 14:24 I heard Riddle wasn't there, a little family thing going on. 14:27 I think his father may have just passed away or is very ill. 14:32 But otherwise, we haven't seen that kind of turnout, Veegs, especially. 14:37 They did the same thing last year. 14:39 There's only like 10, 15 guys there. 14:42 Yeah. 14:42 And then they had a nice little family skate after the game, which I thought was really cool to see all the little kids out there on the ice skating around. 14:49 You know, you got some of the kids, they've got their their family names on the back of the jersey. 14:54 That's just fun to see as we're starting to see, you know, kids of former players commit to Minnesota and play for Minnesota that I remember playing back in the day. 15:03 That's just kind of fun to see that next generation have that opportunity. 15:07 And, Eric, you had quite the crew of your teammates there. 15:11 How did that all come together? 15:12 Yeah, I don't know, to be honest with you, we just all kind of I hadn't been to a game. 15:18 I hadn't been to a game this year yet, honestly. 15:20 And so we're all hanging out a week ago or so and talking about obviously this one circled because it's such a good game, you know, three versus four or whatever it was. 15:30 So we're all just kind of like, let's get tickets and go. 15:33 I think there was seven or eight of us. 15:35 So it's great. 15:36 It's good for me, you know, I'm three years removed from hockey in general now. 15:42 And so it feels like each year we start picking up more people that are done with hockey. 15:47 So it's like, you know, on the dog days of winter, it's like, okay, we got more stuff to do because we got more guys now. 15:52 So it's nice to have a little crew. 15:54 Whereas right when I was done, I was like kind of lone ranging it basically, because everyone was still playing. 16:01 So it's nice to have more guys around that are my age. 16:04 Well, I got to tell you, it's fun to see a lot of, you know, your team and other team and older players. 16:12 Like I said, we got, we saw Tom Chorsky there. 16:15 He was just there just to be there. 16:18 And then he hasn't played since what, the early 90s or late 80s. 16:21 So he's been gone a while and he's no longer on TV. 16:24 But you know, he came down this weekend and it's just fun, Veegs, to see the old players, because you know what, for a time there, we weren't seeing a lot of players. 16:34 Yeah, there was a generation that kind of turned away from Gopher Hockey for a little bit and a little different opinion in the direction of the program. 16:41 But I also think guys like Torsky, you know, his kids were still playing high school hockey up until last year. 16:46 Now I think they're all in college, so it's kind of a lighter hockey schedule for him probably allows him to go back, you know, and that's why Vanik's not there is, you know, he's got his kids getting into their, you know, crap hockey. 16:58 But he was there earlier this season. 16:59 So, yes, so he's made it when he can. 17:01 But you just see that with the different ages of people. 17:04 But I think Bob has definitely got some strong support from the alums now. 17:09 You know, Bob's a very man of the people kind of guy. 17:12 And I'm sure everybody felt pretty welcome. 17:14 You know, I saw a bunch of players heading down to the locker room after the game to enjoy in the victory. 17:19 So probably good, good vibes down there, right, Eric? 17:23 Yeah, for sure. 17:23 And I think part of it, too, they've done a great job with the alumni events, like the golf tournaments that have happened the last couple of years. 17:32 And I think they had like a wine tasting or something. 17:35 I couldn't go to that one, but they've done a really good job putting on events and bringing people together and keeping them connected to the program. 17:42 Of course, I don't know any different really, because this is, you know, I'm fresh out. 17:47 I don't think there was much of that stuff before, but Bob and Gordo and Paul Martin and the whole staff have done a really good job of kind of getting people together in summer and events like they did for 0203 Sunday night. 18:04 So, I mean, I think they're seeing the benefits of it and people are feeling welcomed and want to go. 18:11 And honestly, I mean, why wouldn't you want to go when the team looks like this too? 18:15 Like, that's the other aspect that you can't discount. 18:18 It's like, that team is fun to watch. 18:20 The only other thing I wish, I wish school would have been in session because that student section has been crazy. 18:25 Yeah. 18:26 Except for when they're not in session. 18:28 I mean, it was pretty weak. 18:30 Even the band was a little thin on Sunday Vegas. 18:33 But we've been talking about the student section for about the past year and a half, two years. 18:39 How much better they've gotten. 18:42 It would have been amazing there. 18:44 But I think we're going to, excuse me, see that in a couple of weeks when Michigan comes to town. 18:50 Yeah, I think the student turnout was the only kind of disappointing thing for me from the weekend. 18:55 I was hopeful that they had turned out, because I talked about last week, how the fans had shown up for football games when typically, you know, they're on break or away for holidays like Thanksgiving or whatever. 19:07 And they showed up still for those games. 19:09 I was expecting that they would show up for the St. 19:11 Cloud game. 19:13 And they oversold the section, but it was it was a little thin for me. 19:20 Some some news today, V, so we got we got a kid who committed. 19:24 We've got some new NCAA rules that just came through. 19:27 They're going to start, you know, effective July 1st. 19:29 Let's talk about that. 19:30 You know, it looks like the NCAA approved one more paid position for NCAA hockey. 19:36 They tried to do two, but they they got one. 19:39 That's effective July 1st, and then they also tweaked the transfer rules. 19:44 You can get one kind of free one, but the second one looks like you need some type of waiver or something like that to to transfer a second time. 19:51 What are your thoughts on what the NCAA did or released this afternoon? 19:55 I haven't looked too closely into the waiver situation, but I know that that extra paid position has been talked about for a long time. 20:03 And I know a lot of the coaches were looking for it. 20:06 I think the schools can use it for a goalie coach, which is typically a volunteer position. 20:11 They could use it for a recruiting coordinator or someone who is a paid position to go out and recruit because a lot of USHL games are at the same time as college games. 20:22 So with that travel, it's very difficult to get out and get your brand out there and stay in touch with contacts and stay in touch with commits who might be flipping and things like that. 20:32 So those are kind of the two big areas where I think they might add the position. 20:37 I know that goalie coaches around college hockey are probably grinning at this because it's such a tough thing to be there every day as much as you can for practice with college goalies and not get paid. 20:50 You know, I think it helps their brand and helps them coach their clinics and things like that and run their goalie schools and camps and get their equipment and stuff. 20:58 But still, you know, that's a lot of time put in right now that was volunteer. 21:03 Corey's thinking they should lock up Paul Martin with it. 21:05 I don't, I'm thinking goalie coach is more important. 21:08 Maybe, Eric, are you just in coaching? 21:11 Maybe now, right? 21:14 Maybe now you get paid for it. 21:15 My qualifications line up with Paul Martin, so I'll let Paul take the full spot instead of me. 21:23 But no, I agree. 21:24 I think it'd be nice to see it used on goalie coaches. 21:26 Obviously, I'm a little biased, but when I was in school, our goalie guys made it two, sometimes three times a week, and they'd go on trips occasionally. 21:37 But they were volunteers, right? 21:39 So, yeah, it's good for their brand and all. 21:41 But I mean, at a certain point, it becomes not worth it, too, with all the other stuff that they have to do. 21:49 And also, too, it's great because we're in Minneapolis, we're surrounded by goalie coaches. 21:55 But what about, you know, the Mankato's of the world where their volunteer goalie coach might have to be driving from the cities and stuff like that. 22:03 So I think it helps, if anything, well, if they use it on goalie coaches, it helps schools like that who don't have access to the coaching that maybe we do or University of Michigan does, just being in a hockey-centered city. 22:18 So I think that's a really good aspect of it. 22:23 Now, whether teams use it or not on a goalie coach is to be determined. 22:25 We'll see how many go that route. 22:28 I would think it's worth it. 22:30 Why wouldn't you? 22:30 But I'm sure a lot of them will want to add another assistant. 22:34 Because, I mean, it's tough, right? 22:36 Like, you have three paid coaches, and one of them's got to be on the road damn near all the time recruiting, too. 22:43 So it's like you really only have two. 22:45 So I could see the angle of wanting another assistant to mainly be recruiting so you could have your three main guys there the whole time. 22:54 So that'll be interesting to see how different schools handle that. 22:58 And we've seen a lot of that, Biggs, with said former pro, you know. 23:03 A lot of times we'll see them on the bench on the weekends, and one of the other coaches are not there. 23:09 Yeah, I don't want to diminish what Paul contributes to the program, but I mean, he did have a long NHL career where you get paid lots of money to play hockey. 23:19 And he is, you know, pursuing some degrees still, and he's still a student. 23:24 I don't know how long that's going to last. 23:25 It's kind of a luxury, I think, for Minnesota to have a guy like that around. 23:30 But I don't know if it's as important as having that recruiting coach or that goalie coach. 23:37 You know, we'll see what's going to happen. 23:39 I know a lot of coaches wish they didn't have to choose between the two, but that's where they're at. 23:46 And some won't do anything, will they, Veegs? 23:48 I mean, it costs money and hockey is an expensive sport. 23:52 And, you know, some of the smaller schools are going to say, will they invest in something like that? 23:58 Well, it might be something, you know, almost like a stipend type situation. 24:02 They are going to get compensated a little bit. 24:04 That's the luxury of being in the Big Ten, though. 24:06 You know, you look at the top 10 schools for expenses in college hockey. 24:10 All the Big Ten schools are pretty much in there. 24:13 So that's the benefit of being, you know, a big P5 institution. 24:19 I bet you like that, Eric. 24:20 You guys were flying to pretty much every location. 24:23 It was great. 24:24 We're spoiled. 24:25 When you leave, it's not so fun going back to the park. 24:28 I can tell you that for free. 24:33 But yeah, we're lucky. 24:36 And you look at too, like Vig said, and you would know better than me, Veegs, but like, I don't know, maybe five NCAA D1 hockey teams run a profit too. 24:48 So like, you know, not many teams are probably super willing to fork out a regular salary for a fourth coach. 24:56 So you're right. 24:57 I would imagine there's a large chunk of teams out there that won't actually do anything with it or do something small, like a part-time salary type thing. 25:08 Yeah, I think that's what we're more likely to see with those other schools. 25:11 They'll be able to pay something, but it won't be like a full-time gig like some of these bigger schools in the Big Ten and NCHC and Hockey East. 25:21 All right. 25:21 In the other news today, actually the latest afternoon, Jackson Nevers did a little verbal commitment today, Veegs. 25:29 Yeah. 25:29 I noticed he was on campus today for an extended amount of time. 25:33 He was there before practice. 25:34 He was there during practice. 25:36 He's just sticking around. 25:38 Yeah. 25:38 Well, Mason wasn't at practice today. 25:41 So Mason Nevers was not out there. 25:43 So, but the rest of the Nevers clan was. 25:45 Meaning Mason hasn't blown through the illness, maybe. 25:49 Maybe. 25:49 We'll see what happens with him. 25:52 But I think it's a happy moment for the family. 25:55 Jackson's had a really nice year for Dinah High School. 25:58 You know, they're a top 10 team. 26:01 Kind of a surprise, I think, in high school hockey. 26:04 They weren't really seen as a top 10 team at the start of the year, I think. 26:07 And I think they've gotten their act together and they've had some good results. 26:12 And Jackson Nevers is a big part of that. 26:15 And, you know, I think some players are told, you know, make sure to explore all your options. 26:20 Just because dad went there and your brother's going there. 26:23 Maybe it's not the right fit for you. 26:25 You know, keep your options open. 26:27 But he obviously made his mind up today and he's a Gopher. 26:31 Nothing wrong with that. 26:32 I mean, but it's got to be tough, though, to not follow suit. 26:37 I mean, we knew about dad in high school. 26:40 His dad was very good. 26:41 Ended up playing baseball and all that whole other thing because he's a multi-sport athlete. 26:46 At least some of us old people remember. 26:50 I had the Tom Nevers Astros baseball card. 26:53 Well, there you go. 26:55 So some of us old people do remember Tommy Nevers because he's pretty much my age or close to it. 27:02 And it would be tough for him to go to another school. 27:06 It would be. 27:07 But, you know, sometimes you want to get out of the shadow and make your own mark. 27:10 But he's a talented forward. 27:13 I think he was one of the top uncommitted kids for his age that was out there. 27:18 So I know a lot of people on GPL and that follow the Gophers were happy to see him finally make up his mind. 27:25 OK, well, that sounds good to me. 27:28 Oh, that. 27:30 So, Eric, you were telling me before we started the show that you had a little little pickleball you were playing earlier tonight. 27:38 You're playing with some former players. 27:40 What's going on there? 27:42 Yep. 27:42 Chipotle Cup Series. 27:43 It's me and Sam Rossini versus Tyler Nani and Jack Sadick. 27:48 And the currency is Chipotle. 27:50 Winner gets Chipotle. 27:51 So Sam and I took the cake tonight, which was our first in like four, which I hate to bring up. 27:59 But yeah, getting some pickleball in at lifetime before. 28:02 It's great. 28:04 I've got to start playing. 28:05 Taking over. 28:06 I've played it once and I enjoyed it. 28:09 Yes, right. 28:11 It's us. 28:12 It's us and all the 60 year olds there, but it's fine. 28:15 We're having a great time. 28:19 It's the biggest growing sport. 28:20 Yeah. 28:21 I mean, our favorite North Dakota writer, Mr. 28:26 Schlossman, he loves the pickleball, doesn't he Beegs? 28:30 He is big on the pickleball. 28:31 Even when he travels, he's looking for a place to play. 28:34 So I think we need some more Minnesota people to step up their game and just tell them where it's at. 28:40 So keep practicing. 28:42 I hear Brad's pretty good. 28:43 Well, I'm sure he is because he's young and been playing for a while and whatnot. 28:51 All right, guys. 28:52 Split last weekend. 28:54 Now we head to Notre Dame and Beegs. 28:57 This Notre Dame team has definitely been a juggle and hide team this year. 29:01 Played bad one night, played good the next night. 29:04 But overall, it sounds like that team's kind of been a disappointment for you. 29:09 Yeah, I thought they might be competing with Minnesota for the league this year. 29:14 You looked at their roster coming back. 29:17 They have an older team and Jeff Jackson's teams, when they're older, are typically very difficult to beat. 29:24 They're very stingy. 29:26 They're very good on face-offs. 29:27 They're very good on special teams. 29:29 They're very good on face-off plays. 29:31 They're tough to compete with. 29:34 This year, just too many splits for them. 29:37 I don't know what's going on. 29:38 I haven't watched them very closely. 29:40 When you're splitting with Wisconsin, Alaska, that's not great. 29:47 They did play a tough schedule. 29:49 They get credit for that and the strength of schedule and the pairwise. 29:52 They're not out of it. 29:54 But I think it's definitely disappointing from what I thought coming into the year. 29:58 Yeah, I was hoping they would be a little stronger, too, because the Gophers did take care of them fairly easily a couple of months ago when they came into town. 30:12 They just haven't been able to ride the ship. 30:14 Maybe Michigan is kind of in a similar situation, Veegs. 30:17 They're kind of far behind in the standings. 30:21 It might be tough for them to catch up. 30:24 I guess we'll just have to wait and see. 30:26 Eric, what is a memory of yours going to Notre Dame? 30:34 You're putting me on the spot. 30:35 I know, that's what I do. 30:38 You're messing up. 30:39 I had a bunch of stats from my homework. 30:41 I'm a stack guy. 30:41 I don't know if you knew that. 30:43 We'll hear those, too, but I want to hear your personal story of success or failure. 30:51 I was going to piggyback. 30:52 Well, honestly, the first memory that comes to mind is they ended our season, my senior year on that tough, tough hooking call for Sheehy, and then they scored in overtime on the power. 31:05 Yes, that was brutal. 31:07 It was a stick lift, textbook stick lift. 31:09 Called it a hook. 31:10 It was under the stick, too. 31:12 Not on the hands. 31:14 Terrible. 31:14 Thanks for bringing that up. 31:15 But I was going to piggyback on VEGS, and just they're pretty unimpressive, honestly. 31:22 I was surprised to see where they were in the Paralyze relative to kind of how they've gone about their schedule. 31:31 They're 35th and goals against and 45th and goals for or something like that. 31:35 Maybe those are interchanged, so they don't really do anything well. 31:39 It seems like every weekend for the last three months has been good one night, bad the other. 31:48 And so I don't know. 31:49 They're not scary at all, really. 31:51 They'll try to get one or two and lock it down, and I don't really see them being able to do that against the Gophers. 32:01 By the way, Tyler Sheehy had a great sense of humor about that penalty because for a couple years after that, some weird penalty would happen, and I would blame Sheehy just for fun on Twitter. 32:15 And every time he liked it because he kind of got the joke that it was a total BS call. 32:20 He had a sense of humor on the ice after that. 32:25 Something anyone did. 32:26 Bob almost slipped on the ice going after the refs. 32:30 That was funny. 32:32 It wasn't funny at the time, actually. 32:34 It wasn't funny, obviously. 32:36 It ended the season. 32:39 It's not going to happen this weekend, Veegs. 32:43 I really think that Minnesota can solidify the Big Ten by going in and getting six points this weekend. 32:50 Yeah, I heard Bob talking today and his focus on win every series the rest of the way and we control our destiny. 32:59 Yes. 33:00 That's key on their mind is let's win the series that starts with one game. 33:04 I think that's how the team has to look at it because when you're playing a team that's up and down, if you take care of them the first night, the second night, maybe they'll find their legs and find their brains and give you a hockey game. 33:17 Or maybe they show up the first night and give you a hockey game and disappear the next. 33:21 You've got to come into a weekend like this and take it seriously and don't get away from your game. 33:26 Despite how bad Notre Dame has looked, we've seen them play good hockey. 33:31 And I've never seen Jeff Jackson more disappointed than after the series with Minnesota earlier in the year. 33:37 So you can bet he's got this one circle on his calendar and he is scheming for this weekend. 33:42 So I don't think they can take their foot off the gas and they just have to play a smart, deliberate game and be on time on the four check this weekend. 33:51 I thought that's what was missing in the St. 33:53 Cloud game from them maybe being able to break something open. 33:57 That's how Minnesota got so much pressure on Michigan was being on time with the four check and putting their defensemen under pressure. 34:03 I don't think they did that last weekend and they have a big opportunity to do that at Notre Dame. 34:08 Did the junior players get some rest this week? 34:12 Yeah, they were locked out of the equipment Monday and Tuesday. 34:16 So today I think was their their first day on the ice. 34:20 You know, the players were around, but they weren't allowed to skate or practice. 34:26 So and now, you know, they're dealing with some sort of flu bug that might not be food poisoning with the team now, too. 34:32 So they're kind of taking it taking it easy over there. 34:35 It's the time of year. 34:37 You know, once it hits one player, you give it from another player and another team. 34:41 I mean, it's you just got to play through it right here. 34:45 You just got to do your best. 34:47 They have the depth, I guess. 34:49 That's a good thing. 34:50 And you get guys who maybe haven't gotten a lot of reps, get some more reps and some more minutes, which I guess. 34:57 I mean, you can't you can't just go into Notre Dame thinking you're going to it's going to be a cakewalk. 35:03 But like it could be a situation where it's advantageous to actually to be up in the third and get the third and fourth line guys some some more minutes and some more experience on the road against a Big Ten opponent. 35:16 So they got to get there first, but it could end up being a positive, I guess. 35:20 Would they bring all three goalies, Beegs? 35:25 What's the rule on that? 35:26 Because technically one goalie is sick. 35:30 You need a backup. 35:31 Yeah, I think they need 25 players on the traveling roster for Big Ten. 35:38 So they might have to sacrifice a couple guys to get that. 35:43 Well, we would always travel with three goalies anyways for that reason. 35:47 Because I mean, one goes down, you're screwed. 35:51 So three is the baseline, I think. 35:54 Unless that's changed since I've left, I would imagine they... 35:58 I think it's more about just dressing goalies, isn't it, Beegs? 36:01 I see what you're saying. 36:03 But there is a travel limit for the Big Ten that's not there for the non-conference games. 36:08 So some guys are going to have to stay home. 36:10 So if it's Fish and Schmidt or something like that, we'll see what happens exactly. 36:15 But they can't travel with everybody available just in case. 36:19 When you get sick like this, you have to have guys make decisions. 36:23 Are they good enough to go? 36:24 And I think that's why some guys have been held on the practice. 36:28 Yeah, I think that's why some guys have been held out of practice just to hopefully blow through whatever they have right now. 36:34 Because that's what I do here is that whatever guys are getting, they're getting over it quick, it's just not very fun when they're sick. 36:42 That's just how it is this time of year. 36:46 Hits every team almost every year. 36:48 Some kind of flu, some kind of bug, you know, it goes through. 36:51 A couple years ago it was obviously COVID, which is a little bit different, especially with how everything was going at that time. 36:58 So I worry a bit about Logan Cooley's legs. 37:03 You know, he admitted it on Sunday night that he was, you know, feeling the jelly in his legs when he was trying to get going during the overtime. 37:11 But obviously he was able to fight through it. 37:14 Stugroot I'm not as worried with because his shot is what makes him so dangerous. 37:19 And I was at practice today, confirmed his shot is still effective. 37:24 He's still ripping it from all over. 37:27 So I think they're just fine there. 37:29 And I think Nyes is back to full strength. 37:32 He looked good today. 37:33 And you know, you and I are watching the game on Saturday. 37:37 We were noticing Nyes was going off earlier. 37:39 I mean, actually, Nyes was probably going off when you wanted him to, didn't he, Veegs? 37:46 Yeah. 37:47 I mean, they should be taking that 50 second shift. 37:50 What you'd see is the Gophers would get out of their zone. 37:53 They get that scoring chance. 37:55 They come back to the D zone. 37:56 They would gain the puck and he'd be off right away. 37:59 And, you know, Cooley and Snuggert are still out there chasing that one more rush on their shift when probably a coach's brain is saying, hey, it's time. 38:09 What do you think their average shift like this? 38:12 Do we got stats on that? 38:13 Oh, that would be good. 38:15 They have some long shifts. 38:17 I mean, you can kind of do it when you put up that many points, but they have some long shifts. 38:21 But Veegs, you've caught them. 38:23 They've been caught many times giving up a goal. 38:27 Yep, they've been caught out there for about a minute 40 a couple times and give up a goal. 38:31 I would bet their shift link averages about 115. 38:35 I know Instat does track that. 38:38 Brad Schlossman has shared some of that data with me at certain points of the year because he's a subscriber. 38:44 Somehow the Graphworks Herald gives him that privilege to get that access. 38:49 So he has it and he shared it with me. 38:51 It's long. 38:52 It's significant. 38:53 It's interesting to look at that stat. 38:55 How much ice time Cooley and Sager get? 38:57 Nides is a little bit lower. 38:59 And you also see that Faber and Lacombe are back down in that 20 minute range. 39:05 Whereas I think last year they were up in that 25, 26. 39:09 So that's interesting to see. 39:12 Don't you goalies ever get tired out there? 39:15 I mean, seriously, I mean, I guess if there's a lot of flurries and a lot of pressure on you, you do. 39:20 But you guys, it's not like you're getting line changes. 39:23 You're stuck out there. 39:25 Yeah, you can get hemmed in pretty good there. 39:27 Your legs start getting on fire. 39:31 You're in a two minute shift or in zone or a five on three type thing. 39:35 But I mean, you also get rest too, right? 39:38 When it goes down to the other end. 39:39 So it's not too bad. 39:42 Got to be in shape. 39:44 It's hot. 39:44 It's hot in all the gear. 39:45 And I'm a sweater too. 39:46 I just leak in my gear. 39:48 So I lose so much water and whatnot that that was the biggest thing for me. 39:53 It's just always being overheated. 39:56 It depends on the arena too. 40:00 I get that when they had the lockout all those years ago, the wild allowed people to come in and do free skates. 40:07 So a bunch of us... 40:08 DVeegs, did you skate that one? 40:10 Yeah, I played a couple there. 40:12 The arena was just... 40:14 Even with nobody in it with gear on, I was boiling up in there. 40:20 You can see why Jake Middleton runs hot and has got to go with tarps off. 40:26 But you're right. 40:26 I mean, you've got all that gear on and obviously it's gotten lighter. 40:30 It's gotten better over the decades. 40:32 I can't imagine some of those old gullies with the leather pads all those years ago. 40:37 But you're right. 40:39 It's not exactly cool down there. 40:43 No, it's not. 40:44 The NHL rinks are worse too. 40:46 I guess the only experience is the Joe and the X. 40:50 But they're noticeably worse too. 40:52 And Mariachi is not great either just because the bigger the rink, I feel like the worse it is or the newer even. 41:01 But yeah, it's not great, not fun. 41:05 Ohio State is bad too because it's dual purpose, right? 41:08 They got the basketball in there too, so it's not straight hockey focus. 41:12 So that one is actually maybe the worst in the Big Ten. 41:15 Denver, Wisconsin, Wisconsin is bad too. 41:18 Because it's not like you're moving either. 41:20 You're pretty stationary. 41:21 At least when you're moving, you kind of got a little breeze. 41:24 What do you mean stationary? 41:26 Well, you don't have a big breeze going up and down the ice. 41:29 At least that kind of helps a little bit. 41:31 That's true. 41:31 If you get a breeze, you're not in the right spot. 41:34 Throw some water down the back. 41:36 That's the key. 41:39 So speaking of rinks, what do you think about the controversy of the NHL right now with all the goalies lifting the nets off and knocking nets off? 41:47 Because you brought up Ohio State. 41:49 They've got some serial offenders over there for knocking the pegs off. 41:54 I think there is some shenanigans happening in the goalie community. 41:57 Are you going to speak on that? 41:59 In the goalie community? 42:00 You know, I've got to ride with Goalie Nation. 42:03 But I would say from my experience, me personally, I would never, like the game is moving so fast and you're, that's the last thing I was focused on. 42:17 And so if it comes off, it's genuinely a mistake. 42:21 I think it happens to some guys more than others because they just naturally go into the post harder or they use the post as an anchor more than some. 42:30 So for the most part, I really do think just based on how a goalie plays, they're going to knock it off more than others. 42:39 And if it's in the heat of a play, yeah, they might give it a little extra kick if they've been hemmed in the zone. 42:45 But like, it really is the last thing you're thinking about. 42:49 Like you're focused on making a save. 42:51 But I mean, I don't doubt it. 42:54 Marriottchi's pegs are brutal. 42:55 Yes, we know, Dan. 42:56 Yeah. 42:57 Yeah, that's the other thing is some rings don't have their peg situation figured out. 43:01 Well, Marriottchi went downhill when Don moved the red line back to the NHL distance because it was international distance. 43:11 And there was even more space behind the goal, which he didn't want. 43:16 So those pegs are not the original pegs. 43:21 There was kind of jerry-rigged in there to not hit a pipe underneath because that's not what they originally were. 43:28 Gotcha. 43:29 I didn't even know that. 43:30 Yeah, blame it on Don. 43:36 Yeah, because the international rule is, is it 15 feet out from the back, Veegs? 43:42 It's something close to that. 43:44 I can't remember exactly, but it is deeper. 43:46 It is deeper, yes. 43:48 And you get in that corner when the net is lower. 43:51 When they pulled it back, that's why they had to, obviously, they had to shift the goals a little, just a tad bit, because they didn't want to... 43:58 Craig Flores is telling me that the guy who was, you know, drilling the holes when they did that was really nervous because he didn't want to hit anything. 44:07 And he was even saying this past week, and when they redo Mariucci, they might plan for, hey, let's put some holes a little further. 44:16 Let's put some holes a little bit back, in case someone in the future wants to move them, because they'll already be there. 44:23 Yeah, the big thing with international is where the radius of the corner ends, where the boards get straight again, and it's no longer curving. 44:30 That's where the goal line was. 44:32 So next time you're at Mariucci, imagine the goal line being at that spot on the ice. 44:38 Yes. 44:38 The boards are straight again and not curving anymore, because I remember playing in an NHL rink, like Excel, and seeing how tight the corners were. 44:48 After playing most of the rinks I'd played in, they weren't as tight of a radius, and it was just like, wow, you really get into the play really quick coming out of this corner. 44:57 And that's what the NHL wants. 44:58 They want that play coming faster to the net from those positions. 45:01 And there aren't many rinks that were like Mariucci. 45:03 I mean, yes, St. 45:04 Cloud was Olympic size, but their corners are not Olympic size. 45:09 Their corners are... 45:10 More like Wisconsin too, right? 45:13 Wisconsin's hybrid, right? 45:15 Yes. 45:16 It's very slightly hybrid. 45:19 Yeah. 45:20 It's like 98 feet or something like that. 45:23 But yeah, everything went wrong with Mariucci when he changed the red line. 45:26 Yeah, apparently. 45:27 I didn't even know that was a thing. 45:30 But I know that the NHL is tagging all their game clips when the net comes off, because they're investigating goalies. 45:37 So they're under double secret probation. 45:40 What was the video we saw this week of him just working the goal? 45:43 I didn't see that one. 45:44 That one was... 45:45 That one... 45:45 I mean, I can't imagine that he just knocked the net off that blatantly. 45:50 My guess would be that he thought... 45:52 Well, he was trying to loosen it so it would come off easier, I think. 45:55 Yeah, maybe. 45:57 I thought when I saw that video, I was like, well, this guy's nuts and he's just knocking off the net like this. 46:02 Or he thought it was loose before and that it would come off. 46:05 And he was just like, here, I'll save us all the time. 46:09 Because that can mess the goalie up too. 46:11 Because if you're sliding into your post and the net's not on correctly, again, you can't really anchor as you should or as you'd like. 46:20 But now I'm just making excuses for Matt Murray. 46:23 And Tommy Napier. 46:25 Yeah, Tommy Napier too. 46:27 Was that Napier for Ohio State? 46:29 Yeah, he used to knock the net off all the time on the penalty kill. 46:36 And so it's a little bit of style, a little bit of gamesmanship. 46:39 You know, you just got to play it to the edge. 46:42 I don't think he ever got called for it though. 46:44 He got warned. 46:45 I don't think I've ever seen someone called for it. 46:48 Because like, how can you like if you're going to call that penalty, especially in a close game, like you better be damn sure that that guy is not going to net off. 46:56 And I don't know how you could you could say that because every move, unless the goalie is an idiot, every move into the net that knocks off the pegs is a natural goalie move. 47:08 Right. 47:08 So it's like, how are you going to call the guy on it unless he shoves it off like Matt Murray did the other night. 47:14 And I've heard officials when they raff at Mary G. 47:17 They know that the pegs are brutal. 47:19 And so they give a little bit more leeway. 47:21 And I think some goalies know that coming in and maybe take advantage of it. 47:27 Oh, Napier. 47:28 We had fun with Napier. 47:32 At least I did. 47:38 I'm sorry. 47:38 He was not 220 bigs. 47:40 I'm sure he was 240. 47:41 He was a big kid. 47:42 I'm sure he fluctuates. 47:44 He needed to mix in a couple of salads. 47:46 When you're a big body, you know, it goes up and down pretty quick. 47:49 When I look at my body, I know when someone else needs to mix in salads, too. 47:52 So that's how it is. 47:55 All right. 47:55 How about some predictions for the weekend? 47:58 Mr. 47:58 Schierhorn, what do you think the Gophers are going to do this weekend? 48:02 I mean, even if I didn't think it was a sweep, I'd probably say it was a sweep. 48:05 Just full transparency. 48:07 But I mean, it's got to be a sweep against these guys. 48:10 I think a handy sweep, too. 48:13 I don't know. 48:14 I'll even give you goals for, goals against. 48:18 I'm going to say the Gophers put up 10 and give up 2. 48:22 Might be a 5-1, 5-1 series. 48:27 That's how I'm feeling. 48:30 Nothing wrong with that. 48:32 Yeah. 48:33 I pricked it in a sweep last weekend, Veegs. 48:35 It didn't work out. 48:36 So save me here. 48:39 I think we're seeing sweep this weekend. 48:41 Minnesota has played very, very well against Notre Dame, especially at Compton Family Ice Arena. 48:46 I don't know what it is exactly that does it, but I feel like Notre Dame's style almost gives Minnesota so much space that when Minnesota plays with their skill against them, it just shines. 49:00 And it's a weekend for the skilled players to take advantage of the opportunities that they get and put the puck in the net. 49:07 I think we probably see a shutout in one of the games this weekend with the defensive structure that Minnesota is playing and the decision making that they're displaying out on the ice. 49:16 I think we'll probably see something like a 4-0, 5-1 game as well. 49:20 I think Eric's pretty spot on that we're not going to see any close games. 49:25 Now isn't Compton another one of those arenas like Michigan State where the benches are on opposite sides? 49:30 Yep, opposite sides. 49:31 It's a weird rink. 49:32 You don't take too many penalties. 49:34 What does that do to teams? 49:35 I really have no idea. 49:36 Does that affect teams at all? 49:38 It gives them a slight advantage because they can pop out of their box, take one step and go into their bench, whereas the OAs skate across the ice. 49:47 That's the whole idea. 49:48 I remember I was on a visit to Nebraska-Omaha, and this would have been 2014 maybe? 49:57 No, 2015. 49:59 But they were building their new rink at the time, and I remember Dean Blais was telling me that, yeah, he was telling me that the two things that they were building in that I think he thought was super clever was, one, they were going to make the away team have a super long walk from the away locker room onto the ice, and then they were going to make the benches on opposite sides just to give that slight advantage to them as the home team, being able to just pop in, whereas the away team has to skate all the way across. 50:30 I'm sure they pick up a goal every once in a while from them having to come across. 50:36 But it does make a shorter change, because the benches are typically more centered vegs. 50:42 So that second period defensive change is not as far. 50:47 Yeah, that's true. 50:49 I do think that penalty box issue does show up every once in a while. 50:54 So it's something different and something to be aware of. 50:57 The Gophers have such a young team, I don't think it'll be a problem. 51:01 They've played a lot of hockey games at this point in their careers. 51:04 They'll probably adjust just fine. 51:05 But it is something unique. 51:07 I remember old Mary G had it that way. 51:08 They did. 51:09 The penalty box right next to the Gopher bench and the visiting team on the other side. 51:12 That's probably why Dean Blais thought it was such a cool thing to have. 51:19 We shall see. 51:20 Games are on Peacock this weekend. 51:23 Peacock has done a really good job. 51:25 I mean, or at least Notre Dame has done a really good job. 51:27 It's the quality of the stream. 51:29 A lot of people will get Peacock free with Xfinity and a couple of the cable providers. 51:34 Otherwise, people, it's $4.99 for a month of Peacock. 51:39 Get it for a month. 51:41 You'll get great Gopher hockey this weekend. 51:43 Then you can stream all their other stuff for a month. 51:46 I think it's a bargain either way. 51:48 I hear people complaining about it, Veegs. 51:53 I just don't know how you can complain about it. 51:55 I think it's a really good service for what you're getting for $5. 51:59 We're just kind of headed that way with sports. 52:02 You look at all the money that's going in to the athletics these days and all the streaming services trying to get in. 52:09 You're just going to have to adjust. 52:10 It's not like the old days where you could just get one simple cable package or put up your bunny ears and be fine. 52:16 It's going to be different from week to week, and at least the quality is going to be really nice. 52:24 Eric, thanks for joining us again. 52:26 Will you hang around a bit for overtime? 52:28 Yeah, absolutely. 52:30 All right. 52:31 Veegs, what's you got going on? 52:33 Excited to see the beer. 52:35 Besides the beer. 52:38 Yeah, that's about it right now. 52:39 You know, I'm looking forward to the weekend here. 52:42 I think recruiting is going to be a little quiet now for the Gophers going forward. 52:47 Now that they got Jackson Nevers, I think they've still got to decide what's going to happen at the end of the year and they're saving scholarships. 52:52 But they couldn't wait on Jackson Nevers. 52:54 He's a must take for them. 52:58 Nothing wrong with that. 53:00 Well, thanks for joining us, Eric. 53:02 I love having you on. 53:03 Nice. 53:03 He's going to be with us here for a bit of overtime. 53:07 Oh, it's going to be a fun weekend. 53:09 I like these weekends at Notre Dame. 53:11 So, that's going to wrap it up for this GPL Podcast. 53:14 Obviously, thank Eric again for joining us. 53:16 We'll be back next week. 53:17 Recap this series with Notre Dame and preview the series with Michigan. 53:21 We'll have Connor Eargood from the Michigan Daily on with us to help preview that weekend. 53:28 It'll be interesting to have him on. 53:30 So, for those of you watching live, stay tuned for some overtime. 53:33 For the rest of you, we'll catch you next time on The GPL Podcast.