0:07 This is The GPL Podcast, part of the Pulltab Sports family. 0:29 Oh, boy. 0:33 And so, I had to train for this marathon. 0:47 I laughed. 0:55 Now, here's Jupiter and Vegoe. 1:04 Good evening and welcome to the GPL Podcast, episode number 246. 1:12 Veegs, you're home alone tonight with the kids. 1:17 Got to do an early show because you got to get them to bed, don't you? 1:20 Yeah, you know, we're stickhandling through it. 1:22 You know, we're having our ups and downs. 1:25 We just had a good air mission chat here with them, you know, get them motivated for the third period. 1:29 We're getting to the finish line here. 1:32 20 more miles, boys and girls. 1:35 All right, well, it's Badger Week, and when it's Badger Week, it's Todd Milewski Week, Veegs, and he's actually back after a little hiatus, so I'm pretty excited. 1:46 I'm excited too. 1:47 The encyclopedia of college hockey, according to Brad Schlossman. 1:51 He is, like I was telling us in the pre-show, so let's bring him in, Todd Milewski. 1:57 You're back. 1:58 I am back, and I am so excited to be on this show because it means I'm back doing college hockey. 2:06 So after my winter of covering basketball last season, here I am, and oh, it feels good. 2:18 Oh, we are so sorry you had to cover basketball. 2:21 I learned a lot in a couple of months doing basketball. 2:24 That's not such a bad thing, and the thing is you're a little closer too. 2:28 Basketball travel stinks. 2:31 Oh, really? 2:32 Covering a basketball team is hard because there are weeks that they're playing Wednesday in Maryland, Saturday in Nebraska. 2:43 And like I got home on Thursday, unpacked my bag, repacked my bag and got ready to go Friday because that was, no, don't need to do that anymore. 2:57 Thank you, no. 3:00 Well, like Veegs said, you're the encyclopedia according to Mr. 3:04 Schlossman, right Veegs? 3:06 That's right, and you know, if there's any questions about records between two historic teams, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, I found out there's actually a little bit of a controversy over how many games Minnesota and North Dakota have played because Minnesota counts the ones where North Dakota was a club team, North Dakota does not because they lost them all. 3:26 And so there can be little controversies in college hockey like that. 3:32 We're just glad to have Todd around to be able to help us with this stuff. 3:37 Because I'm glad I had you on last in life. 3:39 We had you on in the fall, didn't we? 3:40 I think so. 3:40 Yeah, because I was still... 3:42 It's been like a year hockey related when the first series happened last year. 3:47 Well, minus the Frozen Four because you were covering a different institution that the Frozen Four when you joined us live in Tampa, which was obviously not a great ending for Minnesota, but as a whole week, great week. 4:01 Let's get right into it guys. 4:02 Veegs, split up in Grand Forks. 4:05 You and I were up there and we had a great time. 4:10 But I mean, just not even talking about hockey. 4:13 We had a great time, great people, great food. 4:15 It was pretty good weekend for us and for the boys. 4:19 Yeah, I wasn't sure what to expect. 4:21 It was my first trip up to the Forks and I've heard lots of stories about things and the fans welcomed us in pretty nicely. 4:30 There was some fun little jabs from people around the arena and things like that, but overall great experience. 4:36 That rink is definitely a bucket list rink for a college hockey fan. 4:41 The entire town gets up for a weekend like Minnesota, North Dakota, and just the energy everywhere you go just gets you up for the game. 4:50 And I can only imagine what it's like for the players and you spend that whole Friday getting to game time and the Gopher is delivered. 5:00 I thought they played a really solid game. 5:02 Their forecheck was super aggressive. 5:04 I thought North Dakota's defensemen were a little surprised at the speed and pressure they were under and Minnesota just chipped away, chipped away, chipped away and come away with the big four, nothing to win. 5:17 Big win Friday. 5:18 Saturday, we expected much more from North Dakota and that's exactly what we got. 5:24 Vig's more from North Dakota and as typically what's been happening recently in this series, it was a split. 5:32 Yeah, North Dakota, of course, College Hockey, if you lose on the Friday night, you come out Saturday a little more motivated and Minnesota was kind of their own worst enemy on Saturday. 5:41 You know, they took or were called, as Bob is saying this week, they were called for four trips and two boarding penalties, which put them shorthanded a lot against North Dakota and while North Dakota had a great power play last year, it wasn't necessarily clicking against Minnesota. 5:58 They went 0 for 10 on the power play over the weekend. 6:01 I wasn't super impressed with how they looked. 6:03 They looked pretty stationary on Friday. 6:05 On Saturday, they tried to get more pucks to the net. 6:09 Cameron Berg was planted out front of Justin Close, trying to redirect tips and things like that. 6:15 And the goals that North Dakota ended up getting on Saturday was a redirection and a shot into the feet. 6:22 And I thought that's what North Dakota needed to do to solve Justin Close. 6:24 He was pretty calm all weekend. 6:27 So there was that pressure. 6:29 But I think the weekend caught up to Minnesota in the third period. 6:32 The defenseman logged tons of minutes, especially the top four, top five. 6:38 With Max Rudd getting dinged up in the first period of Saturday's game that stressed them even more. 6:43 And we're taking all those penalties, you end up spending a lot of time in your own zone. 6:47 And it was a tough performance for Minnesota, but hey, if you can get a split on the road at North Dakota, that's probably okay. 6:57 Todd, what happened with the Badgers last weekend? 7:01 So Veegs, when you were talking about how you, when you win on the road, the first night of a series, you expect a pretty good pushback that second night. 7:11 I frankly expected more of a pushback for Michigan Tech the second night. 7:14 And this is just me watching on video. 7:17 I wasn't up in Houghton, but there was some. 7:20 Tech scored first, had a lead, but this is like one of those, I expected more out of Tech. 7:31 And maybe I'm not giving Wisconsin enough credit for forcing them into playing the way that they, Wisconsin wanted them to play. 7:40 But that to me, I was a little surprised that Wisconsin was able to get out of there with a sweep. 7:46 Now, I think Tech is going to be a lot better eventually. 7:50 They are not right now, but I thought that was an important step for Wisconsin to go on the road. 7:59 They'd beaten Bemidji in overtime in the icebreaker, lost at North Dakota in a game. 8:07 They played fairly well, hit four posts and lost two nothing. 8:10 So it's not a lot of shame in that one. 8:14 But the first weekend they played Augustana, not a lot to get out of that. 8:18 They shut out Augustana twice. 8:23 And so we're trying to get a read on what this Wisconsin team is gonna be. 8:27 And I thought last weekend, did show a little bit that they're able to dictate a lot of good stretches of the game. 8:34 And I think that's something that we only saw sporadically in the last few seasons where they were able to go into another team's building and say, this is the way we're playing. 8:43 And like it or not, you're doing it. 8:46 And so I thought that was an important step for them early this season. 8:54 Well, how was it for you getting back on the beat after kind of taking the last three months off or so or four months off? 9:04 How was it for you? 9:06 Well, it's still not like I hesitate to call myself on the beat because like my job now is doing a lot more than just hockey. 9:15 And so I'm not like ever like specifically doing hockey. 9:19 I've like, today I did two football stories. 9:22 So got, everyone's got to chip in on that. 9:26 And my job is doing enterprise stories, but I will say this, being able to cover hockey when they're at home and like this week going to Minnesota, I am, I'm pretty happy with that. 9:38 So select games, you'll get to come on the road. 9:40 So you are coming here this weekend. 9:42 This is probably it, honestly, given. 9:45 Well, you picked a good one to come to. 9:47 Well, and it helps that the women's team is also on the road. 9:51 They're at St. 9:52 Thomas this weekend, but. 9:53 Oh, I wish I could kind of do a double there, but it's not lining up very well. 10:01 But if they were home, there would be some pressure to say, Hey, just cover the games that are here at home. 10:05 You don't need to go on the road, cover what we have here. 10:10 But I was able to make a pitch that I can get an enterprise story out of this in addition to covering the games. 10:14 So off we go. 10:17 Todd, how is the implementation of the Hastings systems working so far for Wisconsin? 10:24 You know, when I look at Minnesota, they had a lot of turnover with their blue line. 10:28 And so I was worried about special teams like penalty kill and power play. 10:33 And at least against North Dakota, the penalty kill looked really strong for Minnesota. 10:39 And I was just kind of wondering what what things are looking like for Wisconsin there. 10:44 I've got audio issues right now. 10:46 I'm trying to figure that out. 10:47 Something's something's not right here. 10:49 So I apologize. 10:51 We'll just talk about that, Jupe. 10:53 You know, Steve Miller, killer, does a lot of the penalty kill work for Minnesota. 10:58 And I think they're starting to find some things that work really well for them. 11:02 Putting Jackson Nelson out there for the opening face off of a penalty kill. 11:06 It seemed like on Friday, he at least dominated the dot in every key situation he needed to win a draw. 11:13 And then Bob brought up something interesting today that North Dakota had 20 power play zone entries. 11:19 Minnesota broke up 15 of them. 11:22 And so I think when your penalty kill can do things like that, it's going to make them really effective. 11:28 Can you hear us now, Todd? 11:30 I'm back now. 11:31 Sorry about that. 11:33 Bluetooth from the loss. 11:35 Why don't you go ahead, Veegs, and kind of repeat what you talked about? 11:37 You know, you're talking about kind of just things coming together for Wisconsin. 11:41 Yeah, just, you know, special teams with coaching staffs is sometimes where they can put their biggest fingerprint on their teams. 11:48 And Minnesota had a lot of turnover on their blue line. 11:50 So I was talking about how their penalty kill has really shined early in the season. 11:55 What are things looking like for Wisconsin? 11:58 Well, they've struggled on the power play. 12:00 They did score a couple last week in a pretty big spot against Tech. 12:06 But the first two weeks were, and Mike Hasting was pretty open about this, were a struggle. 12:12 Zone entries weren't good. 12:15 Passes weren't connecting. 12:16 It just seemed like there was a few different pages out there that players were on. 12:23 And it's, I think it's a, you kind of expect some of that. 12:28 I mean, this is all new. 12:30 I mean, there are 14 players that are returning, but there are 12 who are new. 12:34 And it's a new coaching. 12:37 The guys from Minnesota State obviously know what to expect. 12:40 But everyone else is learning on the job, so to speak. 12:46 And so the power play has been a, I think, work in progress is the best way to describe that. 12:53 But honestly, one of the things that stood out to me right away is the aggressiveness that they've been playing with. 13:03 Finishing checks, you know, doing things that, you know, didn't see a whole lot of that being emphasized in the last few seasons as they're trying to play more of a skill game. 13:13 Now they're trying to be a little heavier and they have some bodies to do it. 13:17 That's obviously a big part of it. 13:20 But that part of the game, I think, is going to develop here. 13:24 And, you know, maybe not this year. 13:26 Maybe it'll be with some recruiting classes and some other transfers. 13:30 But I'm interested to see how that goes and how this team becomes a heavier team, you know, down the road. 13:40 Veegs, you know, you talked about, you know, obviously Minnesota's penalty kill has been doing well. 13:45 They haven't given up a power play goal yet. 13:46 Knock on wood. 13:49 We can tell that Bob didn't really want to talk about that Saturday night after they had to kill so many power plays and they got really tired. 13:58 But it still is a nice success to have early in the season. 14:03 Well, and Justin Close is playing outstanding through the first couple of games here. 14:07 He had that streak of 130 minutes, nearly a shutout hockey, which is pretty impressive this early in the season. 14:15 And he looks calm and he's not giving up rebounds. 14:18 And it allows Minnesota to really jump on any kind of 50-50 pucks that are juggled by the power play and clear the zone. 14:26 If you can clear the zone twice on a penalty kill, you're pretty much going to kill off that opportunity. 14:31 And Minnesota has really been sharp in those aspects. 14:34 And I like Rep Pitlick as the second group of penalty killers. 14:38 He comes out there with his speed and he's dangerous. 14:41 You know, I think there's a chance for him to get some short-handed goals this year. 14:45 He's already gotten a couple of breakaways on the penalty kill. 14:48 And I think Bob is also trying to figure out if he can put Oliver Moore on the penalty kill. 14:54 Because if you had Warren Pitlick killing penalties, that's a lot of speed. 14:59 And Moscow is looking at the bench during the game against North Dakota and seeing Jimmy Snuggert and Oliver Moore sitting a lot, too much. 15:08 And so he's got to figure out ways to get those guys involved in the game more. 15:12 And Pitlick, yes, he hasn't scored yet. 15:15 But yes, on the penalty kill and even on his foretrick, he has been causing havoc out there. 15:22 Yeah, very much so. 15:23 I think with Minnesota probably getting Mason Nevers back this weekend, you know, that probably helps the forward lines a little bit for Minnesota. 15:30 And maybe Pitlick can have a little more success because it's it's been a little just like flash flash, but not as consistent. 15:37 All right, Veegs, we need to talk about one of our sponsors here. 15:40 Unreal has to see they jumped on board this year with us. 15:45 Tell us about Unreal. 15:46 And GopherPuckLive is all about Minnesota and so is Unreal. 15:50 This company was started in 2013 by Minnesota entrepreneur Michael E. 15:54 Jordan, who had $300 in his bank account and is growing a brand looking to leave a legacy here. 16:00 Unreal is an independent local clothing company crafted around the athlete. 16:03 They release fresh looks, the hottest drops and donate 10% of all profits to organizations and worthy causes in the community. 16:11 Is it unreal.co? 16:12 That's a co, not com. 16:14 And use promo code pulltab15 for 15% off your order. 16:19 When we were up in Grand Forks, we saw some pretty cool Unreal gear out there being worn by the Fighting Hawks fans. 16:26 So we impressed. 16:28 We did see some cool stuff. 16:30 We'll get some Gopher stuff like that. 16:32 But also, it's not just Unreal, Duke Cannon. 16:35 I noticed we were both using hair products this weekend. 16:38 Well, you got to have, you know, your hair be a weapon for you. 16:41 And as part of the Pulltab Sports family, we feel like we have to have elite hockey hair, right? 16:47 And one weapon in your haircare arsenal should be Duke Cannon's men's grooming products. 16:51 They're also a Minnesota company that makes hardworking products for hardworking men, whether it's serious flow, style and putty, adding some structure to your game or news anchor thick hair to increase some volume. 17:01 Visit dukecannon.com, Target, or even your local hardware store for products to make your hair a weapon. 17:09 And Veegs, I gotta say, let me press the right button here. 17:16 At the hotel room this weekend, Veegs has shown me the proper way to use a Duke Cannon product. 17:22 Yeah, with the putty, you just need like a little pea size, get that rubbed in with your Mr. 17:27 Miyagi hands and then put it in place. 17:30 So, it's essential. 17:32 Back to hockey here. 17:35 Obviously, we know that Mike Hastings was pretty busy over the summer, Todd. 17:41 A lot of his, let's just say there's an exodus from Mankato over across and down to Madison this summer, wasn't there? 17:52 There was. 17:52 They somehow let one get away to North Dakota. 17:56 I don't know how he let that happen. 17:59 Yeah, three of his players from Mankato came to Wisconsin. 18:04 And I mean, look at the lineup. 18:07 He's got David Silead as his first line center. 18:09 He's got Christian Fitzgerald as his second line center. 18:12 He's got Simon Tassi somewhere usually on one of those two lines. 18:17 He's got some trust in those guys. 18:19 I think it's pretty obvious. 18:20 And he knows what he can do with them. 18:22 He knows how he can use them. 18:23 So they went right in and filled some pretty big holes, especially down the middle, really big holes for Wisconsin. 18:30 That hasn't been a great depth position for them for a few years. 18:35 And honestly, they're having some injury struggles with that right now with Stramel and Lindmark out last week. 18:41 But having those two guys up top coming from Mankato has been a really big thing. 18:46 And their fourth transfer that they got was Tyson Dick, who was from UMass, but Mankato was one of his last few options along with UMass. 18:58 And it sounded like he was being recruited pretty hard by Hastings. 19:01 And when he transferred, he decided to go to meet Hastings again this time in Wisconsin. 19:09 So they've also had a couple of recruits that have changed direction from being aligned with Mankato to now being aligned with. 19:24 So this is that new world where if you're aligned with a coach, it's now easier to follow that coach around. 19:30 And you can say there's good and bad in everything, obviously. 19:34 But I think that's something that coaches are finding a way to use to their benefit to be the kind of team that they want to be right away. 19:46 Because a couple of years ago, that was a lot harder to do, to have the kind of team that you feel like you want to have and the players you want to have would have taken a few recruiting cycles. 20:00 And now the NCAA rules changes have made that difference. 20:05 So it's an interesting time to start as a coach or to start a new program, really, to be able to have a pick of some players that have NCAA experience like that. 20:18 Yeah, I was talking to Bob today about how quickly Hasting is going to put his fingerprints on UW Hockey. 20:24 And he said, well, he got to bring a bunch of players with him that he really trusts. 20:27 And when you can do that, a turnaround can be faster because you've got some translators in the locker room who can tell everybody else what the coach is looking for in certain things. 20:38 And, you know, we heard Luke Milstadt this year say, you know, don't listen to how he's saying it. 20:44 Focus on what he says when he's trying to help the younger guys deal with the coaching. 20:48 And when you've got guys who can help everybody else out with that communication piece, it's going to make your team more cohesive faster. 20:56 All right. 20:59 I see Tim Hapke's got a question here. 21:01 Has Todd heard how the Wisconsin players are doing with NIL? 21:05 What are you hearing about NIL over there? 21:07 Nothing huge from what I've been able to hear. 21:12 And it's not, this is the kind of thing, the way I see it is when it's a big one, they kind of tend to, you know it, right? 21:19 It's out there. 21:20 They're putting themselves out there. 21:22 They're being paid to do something and you're going to see it. 21:25 So we haven't seen a lot of them, which to me says that if it's anything, it's on the smaller side right now. 21:31 I think like everyone, like everyone that has a collective at their school, there are some opportunities there to be paid for some appearances. 21:41 And a lot of things are kind of going in that direction. 21:45 But I haven't heard of any sponsorship kind of deals on the men's side. 21:51 On the women's side, yes. 21:53 Carolyn Harvey has a deal with Bauer, which is an interesting one because Wisconsin is a CCM school. 22:00 And the NIL rules are that you can't represent a competing entity. 22:08 And so she has to, I think, put tape over Bauer on her skates, if she's wearing Bauer skates. 22:16 And otherwise, can't really endorse anything while she's playing for Wisconsin. 22:21 On the Bauer side, that has to be a national team thing. 22:24 Isn't that interesting though, Vix? 22:25 Because we've heard over the years, you know, Minnesota is a CCM team when it comes to sticks or whatever it may be. 22:31 And if a player wants to use his own, he can. 22:34 And it kind of messes up, it can actually mess up money for the U, because it's a lot cheaper if every player uses the same stuff. 22:41 So there's some little differences at the University of Minnesota. 22:45 Yeah, you know, there have been a couple players who've gone away from like the Nike Bauer stuff. 22:50 I went CCM earlier and it was a bigger issue back then. 22:53 And now I think Bob is more of a CCM guy. 22:56 And a lot of the players like CCM more because the stick turnaround is faster. 23:00 The customization stuff is easier for them to do. 23:03 And so the customer service is better with CCM than it was for Nike Bauer. 23:08 But the U has been pretty open to guys doing whatever they want. 23:12 You know, guys wear CCMs, they wear bowers, they wear true hockey skates. 23:17 So I haven't seen any issues. 23:18 It's probably just the endorsement issue with the team. 23:22 I do remember Logan Cooley and Matthew Nives were CCM athletes last year. 23:26 You know, they were sponsored by CCM. 23:29 So something Minnesota players have done as well. 23:33 Todd, how has the players that were that remained at Wisconsin, how have they adjusted to Mike Hastings' new systems and just the whole new a whole new deal after being having a completely different coach? 23:48 Yeah, I mean, good question. 23:49 I think it's like with anything there, there are different levels there. 23:54 I think there are some people that, you know, yeah, bring it on. 23:57 I'm bought in. 23:58 I'll do what you want. 23:59 And there are some people that might have to be kind of brought along a little bit more or, you know, things have to be reinforced a few times. 24:07 I mean, and I'll be honest, the two guys I was I was looking at were Charlie Stravel and Cruz Lucius. 24:13 You know, they want to play a pretty free flowing kind of game. 24:20 I mean, Lucius, especially, I think, maybe a little less. 24:23 He can he guys can bang bodies and play play a more physical style, too. 24:31 So I was interested to see how they how they would, you know, kind of come along this season. 24:36 And part of the thing that I haven't been able to really assess things on is that I've only seen them in person two games. 24:44 Practices are closed here now, so we don't get to see anything. 24:46 We saw them one day on Media Day for like 70 minutes. 24:53 And so this is Mike Hasting. 24:55 He and I talked, we had a conversation about this because I said, look, I just want to know what's what's the reason behind that? 25:01 You know, because forever we've just been able to, you know, walk into practice and watch things and talk to players after. 25:09 And he said, you know, he just doesn't, he wants that time to be theirs and doesn't want players to be worried about who they're being watched by. 25:17 He did say that, you know, he understands that's not the way it is, where these guys want to go in the pros. 25:25 But at this level right now, this is how he operates. 25:29 And so I respect that. 25:30 I can't say I like it because it changes my opportunities to kind of get to learn a little bit more about players. 25:40 So that's why it's been hard to really get a read on some of that. 25:44 But I think Lucius, when I've seen him, he's playing well. 25:48 He's got a couple of goals against Bemidji. 25:50 He had a couple of points last weekend. 25:55 Stramel, like I mentioned, is injured. 25:58 I don't know what his final status is going to be for this weekend. 26:04 But he's got a lot riding on things here. 26:08 Yeah, he got the first round draft pick, but that's not a guarantee of anything. 26:12 I mean, he's got to continue to show that he can be a good player at this level to make the wild kind of understand that. 26:19 Okay, maybe after this year, you're ready to come out and play in Iowa for a while, then maybe bump up. 26:26 I think he's got a lot to show. 26:29 And if he's going to do it, he's got to buy into what's being asked from him here. 26:34 And I try not to read too much into how the lines are ordered. 26:41 But when it came out, the first line chart, he's the third line center. 26:44 That was a little bit of an eye opener because that's a guy, your first round picks don't tend to be third line guys in college a lot. 26:55 They do on some of the teams that have a lot more draft picks, I know. 26:58 But at Wisconsin, it's a little more unusual. 27:02 So I will be interested to see how that plays out through the year, whether he gets more time on that. 27:11 He was seen power play time, so that was something they still wanted to use him on. 27:18 But that's a, I mean, I think those two guys specifically have, from all I can tell, have done pretty well with it. 27:29 I'm sorry, just my phone just blew up on me. 27:31 I hate it when it does that. 27:34 Veegs, we need to talk about another one of our sponsors first here before we go any further. 27:41 And next up is Ferda. 27:42 I know you're very, you really like those guys. 27:46 Yeah, I like Ferda because they're a local group that really supports local products. 27:52 You know, when you're out fundraising for your association or for whatever you have going on, when you can pick Joe Mama Salsa, Vaughn Hansen's Pretzel Snacks, and Corry Valley BBQ Rub & Sausages, you're getting stuff that's high quality. 28:04 You're not overpaying for stuff and getting stuff you don't want. 28:08 So visit ferdafundraisers.com to ignite your fundraising for the boys, for the girls, for the community, for the fundraisers. 28:17 Definitely, for the fundraisers. 28:19 Fun stuff, Veegs. 28:22 Love having them on board. 28:23 And of course, we've also got one more that we're not forgetting here. 28:28 Of course, it's our favorite, Jill Boys. 28:33 Hi, I'm Kevin. 28:35 I've been part of the ball crew at numerous tennis events for years. 28:38 They say I'm an excellent ball handler. 28:41 It's my job to get loose balls where they're supposed to be, to make the players comfortable, so they can focus on the task at hand. 28:48 Winning. 28:49 Which is why I recommend Jill Boys Life Changing Bamboo Boxers and Boxer Briefs. 28:56 Jill Boys, comfort where it counts. 29:00 Definitely comfort where it counts, Veegs. 29:02 And of course, we've got to talk about with them. 29:04 They've got a promo code with Pulltab Sports. 29:06 Just use Pulltab15 for 15% off their order. 29:11 I know I wore my Jill Boys all weekend up in Grand Forks. 29:15 It's a nice cooling sensation when you're traveling, you're on the road, you got these hot hotels. 29:20 It's nice to stay cool where it counts. 29:23 It is nice to stay cool where it counts. 29:25 I like how you word that, Veegs. 29:28 All right, let's bring Todd back in. 29:32 Okay, Badger's coming to town, Veegs. 29:35 It's Badger Weekend, of course, you know, I got to put up, you know, we've got the fun videos. 29:39 People love to put up. 29:41 You got you putting me on a video. 29:43 I always get the popcorn box. 29:46 Oh, wait, skunk plus popcorn box equals Bucky Badger. 29:50 Always love doing that one. 29:52 What are some of your favorite things that happened during Badger Week, Veegs? 29:56 Well, I mean, other than Todd coming on our show, you know, I really like the fans. 30:02 I like that the fans come out for this one. 30:04 If you look at some of the highest attended games, it's Wisconsin, Minnesota. 30:08 You know, a lot of people have maybe not seen the best of the rivalry the last decade. 30:15 Well, Wisconsin's got a new coach, and so I think that rivalry is going to heat up back up again. 30:20 But I just love all the sayings that Wally has. 30:25 You know, take that, you stick in Badgers. 30:27 You know, that's a fun one. 30:28 You know, he gets into it as well on the broadcast. 30:31 So can't wait for another one this weekend. 30:33 Oh, it's going to be fun. 30:35 Todd, besides the podcast, of course, what are some of your favorite things about this series? 30:44 I think it's kind of how it draws everyone up another level. 30:50 I mean, I think you guys probably saw that last week too with North Dakota, right? 30:54 Everyone was a little more interested in that. 30:56 The players were a little more engaged in some of that. 31:03 As much as people want to downplay it and say, well, you know, it's another game. 31:06 No, it's not another game. 31:09 It's Wisconsin and Minnesota. 31:15 Touching on what someone, Vig said, it means more when they're both good. 31:20 And it means it's a little bit more, just more to it. 31:26 I think back to that, the COVID year Big Ten championship game, which is a shame that no one could be at that and that it was neutral ice and all those kind of things. 31:36 But Wisconsin and Minnesota should be playing for championships. 31:41 And those games should mean something. 31:44 And that to me is, I think what you want to see out of this series is you want to see these games matter. 31:52 And I think we're getting to a point again. 31:54 You know, maybe, I don't know if it's gonna be this weekend. 31:58 I don't know if it's gonna be this season, but I think these games are gonna matter a lot. 32:04 I think one of the things that's been frustrating the last decade has been Wisconsin has always been too far below Minnesota to really keep up. 32:15 You know, the talent wasn't there. 32:17 The competitiveness wasn't there. 32:19 And some of the games would just kind of lose their steam, you know, by the third period of Saturday. 32:24 You know, there just wasn't enough in the matchup to make it compelling the whole weekend. 32:30 So I think Hastings is gonna reenergize that. 32:34 And, you know, he's got some guys that came with him from Minnesota State of Mankato, and they want to make their mark because they've probably got some bad memories with the Gophers too. 32:43 And so I think that could make this weekend really interesting to see how it goes. 32:49 They did pretty well against the Gophers though, didn't they? 32:52 They did, but, you know, it's a bigger stage now. 32:57 You know, Big Ten, there's a little more in it. 32:59 I'm sure the accommodations are a little nicer for the Badgers now. 33:02 I'm sure the travel is a little nicer, a little easier. 33:05 I saw that they came in today to Mariusci and they were getting their skate in. 33:10 I didn't get to watch it though because they wanted the ring closed at 5 o'clock for the practice. 33:14 So I just saw them playing sewer ball. 33:19 Well, we got to see practice in Grand Forks, Veegs, so that was kind of nice. 33:26 Yeah, I got to find out that Connor Kurth doesn't do a game day skate. 33:29 I was like, oh my gosh, what's he not doing other? 33:31 He doesn't do game day skates, I guess so. 33:35 I was wondering if we could even talk about that. 33:38 All right, here's a question. 33:41 Is Todd doing his Facebook recaps this year? 33:46 I think I caught your first one, Todd, because I was on there and said, welcome back. 33:51 I appreciated that. 33:53 Is the timing might be a little bit off, but yes, for games that I'm at, I will. 33:58 I'm planning on doing that. 34:01 It always feels a little disingenuous if I'm not at a game to do a Facebook thing. 34:05 That makes sense. 34:08 Yeah. 34:09 But yeah, planning on that for this weekend's games. 34:13 It's going to be a little later. 34:15 8 o'clock starts or going to be a little later anyway. 34:17 But I also have another story to kick out before I can get around to that. 34:22 So yeah, it might be a little on the late side, but you know, we'll have late night with Todd. 34:30 Ooh, I like that late night with Todd. 34:33 Veegs, Minnesota coming off a 2-1 loss at North Dakota. 34:37 I think they still feel pretty good for the weekend. 34:40 Revamped Badgers coming into town. 34:43 What's number one on your priority list this weekend? 34:46 Is it more penalty kills, a power play? 34:48 What do you want to see come together? 34:50 I want to see what line Red Pitlick ends up on this weekend and see if he can't make more of an impact on the score sheet. 34:59 I think he's primed to click right now with the way he's playing and his effort level. 35:04 And I just think it's going to be important for his confidence to get a puck in the net. 35:08 I think he's one of those players that maybe gets a little too much into deferring on the ice when he's not doing well. 35:17 I think if he can get a little more confidence, that's going to make this lineup deeper. 35:21 When I looked at the Gopher forwards at the start of the year, there's probably ten guys who can have double digit goals. 35:28 And Rep Pitlicks is one of those ten. 35:30 And for this team to really get where they want to go, he's a player I think that needs to take a next step. 35:37 I think he just needs to break the seal, Veegs. 35:39 Maybe. 35:40 I mean, he's getting lots of scoring chances. 35:43 So I have to think that they'll come and he'll get in the score sheet, but he's got to make it happen. 35:49 I feel like there's been a couple of players over the years where they kind of get in that funk and it can really damage their whole season. 35:56 I think Connor Kurth last year kind of got into that mode of passing and not being aggressive and scoring. 36:02 There's a year Jackson Nelson had the same kind of thing happen to him. 36:07 It can impact you long term if you think about it too much. 36:10 Whereas Lam is exploding, it's now equaled his total of all of last season and goals. 36:14 Yeah, he looks really good on that first line with Snuggerroot and more. 36:19 Of course, I think anybody would. 36:20 They're pretty dangerous. 36:21 Yeah, it helps. 36:24 You can put someone there and it doesn't work and then you got to change it up. 36:27 But if you put them together and they're productive, they're going to stick together. 36:31 Bob said last week that he thinks he'll be juggling lines more this year than he has in the past. 36:37 We haven't seen a ton of that. 36:39 He'll have to obviously juggle them with Mesa Nevers coming back in. 36:44 But we'll see what happens. 36:45 And we still think Kester is going to be out. 36:48 We think so. 36:48 He looked a lot better today than he did Friday when we saw the pregame skate. 36:54 I thought he was still kind of adjusting to the recovery from his injury and all that. 37:00 He looked fine today. 37:02 He was doing puck retrievals with Ben Gordon and looking very smooth and no ill effects. 37:09 Now, strange question for someone who doesn't know. 37:11 Would he skate with a knee brace in a game? 37:17 Yep. 37:18 I'm not sure how that all works. 37:21 Sometimes in football, if your brace is exposed, they'll have to wrap it and things like that. 37:26 But not an issue in hockey. 37:29 Yeah, it was cool. 37:30 I got to hold his brace after one of those games. 37:34 I think it was after the Friday game. 37:35 It's super light. 37:38 The technology is really great, especially for student athletes. 37:43 Yeah, but he looks ready to go. 37:44 So I think they're just holding him out a week to maybe be protective of him and just give him some extra time. 37:50 So when you're playing at home, you can control the matchups a little bit better. 37:55 You can. 37:55 You definitely can. 37:57 All right, Todd, what do you want to see from the Badger side coming into this weekend? 38:01 Same kind of deal. 38:02 You want to see some power play coming here? 38:05 Well, before we get to that, I want to say, I think the Pitlick and Brodzinski families have combined the score about 38 goals against the Badgers in their career. 38:13 So that's something we all need to be cognizant of going in this weekend. 38:19 But I'm interested to see how Kyle McClellan does in this environment. 38:27 I don't remember it not going very well for him last year. 38:36 And I would like to see whether this is a Kyle McClellan. 38:40 What we've seen from him so far this season is the kind of goalie that the Badgers are going to have this season. 38:46 Because going into the year, Mike Hasting wasn't overly glowing about anything. 38:52 He was getting out of his goalies in practice, at least from what he told us. 38:56 Going into the first game, he had said, no one's really stepped up to take the number one job. 39:00 Well, and then McClellan gets too shut out the first weekend and he hasn't really said that since then. 39:06 But I think now we're getting into another level of difficulty here. 39:15 Once we jump into the Big Ten and you're playing that number one team on the road, in an environment that has not been very friendly to you in the past. 39:24 Those are the kind of things that I would like to see how that turns out this weekend. 39:30 He's only one guy, he can only do so much. 39:32 But sometimes the lights get pretty bright and they... 39:38 And they're new lights. 39:49 I've heard that, yeah right. 39:52 It's a little different, you have to get used to it. 39:55 I've heard, yeah. 39:57 But yeah, so how McClellan does is one thing. 40:01 Discipline has been a focus for Hastings, both in terms of they took too many penalties the first couple of weeks, and also in some blown assignments in the zone. 40:16 And so those are things that are going to blow up on you at Mariucci, if you give up too many chances like that. 40:27 Both give the Gophers too many power plays and give them too many odd man rushes or anything like that. 40:33 So we've seen that a lot in the past from Wisconsin side has given up quite a few of those and ended up in the back of their net. 40:43 So that's a couple of the keys, I think, for them this week. 40:47 Another question, and this is probably for you, Veegs from Steve Larson. 40:51 What's up with Max Rood? 40:52 We know he went out on Saturday. 40:54 Is he back? 40:55 Is he skating? 40:55 What's going on? 40:56 Yeah, he picked up a knock in the first period Saturday at Grand Forks and they held him out. 41:02 And today was his first day back skating a little bit. 41:05 And Bob was a little hesitant to say much about him other than he's day to day after today's skate. 41:12 As I think they're kind of waiting to see how it would go with him on the ice today and then reevaluate it from there. 41:18 So I don't know if he'll be available this weekend or not. 41:21 Let's go in here, guys. 41:23 Predictions. 41:24 Todd, what is your prediction this weekend? 41:27 All right, you guys know I'm a numbers guy, right? 41:30 I have this. 41:31 You? 41:32 No. 41:32 Yeah, right. 41:34 Hard to believe. 41:35 I look things up. 41:37 Badgers playing number one teams. 41:39 Oh, boy. 41:42 Against teams not named Minnesota, 11, 15 and 3. 41:45 Against teams named Minnesota, 7 and 6. 41:50 I am calling split. 41:51 Just because I think I think this is the continuation of something that's building. 41:58 I don't, it's not there. 41:59 It's not gonna be there for a while. 42:01 The way that they fully want it to be. 42:03 But I feel like they can get in there and get something. 42:06 Maybe it's not even a win. 42:08 Maybe it's an overtime win or a shootout win or something like that. 42:10 It's not a full thing. 42:11 But I feel like they, you know, what they showed me at North Dakota is that they can keep these games close. 42:16 They can be right in there with really good teams. 42:20 And seeing that, you know, the gap between North Dakota and Minnesota from last weekend, at least what I heard, the gap between North Dakota and Minnesota isn't huge. 42:29 So they're going to be in those same kind of games this week. 42:33 So that's, that's, you know, maybe I'm foolishly optimistic from the Wisconsin side there, saying they can go into a number one team and get a game. 42:44 But I think it's possible. 42:47 All right, Veegs, I already see Mote. 42:49 Someone better call Sweep. 42:52 Well, I thought last week was maybe something fun, was which team is more likely to sweep? 42:58 Because I thought North Dakota was the team that was more likely to sweep Minnesota last week than the Gophers sweeping them. 43:05 And the Gophers actually really impressed me last weekend with how they played. 43:09 I wasn't sure how they do in that environment of the rivalry on the road with all the freshmen, defensemen. 43:16 But Sam Ranzel is just continuing to get better. 43:19 And he got a lot better at North Dakota and is more confident making less mistakes. 43:25 And when you've got a defenseman like that, that can play big minutes and play in that well, it bodes really well for Minnesota. 43:32 And after seeing that kind of output, I think Minnesota is going to sweep this weekend against Wisconsin. 43:37 Because that was the big question mark for me. 43:39 It was how quickly does he transition to college hockey being a top four guy and he looks legit there. 43:46 And with the depth of Minnesota Fords, if they do get into penalty trouble and their penalty kill doesn't remain perfect, I think they can outscore their mistakes. 43:56 And so it should be an entertaining weekend. 43:58 I'm interested to see what kind of systems Wisconsin and Mike Hasting will throw at Minnesota. 44:05 It's hard to tell some of that stuff on TV broadcasts, but you should see it better in person and I can't wait for it. 44:13 Well, when Wisconsin came early last year, it said they're going to roll. 44:17 And I even said they were going to get Mo out of the game. 44:23 And it actually happened a couple of times, actually. 44:26 So I'm going to say Minnesota is going to roll this weekend. 44:30 A couple of two to three point or two to three goal victories in the big sweep, bringing back positivity. 44:38 They seem to be doing really well at home against Wisconsin. 44:40 Let's go. 44:43 The one thing I'll put on this weekend is Minnesota looked really tired on Saturday and quit taking penalties. 44:50 Well, quit taking penalties. 44:51 But I also felt like the buildup to the Friday night game and then the win expended a lot of energy. 44:58 I could even feel it. 45:00 You know, just watching the game is like there's so much that goes into that game on Friday. 45:05 And then once that win came to Minnesota, I didn't see the same kind of intensity the next night. 45:11 And then they took all the penalties and they looked frustrated. 45:14 They looked complacent. 45:16 They looked like they were giving in a little bit too much. 45:19 Whereas the team last year, I don't think Brock Faber and Jackson Lacombe let that happen. 45:25 So that'll be something to watch this weekend, too, if they get the win Friday night. 45:29 How do they look on Saturday? 45:30 What's their body language like? 45:32 How do they play? 45:33 Thursday and Friday night. 45:34 Thursday and Friday. 45:35 So it was a less game. 45:37 Less rest. 45:39 So that'll be interesting to watch from my perspective. 45:42 All right. 45:46 Yeah, we'll have to see because, you know, you lose a defenseman early in the game. 45:50 You're already down one and then they have to kill a ton of penalties. 45:54 I can see why they're tired. 45:55 But, you know, I kind of noticed that Snuggerud seemed tired quite a bit last Saturday as well. 46:00 It seemed like when he was out there, he was out there kind of long weeks. 46:06 And you've been talking about that for years. 46:09 Quit staying out there so long. 46:12 It was interesting. 46:13 Jimmy Clark spoke to the media today and he really gets it. 46:17 He talked about how when you're playing a depth role on a team, your job is to get momentum. 46:23 You need to get pucks deep and you need to get off the ice at the right time so that the line coming on for you can just pick up the pace right there and keep the momentum. 46:33 And I think when you have your star players start to chase offense and stay out there too long, it gets really hard to connect shifts. 46:42 Just because one guy gets more tired than his line mates and then they're just kind of off for a while. 46:48 So I think with all the penalties on Saturday, Snuggerud when he was on the ice, he's like, all right, I'm going to make this happen. 46:55 So his actual ice time probably wasn't that different. 46:57 It's just he was putting it more into single shifts because he was not a penalty killer. 47:03 So what are you working on for the newspaper right now, Todd? 47:07 What's coming out tomorrow, hopefully? 47:08 Well, tomorrow actually is a football story for me. 47:14 OK, well, we'll hear that too. 47:16 Yeah, this is the first time that the BT era, the NBC Saturday Night Crew is coming to Madison this week. 47:23 I talked to them this week. 47:24 A little bit about how, you know, Saturday Night Games are still kind of special, even though we've had them for years and, you know, everyone gets up for that. 47:35 But I am working on something about, you know, whenever Wisconsin gets around to downsizing the Cole Center to closer to NHL size, what can it look like? 47:49 And I think we're going to get a look at it this weekend. 47:54 Yeah, some of the changes you can do. 47:59 Not easy, not cheap, but you can do it. 48:02 And this is something that has been on Mike Hasting's mind since the day he took over here earlier this year. 48:11 And he did it at Mankato Veegs too. 48:15 Yep. 48:15 I think it puts you at a disadvantage when you don't have the NHL style sheet. 48:21 You know, the transitions back and forth, the speed of the game, special teams, they're all different, as we're seeing with Minnesota. 48:28 Well, I mean, if you have a team that can play to the Olympic size, and that's your rink, and you can do that on your home rink, you can be incredible at home. 48:37 But you still have to play half your games on something else. 48:41 So it... 48:43 And the tournament. 48:44 Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. 48:46 And not to say that Wisconsin has really ever been great on the Olympic size. 48:52 I mean, even going back to when they went to that in the 90s, I don't really ever feel like they, you know, absorbed that style ever. 49:04 But I believe Minnesota's got a winning record at the Cole Center, don't they? 49:08 Or it's just slightly above. 49:10 Yeah. 49:14 So Minnesota's always been well on the big ice there, because it's 97 wide, isn't it? 49:20 Yeah, it would be nice if they could fix that, because as the fans know, if you're on the sides, if you're in the upper deck, a couple rolls in, you're not seeing the near boards. 49:30 Now, it's not going to solve the end problems because it's the same problem on the ends. 49:34 But maybe they could solve some problems on the side. 49:37 That third deck thing is not such a problem anymore because there aren't people sitting. 49:50 That's what Hastings is there for. 49:51 It is, right. 49:53 Bring it back, folks. 49:54 Bring it back. 49:56 Fill the place up. 49:58 How's the reaction been to Hastings? 50:01 I know when. 50:17 He's done a really good job of being accessible, being out there in the community, doing, making himself known that here's who I am. 50:24 He's not a Wisconsin alum. 50:25 He's not a Wisconsin, the third all-time scorer in program history. 50:28 Doesn't have that background here. 50:30 So when Tony came in, everyone knew him. 50:34 So there was that excitement was built in. 50:36 It's like, here we go. 50:37 This is gonna be back up and running in a few years. 50:39 And I think a lot of us believe that. 50:42 And it just didn't materialize to it for a long-term perspective to happen that way. 50:51 I think people are hungry for a winner here. 50:56 And they, what I've written, what a lot of people have said, Hastings wins where he goes. 51:05 And so that's, I think people have looked at that and there's been some interest in that. 51:12 But it's gotta happen. 51:13 I mean, it's to a point now where people have been kind of fooled a few times into believing that the program is back. 51:22 Well, it's gotta be back for a good amount of time. 51:25 And you gotta prove it over weeks and months and years. 51:33 So the fans are, it's gonna be tough to bring them back now. 51:38 It's, you know, we saw it, it can happen. 51:41 It happened in Minneapolis. 51:42 That's a different crowd, different environment, different state, you know, in terms of where hockey ranks. 51:51 But I think if they can start getting people back and making it an exciting draw, something where, you know, I talked to one guy this week, he bought season tickets for two seasons ago, for the first time for the Saturday Night Package, went to seven of the 10 games. 52:12 He said he thinks he sold three of them. 52:14 It went 0-7 in those games. 52:17 And he, needless to say, did not renew his season tickets. 52:21 And that's just one of those examples of, you know, this was a, it was in a bad place and it has to get better. 52:32 It's not there yet. 52:33 The season ticket numbers are not great. 52:36 They're not better, but, you know, winning will, is the one thing that can cure some of that. 52:46 And they, that's where they need to go. 52:50 I mean, they've tried all sorts of things. 52:52 Promos, you know, nights, you know, fun nights at the, the Cole Center, you know, they're celebrating the 75th season this season. 53:01 So they've got a few fun things planned that way. 53:03 But the thing that was really, you know, told me things were in a bad place a couple of years ago is they had a night honoring Bob Johnson and they had 5,000 rally towels to give out or something to give out. 53:17 Oh no. 53:18 And they still had a thousand of them or whatever left to give away the next day. 53:23 And that was like, you know, Bob Johnson, you can't get a crowd out to honor Bob Johnson. 53:29 It was 20 years after he passed away, I think it was. 53:32 And that was a, that was almost me that said like, this is, this is in real trouble. 53:42 I think Granado was a pretty good coach, but what he never really was able to do was build a roster and a pipeline and manage it effectively. 53:50 You know, the only success he really has when he had Cole Caulfield, it was just like manna from heaven. 53:56 Well, and think about that though, the first year he had Caulfield, Keandre Miller, Turcotte, Holloway, you know, all these, and Turcotte's not in the United Show, but the rest of them are. 54:08 That, and that team finished last in the Big Ten. 54:11 That was the, like the ultimate failure. 54:13 How, how did that happen? 54:16 And it just, I still struggle with that. 54:20 Like how did that happen? 54:21 It's not the best players, it's the right players, right? 54:24 And I think that was right. 54:25 That was it. 54:25 There was too many guys that thought they were first line players. 54:28 And, and, and there's one puck to go around, right? 54:32 So there's usually two power play groups, max. 54:35 And one of them usually gets the start. 54:37 Right. 54:39 And you know, you can, you can say that, you know, Caulfield, Turcotte, Holloway, they were all freshmen that year and probably were a little immature. 54:48 How Turcotte had injury problems, he had concussion issues throughout the year. 54:53 And so that, that season never really went well for him. 54:58 You were talking before about guys staying on the ice too long, that was Caulfield his first year. 55:02 He, he dialed that back a second year eventually after I think that was kind of coached into him that you don't need to be out there for two and a half minutes. 55:11 But yeah, that, that was one of those like, how, how did this go in this direction? 55:18 And, you know, they, they won the Big Ten the next year but that was, you know, turned out to be the, you know the ultimate, you know, exception to, to everything else, I think. 55:32 And it's tough because, you know, Tony Granado is a extraordinarily good person. 55:39 And I think anyone who knows him well will, will tell you that. 55:42 I had someone email me that his, I don't know if it was Matt Roman, but their mother is, you know you know, up there in years and, and took care of some players while Tony was playing here in the 80s. 56:00 And he still visits her now, you know, just because, you know, he's, he's that good of a person. 56:08 It just, it just didn't work out as, as, as a coach here and as a coach at a college level. 56:13 I'm glad he's, he's, you know, he's doing TV stuff. 56:17 He's doing Blackhawks TV games on, in the studio and he's got an angel network stuff going on. 56:23 So, you know, I don't know what, what the future is there but I'm glad he's, he's got that stuff going on. 56:31 Well, welcome back to College Hockey. 56:34 Thank you. 56:35 Seriously, we're glad to have you back and thank you for coming on the show again. 56:39 I think you're the record holder of the amount of times you've been on this podcast. 56:44 So, now you can keep building it. 56:47 You and Caponegre, you're still competing with Caponegre. 56:51 Caponegre caught up a little bit last year. 56:54 They did, yeah, you know. 56:56 But I did get the, the post-season one. 56:58 So that was, and there was season one. 57:00 That helped your numbers. 57:04 Well, thanks for coming on the show. 57:06 Like I said, we're really great to have you back. 57:10 That's gonna do it for this episode of The GPL Podcast. 57:13 Obviously we thank Todd for coming on the show. 57:15 We'll be back next week at our normal time of 9:30 PM. 57:20 And we're gonna have Melissa Voss, sorry about that, on the show with us. 57:26 For those of you staying and watching live, we'll have a little bit of overtime coming up next. 57:31 For the rest of you, we'll catch you next week on The GPL Podcast.