0:03 This is the GopherPuckLive Podcast, episode number 35, recorded Tuesday, February 19th, 2013. 0:18 Welcome to the GopherPuckLive Podcast, along with Hammy and Vegoe. 0:24 I'm your host, Jupiter, and this week is Bulldog Week. 0:28 And when that happens, we always bring, well, we'd like to bring a guest. 0:31 I don't know if we'd like him, but. 0:34 Drunk Hockey Guy is joining us this week, like you did last year. 0:38 Hello Kitty, how are you? 0:40 I'm great. 0:42 I've actually become a bigger fan of Hello Kitty. 0:44 And you know, before this whole thing gets started, I want to thank you guys. 0:49 I wanted to thank you guys for being the most gracious hosts I've ever seen. 0:53 Why would you say that? 0:55 Out of Frozen 4. 0:56 I mean, you guys could not have hosted a better event in 2011. 1:00 And to win a title hosted by you guys, just it meant so much more. 1:04 Because I haven't talked to you guys since then. 1:07 No, you have. 1:07 You did last year. 1:08 You talked to us last year. 1:09 No, no. 1:13 Oh, it was Final Five last year, when both our teams were going to go and meet each other in the finals, and both our teams just kept on getting. 1:22 I pretty sure that's spot on that neither one of us would make it. 1:25 I know. 1:25 We were pretty negative. 1:27 We were pretty negative. 1:28 It was pretty negative. 1:30 Oh, did we lose them already? 1:31 No, I'm here. 1:32 It was pretty negative. 1:34 But anyways, so I probably wasted that again. 1:37 But again, thank you guys. 1:38 You guys are great. 1:38 I appreciate it. 1:40 It's nice to have you on. 1:41 You're always entertaining if you're not getting yourself into trouble somewhere else. 1:44 Now we're back in the cellar, right where we belong. 1:47 Well, you're getting there. 1:48 Yeah, your team sucks. 1:51 We're not real good this year. 1:53 Shh. 1:54 Well, before we get into you, our team played this past weekend and we care about our team, the Gophers. 2:00 So you're going to have to put up with us for a little bit. 2:02 And you can chime in if you want because we talk a little bit about outdoor hockey. 2:06 And some people like it, some people don't. 2:08 We'll just see how it goes. 2:10 Somebody needs to explain the 1% to me as I think it's going. 2:13 Vegoe, go ahead. 2:15 Well, I was reading the forums trying to get a feel for what people saw the weekend. 2:19 Because I thought it was a great event. 2:21 It was fun to be in Chicago and see all the fans that made the trip and take in the tailgating scene that was happening. 2:29 And it seemed great. 2:30 And after both games, the coaches and players all seemed to enjoy the event. 2:35 And I'm reading all these forums and everybody's saying, oh, what an awful idea. 2:39 The hockey's bad. 2:40 The ice just makes the game unplayable. 2:43 Yada, yada, yada. 2:44 We shouldn't be putting points at stake in an event like this. 2:48 And I think it's great for the game. 2:50 I think it brings a lot of attention to it. 2:52 And if it gets some fans, that's a good thing. 2:55 But don't you think it's getting a little played out? 2:58 It's been happening, I think, too much. 3:00 And I think the novelty of it is really starting to wear off. 3:03 And they don't think they're going to have one here next year. 3:05 It would be two seasons from now. 3:08 Are people going to really want to see it then? 3:11 I think they will. 3:12 I do. 3:13 Absolutely. 3:14 Really? 3:15 People can say whatever they want. 3:17 Everybody wants to be negative because we knew going into that was the way it is. 3:22 But let's be honest. 3:23 People are going to be negative about it when it gets talked about, okay? 3:27 But the closer you get to that event and the more people you hear that are going to go and you start to think about it, you're not there to watch a hockey game, okay? 3:36 It's basically football on ice, right? 3:38 It's a massive tailgate party, which whether you admit it or not, the people that are going to go are going to be those people who want to tailgate and have a good time, just like we do at the Final Five, right? 3:48 And it's... 3:49 Think about when a puck goes in the net and there's 50,000 of your fans pretty much going crazy when that puck goes in the net in a football stadium. 3:57 I'll tell you one thing. 3:58 The football team hasn't heard a crowd that loud at TCF and they'll hear a much louder crowd for the hockey team, I promise you that. 4:07 Has the novelty worn off, Vegoe? 4:10 Well, I think if in three years North Dakota comes to the TCF, you're going to see a huge crowd and people are going to be excited about it. 4:17 If you do it every year, it's going to wear off for the same team if they host it every year. 4:22 But if it's a once every four year kind of thing, people are going to get pumped for it. 4:26 All right, Hammy, what are your thoughts? 4:28 I know you're not a big fan of it. 4:30 No, I mean, I don't disagree at all with what Chris said about it being kind of a fan friendly event where you go out and get bombed with your friends and just have a good time in the event atmosphere. 4:40 I never had a problem with that kind of stuff. 4:42 I understand that stuff. 4:43 For me, it's more about the game itself. 4:45 I mean, that's just me personally. 4:47 And I feel like that the outdoor games have jumped the shark, you know, to use a TV term. 4:53 I feel like it's played out. 4:56 I don't... 4:57 it is fun, like Chris mentioned, to go do the partying bit and all that. 5:01 But I don't like the fact... 5:03 I mean, I understand in football or in baseball that the elements are going to play a role in the game. 5:08 Maybe the wind's blowing out and it's going to be a home run fest or it's a muddy track in a football game and it's going to favor the physical running team or whatever. 5:18 I totally get that with those sports. 5:20 But in hockey, you know, the elements are not supposed to be a part, not in this day and age at least, maybe 50 years ago, but not now. 5:28 And so for me, that's an issue. 5:30 When you have goalies that have the sun blinding them and they can't see the puck and you have the ice that's choppy and, you know, to me it's just not... 5:38 I haven't seen many outdoor games that have been really entertaining from an actual game standpoint. 5:44 And so for me, that's the problem that I have. 5:46 I just don't like to see the elements, you know, interfere with a lot of how the actual game is played. 5:53 And that's ultimately the problem I have with it. 5:56 Let's get Andy Johnson going for a minute here. 5:58 And this is no disrespect, but there's two different styles of play of hockey. 6:02 Minnesota plays a style, Wisconsin plays a style, and that ice could not have played any better in a Wisconsin style of hockey. 6:10 Well, absolutely. 6:11 I mean, we kind of talked about it last week. 6:14 I mean, Wisconsin's a team that they struggle to score goals. 6:18 I mean, this year they're struggling a great deal to score goals. 6:20 So a slower track and being able to kind of just play more conservatively and all that kind of stuff, that kind of ice and those kind of conditions, that's exactly the kind of game that they want. 6:30 Now, I am not going to blame the loss on that, you know, or that I was outside because we just didn't play well enough, but I think it's fair to say that that kind of a situation does play more into the favor of a team like Wisconsin than it does for Minnesota. 6:45 One thing that frustrated me was that Minnesota didn't adjust when it was obvious what the adjustments were. 6:53 I mean, we, I was with one of the stats guys for the U, Rob Shield, and he was with a friend, we were watching the game, and one thing I kept noticing, and they kept noticing, is like, Gophers are trying to do these fancy plays, they're trying to do these big, booming shots from the point that aren't accurate. 7:09 It's even worse when it's crappy conditions. 7:11 We were like, you know, just wrist shots, accurate wrist shots on net, get the rebound, and it was too late when they finally figured that out, because that's what Wisconsin was doing the whole game. 7:22 Once Minnesota, you know, like, you know, started playing a little dirty, or just getting the puck on net, get the rebounds, they started playing well, but the problem is they didn't adjust to it, and Wisconsin did much quicker. 7:34 Well, I mean, I think part of that, too, is that Wisconsin, I mean, maybe not all the players on their team, but they've had outdoor games, you know, in recent years, they've had, they've experienced that, you know, their coach has, and, you know, maybe from that standpoint, there's a little bit of an advantage early on, because you know you've been in those kinds of situations that, hey, it's not about this or that, it's about just throwing pucks at the net and all that kind of stuff. 7:58 And, you know, I think that Lucia even sounded like in the papers last week, you know, he was calling to some, like Mel Pearson, for instance, to talk to him about his experiences in outdoor games, because Lucia hasn't had to coach in that kind of an environment. 8:12 So maybe there's a slight advantage, you know, at least early on, maybe they should have adjusted sooner, you know, that's certainly a good argument, you could say. 8:22 Any other thoughts on that game, or let's go back to the Friday game which we won, Vegoe. 8:26 Obviously that was a 3-2 win. 8:27 What do you think about Friday's game? 8:29 Well, one last thing about the hockey day is that Notre Dame played that style as well. 8:34 I mean, picking Notre Dame and Wisconsin to the most defensive teams in college hockey probably didn't set it up for Fire Wagon Hockey. 8:43 If they would have put St. 8:44 Cloud out there or somebody like that caught out of college more back in 14, it would have been a more exciting game. 8:50 But I think just because it involved Wisconsin, it was instantly going to be a slowdown game. 8:54 I mean, on Friday... 8:56 Who else do you pick? 8:58 You know what I mean? 8:59 Because you've got to also think about drawing the fans as much as it didn't look like if they sold 50-some thousand tickets. 9:04 I mean, I guess you replaced Miami with Michigan. 9:09 I mean, that probably would have been a better draw and more of what you're looking for, but you still would have got that slow it down. 9:15 The problem is, I think, doesn't Miami play that same brand of hockey as Notre Dame? 9:19 So you really had two teams that didn't want to firewagon it at all, and it was just... 9:24 It was atrocious. 9:25 That first game looked like a peewee game compared to the second game. 9:29 It was so much slower. 9:30 You know, maybe it was because of the sun, who knows? 9:32 It just seemed like the Minnesota-Wisconsin game was much more up and down and just a faster-paced game. 9:38 Yeah, I'm not sure what you do. 9:39 Maybe you make the rink bigger. 9:41 Maybe you make it 200 by 100 just to encourage a little bit more action going on. 9:45 But, you know, if the team is involved, they did it strictly for the fans and the draw in Chicago, I think. 9:50 I think if there's a game at TCF and they do kind of a Minnesota showcase and they invite the Minnesota teams to that, you'll probably see more entertaining hockey. 10:00 So what do you think about Friday night there, Vegoe? 10:02 Well, I think Minnesota might have lucked out getting those power plays because they did not look that impressive on the power play and yet they still came away with three power play goals. 10:14 Thankfully, they got some talent who could pull it off. 10:18 Hammy, your thoughts on the other game this weekend? 10:21 Well, I mean, I thought it was kind of what you would expect, you know, if you're going to win on a road game, you have to take advantage of your power play opportunities, especially against a defensive-minded team. 10:31 The one thing that kind of surprised me a little bit is Wisconsin getting up early and then, you know, losing the game. 10:37 I mean, because usually when you think about them getting a lead, they're just going to sit on it and be, you know, pretty conservative and whatever, and that's kind of where the power plays. 10:44 It was fortunate that we got that kind of later in the first period, that power play, and then I kind of seemed to even things up and we took advantage of things as the game went along. 10:55 Well, so we got the split this weekend. 10:57 We're a couple points back, blah, blah, blah. 10:59 Everyone's written off the team. 11:01 They have no chance. 11:04 What do you think, guys? 11:05 Do you think they still can get up first place? 11:07 Ami? 11:09 Was it too late? 11:10 Well, my feeling was that, sincere, I mean, I think I said this on GPL, I felt like they had to win on Sunday to really have a legitimate chance to win the league title because I felt like looking at the schedule down the stretch, it was relatively advantageous for the Gophers. 11:28 St. 11:28 Cloud has a couple of road series left. 11:31 So, you know, and our one road series is at Bemidji, and that's certainly a series the Gophers should sweep. 11:37 So, you know, I felt like if we were within a point or so, you know, that would certainly be to our advantage now with a three-point lead. 11:45 I mean, you can't rule it out because, like I said, they have to play at Wisconsin, and over the years, St. 11:51 Cloud has not really played well. 11:52 I mean, I know they swept there last year, but they haven't generally played well in Madison, and CC won't be a pushover. 11:58 So, you know, you never know, but I would say that more than likely, they're probably not going to get first place. 12:04 What do you think, Vegoe? 12:05 Do you think the Minnesota can sneak up there, or do you think second place or third place is good enough? 12:10 Well, I think their goal is to be in the top two right now. 12:14 If you look at the way the WCHA standings are, you'd like to be playing Bemidji or Alaska in that first weekend, just to, you know, take that out of worry. 12:23 And I think that's the goal. 12:24 And they've got an easy schedule down the stretch here. 12:27 I think they got a sweep coming up this weekend. 12:29 So, you know, slump us around the sleeves. 12:32 So, that should help them out. 12:35 Well, let's look at the rest of WCHA. 12:37 And Chris, boy, one point out of Bemidji with you, your team and the Beavers. 12:45 You know, I like to think back to what somebody said a few months ago about tech. 12:50 And in my opinion, Bemidji is just legit. 12:53 We didn't necessarily play bad. 12:55 They're just that good of a team. 12:58 Okay, so for real, because let's be real about it. 13:01 It was horrible. 13:03 And unfortunately, I got both teams on TV because for some odd reason, the Bemidji is broadcast throughout the state. 13:12 For the life of me, I can't figure out how the hell everybody gets that public access channel. 13:16 Public television, gotta love it. 13:18 Well, I'm about to say the Bulldogs should sign on that channel. 13:21 I'd appreciate it. 13:22 I think we'd rather watch Bemidji State Hockey than Bulldog Hockey though. 13:26 In my opinion, this is what I saw. 13:28 Friday was Sandy basically threw a game away. 13:31 He had to send a message to his goaltender. 13:35 He left the one at home, obviously the proven backup, and he left Mccneely on the bench. 13:42 Fonz is not a D1 goalie. 13:44 He has a third string goalie. 13:45 He was an emergency goalie for us. 13:47 Yeah, if you watch any of that game, watching him slide side to side, it looked like he was on gravel. 13:53 I've never seen a goalie move post to post slower. 13:56 And that's where they beat us in the power play, post to post. 13:59 The problem with Mccneely is, in my opinion, we're getting a little jelly syndrome with him, Brady Jelly, where he thinks it's his position, he doesn't have to earn it, and there's nobody there to push him. 14:09 And the difference with that was when Sandlin told Jelly it wasn't his spot and Ryder was going to push him forward, he quit. 14:15 In this case, we don't have that option, and Mccneely has all the talent in the world, but I don't think he's really learned how to deal with adversity. 14:29 I don't know how he handles it when the puck goes in the net, if he puts that on his shoulders or if he puts it on other people's shoulders. 14:35 That's problem number one, but this goaltending is not this team's problem. 14:38 He's played well enough for us to win enough games. 14:42 This team reminds me a lot of the team after we went to the Frozen 4 in 04, a team that just kind of quit on their coach. 14:49 Not everybody, but there's a couple people there that have quit. 14:53 And unfortunately, I think there's some of the leaders on the team. 14:55 And obviously, I'm not in their brain. 14:57 I can't say they quit for sure, but the product that I'm seeing on the ice is either they quit or they're about as mentally soft as it gets. 15:04 If you blow on their brain, they fold. 15:07 The second something goes wrong, you can see it on the ice. 15:10 The whole thing unravels. 15:11 You go into Saturday, McNeely played well enough to win that game. 15:15 I mean, he played a hell of a game. 15:17 And unfortunately, our offense didn't show up against Bemidji. 15:21 And I was talking to a couple bulldog people about this, and I don't think you'll see us scheduling Bemidji much on our schedule moving forward just because of the fact that UMD likes to play a skating game. 15:33 And if we have a choice of our non-conference teams, we're not going to play teams that are going to just grind it out and muck it on the wall. 15:39 That's not good for us. 15:40 I actually do believe you'll see UMD play Minnesota, not just because it's Minnesota, but because of the style of hockey Minnesota plays. 15:47 You'll see a better two games out of our team this weekend than you did last weekend, just solely because of the style of play. 15:53 So what happened Friday night? 15:54 I noticed you were tweeting about some controversial check from behind or five-minute major. 16:00 You were really mad about something, weren't you? 16:02 Oh, it wasn't just me. 16:03 I don't know. 16:04 I just heard something, but I didn't look into it. 16:06 The regular fans, so we got a check from behind. 16:08 That was a check, like he blew on him, basically. 16:13 The guy didn't even go down. 16:15 He kind of dropped to one knee. 16:16 It was kind of a tap. 16:17 He turned at the last minute. 16:19 They tossed him. 16:20 If you follow Chris Dilks or I'm trying to think, I know there's a few other non-Bulldog fans watching the game, and even the Bemidji announcers were like, he did not just get a five for that. 16:31 Like the Bemidji announcers were pissed at the refs. 16:35 Then Bemidji gets a guy tossed. 16:38 And like three minutes later, we completely blasted this guy from behind and they called it two-minute boarding. 16:43 And right there summed up WCHA refing in a hole right there. 16:47 We should have had a guy tossed there, and he wasn't tossed. 16:51 But six minutes earlier, we tap a guy in kind of the side back. 16:56 He drops to one knee and pops right back up and keeps playing the puck, and they call it a five. 17:02 That was unbelievable. 17:03 I've never seen anything like it. 17:05 But it's WCHA. 17:07 I'm at a point where I'm just used to it. 17:12 And we didn't lose that game because of the refs. 17:15 I just remember you kind of blew up Friday night, and I couldn't remember what had happened and things like that. 17:20 I think that was the prior weekend, maybe. 17:21 Well, that was more blowing up on our team. 17:23 Yeah, you blow up every weekend, though. 17:25 It's getting there. 17:25 Expectations, man. 17:28 This is what happens when you win a title. 17:29 I like the days when we won seven games. 17:31 I enjoyed hockey. 17:32 It was fun. 17:34 You're getting older, though, too. 17:35 Now I expect a winner. 17:36 You're getting older. 17:37 You're not in college anymore. 17:39 You know, it's a different deal. 17:41 It's a different deal. 17:43 Hammy, Vegoe, do you guys have any thoughts on the Duluths? 17:45 You know, I saw some of those Saturday... 17:47 Yeah, I saw most of the Saturday game. 17:49 I'm sorry. 17:51 Did you watch any of it this weekend on public television? 17:54 It sure did. 17:55 I wish I hadn't. 17:56 Stop it. 17:56 The kids should have a dance party. 17:59 Yeah, I did not see any of the... 18:00 I think I said I thought it was going to be a split last week. 18:04 Or last week. 18:05 I don't remember what I had called it, but I thought it was going to be a split. 18:08 So, I mean, I'm a little surprised. 18:10 But, you know, as Chris mentioned, it's not like UMD has been really kicking ass lately. 18:15 I mean, they've won one game in their last eight, and they've been struggling. 18:20 You know, the thing I was going to ask you, Chris, is as far as some of the players go, I was looking at some of the stats tonight, and to me, the guy that I feel has been disappointing when I was thinking about how UMD was going to look coming into the year is Herbert. 18:35 I really thought, you know, he looked really good last year, and I thought that he was going to be a kid that was going to be kind of a leader on the team and really scoring a lot more. 18:43 I mean, not that he has lousy stats, but he certainly hasn't lived up to what I thought he was going to be this year. 18:49 Is there something going on with him and his situation? 18:53 Well, I don't want to offend any Bulldog fans. 18:55 I'm not going to get too much in my opinion. 18:57 Let me just say this is my opinion. 19:00 First of all, he was injured last weekend, so he did not play. 19:03 I believe he suffered a concussion the week before, but they haven't made that official. 19:10 He's got a little, in my opinion, remember I just talked about the mentally soft thing? 19:16 He reminds me a lot of Michael Gergen, a guy that came in here his freshman year, absolutely lit it up, and then you just have no idea what happened to the kid. 19:26 A little bit of adversity, people started to figure him out, people started to play to his, take his strengths away from him. 19:32 Didn't he also have Conley on his line last year? 19:34 No. 19:34 He played second liner, didn't he? 19:37 He played with Brown and Oleksik. 19:40 That's still a lot better than what he's got. 19:42 Absolutely, that has a lot to do with it. 19:44 The problem was he's not shooting. 19:47 The guy's a goal scorer and he's not shooting the puck. 19:48 I would agree with that. 19:50 Every game I watch, he passes the puck. 19:52 I'm just like, dude, what are you doing? 19:54 You're the most offensive, lethal weapon we have on this team. 19:58 And you keep passing it. 20:00 I know they've had him at center. 20:01 I don't like him at center. 20:03 I personally would like to see him with Cameron Nessie and maybe a Basaraba. 20:08 Basaraba's not that great, but if anybody knows anything about Sandy's system is he runs a two-player system on his lines. 20:15 It's two good players and then throw a third one in there. 20:19 And if the third one's good, that's great. 20:21 But I don't think you'd put him like a Farley. 20:23 That frees Farley up to the second line. 20:24 I do think you'd put him with a Seydel or a Basaraba. 20:27 And for whatever reason, they keep playing him at center. 20:31 It baffles me. 20:32 I don't know why. 20:32 I don't think that's a spot. 20:34 I don't think he can create his own shot. 20:37 But they keep putting him there. 20:38 So I think that's another thing. 20:40 I think he's playing out of position, in my opinion. 20:43 Well, let's quickly go over a few other games, and then we'll get into this week. 20:48 Minnesota State sweeps Tech. 20:52 They're at the top of the league. 20:54 Well, not the top of the league, but they're way up top. 20:56 No one saw this coming. 20:58 No one saw this coming. 20:59 Alright, Chris, let's see what you think about Mankato State. 21:02 Oh, I wouldn't say Mankato State is bad. 21:04 I'm just saying it's not that hard to see Tech. 21:05 Hell, the UMD swept them. 21:06 They're our slump buster. 21:09 Yeah, but still, you gotta like what Mankato is doing. 21:12 New coach, new coach, and you know what? 21:15 We definitely helped them. 21:16 I mean, we got confidence a couple of weeks back, man. 21:19 And I think they're gonna ride that for a while. 21:23 You know, I made jokes the beginning of the year when they started out crappy, and I was like, same old Mankato, you know, coach isn't gonna change them that much. 21:31 Hastings walked into a good situation. 21:35 By no means, I kind of feel a little bit bad for jutting because one of the few teams that the cover wasn't bare for him, and he gets the oust. 21:43 But that happens, right? 21:44 You know, eventually that's what happens with good teams. 21:47 Sometimes you gotta, you know, change up the coach and you take it to the next level. 21:51 And, you know, I think it was time for them. 21:54 They made the right move. 21:55 Clearly Hastings has got this figured out. 21:58 I'm relatively happy we're not in the league with them anymore because I think they could be a team that would, you know, jump up as the Bulldogs have for a couple years at a time. 22:07 And I don't want anything to do with that. 22:10 I think we'll continue to recruit them just because of the NCHE versus WCHA. 22:14 So at the end of the day, it wouldn't affect us. 22:16 But I think had the WCHA stayed together, I think you would have seen a lot from Mankato, a lot that I'm happy that is probably not going to take place now due to the league they're staying in. 22:28 Vegoe, your thoughts on Minnesota State staying on top? 22:32 Well, I think with some of these middle teams in the conference, every once in a while they're going to get a couple of classes of kids that allow them to jump up to the top, and they're just taking advantage of that cycle. 22:43 I think one of the things about the conferences splitting up is a team like this is going to be able to make the tournament for a couple of years. 22:49 If they're in the WCHA and they're the top dog in that league, that gets them a berth into the tournament, and that's good for that program. 23:00 When I think about their success this year, to me it comes down to goaltending. 23:04 I really think that they have a kid come in as a freshman and he's played real well. 23:11 I don't know what it will shake down for the all-freshman team, but he might beat Wilcox for that spot. 23:17 That's how good he's played for them this year. 23:20 So for me, that's ultimately the key of their season is how well he's played. 23:26 They have some good players, don't get me wrong, but they're not like a juggernaut offensively or anything like that. 23:34 I just think that really comes down to you have a guy on net who's saving 93% of the opportunities and has got very good goals against them. 23:44 That to me is the key of their team and that's the key of their season. 23:47 Finally, we have Nebraska-Omaha going up to Anchorage and getting the sweep. 23:52 We've been kind of down on Nebraska-Omaha lately, but we thought that was going to look like a two-to-three-point weekend, but they come away with four, Hammeh. 24:01 Yeah, I mean, it's a little surprising simply because, I don't know, I kind of feel that UNO is a little bit of a fraud. 24:09 They are in second place. 24:11 Yeah, but you know what? 24:12 Then you look at the pair-wise and they're not anywhere, you know, they're not in the tournament field. 24:16 So, I mean, it's kind of like, obviously, there's something there that says that they might be winning some games, but, I mean, what's the schedule been like? 24:23 I mean, when I look at their schedule, they haven't had the toughest conference schedule in the world. 24:28 I mean, and the ones that they have had tough games, they've generally not won. 24:32 I mean, so, I don't know. 24:34 I mean, I'm not surprised that they go up to Anchorage. 24:37 Usually, when good teams go up to Anchorage, they might blow a point, you know, maybe even two if they have a real off night. 24:43 So, it's not a huge surprise that they would sweep. 24:45 And let's face it, you know, it took them OT in the second game. 24:50 And a late goal to tie it, too. 24:51 Yeah, they had to come back late, you know what I mean? 24:54 I think they had a few goals, actually. 24:57 Yeah, late, you know what I mean? 24:58 So, I mean, it's not like they couldn't have blown that game. 25:02 So, nonetheless, you know, it's not that big of a surprise. 25:06 Veegs, what do you think? 25:08 Well, I think it is kind of surprising to see Nebraska-Omaha outside the pair-wise. 25:12 You know, being second in the conference and that far down the pair-wise, it's kind of been the story of the conference this year not to do great outside the WCHA, with the exception of being Minnesota's undefeated outside the conference. 25:25 But this was the kind of situation the Gophers were in last year, and, you know, playing Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth isn't going to help their pair-wise at all. 25:33 But, you know, they've got some talent. 25:35 They've got a real good line, and they've got some good defensemen. 25:38 I think goaltending has been shaky for them, and that's kind of played out. 25:41 They had a guy leave the program, and that's probably going to cost them here as they come down the stretch. 25:47 Yeah. 25:47 Chris, do you have any thoughts on Nebraska-Omaha? 25:49 That's usually still a tough place to go, especially for your Bulldogs. 25:52 They're a hell of a squad. 25:54 You think so? 25:56 Well, I think they can be. 25:58 They're a purer Blaze team. 26:00 I'll tell you what, my wife and I took the kids down there for the road trip, and I've never seen a blue line so damn big in my life. 26:08 I mean, we're talking, I don't think there was a guy on the ice under 6'2. 26:12 Oh, yeah, they are very big. 26:15 You get them on an Olympic sheet, they run into a little bit of problems, in my opinion, because of that. 26:19 Small Shifty Fords, classic Blaze team, I think they're streaky. 26:22 I think Nebraska-Omaha is one of those teams that I wouldn't want them to get into the tourney because they can be streaky. 26:28 They can lose very well in the first round, but you win the first game, you win the second game, all of a sudden, I only got two more to go. 26:34 I think they can get streaky in a hurry. 26:37 I think it speaks volumes. 26:39 Them getting swept by Quinnipiac is obviously... 26:42 It's funny, I don't know how that's killing them because Quinnipiac is at the top of the list there. 26:47 So obviously Quinnipiac has rode that sweep to a very high pairwise ranking, and I really can't wait to see them fall in the first round. 26:55 That's going to be enjoyable just to let everybody know. 26:57 Again, they still suck, but that's just me. 27:00 You know, I think your team benefited from that a few years ago. 27:04 You know, a good streaky? 27:06 No, everyone thought that Yale was pretty overrated and didn't deserve their ranking. 27:10 Oh yeah, no, no. 27:11 And I think it was very fortunate that you guys got them. 27:14 I can reach up to the region. 27:14 Oh, absolutely. 27:15 You guys had a great draw, but the thing is, you took advantage of it. 27:19 Yeah, I'm not going to apologize for that. 27:20 We definitely got a great draw. 27:22 You can't complain about it. 27:24 I mean, we got a fortunate five-minute major call that went in our favor, and with the power play we had, that wasn't a good idea for them. 27:30 Yeah, that was an excellent power play. 27:32 Yeah, well, I mean, yeah, it was lights out. 27:35 I mean, I've never seen anything like it. 27:37 But, you know, I mean, Nebraska, Omaha, obviously, I think they're going to have to win the tourney to get in at this point. 27:46 There's too much damage done. 27:47 They're an okay squad. 27:49 They can play with anybody, and that's always a fear, but the question is, can you string three or four games together? 27:54 See, that's what it's going to take. 27:55 So, I don't know. 27:57 I'm surprised. 27:58 I thought Blaze would have had this thing going in a different direction by now, and he's still just kind of hovering around mediocrity. 28:03 Well, the one thing that, you know, obviously Nebraska-Oma and Minnesota State do have is they have played two more games than the teams right behind them, which are Minnesota and North Dakota. 28:13 So, I mean, logically, I'm thinking those teams are going to be around that 5-6, 4-5-6 area. 28:21 So, I don't know. 28:24 I don't think that Nebraska-Oma is going to get knocked out again. 28:28 I don't think they're going to make it to a final five ever. 28:33 I mean, they've been knocked out the last two years. 28:35 Well, I think it depends on who the, you know, who is the matchup going to be, obviously. 28:41 It could very well be. 28:43 Oh, no, settle down. 28:44 We're falling too quickly. 28:46 We're going to end up at Minnesota. 28:48 No, you're still four points up on Tech. 28:50 We're going to end up at Minnesota. 28:51 Oh, dude, come on. 28:52 I mean, you take it to us this weekend and it's over. 28:56 I mean, where are we at in the standings here? 28:58 I know we're eighth. 28:58 I'm trying to get a good gauge on who's in front of us. 29:00 So, yeah, right now, you're tied to CC. 29:03 Guys, I think you guys are going to pop up. 29:05 But, you know, you're probably right. 29:08 We probably are going to hang around this spot. 29:09 So it's probably going to be Minnesota, Mankato or North Dakota. 29:12 Yep, yep. 29:15 I don't see Omaha dropping two spots down. 29:18 I just, I don't. 29:20 Vegoe, I would like to hear some of your stories from this weekend. 29:25 You know, obviously you made the trip. 29:27 You were at Soldier Field. 29:28 You covered the game. 29:30 Give us a sense of how it was besides the game. 29:33 Tell us about the family trip. 29:36 Well, we drove down on Saturday and made the six and a half, seven hour drive. 29:42 And, you know, it was very pleasant getting into Chicago at that time of night. 29:45 The next day, chaos ensued in Chicago. 29:50 There was an auto show going on at McCormick Place. 29:54 There were people going to the aquarium. 29:55 There were people going to the museum. 29:57 Traffic was just a disaster in the area. 30:00 Really? 30:00 And then, yeah. 30:02 And I actually got dropped off next to Soldier Field. 30:05 And I was walking by where all the cars were coming in to park. 30:09 And the parking guys were going, auto show, aquarium or hockey? 30:14 And people, you know, had to roll down their windows. 30:16 And based on what they said, there were three ways to go. 30:20 And so it was just a disaster from that standpoint. 30:22 But then I get to where the parking is and it says no tailgating. 30:26 And that has not stopped anybody. 30:28 I see broken bottles of Jack Daniel's honey. 30:31 I see beer cans all over the place. 30:34 I see people just enjoying it like it's a football tailgate. 30:38 I think Chris said that earlier, that these outdoor games are, you know, it's kind of like a football game. 30:43 It's going to be outside. 30:44 So people put their NA frees in them and stumble into the stadium. 30:49 And you could definitely tell that people are enjoying themselves. 30:52 It looks like the Miami and Notre Dame fans went to their game and then left. 30:57 And all the Minnesota-Wisconsin fans basically didn't go or went and then joined the stadium. 31:03 You lay off the brotherhood. 31:05 Lay off the brotherhood. 31:06 So, I mean, it's so cool. 31:08 I wish I was part of the brotherhood. 31:12 But, you know, it was kind of an empty stadium for the most part because I think, you know, the fans are split. 31:19 The sidelines for anybody below the 300-deck weren't that great. 31:24 But if you were in the 300-deck, it was, you know, pretty good. 31:27 You had a good angle down the ice and it got cold. 31:30 And only Bucky's band was there, which was a little bit disappointing, I think, for a lot of fans. 31:35 They were kind of open to see the Gopher band. 31:38 I know that it's up to the opposing AD to make that call, whether or not they'll allow the band. 31:43 Barry Alvarez hates everyone. 31:46 Had to pay off that $800,000 UNC game, man. 31:49 That was a tough bill for the Gophers. 31:52 I've been thinking about whether or not the offer was made to allow them to bring the band, but they weren't there anyway. 32:01 It was quiet. 32:01 It was definitely quiet. 32:03 How was yours view? 32:04 Could you see the puck or were you watching the monitor? 32:07 It was great. 32:08 I mean, I sent those tweets about the picture with Anthem and then a couple shots of the game. 32:15 We had a good view up in the press box. 32:16 It was a little weird being behind the glass because you didn't get to hear the pipes because Wisconsin did hit the pipe twice during the game. 32:24 You kind of had to hear that from the commentators because you couldn't hear it. 32:27 You could hear the fans, which is a little bit different. 32:30 But the view was good up there. 32:32 It was a well-run event. 32:33 So it was a heated type of press box then? 32:36 No, it was enclosed. 32:39 It was comfy. 32:40 It was actually really hot because at one point the sun was setting over the top of the stadium and going right in the press box. 32:48 It got quite toasty up there. 32:50 But you enjoyed yourself? 32:52 Oh, no, it was great. 32:52 It was good to see all the reactions from the players who all seemed to enjoy the event. 32:58 I know that between games, Don Lucia got to see Mario and talk to him about what it was like out there. 33:05 I think everybody had a good time the weekend. 33:06 I think the Gopher players wished they had won and played a little better, but they were still happy to be there. 33:12 Yeah, Don got to see his kid. 33:13 That's probably why we were there. 33:17 Could be. 33:18 He likes to see his kid. 33:21 All right, guys, let's move into this week. 33:23 Let's get rid of... 33:23 Let's go over the Colorado stuff first. 33:27 We got both St. 33:28 Cloud and North Dakota heading out to Colorado this weekend. 33:32 North Dakota is taking on Denver. 33:34 St. 33:34 Cloud is taking on Colorado College. 33:37 This could be interesting, guys. 33:39 Hammy, let's get your first thoughts on both these series. 33:41 St. 33:41 Cloud has got to keep winning. 33:44 Otherwise, they're not going to win the title. 33:47 And CC is... 33:48 I know they're down this year, but there's still no push over. 33:52 Well, and they just had a good series against Denver. 33:54 Granted, it's their biggest rival, so you kind of have to be careful about how much you read into those kinds of series. 34:01 I actually think that both of those series are going to end up splits. 34:04 I think that both home teams are good enough to beat the other team, but I don't think they're good enough to sweep either team. 34:11 I just don't see that happening, so I think that both series are probably going to end up in splits. 34:17 What do you think, Veegs? 34:19 Well, I wanted to call it sweep sweep, because I thought that would be fun, but I think Denver is going to pull out a point against North Dakota. 34:24 I think they're just too competitive a team to give away all four points. 34:30 I see St. 34:31 Cloud and Colorado College. 34:32 I'd recommend betting you over in those games, not because I'm gambling, but I could see a couple 5-4-type tallies. 34:40 All right, Chris, let's hear what you think. 34:45 Chris? 34:48 Did we lose him? 34:50 I'm here. 34:51 Sorry I had you on mute. 34:52 Too much conference call time for me. 34:53 I'm used to the mute button. 34:55 Trust me, I do it all the time on this thing. 34:58 I hate St. 34:59 Cloud. 35:00 I hate St. 35:01 Cloud with a passion more than any team in this league. 35:04 That being said, they're going to sweep Colorado College and I'm going to want to puke in a vomit bag because of it, because I just can't not stand their fans at all or their program. 35:13 As for North Dakota-Denver, I go split there. 35:16 I mean, those two teams, you want to talk about the cliché, two teams that don't like each other. 35:20 You just hope everybody comes through without any head injuries or neck injuries in a series like that. 35:26 It tends to happen. 35:27 People get a little feisty. 35:29 So that's my opinion. 35:31 Split on North Dakota-Denver, and I think St. 35:33 Cloud is going to sweep, unfortunately. 35:35 I'm thinking North Dakota is going to split with Denver. 35:37 Like you said, they don't like each other, and they tend to have really good games. 35:42 But I'm trying to flow with more positivity, so I'm going to say that CC is going to get three or four from St. 35:49 Cloud. 35:51 Three or four. 35:52 I think CC is going to be a little helper this weekend, and make the race much tighter than it is right now. 36:01 Monster commonest. 36:02 Yeah, I know. 36:03 It's probably going to be all downhill, but who knows. 36:06 All right, boys. 36:08 The Bulldogs coming to Mariucci. 36:10 Last time is WCHA opponents, blah, blah, blah. 36:14 Everyone cry. 36:16 What do you think? 36:19 Well, first of all, let me say that now that the conferences are going to change, I'll actually be able to root a little bit for UMD. 36:26 They actually will. 36:27 They're probably, them and CC will probably be the two teams in that league that I will actually cheer a little bit for simply because CC usually has a lot of Minnesota kids, you know, on their Oscar. 36:38 And Duluth is, let's face it, their sister school to the Gophers. 36:42 You know, I mean, and now that it's not necessarily a competition within the conference, I can sort of act like I'm Fire Helmet Guy and actually pull a little bit for Duluth. 36:55 You know, but I mean, so in a way, and I'm kind of, and I totally agree with Chris. 37:00 I think St. 37:00 Cloud is the scum of the earth. 37:02 I can't stand their fans. 37:03 I've never seen a group of fans that have cheered for a team that has done less and yet talked more than that group of fans. 37:10 So it's kind of interesting watching these morons talk trash now after all these years. 37:16 But anyways, so I'm kind of glad that the conferences are changing a little bit in that sense. 37:23 As far as this weekend goes, I mean, it's hard to not say that the Gophers are going to sweep. 37:28 I mean, it's, you know, I mean, I think Chris would agree, when you're looking at the trends of how the teams have played, there's not a lot you could say that the Gophers don't have an advantage of and they're on home ice. 37:40 And they do have a lot to play. 37:42 I mean, the Gophers need to, you know, crank it up now. 37:44 I mean, if they're going to have any chance for the league at all, I mean, they have to sweep this series. 37:49 So I just think coming home, it'll be, you know, something that they're looking forward to. 37:54 And so I'll go with the sweep. 37:56 All right, Veegs, what you got? 37:58 Of course, I'm nervous coming into this weekend. 38:01 Minnesota-Duluth, I think they're on a seven-game losing streak or seven-game winless streak. 38:08 They're out shooting their opponents still during this whole awful season. 38:13 And they're coming to Minnesota where they're going to be taunted with gopher reject chance. 38:17 It's a bad group of circumstances for gopher fans because the gopher fans have had trouble supporting their team through a sweep all season. 38:26 I think Alaska Anchorage is the only sweep. 38:29 And I think the Gophers are going to come out and get a win on Friday. 38:32 And Saturday, I think they're going to get a tie. 38:36 I can just see Duluth getting so up for that Saturday game and coming through. 38:42 Okay, Chris, give us your best. 38:45 Well, I'm torn here. 38:46 Because obviously if we take any points from the Gophers, that means St. 38:50 Cloud's going to win the league. 38:50 And that just makes me want to vomit again. 38:52 It's kind of like your audio right now makes us want to vomit. 38:55 I know. 38:56 Listen, it's just... 38:58 You just sound really bad. 38:59 That's all. 39:00 I'm sorry. 39:00 Well, I hate St. 39:01 Cloud. 39:03 And anything we do good this week is the plan of their favor. 39:07 It sounds like you're talking to a voice box or something. 39:10 It's like that Sticks tune or whatever. 39:17 Is that any better there? 39:18 Hold on a second. 39:21 We're going to make you sound better, okay? 39:24 Am I going to sound like a Hello Kitty? 39:26 He sounds better now. 39:27 That's better. 39:28 I was about to hang up on you. 39:29 All right. 39:30 Well, my point, obviously, like I just said, obviously, jokingly aside, if we do take any points, St. 39:36 Cloud's going to lock the league up, and that's not cool. 39:39 That being said, I don't know. 39:42 This team's playing just bad right now. 39:45 They're not a bad team. 39:45 They have a lot of young talent. 39:47 I mean, I counted a game a couple weeks back where 13 of our 19 skaters were sophomores or younger. 39:52 I think only four of them were sophomores. 39:54 I think we had every freshman in the lineup. 39:56 I think it's a team that would next year's, you know, that's got some good building blocks, but we haven't learned how to overcome when things don't go right. 40:05 The only chance the Bulldogs have to steal a game down there is that they can jump to an early lead. 40:11 And it's going to be Friday night if it happens. 40:14 For whatever reason, McNeely, who I do believe will get both starts in this barn, he shows, if you look at his Friday versus Saturday night stats, they're two completely different worlds. 40:25 But you said it, the shots on goal are disturbing. 40:29 It's like the 0-5, 0-6 season for us. 40:31 We just pump these shots on goal and it's like the only thing we're aiming for is the goalie's chest. 40:34 And then when we don't go for the goalie's chest, we have the good play. 40:38 Somehow the goalie gets over and makes a save. 40:40 I've never seen anything like the games we've had. 40:43 Mankato, two weeks ago, I've never seen better quality chances in the beginning of that game that we couldn't bury a puck. 40:48 So if you ask me my thoughts, I think if the dogs do anything, if they win, it's going to be Friday. 40:53 I don't know that they will unless Minnesota comes up slow. 40:57 I would say our best-case scenario is probably a point, and that would be a tie Friday. 41:02 And I do not feel comfortable on Saturday, which is why the only way... 41:06 I'm going down with Fire Helmet Guy to watch at the library, and the only way I'm walking into that game is if I get $20 tickets because I'm $50-faced. 41:14 Does anybody want to talk about that? 41:16 $50-faced? 41:18 Play the Gophers in a college hockey game? 41:20 I mean, are you kidding me? 41:23 You are preaching to the choir. 41:24 The ticket prices are outrageous. 41:28 You know, the Wild Game, I can see $70. 41:30 There's a lot of nice amenities there, right? 41:32 There's a lot that I can take advantage of. 41:34 $50 is outrageous. 41:36 I'm not paying it. 41:37 So unless somebody wants to donate some tickets cheaply, I'm not going, which is probably good because I don't want to see the sight that's going to happen on Saturday, in my opinion. 41:45 Like I said, Friday's our night. 41:47 That's the only shot we got. 41:48 Yeah, I think it is. 41:51 The only event standing room I think is $50 or something like that right now. 41:56 The U is just kind of gouging the fans and it might be getting a little out of control. 42:02 Don't know what to say about it. 42:04 But I think the Gophers are going to sweep. 42:07 Four points. 42:08 St. 42:08 Cloud's going to lose this weekend. 42:10 The Gophers will be in first place Monday morning. 42:14 That's going out on a limb. 42:16 Hey, I've had all these people saying how negative I've been, blah, blah, blah, on Twitter, and apparently they didn't get the bit because I was just having fun with them Monday. 42:23 Do we have a comment on here? 42:27 EST2009. 42:29 Yeah. 42:30 We had the excuse computer going Monday, and people came up with some good ones. 42:34 I think they blamed John Hill for the loss. 42:38 I like that. 42:40 It was entertaining, and some people are like, I'm going to stop subscribing to you. 42:43 You're so negative. 42:44 I'm like, oh my God, you don't get it. 42:46 Between that and the Grammys, you lost a lot of followers. 42:49 Oh, I know. 42:50 The Grammys was fun, man. 42:51 Hey, the Oscars are this weekend? 42:54 Oh, I'm going to have to pull it out again. 42:56 That pisses people off. 42:57 God forbid we do something else than college hockey. 43:01 Sports, sports, sports. 43:03 I know, I know, but that's just too bad. 43:07 It's just too damn bad. 43:10 So what's going to happen now, guys? 43:11 Do you think your team is going to make it to the final five there, Chris? 43:16 Are we going to have a fun last final five? 43:19 I would love to see Minnesota State get in there. 43:21 I'd love to see North Dakota. 43:23 Unfortunately, I'd like to see St. 43:25 Cloud. 43:25 I want to see these kind of the local teams make up the final five. 43:28 Do you want to do the conspiracy theory first just for fun? 43:31 Sure. 43:31 All right, last final five, need to make some money. 43:35 If we end up having to go to play the Gophers in the first round, we're done. 43:38 I'm sorry, but this is their last big, big money move. 43:43 No way the Gophers aren't getting to this thing. 43:45 But that jokingly side, I would love to see a final five. 43:50 Minnesota, Mankato, Wisconsin, God forbid, but Wisconsin, their fans like to party. 43:56 Minnesota, North Dakota, and anybody else other than St. 44:00 Paul that would like to show up. 44:02 Obviously, for ticket purposes, St. 44:04 Paul would be the team that you'd want to stick in there with. 44:06 I think you'd have a hell of a final five attendance wise and what else, whatever else. 44:11 But I don't know, man. 44:14 The only chance that I see of us making the final five would be if we end up playing Minnesota State. 44:23 For whatever reason, I feel out of the four teams in front of us, they're the team that we could go into their barn and take two or three. 44:32 And it would be two or three. 44:33 We're not sweeping anybody, I promise you that. 44:36 We end up somehow having to play Minnesota or... 44:39 How'd you guys do against UNO this year? 44:41 We got swept. 44:43 Like I said, those big guys started hitting us and it was over. 44:46 They tried to play skating. 44:47 The second game we played, it was a skating game in the first period. 44:50 The dogs completely owned it. 44:51 Then Nebraska-Omaha remembered that they had a bunch of 6-4 defensemen and just started to crush us. 44:57 Four checked the hell out of us and it was over. 45:00 North Dakota, I guess possibly, if you ask anybody at the beginning of the year, the dogs are playing a lot better obviously, but anybody at the beginning of the year would have told you, UMD could have easily walked out of North Dakota's barn with four points and they walked out with one. 45:13 They gave up a goal in overtime with a minute to go where they had a couple of chances early. 45:18 And then I believe we blew the lead late in the third with the extra attacker to take it to overtime. 45:25 We had opportunities in overtime that were better than theirs. 45:27 And ever since then, it's been all downhill. 45:30 Absolutely right. 45:30 Blame the Who. 45:32 No, it actually wasn't them. 45:34 It was more the Saturday Night Colorado College Collapses where it started in Colorado College. 45:39 But the only chance I think we have to make it is if we get Minnesota State in the first round and we play well, our goalie has to play lights out. 45:46 Yeah, against Stephon Williams, you'd have to play lights out. 45:49 I would think that would be the scariest matchup of the teams up top. 45:54 Yeah, their goalie is good. 45:56 I was surprised. 45:56 I thought he was a little overrated going in, and I saw him firsthand and I was pretty impressed. 46:01 He moves well. 46:01 He's very athletic for a big goalie. 46:03 You've even praised Wilcox quite a bit this year. 46:06 Well, Wilcox should be a bulldog, and I don't want to get into that. 46:10 We don't want to start there. 46:11 Better with the Stalock stuff, aren't you? 46:13 Stalock, we're going to have to have some family time. 46:17 Yeah, no, you know what? 46:19 The kid is good. 46:20 I doubted him early in the year. 46:21 I said I thought he'd be your biggest weakness, and then I didn't realize that he was Stalock's clone, literally. 46:28 I think the only difference is, and I don't know if it's Lucia came in and in, he definitely doesn't play the puck like Al does. 46:33 He plays it, but Stalock was out of control the way he played that puck. 46:37 He was truly your third defenseman, and he was your third break the puck out defenseman. 46:44 Wilcox will play the puck, and I don't, as I've seen the games, and I've seen plenty of your games this year just because, obviously, I live in the cities, and my kids like to watch hockey, so we've got to put something on. 46:56 And it's a good hockey to watch, I won't lie. 46:59 They, Wilcox definitely doesn't play the puck as much as he did earlier in the year, and I'm wondering if that is Lucia reeling him in a little bit. 47:08 And quite frankly, guys, that's a big mistake. 47:10 Really? 47:11 That's a big mistake, in my opinion. 47:13 When you have a weapon like that, hey, you're going to give up a goal once in a while. 47:16 What are you kidding me? 47:18 I seem like I had 10 assists this senior year. 47:20 If you had a goal with 10 assists, I just think when you... 47:24 If you're going to reel that in, I just think that's a bad idea. 47:26 You know what you got. 47:28 Trust him. 47:29 Let him roll a thick. 47:30 Let him play the puck. 47:31 So if he screws up too many times, reel him in. 47:33 But you haven't even given the guy a chance to do what he could really do with that puck. 47:37 And from what I saw over the year, he could play a puck just like Al can. 47:40 And I'm surprised that I let him do it. 47:43 Well, I must thank you, Chris, for letting me have fun with your website again this week. 47:48 With your little Hello Kitty theme, I think it looks great. 47:53 And it's going to be a great send-off, because the rumors are you're going to shut down the site at the end of the season. 47:59 Tell us about that. 48:00 Yeah, I think it's time. 48:02 I've had some people offer to pick it up. 48:05 You know, obviously, frankly, our site's never been that big of a site. 48:10 You know, I think we peaked really well in the mid-2000s, the late 2000s. 48:14 Even in the frozen four-year, we didn't have a ton of traffic through there. 48:17 It got real good towards the end of the year, obviously. 48:21 But I think fans have changed. 48:24 Even when I look at GPL, I don't see a ton of young fans. 48:27 I see a lot of people posting their notes, a lot of users. 48:30 I see a lot of familiar posting. 48:32 I think we're turning into, obviously, I think we all know we're turning into a Twitter age. 48:37 Obviously, keep the Twitter account going. 48:39 I get way more traffic with Twitter, whether it's trolling or whatever, maybe. 48:44 You troll? 48:45 It's another conversation. 48:47 I'm sorry, people take it out of context. 48:49 I was taking it out of context, that's what it was. 48:52 You know, it's just tiring. 48:53 I got three-year-old twins. 48:55 They're going to start playing hockey this fall. 48:58 They already got enough stuff going on in their own between just community things they like taking to. 49:04 I'm trying to get on track, so I spend a lot of time in the gym now. 49:08 Travel for work. 49:10 And it's just between those things where I'm not using the site, we try to go a different direction this year with it by adding a couple of riders and getting on Facebook and getting on Twitter. 49:18 And really, the only thing that's taken off is the Twitter page. 49:20 And as much as it'd be nice to let somebody else take it over, you know, the pillow box was mine and a couple of friends' brainchild. 49:27 It started with my buddy who was nicknamed Booty and Sando. 49:31 And we got it going with the shirts. 49:34 Beer Song jumped right in there. 49:36 And obviously, you know, he was our original writer, which nobody's been able to come close to the way he used to write with his satire and good hockey information all in one. 49:45 I think he got in trouble with his mom with the Jenna Jamieson shots to the face move. 49:49 Oh, yeah. 49:50 We're not allowed to write anymore. 49:52 That was pretty good. 49:55 Yeah. 49:56 But, you know, he was a college kid having some fun writing a fun article. 50:00 And the site was doing well. 50:02 And it just hasn't taken off, and it's time to move on. 50:05 And I'm fine with that. 50:07 I want to give, you know, everybody's got different outlets they can go to. 50:10 They're still USCHO. 50:11 But in my opinion, the message board is it's too slow for where we're at these days. 50:17 We want instant Twitter, and they want to be able to go to one spot. 50:21 So GPL's got a long life run left in it because there's a good enough fan base to keep that going. 50:26 But my site's turned down to about eight users and 11 to death. 50:30 And I wish I could keep it going for them. 50:33 And I probably could keep it going for another six months with what we have paid for it. 50:36 But it's just, it's time. 50:37 You know, it's time. 50:38 But I think the beginning of the season, they should go in a new direction. 50:41 And maybe somebody will take it in that direction. 50:43 Well, I'll never forget that first time I kind of hacked your site. 50:47 How many of your fans came up to me when we were up in Duluth that weekend, it must have been 2005 or 2006, whenever it was. 50:55 And they just thought it was funny. 50:58 And one thing I've always enjoyed is that you got it pissed about it at first, but then you kind of got it and you kind of let me have a little fun with your websites. 51:07 It had been a little while since I had done something, which is why I went with the Hello Kitty theme this week. 51:11 You got me off guard. 51:12 It had been a while. 51:14 I took a couple years off. 51:17 I should have known it was coming this year and I wasn't prepared for it. 51:21 And it was pretty funny. 51:24 I saw you put evil laugh on Twitter. 51:27 That was my thing. 51:28 I knew you would find out when I did that. 51:29 You were just talking about the Burger King thing. 51:32 And I immediately thought I need to go to my website. 51:35 And as soon as I clicked on it, I was like, wow, you have outdone yourself, sir. 51:42 And then I went into the settings to try to flip it back. 51:45 And you must have downloaded, backed up the original server somewhere else because all I could find was the Hello Kitty. 51:51 I couldn't even switch it back. 51:58 I'll switch it back. 51:59 Just give me a couple more days and have some fun with it. 52:02 Stop not worrying about it at all. 52:03 You're just fine. 52:04 I think the best part was your little mouse pointer turned into Hello Kitty as well. 52:09 And we got a record number of users to go to your website. 52:13 Yeah. 52:13 I mean, look at that. 52:15 That was kind of fun. 52:15 Everyone go to the site. 52:16 We got you your new record from 79 to what? 52:19 117 or something like that now. 52:21 I'm honestly wondering if I should hit up a few websites to see if they want to sponsor me. 52:26 I mean, I heard you start selling some ads on this thing. 52:30 Well, I'm glad you've been good sport about it. 52:32 I've tried to help you out since you started the site. 52:36 It's always been fun. 52:37 I like kind of doing that backend stuff. 52:38 Like I said, I appreciate that. 52:41 Obviously, without a doubt, this site got off the ground without you, but it would not have continued without you when we beat some moves to, you know, we basically had just a few people that knew enough to put a site together. 52:56 You know, we knew nothing about recording. 52:57 We knew nothing about updating the actual board itself to better software. 53:03 I did a little digging trying to figure it out. 53:05 You know, I'm a sales guy. 53:06 My brain doesn't work that way. 53:07 It's still long enough to do all this. 53:12 And without you, Jupiter definitely would not have ever gotten started to the level it did. 53:17 So, you know, I appreciate that. 53:20 You're not going away. 53:21 You're still going to at least be on Twitter bothering people. 53:23 And I've always tried to, anytime I can, help you out with, you know, with dog tickets when they're in Duluth. 53:28 Oh, yeah, I appreciate that. 53:30 Trust me. 53:31 They're a much better price, too, than the games down here, I'll tell you that. 53:35 Yeah, they are a little fair. 53:37 I couldn't believe they got 30 bucks for the dogs walking into Bemidji last week. 53:40 My wife was there Friday. 53:41 $30. 53:42 We don't even charge $30 for a game at UND. 53:46 They're having some issues up there in Bemidji. 53:49 They're having some crowd issues. 53:50 They're having some financial issues. 53:52 Bemidji, well, let's just say, Bemidji got screwed in this whole reconferencing thing. 53:59 They were really looking forward to going, WCHA, that nice little check coming in. 54:04 And I don't think anyone got screwed more than them. 54:07 I feel kind of bad for them for what happened to Bemidji. 54:10 Well, you know, not to give too much Gopher love here, but I do think that, you know, we all know that the Gophers are a draw. 54:17 And WCHA is definitely doing the right thing by whatever team's not on that showcase making the trek up there. 54:23 I think that financially will more than make up for the money they're losing from not being in the showcase. 54:27 I think we saw that showcase a few years back. 54:29 What was it, six years ago? 54:32 That was too long. 54:33 It didn't take off. 54:35 I don't think it's going to take off. 54:36 I'm sure I think it will over time, as people get used to us not being in the same conferences. 54:41 But I think it should have waited a couple of years to start this thing, to let it simmer, let people start building up to want to play the Gophers again in that atmosphere, or play another Minnesota team and then get it going there. 54:52 But it's the right thing. 54:53 The Gophers, you know, Donny's a classy. 54:56 I've been ripping on Wisconsin enough for them. 54:59 We wanted to play them in the new schedule, and they said, we got to come here twice for us to come there once. 55:04 And, you know, we may not be a top tier team, but we're not a pushover team, and we're not going to play games like that. 55:08 You want to split two years in a row, we'll do it, but we're not going to play it that way. 55:13 Donny's doing a pretty good move there, going up to Bemidji to help that program out when they're not going to get to play the Gophers this year. 55:19 So I thought that was a pretty classy move. 55:20 Well, I'm still hoping we get to have some Duluth trips, because, you know, I know I've been up there with Vegoe. 55:25 We've had some good times up there. 55:29 It'll happen. 55:30 I think you're going to see you guys in our bill note once every four years. 55:33 That would be my thought process. 55:35 Or, I guess they could always do a yearly home and home. 55:40 I don't like the home and home, and UMD has never been okay with it, because UMD, more than any other program, is supported by the Canal Park businesses. 55:49 The people that own those things give a lot of money to the programs. 55:52 And if you're not going to fill their hotels, they're not going to support you. 55:56 And I think that's why you won't see UMD do a home and home, and that's why they've always been against it. 56:01 And I'm glad they are, because when you do do the two nights in a row, you get everybody that comes up and they get to settle in. 56:06 Yep, that's my favorite trip. 56:07 It always has been, because everything's been so close. 56:11 Boys, Hammy, you got anything else on this weekend? 56:15 No, I've said my piece. 56:16 I just wanted to say thanks to Chris for joining the podcast. 56:21 I appreciate you guys having me. 56:22 We'll have you on again, probably. 56:24 I thought one of the dogs makes the final five. 56:26 Especially when they beat Omaha. 56:30 That would be so good. 56:31 I'm sorry, it just would be. 56:32 Hey, if you guys are looking for a road trip, I will say without a doubt, we want the kids. 56:37 And we have discussed it. 56:38 Next year will be no kids. 56:40 You guys ever made that trip to Omaha? 56:42 I have not. 56:43 I did for a concert, for a U2 concert once. 56:46 Casinos, the bar, the hotels are right next door to the new rink. 56:51 The bars are right next door to the new rink. 56:59 It's going to be great for you, but there is no chance Minnesota is ever going to get going with Omaha. 57:03 We might not see them for 10 years. 57:05 You're absolutely right. 57:06 That's a good point. 57:07 There's just no chance. 57:09 It's going to be a long time until we see Denver or CC. 57:12 But UNO, it's going to be playoffs only. 57:16 Yeah, you're right. 57:17 Donnie is pretty set on playing the Minnesota teams as long as he's there. 57:21 So you're right, your non-conference schedule is going to be pretty tough to see those squads. 57:25 Vegoe, any other final thoughts on the weekend? 57:28 No, it feels like we're saying goodbye to a brother with Duluth leaving and Tech leaving. 57:34 It's going to be a different league next year. 57:37 I'll miss it. 57:39 Well, I've never been a fan of it. 57:41 But there's nothing we can do about it. 57:43 It's hard to complain about it anymore. 57:45 It's happening and we just kind of have to deal with it. 57:47 And hopefully, in the long run, it's good for college hockey. 57:51 But we'll just have to wait and see, I guess. 57:54 You guys get to look forward to that awesome BigTen coverage I saw at the gym today. 57:59 I just love when they do a whole hour-long piece on the Michigan 50 fans that travel around following the basketball program. 58:06 I just amaze rage. 58:08 Just say that a few times. 58:11 How badass is that? 58:12 Oh, sorry, I fell asleep. 58:14 Yeah, exactly. 58:15 So that was some good programming. 58:16 I was excited to see that. 58:17 That really got me into the gym. 58:19 I just wanted to crush it. 58:20 Trust me, we're all hoping that FSN keeps doing a lot of games. 58:24 I think they will. 58:24 You just can't have all the games on the network. 58:28 As long as they keep lining our pockets, man. 58:33 Got to pay those recruits somehow. 58:35 Oh, wow. 58:39 Yeah, well, the tutors do the homework, though, don't they? 58:43 Well, I don't know. 58:43 I suppose that's been... 58:44 Well, go on, it's not What's His Name's Program. 58:49 Oh, boy. 58:51 Well, thank you for joining us, Chris. 58:54 Sorry we didn't get to talk to your favorite women's college hockey team. 58:58 I thought I'd bring it up, but I know you have a lot of love for the women's program up there. 59:02 Is it a women's program? 59:07 Yes, you do, and actually it's been a pretty successful program up there. 59:10 Only until they gender test. 59:14 Wow. 59:14 That's just another country. 59:15 You never know what they're doing in Germany. 59:18 No, you want to get on another subject. 59:20 I think that's coming to an end here. 59:22 I think they're not paying that lady $200,000 a year anymore now that her friend's gone. 59:29 Her lovely chancellor. 59:30 Her quote-unquote friend? 59:36 We've all had one. 59:42 Hey, hey! 59:42 What's this wee thing? 59:44 Friends with benefits. 59:49 Have you looked at me? 59:50 Hey, you forget Jupe was in the band. 59:53 He didn't have any friends with benefits, alright? 59:56 Hey, you know what? 59:57 Hey, us band people get freaky. 59:59 Have you seen American Pie? 1:00:01 It's called Who's the Girl with the Flute? 1:00:06 Oh, it's all downhill from here, isn't it? 1:00:08 Well, I just want to say one quick props. 1:00:10 Obviously, the women's team did win their 40th game in a row. 1:00:13 It's getting ridiculous. 1:00:15 Though they were taken to overtime by Bemidji. 1:00:17 I don't know what happened there. 1:00:19 But 40-0 since last year, you really can't say anything bad to them. 1:00:25 That pressure is just going to keep building and building. 1:00:29 They go to St. 1:00:30 Cloud this weekend, and then after that, they will not play another game outside of Ritter Arena. 1:00:36 Their home series will be there. 1:00:38 The final faceoff will be there. 1:00:40 The regional will be there. 1:00:41 And of course, Frozen 4 will be there. 1:00:43 Man, I can't wait to troll to your site when they choke. 1:00:47 Because you know I'm a big women's fan. 1:00:53 Well, it's just hard not to give them props when they've gone undefeated. 1:00:58 You know, a high school team could do that. 1:01:01 How many have done it? 1:01:03 I don't know. 1:01:03 It's women's hockey, man. 1:01:04 You know what's better than women's hockey? 1:01:07 What? 1:01:07 High school boys' hockey. 1:01:09 I don't know. 1:01:10 I think this women's team is probably about the third best team in the world. 1:01:14 I know it is women's hockey. 1:01:15 Just gorgeous. 1:01:18 You know what? 1:01:19 It is much better. 1:01:20 I saw some women's games five, six years ago. 1:01:24 And the level of play is much better than it was then. 1:01:27 Oh, for sure. 1:01:28 I pray that my daughter doesn't want to play with a guy. 1:01:30 The goaltending is much better than it was too. 1:01:32 Obviously, Noratoo is 50 shutouts. 1:01:36 Speaking about gender testing, seriously? 1:01:40 Wow. 1:01:41 She's finished. 1:01:42 They're all kind of weird. 1:01:43 Alright, we're shutting it down. 1:01:45 We're done, guys. 1:01:46 Chris, thanks for joining us. 1:01:48 Thanks for having me. 1:01:48 We can always follow you at UMDPenaltyBox. 1:01:52 But really, UMDPenaltyBox on Twitter is the way to go. 1:01:55 Because he's going to be shutting down his site. 1:01:56 No more Hello Kitty, no more Goldie going across the screen. 1:02:00 It's going to be shutting down at the end of the year. 1:02:02 So follow him on Twitter. 1:02:03 I swear to God, if I get hacked and end up with Burger King stuff in my profile, I'm going to be pissed. 1:02:08 It ain't me. 1:02:09 I don't know the password. 1:02:10 Until you tell me when you're drunk sometime. 1:02:13 You can always follow Vegoe at eVegoe on Twitter. 1:02:16 And of course, he's always writing for us on GPL. 1:02:19 And Hammy Hockey. 1:02:21 That's where you follow him on Twitter. 1:02:22 And he's always posting on GPL, too, when he's not bored with the fans that are chicken-littling out there. 1:02:28 That's it for this week's GPL Podcast. 1:02:31 I'm looking to get another guest for next week, but I'm waiting to hear back from him, so we'll have to wait and see. 1:02:36 But we'll be back next week to recap the Gopher Sweep of the Bulldogs. 1:02:40 And, uh, I know. 1:02:42 I had to do it. 1:02:43 Shot across the bow. 1:02:44 And then we'll be previewing the Denver series. 1:02:47 Until then, thanks for listening.