0:03 This is the GopherPuckLive Podcast, episode number 38, recorded Tuesday, March 12th, 2013. 0:22 Welcome to the GopherPuckLive Podcast. 0:25 Along with Hammy and Vegoe, I am your host, Jupiter. 0:30 Well, boys, the WCHA has ended, and we've got co-champs, we've got some surprises here and there, but all that matters is that the Gophers got a top two seed. 0:42 And what's nice on the side is that we got a share of the McNaughton Cup. 0:45 Hammy, your initial thoughts? 0:48 Well, it kind of played out exactly as we had hoped. 0:53 Of course, we wanted to win it out right, but at a minimum, we wanted to get a tie for the Cup and certainly get this number two seed. 1:00 So I think all in all, you can't really complain about how the weekend went. 1:03 And the guys, they played a little bit iffy on Friday, but they still got the win and recovered on Saturday and played pretty well. 1:11 That Friday win, Vegoe, got behind on the road. 1:17 They didn't panic. 1:19 Hall has a great tying goal. 1:21 And then we get the power play towards the end and actually capitalized. 1:26 It was a nice comeback from, you know, in the past, something we might not have seen. 1:30 Yeah, I think this team has shown some good resiliency in the third period all season. 1:35 They've played tough games even when they've been down and they battled in the close games. 1:40 And I think, you know, this is a team that probably got a little lucky to get a share of the cup, but they're in great shape as the playoffs are coming up. 1:48 If you happen to be hearing us on the GPL Portal page, you know, please feel free to tweet us any questions if you want and we will try to get to them. 1:58 You know, it's something different we're doing this week so that anyone who goes to the Portal page will hear us live as we're recording. 2:05 So if you have any questions, just send us via Twitter. 2:09 All right, boys, well, let's get to that Friday game a little more specifically. 2:12 Obviously, a little tighter than we thought. 2:16 Gophers take a couple penalties that didn't lead to goals, but the delayed calls led to two goals and a couple little breakdowns here and there. 2:24 I know, Hammey, you get a little frustrated at times, you know, people covering what? 2:29 And you guys had some back and forth on Twitter about Mr. 2:34 Shea, but you know, what do you think Friday night? 2:36 Besides, you know, hey, they were resilient. 2:39 I mean, Hall, great play to tie the game with a great pass from Michelson, you know. 2:43 Anybody, can anybody stop Bukestead from the side of the power play? 2:47 A lot of things kind of came together there, huh, Veegs? 2:50 Well, yeah, I think the power play has been really effective all season when they can get set up. 2:55 I think their problems have been when they've had trouble gaining the zone and they were able to do that against Bemidji. 3:01 And I think one of the things that was frustrating on Friday night was the puck possession just wasn't there. 3:08 You didn't see guys quite battling and putting in the shifts to win the Pucks along the wall and win the 50-50 battles. 3:14 And that's why the game was close. 3:17 I think they gave away the puck too much and they ended up having to dump and change and start in their own zone a lot. 3:25 And one thing you say there is puck possession because the only line that I saw have any effect, really, in good offensive zone control was the Serratory Hall-Michelson line. 3:36 I mean, you know, at times, in fact, they did this all weekend, but at times, you know, they weren't always scoring, but they really had good puck control in the offensive zone. 3:45 Yeah, I think you're seeing actually one of the same things happen with the Wild right now is when their fourth line gets that good puck possession, you know, your top lines can start out in the offensive zone. 3:56 And that's such a big win for your team is when you don't have to spend the first 30 seconds of your shift trying to break out of your own zone every time. 4:04 And I think that's really helping them. 4:06 Okay, Hammy, your thoughts on Friday night? 4:09 Well, let me kind of piggyback on that discussion on that line. 4:14 You know, for me, those are the kinds of teams that that line needs to really kind of come to the forefront because you know that they're going to try to clamp down on the top lines really hard. 4:24 And, you know, you kind of think that a grinded out line should be relatively successful against a team that doesn't have quite the depth and plays grinded out in their own way. 4:34 So, you know, I really like how Michelson has been playing. 4:36 He's really, you know, kind of impressed me in recent weeks. 4:40 And I like how Hull certainly has played real well and accepted his role. 4:44 And so that's been great. 4:45 And, you know, you kind of have to tip your hat to Bukestad. 4:48 I mean, he kind of raised his game a bit this weekend. 4:50 I mean, he did get shut down on some breakaways and everything, but, you know, he really kind of helped the team win, you know. 4:56 I mean, and that's kind of what you expect from your star player. 4:58 And hopefully that's a sign of things to come. 5:01 Definitely that Saturday night game. 5:02 He got stymied a couple of times on quite a few opportunities, but Saturday's game was much better. 5:10 They seemed to close down those little gaps in the neutral zone movement that Bemidji had, and they shut him down to one goal, which is exactly what Luchi is looking for this time of year. 5:22 And Luchi is also looking for his players like Bukstad, Howla. 5:27 It's time for them to step up and be the best they can be. 5:33 You can't really ask for more. 5:34 5-1 wins Saturday night. 5:37 They get a share of the McNaughton, and everything is going well, huh, Hammey? 5:42 Yeah, I mean, they really kind of came out pretty well on fire that night. 5:45 I mean, 23 shots in the second period. 5:48 I mean, they really kind of took over that game, and certainly it was great to see. 5:53 You know, I really like the fact that even though he's made some mistakes, Budis has been really kind of more of resilience around the blue paint, and kind of wreaking a little bit of havoc. 6:03 And he's got to do that with his size, and Bukstad and those guys having some success. 6:10 So it is a nice sign. 6:12 You kind of have to put it in a little bit of perspective that it's not like we're playing a top 10 talent, in terms of an opponent. 6:20 So there's a little bit of that involved. 6:21 But it's certainly a nice sign heading into playoffs. 6:25 Well, as would happen, the Gophers win Saturday night. 6:31 And St. 6:32 Cloud State loses to Wisconsin, which means they share the title this year in the regular season. 6:41 And they share the McNaughton Cup. 6:43 We all know we didn't really share it this weekend because the boys already had it up there in Bemidji, which just really ticked off the St. 6:50 Cloud State fans. 6:52 But we're here to let the St. 6:54 Cloud State fans know that this was St. 6:57 Cloud's choice. 6:58 They didn't want the cup brought to them to Wisconsin. 7:01 They've said this. 7:02 That's what happened. 7:04 You got to quit your whining because we don't want to hear it anymore. 7:08 Lucia had Grandpa Tony bring the cup up just in case. 7:13 They had a private little celebration in the Bemidji locker room. 7:16 It's not like they carried around Bemidji ice. 7:20 So St. 7:21 Cloud fans, calm down. 7:23 Everything's okay. 7:25 It's not as bad as you seem. 7:26 You'll get all your chance to hoist it and carry it around next weekend for the first and the last time. 7:33 Well, I mean, I think that the thing that, you know, for me is interesting is that St. 7:37 Cloud's, the coaches and all that, they were kind of in a tough spot because, you know, they don't want to go into the last weekend essentially saying, well, you know, we want the cup here. 7:48 You know, you don't know what's going to happen. 7:49 And so you're kind of, you don't want the players to know anything. 7:52 And so I can see why they would want to do it in front of the home crowd and all that kind of stuff. 7:57 You don't want, you want to keep the players' minds on the games in front of them. 8:01 And they are, even though they won a share of the league title, they're sort of still in that bubble range as far as NCAAs go. 8:07 And so they need to win games. 8:09 And so I could see why they would do that. 8:11 But I thought it was funny that, you know, their fans freaked out so much. 8:14 And the reality in the end is that it was their own administration who made that decision. 8:19 It just sometimes goes to show that you need to keep your mouth shut and get all the facts a little bit first before you go running off at the mouth. 8:25 Well, it probably didn't help that we were egging them on as well. 8:29 Well, probably not. 8:32 We were definitely having fun with them Saturday night, you know, tweeting out all these pictures that were coming out of the locker room. 8:38 And obviously we were kind of poking a little fun with them on our little live broadcast we had Saturday night. 8:44 So I think we kind of contributed to it a little bit. 8:47 But we would have only done that if they were whining, and there was a lot of whining. 8:53 There's no doubt about that. 8:55 What do you think, Veegs? 8:56 You think Minnesota should have kept it down low on that and not brought the cup up there? 9:03 Well, if I'm St. 9:04 Cloud, I probably would want to have the cup in the building, if I could. 9:09 But I understand. 9:10 They want to celebrate on home ice. 9:12 And St. 9:12 Cloud does need all the wins they can get. 9:15 They're 10th in the pair-wise, and a pair of wins over Anchorage this weekend isn't going to help them. 9:22 So they really need to bear down and focus on the next two weeks here. 9:26 And they need to have a good effort to make sure they're in the NCAAs. 9:30 And that's one thing that's kind of tricky about the pair-wise at this time of year. 9:35 They try not to penalize you for playing those lower end teams, which is a good thing. 9:41 But boy, if you lose to any one of these teams, it can really, really hurt you. 9:47 And like you said, they are right on the edge right now. 9:50 Anything bad happens to them, they are not going to make the tournament. 9:54 Well, yeah, I mean, they are in a three-way tie and they are pair-wise right now, 2-12. 10:01 And you always have to be leery because you just don't know, especially with the non-conference record that they have, you just don't know what one bad loss is going to do to you. 10:12 All it takes is one bad weekend and you might be sitting... 10:14 I don't expect them to lose two games to Anchorage, but if some kind of unbelievable upset like that did happen, I mean, they'd pretty much well be screwed at that point. 10:24 So, you know, they can't take any nights off at this point. 10:28 Well, let's take a look at what got us to this final weekend. 10:32 We had Colorado College heading up to Michigan Tech last weekend and splitting with Tech. 10:39 You got anything on that, Vegoe? 10:41 I mean, you know, they lost 2-0 the first night, you know, and they came back 4-3 the next night. 10:45 CC did. 10:47 What are your thoughts on that series? 10:48 Well, you know, Tech's been playing pretty competitive hockey this year. 10:52 I mean, they're not quite doing as well as they did last year, but they do have 8 wins this year. 10:57 And I know Phoenix Coldplay was coming on off an injury, and as well as their young guy played on Friday, they wanted to get him back in there Saturday because I think they want him playing at North Dakota this weekend. 11:09 So I think they just, they maybe took a couple licks there because of that decision, but hopefully they go up to North Dakota and play well this weekend. 11:17 Any thoughts on that series, Hammeh? 11:20 I mean, nothing too specific. 11:21 I mean, it's kind of what we expected. 11:23 You know, he thought it would be a split. 11:25 I'm a little surprised at how many shots that St. 11:28 Cloud gave up, particularly that second night. 11:31 I mean, 46 shots on goal. 11:32 I mean, that just shows you that they're probably struggling pretty mightily on defense on some level. 11:38 And, you know, I know we'll talk about the upcoming series, but I think that tech, you know, is going to be feisty. 11:44 We saw how they were last year against us. 11:46 So I'm sure that that won't be a push over series for North Dakota. 11:50 We have Nebraska-Omaha getting swept by Duluth. 11:54 I mean, the first night, you know, Nebraska-Omaha came out quick and they let Duluth back into it. 12:00 And, you know, about midway through that game, it was over. 12:03 Duluth comes back, wins and then blows them out six-zip Saturday night. 12:09 Hammy, it's just like we thought, Nebraska-Omaha in a dive right now. 12:16 Yeah, I mean, there's nothing you can really say other than it's just been a real major pattern the last few years under Blaze. 12:23 Their team just for some reason loses its game and, you know, that last, you know, handful of, you know, month or six weeks left in the season and they just go down the toilet and it doesn't look like it's going to be any different this year. 12:35 You kind of have to wonder, you know, if there's something going on with, you know, team chemistry. 12:40 Maybe it's our good old boy Ryan Walters, you know. 12:44 I know they give them a lot of credit for their success, but, you know, I'm just, I'm joking about that, but I'm, you know, you just never know what's going to be leading to all the problems and certainly they've had them in recent years. 12:57 One thing, Vegoe, is that Duluth tends to play against, pretty well against teams like this, you know, the less, I should say, defensive teams. 13:05 You know, Duluth plays well against us, and UNO, and North Dakotas, and St. 13:10 Clouds. 13:11 So, were you really surprised with that result this past weekend? 13:14 Well, I think Hammy and I both called sweeps for the Bulldogs against Omaha, so I don't think we were surprised so much. 13:21 6-Zip, though, was a surprise. 13:23 Yeah, 6-Zip is a surprise, and I was reading the plays really late into his team Saturday morning about not playing well and taking stupid penalties, and then they go out on Saturday night, and Duluth scores five power play goals. 13:36 I mean, they basically just handed away that game. 13:39 They took two five-minute majors, didn't they? 13:41 They got to go get up. 13:43 Yeah, that just screams lost locker room for Blades. 13:47 I mean, you know, if you go in, you lay into your team, and they go out and do the opposite of what you told them to do, that's just not a good situation for him or the players. 13:59 Is Blades in trouble, guys? 14:02 Or do you think he's got a couple more years to work it out? 14:06 The way that Albert seems to lick his boots, I highly doubt that he's in any trouble. 14:11 Plus, I'm assuming they're still trying to get that new rank and all that stuff. 14:16 I just think that it's important for them to have somebody that's going to kind of push that and has a name on the community and whatever. 14:23 Bringing in a new guy probably wouldn't help the cause. 14:25 So I doubt, given his background, that he's in any danger in that sense. 14:31 But nonetheless, I have to totally agree. 14:32 You have to wonder if the locker room has just been lost on some level because they're not responding. 14:38 And I don't know if it's Blaze's message and the way he delivers it is just sort of maybe that old school way, this isn't working with these guys or what it is, but something's just not clicking there. 14:47 And they're definitely in a major tailspin. 14:51 Denver hosted Anchorage last weekend. 14:53 7-1 and 6-1 victories. 14:55 Is there much we can really say about that? 14:59 Not really. 15:00 I didn't think so. 15:03 Well, one thing that's strange though is that with Denver winning caused a three-way tie for the WCHA with them and Wisconsin and Minnesota State. 15:17 The strange thing is, you know, with a three-way tie, Wisconsin gets a four seed, Denver gets a fifth seed, Mankato gets a sixth seed. 15:25 If they would have just tied or lost to Anchorage one of the times this weekend, it would have flipped. 15:33 It would have moved Mankato up to four, Wisconsin five, and Denver six. 15:38 So it was all kind of strange how that worked out. 15:40 It seems like Mankato kind of got screwed the most with the tiebreaker. 15:46 What do you think? 15:47 The only thing though is that they get Omaha now. 15:50 That is true. 15:51 Who just isn't a total tailspin, and I think out of those teams, you might want to play Omaha the most. 15:58 Yes, yes. 16:00 I mean, obviously, I think they were better than a sixth place team, but I think you're right. 16:06 They get Omaha when Omaha is just going down the tube, so it might be a good thing for them. 16:12 Yeah, and honestly, I think that, you know, looking at it from a Denver perspective, it's almost like you're playing your biggest rival, you know, and you know that a lot of times you can throw the records out, you know, even though Denver is clearly the better team from CC, you know, you get those rivalry series, and you just don't know what's going to happen, and so that's not exactly the most advantageous situation for Denver to be in, despite the fact they're the better team. 16:38 Finally, we had North Dakota splitting with Minnesota State, and boy, you know, both are close games, obviously. 16:47 You know, North Dakota pulls out a 4-3 victory Friday night, and then Saturday night goes to overtime. 16:53 North Dakota is completely dominating the overtime, working that Goalie Wilson all over the place. 16:58 There's a stoppage. 17:00 Haxdall takes a timeout, and all of a sudden, after the timeout, it's all Mankato. 17:06 They hit a post, and then right after that, they finish them off in overtime. 17:11 You guys kind of were saying a little split, so it turned out the way you did, but it must have been an exciting series, huh, Hammey? 17:18 Yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, it sounded like the goalies both played very well. 17:22 I know, I think Gothberg got defensive player of the week, so he must have had a real good week, and Williams has played, you know, good all year long, so you kind of expect that. 17:31 And, you know, Mankato is going to be a tough out, and, you know, I think that, obviously, they have a good first-round matchup like we talked about, and I think that that's going to be, you know, if it turns, if all the seeds, you know, hold true, I mean, that's going to be a tough game for North Dakota at the X, you know, that Thursday night game. 17:51 That would be, I believe that would be those two teams matching up if they both advance and everybody... 17:55 Yep... 17:55 . 17:55 win as is. 17:56 So, I mean, that's, it's, you know, going to be a repeat probably of this particular last weekend. 18:02 It's probably going to be close and certainly hard fought, and, you know, Mankato is not going to be a pushover. 18:06 So that'll be, if that happens to, you know, occur, that'll be interesting. 18:10 What are your thoughts on that series, Vegoe? 18:12 Well, I think one interesting thing was Mankato outshot North Dakota both nights, and I think on Friday night it was 40 to 20. 18:20 And so Mankato is playing some pretty good hockey right now, and if that's the matchup on Thursday night, that's a good reason to get down to the X. 18:30 Well, before that happens, obviously, we've got some stuff going on this week. 18:34 Before we get to that, we had one question from GopherPuck. 18:39 Obviously, we've got a Connor Riley who's been out all year. 18:43 Will he leap up and be a top six forward next year? 18:47 I guess a lot of that just really depends on how many guys leave. 18:53 Yeah, I mean, that's really kind of the key. 18:55 I have no idea how it's going to all shake out so far down the road, but I certainly believe that eventually he's going to be that kind of player. 19:04 But it really just, you don't know how a guy is going to recover from knee. 19:08 I mean, he's had not just one, but two knee injuries that he's had to recover from just in the last year plus, and who knows how he comes back from that, hopefully 100 percent, and maybe not quite like an Adrian Peterson like comeback, but pretty strong, but you just never know. 19:25 I think that he's got the kind of skill to be that kind of kid, but they have some real good recruits coming in, so it's just hard to predict. 19:34 Any thoughts on Conor Riley there, Vegoe? 19:37 Just that the preseason, Don Lucia was talking about he was the one freshman he thought would come in and make the impact this year, so they have a very high opinion of him. 19:49 They definitely do. 19:50 Hey, if you listen to us live, just tweet us your questions, at GopherPuckLive or even at Hammy Hockey or at eVegoe. 19:58 We'll all see it and we'll try to get to those questions. 20:01 So now we've got, the whole weekend is set for this weekend for the WCHA playoffs. 20:08 We've got Nebraska-Omaha heading to Mankato, Duluth to Wisconsin, obviously we've got Bemidji coming here, Michigan Tech to North Dakota, Anchorage to St. 20:19 Cloud and CC at Denver. 20:20 Let's start there, guys. 20:21 CC at Denver, obviously it's favored, Denver should be favored, but boy, I think this game could easily, or this series could easily go to three and would not shock me if CC comes out of this. 20:35 What do you think, Hammeh? 20:37 Yeah, I mean, it's like I said earlier, it's hard to really predict these kinds of rivalry series. 20:42 You just don't know what you're going to get. 20:45 Certainly on paper, Denver should be taking this series, but I would not be at all shocked if it goes to three games. 20:53 And, you know, Denver's... 20:55 What are you going to really take out of that series against Anchorage? 20:58 Nothing, really. 20:59 And, you know, they played the Gophers pretty tight for the most part when they were in town. 21:05 So, you know, they seem to play solid hockey, but I think it's going to go to three games, and I think that Denver will come out on top in the end. 21:13 Vegoe, what do you think? 21:15 Well, you know, I'm just going to be boring. 21:16 It's going to be three games, and Denver's going to come out on top. 21:19 I think Denver's got the depth. 21:21 I know that they don't have many extra passengers on that team, but, you know, the guys they do have play hard, and we saw a good effort from them at Marriott Chie, and, you know, I think they're playing good hockey right now, so I think they get by in three games. 21:36 I'm going to go with CC in three, just to be different. 21:40 I think, you know, I think Denver's so inconsistent this year, you just never know what's going to happen, so I'll go with CC. 21:47 And CC can score goals. 21:49 I mean, they've shown that. 21:50 It's just their problem. 21:51 They've been letting too many pucks in their own net. 21:54 So they'll give themselves a chance. 21:59 Do you guys see Anchorage doing anything at St. 22:01 Cloud, Vegoe? 22:03 Can they get either? 22:04 Can they get a victory? 22:05 Can anything happen, or is it just sweep? 22:07 I think it's a quick two-game sweep. 22:10 Anchorage has kind of, you know, cashed it in, I think, and they're ready to look forward to spring and longer days ahead in Anchorage. 22:18 I think I would agree with that. 22:19 What do you think, Hammeh? 22:21 Yeah, I mean, I think that it's going to be a sweep. 22:23 It won't surprise me. 22:25 I mean, we've kind of seen it with Anchorage over the years when we play them. 22:28 You know, it seems like they have that one game in them where they'll give you some fits and they'll make it, you know, make you sweat it a little bit. 22:34 But I think that St. 22:36 Cloud has too much talent and, you know, I think they'll come on top in two games. 22:42 All right. 22:43 Let's go to... 22:45 What do we got here? 22:47 Michigan Tech at North Dakota. 22:51 Obviously, Michigan Tech plays well this time of year. 22:55 They might play North Dakota tough, but I just I don't see them coming out of there or even getting a win. 23:01 What do you think, Cami? 23:03 Yeah, it's, you know, it's pretty tough to predict on that one. 23:06 I think that, you know, they haven't been exactly playing lights out. 23:12 I mean, they did, you know, take one in St. 23:14 Cloud, and they did beat CC this last weekend. 23:16 So it's not like they haven't had any quality wins at all, or somewhat quality wins. 23:22 And they have the kind of offense that, you know, I mean, they're improved offensively, so they could give them a bit of a run in that sense. 23:30 And I know that they did not play well against North Dakota earlier in the year. 23:36 So, I mean, I think that more than likely it's going to be a two-game sweep for North Dakota. 23:41 What do you think, Veegs? 23:43 Sweep for the Who? 23:46 I do think the Who are going to come through with a sweep. 23:49 I've liked Tech all year. 23:50 I think they've underachieved a little bit. 23:52 I think just getting the draw going to North Dakota is just so brutal. 23:56 I mean, finishing one place higher would get you into a series where you'd have a chance to win a game and maybe have a chance to make something happen. 24:04 But it's going to be tough to go up to the Ralph and get any wins. 24:10 Duluth heads to Madison to take on the Badgers. 24:13 We talked to a drunk hockey guy this weekend and that was the team he didn't want to play the most. 24:19 They're tough defensively. 24:22 It's tough for them to keep up with them. 24:24 But I put that poll up to see who do you think is going to get upset on the GPL main page. 24:31 And 37% think if anyone gets upset, it's going to be Wisconsin and Duluth is going to take them out. 24:37 Hammeh, either you or Vegoe, are you going to pick an upset with us? 24:44 Well, they did play early in the year, Granite and Duluth. 24:47 And Duluth did take three out of four points. 24:50 Or excuse me, Wisconsin took three out of four. 24:53 And it was a tight series. 24:56 I don't know. 24:56 It's really tough to predict because Duluth has the kind of offense, you know, they've done enough recently, particularly on the power play, where, you know, if they get a few, and Wisconsin's not exactly the greatest offensive team in the world, you know, their margin for error is pretty small at Wisconsin. 25:14 So you just don't know for sure if they have an off night or two. 25:18 You know, it could be Duluth. 25:21 But I'll take drunk hockey guys' word for it as far as how the matchup goes for them in his line because he's obviously seen the Bulldogs a lot more than I have. 25:28 So, but I am going to pick it in three. 25:31 I think that Duluth will take one of the games. 25:34 What do you think Vegoe? 25:35 Duluth have a chance here? 25:37 I think Duluth does have a very good chance. 25:39 I mean, they've done a very good job of generating offense all season and out shooting most of their opponents. 25:45 And, you know, they've been playing their best hockey at the right time of the year. 25:49 Sandlin after the Gopher Series thought, you know, maybe his team had found a little bit of the right recipe for how to win games. 25:56 And they've come out and won some in a row, a couple in a row here. 25:59 So I think they're going to go to Wisconsin and win in a three game series. 26:05 Well, I'd certainly rather see the Duluth fans at the Final Five than the Wisconsin fans. 26:09 Oh, wait, the Wisconsin fans never show up, so I guess it doesn't matter. 26:11 So, all right, we've got, oh boy here. 26:18 Well, we've got that 6-7 series, guys, Nebraska-Omaha heading to Minnesota State, Nebraska on a dive, Minnesota State going up. 26:26 Of course it's going to be a sweep, right, Hammeh? 26:31 I would predict that. 26:32 I mean, I don't really see if they're going to have problems with Duluth, and I don't think there's any doubt that Mankato is a better team this year than Duluth. 26:41 It would shock me if they manage to win a game in Mankato, especially with their goaltending playing so well with Williams. 26:49 So I'm definitely going to go with the Mankato sweep in that series. 26:52 What do you think, Veegs? 26:54 A sweep? 26:55 I think a sweep, and I'd be shocked if either game is even close in the third period. 26:59 I think Mankato is just going to be up by two or three goals every game. 27:05 Will Nebraska goon it up like they did last weekend? 27:12 Not if they have any prayer of wanting to win a game. 27:15 I mean, I don't know what will happen on Saturday if they're just completely out of it. 27:21 Maybe they'll lose control, but maybe they'll go off with a whimper. 27:24 Who knows? 27:25 What is this, Nebraska's third or fourth year of WCHA? 27:29 It's at least three. 27:36 I think it wasn't Gensel's first year there, like their first year. 27:39 Could be. 27:41 Yet they have never made a final five. 27:44 Oh. 27:46 History repeating. 27:48 This is their last chance to make a final five and participate, because obviously they're leaving along with a bunch of other teams. 27:56 If you think about that, how many people really would have predicted that, you know what I mean, with Blaze's coach and their fans? 28:03 Granted, they've hyped up their coaching staff over the years, and look at what's ended up happening. 28:08 They haven't not lived up to that at all. 28:13 Well, they were upset both years. 28:15 Well, that's what I'm saying. 28:16 They were top six, weren't they? 28:18 I know BSU took them out one year. 28:19 Did BSU take them out two years in a row? 28:23 I know it was at least one of the years. 28:25 They were favored both times. 28:27 They're at home ice. 28:29 Boy, they just don't make it. 28:33 Definitely been a disappointment in that sense. 28:35 This is their last shot. 28:37 I'll be surprised if they even take one game on Mankato. 28:40 Of course, you know what's going to happen now. 28:42 They're probably going to upset them. 28:43 We'll see them in the final five. 28:45 They certainly have nothing to lose at this point. 28:47 They're not going to be in the NCAAs. 28:49 They'll probably play a little desperate. 28:50 They need to win to get in. 28:53 All right, guys, that brings us to Bemidji State again. 28:57 Boy, I want to say sweep. 29:03 But boy, it just seems like the last few years, we just seem to love to go to that third game no matter who we're playing. 29:12 Hammy, will it happen this year? 29:15 You know, it's funny. 29:17 I don't like playing a team that many times in a row just because they have that familiarity. 29:22 They're feeling more comfortable with your game and what you bring to the table. 29:28 So it usually makes it, the more times you play, a lot of times it can be tougher, I think, on a team that's the better team simply because the other team doesn't necessarily, I don't want to say fear the other team, but they just feel a lot more comfortable playing them. 29:43 So I'm a little, that's the one part that's a little sketchy and I'm seeing that Saratori is going to have them ready to play and they'll play hard-nosed and I think that certainly the Gophers can't look at this last weekend and feel like it's just a given that they're going to take two games. 29:57 So hopefully it's going to be drilled into their heads this week that they have to play hard and take the same kind of attitude we did last weekend. 30:07 I know some of the guys are taking finals, they're taking some kinds of tests right now, and so hopefully they're not going to be mentally tired from some of that stuff, so we'll see how it goes. 30:17 So do you think it's a sweep or do you think they will go to three? 30:20 I think it'll be a sweep, but I think it's going to definitely be a hard-fought series. 30:27 Vegoe, what are your thoughts? 30:29 I think I see a couple tight games coming up here as well. 30:32 I think the one thing that's in the Gophers' favor is they're moving from the smaller rank to the bigger rank. 30:38 I think when you're playing a team like Bemidji, who can slow the game down and limit the shots and force you to play a tough game, the bigger ice is definitely going to help the Gophers this weekend, but I still do see a sweep coming. 30:52 I just think the power play is clicking pretty well. 30:56 They've overcome some issues they've had of gaining the zone, and they've got a third, fourth line that's starting to click a little bit, and that's going to pay dividends for them in the playoffs. 31:08 Well, you guys have pretty much picked the top six teams to make the final five, but if you had to hedge your bets, it sounds like maybe Duluth over Wisconsin. 31:18 Anyone else in there that you think could maybe get knocked out? 31:22 I did pick Duluth over Wisconsin. 31:24 Yeah, you did, but anyone else in there? 31:27 I mean, is there anyone else who could maybe just sneak up there? 31:30 Maybe in Omaha or something like that? 31:32 My feeling is that if I were going to pick the teams that I thought in order that I thought might upset, I think it would be, you know, Duluth would be my first choice as the team that I think could upset. 31:43 I think secondly... 31:46 Yeah, I would say CC simply because, not because I think they're spectacular or anything like that, but I just think the rivalry factor and, you know, when you have that kind of bad blood factor against another team, you just don't know. 31:58 The records, like I said, can sort of be thrown out the window to a degree. 32:01 And so, you know, they know each other, so they wouldn't shock me if that one. 32:08 I mean, I don't think that Denver is going to lose it, but I think that it wouldn't exactly shock me if CC somehow managed to come on the top on that. 32:17 Well, it's basically an end of an era coming up, guys. 32:19 Do you have any thoughts on the whole WCH8 coming to an end? 32:24 Obviously, you know, St. 32:25 Cloud won their first McDonald's. 32:27 It will be their last. 32:28 You know, I believe with us being co-champions, what's that, our 14th? 32:33 13th, I think it is. 32:34 I saw a different write-up saying either and or. 32:39 It's kind of sad, guys. 32:40 It's coming to an end. 32:41 You know, we've got this weekend, we've got next weekend, and then after that, you know, the whole world changes for, you know, basically not just the teams leaving, but all the teams. 32:53 You know what, honestly for me, I have not even really thought much about it. 32:59 I think it's because we've known for so long that this was coming that you've sort of had the time to, you know, prepare yourself and knowing what's on the horizon. 33:11 And to me, it's a little bit anticlimactic, you know, that now the regular season is over, and maybe it'll be different once they, you know, whoever wins the Broadmoor Trophy and everything is all said and done, gone. 33:25 Maybe I'll feel a little different at that moment, but in terms of what we've gotten at this point, I actually haven't really thought a hell of a lot about it. 33:32 What do you think, Vegoe? 33:34 End of an era? 33:36 My favorite weekend of the year is two weeks away, so it's going to be hard to deal with seeing that go. 33:42 I mean, for a long time, I loved the quarterfinals of the state hockey tournaments, and that was just the best day of the year. 33:50 And then this final five came around, and for the last ten plus years, I think they've had it. 33:56 It's just been the best weekend of college hockey, and that will be the true sign that it's gone. 34:03 I mean, when the Big Ten holds their conference tournament, it's going to be tough. 34:08 It definitely won't be the same. 34:10 It will not be the same. 34:11 I mean, one of the best things about the final five is that a lot of teams do bring some fans to St. 34:16 Paul, and that's one of the cool things, to see that arena and see all those different jerseys there and see them in the parking lots before the game. 34:24 It's going to be a tough sight to see go. 34:27 Well, speaking of the Big Ten, they released the Big Ten trophy this past week. 34:33 I'm not sure if it's a regular season or playoff. 34:37 I'm guessing it's a regular season. 34:39 What do you think of that new trophy, Vegoe? 34:41 It looks like it's going to be something they're going to do each year. 34:44 It's not going to be a traveling trophy or anything like that. 34:46 It's going to be new each year, but what do you think? 34:50 I think it's a pretty sharp-looking trophy. 34:52 You put it up against some of the trophies, like the Lombardi Trophy, and I think it holds its own. 34:57 It's an impressive-looking piece of hardware. 35:00 What do you think, Hammeh? 35:01 Did you like the new trophy? 35:03 Yeah, I mean, it kind of had a little bit of an edge to it, I guess. 35:07 I kind of like a little bit of that sleekness. 35:10 A couple I like, the McNaughton is pretty cool, don't get me wrong, but I kind of like some of that old-school type of a trophy. 35:19 But I kind of had an edginess to it, and it was different. 35:22 I don't really care what the trophy necessarily looks like. 35:26 I don't like the Broadmoor, don't get me wrong, that thing is hideous. 35:28 Yeah, the new Broadmoor is pretty bad. 35:32 Yeah, I like that fact that if we win it, but I don't care for its aesthetics. 35:36 You know what I mean? 35:38 So yeah, I mean, it's kind of a nice trophy, but I don't really pay a hell of a lot of attention to that unless it's really hideous. 35:44 Well, I don't think you can invent history, so you can't, you know, bring a McNaughton Cup into the league this time. 35:49 And you know, if you can't invent it, you know, there's other ways you could go. 35:53 You could do the Broadmoor. 35:54 You could do that Psyhawk Awful Farmer Corn Tractor Trophy that came out. 36:01 Or you can do something classy, and they did something classy, and this is a lot better than the DQ Cup, that's for sure. 36:08 Well, it's... 36:10 Wherever it is. 36:12 Well, the new Big Ten Trophy is 28.5 inches tall and 35 pounds. 36:18 The McNaughton is almost 3 feet tall and about 40 pounds, so the new trophy is not exactly small. 36:27 It's got a good size to it, but in the end, it really is no McNaughton. 36:32 The McNaughton Cup turned 100 years old this year, and it will be definitely missed by the teams who have captured it the last 30 years because the new WCHA next year, the last team that won it will have been Bowling Green. 36:54 Bowling Green won it three times in a row, those three years, that Michigan Tech moved over to the CCHA in the early 80s, and since then, obviously, Michigan Tech hasn't won it, and anyone left that will be in the WCHA hasn't won it. 37:10 So, Bowling Green, three of them in a row. 37:16 Yikes, that league could be pretty sad next year. 37:20 Well, it's also a good opportunity for those teams to get a shot to get in the NCAA Tournament because, I mean, it's hard for some of those middle-of-the-road teams to get it done in the WCHA as it is now, but it'll be good to have them get a chance to get in. 37:36 And didn't I see correctly that Lucia has won the McNaughton as a coach more times than anybody else in WCHA history? 37:43 I believe it was seven times. 37:46 Yeah, so it's probably a little bittersweet for him. 37:48 He's had that cup around quite a bit over his career. 37:51 And he won three in a row, didn't he? 37:55 Yeah, at CC. 37:56 Three in a row. 37:56 His first three years at CC, wasn't it? 37:58 Yep. 37:59 And that first year obviously didn't go so well for him because he still didn't even make the tournament. 38:03 Yeah. 38:04 The rules have changed a little bit since then, but what can you do? 38:09 All right, boys, any other final thoughts in the weekend of any of the games? 38:13 I mean, obviously the Gophers, they got to come out strong. 38:15 They can't, God forbid they go to a third game because I'm sick of it. 38:22 Hammy, any last thoughts? 38:23 No, nothing really. 38:24 I mean, I just think that the guys just have to take, I mean, now is the time to have that playoff mentality. 38:31 I mean, you don't want to lose any games and you kind of have to start that somewhere and now it's playoffs. 38:38 They really need to kind of crack down and play a little bit more physical and play a little tougher brand of hockey. 38:43 And I think they've been doing a little more of that in recent weeks. 38:46 And hopefully getting a sweep, even though if it's against Bemidji this last weekend, hopefully that helps them gain some confidence that they can string along some number of victories in a row and then it'll launch them to some good things. 39:01 And Vegoe, obviously another key coming into playoff time is that our big guns have to perform. 39:09 Yeah, I think the big guns have to perform. 39:11 And Bukestad, I think, has had a real good last month of the season. 39:14 He's just been absolutely dominant in the faceoff circle. 39:18 He's got it done on the power play. 39:20 What it is about that shot from that spot that goalies can't stop, I hope, doesn't get figured out in the next month and that he keeps hammering away from there. 39:28 And Nate Schmidt's been playing just tremendous hockey. 39:31 I think we had that discussion about who would be the Hobie Baker candidate for the team, and I think it might be Nate Schmidt. 39:38 He's just played really, really solidly all year round and gives them offense and defense. 39:44 Real study for them. 39:48 Now back to that Bukestad thing. 39:49 One thing I noticed this weekend is that one of those, I think the go-ahead goal Friday night, it wasn't like a bang-bang play. 39:58 He stopped the puck and then shot it. 40:02 The goalie had time to get over it. 40:03 The goalie was waiting for it, and he still beat him up. 40:07 He has, in my opinion, the best shot in college hockey. 40:11 I mean, he's got an NHL, you know, a very good, he's already got a very good NHL shot. 40:17 You know, I mean, he's just got such size, and he can put so much behind it, you know, and he's certainly learned from the training that he's got from his uncle and, you know, all the pucks he's shot over the years. 40:28 And so, yeah, he's the kind of guy, you can just flat out beat you because he just puts so much behind it. 40:34 Quite honestly, you know, I get a little nervous because it seems like every time Eric Kaula is off to the side, he's also trying to hit the upper corner. 40:42 And most of the time, it hits, it hits the glass, it goes out of the zone. 40:47 That's one frustration I do have with Hollow. 40:49 Sometimes he, hey boy, he tries to pick the corners, and when he misses, it's out the other end. 40:55 Yeah, well, I have to admit, I'd rather see a guy hit the goalie and, you know, it's somewhere, and hope for a rebound than to try to be too cute with it in those situations. 41:05 But, you know, I guess it's just human nature. 41:07 You're trying to, especially hockey players, they like kind of picking the corners like that. 41:11 So, what can you do? 41:12 Yeah, that's always a frustration. 41:14 Hit the damn net. 41:16 He's got to miss the goalie's glove to get in the corner. 41:18 So, sometimes it's just like you can see past the glove, but you can't see the net. 41:25 I'm going to predict another goal by Hall this weekend, by the way. 41:28 Now, hopefully. 41:30 I'm just going with it. 41:33 I thought his Friday night goal was just beautiful. 41:35 The way he just caught it in traffic there and turned around and quickly threw a backhand, the goalie just never saw it coming. 41:41 It just happened so quickly. 41:42 So I'm hoping more of that from Mr. 41:44 Hall. 41:46 That's going to be interesting to see if he sticks up front in his future. 41:50 Because he's really come along nicely this season. 41:54 I would agree. 41:55 But what I really like is that he's really contributing up there. 41:59 Maybe not as much in the scoring, but they're getting pressure, they're getting control. 42:03 But I like it if a defenseman goes off on a penalty or something like that, or a defenseman steps up in a play, like a Schmidt comes and goes into the zone. 42:13 I'm watching him, and he goes right back and covers that defensive position right away. 42:17 He doesn't hesitate at all. 42:19 And I think that's one good thing that he has over some of the other forwards who might not think so defensively so quickly as he does. 42:27 So. 42:29 Alright, boys. 42:31 Final thoughts? 42:32 Anything? 42:33 Nope. 42:34 Time to go work out again, Hammy? 42:36 Now I'm done. 42:37 I had to race home for you guys. 42:41 Remember, you can always check out what Hammy's talking about on his Twitter feed, at Hammy Hockey and of course Vegoe at eVegoe. 42:50 Well, we'll be back next week and we'll preview the last Final Five ever for our Gophers. 42:57 Because obviously we think they're going to be there. 43:00 But until then, thanks for listening.