0:09 This is The GPL Podcast, the production of gopherpucklive.com. 0:22 Now, let's join Tammy Vegoe and your host, Jupiter. 0:37 Welcome to another podcast here on the GPL Network. 0:43 Just kidding. 0:45 We're just three guys doing a podcast. 0:47 Not that cool, so. 0:49 Well, boys, four point weekend. 0:52 I know there's some complainers out there about how we did Friday night, but Saturday night, they seemed to play better, even though it was a closer game, Hammeh. 1:02 Yeah, it's kind of interesting how sometimes that works out. 1:05 I mean, you know, they did play very, I actually didn't have huge complaints about Friday. 1:11 I know we'll get into that, but yeah, it was nice to see them kind of bounce back and play a lot better on Saturday, despite just getting the one goal. 1:19 But the more important thing is, is how is Vegoe doing after the big move? 1:26 Well, you know, it was a distracting weekend. 1:28 There was all kinds of stuff going on, but everything that's supposed to be in the house has made it in the house, and the condo is still in shambles, but I'll get it there by the end of the week. 1:40 So it's good to be in a home finally. 1:42 I can stretch out and, you know, podcast without, you know, keeping the family awake. 1:47 Were you out of touch for the whole weekend, or did you do okay? 1:51 I hung in there, you know. 1:53 It was busy, so. 1:56 And I had to get a skate in Sunday morning, because I moved in right across the street from a rink, so had to get that in as well. 2:04 And when I moved a few years ago, it was the weekend that Frank Mazzocco was fired. 2:10 And I had no internet, no nothing, and all of a sudden I come back Monday morning to find out that Frank Mazzocco was let go of FSN. 2:17 I was like, what the hell? 2:20 So I was a little bit more out of touch than you were, it sounds like. 2:23 Yeah, I mean, I was able to move my internet and get that set up, and I direct TV, come out Saturday morning and get things figured out here at the new house, so. 2:33 And you don't have to worry about podcasting from your car. 2:37 Exactly, it's much nicer inside. 2:41 Definitely much nicer. 2:42 Well, boys, like I said, it's a much better game Saturday night than Friday night. 2:48 But Vegoe, boy, another loss to Michigan State in the shootout. 2:55 Obviously, they only lose the one point, it's only tying the standings, but as you've seen from the players in the past, it does feel like a loss to them. 3:05 Yeah, I mean, the players practice it once a week, and I don't think there's a huge emphasis. 3:16 Wow, and we already lost you there for a second there, Veegs. 3:21 Yeah. 3:21 Must be that new fine connection. 3:24 Yeah, it seemed to be working okay earlier. 3:27 I'm just giving you a hard time. 3:29 Yeah, I mean, I don't think the coaches put a huge emphasis on the shootout. 3:32 It's not like they do it every single day. 3:34 It's not like they're breaking down film, the Hildebrandt trying to figure out how to beat them. 3:40 So I don't think it's as important as it is in the NHL, and the Gophers are I think nine points clear of Michigan, even though Michigan has a couple of games in hand. 3:50 So they're in good shape as is. 3:52 They don't have any losses yet in the column. 3:55 Well, that's definitely a good thing, and Hammy, it has only cost them a total of two points. 4:01 And right now, obviously, being 8-0 and 2 in the conference at the beginning of the year, we would take that 10 times out of 10. 4:09 Well, that's kind of the way I try to look at every week, and that's why I get a little frustrated with some of the fan comments is that if you had told your typical fan before this, in September, that we'd be sitting here the first week of February with only two losses, and we'd be where we are in the Big Ten as far as the standing goes, I don't know that many fans would have been complaining about that, especially considering what we lost off of last year's team. 4:34 So, big picture-wise, I think the Gophers have done pretty much everything you would hope that they would do it to this point, and hopefully they'll keep it up. 4:44 Well, Lucia seemed to think that, obviously with Marshall being out, he didn't like how the defensive combinations were different. 4:52 One was playing on the left side, and the next time they were playing on the right side, there wasn't much continuity there Friday night. 4:59 And obviously, one thing that was also not good is that Michigan State jumped out to a 2-0 lead as well. 5:08 What are your thoughts on that whole defensive struggle with only five guys, Hammeh? 5:13 Well, I think first of all, I didn't think that the Gophers came out and played all that badly in that first period. 5:19 The first handful of shifts, I thought they played pretty well, and then they killed off the penalty. 5:24 But then they gave up the two goals. 5:26 I think the first goal, from what I remember, I really thought that was kind of Shea's fault because he had lost... 5:32 I don't know what he was doing on the opposing corner. 5:34 I mean, that wasn't his side of the ice. 5:36 He should have been in front of the net covering the slot because Hull was already over there, as was, I think, Isaacson. 5:42 So I kind of put that one on him. 5:44 He didn't play his position very well on that one. 5:46 And then the second goal was kind of... 5:49 You have to give them a little bit of credit. 5:51 It came out of the corner after, I think, Clues had lost an edge. 5:54 And I think it was... 5:56 Who was it? 5:57 Was it Bischoff that had kind of partially screened Wilcox? 6:01 And it was a nice shot. 6:02 So, I mean, you kind of have to give them credit. 6:04 And I didn't think we played that badly at that point, but it certainly took the wind out of the crowd sales. 6:08 And it kind of was right in Michigan State's wheelhouse. 6:12 Their defensive-minded team kind of reminded me a little bit of how we get frustrated against Anchorage. 6:18 They'd get maybe a little bit of a lead at Mariucci and then kind of just clog the lanes and get back on defense and make sure that we weren't going to get any transition opportunities. 6:27 Well, Veegs, one thing it seems like we always run into at Michigan State is a good goalie, and Hildebrandt definitely held up his end of the bargain this weekend. 6:36 Yeah, it's definitely difficult when there's so much traffic in the middle of the rink to get quality scoring chances, because even when there are chances for rebounds, it's not like you can jump into an open space and get on that puck. 6:51 So I think that makes it very difficult to get goal scoring chances unless you can get enough power play advantages. 7:00 So I think that's just something they'll have to deal with. 7:03 It was nice to see Fashing working his magic in front of the net again this weekend. 7:09 That's the kind of stuff they need when they play teams who pack it in like that. 7:14 I missed most of the game Friday night, but I was at the game Saturday night. 7:18 People around me and I talked to people after the game all thought that Fashing was very strong on the puck Saturday night. 7:26 It was hard to get puck off him. 7:27 I mean, he didn't score or anything like that. 7:29 Or did he score? 7:30 I can't even remember. 7:32 Just a round of goal. 7:34 But it just seems like he was very strong on the puck Saturday night. 7:40 Yeah, I mean, he's one of their big bodies, and he's showing the ability to get some separation and have that awareness so that he can protect the puck for a long time. 7:48 And that's great for when he's playing with a guy like Kyle Rau. 7:52 And it also seems like he's a little more confident than he was earlier in the season. 7:57 You know, he got those goals in the last couple of weeks, and then, like I said, Hammy, strong on the puck. 8:02 This could be more of an emergence of Mr. 8:04 Fashing. 8:06 Well, I mean, he's been solid all year long. 8:07 I mean, I don't know that we could have asked for much more, considering, you know, I think a lot of people, myself included, really didn't expect him to come in and contribute offensively quite as well as he has, because, I mean, he didn't really light it up when he was with the US team. 8:22 He did solid, but he didn't certainly, I think, part of the reason why his draft stock kind of dropped a bit was that he wasn't contributing as much offensively as people had expected. 8:32 And so it's certainly a nice surprise that he stepped up the way he has this year. 8:37 Well, a four-point weekend, and it's hard to complain, especially when they haven't technically lost a game in the league yet. 8:44 So we just got to keep plowing forward. 8:46 Obviously, we got the big weekend with the Badgers this weekend. 8:49 And God forbid this team loses a game in conference because the people are just going to flip out. 8:55 Well, the other thing I'd say is that I think that these kinds of series are good for the Gophers to play against these kinds of teams. 9:04 Because the reality is you're going to have to face different styles more than likely when you get to the NCAAs. 9:10 And they're not always going to be a BC type of a team where it's going to be this wide open, up and down the rink type of a game. 9:17 You're going to face some teams like maybe a Notre Dame, for instance, where they're more defensive minded. 9:22 And you kind of have to be prepared to be more patient and not always have things go on your way. 9:29 So I had to face some of the adversity and defensive style that we saw this kind of weekend and a good goaltender. 9:34 I think that's kind of good for the long run for them to have to deal with that. 9:38 Well, before we move on to other games in the Big Ten this past weekend, a couple of Twitter questions. 9:44 Remember, you can always just tweet us, you know, at GopherPuckLive or at Hammy Hockey or at Evigo, either, any of us. 9:53 And we'll get your question on the air if you need to. 9:57 Neil Elder is wondering, did Rao need to change his role for this season, hence only six goals for him at this point? 10:05 What do you think, Veegs? 10:07 Yeah, I think definitely. 10:08 I think Rao has mentioned it a couple of times in the post games where he said, you know, he's got a little bit more responsibility playing center, so he's having to stay a little bit higher in the offensive zone. 10:19 And, you know, every once in a while, he'll still come down and pounce on pucks when he, you know, sees that he's got, you know, better than, you know, probably a 75% chance of getting there. 10:29 And so, you know, he's been getting some goals that way. 10:31 But I think he's had to take on a lot more responsibility. 10:34 But at the same time, I don't want to see them move to wing because he's been one of their best face-off guys. 10:40 He's among the top centers in the country for face-off. 10:44 So he's really adding a lot to their team playing down the middle. 10:49 Hammy, any thoughts on Raoul's role for this year? 10:52 Well, I mean, Vig's pretty much touched on. 10:54 I think the other thing is that you have to realize that, you know, he's been playing with guys who are, you know, scoring goals. 10:59 I mean, for me, I've never really been particular about, you know, who's scoring the goals. 11:04 It's just how many goals is that top line getting and the second line? 11:08 And, you know, I don't think that seven goals is exactly anything to be, you know, upset about. 11:14 I mean, he's probably going to hit double digits, I would imagine, and you can't complain too much about that, especially considering he's taken on that kind of responsibility not only in terms of the position, but in terms of being a captain, and you have a lot more, you know, mentally going on. 11:29 So I think all in all, he's done a pretty good job this year. 11:33 Well, as you speak of, you know, he's letting his line mates score, and we're getting pretty good depth, and that kind of leads into another question from Mark Erickson on Twitter. 11:41 Is this year's team more likely to succeed in the NCAAs than last year because of its scoring depth? 11:48 What do you think of that, Hammeh? 11:52 They don't really have that go-to guy that you really have to mark on the ice. 11:56 I mean, a lot of guys are scoring. 11:58 Yeah, I mean, certainly it's nice that you can't necessarily key on any one or two players. 12:05 At the same time, you know, we've seen some of these big, you know, some of these schools that have won the title recently. 12:12 I mean, like Duluth, for instance, they had one big line, you know, where it was basically, you know, they had other contributors, but that was like the thing that drove their team. 12:21 And, you know, so I have mixed feelings on it. 12:24 Ultimately, I think when it comes down to in the end is it's going to be defense and goaltending and getting the timely goals because, you know, you're probably not going to be outscoring teams, you know, in these racehorse types of games once you get to the NCAAs. 12:38 Any thoughts on that, Veegs? 12:40 No, I think it's definitely all about the goaltending. 12:43 And the Gophers have a very solid guy between the nets with Bullcox. 12:47 So I think that's going to be the reason that they'll succeed. 12:51 I mean, he's been among the Big Ten three stars the last two weeks. 12:55 And there's a reason he's playing very, very well. 12:58 Minnesota got outshot, you know, I think three of the last four games. 13:02 And, you know, the only reason they've got this streak right now is because he bails them out night in, night out. 13:09 Mark Erickson had another question via Twitter. 13:11 He was wondering which of our seven D sits out when the playoffs begin. 13:16 Who would you sit out, Hammeh? 13:19 I mean, somebody's going to. 13:22 Well, I mean, it's kind of hard to say when we're still a little ways off. 13:26 You know, based on the way Lucia seems to handle things, I would probably guess that Parenteau would be the guy sitting out. 13:33 You know, mainly because, you know, I think that even though he is a senior, you know, as far as guys that have the talent and the upside and the potential, I think that he's probably down that list. 13:46 I've always liked him as far as being pretty solid and reliable on defense. 13:50 But it's hard to say. 13:51 We'll see how some of the young guys, you know, play down the stretch and if they hit a wall or not. 13:57 And, you know, I think there's a lot of things to be determined yet. 14:00 Who sits out, Veegs? 14:03 I think it would probably end up being one of the freshmen. 14:06 I think Brudzinski is going to have an uphill climb to be an every night defenseman when he comes back. 14:12 We've already seen the parental kind of struggling to keep up with the pace of the game when he came back. 14:17 So, you know, it could be tough for him. 14:19 And, you know, early on this season, he was alternating a little bit with the freshmen in the lineup. 14:25 So he might lean towards going veteran defenseman down the stretch. 14:33 Well, elsewhere in the Big Ten this past weekend, we had Ohio State sweeping Penn State and leaving Penn State winless still in the Big Ten. 14:42 Obviously, none of our picks came true there. 14:45 And then we also had Michigan beating Wisconsin and then tying Wisconsin and then getting the extra point in the shootout. 14:53 So Michigan's on our tail, still have a ways to go, but obviously they got the four games in hand. 14:58 Any thoughts on the rest of the Big Ten this weekend, Hammeh? 15:04 I think it was pretty predictable. 15:05 I didn't think that... 15:08 I kind of felt like some of the results that we got, especially that Michigan series with Wisconsin. 15:13 I thought that that would be pretty tough for Wisconsin on the road. 15:17 So I'm not really all that surprised at the results there. 15:22 I think that week in, week out, I think it's kind of easy with the Big Ten right now. 15:28 Other than when you have those top three teams playing, you know, kind of making those predictions. 15:31 So, well, I guess we'll have to see how it rolls in those last ten games. 15:37 Still couldn't get the win there, could they, Vegoe, Hammy, or I meant Penn State? 15:46 Yeah, I messed that up. 15:47 Go ahead. 15:48 I'm just, you know, I hear dogs barking in the background of my house and a certain interfere with me and blah, blah, blah. 15:54 I know, I'm a little fatigued from the move, so I wasn't quite sure where we were going with that. 15:59 But yeah, I thought Penn State might be able to slow down the Ohio State offense. 16:05 They had a good start on Saturday. 16:07 Yeah, they just proved to be too much. 16:11 You know, Ohio State's got that big line and they can pump in goals. 16:17 I think that's a tough matchup, especially if you fall behind. 16:21 Well, I think the funny thing about that series is Penn State outshot them by 15 shots on Friday, 47 to 32. 16:31 If there's ever a reason to show how irrelevant shots can be, that's an example. 16:37 I mean, it's not where they're shooting. 16:39 It's always outside shots. 16:42 If it's not in a slot or any of that high percentage shots, it doesn't really matter. 16:46 So, it's kind of ironic, I think, when people look at that stuff. 16:51 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 16:52 Well, Penn State this weekend, they get to host the Michigan Wolverines. 16:58 And I just don't see them losing any games, or I don't see Michigan losing any games this weekend to Penn State. 17:05 And then you've got Ohio State going to Michigan State. 17:09 That's a little bit more interesting. 17:12 Any thoughts on those games this weekend, Vego? 17:16 No, I think you're right. 17:17 I think Michigan probably will go into Penn State and come out with two wins. 17:22 It will be interesting to see if Michigan State is able to slow down Ohio State at all. 17:27 Hildebrand sure gave the Gophers all they could handle, and they really pack it in. 17:32 So, I think we could see a split in that series. 17:36 Hammy, will Penn State get any points this year? 17:41 Well, I think it's hard to say. 17:43 0-8 and 0 right now. 17:45 I mean, they might be able to grab a couple. 17:50 Their last series is Ohio State at home, so that's probably their best shot, I would guess. 17:56 I don't think they'll take any from at Michigan or at Minnesota and Wisconsin at home. 18:00 Maybe they might there, because Wisconsin is iffy at times. 18:04 But I think that they'll get some points, but it won't be that many, that's for sure. 18:09 But as far as this weekend goes, I think the interesting thing will be the Michigan State, Ohio State's matchup, simply because they kind of have those contrasting styles, almost like what we saw this last weekend in our series, because Michigan State's the more defensive-minded team, and Ohio State's, they're more of a goal-scoring team this year. 18:27 And you just never know what Vegoe says. 18:29 With Hildebrandt, I think Michigan State's a team that could sneak in in the Big Ten tournament and get to a title game just by riding him. 18:40 Well, it's possible, only simply because they're going to play that kind of style, or they're going to want it to be low-scoring, and they're going to want it to be something where they're kind of in the game in the third period. 18:50 And, of course, anything can happen in hockey if you tie a game or not much of a separation there and you're kind of in the third period. 18:58 So, anything can happen. 19:00 Looks like we have a recruiting question from Tim Hapke. 19:03 He was wondering, I'll direct this towards you, Hammeh, he's wondering if the incoming recruits Johnson and Glover styles, who do they remind you of? 19:12 Yeah, I saw that. 19:15 I mean, I don't know that I have a great comparison to make as far as individual players, because a lot of times that's not even a fair thing to do before they even come to campus. 19:22 I would agree. 19:23 But, you know, as far as Johnson goes, I know that he's kind of a late bloomer. 19:28 He's, you know, a solid two-way defenseman. 19:30 He's playing in all kind of all areas with Omaha this year. 19:34 So I think that he'll be kind of a valuable guy that I would imagine will come in and kind of play a role that's similar to Parenteau, but probably a little bit more of an offensive flair to him and some upside there. 19:46 So I think that that's I'm not saying he's gonna be like Parenteau. 19:49 I'm just saying like envisioning who's leaving and whatever. 19:53 I could see him kind of stepping into that. 19:55 And then Gophers, you know, he's a very good two-way defenseman. 19:59 He's a little bit more raw. 20:00 He needs to build up his body, but he's kind of more of an offensive defenseman. 20:04 And I think that he'll be a definite contributor next year. 20:07 He just really he's gonna be a really good player. 20:09 He just needs to gain some of that maturity and size. 20:13 When I was at Mariucci this past weekend on my way out, I did see Grant Petonele meeting with a kid and his parents. 20:21 So somebody was there for a visit this past weekend. 20:25 Was he wearing a hockey jacket? 20:27 You know what? 20:27 It was the back of him and I couldn't see him that well. 20:30 But so I don't know who it was. 20:34 Well, we won't be going to you for any recruiting news ever. 20:36 You know, I was just about to go up the elevator and I noticed, you know, Grant was talking to somebody and it was more like the parents. 20:43 And then I noticed the kid was there as they started walking away. 20:45 So who knows who it was, but he was somebody was visiting, going down in the locker room after the game. 20:51 So sorry, I'll pay attention more next time. 20:55 I feel like those Shaddock kids are there almost every other weekend because they've got four of them coming in next year, I think. 21:03 And you might have seen them a few times when you've been down there, Veegs. 21:06 Oh, yeah, they're there quite a bit. 21:08 So who knows? 21:10 Who knows? 21:11 Anything else going on in the recruiting front, Hammey? 21:13 Or is this kind of a quiet time of year? 21:16 I think, you know, the question I had actually, one of the players' parents asked me a question about the goalie situation because, you know, I don't suspect Wilcox is going to leave early simply because of the fact that goal tenders don't tend to leave early. 21:32 And so it's a little bit different with goalies simply because, look, they're only going to have two on a team, essentially. 21:37 And so just by sheer numbers, it's a lot more difficult to make it, you know, and there's a lot of good goalies out there. 21:44 So I think that, you know, the odds are he's going to be around. 21:47 But I think right now it's just essentially trying to figure out who they're going to replace, you know, what shibby is going to be done after this year. 21:54 So, you know, I'm sure they're looking at somebody, my guess would be kind of an older, you know, guy that some junior hockey experience that's going to be able to step in, you know, and play a role and not necessarily command a lot of scholarship, but somebody that can contribute if Wilcox happens to be out for a little bit. 22:15 So, otherwise, it's quiet, all quiet on the recruiting front, except for, you know, your visits here and there. 22:21 Well, boys, we've got a trip to Bucky Badger this Thursday and Friday, Thursday at 7.30, 30, I should say, Friday at 8 p.m. 22:32 Last 10 meetings with Wisconsin, the Gophers are 6-3-1, and they lead the all-time series 159, 87, and 21. 22:42 Yes, I have that info because the weekly press release came out today instead of on Wednesday, like it has been for the last couple years. 22:50 Thank you, Brian Deutsch. 22:52 Hammie, your first initial thoughts, Thursday, Friday? 22:56 Sounds like what you were saying was just purely a Big Ten TV thing, but, you know, I really don't mind the Thursday, Friday thing. 23:04 Well, I've never been overly picky about, you know, the times in the game, you know, days or whatever. 23:11 I mean, I understand that optimally you want it Friday night, Saturday night, but sometimes you have to make do and just do what's going to be best for the television network that's been paying, you know, us a lot of money as an athletic department. 23:24 And if they were, you know, I don't know if that's what it was or what. 23:28 I'm assuming that's what it was. 23:30 Well, Lucia did mention it on his weekly show that it was purely the Big Ten Network is why we're playing Thursday, Friday. 23:36 Maybe there's other reasons, but that's what he said on the radio show. 23:40 Well, you know, that's fine with me. 23:42 I have no problems with it. 23:43 And, you know, if anything, it just frees up a Saturday for people to do some other things that they want to do. 23:48 So. 23:50 Vegoe, have you made the trip to Madison in a long time? 23:54 When's the last time you made the trip? 23:56 Oh, boy, I can't remember. 23:58 It's been so long. 24:00 It was like the Kessel years or something like that. 24:03 For me, it's the last time I made it. 24:05 It's I've been there for football. 24:07 I don't I don't think I've been to Cole Center. 24:09 So, really? 24:10 Yeah. 24:11 It's just the Wisconsin fans don't do it for me. 24:15 It's just not. 24:16 You know, Cole Center doesn't do it for me either. 24:19 Yeah, that and Grand Forks, it's just not a great environment for Gopher fans to go. 24:24 Yeah, I have run into you a few times up at Duluth, which is my favorite trip. 24:28 But that is a great one. 24:30 There, Tac, St. 24:31 Cloud, those are all fun. 24:33 The opposing fans are usually pretty good, but the Badger fans and Hoo fans are not fun to run into. 24:41 Well, the Badger fans are just stupid. 24:44 Right. 24:44 I mean, it's not. 24:45 I'm not even saying that the knuckleheads, I'm just saying the fans in general just have very little knowledge of hockey. 24:54 I mean, it's like going to a high school game. 24:57 You know, it's a one-on-three and their fans are going, ah, it's just, you just want to smack them. 25:03 I mean, sure, it's a great crowd. 25:04 They love to have a good time, blah, blah, blah, but man, they're stupid. 25:08 Yeah, they're there for the event. 25:10 They're not there to watch hockey. 25:12 It sounds like tickets are still available. 25:14 200 level, right in the center ice. 25:17 So if you want to head out to Madison, go right ahead, people. 25:21 Have fun. 25:21 I'm not doing that trip anymore. 25:24 I did it twice. 25:25 I'm like, eh, not going to do it anymore. 25:28 What about the hockey, though? 25:29 It sounds like Cardiolis is going to be back this weekend. 25:33 Wisconsin is getting healthy. 25:35 What about the actual games, Vegoe? 25:37 Yeah, Wisconsin does play a tough game for Minnesota sometimes. 25:41 It just seems that guys like Mersh and Cardiolis and Zingerle do give the Gophers some problems. 25:50 Jake McCabe is a real steadfast guy back there on the blue line. 25:55 Simonelli is good. 25:57 He can get pucks to the net. 25:59 So it is going to be a challenge. 26:00 I think it's going to be a physical game. 26:01 It's going to be a tight game. 26:04 I know last weekend Wisconsin took a ton of penalties against Michigan, and Michigan just didn't make them pay for it. 26:11 But I think that's something to look for this weekend, to see if Wisconsin puts the Gophers on the man advantage a bunch. 26:18 It should be a fun series. 26:21 It's big for the Big Ten. 26:22 What do you think, Hammeh? 26:24 What are you looking forward to? 26:26 Well, you know, it will be interesting, because I'm not really even entirely sure what I think of this Badger team. 26:31 I mean, coming into the year, I sort of thought that they would be the top team in the Big Ten simply because they had, you know, the most returning talent, a lot of upperclassmen, seniors. 26:42 And so when they came out of the gate, you know, kind of slow, you know, that was a little bit surprising. 26:47 And then, you know, they got certainly a lot more healthy here in the last two months as far as wins go. 26:52 But if you look at the competition, it was mostly pretty joke competition. 26:56 I mean, Penn State, CC, Huntsville, Anchorage. 27:00 I mean, that was fourth straight series right there. 27:02 I mean, that's this year, it was about as bad as it gets. 27:06 That's the truth. 27:07 You know, and the one surprising thing was the sweep that they had of Michigan, you know, a few weeks back. 27:13 But other than that, you know, they haven't really been playing, you know, they've won the games that you expect them to win. 27:19 But it's like, it's hard to read too much into that. 27:21 I looked earlier today, I think they're like two, four and one against teams that are currently, you know, would be in the NCAA. 27:30 So it's not like they've really done all that great against NCAA teams. 27:34 And the two wins were those, you know, the Michigan ones at home. 27:36 So, you know, we'll see. 27:39 It's hard for me to say one way or the other. 27:41 I guess it's kind of a wait and see thing. 27:44 It's similar to last year where they kind of played some soft teams, you know, in the second half and then, you know, certainly did a little bit better towards the end, you know, with like the final five and whatever. 27:54 But we'll see how it goes. 27:56 They have a lot of vets. 27:57 And, you know, to me, it's like if they don't capitalize down a stretch this year, it could be a couple of long seasons for them because they're going to be losing a lot of players, I think, after this year. 28:07 Right now, I'm seeing it as a split for the Gophers, just a straight up split. 28:14 Obviously, the GPLers might go crazy because, oh, they're going to get their first loss. 28:18 Oh, that's terrible. 28:20 But you know what? 28:21 Lucchia has always said, if you could split on the road, win most, you know, most if not all your games at home, you're going to be in really good shape. 28:27 So I see a split this weekend. 28:29 What do you see, Hammeh? 28:32 Yeah, I mean, that's kind of what I would expect as well. 28:34 I think that, you know, especially in a rivalry series, you have to expect that it's going to be pretty hard fought. 28:39 And I certainly believe that, you know, Wisconsin has the ability to beat our team, and especially on home ice. 28:46 So I think that one of these games, you know, our power play will probably come through. 28:51 And I think offensively, we're the better team. 28:54 But, you know, we're going to have to, of course, have Wilcox be on his game and, I think, tighten things up a little bit defensively. 29:01 And if we do that, you know, I think I like our chances. 29:03 But I would expect it would be a split. 29:05 What's your prediction, Vego? 29:08 I think they're going to sweep them. 29:09 I think Wilcox is playing really well. 29:11 Yeah, I mean, Minnesota kind of had a couple games there where they weren't on top of their game. 29:16 And I think Saturday they seem to find it a little bit more. 29:19 I think the power play has really been coming along the last couple of weeks. 29:23 So I think they're going to come to this series and get the full six. 29:27 Well, if they do sweep, that's almost a guarantee at home, you know, one of the two top seeds. 29:33 So let's hope for that. 29:36 I mean, that'd be great. 29:38 Friday night, we're having a little gathering. 29:41 If any of you people listening want to come join us down at Campus Pizza on Campus, we're going to watch the game, eat some pizza, have some fun. 29:51 Maybe Hammy will show up. 29:53 He usually says maybe and then doesn't. 29:55 But who knows? 30:00 It all depends on if Hammy's got a date or not, if he shows up. 30:05 Or if maybe he can pick up a date when he's there. 30:08 Who knows? 30:09 Maybe he'll show up. 30:10 What about you, Vig? 30:11 Do you want to come down Friday night, watch the game? 30:14 We'll see. 30:14 I know my wife has some plans, so it could make some complicated things with my son. 30:22 We'll see. 30:23 Bring him on down. 30:25 It gets to be a late night for him, that way. 30:27 Especially with the late starts. 30:29 Yeah, 8 o'clock starts not that great. 30:31 But you know what? 30:32 I kind of like the Big Ten doing the double-header thing, so it's hard to complain. 30:36 I think they're really pushing this whole, was it Frozen Friday thing, and I enjoy it. 30:44 8 o'clock, so what? 30:45 You got something better to do on a Friday night, then you're not a Gopher Hockey fan. 30:50 Quit your bitching. 30:52 Did you see that question that you got on Grant Bessey? 30:55 I did see that. 30:56 Do you think he was hurt by not having a full year of juniors? 31:01 This is from Jeremy Zeyer on Twitter. 31:04 What do you think, Hamme? 31:07 Well, I think you could say, I don't know if he was hurt necessarily, but I think it's pretty easy to say that. 31:13 All these guys could use a year after high school of playing junior hockey. 31:18 It all comes down to what a team needs. 31:25 I think what it really came down to for Wisconsin was that they needed to have a guy come in. 31:29 So I think that as much as anything is what it is. 31:36 I see that we've already got... 31:38 Superstar is listening to live. 31:39 It sounds like you've got a date. 31:41 Well, I don't know. 31:45 I mean, she's pretty... 31:46 Well, I won't go there. 31:52 He needs a date or she needs a date. 31:53 Yeah, he needs a date. 31:55 Superstar needs a date, Hammy. 31:57 There you go. 31:59 Superstar will sit at my table. 32:02 You can sit at my table. 32:03 I can mediate if you need to. 32:07 I know her well enough. 32:08 I don't need a mediator. 32:11 Oh, I know you do. 32:14 Well, there that is. 32:15 She's going to be there, so you need to be there, Hammy. 32:20 A lot of people have not met Hammy. 32:22 I've only met you once in person. 32:24 I asked her if she wanted to go out to a concert, and she blew me off a week ago. 32:31 You're going to take that, Jen? 32:33 She was probably singing or something. 32:39 Maybe. 32:41 Her superstar and two dudes band, whatever they're called. 32:44 Is that a porn? 32:47 That's what it sounds like. 32:49 I don't think that's the name of the band. 32:52 She probably would love to chime in right now, but we're not going to let her. 32:56 All right. 32:57 Back to the topic of hockey. 33:02 You guys got anything else on this weekend? 33:04 It's Badger Week, and it's just tough to have it build up. 33:07 I'm just not feeling it. 33:10 Well, I mean, I think it's just one of those things where the schedule has been, you know, we're finally going to get right in the meat of the Big Ten now. 33:17 I mean, we're basically Big Ten from here on out. 33:20 So hopefully that will kind of increase some of the interest. 33:25 You know, right now, to me, it seems like if we're going to, if we do really well this weekend, you're essentially, it's going to be a two-horse race. 33:33 I mean, it's going to be between the Gophers and Michigan for the title. 33:37 So we'll see how it goes. 33:38 But if they can do what Vig said, you know, that'll certainly probably put Wisconsin out of it. 33:44 Any other final thoughts on this weekend, Viggo? 33:47 No, it'll just be interesting to see what the lines are because Luchi has been shaking them up a little bit. 33:53 I think Camerano and Rao have been pretty electric together and they look good on the power play together. 33:58 So just watch for that. 34:01 Yeah, you know, the one guy I'm still just... 34:05 I just don't like is Isaacson. 34:09 I've just never been a fan of his and it's just... 34:12 I'm always waiting for him to just come into the offensive zone, hold the puck too long and lose the puck. 34:18 I mean, is it just me or...? 34:19 No, I mean, I would agree with that. 34:21 I mean, I think that a big part... 34:22 You know, his big... 34:24 You know, when I think back to when he was younger, he was such a good passer, you know, he had really good hands. 34:30 But the thing is that he does seem to take longer to make decisions and some of the decisions that he's made in recent weeks haven't really panned out very well. 34:38 I think in the one turnover, I think... 34:40 what was that, against Duluth, I think that led to their first goal. 34:44 I mean, it was a really bad pass to the middle of our defensive zone. 34:49 You know, I think they're still trying to figure some things out. 34:52 I guess they're probably giving him the nod because he does have some experience playing on the higher lines and he's an upperclassman. 35:01 But yeah, at this sometime, you know, you got to hope that he's going to start contributing because he hasn't really done anything offensively, especially considering what we thought he would do maybe a few years ago. 35:11 Four points in 15 games is an upperclassman. 35:13 He's not going to get it done. 35:14 Yeah, well, that's just the way it goes. 35:18 I think he's got kind of a tough deal because the lines he's been playing with, he needs other guys to move the puck a little bit and get open. 35:27 He doesn't have the great foot speed of some of the better players. 35:31 I think if anybody on the team needs to have an off season like Ambrose did last year, it's probably Isaacson. 35:37 I think if he can improve his skating a little bit more and improve his battle, you'd see some of that offensive ability he has. 35:45 Because I do think he sometimes holds on to the puck too long, but he rarely makes the bad mistakes like he did in that Duluth game. 35:53 Maybe that's just because he's pressing a little bit. 35:55 All right, boys, I think that's it for this week. 36:02 I've got nothing else. 36:03 Do you? 36:05 Nope, I have not seen as it's still, we're expecting Brudzinski and those guys not to come back until what, the week after the bye week or whatever it is. 36:15 Yeah, and obviously, Saratori being out. 36:17 Yeah, Saratori. 36:18 He's been out, but I think he was playing not as well the last few times he played anyway. 36:24 I mean, that's just me. 36:26 It just seems like his effort was down a little bit. 36:29 He was less of a spark. 36:31 Well, it could be, but you definitely need those kinds of guys. 36:34 You do. 36:35 And hopefully, he comes back and is that spark. 36:37 But I just noticed his last couple of series, that spark wasn't there. 36:42 I'm going to be the time off. 36:44 We'll give him some additional energy, and he'll be happy to be back in the lineup, and he'll provide that down the stretch. 36:51 Well, let's hope so, because we're going to need him and his leadership later on down the year. 36:58 All right, well, that's it, boys. 37:00 I think we're done. 37:01 Remember, you can always follow us on Twitter, at GopherPuckLive and at HammyHockey, at eVegoe. 37:09 That's all of us right there. 37:11 Come on out Friday night. 37:13 Any time after 7, we're going to be at Campus Pizza on campus. 37:17 We have an area reserved, so come on out. 37:20 Meet quite a few GPLers. 37:22 We've already signed up for it already. 37:25 We'll watch the game, yell at the screen, drink some beer, eat some pizza. 37:30 We'll have a good time, so make sure you come on out. 37:34 That's going to do it for this week. 37:35 We'll see you next week on the GPL Podcast.