0:10 This is the Gopher Puck Live Podcast with Hammy, Vegoe, and your host Jupiter. 0:36 Good evening, and welcome to The GPL Podcast. 0:40 The season is winding down, but the season isn't over yet of the Gophers. 0:47 Last weekend, boys, sweep of Penn State University, and with a little help from our friends over there in Michigan, Michigan State, the Gophers are Big Ten champs. 1:00 Vig, initial thoughts, Big Ten champs. 1:03 Two years in a row, the only two years, and now four years in a row for all these seniors to win a league title. 1:09 Yeah, exactly like we predicted five months ago, right? 1:14 We predicted it definitely. 1:17 We didn't predict the way it happened though. 1:20 Yeah, I definitely didn't think it would come down to the last weekend. 1:24 I think this team, they brought back so much talent that we expected them to just kind of waltz through the Big Ten this year and found out that once again, if talent doesn't work hard and work smart, they'll get beat and this team had to definitely overcome some struggles to get where they are. 1:43 Hamme, definitely a Jekyll and Hyde team this year. 1:46 Very frustrating at times. 1:49 Yeah, I mean, what can you say? 1:51 It's one of those things where, like Vig said, to have the talent and it just really comes down to what's the intangibles. 1:59 I mean, do they have the leadership? 2:00 Do they have the work ethic? 2:01 And, you know, we never really saw a team that was consistently good. 2:06 They always seem to kind of show you something for a little bit. 2:11 And then they all of a sudden lay an egg and then you're like, what's going on? 2:14 And then, you know, it just kind of be that kind of a pattern where they just never really went on a roll for, you know, four or five, six weeks in a row. 2:21 And even in the second half, they haven't really played the stiffest competition and they still weren't rolling through everybody. 2:28 So, you know, it's one of those things where you're glad that they achieved something and did what they were supposed to do for a banner. 2:36 But the way that they did it, yeah, it definitely wasn't quite as smooth as we thought. 2:40 Well, for me, it just hasn't been good enough. 2:42 I mean, that's flat out how it is. 2:44 I mean, they won the Big Ten regular season, but they haven't been good enough, you know, in the Big Ten. 2:49 They haven't been good enough in their non-conference games. 2:52 And that's why they're sitting at 13th in the pairwise right now. 2:55 You know, one slip up this weekend and they could be done. 2:59 Well, I do think that one reason they're at 13th in the pairwise is because the Big Ten was so young this season and all those freshmen had to play early in the season. 3:09 And all these coaches, you know, they talk about getting their team ready for March. 3:14 All these Big Ten coaches were playing kids and losing and hurting the pairwise for everybody in the conference because of that. 3:21 You look at the teams around them and above them in the pairwise, they don't really have that many more wins than Minnesota. 3:27 It's just their conferences weren't so bad out of conference. 3:31 Well, I've got to disagree with you a little bit there because, you know, I don't care how good the rest of the Big Ten is. 3:38 If Minnesota could have won some of those games that they were supposed to win, they wouldn't be in this position. 3:43 I mean, a couple of ties to Wisconsin, they lost points right there. 3:49 And actually those ties, they dropped quite a bit in the pairwise when those happened too. 3:53 I mean, some of these other losses, you know, a great win against BC and then the next couple of nights later, they completely lay a leg against Northeastern. 4:00 You know, this Jekyll and Hyde thing, just like you're saying, Hammey, and they have nobody but to blame but themselves. 4:05 It's, I don't, you know, some of the rest of the league, you know, sure that might have caused some of the pairwise, but really, they need to look in the mirror to see, you know, they're in their own position right now. 4:14 Well, if they would have the same kind of performance in the NCHC this season, they'd be fine. 4:20 Yeah, I don't know. 4:22 I personally would agree with you, Jupe. 4:25 I don't give them the slack because the truth for me is, look, we've only played two teams as of right now. 4:32 We don't know who's going to be, of course, getting the auto bids and whatever, but as of right now, we've only played two games since December against teams that would be in the NCAAs, and yet we still weren't rolling through the competition. 4:46 I mean, what, Michigan is the highest Big Ten team besides us and they're like at 21st or something like that. 4:51 I mean, I get that, yes, some of it is Big Ten, but for me, when you're not winning games that you should be winning and where you're not consistently performing, to be on the bubble right now, they deserve where they, I don't really blame anybody else other than how we've just played. 5:11 I was told last week, are you ever tired of betting against this team? 5:14 I'm like, yeah, well, I'm not a fan boy. 5:17 I look at things objectively and this team hasn't deserved to get massive praise. 5:22 They get what they get. 5:24 I'm not saying they deserve massive praise. 5:26 They could definitely be in the group where they have 27 wins like North Dakota and Minnesota State. 5:32 But if you look at the pairwise rankings, 6 through about 22, all those teams have about 20, 21 wins. 5:41 And so one or two wins definitely puts them ahead of everyone. 5:45 But at the same time, they are where they are. 5:48 Well, I guess my feeling is they've played Duluth three times this year. 5:54 They've played St. 5:54 Cloud. 5:55 I mean, they've lost games against teams that could have easily improved their position. 5:59 I can't just sit here and say it's just because of the Big Ten. 6:03 I mean, they've lost games against teams that really could have helped us. 6:07 You know, if we had won one or two of those games even, I'm sure it would have helped. 6:10 So, you know, or losing to Mankato or what? 6:15 I mean, just I mean, those are good teams. 6:16 Don't get me wrong. 6:17 I'm not saying that we should have just waltzed through them. 6:19 But nonetheless, I don't feel like it's I think it's more our performance than it is the league. 6:26 Well, one positive thing this weekend, they actually did put two wins together and beat Penn State 5-zip and 6-2. 6:35 Veegs, I know you were there on Saturday, right? 6:38 Yeah, I was there Saturday. 6:39 For senior night, blah, blah, blah. 6:41 I always want people like to make a big deal about that. 6:43 But all in all, it was a pretty good weekend over Penn State. 6:48 Yeah, I don't think they gave too much to Penn State. 6:52 Saturday night, they definitely started out with some jitters, and it took a while to get their game going a little bit. 6:57 I think they were trying to be maybe a little too fancy, make that perfect play in the first period, and then in the second, they just, you know, the end of the first, they just started to put pucks on net. 7:07 I think after one of the second or third opportunities where a guy passed up a shot and passed it to someone, I saw Lucia make a note in his notebook, and I'm pretty sure he was saying, hey, let's get the puck on net. 7:18 And from that point on, they did. 7:20 And, you know, they chased a goalie and got culvers for the fans. 7:26 Hammy, it looks like Mr. 7:28 Wilcox has at least, he might not be back to his level of last year, but at least he's not struggling like he did in, you know, since December through end of February. 7:40 Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, it's one of those things where goalies are such a, you know, when they're off, they can really be off. 7:47 I mean, you just don't know what you're going to get. 7:49 And, you know, people are talking about, you know, what the potential is for the team if they do happen to get the NCAAs. 7:57 And I said it on GPL. 7:58 I mean, they really have the two factors that I feel are the most important, which they have a goalie that when he's on his game, he can beat anybody, which obviously, Wilcox is that type of a goalie. 8:10 And they also have the offensive firepower, particularly on the power play that they can do damage against pretty much any team. 8:16 So I think they have those kinds of characteristics as whether they just bring things to the table in any given game. 8:23 And Wilcox playing better. 8:25 I mean, this last weekend, it's kind of hard to tell because I think even Vig said, I think it was last week that, you know, Penn State on a big ice sheet, they're just not going to be able to keep up with the pace of a skating team like the Gophers. 8:36 And I think it kind of showed. 8:38 And so you kind of say to yourself from a puck possession standpoint, you know, is that really, I mean, was that Wilcox or was that just dominating a team that just can't keep up from the speed standpoint? 8:50 You know, I don't know. 8:52 Well, I think they couldn't keep up from the speed standpoint, and Penn State has this tendency to shoot the puck from anywhere. 8:59 Right. 8:59 And when you do that on the Olympic ice, when you're shooting from the wall, you're a long ways away. 9:04 And credit to Wilcox for not coughing up rebounds for guys crashing the net, but those aren't high quality shots. 9:11 So I think the pace of play will definitely change when they go to the NHL rink here on Friday. 9:16 And then if they get past them, they're going to probably see a team like Michigan or Michigan State in the final, who can push the pace a little bit. 9:25 If you're listening live, like a few of you are, and you have any questions for us, just use the hashtag GPLPodcast via Twitter, and we'll try to answer them for you. 9:36 All right, boys, you know, they've gotten to 13th in the pairwise, we've gotten to the regular season, they won the title. 9:44 Now it's time to get serious. 9:47 Big Ten Tournament. 9:49 Well, for one thing, I don't know anyone who's going, the band's not even going. 9:55 It's going to be almost like a regional type of atmosphere. 10:00 Is this a good thing or a bad thing, Veegs? 10:03 Well, I don't think it's great for atmosphere, but it doesn't matter, the players are making the trip and they need to win. 10:10 They definitely need to win on Friday, otherwise they'll drop probably all the pairwise, and they haven't won a banner for a postseason tournament yet, so they're looking for that as well. 10:22 It's unfortunate. 10:23 They haven't won since Wheeler scored the overtime winner in 2007. 10:27 Yeah, that's a long time ago. 10:28 And they haven't won a game since 2008, you know, on those final weekends. 10:33 Well, I think part of it is, you know, this game hasn't meant much to them in the past, and this year it does, so maybe you'll see a little more effort. 10:41 You know, Wisconsin, they won those two in a row here because they needed to win to get in. 10:45 So, you know, there is going to be some urgency to this team's game this weekend, and it's been that way the last couple of weekends. 10:52 See, I mean, here's the thing for me, the fact that that would even need to be said though, and I'm not saying that, I'm not saying it's towards you, but that it doesn't mean anything or as much to them because of where they're at, it's like, well, it's still a banner, it's still a trophy you're winning, it's still some kind of prestige, and if that's really, truly their attitude that they took, I would be seriously upset about it because, to me, all these things matter. 11:18 I mean, yes, it's not as big of a deal as the regular season title or the NCAA title, but still, it's something that's meaningful. 11:26 Anytime you can raise a banner, it's something that's of value. 11:29 And the thing that bothers me, and I know we probably were going to touch on this anyways, but the whole pairwise thing, I know Vig said something about this on Twitter. 11:39 No, I don't give a damn about the pairwise. 11:42 And the reason why I don't is because it doesn't mean anything until all the games are done. 11:47 I mean, if we knew right now who is the NCAA, I mean, that's one thing, but we just don't. 11:51 And I don't, I understand why fans talk about the pairwise, but I hope to God, and I think Lucia does this, and this kind of bugs me. 12:00 I don't want a coach saying, well, I think if we win one game, we'll be in good shape. 12:04 It's like, no, you know what? 12:05 Screw that. 12:07 Win all your games, and just don't even leave it up to anybody else. 12:11 Just take care of your own business. 12:12 And if you happen to lose, okay, then check out the scenarios. 12:16 But don't waste time, and don't have the mentality that, yes, we're just going to sit there and see how it shakes out after we lose. 12:23 It just, I hate that. 12:26 Well, I mean, you should be assured that Lucia today did say that it works out if they win both games. 12:34 And that's what he's concerned about. 12:37 Hello, Captain Obvious. 12:39 Well, that's fine, but, I mean, in past years, I know the guy was like, well, I think we're in pretty good shape. 12:44 I would agree. 12:45 I remember that. 12:46 And it's like, you know what, dude, if you're going to send that message, then what the hell you think is going to happen when you get to these things, you're going to lose because you're setting the tone that, well, yeah, it'd be nice to win, but hey, we're not going to be knocked out if we don't. 12:59 So it's like, screw that, dude. 13:01 Just go in there with the mentality to win. 13:05 And I'm not saying he doesn't want to win, but to me, when you're doing things like that and saying things like that, you're giving your team an excuse to not put all their effort into it. 13:14 I hate that. 13:17 Well, it's true. 13:18 It's just true. 13:19 I can't really disagree with you there. 13:21 You know, it's just, oh boy. 13:24 Just win. 13:25 Don't worry about it. 13:26 Yeah, I'm with you there, and that's what they have to do now. 13:29 Just win. 13:30 Well, this year, yeah, this year, sure. 13:32 And that's what it's been like, you know, even for the people talking about the pair-wise. 13:35 You know, it actually doesn't matter right now. 13:38 Just win and you're fine. 13:42 If you win this weekend, you're into the tournament. 13:44 You know, you could play a tough team right off the bat, like a North Dakota or Mankato, Duluth or whatever, but you know what? 13:51 You're gonna run into them anyway if you want to get that far. 13:54 So just win, baby. 13:56 Yeah, and that's the other thing that bugs me is, I mean, I get why people want the easiest route to this and that and whatever, but it's like, you know what? 14:02 You're probably not gonna just, you're not gonna face Big Ten weakness in the NCAA, so you might as well just face up to it and say, you know what, let's just try to beat whoever we face. 14:13 And yeah, it might not be easy, but it shouldn't be easy to win an NCAA title. 14:17 So, you know, it's like people want to like face the Little Sisters of the Poor in the first round, then somebody who's just like mediocre in the second round, hey, we're at the Frozen Four. 14:26 Now we play one decent team, and then, okay, yeah, the final game will be tough. 14:31 It's like, no, you know, it's going to be tough, whoever you play, unless you're like, maybe the 16 team against the very top seed, but otherwise it should be a challenge. 14:41 So... 14:43 Veegs, a lot of talk about the NCAA tournament format this week. 14:48 You have any insights on that? 14:50 Well, just that someone from North Dakota got named to the committee. 14:54 He's an advocate of, you know... 14:57 Playing at the Ralphs? 14:58 Yeah, he's an advocate of campus sites. 15:01 From a perspective of someone from Minnesota or North Dakota, you'd love to have the campus sites be an option. 15:07 You look at these regionals, like the one that's going to happen in South Bend. 15:11 If there's a thousand people at those games, I'll be a little bit surprised. 15:15 You know, I've heard they're close to being sold out. 15:18 For South Bend? 15:19 Yes. 15:22 I was surprised to hear that too, but it's getting down to the point where they really only have tickets for the schools left over. 15:31 Well, let's see how many people show up when Minnesota State, Harvard and Quinnipiac end up there. 15:37 Okay. 15:37 So let me just ask this because I admittedly don't know this, but in these NCAA games, who's getting the profit? 15:45 Is it just the NCAA taking in the money or it's not the teams involved, correct? 15:52 Correct. 15:53 I believe it's actually the venue that guarantees the money. 15:59 Okay. 16:00 So like when the Xcel Energy Center says, hey, we'll host it, and whatever the amount of money is what will pay the NCAA. 16:10 So in essence, the only reason a team would want these is because of the competitive advantage they would have being on home ice. 16:19 I mean, is that fair to say? 16:20 Yeah, it's probably fair to say. 16:22 I mean, it's not a financially driven decision for these schools. 16:26 Why would they care if they play in front of 2,000 at Joe Blow Stadium in the middle of nowhere versus 8,000? 16:33 Because they're not getting the money essentially, right? 16:35 Am I correct on that? 16:36 I believe you are right. 16:38 So I think it's disingenuous for these guys to act like it's all about, let's make it a better-attended event and blah, blah, blah. 16:46 It's like, no, dude, you just want stuff on home ice. 16:48 And I get it, but let's not try to make it sound like it's some great idea because this is going to be better for everybody. 16:56 It's like, give me a break, dude. 16:57 You just want an advantage at home. 16:59 I get it, but admit it. 17:02 And it's North Dakota. 17:03 Shit, you know something's going to be screwed up if they're doing it. 17:08 I don't trust that guy. 17:09 You kidding me? 17:12 I don't trust any of them. 17:13 I'm with you. 17:15 I'm with you. 17:16 The unfortunate thing is that this isn't like the East Coast. 17:19 We don't have a lot of arenas that aren't associated with schools. 17:26 I mean, we've got large arenas and we've got school arenas. 17:32 We don't have your middle of the road type arenas that are just out in Providence or Worcester or whatever it may be. 17:41 We don't have that here. 17:43 So Fargo, they're hosting this year, is that correct? 17:46 Correct. 17:47 So how have they sold for tickets, do you know? 17:50 They sold out right away because they didn't offer to North Dakota season ticket holders. 17:55 And it's only 6,500 seats because it's at the Schiehl Center. 18:00 Right. 18:00 So, well, I mean, that's all right. 18:01 I guess, I mean, it's not great. 18:03 I mean, but nonetheless, at least it sold out. 18:05 What the hell are you crying about then, you North Dakota losers? 18:12 Yeah, well, you know, I think a lot of it has just been what's happened in the past. 18:17 I mean, you know, when we had the WCHA Final Five, that was people's road trip. 18:23 They wanted to, they all met in St. 18:24 Paul. 18:25 And you know what? 18:27 You know, like you think of 2007, that great final between Minnesota and North Dakota. 18:33 The next week, they go to Denver and have another great game, but the atmosphere was just completely diseased. 18:39 Because everyone's putting their money into, you know, where, you know, their playoff championships for their leagues. 18:47 Obviously, some of that's lost its luster. 18:50 But when you have these weird places for regionals, people just don't want to go. 18:55 Well, I mean, but is this really going to cure that? 18:58 Whatever the suggestion was. 18:59 I mean, I didn't really, I don't think so. 19:02 But what was the suggestion? 19:03 That you'd have one game on the higher seeds, home ice, and then you'd have super regionals? 19:08 Is that what I saw? 19:10 Where you'd have four teams for super regionals or some crap like that? 19:14 I don't even remember what it was. 19:15 But I guess. 19:17 Something along those lines, yes. 19:18 Either way, you're still, you know, I don't know that that's going to solve anything in the end as far as making it significantly better. 19:25 I mean, it might make it a little better, but I don't know. 19:29 I just, I think that they're trying to solve an issue that they're not going to really necessarily be able to solve because I just don't, it's a niche sport. 19:38 And you're always going to have trouble because people aren't going to know until a week before where the hell they're going to be traveling to. 19:43 Exactly. 19:44 And that's even why I would say even, you know, the ones that were at the Xcel Energy Center, I don't think you should be having regionals in these gigantic arenas. 19:54 Well, I think Jim Montgomery from DU responded to Adam Wooten today on Twitter saying he'd like to go back to the way it was during the 80s when the higher seed hosted the first round for a best of three and the second round for a best of three. 20:08 And then you move on to your final four after that at a neutral site. 20:12 And, you know, I hear people from Duluth and Mankato talking about, you know, that's not fair because we have to keep a weekend or two open at a rink we don't control. 20:23 And it's like, well, get more control of your arena. 20:26 But I think that would create tremendous atmosphere for those first two rounds. 20:31 Because the top 16 teams are all good now. 20:33 So those will all be good games. 20:35 So what? 20:35 But here's my, I mean, okay. 20:38 So what? 20:39 A good idea goes by the wayside because a small group of people or schools don't control their own rank. 20:44 So then who is that really fair for and not fair for? 20:47 It's like you could make the same argument that, hey, you're punishing the ones that do control their rank, and so they're not being allowed this great opportunity because you losers don't have control of your own rank. 20:59 Well, so what? 21:00 I'd rather, these small schools are always trying to pull the strings. 21:04 They don't want the big schools to have any power. 21:06 And I think, I wouldn't mind a best of three. 21:09 Personally, I wouldn't mind that like it was old school. 21:13 I think it would be a little entertaining. 21:15 And you'd probably have a little less upsets because it would make it a little bit more difficult to have the upset. 21:20 But I think it would still happen and just be a little bit more of a challenge. 21:25 Well, it's a good reward to finish in the top half of the pairwise. 21:30 You get those games at your home rank. 21:32 And best of three, the NCAA is still going to get their money because they collect revenue on that. 21:38 Small schools, they'll get their travel paid for by the NCAA just like they would with the regionals. 21:44 I think it would be a great solution. 21:46 It would be good for college hockey. 21:47 I think it was a mistake to go to these neutral site big arenas and have all these empty seats. 21:53 But the neutral site arena is just kind of a bullshit thing. 21:56 I mean, they're playing at Notre Dame's rank this year. 22:00 Well, isn't that's really the only one though, right? 22:03 And wasn't the deal with that that nobody else had really bid for that particular regional? 22:07 No, nobody else was willing to guarantee the money to the NCAA. 22:11 So, I mean, I get it in that instance, you know. 22:14 I mean, if that's like their fallback option, okay. 22:17 If you don't have any other options available. 22:19 But, I mean, so I get that one. 22:23 I can't fault them too much on that one. 22:27 I don't know, boys. 22:29 I don't know. 22:30 Well, I mean, so they're talking like, what, best of three? 22:34 I mean, if that's one of the scenarios thrown out like old school, and then after that, it would be like a frozen four kind of a situation. 22:41 Because obviously, you'd still have eight teams left after best of three. 22:45 Well, the thing is, if you do what you were talking about, Veegs, I mean, you have to add a weekend in there. 22:50 Well, right now, they have a weekend off right now. 22:53 True. 22:53 So you just take that away. 22:55 Yeah, but that's still tough because then you take that away and then, you know what, that final, you know, the final eight teams are playing on the same weekend that the final four is happening, the weekend they wanted to avoid. 23:12 Yeah, well, give me a break. 23:13 Like, the whole world is going to stop. 23:15 I know, but that's the thinking they have in their heads. 23:18 They're so freaking stupid. 23:20 I mean, really. 23:21 I know, I agree with you. 23:22 The world is still going to, if anything, why don't they, what is it, the semifinals are on a Saturday for basketball and the final game is on a Monday, correct? 23:30 That's usually how it is. 23:31 Yep. 23:31 Then play it Friday and Sunday then. 23:33 If it's that big of a deal. 23:35 Or Thursday, Friday, Sunday, it would be great. 23:38 Yeah, it will be like Big Ten, right? 23:39 We'll just play our games on Thursday and Friday. 23:41 No, I mean, seriously, like as if the basketball situation is really going to make the hockey situation any better or worse. 23:49 Give me a break. 23:50 Yeah, I've never heard like that argument. 23:52 I thought it was just bogus, but. 23:55 Feels a lot like how the MSHL wouldn't allow streaming for section finals this year because it went up against the wrestling tournament. 24:03 It's like, give me a break. 24:04 The same people aren't going to watch both of those. 24:07 Are you serious? 24:07 They wouldn't. 24:08 They didn't stream it this year. 24:10 Yeah. 24:10 Well, section finals, they couldn't because of some rule that the high school league has that they don't want to have that stuff streamed when there's another state championship televised or whatever stream. 24:22 Just brilliance from the Minnesota State High School League there. 24:27 Give me a break. 24:28 And when the games are still being played, so who the hell differences that? 24:30 Yeah. 24:31 Because I remember watching a streaming video of a couple of the section finals at Mariucci in the last few years. 24:38 Yep, they changed that. 24:39 Oh, geez. 24:42 Well, you know, it's a similar problem with the Gopher women. 24:44 I mean, they would love for the Frozen Four to be on TV this weekend. 24:48 They've even reached out to networks to do it, but they can't, because the NCAA won't allow them. 24:57 Norbert Tieg was talking about that this afternoon on KFAN. 25:01 He's like, we've tried to get TV to do it, but you know, the NCAA has their little scheme where they want people to stream it or whatever. 25:08 And he didn't sound like he was too happy about it, but some institutions are just, they just don't give a shit. 25:16 They're stupid. 25:18 It's dumb. 25:18 I don't know. 25:19 I mean, if you want to expand your sport, obviously women's hockey doesn't get very much play, but it's a national tournament. 25:29 You want to push the sport, don't make people stream it. 25:32 Hell, put it on ESPN 2 or 3. 25:35 Who cares? 25:36 But something like that, yeah, maybe he's right. 25:38 And even if Minnesota wants to do it or get a local station to do it, the NCAA won't let them. 25:45 Yeah, I don't get it. 25:46 That's just stupid. 25:48 So, okay, since everybody is going to be, I doubt anybody is going to travel, or not many people are going to travel to Detroit for this, okay, tourney. 25:58 So, what's everybody going to attend? 26:01 It's going to be the WCHA tourney or is it going to be the National Super Duper We're So Special Conference tourney? 26:10 I personally would rather go see the WCHA and support the small guys. 26:13 That would be my advocation of what to do. 26:17 I'm going to neither. 26:18 I'll be watching on TV. 26:19 Well, I'm saying if you're going to go. 26:21 I'm saying if you're going to go. 26:22 Hey, you know, there's some GPLers who are going to go to the WCHA Final Five and they're going to be tailgating and everything. 26:29 Well, that I can appreciate. 26:31 I mean, they're trying to keep it going, but obviously, it's just not the same anymore because, you know. 26:40 I mean, Veegs, would you ever want to go to Detroit to cover this? 26:44 You know, when Detroit gets that new rink, it would be fun to go and check it out. 26:49 Within the next year, I think the second one, like, they'll come back next year, they'll have the Big Ten Tournament here, then they'll go back to, I'm assuming it'll be the new arena by then, won't it? 26:58 Yeah, yep, it should be. 26:59 So the next time it's there, it should be at the new rink, so. 27:04 I think that will be worth going to. 27:05 But still, that's a tough trip. 27:08 It is a tough trip. 27:09 It's not an easy drive. 27:10 I mean, we've gotten so used to the Final Five. 27:13 I mean, the Final Five was at Civic Center, it went to Target Center for a couple of years, it stayed here, it was always pretty successful here. 27:23 Couple of years in Milwaukee, not as good, and then once the X came, they stayed there and it was a gathering place. 27:32 It was a thing where people came every year, even if their school wasn't in it. 27:37 And now, you know, with the WCHA switching back and forth between that and Van Andel and, you know, the Big Ten going between there and the Joe, it just sucks for the fans. 27:48 We'll never see anything like that again. 27:50 As long as everybody brings their helmets and Kevlar, they should be okay up in the air. 27:57 Everything should be fine. 27:58 Where is their new arena being built? 27:59 Is it being built close by or is it downtown? 28:02 I mean, do you know anything about it, Veegs? 28:04 I feel like they have like a district that they're trying to revitalize. 28:08 You know, probably something like how the warehouse district was revitalized in Minneapolis, the Target Center. 28:12 Is it gonna be like near Ford Field or anything like that? 28:14 I'm sorry? 28:15 Is it gonna be like near Ford Field or anything like that? 28:18 I feel like it is, but I'm not 100% sure. 28:21 But they're putting shopping and condos and all that stuff there. 28:24 I've seen some renderings of it and it does look pretty damn cool. 28:29 But I don't know if they should be building that with the state of that city, but you know, whatever. 28:37 Oh boy, well, here we go, boys. 28:38 It is Big Ten tournament weekend. 28:40 Obviously, the boys need, you know, they just gotta win. 28:45 And, you know, smaller ice, which, you know, will help a team like Ohio State or Penn State against Minnesota. 28:53 Well, I mean, what do you think here? 28:55 I mean, does Wisconsin have any chance to make any noise this weekend or, you know, what are your initial thoughts there, Veegs? 29:04 I don't think Wisconsin has any chance to make any noise. 29:07 I think that's two tough games for them to get through, even, you know, to get to a final. 29:12 I don't see that happening. 29:14 I think Michigan's got enough talent where, you know, if they are kind of a little bit like the Gophers, if they turn the puck over, they can get beat any game. 29:21 I don't think their goal-tending is nearly as good as Minnesota's. 29:25 Hildebrandt can always pose a tough test for Michigan State. 29:29 I think they're probably the favorite on the other side of the bracket. 29:32 For Minnesota, you know, if they play their game and Wilcox looks like he's looked the last couple of weekends, they should be in good shape. 29:41 The only consistent thing for this team all year has been the power play. 29:45 So it's important for them to possess the puck. 29:48 One of the things Lucia talked about today was the only difference really between Penn State and Ohio State is that Ohio State's defensemen get involved in the forecheck a little bit more. 29:58 So from that standpoint, I'd like to see them play Penn State because they'll have more time. 30:05 Hammey, boy, if they lay an egg Friday night, this team's done. 30:13 Well, yeah, I mean, maybe not mathematically. 30:15 Maybe they could still sneak in whatever the scenarios, pairwise, blah, blah, blah. 30:19 But if they lose Friday night, that's pretty much it. 30:24 Well, I mean, Friday afternoon, I should say. 30:26 Well, it's like we said, I mean, they're in the position at their end because of how they played. 30:31 And so I won't feel sorry for them if they don't happen. 30:35 I mean, obviously, I'll be disappointed. 30:36 But I'm not going to feel sorry for a team that's had its destiny in its own hands and they're to screw it up. 30:43 So I think the thing I'm interested in, I think that Wisconsin, it's a terrible matchup against Michigan. 30:49 They lost all four games. 30:50 And I just think that's a terrible matchup for them. 30:53 And it'll be interesting if that will be Mike Eaves' last game as a Wisconsin Badger coach. 30:58 I personally think you'll be back. 30:59 But I think there'll be some bloodshed there on that program in the off season. 31:06 And I think that Penn State, I think they should beat Ohio State. 31:10 I think that's who we'll face. 31:12 They'll be a tough matchup on that smaller ice. 31:14 I mean, they like to, we talked about earlier, throw a lot at the net. 31:18 And they're kind of a muck it up team to some extent. 31:21 And so I think that'll be a challenge. 31:23 But I think we should win that game. 31:24 And I have a feeling we'll see Michigan in that final game. 31:27 And I guess we'll get a taste of what we've had at Excel at times over the years. 31:32 And that's where you're in the final game. 31:34 But yeah, most of the crowd against you. 31:36 You mean that home ice advantage we've had? 31:38 And we haven't won a game there in ages? 31:42 Yeah, well, exactly. 31:43 It wasn't much of a home ice advantage. 31:45 But probably because Lucia is busy looking at the pairwise. 31:51 That's what he's checking on his notepad every game, is he's updating his pairwise calculations. 31:57 The USCHO app and trying to figure out where the pairwise is going up and down. 32:04 It's tough that that app doesn't work very well. 32:07 They put all their money in their photography. 32:11 Man, listen to this hater. 32:14 Yeah, I ripped on their site last night. 32:16 I hadn't been there in a while, and I went there on my iPhone. 32:19 I'm like, are you kidding me? 32:23 Everything needs to be a little more mobile responsive these days, and their site wasn't that... 32:27 And then I saw their message board in mobile version. 32:31 Oh, that was just horrible. 32:33 Yeah, it's not very nice. 32:34 At least it's better than the main site. 32:36 You know, the message board. 32:38 Their main site has so many ads right now. 32:39 I think it's killing it. 32:42 Yeah. 32:44 You got to pay for those photographers. 32:45 They got all those ads on there. 32:47 He's got to pay for photographers, the writers, and oh boy. 32:50 Yeah, I don't mean to be mean, but I don't really give a rat's ass about the pictures, unless they're naked women. 32:56 But then there's none on that site. 32:57 Yeah, baby. 32:58 So there's none on that site, so I really don't care about the pictures. 33:04 I do love their pairwise stuff, and I like their TV schedule. 33:08 I don't like their pairwise stuff. 33:09 I like CHN better. 33:12 And I will even relegate myself to looking at scum sports for their pairwise. 33:18 So... 33:21 Well, it is Tim Bruhle, the guy who started USCHO, who came up with those formulas. 33:26 So... 33:28 Well, credit to him, but I still look at the other sites. 33:31 Oh, you know, I don't blame him. 33:32 I mean, they didn't update their app for, like, a year, and yikes. 33:39 You just can't do that these days. 33:42 So are they going to win it, Jupe? 33:43 What do you think? 33:45 I think they are. 33:47 You think you're going to go, you're going to believe? 33:50 I got to do something here. 33:51 You're not going to bet against them? 33:53 I will not bet against them, no. 33:55 I think they could win it this weekend. 33:59 I just hope that the senior leadership says, you know, it's time to turn it on, boys. 34:03 Enough of this bullshit. 34:05 We need to give 100% every game, not take games off, obviously. 34:11 So I'm feeling pretty good about it, but, you know, until they get that first win, Friday afternoon, 3.30, nice time, I won't be fully convinced. 34:25 It's been since 2008, since they've won a game, you know, in the last weekend of the, you know, tournaments. 34:32 So it's kind of a wait and see, but I'm feeling good, but just not quite there yet. 34:40 So how big of a meltdown is there going to be if they lose? 34:44 On Friday. 34:45 You know, the funny thing is that I enjoy those nights. 34:50 I know you do because you're usually the one who's trying to twist the knife, twist everybody off. 34:55 Yeah, that's just the way it goes. 34:58 You know, when you start covering the games and you're there all the time and you kind of, you lose that piece of you that was the rube a bit, I would say. 35:13 You kind of lose part of that rubeness. 35:16 Would you say that, Veegs? 35:18 Yeah, I definitely think you lose part of the rubeness when you're seeing that up close. 35:23 At the same time, it's always fun when they win. 35:25 It's when they have that conference championship and they're hosting the trophy and all the guys have got their hats on and joking around. 35:34 It's more fun to see that than when you go into a locker room and everybody's in tears crying and saying goodbye. 35:39 Yeah, I get that. 35:42 The way the NCAA does things is most teams don't have open locker rooms at all and then they get to the NCAA tournament and a team loses the last game of their year and 15 minutes later there's a bunch of guys in there asking them questions and that's tough to see. 35:57 The only teams that really handle that are Michigan. 36:01 They have open locker room all season long. 36:04 But for guys like Minnesota, St. 36:06 Cloud, those guys, they're in tough shape. 36:10 It's tough to see. 36:11 Yeah, come on, Veegs, I know that you're up in the press box with your maroon and gold pom-poms. 36:18 You're like Schlossman Jr., you know, Schlossman and his massive size pom-poms. 36:24 You got the little ones. 36:27 You're not going full out like he is, but nonetheless, I see it. 36:30 I can hear you. 36:31 You know, I must say, it is pretty cool when they win. 36:35 But when they lose, you just don't feel as bad as you did when you were a Rube. 36:41 Oh, I mean, I personally don't feel bad. 36:43 I feel bad for the kids. 36:44 Yeah. 36:45 But it's not like the old days when they lose, you'd be like, oh, it's just the worst. 36:49 But now it's just, I don't know. 36:52 It's not as big of a deal. 36:53 See, and that's what's funny is that you guys in a position that are more fans because it's not your full time gig, have more of the professional media man type of an attitude, whereas there are media people who are far more cheerleader. 37:11 And that's, to me, the pathetic thing is like, come on, dude. 37:14 Didn't you go to, I mean, you went to journalism school. 37:16 You're not supposed to be cheering or voting for anybody or whatever. 37:19 You want the story. 37:21 I don't know. 37:22 Yeah, well, that's Schlossman for you. 37:25 Well, I wasn't naming him. 37:26 Oh, I will. 37:27 But yeah, if you want to go there, that's fine with me. 37:32 Well, one thing I am going to do this weekend is if the lady go first do get to the championship game, I'm going to head down for that. 37:40 Frozen Four again, fourth year in a row. 37:44 We don't talk about them too much. 37:45 We really haven't talked about them much since their undefeated season, but still an impressive feat, guys. 37:51 I mean, the fourth Frozen Four in a row could be going to their fourth championship game in a row. 37:59 Brad Frost has done a pretty damn good job over there. 38:03 I think that you just don't want to talk about women's hockey because this drunk hockey guy will set up a protest over it. 38:09 You know, a lot of times I just like to talk about it just to get him going. 38:12 Yeah, well, that's a good idea. 38:14 Especially if I start tweeting about it. 38:15 Oh, he just hates that. 38:18 Yeah, well, that's the point. 38:21 Of course, we're bandwagon fans. 38:23 You know, a couple years ago, I was tweeting the championship game because, well, I was watching the stream because, you know, it was a championship game. 38:29 You know, I watched that. 38:30 Well, I'm a Gopher, you know, an alum. 38:33 I don't care if it's like track or whatever. 38:35 I want them to do good in all sports. 38:37 I don't pay attention to them all like that. 38:39 But nonetheless, I want them to do good. 38:40 So if they're there, yeah, sure, I want them to win. 38:43 I'll be happy for them. 38:45 Yeah, and you know, a couple years ago, when they had that, you know, that obviously undefeated season and to be down there, and it was a pretty cool thing, I must say. 38:57 And then, you know, hopefully they can do it again this weekend because obviously, you know, they know how to win at Minnesota, unlike Minnesota Duluth, and their coach actually has some class unlike the Minnesota Duluth coach, so. 39:10 Minnesota Duluth doesn't have a coach anymore. 39:13 That is true, that's right. 39:14 I forgot their season was over. 39:16 She's done. 39:18 What station is BTN on DirecTV? 39:21 Somebody tell me right now. 39:22 It's 610. 39:24 Wow, look at that. 39:25 That was fast. 39:26 I forgot and I'm trying to like save the game for Friday because I probably won't be able to watch it live. 39:31 Yeah, I'll be at work. 39:33 I think I'll bring up the BTN to-go website or something. 39:37 I'm multitasking during the podcast here. 39:42 I know, I can do two things at once. 39:45 Surprisingly enough. 39:47 So, I mean, I've got a positive feeling on this weekend. 39:50 Are you feeling positive yet, Hammy? 39:52 Or are you still kind of like, yeah, just show me? 39:56 You know, I think, I mean, I do like the idea of playing Michigan if we're in that championship game, because I think it's going to be one of those up and down the rank types of games. 40:06 And although, you know, they're going to be, in a sense, on home ice in a way. 40:10 And obviously, they're going to be fighting for their life in that game. 40:14 So, it's going to be a real tough one. 40:16 But I'm glad. 40:17 I want them to face these kinds of challenges right now, because that's what they're going to be dealing with if they make the NCAAs the following week. 40:23 Teams are going to be fighting for their lives. 40:27 I think we just have to kind of ramp up for that in case we do get in there. 40:30 So I like the idea that we are going to be battling this final weekend for our playoff lives, for lack of a better way of putting it. 40:38 But I feel pretty good about them. 40:39 I like how they played this last weekend. 40:42 I think it helped them gain some confidence. 40:45 I think that you look at past years, people always talk about the WCHA giving teams the challenge throughout the year to prepare them for the NCAAs. 40:56 And it's like, okay, that might be true. 40:57 But then you also have teams like Union and Yale that aren't playing those kinds of week in, week out, super tough schedules, winning titles. 41:06 So I think it's as long as you get challenged enough and you're playing at the top of your game at that point, you can feel pretty good about your chances. 41:17 How about you, Veegs? 41:18 How are you feeling? 41:20 I feel like this team has been playing well in the last two months. 41:22 You know, they haven't played the competition that, you know, is elite, but they've played well. 41:28 They've cut down their turnovers. 41:30 Wilcox has got it figured out. 41:31 He's apparently listening to his goaltending coach again and has quieted down his movement and has been better at controlling his rebounds. 41:39 The defensemen have looked great. 41:40 I think the last two weekends, their puck retrieval and zone exits have been the best they've been all season. 41:47 I think if they play a team like Michigan, they have that checking line with Boyd, Ambrose and Warning to shut down Larkin and Hyman. 41:54 If you can do that against Michigan, you're going to be in a really good shape. 41:58 I do worry a little bit about them running into Hildebrandt and Michigan State and having to play a patient game in a game where Michigan State is playing for their tournament life, and Minnesota maybe isn't. 42:10 That could be a tough situation for them that they'll have to overcome. 42:13 But I am feeling good about it. 42:16 I'm going with a three-goal win over Penn State and a three-goal win over Michigan State. 42:25 Wow, you're feeling bold. 42:28 I'm trying to bring the positivity back. 42:30 I'm just going to go with it. 42:32 By the way, Bonin21 says on GPL that the new Detroit rank will not be ready in 2017. 42:42 So as he says, no one will probably want to go to it in 2017 either. 42:47 And then there's a new contract. 42:49 Because the contract is the first four years, here and there and here and there. 42:55 And whoever, wherever after that. 42:59 We'll see you guys. 42:59 So there you go. 43:00 See you now. 43:00 I'm really multitasking. 43:02 I'm also looking at GPL at the same time. 43:06 So Jupe, does Wilcox tie the Briggs shutout record this weekend? 43:12 No. 43:14 No. 43:15 No. 43:15 No, I agree. 43:18 You know, Weird Sight, you know, they were even talking about, you know, the corners are weird there at the new play, at Joe. 43:25 So something goofy will happen. 43:27 I don't see any shutouts. 43:29 I wouldn't mind it. 43:30 I just don't see it happening. 43:35 All right, boys. 43:36 That's it. 43:38 Hammeh, any thoughts on the two recruits who signed in the last, or not signed, but committed? 43:44 Who's that? 43:45 Do you know anything about them? 43:48 You're talking about, I know Holtz, of course. 43:51 You know, I don't know a tremendous amount about him. 43:53 I think that a lot of people look at the fact that he's not a big scorer and he's got good size and just automatically assume that he's going to be one of them bangers that they're bringing in to grind things out. 44:03 And I don't know that he's necessarily that type of a player. 44:06 I think he has good size and I'm sure he'll utilize it. 44:10 But I don't think that he's quite that type of a guy that's going to be, I think he'll be a lot, probably a lot like Jack Ramsey, another guy who's going to be coming in, you know, this kind of, you know his role, he's going to come in and play hard. 44:23 And I'm sure that, you know, they're not going to limit themselves, of course, to just being a third or fourth line guy. 44:28 They'll strive to be better than that. 44:30 But I think that ultimately that's the kind of player that we're looking at. 44:34 And he had some good offers. 44:35 I mean, you know, he had Boston after him, he had UMD after him, Wisconsin kind of tried to jump in late. 44:41 I mean, there's a few other teams as well. 44:43 So it wasn't like he was just some late scrub that you're just throwing into the mix for no particular reason other than depth. 44:51 So I think he'll add something of value, but I wouldn't suspect he's going to be an All-American anytime soon. 44:59 And I think the other one was Darian Romanenko. 45:02 I think we talked about him last week. 45:05 Okay. 45:07 Yeah, I don't remember if we talked about that last week. 45:08 I think we did. 45:09 He was the one right before last week. 45:11 So. 45:12 I can't. 45:13 I don't know. 45:15 Well, we didn't have one last week. 45:16 Yeah, we didn't have one. 45:18 Whatever I have on my notes, it was like two weeks ago. 45:20 You totally pussed out just because you went on a. 45:22 Derion Romanco, we talked about it the last podcast. 45:26 Okay. 45:27 So suck it. 45:29 He went on a bike ride. 45:31 20 miles, bitch. 45:32 What a puss. 45:33 That ain't shit on a bike, man. 45:35 It is. 45:36 What a sally. 45:36 It is. 45:37 First bike ride of the year, my ass was killing me and I was tired. 45:41 You probably weren't even pedaling hard the whole time. 45:43 You probably gliding two-thirds of the time. 45:45 I was freezing my ass off. 45:46 I actually was cold. 45:49 Just got an email, boys. 45:50 It looks like they're announcing the top 10 Hobie finalists tomorrow at 9 AM. 45:58 Well, I will be waiting with baited breath over all the Gopher players that are going to be into that one. 46:03 I'm sure Riley will. 46:04 Yeah, I bet you Riley. 46:05 Maybe even a Rao just because he's been there so long. 46:08 No, I'm not seeing that. 46:09 But then we don't want to talk badly about Rao because we don't want to upset anybody. 46:17 God forbid you criticize anybody, especially the captain. 46:20 Oh my God. 46:24 Get him going. 46:26 Get him going. 46:28 You're a hater, man. 46:29 Let's get weird. 46:30 Let's get weird. 46:33 I saw Slapshot doesn't like that. 46:36 He thinks it looks immature. 46:38 Didn't he say something like that? 46:39 I don't know. 46:41 I got to be honest with you. 46:41 I don't even know what the hell. 46:42 I didn't look at that video and I didn't pay attention to it. 46:46 I don't ever pay attention to that stuff when I'm at the games. 46:49 We know you don't. 46:50 I know. 46:52 All right. 46:52 That's it, boys. 46:53 We'll be back next week. 46:54 Hopefully, Minnesota is in the tournament. 46:57 Hopefully, they have a good weekend. 46:59 We just don't know. 47:00 OK, but here's the thing. 47:02 If they don't get in next week, we have to have a final podcast. 47:06 OK, we'll do that. 47:08 Every goddamn year that they don't win, you're like, I don't want to have a... 47:11 I'm bitter! 47:13 I don't want to... 47:14 Because if they lost... 47:15 Yeah, I'm bitter. 47:16 Let's do that. 47:17 We can at least look forward to next year and talk about it. 47:20 All right. 47:21 Commiserate. 47:22 We'll have a show next week no matter what. 47:25 Just for you, Hammy. 47:27 OK. 47:29 All right. 47:29 Well, you heard it. 47:30 We're here next week no matter what. 47:31 So if they're in the tournament, we'll talk about it. 47:33 If they're not, we'll really bitch about it. 47:36 See you next week.