0:05 This is The GPL Podcast, sponsored by Vintage Minnesota Hockey, your exclusive source for throwback Minnesota jerseys. 0:14 Visit vintagemnhockey.com. 0:19 Now, here's Hammy, Vegoe, and your host, Jupiter. 0:42 You know, Hammy, I really wish we could use some Van Halen music there. 0:47 That would be nice, I suppose that you'd have to probably pay a pretty penny, though, wouldn't you? 0:51 Probably, that wouldn't be good, would it? 0:54 I mean, they've got so many great songs, have great intro music, you know, even without the words, that would be great, but I have a feeling it would cost a pretty penny. 1:05 I don't know, what are the rules on instrumentals? 1:06 I have no freaking clue. 1:08 No, it's all copyright stuff, so I figure pretty much, get screwed either way, what they found out. 1:13 It's like, I want to say it's $150,000 per instance. 1:22 No, thank you. 1:23 I'm sorry, I can't help you with that one. 1:25 I don't think anybody could. 1:27 It's on the vintage Minnesota hockey budget. 1:32 I don't think so. 1:33 I just don't think so. 1:35 Well, guys, oh boy. 1:39 Rough weekend, Veegs. 1:41 Rough, rough weekend. 1:43 It definitely was. 1:44 I think on Saturday night, the Gophers did not bring their game to the Excel. 1:50 And against a team like Bemidji, that just doesn't work very well. 1:54 There are just too many long shifts, too many turnovers, not enough puck battle wins, a lot of sloppy breakouts. 2:02 The wall play was pretty disappointing. 2:05 It just seemed like Bemidji State was sharper and on top of their game and ended up costing the Gophers because they couldn't generate enough offense. 2:14 Couldn't generate enough offense. 2:16 That's Lucia's favorite response. 2:18 I wish if we could only get to three, if we could only get to three, we'll be good. 2:22 Well, you didn't get to three, Hammy. 2:25 No, I mean, I think, you know, when I think about the best Gopher teams, it's usually a team that's got a couple of guys from the blue line that can really drive the offense and get it kind of going the other direction. 2:37 And we just don't have, I think, that type of a guy. 2:41 I mean, Brozinski, I mean, he can score goals on the powerplay and stuff, but to me, he's not very dynamic. 2:47 And, you know, Bischoff, I think he's a solid player, but he's not going to, like, really knock your socks off with anything. 2:54 And, you know, the other guys are pretty pedestrian moving the puck. 2:58 So it's just like, I think that they just have a hard time getting going. 3:02 I don't think that the forwards are as much of an issue. 3:06 I mean, I think we've got some good scoring forwards. 3:08 Are we as deep as some years? 3:09 No, but I think that they have some quality forwards on different lines. 3:14 But I just think from a defensive standpoint, it's just the transition game just isn't there. 3:19 Well, the Bemidji State game started OK, Vig. 3:24 So I mean, they got to one to nothing, one to one. 3:26 Then they took the lead in the third period, and then it all fell apart. 3:32 Yeah, it was a little disappointing. 3:34 They just got a little sloppy. 3:35 They put Bemidji on the power play towards the end of the third. 3:40 And it looked like they were going to be in it in a close game. 3:43 But when you put a team on the power play like that, it's just a mistake you can't take. 3:49 It was maybe a little bit of a questionable call on Seeler. 3:52 But, you know, you just got to be extra careful in those situations, and he couldn't get away with it. 3:59 I do think that the third and fourth lines, the wings on those lines, do struggle against the wall. 4:06 And that gets the Gophers in a lot of trouble. 4:08 And they get in these situations where they have these long shifts in their own end, and they just get hemmed in. 4:14 You know, there isn't really a defenseman like a Brady Shea or Mike Riley who can just, you know, take it on his own and get him out of the zone when they need to. 4:22 You look at the wings on the top two lines, you know, they've got guys like Bristette and Shee and Fasheen who are able to get out of the zone on their own. 4:31 And so there just aren't a lot of pressure relief valves on this team right now. 4:36 So we have that lovely 4-2 loss Saturday afternoon or Saturday early evening. 4:42 Then we followed up with another winner against Minnesota State, Hammy. 4:47 Three to two loss. 4:50 What an ending to the weekend. 4:53 Yeah, well, it is disappointing. 4:55 I mean, you know, I didn't think that they played like as badly in some respects. 5:00 You know, I wasn't quite as disappointed with the effort. 5:04 Of course, it's kind of hard to feel good about anything after losing to Bemidji on Saturday. 5:08 So I guess that's kind of moral victory territory in a sense. 5:11 But you know, it's disappointing. 5:14 I just think that this team is, they just don't have the horses in some areas this year. 5:19 And you know, they're not playing on top of their game and working really hard on a consistent shift to shift basis. 5:26 And they're going to struggle. 5:28 And we've seen that. 5:31 Well, what do we do? 5:33 I mean, sure, we go back to conference play for the rest of the season. 5:36 But, boy, our non-conference, boy, it just looks terrible. 5:42 Five wins, ten losses in non-conference play this year. 5:47 That is not a recipe to get into the NCAA Tournament, Veegs. 5:52 No, I do think the one bright spot, though, is Eric Shearhorn's playing well enough where this team has a chance if they can get into the tournament. 6:00 And we've seen that the Big Ten is not especially strong this year. 6:05 You know, Penn State's done some things, but lately they haven't looked very good. 6:09 Michigan's been able to score a lot of goals, but their goal-tending has been really suspect. 6:14 So right now, Minnesota is just playing to get one of those top two seeds in the Big Ten for the tournament, and they're probably going to have to win that tournament to get in. 6:22 I don't know if the quality win bonuses over Michigan and Penn State will be enough to get them into the top 15 for pairwise. 6:29 So they put themselves in a bad spot by losing all these non-conference games. 6:35 Well, in a realistic sense, if they don't win the tournament, they pretty much need to win the rest of their conference games just to get up even into contention, don't you think? 6:47 Yeah, it's pretty close. 6:48 There's a couple of guys out there who do the pairwise projections, and I'm sure we'll be looking at them as we get in this final 10-game stretch. 6:56 But for them to have a chance at getting into the pairwise without having to win the Big Ten Tournament, they're probably going to have to win out. 7:06 Ouch. 7:08 I think that's kind of how you have to look at it at this point. 7:11 I mean, if they're going to do anything anyways, I mean, and I don't think any of us really suspect that they're going to, as far as a NCAA run goes, although, you know, like you mentioned with a goalie, if he's playing well enough, you can steal some wins and get further than you think. 7:26 But, you know, they're going to have to go on a run because right now, from a non-conference perspective, it hurts them too much. 7:36 And if they get into the NCAA tournament, you don't really feel particularly positive, depending on who the matchup is, of course. 7:44 But when you're five and ten and whatever, and a non-conference, it's not exactly something that you're going to feel positive about when you start playing in the NCAA against good teams that aren't in your conference. 7:57 And realistically, if they do make the tournament, they will be at the X and they'll be playing a number one seed, which is going to be a North Dakota or St. 8:06 Cloud. 8:08 And I hate to say it, guys, but those teams are far superior to the Gophers right now, the way the Gophers are playing. 8:15 Well, I mean, it's, you know, that we've talked about it a million times because we've seen the Gophers lose as a great team. 8:21 You know, all it really takes is one day, one game, one goalie is on top of his game and, you know, anything can happen. 8:27 So, I mean, I get what you're saying, you know, from a paper standpoint. 8:31 Yeah, you're going to be pretty unfavorable matchup in those situations, but you never know. 8:37 But, you know, even if they did win the first game, I don't think anybody really realistically expects this team to go on a run of any sorts when it gets, if it gets to the NCAAs. 8:47 And, you know, that's the disappointing thing that, you know, you can't really even feel that significantly optimistic at this point. 8:56 I do think one of the one bright spots right now is Justin Calusa's game. 9:00 You know, he's on the seven game scoring streak, and I was looking back at some of those stats for Gopher Hockey, and it's been 20 plus years since someone's been on a streak like that. 9:11 And he's basically carrying that line right now. 9:14 And you know, the Fashing, Brustad, Novak line has been good. 9:19 So if you can ride those six players, you know, you're able to be a threat at least. 9:24 Except for Calusa's going to go pro after the season's over with. 9:29 Oh, wait a minute. 9:29 I'm sorry. 9:32 Just kidding. 9:33 I've got a source that says that's unlikely. 9:36 Yeah, well, that's what I hear, too. 9:37 But nonetheless, you know, that's the message board banter, you know. 9:45 Veegs, what is going on with Minnesota playing other Minnesota schools? 9:51 Just this year, they're one in seven. 9:53 But what are they, one in 12 over the past two years? 9:55 Is there something close to that? 9:58 Yeah, I mean, you can only say you get their opponent's best game so many times when this keeps happening. 10:04 You know, I, not to rail on Hudson Fashing, but he said that. 10:08 He said, you know, we get their A games because they want to beat Minnesota. 10:12 For whatever reason, they get extra hyped up and the Minnesota players don't answer the bell. 10:16 That's a bunch of BS. 10:18 I'm sick of that, too. 10:19 I think more of the case this year is they've got 10 new players in their lineup and they just have not been strong enough getting out of their own zone. 10:27 I think in every game against an in-state team this season, they've struggled to break out and it's just been too fierce for some of those guys along the wall and it's hard for them to simulate that in practice. 10:38 I think some of the competition they play that aren't in-state rivals just don't bring that kind of pressure. 10:46 I think this team has gotten in trouble because of that and they've struggled to generate five on five offense. 10:52 I do feel there is an element of truth that these other teams do put a greater emphasis on those Gopher games. 11:01 I'm not disputing that but what bothers me is that when players start to use that as a cop out, I'm not saying that thrashing was necessarily, but when you have that mentality like, well, it's acceptable that we lost because these teams are giving us their A-game because of who we are and blah, blah, blah. 11:20 It becomes a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy when you lose and I feel like some of that kind of trickles down from the head coach who I think kind of spews some of that stuff in his own right about all these, some of these kids are getting, they get up for the Gophers because we didn't offer them a scholarship and they see it as, hey, you should have given me that chance. 11:42 And I don't like the excuse making that sense. 11:46 I do think there's some, an element of truth to it, but it bothers me a little bit when it starts to be kind of talked about from a player standpoint. 11:55 Well, I think it's become rather a joke if you're going to say that. 11:58 I'm sorry, that's just BS. 12:01 Well, I think it's true, but yes, when it gets to be an extended period of time where you're not playing well and you're just losing a lot of the games, then you're kind of like, all right, there's probably more to it than just simply they're getting up for it more than we are. 12:18 Well, I think, flat out, some of the other teams in the state are better than the Gophers right now. 12:22 Well, definitely, yeah. 12:23 Minnesota State's much better than they used to be five, six years ago. 12:27 St. 12:27 Cloud, same thing. 12:29 Duluth hasn't been great after they played Minnesota this year, but coming into the season, they were probably a favorite of a lot of people to be a one seed. 12:38 So I think that those other programs have done a good job. 12:42 Well, and it's always cyclical as well. 12:44 I mean, let's be honest, it's like not like these teams, you know, these records that we're talking about are just in a brief window of a couple of years. 12:52 It's not like it's been eons and eons of time or something along those lines. 12:56 I think that people get caught up in the conference strength or how we're doing against a certain team. 13:03 And we even played them well in a few years or whatever. 13:06 They get this little kind of, you know, the blinders on where they're just looking at a brief period of time and not really thinking about necessarily the big picture. 13:15 And that's where I think that sometimes people get a little caught up in things. 13:19 Well, I must say some of the most entertainment I had this weekend is, I shot from the photo box in the third period of the Bemidji State game. 13:28 And let me tell you, Serratory and his assistant coaches are as entertaining as could be. 13:36 They are yelling, they're screaming, holy F-bombs left and right. 13:42 Man, it was just pure entertainment listening to them. 13:45 Because obviously everything was against them and how could you make that F and call? 13:49 Blah, blah, blah. 13:52 Oh boy, you could tell he's an old school hockey guy because, you know, you don't hear that as much on our side, but boy, Serratory and his assistants were very entertaining, Bigs. 14:01 Well, they're a very entertaining family. 14:04 True. 14:04 You know, every time they're doing a presser, it's kind of, must listen to find out what they're going to say next because those guys know how to talk and entertain. 14:13 So, you know, it's always fun to see all these coaches at the North Star College Cup. 14:18 I hope it's something that continues because it's great to see these personalities that we wouldn't otherwise get to see every year. 14:27 Well, let's talk about that, Bigs. 14:28 I mean, you saw that tweet from their Twitter account today. 14:32 You know, what could you do better? 14:35 Obviously, the turn out wasn't that good. 14:37 And, you know, another obvious thing is that Minnesota really needs to be strong if this tournament wants to be successful in the long run. 14:45 And obviously, two out of the three years so far, Minnesota has stunk it up. 14:50 But what can we, what can they do to improve this? 14:54 Well, I know that Bemidji brought a lot of fans down this year by buses. 14:57 They filled up three sections for the weekend. 15:00 So I think the other schools need to really try to get an emphasis on bringing their fans in for the weekend. 15:06 I like the idea of getting students there as easily as they can. 15:09 I know that a lot of them did reduce prices for students. 15:12 But I think it's something that they really need to promote and get this, you know, tournament where we get 16,000 instead of the 12, 10, 14. 15:23 Well, on Saturday it was, but Sunday it was bad. 15:27 A lot of NOAA shows on Sunday. 15:30 Well, I think, you know, part of it's the Gophers just got to be better. 15:34 They are the, Oh, that's one of the things we just talked about. 15:36 They're the drawing card. 15:38 You know, I mean, not to be disrespectful to other teams, but let's be honest, the Gophers are the big drawing card. 15:44 And if they're not playing well, if they're not feeling a, you know, a top-notch team that people are going to be excited about, you know, it's hard for people to want to really show up, especially, I mean, you know, some of these other teams will show up just because it's, hey, we're playing at Excel and it's great and whatever, but, you know, Gopher fans, it's like they, you know, they are going to need a better team to get into if they're going to want this tournament to be a success. 16:11 Well, I did get a chance to visit with my former Rube friend, Jeremy, so you missed him on Saturday, Veegs. 16:20 Well, he's got a great team to follow this year. 16:22 St. 16:22 Claude's sure looks high-powered. 16:25 They were clearly the class of the tournament. 16:27 They've got so much scoring up that it's tough to play against them because you have to respect their power play so much. 16:33 You know, one thing that may have been good is that Minnesota did not play St. 16:38 Claude because it could have gotten ugly. 16:41 It was ugly enough for Bemidji, but I can imagine St. 16:44 Claude a lot more pumped up to kick Minnesota's butt. 16:49 Yeah, but on the flip side, maybe that was the game Minnesota was hoping for. 16:53 By not playing them, they came out with flat efforts both games. 16:59 To say the least, gosh, that was just ugly. 17:03 Made for a long Sunday afternoon, I'll tell you that, Veegs, because I know you wanted to get out there as soon as you could. 17:10 Yeah. 17:11 Don't blame me. 17:12 It's tough. 17:12 I mean, they tried the afternoon game times to try to make it easier for fans from out of the metro to come down to the games. 17:19 And I think it's pretty obvious that that didn't work. 17:23 The attendance was 2,000 to 4,000 left for each session. 17:28 So I think for this to be successful, they're going to have to go back to those primetime games. 17:33 I don't know what they're going to do for that Friday game because they want to try to get fans there. 17:38 And if they have the game too early, people got to take the day off. 17:42 But clearly, the afternoons didn't work. 17:46 The question, Noah, is do you even want to keep the event? 17:52 I mean, you know, I don't know. 17:53 I mean, that's something you have to ask yourself. 17:57 I'm not one of the administrators. 17:59 I'm not a bean counter. 18:00 So I don't know what value it does or doesn't bring. 18:04 But I mean, at the same time, you have to start thinking about some of these kinds of things. 18:08 Well, I mean, all the other coaches want this tournament to go on. 18:13 So Hastings, Motsco, Serratory, Lucio, all quoted this week saying they think this tournament is a good idea. 18:19 It's good for the state of hockey. 18:21 It's good for the players to get the experience of going to Excel. 18:24 If they can get the attendance to 16,000, I think it makes it worthwhile for them. 18:32 I just don't think they're going to get that. 18:34 Well, and I also think, like if I'm a Bemidji coach, for instance, I mean, yeah, I would love to come down to the cities and get some attention and whatever, but you know, I mean, from the Gopher's standpoint, it's like, is that really doing much for you? 18:47 I don't know. 18:48 I mean, I'm not like the bean counter, like I said, but I don't blame some of the outstate teams for wanting to come down and have their fans be in the cities and play at Excel and do all that stuff because that's something, you know, and plus it helps them get some extra brand recognition with players down here and whatever. 19:06 I get all that, but from a Gopher's standpoint, you start saying, you know, is this the way we should be spending a weekend or should we try to, you know, find another way of having another series at Mariucci or what are we gonna do? 19:20 You know, I mean, I just, you have to start thinking about that kind of stuff. 19:23 I don't see a whole hell of a lot of clamoring fans for this weekend. 19:27 I mean, I didn't feel like there was a hell of a lot of hype, a hell of a lot of excitement, you know, or whatever. 19:32 It just kind of feels like, hey, we had a great time when that was a WCHA Final Five. 19:38 Maybe we can try to, I mean, obviously not be the same as that, but try to capture a little bit of that. 19:43 And I don't know. 19:44 To me, it seems like it's failing, but whatever. 19:47 It's just a wait and see type of thing, I guess. 19:49 I mean, it's definitely not a beanpot, but I get what you mean when the luster is kind of lost there when we're not playing them in conference. 20:00 I'm sorry, it's just not a big deal to play Bemidji or St. 20:03 Cloud or whatever Minnesota that school in that tournament, because we see them from non-conference too, and it's just not exciting then. 20:11 Yeah, and that's the thing that I think that is sort of... 20:14 I mean, I know Lucia has acknowledged this to a degree that even those series aren't the same as they were when it was a league. 20:21 I mean, for me, it's not that I don't want to beat St. 20:25 Cloud or Duluth or whatever. 20:26 Of course, I want us to beat them, and I want to do well against them and all that stuff, but I have a harder time getting up for those. 20:34 And I'm not saying they've been replaced by a Penn State or whatever, but I feel like eventually, five, 10 years, whatever, down the line, once the league starts getting a foothold and teams start getting better, and maybe some of the bad blood starts to increase as you get familiarity, I don't know that those in-state series are going to mean as much anymore. 20:57 I don't know. 20:58 This doesn't look like it's heading in that kind of a direction. 21:03 I'm with you. 21:06 We'll just have to wait and see. 21:07 I think it was originally a four-year deal, wasn't it, Veegs? 21:09 Yes, it's a four-year deal, so next year is the last year that they scheduled. 21:14 It sounded like they're going to assess it this off-season and try to plan ahead and see if they're going to continue it or if next year is the last college cup. 21:23 Oh darn, I wouldn't miss it really. 21:25 I mean, it's nice to be down to the X, but I don't know. 21:28 I take it or leave it, I guess. 21:31 I don't know. 21:31 Well, I just think that they're going to have to find. 21:34 To me, it's just, especially when it's like we play these teams already. 21:39 You know what I mean? 21:40 We play them already and it's sort of like, maybe because there is that familiarity and you're already playing them in series, some of these teams, it's kind of like, I don't know, you know, it just kind of, it doesn't seem all that special because it's not like, something really unique and interesting and whatever. 21:57 It's like to me, frankly, if it were possible, I'm just hypothetically speaking, if you could have a Boston College and a Michigan and, you know, a North Dakota and Minnesota and one like great weekend every year, like an East West battle or, you know what I mean? 22:13 Something like that. 22:14 It's like, I would be more interested in that. 22:16 Like a real Mariucci classic? 22:18 Well, you know what I'm saying? 22:19 It's like, to me, it's like, I would be more interested in something along those lines than, oh, okay, we're gonna play St. 22:26 Cloud for the third or fourth time this year, or we're gonna play Duluth for the third time, or what? 22:31 It's like, how am I supposed to get excited about that crap? 22:34 Why? 22:34 Just because it's at Excel? 22:35 And just because they throw some fancy tag and have a trophy at the end of it? 22:40 It's like, I'm sorry, excuse my French. 22:42 I don't give a shit. 22:43 I don't care about that. 22:45 To me, it's just kind of manufactured bologna. 22:49 And it's like, that's not exciting me anymore. 22:51 I just, you know, we've played St. 22:53 Cloud and UMD and how many of all these other schools, five million times. 22:57 Another weekend of that shit is not going to make me all excited. 23:00 So I just don't think that's, it's not going to capture fans, I don't think, you know, not to that level. 23:04 I'm kind of with you on that, but I would like to see them take advantage of the Mariucci Classic a little more. 23:10 I mean, the teams they bring in now are pretty damn soft. 23:15 You know, for the most part, they are. 23:18 The first team they play is always a low end soft team. 23:21 Every year. 23:22 I mean, that's just the way it is. 23:24 Obviously, Harvard was here this year. 23:27 Yippee. 23:28 But some years, they've had some pretty dog teams. 23:32 I would just like to see them get creative in some way, shape or form, than to just continue to rely on the same shit with the same teams and the same arena and the same, you know what I mean? 23:42 It's like, there's got to be some creative thinking going on. 23:46 If you want to like gain some excitement or whatever, it's like, I mean, I know it's not going to be easy to draw fans from like a Boston College out to here or whatever, but there's got to be a way to manufacture more interest and excitement than just playing the same teams, you know, that we already play as it is. 24:03 So they've got to do something. 24:06 What do you think, Veegs? 24:08 Well, I disagree with both of you guys on this. 24:10 I think that playing the in-state teams is something that's really important. 24:14 I think even though Minnesota didn't get up for it this weekend, obviously the other teams did. 24:20 Obviously the other fan bases enjoy when they beat Minnesota. 24:23 It's a big deal to them. 24:25 I think if Minnesota was the top five team this year, and they played St. 24:28 Cloud in that championship game, I think we'd have a totally different opinion of the tournament. 24:34 I don't know. 24:35 I'm kind of with Hammy because they already saw St. 24:37 Cloud two games earlier this year. 24:39 They saw Mankato two games earlier this year. 24:41 We didn't see Bemidji, but I think we traveled to Bemidji last year. 24:45 He's right. 24:46 We see these teams a lot. 24:47 I would rather see maybe an expanded Mariichi Classic when you're getting your teams that you used to play, like a BC or a Denver. 24:57 Some of these schools that have a lot of history, but I'm sorry. 25:03 I'm kind of with Hammy. 25:04 It's just we do play these Minnesota teams a lot. 25:09 Do we need another venue to play them again? 25:11 Because that's what's happening. 25:12 Or just start, I mean, just brainstorm stuff. 25:15 Maybe every year you play a series at Excel with like North Dakota or something, you know? 25:21 Or you, I don't know, but not the same shit every year with the same teams, or pretty much the same teams, and the same format, and it's just, I don't know. 25:31 It's like, oh, well, the Beanpot is great out East. 25:33 Let's try to figure out something that we can copy that's going to be like that. 25:36 It's like, I don't give a shit about that. 25:38 You know, hey, Beanpot's great, lots of tradition, whatever, but it's like, that's for them out East. 25:43 Let's try to figure out something different and new for us. 25:46 I don't want to, the same crap, the same teams all the time. 25:49 And that's why, frankly, I kind of liked the Big Ten, in a sense, is that I felt like, okay, maybe we'll see some extra variety in the non-conference, and it's not going to be so heavily weighed with the same teams all the time. 26:02 And it's like, that's what I liked about some of the changes, is that we were going to have some new faces and new teams that we're going to be playing in. 26:10 They haven't, to me, captured enough of that. 26:11 And I know that some of it's money related with travel expenses and whatever, but nonetheless, it's like, let's try to take advantage of some of these differences that we have now. 26:20 Would you guys prefer if they not do Home and Homes with St. 26:23 Cloud, Duluth, throw in the Home and Homes with Minnesota State instead, keep the North Star Cup and then travel out to BUBC where those games aren't televised? 26:38 When they play at those rinks, they control the TV and those games are never broadcast here. 26:44 Well, I'm not like a lot of fans where I have to have every freaking game on TV, otherwise I'm going to pout. 26:50 It's like, if I have to listen to a game on the radio, it's like, shit, that's what I did when I was a kid with the North Stars. 26:58 Like Al Shaver, I grew up listening to that guy. 27:02 I love listening to that guy in North Stars games on the radio. 27:04 It's like, I don't have a problem. 27:06 Maybe it's a generational thing, but I don't care if I don't have every freaking game on TV. 27:11 So if it's a good game and it's going to be good for the team, it's like, I don't care if the game's always on TV or not. 27:17 I don't need to be spoiled. 27:19 I mean, we get a lot of games on TV. 27:21 We talk about this shit every year, and it's like every fan is like in a pout if we don't have, if four of the games or five of the games aren't on TV. 27:28 It's like, whatever. 27:29 You still get 30 games. 27:31 Quit crying. 27:35 Come on, let's get riled up now. 27:37 Come on. 27:37 Yeah, I know. 27:38 If the team isn't going to be riled up, then let's get riled up ourselves and talk some shit. 27:44 You know what I mean? 27:44 It's like I'm tired of the same old, somebody's got to start like, you know, waking everybody up. 27:51 It's like this is stale, dude. 27:53 The team is stale right now. 27:55 The program is stale right now. 27:57 And this tournament is stale, in my opinion. 28:00 It's the same shit. 28:01 Let's do something different. 28:02 We need to inject some life into things. 28:05 And I'm not seeing it. 28:08 Veegs? 28:12 He must be on mute. 28:15 The fans are apathetic and the buildings are half empty. 28:19 I think that's the issue right now with this program. 28:21 You know, they're selling the tickets for the games at Mariucci. 28:25 So, you know, there's 10,000 seats sold, but only 7,500 or 7,000 are showing up. 28:31 I think if the university cares, they're going to figure out a way to make sure that the building is close to full for these games. 28:37 You know, if the atmosphere improves, you know, it becomes something that people want to do again. 28:42 It becomes something that people want to watch again. 28:45 And I think ratings have probably gone down. 28:48 Obviously attendance, you know, the people showing up and having their tickets scanned has gone down. 28:52 The North Star College Cup has no longer required viewing. 28:56 You know, it is stale. 28:57 They do have to shake something up. 28:59 But it's still college hockey and I still think it's one of the best games to watch out there. 29:04 Well, look, I'm not the guy that's going to be always calling for coaching changes and whatever, but it's something's got to change. 29:14 And to me, there has to be some new blood injected because it just feels stale. 29:20 It feels like the effort's not there on a pretty consistent basis. 29:25 There's too many kind of like what somebody on GPL said to all that Lucia was talking about puck luck, you know, as part of the reason why we lost. 29:34 I didn't hear the interview myself, so I don't know what the context was. 29:37 I think it might have been his weekly show on 1500. 29:40 Right, but I mean, I don't know exactly how it was. 29:42 I don't want to take it out of context, but I just feel like it's the same answers to the same shit, and it's the same, we got to get the three, and we got to do this, and we got to do that. 29:52 And it's like, I just, you know, do something different, man. 29:56 Come on. 29:57 And if it's not working, then they got to find somebody who can step in and make it work, you know? 30:03 And I just feel like we're at that point, it's been, what, 17 years or whatever it's been. 30:08 It's like, maybe it's time. 30:09 I don't want to get to Red Baronson territory where it's like, they're so entrenched that nobody wants to offend the guy and get rid of them. 30:17 It's like, at some point, we need to make a change, man. 30:19 And I'm feeling like this is, we're getting there. 30:21 I just feel it. 30:23 You're as mad as hell, and you're not going to take it anymore. 30:26 I don't think Don LaChia is the reason that they charge for the preferred seating. 30:30 I don't think he's the reason they raise ticket prices. 30:33 It's not his fault that stuff happened. 30:35 No, I'm not saying it is. 30:36 That part, I'm not saying anything has to do with him. 30:39 I'm talking about what's on the ice, what the results are. 30:43 I get the whole, hey, it was great for four years, and that was the winningest class, and for four years, all that. 30:48 Hey, wonderful. 30:50 I'm not saying that he's terrible or anything like that, but I do feel like at some point, we haven't been getting the most out of teams. 30:58 I don't think. 30:59 We didn't get it the most out of the team last year. 31:02 This year, I think it's questionable that we're getting the most out of the team. 31:06 They have flaws, no doubt, but guess who picked the players? 31:10 At some point, you got to start thinking something's got to change, and this is just not enough. 31:15 This is not enough. 31:16 Not with this program, not with what its opportunities are to get players and whatever. 31:22 At some point, you got to quit making excuses and get results. 31:26 Tell us how you really feel. 31:29 I don't know. 31:30 Maybe I'm a crabby SOB tonight. 31:31 I don't know. 31:35 Obviously, that sentiment is out there this year. 31:39 Obviously, I thought the City Pages article was out of bounds, but it did rile up those people who are frustrated. 31:49 Obviously, it was willy slanted, but there's a lot of people out there who feel that something's just not right, Hammy. 31:56 Here's the thing. 31:56 There are things that a coach controls, like we talk, and there are things that he doesn't. 32:01 I don't whine about the Big Ten Conference, because to me, that's not the coach's decision. 32:06 That's an administration thing. 32:08 And let's be honest, our paychecks are getting written by the Big Ten and the Big Ten Network. 32:14 So they're not going to piss away that for just hockey. 32:18 I mean, it's ridiculous. 32:19 So let's not even go there with that. 32:21 I don't blame the coach for that, and I don't blame the administration either, because they've got to think about a hundred million dollar budget and whatever. 32:28 But other things, like who, you know, it's not the coach's fault with like the seeding and the prices and all that. 32:35 But, you know, there should be something in there where there's more leadership. 32:40 Hey, we got to do something about getting more fan involvement. 32:42 I realize that his main job, any coach's main job is the players and the product on the ice. 32:49 But still, it is your program. 32:51 There's got to be more done that's going to get more fan involvement, more excitement. 32:56 I don't care if the coaches are out there shaking hands. 32:59 Whatever they got to do to get more fan involvement and more excitement among the fan base, you know, whatever. 33:04 They got to do it, Bo. 33:06 And they also have to start getting these guys, they start putting in an effort consistently. 33:11 And I don't mean this bullshit about, oh, they're working hard in practice and they're trying to get better every week and whatever. 33:16 It's like great, but I want to see some goddamn results on the ice. 33:19 I'm sick and tired of the excuses. 33:22 I want to see some better results. 33:24 And I'm tired of it. 33:26 I'm tired of it. 33:28 I mean, we got the, hey, it's, this is a big hyped up weekend for Minnesota. 33:34 You know, and it's like this college cup and it's like, you go out and lay a fricking egg. 33:38 It's like, well, what the hell, man? 33:40 I mean, you're not going to get a lot of votes of confidence as a coach when you, your team lays a fricking egg against Bemidji and Mankato. 33:48 I'm sorry, but those aren't great fricking programs. 33:51 Mankato had a great year last year, but they're not a great program. 33:55 Bemidji is not a great program. 33:57 St. 33:57 Cloud is pretty good. 33:59 You know, they've been up and down over the years, but they've been pretty good under Mottscout. 34:03 Sandlin's, I mean, this team, this year they're underachieving, but I mean, I'm saying, God damn, they got to start doing more. 34:10 This is Minnesota. 34:13 This is Minnesota. 34:14 They shouldn't be one in seven against other Minnesota teams. 34:18 They should be seven in one. 34:21 I mean, really, you know, we've heard it all along. 34:24 You know, Royce, he loves to say it. 34:26 We're the Yankees of college hockey, and we're not showing it. 34:30 I'll tell you that. 34:34 Not showing it. 34:36 I didn't mean to dominate the conversation, but I'm just like, you know, whatever. 34:39 I actually like it when you go off on a tent. 34:42 It gets me all excited there, Hammy. 34:44 Well, I just... 34:45 It gets me angry, too, because, you know, obviously, you know, Vegas, you've probably seen this, too. 34:49 When you're covering the team, you tend to be a little detached from it. 34:55 Yeah, I mean, you're a little detached, but this year's team isn't like past year's team. 35:00 And that's probably on Lucia for their recruiting, and, you know, this year's team didn't pan out to be a typical Gopher team. 35:07 And it's a struggle this year. 35:09 And you look at the recruiting classes coming in down the pipe, and they look better. 35:13 They look like they're going to solve some of their issues right now. 35:16 But right now, Steve Johnson's the only defenseman who has got the mobility to make plays with his legs. 35:23 And, you know, that's not what we're used to here. 35:27 I must say, I have been noticing him stepping up in the offensive zone more often lately. 35:33 Look, they flubbed on Glover and Collins. 35:36 That was a flub. 35:37 And, frankly, I don't know what the hell the national team thought about picking those two because they didn't do shit with them. 35:43 Because those two didn't come out of that program looking like they were ready for anything. 35:48 And, you know, that was one of those deals where they picked a couple, especially with Collins, a guy with some raw ability, some size, and thought they were going to magically wave a wand and he was going to be a great player. 35:58 And once again, the arrogance of the national program ends up being wrong. 36:02 And it's like, but we end up recruiting these guys. 36:05 It's like, I don't know who made that call. 36:08 I hope my boy Gensel didn't do it. 36:10 But, you know, somebody made that call and that was a flub. 36:14 That was a flat out flub. 36:16 I mean, that one's, he's been awful. 36:18 Let's just call it as it is. 36:19 That's been awful. 36:21 Well, Gensel was definitely not happy after this weekend. 36:24 Vig, you even tweeted those pictures of him with his head down at the ends of those games and it's pretty obvious. 36:30 He is not happy with the defensive effort going on right now. 36:34 Yeah, I mean, that's kind of been a common theme with him this year. 36:37 Every once in a while, he just stops coaching these guys because I think he's getting so frustrated because, you know, their puck skills aren't what he's used to working with. 36:47 Well, you know, I heard him on the bench earlier this season to say, once you guys start to fucking play, I'll start to fucking coach. 36:54 So, really, for Gensl, he wants them to, you know, you might screw up, but just give the effort. 37:01 Well, I think the effort's there this year. 37:03 I don't think that's the problem. 37:05 I think at times last year, the effort wasn't there and that was a talented team. 37:10 This year, I think this team is giving effort most nights. 37:13 I don't think that's been the problem. 37:14 I think there's only been a couple games where their effort hasn't been there, but it's clearly their execution. 37:19 This team is not as skilled on the breakout and it costs them in the games they lose. 37:25 Well, it's like the old saying, you put a lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig. 37:29 Some of these guys just don't cut the mustard and that was somebody's call. 37:33 I don't know whose call it was because I'm not down there telling you, you know, seeing who's recommending who, but at the end of the day, it ain't working with some of these dudes. 37:43 They flubbed it. 37:44 Well, Gensel, I know he's your guy, but he pretty much makes all the calls on defense. 37:50 Well, yeah, but I'm not... 37:52 By who plays and who is recruited, I'm guessing, too. 37:54 Well, I'm sure he makes... 37:56 They all probably have the input, but at the end of the day, it's like who's making the final call on who we're gonna offer. 38:01 You know, I don't know because I'm not in those conversations. 38:04 Maybe Lucia's heavily reliant on one guy or the other, but I don't know. 38:09 But all I know is that some of this stuff, I mean, this is, to me, what's frustrating is that whenever we've had great teams, it's been teams that have been very good defensively. 38:20 You know, they've had at least two or three guys that could really lead the rush. 38:24 And it's like, I don't know, who would they see on this team that they thought was going to be great leading the rush? 38:30 I don't know. 38:32 Maybe Johnson, like you said, because he's improved, but he was a late bloomer in the USHL. 38:36 So it wasn't like he was some sure fire thing. 38:39 Collins sure as hell wasn't. 38:41 He's got, he's like a fricking fawn out there with those fucking tall legs. 38:45 And he can't hold, he can't do shit. 38:47 And it's like Glover's been a flop. 38:50 Brzezinski, I mean, he's got ability, but sometimes I'm like, you know, it's kind of like goes, comes and goes. 38:55 Hey, careful. 38:56 You might get his dad upset. 38:57 Whatever. 38:58 And it's like Bischoff. 39:01 I mean, I like Bischoff, but to me, he's more like just a solid all around player as opposed to a guy that's going to like knock your socks off. 39:07 And it's like, you know, that's not how it should be here. 39:11 It's not how it should be at the University of Minnesota. 39:13 And one thing I've always said about the U is that defensive players, to me, in college hockey, is the most important. 39:20 You can find scoring forwards, but finding top notch defensemen is more challenging. 39:25 And to me, when you're at a program like the U, you should be doing a hell of a lot better job with that. 39:31 I'm not saying that they don't find guys ever. 39:33 Obviously, they have a lot of guys at NHL and whatever, but it's like they should do that more consistently. 39:38 And it's bugging me when I see that they're not doing as good of a job in that area. 39:43 All this would be mute, though, if this team was scoring four goals a game instead of two. 39:47 You know, Michigan has a lot of guys who make mistakes, too, but they score four or five goals a game and they cover up those mistakes. 39:55 This team just doesn't have that this year. 39:57 They have six players who are playing well right now up front. 40:02 It's all related. 40:04 Well, but Michigan is also a little more veteran, too. 40:07 Yeah, but, you know. 40:10 Well, it's just that junior class, they're not scoring enough. 40:13 You know, Connor Riley is starting to figure it out. 40:15 Justin Cluse is starting to figure it out, but those other guys need to chip in if this team is going to start winning. 40:20 And we thought they were going to chip in, and it's been awful quiet. 40:25 Cammie is just, dude, where did you go? 40:29 To me, I'll tell you, I told this to a parent earlier this year. 40:33 I'm like, Cammie is making Dave Spiehar look like a fucking raving success. 40:40 You know what I'm saying? 40:40 Everybody hyped up Spiehar. 40:41 Yeah, everyone hyped up Spiehar, but he really wasn't that bad of a player. 40:45 No, I know he wasn't, but that's the thing. 40:46 It's like everybody would give Spiehar shit because he wasn't like a 200-point career scorer because everybody thought he was going to just be destroying college hockey because of how great he was at East. 40:56 And then he comes in and he had a pretty solid college career, but he wasn't great. 41:00 But everybody thinks, oh, Spiehar, he was a flop or whatever. 41:04 And he really wasn't. 41:06 But it's like, Cammie is making him look like he was fricking a 200-point scorer for his career. 41:12 It's like, dude, you led the USHL in scoring. 41:17 I mean, you were great. 41:18 You've always been a scorer. 41:19 Dude, eight fucking points this year. 41:23 Are you kidding me? 41:25 The dude's probably getting like a 90% scholarship or more, and is like, eight fucking points. 41:30 Dude, what the hell? 41:33 You could beep all this shit later, right? 41:35 I'm not going to bleep it, man. 41:36 I love it. 41:37 I'm just, dude, you were brought in to score. 41:41 Now, I'm sorry, but it's like he lost all his balls when he had a little bit of a challenge last year. 41:48 Some of these guys, I mean, they're just not picking it up. 41:51 And it's like, to me, he's the biggest disappointment because it's like, his heart must not be in it. 41:55 I don't know if he just has lost it, the interest in the game. 41:58 I don't know what it is, but something just disappeared there. 42:03 It's just not there. 42:04 Well, it's really interesting when Vinny Loteri talks about his line need to get going, and he specifically says, we need our guys to get more aggressive. 42:14 When Cami gets aggressive, he starts to create more chances, but there's so many games where he's just checked out. 42:22 Why? 42:25 I don't know the kid. 42:26 I don't know what's going on in his life. 42:29 I don't know if it's something off the ice or whatever. 42:31 I don't want to be, because I don't know everything about him. 42:34 But I'm just saying, when you're getting that much scholarship, it's like you have to produce. 42:41 Eight points in 25 games is fricking ridiculous for a guy that was a USHL leading scorer in the league. 42:48 You know what I'm saying? 42:49 That's terrible. 42:51 That's terrible, especially with the amount of scholarship he's probably getting. 42:55 That's pathetic. 42:57 That's just unacceptable. 42:58 To me, he's a prime example of where this team is at right now. 43:02 Total underachiever. 43:03 And you're getting a lot of scholarship, and that's what you're gonna give us for results? 43:08 Come on, dude. 43:11 And I'm not saying I'm trying to pick on him. 43:12 A lot of these, some of these guys are just not doing that well, too. 43:16 But it's like that, to me, is the most glaring point. 43:19 Eight points in 25 games out of a guy that, what, had like 90 some in his last USHL season. 43:25 It's like, you gotta be kidding me. 43:29 I don't want to stop him. 43:31 You're on a roll. 43:34 Well, it's just, I don't know, man. 43:36 You know what? 43:37 I get your frustration, man. 43:38 Something's got to change. 43:39 Something's got to change, whether if these kids actually get their ass in gear, or there's a change up top, or whatever. 43:46 I'm with you. 43:47 Some of these guys got to perform, and it's a combination of that, and the coaching, and the decisions they're making. 43:53 It's just, you know, everyone's been saying, you know, oh, they had the best record in the last four years. 43:57 Yeah, that's nice, but we've all known during this period that something wasn't right, and it's pretty clear that just something's not right. 44:05 So. 44:06 David, something's just, they're gonna have to seriously, seriously look at this. 44:10 I don't, you know, from an administrative standpoint on down, they're really gonna have to reexamine everything that's going on in that program. 44:18 No more of this lip service bullshit. 44:21 You know, they really gotta reexamine everything, because it's just not working the way it is right now. 44:26 There's only so much they can change. 44:27 They're not gonna be in a different conference, all that stuff. 44:30 You gotta live with that. 44:31 But there are other things they do control that they gotta start looking at hard, and then start making some changes. 44:40 You said it. 44:42 And Penn State's coming. 44:43 Yeah, we gotta get into that. 44:44 Before we get into that, just hold on a second, Hammy. 44:48 We'll let you talk about it. 44:50 Before we do that, let's hear from our sponsor, Vintage Minnesota Hockey. 44:54 Vintage Minnesota Hockey wants you to take a step back in time and keep the memories of Minnesota Hockey heritage alive forever. 45:02 vintagemnhockey.com features history from around the entire state of Minnesota. 45:07 One feature that I enjoy on a daily basis is the This Day in Minnesota Hockey History that is on their website. 45:13 They have tons of info on what's happening on any particular day in Minnesota Hockey History. 45:19 Now, for those of you who want that brand new gold jersey that just came out this season for the Gophers, the one with the Minnesota emblem on the collar, Vintage has it for you. 45:29 So make sure you visit the store and take a look at that jersey. 45:31 They just made it available within the last week. 45:34 You can get it customized with your number, your name, however you want. 45:38 And if you use the code GPL Podcast, you can get 10% off your order. 45:44 So make sure you head over to the store and head over to vintagemnhockey.com. 45:51 All right, we got somebody who thinks you're a little upset there, Hammy. 45:55 Who? 45:57 I just saw a tweet here somewhere that said, you're upset. 46:01 Oh, yes. 46:03 Argyle, I like your tweet though. 46:06 You know, I love it when you vent, man, because it just, you know what? 46:12 We know you love the team, but we know that you're trying to be objective about this, but it does get to a point where you're like, damn it, I'm still a fan. 46:20 I still love the program. 46:22 I know something needs to be done and I'm going to tell you, so help me with that. 46:26 Well, I mean, here's the thing. 46:28 I always get accused of being an apologist on one hand, and then if I do criticize, somebody says, I'm a lutea hater or whatever. 46:36 It's like, fuck off. 46:37 I'm not going to give an opinion. 46:39 It's like, I'm sick of that shit. 46:41 Look, I want him to succeed. 46:43 I want Lucia to succeed. 46:46 Mike Gensel is a great guy. 46:47 He's a great coach. 46:49 I want him to succeed totally. 46:50 I want them all, the players, but man, it's not going there right now. 46:54 It's just not working. 46:56 And I'm not, you know, I don't like to be calling for anybody's jobs or whatever because these are people's lives and whatever. 47:02 But at the same time, it's like, man, people invest a lot of money, especially for the Gopher program with season tickets and all this stuff that, you know, fans are paying a lot of money. 47:12 It's like, dude, we need some results. 47:14 This isn't like going up, paying $5 for your local high school team. 47:18 I mean, this is a lot more money and a lot more at stake. 47:20 And it's just, I expect better. 47:24 Oh, well, maybe it'll get better this weekend, Hammy. 47:28 Penn State comes to town. 47:29 Penn State started off good. 47:32 Then they actually started playing a little more competition, like Minnesota and Michigan. 47:37 And, well, they're pretty much six points back now. 47:42 What do you think? 47:44 Are you going to get pissed at Penn State? 47:46 No, I mean, you know what? 47:48 Well, look, you know, the truth is, is that we've been good against Penn State, especially on the big sheet. 47:54 So I would expect that to continue. 47:57 You know, but it's like, am I supposed to get all excited about, you know, winning Big Ten games right now when we know the Big Ten's down, and we just flopped this last weekend? 48:07 It's like, the only thing we have any hope for right now is that this team starts just getting on a run, and maybe they'll surprise us when they get to the end of the year. 48:15 But, you know, especially with the good goalie. 48:17 But, you know, if somebody brought up a good point today is, like, think about if Shearhorn wasn't playing as well as he was. 48:24 Ooh, yeah. 48:25 I mean, it'd be even worse, you know? 48:27 I mean, he's doing pretty well for a freshman goalie, and it's like, you know, that's something that people seem to forget is, you know, he's actually doing pretty well, I mean, all things considered, and it's still not looking that great at times. 48:41 So something's got to change. 48:44 Well, Veegs, we thought that Penn State brand new team coming into the league and, you know, everything, that it might take them a while to get going. 48:54 Obviously, they've started pretty well this year, but you got to give Godowski a lot of credit. 49:00 He's gotten this program on the map pretty quick, and you know, it's a great, he's just a great accomplishment, I think, that he's done so far there. 49:10 Yeah, he's definitely brought in some players, and he's sent a couple of pro hockey, so that's a feather in his cap. 49:16 And this Penn State team likes to shoot the puck. 49:20 They like to get a lot of pucks on net. 49:22 They bring a lot of traffic to the net. 49:25 The one issue holding them back is I don't know if they're a great skating team, and that's really going to be a challenge for them at Mary G this weekend. 49:31 I think it gives the Gophers a lot of room to breathe. 49:35 And, you know, I'm expecting the Gophers to get two wins this weekend, but I don't think Penn State's a push over team if Minnesota can't generate much offense. 49:45 I think the Gophers are going to need three, four goals each night to win. 49:50 Well, they definitely need at least three, at least according to Lucia. 49:53 Well, I think that's more true this weekend than maybe against Ohio State and Wisconsin. 49:58 I think those schools you can get away with maybe getting two. 50:01 But Penn State's going to fire 30, 40 pucks on net, so the odds are in their favor of getting a couple. 50:07 Well, pretty much the league will be decided this weekend. 50:12 Maybe not for the Gophers in Michigan, but if Penn State wants to stay close to either of those teams, they need to do something this weekend, because if they don't, Michigan and Minnesota are going to be gone. 50:23 It will be a two-team race. 50:25 So really, this is a beyond huge series for Penn State to at least make a dent. 50:31 Yeah, if they want to have a chance of getting that by in the Big Ten tournament, this is a weekend they need to get a win out of. 50:37 Otherwise, we're going to see a split into the top two, middle two and bottom two. 50:42 Yep. 50:42 Forget it, they're toast. 50:44 I think they're toast already, too. 50:46 Because to me, it's like, okay, I don't see them doing any better than a split at Minnesota. 50:52 And then they have what? 50:53 They have six of the last eight on the road, including at Michigan two games. 50:58 I'm not seeing it. 50:59 I mean, I just think that it's a two-team race already. 51:03 I mean, maybe I'll be shocked this weekend. 51:05 And I mean, I guess with the way we're kind of inconsistent. 51:08 We just don't know which team is going to show up. 51:10 Yeah, I mean, I can't bet on anything this weekend necessarily. 51:13 But considering it's on a big sheet and the way the Gophers play and the speed advantage and whatever, you know, in this series, I just think that I can't see anything different, any more than a split for Penn State. 51:25 So I just think it's a two-team race anyway. 51:30 I would tend to agree. 51:31 I, you know, it is a two-team race. 51:34 If Penn State wants any chance, they need to do something this weekend. 51:37 I don't think they'll be able to do so. 51:38 Like you said, it's pretty wide open ice and that's probably not a good recipe for success for Penn State. 51:47 I'm going to say sweep all the way, but nothing shocking there. 51:51 Yeah, well, I mean, I think it's going to be a sweep too, but then again, you know, you know how. 51:56 Don't get excited people if they sweep because we've seen that the Big Ten competition is not that great this year. 52:01 Let's see them sweep Michigan when they come into town. 52:05 Then maybe we'll get excited again because we've been fooled already, fooled too many times. 52:11 Correct. 52:13 All right, guys. 52:15 I think we've got you riled up enough. 52:16 You think you'll be able to go to sleep now, Hammy? 52:19 Oh, I should be all right. 52:23 Oh boy, I thought about getting some other topics, you know, like the finances and stuff, but geez. 52:29 Finances like what? 52:30 Finances, the big, the one you put on GPL? 52:33 Oh man, I got Deutsch yelling at me about that. 52:38 What's he yelling about? 52:40 Well, they're just wondering where those numbers I posted came from and stuff like that. 52:45 Well, it came from what? 52:46 That government site? 52:46 Yeah, it came from the government slave site. 52:48 Isn't that being reported? 52:49 That's coming from the you, isn't it? 52:50 Yeah, but they don't know where they get their own numbers from. 52:53 Well, I'm sure they don't, but it's like, don't complain. 52:55 And it's somebody way above their pay grade. 52:58 It probably gives them that numbers anyway. 52:59 So, Vegoe, you're going to look into the finance a little bit, aren't you? 53:04 Yeah, hopefully by the end of the year, we'll get some freedom of information after requests fulfilled here, and we can take a deeper dive into the health of the program. 53:15 So, hopefully, look for that on GPL by the end of the season. 53:18 Well, I will say this, and I brought this up on GPL. 53:23 At the end of the day, the Gopher hockey money was never the Gopher hockey money anyway. 53:28 That's true. 53:28 You know, that was the athletic department money. 53:31 It's not like because we profited three, four million dollars, all that money just got poured right back into the Gopher hockey program. 53:39 It's like, that's not how it works. 53:41 Nope. 53:41 That's being used to subsidize the teams that aren't making a profit, you know? 53:46 And so, I just think that that's where people sometimes get a little wound up, like, oh, my God, you know, we're going down the drain and all that money and da-da-da. 53:54 It's like, I don't think, really, that's not how it works. 53:57 So, and they're making plenty of money every year. 54:00 It's going up as far as television and all that other kind of stuff. 54:03 So, people have to keep that in perspective. 54:07 Yeah, USA Today does a report every year, and they pull all this financial information from every D1 institution, and revenues keep going up, and expenses go up with it. 54:18 I think with Minnesota, it's pretty obvious that it's an accounting change. 54:22 You know, the travel isn't that much different. 54:24 Yeah, you know, they're going to Michigan and to Penn State, but they're no longer going to Denver, CC., and Alaska. 54:31 So it's not like these travel budgets are going to be different. 54:35 You know, they still play the same number of games. 54:38 So, I'll find out more by the end of the year here, but I don't think it's anything drastic with expenses going out of control for them. 54:47 Would it somebody say that it was Teague's liquor budget that went up? 54:52 Shrimp cocktails. 54:54 They're paying for his sexual harassment stuff through the hockey program, right? 55:00 Here we go. 55:01 Well, I'm just saying, you know, he was in charge of this shit show. 55:05 So I know I, no argument here. 55:09 No argument here. 55:11 Well, I think that's about it for this week, guys. 55:15 I think we got you all wound up enough. 55:17 So that's going to be great. 55:18 Remember, you could always follow Hammy, at Hammy Hockey on Twitter and Vegoe at E Vegoe on Twitter. 55:25 At the end of this podcast, I'll have more audio from Lucia, Leterri and Johnson. 55:30 So make sure you tune in after the broadcast. 55:34 We'll be back next week. 55:36 To talk more, Gopher Puck. 56:01 We brought our snowshoes. 56:02 We brought your snowshoes? 56:03 Nice, easy way. 56:04 You got chains on the cars? 56:06 Some skis. 56:07 Jeff only slipped through one intersection on the way here. 56:11 Let's start positive. 56:12 Justin Kloos, a hot hand, he's got seven in a row now. 56:15 You alluded a couple weeks ago, said he's going to break out of the funk he's in. 56:18 Well, I think when you have an offensive player like Justin that eventually, if they're getting chance, they're going to start to go in, and he's played really well the last couple months, and he got off to a slow start, and I know that really bothered him, and sometimes when you're a captain, it makes it even that much more difficult for you because you want to lead the team, and for an offensive guy, you do it by scoring. 56:39 And that line was really good this week, and that was by far our best line, and unfortunately, that was probably the only line that played the way we needed them to play. 56:47 Losses count the same, but do they just continue to hurt a little bit more when they, maybe it's almost coincidence now that it just happens in the end stage. 56:54 Yeah, it hurts either way. 56:55 I mean, that was a disappointing thing for us is that we had made some strides, and then this weekend was a setback for us. 57:02 And it was disappointing because we need wins. 57:06 We knew that going in. 57:08 I thought we would play a better Sunday than we did on Saturday. 57:12 But Saturday, I just don't think we played hard enough or well enough throughout our lineup. 57:16 And really, you can look at that for the weekend, that when we've been going our best, we're getting consistent scoring from our top two lines, and then all of a sudden, the third and fourth are chipping in as well. 57:27 And this weekend, we had two guys score goals. 57:30 And we haven't won a game, we've scored two goals or less. 57:32 So we need that offense. 57:36 We need to get to three. 57:37 And from a defensive standpoint, we gave up a lot. 57:40 We gave up what, three, five on five goals. 57:42 And we gave up one goal, went off a guy. 57:45 And the second night, one of our goals went off our stick. 57:48 So that's that fine line between winning and losing. 57:51 But at the same time, we didn't do enough offensively either night. 57:54 Are these losses to in-state teams magnified almost maybe more because they're not conference games? 57:59 Because they're a little more special, so to say? 58:01 Well, I think the conference games are the most special now, just because that you're always playing for points. 58:06 But, you know, like we talked about, I mean, the teams are, Mankato is leading their league and St. 58:12 Cloud's leading their league and good teams. 58:14 And but it's just we didn't do well enough non-conference. 58:18 I mean, the non-conference slate is over and we didn't do well enough. 58:21 And that's put us in a hole. 58:24 But there's nothing we can do about it now. 58:27 It's just we've got eight games or ten games left from the Big Ten. 58:30 And we got to try to win as many games as we possibly can. 58:33 This is a big weekend with Penn State. 58:35 I mean, they're right behind us in the Big Ten standings. 58:38 It's an opportunity for us to put some distance between themselves and ourselves and put us in the best position come the end of the year. 58:46 What's been your message to the guys? 58:48 Because you were playing very well before this week and you have a little setback. 58:51 Well, I mean, you lose a couple of one-goal games and I was just disappointed and I don't think we played as well as we needed to play or well as we had been playing. 59:02 You know, we had a little disruption with Tommy missing most of the week and that line wasn't real effective. 59:07 Hopefully now when he gets a full week of practice, because that line probably had been our best line over the previous month and they just didn't create a lot from an offensive standpoint and we need to get to three. 59:21 I mean, when we're all of a sudden scoring three or four goals, that's when we're a better team like everybody is. 59:25 And when you score two, it makes it awfully difficult to win. 59:30 And we didn't, I mean, Saturday, we didn't have a five on five goal. 59:33 Was it the biggest surprise to you that the team was playing so well going into this? 59:36 You'd won five straight and it seemed like the ship was going in the right direction. 59:41 You know, we'd won five in a row and so my wife, she gave me the, well, what happened because she wasn't here on Saturday and I said, too many attaboy. 59:50 She goes, what's an attaboy? 59:52 I said, maybe too many slaps in the back. 59:54 Said, hey, you guys are playing well and this is what you're doing well. 59:56 And you kind of think, maybe I don't have to work quite as hard. 59:59 And with this group, I mean, we have to work. 1:00:02 We have to play a certain way. 1:00:05 We have to make sure we play tight. 1:00:07 I didn't think we had good rhythm coming out of our zone. 1:00:10 And we went back the last time we played on a small sheet up in Penn State. 1:00:13 I thought we came out of our zone great. 1:00:15 This weekend we didn't. 1:00:16 We were choppy. 1:00:17 We weren't very efficient coming out. 1:00:18 And, you know, when it goes back to earlier in the year when we weren't playing real well, we weren't very efficient coming out of our own zone. 1:00:25 And that's a combination of your retrievals with your goalie and your D. 1:00:28 That's our center being low and slow. 1:00:29 That's your wings on the wall. 1:00:31 That's making good plays coming out on the walls as well. 1:00:34 So it's certainly not pointing the fingers at any one person. 1:00:37 It's a combination. 1:00:38 But, you know, when you can get out of your own zone cleanly, it just makes the game that much easier. 1:00:42 You mentioned on Sunday that last year, you guys didn't play well in the North Star Cup, but you finished the season well. 1:00:49 What were the keys to doing that last year, and how might that apply this year? 1:00:52 Well, I think we started to score. 1:00:54 I think if you go through, whether it was last year when we were struggling or this year, all of a sudden the offense dries up and you're not scoring. 1:01:03 You know, last year, whether we get one each night or something like that. 1:01:07 And the same thing, you know, we scored two each night. 1:01:11 That's not enough for us to win. 1:01:14 And so we haven't been a real deep offensive team, so that's why we need all of our guys, especially our gold and maroon liners, doing the majority of scoring. 1:01:25 But then, you know, we need the other guys chipping in. 1:01:28 We went to Penn State and all of a sudden, Gates had a couple of goals, Vinny scored. 1:01:33 And our fourth line had some goals. 1:01:36 And same thing with Pisconti. 1:01:37 We had a lot of different guys scoring throughout our lineup, and that just didn't happen this weekend. 1:01:41 What do you expect from Penn State after having played them twice already? 1:01:44 Well, I've been playing them the last few years. 1:01:46 You know their style. 1:01:47 They're going to shoot from anywhere. 1:01:49 They play with pace. 1:01:50 They're going to come at you. 1:01:51 They're going to play their four lines. 1:01:53 And, you know, the games have all been pretty good. 1:01:56 And, you know, we lost an overtime game there this year. 1:02:00 We came back and won in game two. 1:02:02 And now this is a critical series just because, you know, we're eight and two and they're six and four in the league. 1:02:07 And we really have an opportunity to separate ourselves this weekend. 1:02:12 Are those wall battles really important for the younger guys to win, especially against the in-state team? 1:02:16 Yeah. 1:02:16 Well, it's for anybody. 1:02:17 I mean, it doesn't matter who. 1:02:18 I mean, you got to win wall battles and you got to be able to get the ins and outs and pucks ins and outs. 1:02:23 But I didn't think we created a lot from an offensive standpoint. 1:02:27 We didn't get too many rebounds. 1:02:29 And so we just needed to be a little bit sharper than what we were. 1:02:33 We weren't good enough this weekend to get the results we hoped to have. 1:02:38 You talked about evaluating the North Star Cup last night on your coach's show. 1:02:41 Do you have any initial impressions after this weekend? 1:02:44 No, I mean, that's something for the administrators are going to have to make some decision. 1:02:47 I think they'll probably have to, you know, I think in the long run, you hope it goes. 1:02:52 I can't say after, you know, three years. 1:02:56 The question becomes is the attendance has been good enough to, for the teams to think, boy, we could have some home games too. 1:03:02 And so I think that's what's to be determined, that we agreed to original four-year deal without the concept, and the idea was really good. 1:03:09 And, you know, we tried the afternoon games. 1:03:12 Is it better to be Friday, Saturday? 1:03:14 Again, that's something that, you know, I think as coaches and administrators, they'll be talked about. 1:03:19 We just, there hasn't been any debriefing yet. 1:03:22 A couple of guys, Tom and Bob, were both saying that they think it's a very important thing to keep the rivalries going, that we keep the tournament going as well. 1:03:29 What are your thoughts on that? 1:03:30 Well, I think that's what we've, that was the whole point of it, when you set it up, and I think now that you're a few years into your own conferences, the games, they're a little bit different. 1:03:42 I mean, when you, there's one thing when you play games and they're for points, and when you're in your conference, and we've even seen that, you know, when you go in each other's buildings that maybe it hasn't quite been the same. 1:03:51 But I think for the big picture, it's obviously important. 1:03:56 You know, some of it will have to do, you know, in the future, whether it's a year or two or three years down the line, what happens with conference sizes, conference number of conference contests right now. 1:04:07 Again, those are all things that will be, you know, determined online. 1:04:12 Next time. 1:04:13 Okay. 1:04:13 How are you doing, Coach? 1:04:20 Anything you can say about what happened last weekend? 1:04:23 Well, if you take away the empty net goal, they were both one goal games, and we definitely didn't play well at all. 1:04:28 So it's just some days you're going to play bad and you're going to have one shot, a lucky bounce that goes in, you win the game. 1:04:34 But this weekend, it wasn't for us. 1:04:37 We didn't deserve to win. 1:04:39 We didn't deserve the championship at all. 1:04:41 We didn't play our game at all. 1:04:42 So this week's going to be crucial for us to getting prepared for just the rest of the year for Big Ten games. 1:04:47 Loss is a loss, but does it sting more when these pile up against the in-state teams, those rivalry games? 1:04:52 They do because we haven't been hot at all in this in-state rivalry. 1:04:56 We've been actually really bad. 1:04:57 So I don't know what it is about us playing in-state rivalry. 1:05:02 I don't know if it's them just wanting it more, but we just we never bring our A-game. 1:05:07 We haven't this year, especially when we play the Minnesota teams. 1:05:10 I think that's definitely a big thing that we should be bringing in our A-game because these are in-state rivals and people want to see great games. 1:05:16 And to fall behind and not to win these games, it just it hurts us too. 1:05:21 To the positive, what's it like seeing a guy like Justin Kluska and Terry's got goals in seven straight? 1:05:26 Yeah, that's big for us. 1:05:27 Our first two lines need to keep producing like they are. 1:05:30 They've been pretty much impacting our team greatly. 1:05:34 The whole year, it's my line and the fourth line that needs to definitely pick up our game and contribute to the wins because when we do that, then we're a different team and we're a lot better. 1:05:43 What's missing right now in the detail of your game and your line? 1:05:47 We're just not playing consistent, whether it's just us not bringing it every night or just not playing aggressive enough. 1:05:54 But we continue to get shots because you can't score unless you shoot the puck. 1:05:57 So we continue getting more shots each period and just hopefully contribute to our team. 1:06:03 With Penn coming in this weekend, it's a chance to distance yourself from the rest of the pack and really kind of cinch a top two finish. 1:06:10 Extra importance there? 1:06:12 Yeah, definitely. 1:06:12 Every game is going to be important. 1:06:13 Now we got to take one practice at a time and one game at a time. 1:06:17 These first two games are big because Penn State is such a good team. 1:06:20 They've been improving a lot since they started as an organization for hockey. 1:06:25 We just got to keep improving too. 1:06:26 Before these two games, I think we were 5-0, and so if we just forget these two games and put them behind us and just go out there and really work hard and have a good full week of preparation, I think we'll be fine. 1:06:36 I feel like this is sort of a home stretch. 1:06:37 You get these last couple non-conference games out of the way last weekend, and now you can almost see the finish line out there ahead of you. 1:06:43 Yeah, exactly. 1:06:45 We've been playing a lot of Big Ten games before this, and then we just had a little stop there with the non-conference, and then now we're right back at it. 1:06:52 I think we have ten games, right? 1:06:53 Yeah, so we just got to take that one game at a time and just see where this brings us. 1:06:59 Perhaps the most surprising part of the weekend that you were playing so well going into it, and it looked like your problems were kind of behind you guys? 1:07:07 Yeah, definitely. 1:07:07 I mean, when you're five and all, you're, you know, the guys are a lot happier, the coaches are happier, and we want to just keep improving. 1:07:14 We don't want to be comfortable with ourselves, but then when you go and get swept like that in your own tournament that you're hosting, it's not a good feeling at all. 1:07:21 We were hoping for a different result, but that's what we deserved, and the surprises this week are going to be tough, and I know they are, the coaches are going to be honest, but that's what they should do. 1:07:29 We need to become more prepared for games like these, and just go out there and give it our all. 1:07:35 Does it give you guys kind of a check to yourself to kind of say, okay, you know what, we had a good, we had a tough weekend, but we really do have to keep the pedal on the gas now? 1:07:43 Yeah, definitely, and players like Justin Kluis and Hudson Fashion, you know, those guys that have been contributing a lot, and Leon and the rest of the crew up there, they just got to keep doing what they're doing. 1:07:52 And the bottom two lines here have to pick up their weight and just help the team a lot, because without the full four lines and all the D, and the goalies, we're not going to go anywhere. 1:08:03 It's a full team effort. 1:08:04 What kind of attitude and mindset do you guys have to approach these final ten regular season games with? 1:08:10 Well, we control our own season right now because we're ahead of the game, and since we're in first place, it's just, it's on ourselves. 1:08:19 You know, we just have to have a good week of preparation, and when we have a good week of practices, it shows in the game. 1:08:26 It shows right when the puck drops. 1:08:28 We're on the puck right away and we're getting shot, but when we have a bad week of practice, it shows and they come up on top usually first. 1:08:34 So it's just preparation from here on out and just becoming more of a team and escalating our play. 1:08:39 Does it feel strange that you're in first place in the Big Ten, given you come off a bad weekend like that, but you beat the right teams at the right time? 1:08:45 It's kind of a strange first place, isn't it? 1:08:47 It does, yeah, and that's what's weird about hockey right now. 1:08:49 It's that we haven't been having a good season at all, but in the Big Ten, we're showing what we can do, and we haven't even been playing our best hockey in the Big Ten, too. 1:08:56 So it's definitely a good aspect to our team is that we're winning at the right times right now, and we just got to keep doing that and finish off the season strong so we can hopefully get ourselves in a good spot in playoffs and go from there. 1:09:11 Good luck this weekend. 1:09:17 Come on in. 1:09:17 All right. 1:09:18 You survived the snow. 1:09:20 You haven't been alive. 1:09:20 It's nasty out here. 1:09:22 Yeah, it's blizzard out there. 1:09:23 What's it like here? 1:09:29 It's like watching a guy, Justin Kloos, have the kind of streak he's having right now. 1:09:32 Yeah, I know he's been playing really well. 1:09:33 He's, I think, scored in the last six, seven games or so. 1:09:37 And, you know, he's a leader for us and we expect him to keep producing points and, you know, lead our team in the right direction. 1:09:46 Coach mentioned the other day that last year you guys had a poor streak at the College Cup and then were able to come on at the end of the season. 1:09:56 What do you guys need to do now to pull together and make sure that you have a good end to the regular season? 1:10:00 Yeah, definitely. 1:10:01 Like last week, and obviously it was a disappointing weekend for us. 1:10:04 We did not want, we didn't expect that. 1:10:06 So now we just got to focus on Big Ten play. 1:10:08 I think we have ten games left here in Big Ten play and we're first place. 1:10:12 So we control our own destiny and we just have to continue to win games and put ourselves in a good position for the end of the year. 1:10:20 How much are you bringing back the, how you finished this past weekend towards the end of the season? 1:10:25 Not at all. 1:10:26 I mean, we're just going to, you know, just kind of forget about it. 1:10:28 That's what you have to do on sports nowadays. 1:10:30 It's just every day is a new day. 1:10:32 And this week's going to be a great week for preparation, for Penn State, and we're just going to have to go out there and, you know, play how we usually play. 1:10:40 Each loss does count the same, but does it sting a little bit more when it is these in-state teams? 1:10:45 Definitely. 1:10:45 You know, to be a national champion, you have to be an in-state champion. 1:10:49 And so we obviously we pride ourselves really highly on in-state rivalries, but like I said, didn't go our way this weekend, and we just kind of have to put it behind us. 1:10:59 Coach Lucia says the margin fair for you guys is so small. 1:11:01 What's the difference right now between winning and losing? 1:11:05 Like you said, I think everyone's got to be going. 1:11:08 All 6D, all 12 forward, and all in the goalie too. 1:11:13 We all have to be on the same page. 1:11:14 We all have to bring our A game every single night. 1:11:16 And if we do that, I'm pretty confident that we'll be victorious at the end of each night. 1:11:21 What parts of your team game need to sharpen up the most over these last few weeks? 1:11:26 Let's see. 1:11:26 Well, I think last weekend it kind of showed that we didn't manage a puck very well. 1:11:31 We had a lot of turnovers and that led to their great A-scoring chances. 1:11:35 So, we just have to continue to manage a puck and play against our defensemen and keep the puck low and get shots on that and have good details to our game and we should be in good shape. 1:11:46 Have you been given more of a green light to join the rush? 1:11:50 I wouldn't say a green light. 1:11:51 I just, that's always been a part of my game. 1:11:52 And as I've been playing more and more games, I've been feeling more confident and more comfortable. 1:11:58 So, whenever I can join the rush and put some pressure off of our forwards, I try to do so.