0:05
This is The GPL Podcast, sponsored by Vintage Minnesota Hockey, your exclusive source for throwback Minnesota jerseys.
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Visit vintagemnhockey.com.
0:19
Now, here's Hammy, Vigo, and your host, Jupiter.
0:40
Good evening, and welcome to the GPL Podcast.
0:43
Podcast number 90.
0:46
Getting close to 100, Hammeh.
0:47
Getting close.
0:49
God, I'm actually a little bit surprised it's not even more than that.
0:53
It seems like it's been.
0:55
We've been doing it one more time.
0:56
It seems like it was a long time ago when Cardinal was on doing this stuff with us, and you don't really realize how many weeks there are and all that stuff.
1:05
You'd think there'd be almost even more, but.
1:08
Well, as you can hear, it's only Hammeh and myself this week.
1:12
Vigo is a bit under the weather.
1:15
So he's taking the night off, which is fine, because he sent me audio of Lucia and Bischoff and Schierhorn today, so that's his contribution.
1:26
Did he have a cold or what's his issue?
1:28
He's got some flu issues, so.
1:30
Oh, that stuff's kind of going around it.
1:32
Yeah, yeah, I'm trying to avoid it, so.
1:36
Well, anyway, Hammeh, you were off last week because you were partying in Vegas, dude.
1:40
How was Vegas?
1:42
I was good, I wouldn't exactly call it partying.
1:44
Yeah, it's business, but it's still Vegas, man.
1:47
Yeah, I gotta say that the Thursday night game I was on top of the Palms at the Ghost Bar, so needless to say, I didn't really see a hell of a lot of that game.
1:58
Well, you really didn't miss much.
2:01
Yeah, well, I saw that, yeah, they didn't exactly play to their, well, I mean, I guess it's kind of typical of how they've been this year, that it seems like when they have one of those kinds of series where they're against a quality team, they'll have kind of one crap performance or mediocre performance, and then they'll kind of do enough the next night to win a game or vice versa, so I guess it's not totally shocking.
2:25
Well, what you did miss is I believe when it became five or maybe even six nothing, I didn't see this, but I heard a fan took off their jersey and threw it onto the ice.
2:38
Wow, that is honestly a very unhappy fan.
2:42
I did not see it because once it hit, I want to say it was getting close to, well, it might have been five nothing.
2:48
I packed up my camera gear and started heading upstairs because I didn't want to wait, and apparently it was either the five nothing goal or right after that one, Kyle Connor made it six nothing.
3:00
I've been told that somebody threw their jersey on the ice over the benches, so it was off to the side.
3:05
It was picked up pretty quickly, but boy, Hemi, you're down six nothing at home to Michigan.
3:11
I don't care how good Minnesota is or how bad or whatever.
3:15
That is just inexcusable.
3:18
Yeah, well, I guess it's a little bit of a turnabout is fair play with how we trash Wisconsin on their home ice this year.
3:26
So, fortunately we've got one win this weekend, but, or this last weekend, but yeah, that's never good.
3:34
You know, Michigan is just one of those teams where you give them enough good opportunities.
3:38
They've got a lot of offensive talent that they can bury you quick.
3:42
So, I mean, it's considering how we play defense at times throughout this year, you know, we've been lucky that Schierhorn's played as well as he has otherwise.
3:52
You might've seen a few other games that ended up like that, but yeah, it's pretty unfortunate to have that kind of a game.
3:58
But you know the fans are pissed off if somebody throws a jersey on the ice.
4:02
That is just ugly.
4:04
I mean, sure, Minnesota got a couple garbage goals at the end to prevent the shutout, but and the thing is the game was close.
4:11
It was only two nothing going into the third.
4:13
It wasn't that bad.
4:14
And then boy, midway through the third, you know, bam, bam, bam, it was over quick.
4:22
So it's good that you're at the top of the palms, dude, because you missed nothing.
4:25
Yeah, well, I mean, the thing is, like I said, Michigan has got that kind of offensive talent where, you know, they could really put the hammer down quick if you're not, you know, taking care of your defensive responsibilities.
4:37
And so, you know, it's not entirely shocking that something like that would happen if you're not playing to your capabilities in your own zone.
4:45
So yeah, I guess I can't say I feel too bad that I missed that game.
4:51
I think I could have put some pictures on Twitter for everybody, but I didn't want to like rub it.
4:57
I mean, I was checking on the score here or there that night, but I was like, yeah, I probably should not rub salt in the wound.
5:04
And you know, people are probably pissed enough.
5:07
Well, you know, they at least did make it up a little bit by, you know, Friday night's game, they win three to two, obviously a much better result, a much better effort by the boys at shutting down Michigan and their offense.
5:26
Yeah, I'm so, excuse me, I suppose you didn't see Friday night's game either.
5:31
Well, I saw some of it.
5:32
I also saw some of the highlights.
5:33
I didn't watch the entire game.
5:35
Obviously, I saw Fashing's winner.
5:38
I mean, that was obviously, you know, a beautiful shot.
5:41
I must say that that was a pretty impressive shot because I don't think Ray Seen even saw it coming.
5:46
Yeah, I mean, that was definitely, you know, he really sizzled that one.
5:50
There's no doubt about it.
5:51
And, you know, the thing is is that, you know, a lot of times you don't really see Fashing scoring those kinds of goals.
5:58
I mean, usually they're kind of those, using your physicality, goal-mouse scramble, you know, that kind of thing with him a lot of the time.
6:05
And, you know, you're not really used to, I mean, that was almost kind of like a Bukestad kind of a shot, you know, from the slot where you just kind of power it past a goalie.
6:14
And we haven't seen quite as much of that from Fashing over his college career.
6:18
So that was kind of nice to see for him to kind of step up and then went home like that.
6:22
Well, one thing that I liked about it is that he was tapping his stick on the ice.
6:26
He wanted the puck.
6:29
Yeah, well, exactly.
6:30
He knew all along, if he gets the puck, he's just gonna slam it.
6:33
And that's exactly what he did.
6:35
Well, and you know, the thing is, is that, I think, was it Novak that passed him that puck on that play?
6:40
I mean, he probably couldn't have asked for a better, he probably couldn't have asked for a better player to kind of saucer the puck to you, because he's got really a great passing ability, and he definitely laid it right into the wheelhouse for fashioning, and he not nailed it home.
6:54
And really, it could have been just the head thing with Racine, because obviously in the second period, Racine gave up that bouncer goal to Leon Brischstedt, and it definitely shook him up.
7:04
I mean, I've always felt bad for any goalie.
7:07
You know, when that puck bounces a certain distance from you, you just, it's so hard to predict.
7:12
It definitely shook him up, because in the third period, I was shooting near him, and another dribbler came in, and he kind of struggled with it a little bit.
7:23
And the funny thing is, you know, he made the save, he turned the puck off to the side, but he just kind of put his head up and said, are you kidding me?
7:30
And he literally had a look on his face, like, I just struggled with another one, what is going on here?
7:35
And then of course the fans gave him a hard time, but, you know, Racine played pretty well the night before, but that one little goal could really shake you up, and that might have kind of set the tone for, you know, for the Hudson Fashion goal.
7:48
Who knows?
7:49
Well, yeah, I mean, you know, I mean, we've seen it with like Frazee, you know, sometimes you get those goals where they just have that kind of tricky bounce.
7:59
I think there was one in the NHL recently that I saw where it was just one of those where the puck landed on its edge and it just kind of took this funny bounce, kind of almost like it was a curve ball, in a sense, and it just got by the goalie.
8:12
And, you know, sometimes that stuff happens.
8:13
It's totally fluke.
8:14
And, you know, if you're a goalie, you just kind of have to shrug that off and realize that it, you know, sometimes it's just, it's not a matter of you being a poor goalie.
8:24
It's just a fact of it's a fluke thing that happens every so often.
8:27
I mean, if that puck is tumbling at all in the air on those higher shots, yeah, I mean, literally the puck can land like a football.
8:33
It could squirt this way, that way, bounce up.
8:36
It's just so, it's not predictable.
8:38
I mean, people were giving Racine a hard time.
8:40
Maybe he should have been out of his net more, but it literally, it was just a fluke thing.
8:45
I mean, I don't blame Racine at all.
8:48
Well, you know, sometimes you have, it's almost like in baseball where you're kind of, you're getting that line drive hit at you and you're like caught in between, like if I really go for it and I miss it, it's gonna be to the wall, you know, get past me.
9:02
If I kind of play it safe, I mean, I'm not gonna, I'm definitely not gonna get to it.
9:06
So sometimes those kinds of things happen to a goalie where it's like, it's kind of a tough call and you have to just figure it out on the fly and sometimes you just don't get it right.
9:15
Well, one thing that I hope is a permanent change this weekend or this coming weekend is Mr.
9:23
Jack Sadick playing full time.
9:27
Obviously the Thursday game when Collins gave up that puck and right in front of the net or he fan on a puck and then had little effort to stop the goal from happening.
9:39
We didn't see him Friday.
9:41
Not surprising.
9:42
I hope we don't see him again.
9:43
I'm not trying to beat hard on the kid, but I'm sorry.
9:45
I just think Sadick is playing better and deserves a spot right now.
9:49
You know, Lucia keeps spouting, oh, we want to keep everyone fresh, keep everyone fresh.
9:53
You know what?
9:54
It's crunch time, Don.
9:57
You need to play the players who are playing well.
9:59
And I think Sadick in for Collins or even Sadick in for Glover at times is probably the better choice.
10:06
Well, I mean, I've been, you know, I feel pretty confident from what I've seen.
10:10
I mean, it's not like Sadick's been getting ample amount of playing time and I'm not at practice every day or every week to see what goes on.
10:18
So I just know what I see in games.
10:21
I feel like he certainly moves the puck well and you feel a lot more confident with him in there.
10:26
You know, I don't know what Collins has just kind of regressed this year.
10:30
I really expected him to have a solid sophomore year considering I thought he actually played pretty relatively well last year.
10:38
You know, he wasn't great, but he was certainly solid enough that he felt like he could count on him, especially defensively.
10:44
And it just hasn't been that way this year.
10:47
And that's been kind of a frustrating thing.
10:49
And, you know, sometimes I think Lucia kind of has some of these guys that for one reason or another, he just doesn't want to sit them.
10:58
And I don't know what the reasoning is.
11:00
He's got his own obviously reasons, but I mean, it's kind of like Cammie when he struggled.
11:03
It's like, you kind of say to yourself, maybe the kid needs to see the pine and, you know, to get some different perspective.
11:10
But he keeps throwing the guy out there.
11:12
So I guess you just got to hope that the kid wakes up.
11:15
And if not this year, then hopefully next year, he'll grow and be a more solid player.
11:20
Well, you know, obviously Lucia is trying to keep seven guys fresh, yada, yada, yada.
11:25
But I think Colin's, he's just down on the dumps right now.
11:31
His confidence is zero.
11:34
And I think Lucia just keeps throwing him out there because he doesn't want it to get even lower.
11:39
I mean, if you sit him on the pine for a while, I mean, this kid could just really go into the dumps.
11:43
Apparently, you know, he knew that he wasn't going to be making that US team, the junior team.
11:50
And he knew he had a bad tryout.
11:52
And he kind of saw the getting cut coming.
11:55
And I think it's all in this kid's head.
11:58
He's probably, you know, he's probably much better player than he's playing, but boy, you get that in your head.
12:03
And it's just a struggle with him right now.
12:09
Well, I mean, it's just kind of like, you know, when you have a goal scorer who hasn't scored goals in a long time, you know, sometimes those guys are gripping the stick pretty hard and they're just not getting the goals and they just kind of keep pressing and pressing.
12:24
And the same thing can be said for a defensive player.
12:26
I mean, you know, maybe it's a little bit easier because it's more of a physical game and you're just kind of playing angles and trying to play smart, but sometimes, you know, especially when you're handling the puck and you're trying to transition it, if you're lacking confidence, you're prone to making more turnovers and making bad decisions.
12:45
That was clear at Thursday night when he gave up that puck right in front of the net.
12:49
Right, I mean, you know, it's unfortunate because he is a good player.
12:53
I think, you know, he's got some raw skills that, you know, I think with time can be very good.
12:58
Obviously, when you're drafted where he was drafted, I mean, the pros think that you have that ability in the long run and, you know, you just gotta hope that the kid finds his game sooner rather than later.
13:09
Well, I just think it's time for Lucia to make his decision.
13:13
I mean, he can't keep putting these guys in and out.
13:16
I mean, you need to get it with a line up here.
13:18
And obviously, we're voting for Sadik over Collins, you know, maybe get Glover out here once in a while, but it's put up or shut up time.
13:30
It really is.
13:31
I mean, we pretty much need to win out, at least the regular season, to even have a sniff at the tournament.
13:40
Right.
13:41
Well, and the thing is, is that I understand why Lucia would, especially when you don't have a normal, because, you know, in a normal depth year, you have eight defensive players.
13:50
And so I would understand, especially earlier in the year, and Sadik coming right out of high school, why you might play things a little bit more conservatively with him.
13:58
But now that you're only a handful of weeks left in the year, to me, it's like, you don't really have to worry so much about depth as much now.
14:06
You just got to put the best line up out there.
14:08
And hey, if you have to play somebody back on defense in a pinch because somebody gets hurt, then so be it.
14:13
But I agree with you that they got to start putting the best line up in.
14:17
And I think he's better than a couple of the guys that have been getting more regular ice time.
14:22
Well, all in all, the Gophers are at least still in first place in the Big Ten.
14:27
They do control their destiny with the Big Ten.
14:30
I mean, if they went out the rest of their games, this will be the fifth year in the row they win the regular season championship, you know?
14:36
Three in the Big Ten, two in the old WCH8.
14:40
Obviously, the Big Ten is down, but no matter what, it's still a good feat.
14:44
So that really needs to be their goal right now.
14:47
Just finish out the season and let's win another regular season title.
14:50
I know you're not big on banners.
14:52
You like the other kind of banners, but it's all we have right now.
14:58
Well, I mean, somebody was talking, I mean, I actually said this on GPL the day that, I would rather win banners no matter what they are, whether it's regular season or postseason.
15:10
And I don't care if it's, yes, the Big Ten is down.
15:13
Everybody is, I mean, it's well documented, but the reality is, is for most fans, when you look back 10, 15, 20 years from now, they're not gonna say, oh yeah, but that was a down season back in 2016 or whatever.
15:27
They're just gonna see, oh, there's another banner from a certain year.
15:30
I mean, you know, and I'm sure that the players feel the same way.
15:34
And, you know, I just think that there's, people are just going a little overboard on the whole big 10 negativity thing.
15:42
I mean, yes, we know it's in transition.
15:44
And, you know, I mean, you know, like the newspaper article that came out this last weekend, I mean, it really wasn't anything new.
15:51
It was just kind of the same shit over and over again.
15:54
Did you see that it was front cover of the sports section?
15:57
I did see that, yes.
15:59
I did not know that.
16:00
I went to my in-law's house.
16:02
He's like, and they go, did you see this?
16:07
I go, yeah, I know, Rachel, I know she wrote about it, but I didn't realize it was a huge story on the sports section.
16:14
Well, I mean, I don't know why they suddenly decided to, I mean, it must have been a slow sports weekend or something because it's not like that discussion hasn't been going on amongst the fans for the better part of a year.
16:29
So to me, it's sort of like a no-brainer kind of a thing.
16:34
It should have been written longer ago.
16:35
And frankly, it has been written before, just another version of the same story that we've seen written.
16:41
Now, granted, it might have its tweaks here, there, and different quotes, but it's really nothing different.
16:48
And so I just kind of felt like really, we're still gonna be talking about this.
16:53
Well, there's a reason they're talking about it, Hammey.
16:56
I mean, just like she said, I mean, the fans are still pissed.
17:01
They're gonna be pissed.
17:02
And the thing is, Rachel Blount, she hasn't been around the program recently.
17:08
The Star Tribune has kept her doing a lot of other stuff.
17:12
And it wasn't until really the last few months that they brought her back, and she's pretty much covering the team now.
17:19
And one thing I like about Rachel is that she's always interested in what is going on besides the team.
17:25
She wants to know what the fans are thinking.
17:27
She wants to know what's going on behind the scenes.
17:30
And I think that's why she started to look into it, because she's hearing all this stuff.
17:34
So she wants to write about it.
17:35
Gonzales didn't do so much of that recently, so.
17:39
Well, I mean, I've met her.
17:42
I mean, I remember when she, I mean, she was on the Gopher beat back when they were in their title days.
17:46
So I mean, I remember meeting her way back then.
17:47
And yeah, I'm not saying anything bad about her.
17:49
She was a really nice person, and I think she's very good at her job.
17:53
I just think that the story itself, for most, at least the diehards that would really make up a lot of what we have for on GPL or listening to this podcast, it's like, that's nothing new.
18:08
Anything that was written in there was really nothing new.
18:10
And at some point, people just really have to decide, are you just gonna throw all your energy behind it or not?
18:16
And I agree that, at least from what the Gophers do control, they need to make some changes.
18:25
In particular, fan experience, ticket prices, things of that nature, they've got to do things that are gonna create more interest.
18:33
You can't be pricing things like they did back when we were playing, North Dakota and some of the more local teams that had local fans that you could sell extra tickets for, and they're gonna have to find different ways.
18:48
But there's also nothing they're really gonna be able to do about conference stuff.
18:52
Really, the reality is every program has to take its own responsibility and being the best it can be.
18:58
Wisconsin needs to get its act together.
19:01
Certainly, Michigan State, they've won a title, they have to be more consistent.
19:06
It's just, every team has to take some responsibility and act and improve, and the Gophers are part of that.
19:12
They need to do better than what they've shown this year.
19:16
Well, I was just surprised.
19:19
Obviously, it's probably old news for us, but I think by having it as a type of headline story in the Strib and on the front page of the sports section, I think it does kind of bring attention to what's going on, to maybe the people who don't follow the team as closely.
19:35
Maybe that's what they're going after.
19:37
I'm not really sure.
19:37
Well, at the end of the day, though, I asked myself, what is really going to change?
19:43
They're not going to change conferences.
19:45
They might, I do believe they're going to add affiliate teams in a few years.
19:49
I've heard a few things thrown around.
19:51
So I do believe that that's going to inevitably happen because I just don't think a six team league is really going to do it.
20:00
And obviously we're not going to see any major investment from other big 10 schools.
20:05
So we're going to, I really do believe they're going to add a couple of affiliate teams at some point.
20:11
They're going to have to.
20:12
The question is, who is it going to be?
20:14
And frankly, I don't see them adding, and this is no disrespect, but I don't see them adding a UMD or St.
20:23
Cloud.
20:24
These are not going to really do a hell of a lot for the league.
20:27
I mean, they're good programs, don't get me wrong, but they're not going to do a hell of a lot for the league.
20:32
I mean, they couldn't even add a North Dakota or anything like that.
20:36
I mean, they're just not, they, one thing about the Big Ten is you do need to have higher standards of education.
20:43
Not trying to rip these schools, but they need to be a little better.
20:51
Well, I mean, I don't know what their, you know.
20:52
I'm not sure what the exact rules are, but I know that you couldn't just grab any team and throw them in the Big Ten, which is maybe why, you know, people have mentioned Arizona State.
21:01
Big university, high-end, you know, education, something like that would be a better fit on, you know, as a school range, maybe not hockey-wise, but as a school or associate Big Ten member would make a better fit than, like you said, a St.
21:17
Claude, North Dakota, or whoever.
21:20
Well, I mean, it's not, you know, and that's not like football or basketball where you have an abundance of, you know, power schools or well-known names are out there.
21:32
So, I mean, it's kind of a limited list if you're gonna use that as criteria.
21:38
And certainly there's some options out there that might fit.
21:43
It's just a matter of are they gonna pursue those or not?
21:47
You know, from a competitive standpoint, you ask if, you know, hey, is an Arizona state actually going to do much for, I mean, obviously they're not gonna be doing much for a competitive standpoint.
21:59
It's just, you know, it's another, it's another cake team, you know what I mean?
22:05
So you have to kind of ask yourself.
22:06
Oh, we thought Penn State was gonna be that too, but you know, of all the Big Ten schools, Penn State's been the most impressive, you know, as embracing the league and improving, so.
22:16
Right, but you know, and like I've been touting them from the start, I thought that they would be very good and you know, they haven't disappointed at all in that sense.
22:24
I mean, I think they're right on target for being a really good program, especially five, 10 years from now.
22:31
And being kind of one of those competitive, you know, teams that are competing for an NCAA spot most years.
22:36
So I think that's good, but they also had incredible investment right out of the gate.
22:43
You know, obviously having whatever millions of dollars thrown into the rink and everything else, and they certainly done a good job marketing to their fan base.
22:51
So, you know, they're kind of, I think, a blueprint, but I don't know that Arizona State's really gonna have that, given the fact it's not really in hockey territory per se, and they're not really gonna have that kind of investment either.
23:04
So, I guess we'll see.
23:07
We will see indeed.
23:08
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23:14
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23:21
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23:26
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23:39
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23:48
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24:04
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24:10
Okay, Hammy, big 10 standings.
24:13
Minnesota up by one over Michigan, up by seven over Penn State.
24:16
Looks like Penn State's pretty much behind us for now, as long as we don't do any major choke jobs.
24:24
For the league title, it's lookin pretty good right now.
24:29
I mean, we are playing two bottom teams of the league.
24:32
Obviously, going on the road is never easy, but it's really Minnesota's league to lose right now.
24:39
Well, I mean, yeah, especially when you're comin into the final few weeks with the lead.
24:43
I mean, I agree with that.
24:44
I am a little bit, you know, the way that this team has been this year, I don't feel at all confident in anything, you know, because it just seems like right when you think they may have turned a corner, they, you know, just do somethin that kind of undermines your confidence in them.
25:01
And, you know, even if they're playing teams that aren't the greatest, you know, really to me, Michigan State's gonna be, you know, they're just one of those teams, I don't know what it is, if it's the style or what, it just seems like the Gophers always have those kind of tight games with them.
25:20
Kind of reminds you a little bit of like some of the Anchorage games that we used to play back in the day, you know, where the talented, you definitely had the advantage, but just for one reason or another, the style and the grind it out and whatever it else, it just, they would make it a lot tougher than you expect.
25:36
Well, Minnesota definitely has the easier road compared to a Michigan.
25:40
I mean, obviously Michigan technically still has Penn State to worry about, you know, Penn State's at Wisconsin this weekend could get a sweep.
25:49
You know, that kind of forces Michigan to sweep Ohio State this weekend.
25:53
So just so Penn State's not within range of them, you know, for the last weekend.
25:58
So nothing is set in stone yet.
26:01
Heck, even Ohio State could catch Penn State.
26:03
There's all these weird little scenarios, but just for the sake of arguing, it's looking like Minnesota and Michigan will be the top two seeds.
26:12
You just never know.
26:14
We'll just have to wait and see.
26:15
I mean, obviously, I wouldn't mind if Ohio State snuck one out this weekend just to give us some breathing room with Michigan, but we'll just have to hope.
26:25
And just keep winning is really all it comes down to.
26:27
Just keep winning and you'll be in the first place.
26:31
Well, you never know, especially, I mean, let's face it, Michigan and Ohio State and any sport, you know, whether it's football, basketball, whatever, I mean, there's no love lost there.
26:41
They're kind of like their own version of North Dakota, Minnesota, in a sense.
26:45
And so they're, you know, you never know what's gonna happen in that.
26:49
And Penn State has certainly played Michigan rather well in the time that they've been in the Big Ten.
26:54
And so, you know, Gophers definitely have a little bit of easier road, but like I said, it's kind of hard to feel fully confident when you have a team that's been kind of inconsistent.
27:07
And just to note, the Michigan-Ohio State Series is a home and home on Friday and Sunday, so we kind of won't know until the very end of the weekend where Michigan lies in the standings.
27:19
One note about TV this weekend, the Friday game is on FSN Plus, but it's not really a Fox Sports North production.
27:27
It's gonna be a Fox Sports Detroit, so you're gonna be getting those Detroit announcers, so don't get all excited, people.
27:33
Obviously, the Saturday game is not on TV.
27:37
Get over it, listen to it online, you'll be fine.
27:40
Oh my God.
27:41
I know.
27:43
I know.
27:44
I've been starting to enjoy just listening to the radio for just about all broadcasts these days.
27:49
I rarely watch The Wild anymore because I can't stay in La Panta.
27:53
I'll literally sit on my computer and just listen to the stream because it's fine for me.
28:00
I don't know.
28:01
The only thing I wish I...
28:02
I grew up on Al Shaver, and then I grew up on Tom Reed and Kurtz.
28:07
When they were actually on TV at the time.
28:09
But for me...
28:11
Kurtz and Reed?
28:12
That's my first...
28:13
Kurtz and Reed is my first exposure to hockey on TV.
28:17
Were those two calling the North Star Games on Channel 9 back in the day?
28:23
For me, listening to the radio to these guys is not big.
28:26
I mean, I'm used to that.
28:30
So I kind of think it's funny.
28:33
And now, these days...
28:34
I mean, granted, I understand people, especially when there's streaming options available and whatever.
28:39
I see why they get mad about some of that stuff and if something's not available on streaming or whatever.
28:45
Well, you can stream it.
28:46
It's just a paid stream this weekend.
28:48
Right, no, I know.
28:48
But I'm just saying, sometimes there isn't even a stream available for certain games.
28:53
So I understand when people get a little bit ticked about that, but nonetheless, it's just kind of like, what's the big deal?
29:00
It's one out of maybe, what, four or five games out of the 34 plus game season, so not that big of a deal.
29:07
Plus, I know Vigo's saying to us right now, if he's listening, that if you live on campus or you could VPN and do it with the campus servers, you can watch the Big Ten Network streamed or the BTN Plus for free.
29:22
So make sure you remember that.
29:23
I know Vigo posts a way to do it, or he'll post on his Twitter stream, how do people, either VPN or how to get access to it.
29:33
So if you're at the U, if you're a student, you can watch the game for free.
29:37
You can stream it, so don't bitch.
29:40
All right.
29:41
Don't bitch.
29:45
The season's winding down though here, Hamme.
29:47
Obviously we've got Michigan State this week.
29:49
Follow it up with the Badgers who are really bad at home.
29:54
Maybe we can bring home the trophy that weekend.
30:00
I mean, they had their own newspaper article, What Today or Yesterday or whatever it was.
30:07
They have.
30:08
Almost like their version of that same story, just a little bit different, obviously, because their record has been god-awful, but...
30:16
Well, one thing was interesting is it was Todd Malewski.
30:19
I don't know how to pronounce his last name.
30:21
He pretty much follows them.
30:24
And the one thing I did notice is that they said their lowest crowd was 6,000 or something like that.
30:29
But the ticket scan for that game this year was 3,800.
30:35
Yeah, I mean, that's pretty bad.
30:37
That is not...
30:37
That's not pretty bad.
30:38
That's beyond bad, dude.
30:41
Well, when you consider what their attendance figures were just four or five years ago, I mean, that's really falling off a cliff for that, for how it used to be.
30:51
You know, they led the league for, what, 30 years in a row?
30:59
At the Old Dane, they packed them in there and then, you know, they moved to the Cole Center and they led the NCAA in attendance every year until just the last few years.
31:12
Every year, it was always Wisconsin.
31:19
So, sorry, Yves, you've got no one else you could fire besides yourself now.
31:24
Well, you know, the sad thing for them is that Wisconsin was always well known for having a really good fan experience, you know, and the students would be really into it and, I mean...
31:34
I would agree.
31:35
Yeah, it's falling off the planet in that sense, too.
31:38
You know, it's not just the attendance, but it's just the enthusiasm and...
31:43
I haven't been to Madison in about 10 years, but when I did go, it was, you know, it must have been, you know, the Kessel year, so I guess 2004 or 2005, in that area, and I was really impressed with their crowd there.
31:57
Sure they didn't know what the hell they were talking about, but they were loud and they were into the game.
32:02
Their student section was off the charts, and now it's just a pile of shit.
32:09
Sorry, what's this?
32:11
Yeah, well, I mean, you know, Wisconsin, you know, is going to be, they're going to have to be one of those teams that, you know, they're, they're dragging the big town, their Big Ten down as much as anybody as far as.
32:24
One league win, I would say so.
32:26
I mean, you know, nobody would have imagined that, you know, when the Big Ten was announced, I mean, everybody, including myself, felt like, well, we know that most years you're going to be able to count on Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin being true contenders to, at least at a minimum, be in the NCAAs and to see what's happened at Wisconsin.
32:48
I mean, it's been, it's been god-awful and unexpected.
32:51
And, I mean, even though we're Gopher fans and we hate Wisconsin, we need that program to be competitive and, you know, at least from a conference prestige standpoint, you need them to be back on track, so.
33:03
Well, I'm right with you're thinking there.
33:05
We thought it was going to be Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, every year, one of those two teams.
33:10
Every few years, you'd get an Ohio State or Michigan State contending.
33:14
And, we all thought Penn State was going to be at the bottom forever.
33:18
Boy, were we wrong.
33:20
Sure, Minnesota and Michigan's up there, but obviously Penn State has really improved their program.
33:25
And, the last two years, Wisconsin, like you said, just flat out embarrassing.
33:29
Yep, it hasn't been good, that's for sure.
33:32
Eric Raymond's wanting to know, what does Wisconsin lose and gain for players next year?
33:37
Who do they have coming in next year?
33:39
Do you know?
33:40
God, well, I mean, they've got a lot of guys.
33:43
I mean, you'd think that they have a roster of like 30 guys or whatever, you know, the way that they've been kind of, you know, bringing guys in piecemeal here.
33:51
Just when you think that they're done recruiting, they add another guy.
33:54
And, I mean, so I don't know, that just kind of seems like they're throwing as many bodies as they can at it.
34:00
And, you know, I don't know who they're gonna lose as far as, I mean, if you're a good player like Bessie, I mean, he still has eligibility left, but do you really want to come back to that, especially after being in it for two years of crap?
34:12
It's like, I don't know, you know, it's kind of hard to say who's gonna be back.
34:17
You think of the skill and the talent Bessie has, and he's been on probably the two, well, one of the last year's team was the worst team, and this year is just marginally better.
34:27
Well, I mean, I gotta be honest with you, I didn't feel, I don't, and I've said this back even before that Wisconsin started sucking, I don't feel bad for any forward that ends up in that program, and it doesn't end up scoring as much or whatever, because they were always pretty, I mean, with the exception of a couple of years, Eaves has never had really high powered offensive teams.
34:50
And so it's like, dude, if you're gonna pick that kind of a team, then don't complain when your numbers aren't there, and if the team's not doing well, and you're frustrated, it's kind of like, well, you kind of get what you asked for, and especially from a forward.
35:03
I mean, they've been great with defensemen over the years, but forwards, it's been a different story.
35:08
So I didn't feel terribly sorry for Bessie in that sense.
35:10
He kind of knew what he was getting into, maybe not this bad, but nonetheless.
35:16
So what about this weekend?
35:18
Michigan State, what are you thinking?
35:20
Split, sweep?
35:25
I'm sorry, it's tough to not say split.
35:28
I mean, the way, like you said, it seems like they have one good game a weekend and one bad game a weekend.
35:35
But the bottom line is it's like time to put up or shut up.
35:38
I mean, you have to sweep, but really the fact that we're just even thinking about a split is just shows the kind of confidence we have in this team this year.
35:51
Yeah, I mean, honestly, I don't even have a good prediction because it's like, normally, even when they're playing really, really well, I mean, I don't know that I would feel, because there's just something about Michigan State that they always seem to be on the road, just sneak a point or two away from you.
36:07
And I wouldn't be shocked if we lost a few points this weekend.
36:11
It would not surprise me at all.
36:13
Well, we'll just have to wait and see.
36:18
I don't know what else to say.
36:19
Obviously, the game's six o'clock games this week, people, so make sure you tune in early.
36:23
And don't bitch about TV, because I hate it when you bitch about the TV.
36:27
Me too.
36:28
You got anything else?
36:30
No, I mean, you know what?
36:31
It's been a whirlwind for me since I was on the road and I just haven't had as much time to really focus on the team this week.
36:39
So I don't have a whole boatload of other things to say about what's going on.
36:44
We'll just have to see how this weekend goes and then collect our thoughts for next week.
36:49
All right, well, remember, you can follow Hammy Hockey at Hammy Hockey on Twitter.
36:53
Viggo's not here, but you can always follow him at eViggo on Twitter.
36:57
We'll be back next week to recap this Michigan State game.
37:00
Hopefully have a scenario of how the Gophers can win.
37:06
Until then, thanks for listening.
37:33
Coach, how much Big Ten regular season titles mean to this team?
37:36
I mean, obviously, the postseason defines seem to know that.
37:39
What's the regular season title mean?
37:40
Well, it means that you're the best team in your conference over the course of the year.
37:44
I've always maintained that March, and we've talked to our guys, March is about trying to hang a banner, and there's always three opportunities every year, and that's a regular season of playoffs, and then certainly the NCAA come the end of the year.
37:57
But the regular season is in some ways the most difficult because it's over the course of a season, not one weekend or two weekends, and it is important.
38:07
I think anytime you can look up in the rafters and hang another banner, that's a good thing.
38:13
Do you, I mean, sometimes you see this in basketball as well, where the automatic bed goes to the team that wins the playoff championship, and it seems like that's a little bit diluted.
38:21
Do you feel like you had to win two games or three games as opposed to 18 games?
38:24
Well, there's one simple reason they do it, and that is to, the playoffs have to mean something, and we all know, for the most part, the playoffs are about revenues, and especially at the basketball level, those tournaments, and with TV, and otherwise there wouldn't be much incentive.
38:39
So that's why it's set up the way it is and gives everybody an opportunity at the end of the year to, especially for a team that maybe gets hot at the end or plays really well the second half, might have had some injuries the first half of the season, they still have an opportunity to play themselves in in something that's meaningful.
38:53
You like your team right now?
38:55
Yeah, I mean, we've improved a lot since the beginning of the season, and we've done a good job as far as within the Big Ten, especially on the road.
39:04
We're six and two right now on the road, and that's a big reason why we're still sitting where we are, and we've been pretty lucky a little bit, and I think we've won four overtime games in the Big Ten, and that's a lot of points right there.
39:14
So now it comes down to our last four.
39:16
We put our, you know, the big win Friday was important for us to stay two and two if Michigan would have beaten us.
39:22
The conference race was over at that point in time, so we have a one point lead, four games to go, and now we have to head to East Lansing, and I think they're two-oh-and-one in their last three games.
39:31
It looked like, you know, the team, everybody thought they were going to be at the beginning of the year.
39:34
They're starting to play better.
39:35
Goaltenders playing better, so we'll have a difficult weekend at East Lansing.
39:38
With where your team is headed in both the standings and the Paralyzes, is six points necessary for this to be a success?
39:45
Well, I mean, you play one game at a time.
39:47
I mean, it's the old added question always is, you know, can we win tonight?
39:52
Then you win tonight, can we win the next night?
39:54
And then you go back to work.
39:55
So obviously, if we put ourselves in the position that we're in, you know, wins are important for us at this stage of the season, like they are for everybody.
40:03
And, you know, we're on kind of the edge, but still on the outside looking in.
40:08
So wins become really important.
40:10
But the first order of business is to, you know, the big 10 is still at stake right now.
40:15
And we want to do everything we can to try to win it.
40:18
We talked yesterday about special teams needing to ramp it up.
40:21
What are your plans for practice this week and going into the weekend?
40:23
Well, we work on our specialty teams every week.
40:26
And, you know, just kind of look back on our power play.
40:29
I think nine out of 12 big 10 games in the second half of the year, we haven't scored a power play goal.
40:33
So it's a little surprising we've had the record we have, because we've been doing it more five on five than certainly with the power play.
40:40
Part of it is we haven't had a lot of opportunities.
40:42
You know, a lot of zero for two or zero for three in a game.
40:45
And even Friday was a good example.
40:47
I think we had two power plays, and both were negated with penalties halfway through it.
40:52
So it is an area that we have to try to get a goal a night.
40:55
And that would go a long way in helping us win games to get to this time of the year.
41:05
Well, I mean, the whole crew.
41:06
I mean, everybody has to step up their game at this time of the year.
41:09
I mean, they're towards the end of their junior year now.
41:11
So they're pretty much veterans.
41:13
Other guys have come on, Jax Adix, you know, come in and got himself in the lineup a lot here the second half of the season.
41:20
He's done a nice job.
41:21
You know, Cedar has really improved after sitting out the early part of the year.
41:24
So when you look at the guys at play, they're pretty balanced.
41:29
We don't rely on any one or two guys.
41:31
We don't rely on, you know, a shut down pairing like that.
41:34
We, you know, Mike's not afraid to play all his guys against anybody, and, you know, that's a pretty good thing that you feel comfortable with any of the group on the ice.
41:41
You said this team has looked better in the smaller rinks than the bigger rink at times.
41:45
What do you think it is that makes them look so good there?
41:47
I don't know if we get into the net a little bit easier or not so much easier, but, you know, quicker.
41:52
You know, when we have good puck support all over the rink, you know, from the defensive zone and our breakouts, you know, we're able to hit our center coming out and doubling pucks a little bit quicker.
42:02
Maybe that's part of it.
42:05
And, you know, we've been able to win some games on the road and, you know, other than Wisconsin series, those are all on small sheets.
42:11
So another important weekend.
42:13
I mean, it's, they get magnified in March.
42:16
You know, March is the month.
42:17
And so, you know, we're guaranteed five more games.
42:21
That's all we're guaranteed.
42:22
So, you know, we're gonna do everything we can every time we lace up the skates to play the best we possibly can.
42:27
You think a smaller rink will help your power play by forcing them to be a little closer?
42:30
I don't know.
42:31
I mean, that really hasn't had much of a factor home or away.
42:36
You know, we've, Penn State, we didn't score either game.
42:39
Ohio State, we didn't score either game.
42:41
So we've got to try to generate it.
42:42
I don't think we get enough pucks on the net.
42:45
I don't think we're getting some pucks through.
42:49
And that's going to be an important thing this weekend.
42:52
Michigan State's a real veteran team.
42:54
What do you expect from them this time around?
42:55
Well, I've always said whenever we've played them, they're a really good skating team.
42:58
They can get up and down the rink well.
42:59
Hildebrandt, we know how good he can play.
43:02
And, you know, we've had, it seems like the last three years, and they've all been good, close, tight games.
43:08
And, you know, I expect the same this weekend.
43:10
We know the formula.
43:11
We've got to get to three to give ourselves a chance to win.
43:17
Okay.
43:21
So, what do you think of special teams at this point in the season for the Gophers?
43:25
Special teams, I think our penalty kills have been improving.
43:28
I mean, we had a little hiccup early in the season against St.
43:31
Cloud.
43:31
I think they scored like five, but ever since then, I think we've been doing all right and working to get better.
43:37
And our power play has also been working hard to get better.
43:41
We've been shuffling around a little bit trying to figure out what works, but I think we're getting there and I think it should be all right.
43:48
Four of your five goals have come on the power play.
43:50
What's been the secret to your success?
43:52
I've just been shooting the puck and the puck's had some eyes a couple of times.
43:56
So I think, yeah, just been having good screen, getting that traffic in front and able to get a couple of pucks through and they've been able to go in for me.
44:04
So it's been nice.
44:06
What did you learn from that 10-minute stretch Thursday where Michigan scored three straight that you were able to use on Friday to cull them to under two?
44:14
Yeah, you know, Michigan, they can score in bunches like that.
44:19
We knew that going into it.
44:20
And I think on Friday, we were just able to play solid defense the entire game.
44:26
You know, I mean, 60-minute game, you need to play all 60 minutes if you're going to want a chance to win.
44:31
So I think on Friday, we were able to learn that and able to do that.
44:35
And we were lucky.
44:36
It took more than 60 minutes Friday, but we were able to get it done.
44:39
So it was big.
44:47
It's been great playing with Bradzie.
44:49
I mean, me and him belong really well on and off the ice.
44:52
And we're starting to get some good chemistry.
44:55
And we know where we're going to be on the ice.
44:58
And we communicate well with each other.
45:01
So it's been an awesome, unbelievable experience playing with him.
45:04
What do you do to tell some of the younger guys, especially toward the end of the season, when the stakes are so high?
45:09
Yeah, you know, I just stay positive in the locker room everywhere and be encouraging to them and just be supportive and sort of show them the ropes, I guess.
45:20
What bothers you about Michigan State?
45:23
What are the concerns going on this weekend?
45:26
Michigan State is a tough team to play against, I think.
45:29
They play really hard.
45:30
And you know, they're going to be physical.
45:32
They're going to be on you on the four-check.
45:34
So we just got to be ready for that and match their intensity.
45:37
And hopefully, we'll be all right.
45:39
With Hildebrandt in goal, what kind of challenges does that present for you guys?
45:43
Yeah, Hildebrandt is always a great goaltender.
45:49
He has the ability to steal a game once in a while for them.
45:52
So I think we're just going to need to get a lot of pucks on that and crash in that and go for rebounds and stuff.
45:58
You're going to have to get, this time of year, it's going to have to be some greasy goals once in a while.
46:02
So I think we're going to just need to get some rebound goals and hopefully that'll be enough for us.
46:07
With where the team is in the Big Ten standings and nationally, is it a six-week or is it a six-point weekend necessary to be success?
46:16
I mean, yeah, obviously, towards the end of the year here, I think every game is really important.
46:20
And you need to go into every game wanting to win and sort of expecting to win, I think, too, at the same time.
46:26
So I think, definitely, going into this weekend, we're definitely looking to go in there and take six points.
46:32
And if we get anything less, we won't be happy with it, you know?
46:41
Quite a weekend last weekend against a high-scoring team, eh?
46:43
Yeah, yeah, up and down weekend.
46:46
But you know what?
46:48
At the end of the weekend, we're still leading the Big 10, so that's what we want to do.
46:51
So we're in a good position for these last four games.
46:55
You know, three of those six periods, Michigan hardly got a shot in the second and third of Thursday, and same thing with Friday in the third period.
47:02
You really had to be impressed with the guys in front of you.
47:05
Yeah, to kind of slow down a high-scoring offense like that shot-wise, that was good.
47:09
So it shows what kind of team we can be when we're clicking on all cylinders and the guys are dialed in.
47:16
So it's good to see.
47:17
So you've seen Michigan State.
47:18
What do you expect from them this weekend?
47:21
You know what?
47:22
They play a good team game, and they got a great goaltender.
47:24
So when you have a good goaltender, you can win any game.
47:28
So we got to be on our game to beat them.
47:31
Coach said earlier that March is the month to hang banners.
47:35
What does it mean, I guess, to get that taste of it and hopefully see how far you guys can go and make this a special season?
47:40
Coming into the program, you see obviously all the banners up in Mariucci.
47:45
And you see all the success that they've had.
47:46
And you want to be a part of that.
47:47
So as a freshman, you want to kind of contribute to that success and to be a part of championship teams.
47:53
So I'm looking forward to it.
47:55
What are some of the older guys telling you, I guess, preparation-wise for this run?
48:00
I mean, they're telling us that they're big games.
48:03
And obviously, these matter, which, I mean, that doesn't need to be emphasized to us.
48:07
We know how big these games are.
48:08
We know what the big 10 standings look like.
48:10
And we know it's at stake.
48:12
So we'll be ready for it.
48:15
With the season-long goals like making the tournament and winning the conference, how hard is it to take it one game at a time?
48:21
Yeah, it is hard.
48:22
Because you do have that big picture in your mind at all times.
48:26
But you just got to constantly remind yourself that one game at a time.
48:29
Because if you start thinking ahead, you lose focus.
48:32
And it can affect your play.
48:33
Do you notice the coaches emphasizing anything leading into this weekend?
48:38
I mean, yeah, again, they're big games.
48:40
And like they said earlier, this is when you hang banners.
48:44
And that's what our program's about, is hanging banners and winning championships.
48:48
So I'm going to step it up a notch here.
48:50
You know, when play goes down to the other end of the rink, do you ever spend time just kind of watching what the other goalie does?
48:57
Oh, not really.
48:57
I kind of try to focus on my own game and try to stay in the moment because, again, if you start focusing on other things in the game, all of a sudden you get a two on one maybe down your end.
49:08
You're not ready for it.
49:09
You're going to get scored on.
49:09
That can't happen.
49:10
So I just try to focus on my game.
49:12
When you take some time to look at video, do you spend time taking a look at tendencies of certain players?
49:19
I wouldn't say I look at video tendencies of certain players.
49:22
We look at video tendencies of power plays.
49:24
So, you know, do they like throwing shots from the point?
49:27
Do they like slot plays?
49:28
Do they like shots from the flank?
49:30
That's kind of what I look at.
49:31
And then maybe Coach Patoni will come to me and say, hey, this team likes shooting sharp angle shots or whatnot.
49:37
So he kind of gives me the low down on that.
49:39
And the video is more for power play.
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