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, Vego and your host, Jupiter. 0:41 Well, good evening, and welcome to another GPL Podcast. 0:47 Boy, guys, we all predicted a sweep, and yeah, that's what it was, but too bad it was for the wrong team. 0:54 And a lot of fans are not so happy, because Hammy, beaten again by another Minnesota team, and this time they played well for a while, and then they just completely choked. 1:08 What the heck happened? 1:10 Yeah, I guess it's kind of like the old saying, it's not how you start, but how you finish, and they started very well, especially on Friday, and you can't, you know, I didn't have any problems with what they played for the bulk of the series, but the problem is, is that when you have lapses for a stretch of time that really cost you, it kind of doesn't matter if you were the superior team for, you know, four of the six periods or whatever, the fact of the matter is that it doesn't say that in a scoreboard, so it doesn't mean a hell of a lot. 1:45 Veegs, they kill a penalty. 1:49 Third period Friday night, all of a sudden, they come out of the box, and I believe it was Novak puts them up five to two. 1:56 I'm thinking smooth sailing from here on out, and boy was I wrong. 2:02 Yeah, you know, they lost a couple of guys in transitions when they made turnovers. 2:07 One was a line change, and they just lost track of their guys. 2:10 And you know, going into the weekend, we talked about how St. 2:13 Cloud's a great transition team. 2:15 You know, they had a lot of holes to fill, but all the guys that they had filling those holes could score goals when they had the chances. 2:22 And Minnesota just gave St. 2:23 Cloud too many chances down the stretch. 2:26 I don't think Shearhorn had his best game on Friday night. 2:30 Probably let in a couple he'd like to have back, a couple angles he lost. 2:34 But at the same time, they didn't do enough with controlling the puck to finish out a game. 2:40 I remember last time, a couple times, when they got in the Big Ten stretch, they could rely on Cluse and Fasching to get the job done. 2:47 Bristette would get the job done. 2:49 Whoever it was, there was a guy who could take control of the puck, gain the offensive zone and relieve the pressure. 2:56 And against St. 2:56 Cloud, there just never seemed to be a line that could do that consistently. 3:00 They kept having long shifts in their own end and then turning over the puck. 3:05 Well all I know is that what the fans think of is that in the last 15 games against Minnesota teams, Minnesota is 1-14. 3:13 Obviously Lucia is going to say it's a different year, different time, blah, blah, blah, but the bottom line is Hammy, they suck against Minnesota teams these last few years. 3:23 Yeah, it's definitely been frustrating. 3:27 It's one of those things where you don't know if they're really putting the kind of emphasis they should on some of these series because they're not in conference. 3:37 I mean, you would think the players would still have the kind of attitude and pride in everything, that they'd want to go out there. 3:44 I'm not saying that they don't try, of course they try, but there's just something that's been missing there. 3:51 From one respect or another, obviously it's not going to be the same every series, or it's not going to be one specific thing. 3:58 But nonetheless, the statistics don't lie, and they're not cutting a mustard, and that's obviously got to change. 4:06 Now, is this going to affect recruiting at all, Hammy? 4:08 I mean, they're doing terrible against the in-state schools, and it doesn't look good for the program when they keep losing these games. 4:21 Well, I mean, that's true, but the reality is that you're talking about kids that are committing two, three years out, and the fact of the matter is, is that things are going to be a lot different for most of them. 4:34 You know, it's hard to predict when you're two, three years away from even setting foot on a campus, how, you know, what team is going to look like what, and who's going to be good, who's not. 4:45 And I mean, honestly, I think even with what we've seen against Minnesota teams, I think it's realistically speaking, most kids are probably going to feel a lot more comfortable about committing to the Gophers and feeling like they're going to be a title contender than they would be some of these other teams. 5:02 And I'm not sliding those teams because they'll still be good, you know, but I just think that the Gophers historically have been more consistent. 5:10 Even if they've had issues for stretches, they've usually been pretty good over the long haul. 5:17 Well, I still think one of the things that is happening is that the fans are still upset with the team. 5:23 They're either upset with the team, they're upset with the university, because VEG's Friday night, that place was not very full. 5:33 And I know they had traffic and all this other crap, but I'm sorry. 5:37 There's just too many seats going on at Mariucci for a game against St. 5:42 Cloud State. 5:44 Yeah, it's really surprising. 5:46 I expected to see that building pretty full for that game. 5:50 You know, maybe the traffic did scare some people off. 5:52 MEA weekend, whatever it is, there just wasn't a way to get enough people there in the building. 5:58 And I think we'll see in the North Dakota series, whether that's going to be a trend for the whole year, or if it was just a one-off instance. 6:05 If it's a lot of empty seats for North Dakota, they better be pulling the fire alarm because then there's a huge problem. 6:14 Yeah, I mean, their season ticket base is in the six thousands. 6:18 So they sold about 35, 3600 single game tickets for the St. 6:22 Cloud series. 6:24 Look, I don't think it's a matter of being mad at the team or anything like that. 6:28 The reality is, is that the prices that they pay are out of whack with what I think the market really wants to pay. 6:37 And, you know, especially the casual fan. 6:41 And you can't continue to gouge them if you're not going to offer them more of a value, I mean, they're not getting the value. 6:50 The team has been relatively good in recent years. 6:54 I mean, I don't think it's really that. 6:56 But the one thing is the prices are continuing to be sky high. 7:00 And, you know, there's going to hit a point where they're not going to support that kind of a price range any longer. 7:06 And I think we've kind of started to see it the last few years. 7:11 Well, Vegoe, you put me on to a podcast earlier this week with, was it Pete Wagner? 7:18 Had Jim Rich on from Fox 9. 7:20 And they went over quite a few things about what's going on with Minnesota. 7:24 They did kind of mention, they did talk about prices and things like that. 7:27 But obviously, they talked about some other things that you thought were maybe a little stale in their ideas, you know, why Minnesota is doing so bad. 7:37 What are your thoughts on what they mentioned on their podcast? 7:40 Well, I think they were talking about how Minnesota is just a collection of elite pickle litter players. 7:46 And I don't even know if that's an argument anymore. 7:48 I think they lost Brock Buster to North Dakota. 7:51 They lost Kiefer Bellows out east to Boston University. 7:56 You know, they lost Tufte and Joe Anderson to UMD. 7:59 So there are some of the guys who would typically be pickle litter players going to other schools. 8:04 And then when you talk about the Gophers not having four-year players, you know, the upperclassmen on this roster, Bischoff and Clusis, stuck around. 8:11 It looks like, you know, Conor Riley stuck around. 8:13 He's been injured, but he's around. 8:15 So they do have seniors, Vanila Terry, you know, older guys like that that are sticking around that are four-year players. 8:22 This team has just gotten into trouble in these in-state games. 8:25 You know, it's the same mistakes. 8:26 It's wall battles, it's turnovers and special teams. 8:29 And it's just a failure to execute on their part. 8:32 And I think it could be, you know, they get in the third period of these games and they want it so bad that they don't treat it like any other game. 8:38 They treat it like a game and they have to win and guys try to do too much. 8:42 I think you look at that last power play opportunity. 8:45 Cluice is trying to get by three guys to get a point. 8:48 You know, he's not using his teammates very well. 8:50 And that's something that happens to these guys in these situations. 8:53 They try to do too much rather than move the puck to the open space. 8:58 I think they're pressing too much to make plays because they aren't there. 9:02 Rather than just playing the game that they'll play against Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan. 9:07 I think they'll stick more to their game plan in those games. 9:10 We'll get to more on Cluice in a second here, but you had mentioned Brock Besser and Hammey. 9:15 That is a big loss that they didn't get him because he is lighting it up. 9:20 He lit it up last year and he's lighting it up again this year. 9:25 Well, I mean, I don't really know what to say to that. 9:27 First of all, I didn't hear the Jim Rich stuff, so I don't know exactly what was said in that regard. 9:34 To me, the commentary about getting pick of the litter is accurate to an extent, but the reality is that the Gophers in all their years have never gotten all the great top players in Minnesota. 9:49 There's just, first of all, too many good players that come out of the state. 9:52 Secondly, you have to consider that some years more than others, there's different needs. 10:00 Nowadays, some of the kids that Vegoe mentioned, I mean, they committed, frankly, younger before the Gophers really made an offer. 10:10 So it's one of those things where back when there was, especially when there was that gentleman's agreement, I mean, you know, it was kind of a tough spot because you're like, well, you want to, you're interested in a kid, but are you ready to pull the trigger or not? 10:25 So there's a lot of variables that go on to that. 10:28 Investor situation, I mean, they were very much in it to the very end. 10:33 And I know in fact... 10:34 And you did originally commit to Wisconsin. 10:37 What? 10:37 Yes. 10:38 I mean, obviously, that's, I mean, to be honest, that's where he would have gone had they not sucked so badly. 10:44 I mean, North Dakota wouldn't even have him right now if Wisconsin had been half decent, you know what I mean? 10:49 And so Wisconsin's failures are North Dakota's gains in that instance. 10:55 So, yeah, so I mean, I don't look at it as any one player. 11:00 I mean, the Gophers have talent. 11:03 It's just a matter of, you know, really... 11:07 My feeling is that the coaching messages have failed to sink in. 11:12 I feel like they're... 11:14 You know, I've been saying this for a while. 11:16 I just think that there needs to be kind of a fresh new outlook in the program. 11:22 I feel like we're getting to that. 11:24 I feel like we've been at that point. 11:27 I still am somewhat of the belief that this might be Lucia's last year, not because I think he's going to get fired, but because I just think... 11:36 I've heard enough where I just believe that there's a distinct possibility that's going to happen. 11:42 We'll see if it does or doesn't, but I think that everybody has a feel that it's probably coming to a conclusion here in the near future. 11:52 That would definitely be interesting if it did happen. 11:54 Obviously, you just signed that extension, but I know the buyout is not too bad, is it, Hammeh? 12:02 Well, I mean, Vegoe probably looked at that more carefully than I did, but the reality is that you're talking about a program that's a moneymaker for the university, and if they feel like they can get somebody in there that's going to be in the long haul, a better fit, I mean, they buyout football coaches, they buyout basketball coaches, and those are usually bigger buyouts, so I don't see why they'd be afraid to do it for a moneymaker in hockey. 12:28 Veegs, Minnesota's top line. 12:32 Been a little quiet. 12:34 Do we know what's going on there? 12:36 I mean, I believe they've, have they even scored a five on five goal? 12:39 Maybe they've gotten a short goal. 12:40 I don't think they have. 12:42 They just have a special teams goal between them. 12:45 And a short hand. 12:45 It's hard to say. 12:47 And a short hand, yeah. 12:49 But I think, you know, they're just looking for that right guy to fit with Klus and Smetula. 12:53 I think they want to try to keep those two guys together, and they've tried a couple different things. 12:57 It sounds like they are shaking up the lines again going into this weekend. 13:02 There's even more shakeups. 13:04 None of the lines have been kept together through practice this week. 13:07 So we'll see what happens. 13:08 But it's important for those guys to get going and for Klus to get healthy and into his season. 13:14 So you know, I think that's something that should be happening because they look like they're possessing the puck. 13:19 It's just they've got to figure out ways to score five on five goals in other ways than getting it on the rush. 13:25 They got to figure out a way to generate some in-zone offense. 13:29 You know, the thing I don't like personally is that the way Lucia seems to basically chain certain players pairings together. 13:38 And to me, it's like I'd like to see at times a little more creativity with regards to some of the coaching decisions. 13:47 You know, Klus was pretty much saddled with Kami for how long. 13:52 And now, you know, you start to wonder if it's like, look, yeah, I mean, some guys, for one reason or another, just don't click well enough. 14:00 And maybe there needs to be a little bit more creative thinking when it comes to some of these line pairings. 14:06 I like what we have in the second and third line, but, you know, it might be where you kind of have to tweak some of that in order to kind of get some of those top line, that the top line going. 14:15 And like Vig said, you know, there's some health issues that have probably contributed it to a little degree. 14:22 But, you know, you just, I would like to see a little bit more creativity from the coaching. 14:28 Yeah, I guess I hadn't heard about the Clusis stuff, but if he's not feeling great, hopefully gets better because we could use him right now. 14:36 Because he's obviously, I, you know, he's not playing as well as a player right now, but as a leader, he's become one of my favorite guys. 14:43 I mean, he's not afraid to say what he thinks, and he definitely let us know that Friday night after they lost the game. 14:52 And I think I like him even more because of it. 14:55 And I did talk to the guys a little bit about who the leaders in the room are right now. 14:59 And it's one of those situations where it's tough to lead when you're not playing your best. 15:04 I think there's a couple of guys on the team right now who don't feel comfortable stepping up in that leadership role when their games are still, you know, slow to get going. 15:13 So I think if the upper class can start to get some five on five points and generate some offense, I think that's going to solve a lot of issues here throughout the rest of the year. 15:24 Hamme, a lot of criticism about taking Zoolsdorf out on Saturday night. 15:29 What do you think about that decision of taking him out? 15:34 Well, I mean, I just, I understand that he, that the coaches want to get guys ice time and make sure that everybody is seeing the rank. 15:43 I get that, but I also feel like we're kind of getting to that point where we're realizing as long as the Big Ten isn't super strong that these non-conference games are more meaningful when it comes to the big picture. 15:58 So I would like to see them continue to try to emphasize the big picture and try to get the best lineup out there. 16:06 If they want to tweak things when you're against some of the teams like the first week with Alaska, granted we were on the road. 16:12 But if you want to change some lineups when you're playing some teams that you can take a little bit more of a risk on because they're not necessarily as good, maybe even during the Big Ten season when you're going up against a Penn State or a Michigan State or something like that, fine. 16:27 But I don't know that early season when it's mostly non-conference or pretty much all non-conference. 16:33 It's really worth kind of not throwing your best lineup out there. 16:37 I didn't like it, but I understand it. 16:40 That's kind of how he's rolled over the years and that's the way it is. 16:44 Well, it seems like this past weekend, a lot of people started ripping on Collins again, and I don't think he was that bad, was he, Veegs? 16:51 I didn't think so. 16:52 I think the entire Gopher team struggled on retrievals and breakouts. 16:56 It just wasn't real clean whether or not they had trouble getting back under pressure and finding guys, whether the wings were getting too high in the zone and it just was too big of a stretch. 17:08 The other thing they were doing is they were just throwing it up the wall. 17:11 They weren't using the middle of the ice at all. 17:14 It's a wide sheet at St. 17:15 Cloud too, and these are just things that they didn't adjust from and it cost them because they continued just to go up the wall and lose battles and get long shifts. 17:23 Now, they'd get caught out there and they didn't have a chance to use any of their speed. 17:27 That was one advantage they could have had in this game, is use their speed a little bit more, is instead of going up in the walls and battling there. 17:37 Well, kind of like you said, Hammeh, these non-conference games, though it's early in the season, they're gonna count just as much at the end of the season. 17:45 So losing these two games St. 17:47 Cloud is not a good thing. 17:49 I mean, at least should have been a split, but it's something that could really come back and hurt them at the end of the season. 17:57 Yeah, man, it's one of those things where, you know, when you're in the moment and you have the entire season ahead of you, and you kind of have your destiny in your hands, you don't really necessarily look at it that way. 18:09 But then when you have the full season kind of in your rear view mirror, you can kind of pick and choose and see if we had won that one game or if we had done better in that game or whatever, we'd be in the NCAAs or we'd have a better seed or whatever it might be. 18:23 And so yeah, even you really can't kind of take that lackadaisical attitude about any particular series. 18:31 You don't have to panic about it either. 18:32 But you certainly have to try to put your best foot forward every series. 18:36 And that's why I don't agree with not putting your best lineup out there, especially when you know that these are the kinds of games when you're playing, you know, other teams that are NCAA contenders. 18:48 When I'm sure St. 18:49 Cloud will be in the hunt. 18:51 That's when you really have to play well and perform. 18:53 And not putting your best lineup in there, I just don't think that's the wise move. 18:58 I do think one thing this year is the Big Ten is better top to bottom, other than Michigan State. 19:04 All the other teams are getting some out of conference wins early this season. 19:08 I mean, heck, you had Penn State beating Notre Dame this last weekend. 19:13 Ohio State's looked good so far. 19:14 So I think that the conference overall is going to be better than it was last year. 19:19 Last year was an absolute trainwreck for a lot of teams in the conference, and there was just no advantage to their Big Ten schedule. 19:26 Well, that might be the case, but I just feel like I would rather not have to worry about, well, how's everybody else doing? 19:34 Is the conference going to be strong enough to carry us if we do well in it? 19:39 I guess I would rather look at it from the standpoint of, we'll take care of business in the conference, but let's make sure that we do a good job of a non-conference because we know that that's really where it could make or break us. 19:52 I just think this is a team that it's going to develop over the season. 19:55 I think they're going to need seven defensemen throughout the season. 19:59 The National Hockey Center is a tough place to throw in a lot of underclassmen in that lineup. 20:04 The students get there early and they get in the players' ears early, and they went with their veteran group on the blue line. 20:11 I don't think that's necessarily what cost them the game, it was the blue lines play. 20:15 I think it was just, their retrievals and breakouts were rough, and both games were close. 20:21 They had the big lead, and they had a pretty big lead on Saturday, too. 20:25 So they had the chance. 20:26 I don't think it was the lineup that cost them the games. 20:29 I think they're going to need all these players. 20:32 I mean, they really, they just got to finish. 20:34 Yeah. 20:35 And I think you have to learn how to do that. 20:37 And they're still learning how to do that from last year. 20:41 See, I don't know if I buy that, because this is not exactly a team full of fresh faces. 20:46 I mean, they barely have any forwards at all that are, you know, freshmen. 20:52 I mean, this is a team that's got a lot of veterans on it. 20:54 And so at some point, that kind of crap, to me, doesn't wash. 20:58 They got to start performing, and they can't use, oh, we got to learn, or we got, we need ice time to, you know, grow, and that's like these are guys that are seniors and juniors, when the hell are you going to perform? 21:11 You've already got two years under your fricking belt, that's like start doing it. 21:15 I just don't agree with that. 21:16 I just feel like you, that's why the whole mentality of getting ice time for everybody early on, it's like either perform or don't. 21:25 But if you're not going to perform, then put somebody out there that can perform, or at least if you're going to suffer with mistakes, do it with somebody who is young, who you can like build on, as opposed to somebody who's a freaking junior, have been watching them make the same kind of mistakes for two years. 21:41 I hate that. 21:43 But I think they're going to need their junior defenseman to be successful this year. 21:47 You can't just bench them the whole first half of the year and expect them to contribute if someone gets hurt. 21:53 I don't disagree, but I also feel like, you know, when you have guys out there who are young that are not making mistakes, they're not significant ones, and then you have upper classmen that are making mistakes and you keep rolling out the upper classmen, it's like, I would rather roll with the young guys and let them live with their mistakes because I know that there's a lot more growth opportunity there than there's somebody that's been making the same mistakes for years and isn't really seeming learning. 22:20 And frankly, I don't see Glover and Collins doing jack shit when it comes to the end of this year. 22:26 It's like, if they haven't shown something by now, what makes me think that they're going to suddenly become studs and as a junior? 22:32 It's like, I don't know, I mean, it's early. 22:34 But I'm not a believer that those guys are going to cut it. 22:38 They were two mistakes and I feel like we're going to continue to have to suffer with it. 22:43 And hopefully, some of these young guys get better, so we don't have to see them getting rolled out one after the other game and series. 22:53 I thought they played fine this weekend. 22:54 I think on Friday night, you saw Lindgren make a couple of mistakes on the breakout that led to a goal. 23:00 And I think when you get on the smaller rinks, you're going to need guys like Glover and Collins to contribute. 23:07 They don't have to make plays with their feet to be successful players. 23:11 They have to stay in position, use good sticks, and have the confidence to do that. 23:15 I think Collins' big problem last year was he got into his head that he had to stand out on the ice. 23:21 And he was skating himself out of position and getting caught chasing to the net. 23:26 If you have a guy like that, who is that big and has that kind of reach, confidently playing his position and not skating out of it, he's going to be a help to this team because they don't have a lot of size on the blue line. 23:39 Well, there's that. 23:42 This team doesn't have a lot of size, period. 23:44 Yeah. 23:45 But the thing is, in college hockey, you don't necessarily need it. 23:49 Just look at all the successful boss in college teams. 23:52 They were tiny. 23:53 Well, the style that Minnesota is playing at St. 23:55 Cloud when they're trying to force the next wall is a style that you need some size with. 24:01 And I think it showed that St. 24:02 Cloud was able to hem them in and keep them on the wall and keep them in the zone. 24:07 Okay. 24:07 But that's a coaching strategy then that's failing to connect with the talent on the team. 24:15 I mean, it's sort of like when you see great coaches in any sport, it's like they will tailor their approach to the talent that they have on the team, the strengths that that team has. 24:25 And if you're trying to employ a strategy that isn't really the right fit for the kind of players you have, then that's on the coach. 24:35 So, you know, or if they're not making the adjustments because it's not working, that's on the coach. 24:42 So at some point, it's like, okay, if that's how your team is built, fine. 24:48 But then don't try to play a style that doesn't fit with that approach. 24:55 Oh, boy. 24:59 Well, I'm going to say, to me, it's kind of common sense. 25:02 I can't disagree with you. 25:03 I can't. 25:05 But, you know, there are times, you know, when, you know, I'm thinking Friday night where, you know, sometimes, you know, it's not on the coaches up to the players to do something. 25:14 And I was just laughing. 25:16 And that was a hard time keeping a straight face because here I am, I'm broadcasting the post game with Lucia via Periscope. 25:25 And I just see these messages popping up on the screen saying, fire Lucia, he's a loser, blah, blah, blah. 25:30 I'm like, and I'm literally two feet away from him. 25:33 And I see these messages popping up in front of me. 25:35 And I'm thinking, you know, in this case, you know, late in the game, you're down by three, you're up by three goals. 25:40 It's up to the players at these times, at those times, to keep your head out of your ass and finish the game. 25:48 But then it does come back to what you say, Hammeh, is that, you know, you want to play a certain style and they can't, well, it's kind of your fault. 25:55 So, boy, it's a lot of things here. 25:59 It kind of goes, it goes back to what I said on GPL early in the week, where it's like, if you are not confident in certain players and you're continually, if you're continuing to roll out guys who are making mistakes, and it's because you don't feel comfortable with what you've got behind them, that's an indictment on the crappy job you did and filling out the depth on your team. 26:24 Because if you got a guy in your team that you're not going to put out there for one reason or another, because he's just not prepared, he's not good enough, whatever, it's sort of like then you did a shit job even bringing him on the program. 26:38 I mean, when you see some of these guys, I don't expect to walk on and have a huge role, but it's like this is Minnesota. 26:46 You should be able to find guys that are in that seventh to eighth defenseman spot or maybe just behind in that fourth line or they're kind of in and out of life. 26:56 It's like I'm not expecting stars to be in those spots, but you should have guys that are talented enough that they're going to make a contribution and be consistent when they're out there. 27:06 If you don't have that, you did a shit job filling those spots. 27:12 Yeah, well, maybe that also comes back to recruiting guys when they're so young, too. 27:16 Which I'm not a fan of, but what can you do just the way that things are right now? 27:23 Well, before we move forward, we need to hear from our sponsor. 27:28 vintagemnhockey.com is a proud sponsor of The GPL Podcast. 27:34 Well, what is Vintagemnhockey? 27:36 Well, it's kind of the place to get all of your history of Minnesota Hockey. 27:41 From the pros to the minors to the collegiate teams to even the high school teams. 27:46 All information about any of those teams can be found on vintagemnhockey.com. 27:51 They also have great interviews with some historical Minnesota hockey figures like John Mayessich and Lou Nanny, Glenn Sanmore, some of the greats of Minnesota hockey. 28:01 So make sure you check out those interviews. 28:02 It's a really great thing. 28:04 But as like I always say, I think my favorite part is the store. 28:08 The store you can buy a custom historical jersey from the Gophers or the Bulldogs or some of your favorite high school teams. 28:15 And if you do make a purchase, just use the code GPL Podcast, all one word, and you'll get 10% off your order. 28:22 So make sure you visit vintagemnhockey.com and follow them on Twitter at Vintagemnhockey. 28:30 Thanks to Vintage for that. 28:32 Well, guys, obviously a terrible week against St. 28:34 Cloud and, you know, can't win against Minnesota teams, blah, blah, blah. 28:41 But you know, I don't know, what else can we do? 28:44 What we can do is move forward. 28:46 Vego, they're heading out east for the first time since, they're heading out to New York for the first time since they won in Buffalo, the National Championship in 2003. 28:55 And heading out to Clarkson and St. 28:57 Lawrence this weekend. 28:59 Two places I don't believe they've ever visited. 29:02 Yeah, I don't think they've ever been there. 29:03 And Lucia kind of talks about how he likes to go out east and take the guys to places the team's never seen before. 29:10 They're seeing two ECAC schools that are kind of on the fringe of that top 20. 29:16 Clarkson's looking pretty good this year. 29:18 They had a winning tie last weekend against some teams that are also on the fringe of the top 20, mid-top 10. 29:25 So I think they're going to have two tough games out there, especially coming out this last weekend with St. 29:30 Cloud and then facing North Dakota the next weekend. 29:33 It's going to be a real challenge for them to keep their head on straight and be productive. 29:38 Pammy, the first of two East Coast trips this year. 29:41 Kind of an odd thing. 29:44 Yeah, it's one of those things where we talked about many times over the years that the new conference gives opportunities for a little bit more non-conference. 29:54 I've seen some teams that you don't typically see. 29:57 Some people like it, some people don't. 29:59 I personally kind of like a little bit of the variety. 30:02 So, in that sense... 30:05 Yeah. 30:05 Yeah. 30:05 I mean, to me, it's interesting. 30:09 You know, there's... 30:10 It's kind of... 30:12 I didn't really like having to play, you know, and it had nothing to do with, you know, other fans or whether we were successful or not. 30:20 You know, it's like seeing the same teams every year four times, four times. 30:25 You know, I mean, it's like, you know, and having most of your entire schedule made up with WCHA and whatever, it's like, it had its pluses, but it had its minuses too, because you just didn't really see a lot of variety. 30:37 So I'm kind of looking forward to it. 30:40 I think it's interesting to see how you match up against teams that you don't typically face. 30:45 And so, you know, I'm looking forward to that. 30:49 I think it'll be interesting. 30:50 And for you folks, obviously, it's not on regular television, but I believe there is going to be free video streams from both schools at night. 30:59 Just go to GPL and find that. 31:00 Just go for pucklive.com/media. 31:04 And you'll see a little Clarkson and a little St. 31:06 Lawrence logo, which have direct links to those video feeds for this weekend. 31:10 So free video. 31:13 At least that's what we've been told, which is good. 31:16 Oh, my God, it's not on TV. 31:19 Oh, my God. 31:19 It's riot. 31:22 It's going to be a riot. 31:25 It might be because according to a couple of people on Twitter, they refuse to listen to Wally and Frank on the radio because it's 1500. 31:33 And apparently 1500 is the enemy. 31:35 But Vegoe, at least we're getting some kind of video this weekend. 31:39 Yeah, we're going to get some free streams. 31:41 I think these teams are older teams. 31:43 I was looking at their roster earlier today. 31:45 And you see a couple of 93 and 92-year-olds on those. 31:49 So 23 and 24-year-olds. 31:52 That's always a good challenge for you. 31:53 Yeah, it makes me feel really old, too. 31:57 But at least they play a team on Saturday this year that plays the night before. 32:01 I guess Lucia was a little miffed last year when they went out for their BC Northeastern trip. 32:06 That Northeastern didn't play anybody on Friday night. 32:09 Is it Wisconsin playing? 32:12 Wisconsin is coming out for the same weekend. 32:14 So Wisconsin will play St. 32:15 Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday. 32:19 Sounds like a smart deal there. 32:21 But like you said, the senior-laden or older teams, but do we know anything else about these teams, Hammeh? 32:29 Well, it's one of those things where unless you're constantly watching them, I mean, it's hard to venture opinion. 32:36 I mean, that's what makes, to me, what makes it kind of interesting is... 32:39 The unknown? 32:41 Yeah, I mean, it's kind of like when you're playing, you know, like a quarterback, they have no film on them, you know. 32:47 You kind of don't know what to expect entirely until maybe you've played a few series against them and see how, you know, if he's a good passer or whatever. 32:56 That's the same thing with some of these teams you don't typically face. 33:00 It's hard to know, you know. 33:01 It's not like playing Wisconsin or playing UMD or St. 33:06 Cloud, where you're kind of used to seeing them most years. 33:09 And you can venture some opinions based on guys that you've seen in the past and that are returning. 33:15 We don't have that this week. 33:16 So it'll be kind of interesting to see how we match up. 33:20 Well, I just think it's nice that they're heading out east. 33:24 I know Cardinal did an article years ago saying how we hadn't traveled, you know, east of Ohio State in forever. 33:34 And it is nice that they're getting back out there, you know, obviously twice this year. 33:37 But for a long period there, Veegs, they just were not traveling anywhere past Ohio State for a long time. 33:46 Yeah, and I think it's good for the Gophers to get out east. 33:48 If they can get a couple of wins out of these trips, it does help them in their pairwise. 33:52 Because they'll then have some comparisons against ECAC and Hockey East, because they'll play the BC Eastern Series later in the year. 34:02 Yeah, I can't stress enough how important these games are, people. 34:06 It's early in the season, but it's what it's all going to come down to. 34:12 ECAC teams always do well in the pairwise. 34:15 I think part of it is they don't play anybody out west. 34:18 So I think it would be good for Minnesota pairwise if they can do well this weekend. 34:23 I mean, do we have any, I mean, what are your thoughts on the weekend, Hammy? 34:26 Can we come away with two wins, or would you be happy with a split? 34:29 Or, I mean, what are your thoughts? 34:33 Well, I mean, I think I want to see two wins, I mean, obviously, but you know, and that's, especially after you've laid it, well, we didn't lay an egg, but we didn't get the results we saw this last weekend. 34:46 We laid a couple of three-period eggs, I'll tell you that. 34:49 Yeah, I mean, we got to make up for it in some way, and so, you know, you kind of have to, I think, at some point kind of say you're going to sweep something that's non-conference, that maybe normally you wouldn't say you would sweep, so I think that's the way you have to look at it this weekend. 35:05 We have to make up for what we didn't accomplish this last weekend. 35:08 What are your thoughts, Vig? 35:09 Kind of what Hammy says there, kind of make up for what happened this past weekend? 35:13 Well, I think it's just learning how to finish a game. 35:16 I thought they played OK for 40 minutes each night, and then they just kind of let the game get away from them. 35:22 They had a chance even on Saturday to tie the game with a power play late, and they just couldn't execute. 35:27 So I hope they get too close games here, that they're able to be challenged in the third and get two wins out of it. 35:34 It's definitely going to be an important weekend for this team. 35:38 Please, let's hope that they're not looking towards the next weekend when number one North Dakota comes into town because obviously that's going to be huge. 35:47 We'll talk about it all next week. 35:49 But no looking forward, guys. 35:51 We need you to go out there. 35:52 We need you to just concentrate on the opponent and not who's coming to your rink the following weekend. 35:58 I'll tell you that. 36:00 Well, I don't really have anything else. 36:02 Do you guys? 36:05 No, not too much. 36:06 Anything going on recruiting, Hammeh? 36:09 Or is it kind of a quiet time of year? 36:11 Yeah, I've been pretty quiet. 36:13 I mean, I'm sure that they're out scouting, you know, Elite League and that kind of stuff. 36:18 But I've been pretty quiet recently. 36:22 And Veegs, you were at Media Day today. 36:25 Did you learn anything interesting at Media Day? 36:27 I learned that there's a reason why the intro video is being delayed. 36:31 It's because someone from GPL, Caught a typo. 36:35 It is Gopher Hockey, not Gophers Hockey. 36:38 So they are making that change and it should be up here relatively shortly. 36:42 Were you the one who spotted that, Veegs? 36:44 I think it was you, actually. 36:48 I don't remember catching anything, did I? 36:49 Someone tweeted at Devin about it. 36:51 He'll be on it. 36:54 He said that was the big hold up. 36:57 Once it gets posted online, you'll see shots of the locker room and stuff, which is pretty spectacular looking back there. 37:02 Devin is a pretty good guy. 37:03 He runs all of that media stuff, all the music and all the videos during the games. 37:11 I must say that they put together a little Brady Bunch thing with Jan and whatever Friday night. 37:17 I don't recall if I heard the Marsha Marsha Marsha thing, but at least Devin and a few other people there at the U get the whole Jan and Marsha thing from the old Brady Bunch. 37:27 I thought that was humorous that they at least did that. 37:31 Kudos to them, but they're usually pretty on top of the things compared to what it was in the past. 37:35 So Devin, we like Devin just for that. 37:40 I'm sure they'll be getting everything ready for the North Dakota Series with the big 7 o'clock and 8 o'clock starts. 37:46 Campus will be a mess for that Saturday game, but they're going to stick to it for their season ticket holders. 37:52 Yeah, I'm thinking also North Dakota said we don't want to stay another night. 37:57 And you know what? 37:59 I don't blame them. 38:00 Well, I think the main thing was the season ticket holders want games on Friday and Saturday nights. 38:04 You can see that they did that with their schedule the whole year. 38:08 That's the emphasis, I think, there. 38:10 And it's just, unfortunately, people, football rules. 38:13 Football rules every other sport, every other function when it comes to the U. 38:16 And when TV says you're going to be at 2.30, you're going to be at 2.30, and that's just the way it is. 38:23 If for some reason it would have been a night game, maybe then they'd probably would have changed things, or maybe they would have moved it to earlier in the day. 38:29 Who knows? 38:30 Well, they said all the Big Ten night games early in the year, so that one's going to be a problem. 38:35 There you go, then. 38:36 I guess we won't worry about it. 38:38 Well, I think that's all we've got for this week, guys. 38:42 Just another East Coast trip. 38:44 All right, I'll send you the audio, and you can post them at the end of this when you put it online. 38:48 So, got my phone working. 38:51 Got your phone working. 38:51 That's good. 38:52 I was getting a little concerned. 38:52 I hadn't seen those files yet. 38:54 So Vegoe, I believe we'll have audio from Ramsey, Johnson, Coach Lucia, anyone else? 39:02 That's it. 39:03 Those are the three. 39:04 Yeah. 39:04 Well, those are the three. 39:05 I'll add those to the end of the podcast here. 39:07 Remember, you can always follow Hammy and Vegoe on Twitter, at eVegoe and at Hammy Hockey. 39:15 We'll be back next week. 39:16 We'll recap this East Coast trip out to the East Coast. 39:22 It's nice to get out there again. 39:24 We'll recap that, and then we'll preview the biggest series that they've had in a long time, when North Dakota returns to Mariucci for the first time. 39:32 It's been over four years, I believe. 39:34 Until then, thanks for listening. 40:05 We created, we forcibly created one. 40:07 Oh, okay. 40:08 Trench line, the trench line. 40:10 Oh, World War I analogy, huh? 40:13 The Penticton V. 40:16 How important is it for you guys to improve your trench play? 40:19 Well, that's obviously been a focus all week long, and we talked to guys that, you know what, we were just going to have to change the way we practice. 40:27 We have to be better on the walls, we have to be better below the circles on each end of the rink. 40:34 We're not getting enough end zone offensive time for possession, and then the same thing in our end. 40:39 I mean, you got to defend, you got to get people off pucks. 40:42 Now, I think a lot of people are trying to figure out, you know, how you defend without taking penalties. 40:46 So that, and we've had some of those discussions, do we change the way we want to do it, you know, so we don't, we're not grabbing guys, should we keep more two hands on our sticks, you're not worried about grabbing. 40:57 And that's obviously a big concern as you head out east, because when you look at the disparity in penalties between east and west, there's almost double, it seems like power plays in a game out east and there is out west, so that has to be an emphasis. 41:10 But we've done a lot more five on five this week than we normally do, just to try to get us more in the mindset that, you know, when you lose a puck, you got to get it back. 41:21 And it's easy to get it back when you have numbers all the time and drills you're doing, it's a lot harder when it's even up. 41:28 Gophers' first ever trip to Potsdam, have you been there before? 41:30 Never have. 41:31 No, never have. 41:32 Never been to Clarkson or St. 41:34 Lawrence. 41:34 And a lot of tradition in their programs. 41:37 And so when we set this up, it was probably three years ago or more, that I thought it'd be a good trip for guys, an area of a country they'd never been, much like Vermont a couple of years ago, and some good old ranks and good programs. 41:51 I think both teams are certainly NCAA caliber worthy opponents. 41:56 And I think they've showed that last year and they're certainly showing it so far this year. 42:00 Do you have kind of a travel partner relationship with Wisconsin? 42:03 No, I didn't even know until, I think, this last year that they were even going. 42:08 I mean, when we originally set it up, I just said, hey, the only thing I want is to make sure whoever we're playing on Saturday plays Friday night. 42:15 Because a couple of years ago, we were out in BC. 42:16 It's like we play Friday in Northeastern. 42:18 We're sitting there waiting for us on Saturday. 42:21 And so I said, I don't care who they play. 42:23 I just want them to have a game on Friday night. 42:25 So I thought it was somebody else. 42:29 So I don't know how it developed with Wisconsin being there, too. 42:32 But that works out fine. 42:33 How are you approaching playing two different teams this weekend in two games? 42:35 Well, we'll do our video and all of our work from the coach's end of it during the week. 42:43 So that's all done. 42:45 But our preparation is on Clarkson. 42:46 And then we're worried about St. 42:48 Lawrence on Saturday. 42:49 A couple of unfamiliar opponents. 42:51 You know, it's a long trip. 42:53 Knowing that North Dakota is looming on the schedule, do you have to take pains to avoid looking ahead? 42:57 No, I mean, no. 42:59 You know, we're in such a week-to-week deal with what we do that I don't think there's any thought process of what's going to happen a week from now. 43:08 I mean, we want to use this week. 43:10 We want to try to get better in some areas. 43:12 I think we're disappointed that, you know, we didn't come away with anything on the weekend when, you know, you have a three-goal lead and a two-goal lead. 43:17 You know, that doesn't happen very often. 43:19 But so we want to analyze the areas of our game we want to get better at and we want to work on that. 43:25 Did you have a sense this team was not going to have a lot of trouble scoring? 43:28 I mean, sometimes a talented team just, the goal-spin can be fleeting. 43:31 You got good teams in a show and this team comes out of the gate scoring. 43:34 Well, I mean, we've scored, but I mean, there's areas of our offense that has to get better. 43:39 And we see that, you know, some pucks went in probably both ways the weekend that don't normally are going to go in. 43:47 So you're not going to win many games, giving up six and giving up even giving up three. 43:51 That's just not the way it is. 43:52 So we have to buckle down defensively. 43:55 I mean, we have to, you know, get a kill at the key moment. 43:57 We got to have a key save at that critical moment of a game. 44:01 And then, you know, you have to have some pushback. 44:03 I mean, obviously, on Friday, you think the game's in hand, you're up by two or three with ten minutes ago. 44:09 And then, you know, you don't pick up a back check and momentum changes. 44:12 We could never get it back. 44:13 I think the guys came on Saturday, had a good pushback and had a good first period. 44:16 But, you know, then we need to score another goal, hit a couple pipes. 44:19 But, you know, then, then, then, then, end up finishing and even getting a tie out of Saturday night. 44:24 Tyler, she got to a really nice start. 44:26 He points to the first few games. 44:27 What do you really like? 44:28 Well, I mean, Tyler's a really good offensive player. 44:31 And, you know, you can kind of throw him with anybody. 44:33 He's just going to kind of do his thing. 44:35 And he's one of those guys, when he gets the puck in a scoring area, that he can finish. 44:38 Not everybody has the ability to do that. 44:40 But he has shown in this year plus here that he can do that. 44:44 And he's off to a nice start. 44:46 You know, we had him with Tommy Novak. 44:49 We actually have him back with Kloos today. 44:51 I don't know what we're going to do tomorrow with our lines. 44:53 But we kind of moved things around. 44:54 We don't want to get too set this early on, you know, what are the best combinations. 44:58 We still have to search that out. 44:59 What did you see last weekend with the fourth line? 45:03 Well, I don't call them our fourth line. 45:04 I mean, I during the course of the four games that we've moved people around, I mean, we've elevated both Romo and Ramsey, you know, critical moments of games that, you know, late in games, you're near your head by a goal, and we're going to put them on the ice because they're responsible. 45:21 I think they've been our most consistent. 45:23 Those two players have planned the game the right way with a little heaviness to their game, getting on top of Pucks possessing it. 45:29 And that's why that, who's ever played with them has, that line has had the most success in the offensive zone. 45:37 Not, I'm not talking about rush, rushes, but I'm talking about getting Pucks back below the goal line. 45:42 I'm, you know, creating offense like how Ramsey scored, you know, Gates had a couple of goals up in Alaska. 45:47 So that line has consistently created end zone offense better than any other line. 45:52 Jack wants a trench line. 45:53 Is he okay with that? 45:54 Yeah, I don't care what they call it. 45:55 You know, just we want him to keep working. 45:57 Yeah, you know what? 45:58 And I'm happy for both because they're more lunch pail type of guys and, you know, Romanco was a guy that played a couple of years in the North American League and, you know, kind of an unsung type of guy and he's a good penalty killer. 46:12 He's improved. 46:13 Both he and Rammer have really improved from a year ago and that's why I don't... 46:18 You know, last year there was a definitely... 46:19 we had a fourth line. 46:20 I don't look at that. 46:21 It's, you know, who's gonna play with them. 46:23 It's more about how do we compliment all the lines because, I mean, there's... 46:28 I think we have pretty good balance now. 46:29 Are they the same skill as a couple other guys in other lines? 46:32 No, but they're scoring a different way and probably in this day and age the right way how you have to score goals because everything's not going to be fancy coming down the rink in odd man situations where you can move the puck around. 46:43 I mean, you got to get below the top of the circle to work to score goals this day and age. 46:47 How do you get that responsible mentality to translate to your other lines? 46:51 Well, you got to work at it. 46:53 Yeah, we have to work at that. 46:56 And it's early in the season. 47:00 So the first three games came too easy in some ways. 47:03 And so you have a false sense of where you're at. 47:07 And I think this past weekend you get exposed a little bit of the areas of your game that you have to work on. 47:16 And when I watch the film and all the coaches watch, and when we clipped and discussed it, that our emphasis is on our wall play, our emphasis is on playing below the tops of the circle. 47:28 You wanted more wall play and practice this week. 47:30 Are you pleased with the progress on that? 47:32 Yeah, I mean, it doesn't happen overnight. 47:34 But like anything, when you practice on a big rink a lot, that you can make more tape to tape passes. 47:41 And you get back in a small rink, you have to indirect and chip and play a little bit more of that type of hockey. 47:47 And taking care of the puck becomes critical. 47:51 Maybe you play a team that doesn't come back at you and put it in the net. 47:54 And you play a better team that has a skill level and you make that mistake and transition, you're going to give up that odd man rush and give up a goal. 48:03 What specifically did Camerota bring to the Ramsey-Ramenko line this weekend? 48:07 Well, he made a heck of a play on the one goal. 48:10 He stripped the puck off the four check and it was a quick pass to Ramenko, pass to Rammer for the one timer. 48:17 But I like Cammie's game. 48:19 You know, we had him there because of his, you know, I thought that his skill with those two guys would complement and they did. 48:25 And then we kind of moved some of the guys around during the course of the game on Saturday. 48:31 Everybody healthy going into the weekend? 48:32 Yeah, yeah, we're healthy. 48:34 Goal timing situation, any concerns about giving up the goals? 48:37 No, I mean, you know what, I knew he'd bounce back. 48:41 I mean, those are tough goals, the fourth and fifth goal. 48:46 But his history is when he lets in a few like that, that he usually comes back the next night and has a good sound game, and that's what he did last weekend. 48:55 All right. 48:58 What do you take from last weekend? 49:01 Yeah, last weekend obviously it was pretty tough. 49:04 You know, having to lead versus St. 49:06 Cloud in state rival and ended up blowing it, both games. 49:10 It's obviously tough and it's disappointing and it's unacceptable. 49:13 So, we got to learn to finish games and that's kind of our biggest takeaway is to, you know, be able to finish games and play the right way. 49:21 You guys have seen the records against in-state teams. 49:23 You know, it's not very good. 49:24 Is that in your heads? 49:25 Definitely. 49:26 Yeah, I mean, Minnesota, University of Minnesota, it should be the best school in Minnesota. 49:30 So, you know, we look at the record in state teams and, like I said, it's unacceptable. 49:37 And we just got to learn to play our game and get Puck Steve and go to work and play the game the right way. 49:43 Head up to Upstate New York for a couple of games this weekend. 49:45 The Gophers have never been there. 49:46 Excited? 49:47 Yeah, very excited. 49:49 I've never been there. 49:50 I know most of the other guys haven't been there. 49:52 So we're going to play two premier opponents and, you know, they're both really good teams and it's a business trip for sure, especially coming off last weekend. 50:01 And, you know, we got to learn to, you know, like I said, play our game and hopefully that will earn us two big Ws. 50:07 Did you guys have a sense going into this year that goal scoring was not going to be a problem? 50:10 I mean, one thing you guys have done this year is put a lot of bucks in the net. 50:12 Yeah, I mean, I think we've gotten a lot of bounces out of our way, for sure, in the offensive zone. 50:17 But on the other hand, sometimes in the defensive zone, you don't get bounces. 50:20 So we had a lot of guys that came back, especially our sophomore class this year, you know, have done a really good job in playing the game the right way and playing our systems the right way. 50:30 So shout out to the sophomore class. 50:32 But yeah, I mean, you know, our offensive capabilities are there and we know that. 50:35 And we just got to continue to do what we do to. 50:38 Long trip this weekend, a couple of opponents you don't know very well and you know what's on the schedule the next weekend with North Dakota living out there. 50:44 How do you avoid looking ahead? 50:46 You know, right now, like we said, I think all of us are, I think we're pretty good at, you know, looking straight ahead and not looking too far. 50:53 Obviously in the back of our minds, we know that we're playing North Dakota in two weekends. 50:55 And, you know, it's one of the biggest rallies in college hockey, so. 50:59 But right now we got to focus on Clarkson and St. 51:01 Lawrence and hopefully get two big wins there. 51:04 And that will carry us really well in the next weekend. 51:06 Your coach has mentioned wall battles and zone exits is being key for you guys with turnovers. 51:12 Have you noticed a change in practice after this past weekend? 51:14 Yeah, for sure. 51:15 I think coach has actually structured practice a little differently. 51:19 We've been working on a lot of wall battles, like you said, and wall plays and again, pucks either in their zone on the blue line or if it's in our zone to get pucks out right in the blue line. 51:27 So, like he said, coach has been really stressing on wall plays and wall battles and especially near the blue lines both offensively and defensively. 51:36 So, we really got to focus on that this weekend. 51:38 Gino, that's a big change in those aspects of the game going from Alaska, the U18 team to St. 51:42 Cloud. 51:43 Yeah, I mean, obviously, I think St. 51:44 Cloud's a really good team. 51:45 We all know that and especially coming off when we play the U18 team, you know, they're a little younger team and St. 51:51 Cloud is made up of a lot of veterans and guys who've played junior. 51:53 So, you know, like I said, you know, they're really disciplined and they did the wall plays really well. 51:58 And so that was definitely a change for us. 52:00 But, you know, we got to focus on it as well and focus on our team and do those wall plays, like you said, and stress on those this weekend. 52:08 You play on the big ice sheet, you know, and that's obviously an advantage to you when you're used to that extra space. 52:14 Do you sense it when you play a team like St. 52:16 Cloud that also plays on the big sheet that kind of they know the moves and they, you know, they sense some of that stuff? 52:21 Yeah, yeah, I mean, definitely. 52:23 I mean, like you said, they have Olympic rent there too. 52:25 So they're used to it and they're used to the big ice out there. 52:29 And, you know, there's a lot more room and stuff. 52:31 And so it's definitely something that's in the back of our minds. 52:35 But at the end of the day, you just got to go out there and play hockey. 52:37 And no matter what, no matter if it's regular ice or Olympic ice, you just got to go out there and play hockey. 52:43 You've been paired every game with Jack Sadick so far. 52:45 And you guys are either even or plus every single game, too. 52:48 So there's really some good chemistry between the two of you. 52:51 Yeah, Jack's, you know, really highly skilled. 52:54 I like playing with him. 52:55 And we really stress being a plus player at the end of the night. 53:00 And obviously, we're defensemen. 53:02 And that's our job is to play defense and keep pucks out of the net. 53:05 And if we can join the play and stuff, that's what we'll do. 53:08 So but the first job is to keep pucks out of the net. 53:12 And for us being plus so far this year is great. 53:15 And like I said, we got to continue to do that. 53:20 What do you know about these guys that you're playing this weekend? 53:23 I mean, not too much. 53:24 You know, you have as much video as you can from the start of the year, which is not too many games. 53:28 So coaches picked it apart pretty good. 53:31 But I think going into the series, it's all about us. 53:33 You know, last weekend was definitely a let down for us. 53:35 And, you know, look at our game and kind of figure out some things. 53:38 So going on this weekend, it's definitely about the Gophers. 53:41 Do you guys have a sense of the beginning of this year that offense wasn't going to be an issue when you guys have been putting some pucks in the net? 53:46 Yeah, I know guys practicing in the summer and stuff, you could tell guys hands were better. 53:50 Some guys stepped it up. 53:52 Our blue line has been a lot better than last year. 53:54 I think we've already passed our goal total for last year. 53:57 Not too many games in. 53:58 So it's definitely been good. 54:02 We'd like to create more chances in the zone five on five. 54:05 But other than that, power play has been great so far. 54:08 How did you feel skating with Romanko and Camerana last week? 54:12 Good. 54:13 I've been with Romanko for over a year now, so we're starting to click pretty well. 54:18 Definitely have some on ice chemistry. 54:20 After practice, I love passing the puck around with Cammie, so I felt going into the weekend I'd have some chemistry with him. 54:25 And first shift, got one in the back of the neck, great fore-track by Cammie and great pass by Darian. 54:30 So it felt pretty good. 54:32 How much of a relief was your first career goal last weekend? 54:35 Well, I don't know if you guys were watching it live, but you probably saw I ended up in my butt in the celebration. 54:39 So I was pretty excited. 54:41 It's a huge relief. 54:42 So hopefully get that monkey off my back and I can relax a little bit more going into games. 54:48 Kind of having to keep going on and on and coming close towards the end of last year, but not getting it. 54:52 Does it kind of just build up inside you? 54:54 Yeah, no, it definitely built up inside of me. 54:56 I remember going in the playoffs last year that Coach Patoni told me a couple of guys have scored their first goal in the playoffs before. 55:05 It's been huge. 55:06 I know Justin Holler, the goal against North Dakota, that was his first goal of the year. 55:08 So going into playoffs here at something like that, huge sigh of relief. 55:12 Unfortunately, I didn't score, but got it out of the way this year really. 55:15 Gripping that stick not quite as tight now? 55:17 Yeah, definitely not quite as tight. 55:19 Darien and I got a couple of two-on-ones in the game. 55:22 I feel bad I looked them off and I shot her in the goalie's face. 55:26 But definitely a little more confidence in practice and will not shoot in the puck. 55:30 So I think that's something I needed. 55:33 Coach Lucia has really complimented your play and Darien's play along the walls and battling to get pucks zone to zone to zone. 55:40 That's something you bring to practice to try to get the other lines doing that? 55:44 Yeah, I mean, it's something that the coaches harp on and I think it needs to be harped on. 55:48 It's something that's important. 55:49 You get the puck behind the other team's defensemen and behind the goal line. 55:53 You wear teams down. 55:54 But that's something that Darien and I try to focus on. 55:56 We're bigger guys. 55:57 So if we can get our bodies in there, wear down the other team's deal, it'll help out our top lines. 56:02 Do you think the speed limits picking up in practice this week in terms of battles? 56:05 Yes, definitely. 56:06 We've had a lot of five on five play, a lot of in corner, small zone stuff. 56:12 It's been intense, so we need to focus on that and bring that into this weekend. 56:16 Without the postseason check out for you guys last season, how important is it for you to get ahead in these non-conference games, especially after last weekend? 56:23 Yeah, that's huge. 56:24 That's why I think last weekend was such a disappointment and looking back on last year, could have been two games that we blew in the third period that would have put us in the tournament. 56:32 So that's definitely inside our head after last weekend. 56:35 And now we get to look forward to more non-conference games and, you know, put teams away is what we need to focus on. 56:43 We need a nickname for your line, especially for you and Darien. 56:46 We could call you Water Bugs if you like. 56:50 Unless you have something better. 56:51 What would you like to say? 56:51 Too big to be Water Bugs. 56:53 Yeah. 56:54 No, I probably prefer the Trench Line. 56:56 I mean, I was on what we had in juniors, the Penticton Vs. 57:00 We had a Trench Line. 57:01 We were always in the corners and whatnot, mucking and grinding. 57:03 So, you know, we're always behind the goal line and getting deep. 57:06 So, if you want to call us a Trench Line, go ahead. 57:08 You're good. 57:11 This weekend, it's rare to get to pick your own name. 57:13 Yeah, that's true. 57:15 Nice of you to let him do that. 57:16 Thank you, Jack. 57:17 All right. 57:17 Thanks, guys.