Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

[shelfit]

No penalty here. I was referring to coaches who have left since program inception, 50%. Very telling for a brand new program. Wish I could start a Merrimack thread but, yawn, no audience!!! Yet???

Boo, hiss! The term "stay tuned" implies a current and/or upcoming news item. Get in the penalty box. Backtracking to old news that isn't telling at all (assistant coaches come and go much more frequently than head coaches) and that nobody really cares about is going to cost you a 10 minute misconduct. The truth is you had no news at all.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

Zoom Boom had a beauty today on the power play. Saw her do it a few time in HS. If you give her space she will fire and is deadly accurate hitting the corners. Teams are going to have to assign a gaurd for her even if they are short handed.

No doubt, Zoom Boom can shoot the puck. Definitely worth the price of admission to see her do her thing.

Evidently, Sidney Peters is like a box of chocolates...You never know what you're going to get.

[Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

The Gophers played 50 minutes of very good hockey, followed by a 10 minute high wire act to hold on for the win. They weren't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I was pleased by what I watched. They had trouble keeping the puck in the offensive end, but a lot of that is attributable to obvious orders to make sure they stopped giving up the odd man rushes they did last week. In the long run, they need to find a happy medium there, but for right now, it was better that they erred on the side of being too conservative rather than too aggressive.

The defensemen still have a long way to go, and they all had bad moments even during the stretches where the team played well. And, when things went bad towards the end, it was the blueliners that led the way. The officiating was scandalous, and that contributed to the struggles down the stretch, but Minnesotsa wilted under the pressure. When the Gophers went down two players for the second time, they came unglued. There was a horrible change, through which they played down an extra player for almost ten seconds before Emily Brown jumped on, and then another bad change that was partially responsible for the goal they allowed. That was compounded by Katie Robinson coming to a complete stop and then waving feebly at Abby Halluska before she deposited the puck into the top corner of the net; Peters was absolutely not to blame for the Bemidji goal, and really played a very strong game. From there, it was a white-knuckle job of holding on until Wente put one into the empty net with under 4 seconds to play. (As an aside, this was a prototype example of why coaches are too risk averse when they tell players to avoid the risk of icing the puck with an empty net at the other end.)

Still, there was a lot to like about the first 50 minutes of the game. All of the defensemen struggled, but today they did so in ways that one can look at from the right angle and see how they could improve. For the most part, I loved the way the forwards played through the midway point of the third. There was a commitment to backchecking, especially notable from Caitlyn Reilly. Grace Zumwinkle had a couple of moments where it's clear that she needs to learn that the quality of competition is much higher than she is used to, but the upside that she brings is achingly obviously. Alex Woken was again tremendous, though you won't find her name attached to any useful statistics other than being +2.

This was what I wanted to see from them today, and they delivered. There's five months to go in which they can improve, but this was a good first step.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

The Gophers played 50 minutes of very good hockey, followed by a 10 minute high wire act to hold on for the win. They weren't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I was pleased by what I watched. They had trouble keeping the puck in the offensive end, but a lot of that is attributable to obvious orders to make sure they stopped giving up the odd man rushes they did last week. In the long run, they need to find a happy medium there, but for right now, it was better that they erred on the side of being too conservative rather than too aggressive.

The defensemen still have a long way to go, and they all had bad moments even during the stretches where the team played well. And, when things went bad towards the end, it was the blueliners that led the way. The officiating was scandalous, and that contributed to the struggles down the stretch, but Minnesotsa wilted under the pressure. When the Gophers went down two players for the second time, they came unglued. There was a horrible change, through which they played down an extra player for almost ten seconds before Emily Brown jumped on, and then another bad change that was partially responsible for the goal they allowed. That was compounded by Katie Robinson coming to a complete stop and then waving feebly at Abby Halluska before she deposited the puck into the top corner of the net; Peters was absolutely not to blame for the Bemidji goal, and really played a very strong game. From there, it was a white-knuckle job of holding on until Wente put one into the empty net with under 4 seconds to play. (As an aside, this was a prototype example of why coaches are too risk averse when they tell players to avoid the risk of icing the puck with an empty net at the other end.)

Still, there was a lot to like about the first 50 minutes of the game. All of the defensemen struggled, but today they did so in ways that one can look at from the right angle and see how they could improve. For the most part, I loved the way the forwards played through the midway point of the third. There was a commitment to backchecking, especially notable from Caitlyn Reilly. Grace Zumwinkle had a couple of moments where it's clear that she needs to learn that the quality of competition is much higher than she is used to, but the upside that she brings is achingly obviously. Alex Woken was again tremendous, though you won't find her name attached to any useful statistics other than being +2.

This was what I wanted to see from them today, and they delivered. There's five months to go in which they can improve, but this was a good first step.

Really nothing much to add here as this is very solid analysis. It was nice to see Peters rebound from the opening game yips. Confidence and a short memory will help her consistency.

[ARM]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

The Gophers played 50 minutes of very good hockey, followed by a 10 minute high wire act to hold on for the win. ...
This was what I wanted to see from them today, and they delivered.

From my perspective, one of the most troubling aspects to the season thus far has been the way Minnesota has finished games. You say that the Gophers were shaky down the stretch yesterday. They were badly outplayed in OT by OSU. In the Friday night loss to the Buckeyes, it took a long time to be able to pull Gulstene and they weren't able to generate any serious threats late. In the opening loss to Merrimack, it seemed like the puck was along the rail for the entire third period whenever they got it into the offensive zone; that was where the Warriors, and they were able to dictate terms.

At the end of a close game, it usually becomes apparent as to which is the better team. That team may not win on the given day because the clock runs out or the bounces don't cooperate, but you see an indication of superiority.

For years, Minnesota was almost always the better team at the end. Between the loss to UMD in 2012 and the loss to Clarkson in the 2014 Championship, they may have looked like the better team every time, including the two losses to UND in that stretch. This year, I have to use some sharply-tinted homer glasses to see the Gophers as being superior at the end.

There is obviously a lot of season left and a long time to improve. One of the things that they'll need is to have some success that will build confidence. That way, when a line goes out there for a late shift, it can do so with the belief that it can impose its will on the opponent. Right now, it looks a bit like, "Hey, we're the better team! What, you don't think so? Oh, okay, you may be right."

[Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

I agree with pretty much everything ARM just wrote, save that I'm less convinced that it's the play at the end of the game that measures a team's real quality. The last ten minutes are certainly important, but you still have to put yourself in the position where they matter. Given the number of times over the years that we've complained that a bad first ten minutes cost us a game, there's a lot of, "The last ten minutes are the most telling about a team's quality, except for all of the other ten minute stretches," going on.

Still, I agree finishing strong is important, and this year's edition hasn't shown any ability at it so far. Fortunately, I think this is one of the more learnable traits. This remains a very young team, and I'm still questioning the senior leadership. I'm not surprised that they are prone to some panic at the end of a tight game, and if your focus is on the long term, there are a lot worse deficiencies to have at this point, even though we likely aren't done with it producing some frustrating losses in the short run.

It's one of the things that are going to make this season both a challenge and a benchmark for the coaching staff.

[pokechecker]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

No doubt, Zoom Boom can shoot the puck. Definitely worth the price of admission to see her do her thing.

Evidently, Sidney Peters is like a box of chocolates...You never know what you're going to get.

last year Peters in the 1st part of the season would give up a goal or two early in the game, then play tough the rest of the way, in the latter part of the season she played great after sitting in favor of May, maybe she just needs to start the game thinking they are behind and she's in danger of losing her job (which I guess she is if there is a repeat of the first game)

and yeah, what is going on with the website, I appreciate the Blonde Bomber in the bikini that showed up on my screen, but the rest I can live without

[ne7minder]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

It was a fun game to watch. BSU has been a thorn in MNs side for years now and we had better teams come up here and not end up with 6 points. Both teams played hard and there was not as much crap as went on yesterday. The stripers still let a lot of things go and then randomly decided to call something. Peters looked solid again which is good. It looks like the team is coming together and despite their struggles they will do OK.

[ne7minder]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

. . . This year, I have to use some sharply-tinted homer glasses to see the Gophers as being superior at the end. . . .

So what do you make of yesterdays tilt? The Gophers did not look the best in the final couple of minutes of the third but totally owned the OT.

OSU certainly dominated at the end when they needed to but a part of that I think was this years team to run around for stretches. BSU did it yesterday for a couple of really ugly minutes that ended with the puck behind Peters. That could be because the other team is better but it also could be panicking when things go off kilter. On offense you want to create chaos on defense you want to avoid it but it happens to every time at times.

I half agree with your thought that the better team will exert its will when it has to but the other half is that stuff happens even to the better team sometimes.

[ne7minder]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

The Gophers played 50 minutes of very good hockey, followed by a 10 minute high wire act to hold on for the win. They weren't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I was pleased by what I watched. They had trouble keeping the puck in the offensive end, but a lot of that is attributable to obvious orders to make sure they stopped giving up the odd man rushes they did last week. In the long run, they need to find a happy medium there, but for right now, it was better that they erred on the side of being too conservative rather than too aggressive.

The defensemen still have a long way to go, and they all had bad moments even during the stretches where the team played well. And, when things went bad towards the end, it was the blueliners that led the way. The officiating was scandalous, and that contributed to the struggles down the stretch, but Minnesotsa wilted under the pressure. When the Gophers went down two players for the second time, they came unglued. There was a horrible change, through which they played down an extra player for almost ten seconds before Emily Brown jumped on, and then another bad change that was partially responsible for the goal they allowed. That was compounded by Katie Robinson coming to a complete stop and then waving feebly at Abby Halluska before she deposited the puck into the top corner of the net; Peters was absolutely not to blame for the Bemidji goal, and really played a very strong game. From there, it was a white-knuckle job of holding on until Wente put one into the empty net with under 4 seconds to play. (As an aside, this was a prototype example of why coaches are too risk averse when they tell players to avoid the risk of icing the puck with an empty net at the other end.)

Still, there was a lot to like about the first 50 minutes of the game. All of the defensemen struggled, but today they did so in ways that one can look at from the right angle and see how they could improve. For the most part, I loved the way the forwards played through the midway point of the third. There was a commitment to backchecking, especially notable from Caitlyn Reilly. Grace Zumwinkle had a couple of moments where it's clear that she needs to learn that the quality of competition is much higher than she is used to, but the upside that she brings is achingly obviously. Alex Woken was again tremendous, though you won't find her name attached to any useful statistics other than being +2.

This was what I wanted to see from them today, and they delivered. There's five months to go in which they can improve, but this was a good first step.

Mostly agree with this but wanted to add a couple of observations. The Beavers had 5 on 3 advantages for 53 seconds total and got ZERO shots on goal so the bad change didn't appear to hurt them. BSU also got no SOG during the 5 on 4 that followed the 5 on 3s. The penalty kill is still very very good I just wish they didn't have as many opportunities to display that. We got the same putrid officiating today but apparently they decided to favor MN a bit Saturday.

[Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

BSU also got no SOG during the 5 on 4 that followed the 5 on 3s.

This is incorrect. Bemidji's only goal in the Friday game came during the 5-on-4 power play after the second 5-on-3. I agree that the kill has looked very good overall, but that particular shorthanded situation was a running disaster that eventually cost them.

[ne7minder]

This is incorrect. Bemidji's only goal in the Friday game came during the 5-on-4 power play after the second 5-on-3. I agree that the kill has looked very good overall, but that particular shorthanded situation was a running disaster that eventually cost them.

I thought the penalty had expired.

[ARM]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

I thought the penalty had expired.

Dan and the box score also disagree with you. It was a PP goal.

[ne7minder]

Dan and the box score also disagree with you. It was a PP goal.

They would know.

[Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers 2017-18 Season Thread

Dan and the box score also disagree with you. It was a PP goal.

Even if the clock had expired on the penalty, it would still have been a power play goal for all analytical purposes, especially in this case, where the chaos that the PK had descended to would have been the proximate cause. I generally consider that a kill really ends once the team has managed to get a line change, or at least get the puck to the other end, so that they can reset.