Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

After a long off season...Gopher hockey kicks off with the first team meeting next Tuesday. Motzko interview at the State Fair.

Makes me even more anxious for the season to start!

Oct. 6 vs. UMD can't come too soon.

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

Oct. 6 vs. UMD can't come too soon.

Sure hope the schedule is updated soon to show game times and TV information. Trying to update my calendar through the end of the year, and not having the schedule finalized makes this impossible. I do have the women's schedule plugged in...

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

Sure hope the schedule is updated soon to show game times and TV information. Trying to update my calendar through the end of the year, and not having the schedule finalized makes this impossible. I do have the women's schedule plugged in...

BTN tends to be slow with posting their B1G hockey schedule. I wouldn't be surprised if the schedule isn't announced until the end of Sept.

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

BTN tends to be slow with posting their B1G hockey schedule. I wouldn't be surprised if the schedule isn't announced until the end of Sept.

I know, it's mostly driven by television. When FSN was doing almost all of the games figuring out the game times wasn't nearly as complicated.

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

Chris McAlpine, new assistant coach. I think keeping one alum on the staff is wise. While a lot think it is important to keep all the alums from getting ****ed off, I think it is a bigger deal to have a guy who can give a pitch to potential recruits what it feels like to put on the M.

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

Alumnus...check. His most notable achievement for the Gophers? McAlpine is the all-time career penalties leader with 208. He ranks second in penalty minutes with 453, 20 short of Matt DeMarchi.

Interesting hire by Motzko. He has plenty of gritty player experience on the blueline, but no coaching experience. I assume he'll handle special teams in place of Bell.

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

Chris McAlpine, new assistant coach. I think keeping one alum on the staff is wise. While a lot think it is important to keep all the alums from getting ****ed off, I think it is a bigger deal to have a guy who can give a pitch to potential recruits what it feels like to put on the M.

Having an alum/coach like McAlpine who has networking expertise and an eye for talented recruits in much the same way Bell did as an NHL scout most likely played a significant role in Motzko's decision.

But from a coaching standpoint, I'm in a "wait and see" mode to see what improvements he makes assuming his focus will be on special teams play. I suspect he may have an expanded role that might include working with Raboin and the D too.

I must admit it surprised me that Motzko went after someone who has been a NHL player representative for 11 years with no coaching experience. He certainly comes in with a wealth of hockey knowledge to impart to the players as a former NHL player and Gopher. But being an agent or as we found out, an NHL scout sometimes does not translate into success in NCAA D1 coaching.

Bell received mixed reviews in his one season as an assistant for the Gophers. He made an impact in recruiting upper midwest players and had a great eye for talent, but was lacking at times in his coaching style. Under Bell's leadership, the Gophers were an abysmal 15% on the PP and overall scoring was down, two areas where Bell was supposedly influential. Had the PP been more successful last season, perhaps the Gophers wouldn't have been eliminated from the postseason by .0002 in the PWR.

[ThePowerConference]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

The one memory I have from McAlpine was when he lost his helmet and just kept cruising around the ice without it like nothing ever happened. This was obviously years ago when they didn't stop the play because of a player losing his helmet.

[St. Clown]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

Alumnus...check. His most notable achievement for the Gophers? McAlpine is the all-time career penalties leader with 208. He ranks second in penalty minutes with 453, 20 short of Matt DeMarchi.

Interesting hire by Motzko. He has plenty of gritty player experience on the blueline, but no coaching experience. I assume he'll handle special teams in place of Bell.

It's interesting as Motzko always tried to keep a clean, finesse game at SCSU. McAlpine...not so much.

[SCBlueLiner]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

Thursday was the 25th birthday for Mariucci Arena.

Some "here's your offseason Gopher hockey fix" highlights from years past:

HIGHLIGHT 1
HIGHLIGHT 2
HIGHLIGHT 3
HIGHLIGHT 4

Highlight 1, I remember that game, kind of. Hammered down PBR tall boys at Stub & Herb's before the game and was doing shots with UND fans at Sally's afterwards. Fun night! That was 10 years ago? Dang, time has flown.

[Bonin21]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

It's interesting as Motzko always tried to keep a clean, finesse game at SCSU. McAlpine...not so much.

He has never coached so how can you say this... Anyways, I'm very excited to have a guy like him on the staff. Gophers have been SOFT for way too many years.

Would have liked a former forward on the staff but let's see how it goes.

[St. Clown]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

He has never coached so how can you say this... Anyways, I'm very excited to have a guy like him on the staff. Gophers have been SOFT for way too many years.

Would have liked a former forward on the staff but let's see how it goes.

Yes, McAlpine is going to coach in a fashion of Don't Do What Donny Don't Did.

[Slap Shot]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

While McAlpine loved to hit he had 53 pts in 77 games his final two years including 26 goals so he's not completely oblivious to that aspect of the game.

[goofy gopher]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

If he helps out on special teams as some here have referenced he was a very good special teamer as a player with gophs and nhl. All American. Hellavu shot from the point. Like alot of the great gophers dmen they can operate the point and work that power play.

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gophers Season Off-Season Thread 2018

If he helps out on special teams as some here have referenced he was a very good special teamer as a player with gophs and nhl. All American. Hellavu shot from the point. Like alot of the great gophers dmen they can operate the point and work that power play.

Saw something on GPL this might not be official yet? And while I liked McAlpine as a player, and he should have some traits to be able to work with prospective players, I would have liked a little more coaching experience. Time will tell.

On the other hand, just splurged on tickets to Duluth game in Duluth. Hopefully the Gophs play a better game than the one last year, so I can feel like I got money's worth.