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Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

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  • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

    Interested to know what your guys' candid assessment of Mankato is. I thought they had a pretty dam good hockey team. Don't know much about their roster, but if they develop, they could do some damage next spring. This might be the strongest Minnesota field in recent memory. SCSU, UMD, and Mankato are all very good. The Gophers will get there, IMO. Even Bemidji is pretty strong.

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    • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

      Originally posted by burd View Post
      Interested to know what your guys' candid assessment of Mankato is. I thought they had a pretty dam good hockey team. Don't know much about their roster, but if they develop, they could do some damage next spring. This might be the strongest Minnesota field in recent memory. SCSU, UMD, and Mankato are all very good. The Gophers will get there, IMO. Even Bemidji is pretty strong.
      The radio guys summed it up best: they are efficient.

      They make the most of any opportunity given to them. They aren't high-flying, they aren't a trap team. They play like a machine. I think they will create a bit of noise in the NCAA tournament. Can't say if they'll win it all, given the one-n-done format, since anything can happen, but wouldn't bet against them right now.
      Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
      Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

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      • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

        Originally posted by Brenthoven View Post
        The radio guys summed it up best: they are efficient.

        They make the most of any opportunity given to them. They aren't high-flying, they aren't a trap team. They play like a machine. I think they will create a bit of noise in the NCAA tournament. Can't say if they'll win it all, given the one-n-done format, since anything can happen, but wouldn't bet against them right now.
        That sounds like good coaching. And some good talent.

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        • Originally posted by SteveO View Post
          Tap-ins? Both goals were low shots from the top of the crease into the 5-hole. Those weren't tap-ins. First G was b-slide with no paddle, second was a rebound off of Novak's stick laid out in front for a shot and another b-slide by Robson with no paddle. On a b-slide a goalie has to have the paddle down, even a slant is ok to plug the 'funnel' on the blocker side.
          They were a one timer from a high scoring chance area and a rebound after a save in close IRRC. Just bad defense and the fourth goal was another one timer from a high danger area again. Not saying he can’t play better than that because he obviously can but it’s not gonna happen every week nor is that a realistic expectation. This team needs to learn how to score or even create sustained pressure if it wants to make the playoffs. Hasek would’ve gotten swept with that offense.

          As for starting Schierhorn I’d rather just go with the guy who’s been better in the long run on average.
          Last edited by trixR4kids; 11-04-2018, 05:17 PM.

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          • Originally posted by burd View Post
            That sounds like good coaching. And some good talent.
            And we at MSU thank you for taking Motzko over Hastings. He has done wonders for us. He gets the most of what he has. Motzko will do the same at the U but I was worried that UofM might come calling when Lucia left
            Last edited by MavsFan19; 11-04-2018, 05:30 PM.
            All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity. - Gordie Howe

            Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks

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            • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

              Originally posted by MavsFan19 View Post
              And we at MSU thank you for taking Motzko over Hastings. He has done wonders for us. He gets the most of what he has. Motzko will do the same at the U but I was worried that UofM might come calling when Lucia left
              I second this.
              My guy is a hard-nosed hockey player who is not afraid to crash the net. Your guy is a goon who runs the goalie.

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              • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                Was hoping for more especially Friday night. No excuses to play that way against a very good team at home knowing you just crapped the bed the week before.

                Hoping Bob can light a fire under them this week and turn it around. I still don't think they lack for talent, just focus.

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                • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                  Originally posted by burd View Post
                  Interested to know what your guys' candid assessment of Mankato is. I thought they had a pretty dam good hockey team. Don't know much about their roster, but if they develop, they could do some damage next spring. This might be the strongest Minnesota field in recent memory. SCSU, UMD, and Mankato are all very good. The Gophers will get there, IMO. Even Bemidji is pretty strong.
                  I went to Friday night's game and watched the Saturday stream. On Friday the way they came out so strong I was just amazed. The way they moved the puck, so quick and tape-to-tape was something you rarely see at the college level. They had a tremendous start and controlled the play for nearly the whole game. Also loved the way they found holes in the Gopher's D right in front of the net, shots from so close in Robson had little or no chance to stop.

                  Saturday was different, with the Mavs coming back down to earth, looking more normal. A good part of that was the Gophers putting up more resistance and playing better themselves. Make no mistake, MSU was still very good, but didn't have the same crispness - or fire - that they did the night before, especially in the first period and at the very end of the game, when the Gophers put up a much better fight and actually controlled play themselves at times.

                  So overall from my perspective I think Minnesota State has the talent to go a long ways this year, especially if they find consistency during the stretch run and play like they did back on November 2nd.
                  Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey

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                  • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                    Originally posted by burd View Post
                    That sounds like good coaching. And some good talent.
                    A mix. A buddy (non GPL crowd, but UM alumni) and I were talking, and there are more players thinking:

                    I can be 2nd or 3rd line at UM, or 1st line at tUMD/MSU/SCSU. Given the conference splits...what gets me the most ice time, the most exposure for possible advancement to the NHL?

                    So, those schools are benefiting from that, at least a little.

                    However, still need good coaching, and Hastings is one heckuva coach.
                    Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
                    Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

                    Comment


                    • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                      We're at 23 PWR and that may be optimistic.
                      Go Gophers!

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                      • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                        Originally posted by 5mn_Major View Post
                        We're at 23 PWR and that may be optimistic.
                        Obviously PWR is based on too few games to mean anything now, but at least it is based on math. The Poles are always more comical this time of year, with how many teams get votes based on name or what they are expected to be. MN in top 20 seems a little off with a 1-3-1 record, although with the win and tie against #1 and two losses to #4 and one to #11, all teams above them, it isn't that surprising. But to see BC and BU listed as other teams getting votes, while 1-5 and 1-4 seems expectations are getting more weight than actual performance with some voters. Not that I doubt that these teams will get it going at some point. They should have the talent. But we all know, that talent that lacks chemistry can make for a pretty disappointing season.

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                        • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                          Originally posted by Slap Shot View Post
                          Was hoping for more especially Friday night. No excuses to play that way against a very good team at home knowing you just crapped the bed the week before.
                          Hmmmmmm. That sounds very similar to something that was brought up on Friday prior to the series opener and was considered negative discussion.
                          "It ain't over, baby! And that took only six seconds!"

                          USCHO gives me another reason to not do work while I am at work.

                          Everything is Hill's fault.....

                          "Hakstol you hack!!!!"

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                          • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                            Originally posted by Bonin21 View Post
                            They are Lucia's guys. This is what happens when you hold onto a coach for multiple years too many.
                            Now that I have a deer hung, I want to reply to this and other comments that suggest Lucia, and the Gophers in general, have a history of recruiting prima donnas who are afraid to get dirty and that is why they haven't won more. It is a simplistic narrative I am tired of hearing (mainly from fans of opponents). "We need more lunchpail guys and less guys who just want to dangle the puck. The dangler's are afraid to be physical." Guys who don't want to work don't make it in the NHL. Period. (Well you can argue a few guys like Patrick Kane survive on phenomenal offensive skill.) The history of how many NHL players the Gophs have produced counters the argument, unless you believe they suddenly change their work ethic the minute they leave college. The make-up of a winning team takes a number of things to come together, and winning at this level has gotten harder, with the 'have not' teams getting more competitive.

                            Yes, there are different styles of play and the makeup of teams can dictate how they will be most successful. But if you look at the teams that typically win championships in either NCAA of NHL, speed is often what differentiates the best from the rest, not pounding on the other team. Both speed to outskate for possession, and speed to win races to the puck. In other words, team effort. So much of this has to do with team chemistry. Having a couple Kloos or Rowe type players can be infectious to teammates and make the coaches job easier, but the guy who plays with that effort and has the high skill level is hard to find when recruiting kids years before they play. Good coaches can overcome marginal chemistry, in other cases, it can be mostly on the players. And it is hard to know when recruiting how well the pieces will fit (other than avoiding the occasional locker room head case kid you hear about). We've all seen teams that seemed to under-perform based on talent, and some that exceeded expectations. In most of these cases, it is chemistry, which may only be partly due to coaching that created those results.

                            One of the biggest determining factors for consistency in effort in college players is age. Older guys figure it out. I believe that is why we see in the last decade or more, more and more 3rd and 4th seeds in the NCAA beating higher seeds and even winning, while seeing teams like BC and BU, with lots of young talent on their rosters, struggling at times. Also, there seem to be less games in the regular season that are practically 'gimmees'. MN typically has more of the younger guys. (Hopefully with recruiting rules changes, MN will improve in being able to better predict recruits' futures.)

                            So let's get beyond the "MN just recruits/Lucia just recruited guys who want to skate around and avoid hitting people" dialogue. Having a good team is a combination of having guys who want to play for each other and have the drive to win every battle, guys, who when faced with an equally aggressive opponent, have more skill, and coaching to get the most out of them, with some luck that all of these come together at the right time of the year. The days where half the opponents you played were less skilled but also comprised of mostly kids out of high school seems to be over. Let's just hope MN can get a few teams with this winning combo.

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                            • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                              Originally posted by 5mn_Major View Post
                              I don't think its a highlight reel thing. I just don't think they have the toughness to drive to the net under any circumstance. Too much Tommy Novak.
                              Novak is a tough one for me. I agree he isn't consistent with his effort, especially at times on the backcheck. You would hope with his age, he would have learned to be moreso, but he has missed a lot of playing time too. But on the other hand, his poise on the PP when he has the puck in close quarters is something to watch. Sort of reminds me of Tyler Hirsch in that situation. Tyler seemed to know exactly where the puck needed to be to be just out of reach of the defender like few I ever remember watching, and never seemed to panic. Of course the risk is high when a miscue could set up a SHG opportunity, so hopefully Novak avoids those. But it is fun to watch a guy like that perform.

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                              • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                                Originally posted by gopher wes View Post
                                Hmmmmmm. That sounds very similar to something that was brought up on Friday prior to the series opener and was considered negative discussion.
                                Do you want a cookie?

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