Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

[state of hockey]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

I was expecting Alt to have a big year. So far, not happening. Very disappointing to this point

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

I need advice!

I will splurge on an upgrade for the winter. I have a plasma TV and have heard HD makes a huge difference. Do I get that, or the sports package, which allows me to see more college games? (I already get BTN, whatever Versus is called, the UMD games that are on local and some Bemidji games.)

SO: HD or more Hockey? (Don't think I can slip both past the wife.)

I now have a real hard time watching hockey in anything other than HD. So if you think you can afford it, I'd go for both. If money is an issue, you could look for something else to cut back on, so it's a wash. And maybe drop the sports package after the Gopher's are done for the season.

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

I now have a real hard time watching hockey in anything other than HD. So if you think you can afford it, I'd go for both. If money is an issue, you could look for something else to cut back on, so it's a wash. And maybe drop the sports package after the Gopher's are done for the season.

This goes for any sports, honestly. Baseball is putrid in SD after you've seen it in HD. The sports package is less than $10/mo, IIRC, and the options you get with it are soooooo worth it (part of the reason I bought a second tv, both have sports package option, was for football/hockey season).

And duper: Wow. A bit early to be sold out! Take note for future reference, though. 50 weeks early is the industry norm for booking, and for events like this, that is when I book. Period.

[gopher wes]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

I had some somewhat critical comments on Reilly, in that I said it didn't look like he was the second freshman coming of LeLegia (not that that is really very critical.) I thought Marshall was better than most gave him credit for last year, and Alt not quite as good as some thought. People definitely interpret D play differently. I think people who haven't played much, look at the offense they generate and look for glaring errors. Others look as much at positioning, angles, shot-blocking, break-out passes etc.

As for how good Reilly is, and if he is the best freshman. I've only seen 3 games. But when I watched Skjei closely, in one game, I saw some solid D, without major errors. He is not as flashy offensively as Reilly, but I am not sure I would say Reilly is clearly the best freshman given Skjei's play. (Although he may be by the end of the year, or could be as low as third is Skjei and Wilcox take off.) Reilly has tremendous offensive upside, but this weekend on the powerplay, there were times he showed the poise of a rookie. Making an ill advised play or getting rid of the puck too quickly. That resulted in a loss of possession a couple times. They weren't blantant mistakes, just rushes when he had more time. I remember being impressed with LeLeggia's poise as a frosh last year (but maybe that was later in the season) and haven't seen a game like that out of Reilly yet. In no way am I saying he isn't playing very well. And it is rare to have a D who can adjust as quickly as LeLeggia, but his play last year and Reilly's points from last year meant I had extreme expectations (or really, hopes) for him. And my guess is that anyone being critical of his play are comparing his play to the very high expectations for him, rather than to play of freshman D in general.

Agree on Skjei. He has been fantastic in his own end this year so far!

I was expecting Alt to have a big year. So far, not happening. Very disappointing to this point

Agree. I can't say it any differently than you did.

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

I think Bjugstad should get a little more selfish. He should be able to muscle his way to the front of the net with the puck more often, a la Wheeler and Stoa in their last years. Power forward your way to the net, Bjugs. Most college players won't be able to stop him. He passes now at times that he could carry it. If he starts holding it more, he'll start drawing more players to him and open it up more for others. Not that he is playing poorly or I would want to see him change a lot. I just want to see him start to dominate at times, like he was doing last year in many games. I'd like to see him start to put up some Hobey candidate numbers on some weekends.

(That, and I don't think the Gopher thread should get to the bottom of the 2nd page.)

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

Looking at the standings, MN is undefeated at home and. 500 on the road. That is the good news. However it is the teams that we have lost to (granted two of those teams always play us tough in their houses) that worry me.

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

Looking at the standings, MN is undefeated at home and. 500 on the road. That is the good news. However it is the teams that we have lost to (granted two of those teams always play us tough in their houses) that worry me.

Last year's team had me feeling better at this point (if my crappy memory serves me). Last year, they had games where they played 60 minutes of all-out hockey, and some games where they didn't. But at least the games they played great all game outweighed the letdown (Friday) games. This year, I didn't see the Mich St games, so I haven't seen a game where they completely out hustled/played the opponent, dominating puck possession, for the game. That is what it takes to win trophies. Obviously it is too early to worry, but you don't really want to lose points every weekend to teams near the bottom, or the job gets much more difficult, even if they are away games. For this team, .500 away shouldn't be good enough, given the opponents.

[Rtn2GoldCountry]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

The Gophers will get jumped by Denver in the rankings, and maybe by Miami too, but they should still be in the top 5 of both polls.

[Driftryder]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

The Gophers will get jumped by Denver in the rankings, and maybe by Miami too, but they should still be in the top 5 of both polls.

The only pole pohl poll that matters is pwr and you really can't start looking at that until January or so, the other polls are just for conversation and fan bragging rights (which is fine of course)

[state of hockey]

Looking at the standings, MN is undefeated at home and. 500 on the road. That is the good news. However it is the teams that we have lost to (granted two of those teams always play us tough in their houses) that worry me.

What sucks more is how those teams have decided to nosedive after beating us. We need Tech and Mankato to effing win some games.

(Yes, I realize that what Mankato has done can't really be called a nosedive, but the overall point still stands.)

[Slap Shot]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

What sucks more is how those teams have decided to nosedive after beating us. We need Tech and Mankato to effing win some games.

MTU and MSuM can't be expected to bolster their PWR. They have plenty of games left against teams such as DU, UND, SCSU etc. and their NONCON success so far will also help. This is not a year that they will have to PWR watch.

[state of hockey]

MTU and MSuM can't be expected to bolster their PWR. They have plenty of games left against teams such as DU, UND, SCSU etc. and their NONCON success so far will also help. This is not a year that they will have to PWR watch.

We'll see. If they don't get spanked in their first series against another contender I'll agree with you.

[Greyeagle]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

To date, two things concern me: The lack of 5 X 5 scoring and the apparent lack of depth at wing (given so many dman are skating at wing) and I suspect these may be related issues.

[SanTropez]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

Yeah I think a big issue is not finding decent wing play to replace Warning Hansen Matson and even Sachetti for that matter. Not that any one of those players were going to make or break us but they all meshed together nicely on the 2nd 3rd and 4th lines. We are now using D men and Isaackson r reilly Ambroz larsen etc... to fill these spots and it hasn't really worked yet. Getting Warning back and healthy would be a good step in the right direction but others need to step up.

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2012-2013: From Dinkytown to Steel City!

To date, two things concern me: The lack of 5 X 5 scoring and the apparent lack of depth at wing (given so many dman are skating at wing) and I suspect these may be related issues.

The lack of 5x5 scoring is concerning me too. But I think if they find a way to play all-out hockey and just out skate, out back check and out forecheck the opponent, that scoring would improve, especially late in the games. I think D play would improve too. They just aren't doing that as a team yet. And I think the talent is there.