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

[Greyeagle]

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

BTW, I don't blame Don for being mad at Boyd. He is normally a very smart player, who hustles and rarely does dumb things with the puck but a couple times last night, ah-yi-yi.

[5mn_Major]

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

Not a convincing weekend at all. Have one weak game...where the team gets charged up in the last minute as its facing the foregone conclusion of a loss. The second game...they come out charged up for a period, determined not to lose. And then they go limp and let the other team back in it...and almost drop a second game. No doubt, Walters and UNO are very good...but with this returning lineup playing at home this weekend should have looked quite differently.

Look on the bright side, if the tournament was held today...based on their PWR, the Gophers would probably be the last team to make it in.

[Koho]

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

I was wondering why all the shuffling was happening, they didn't have the jump imo after they switched back to the old line combos. They were flying that whole first period, I loved Condon up on the first line. It would be nice if we could settle in on some line combos soon.

I don't think it was the line combos that affected the play. From the time UNO got their first goal until the end of the game, MN got much more conservative. They sent one in on the forecheck and were more content to dump the puck out of their zone and kill a little time than try to break out and pressure for more goals. Either the coaches told them to play more conservatively, or it was a combination of lack of confidence and just not wanting to be the one to mess up that led to the change in style that allowed UNO into the game. I don't understand why, because when they were pressing in the first two periods, UNO had trouble breaking out, trouble sustaining a forecheck, and even when they sent a hard forecheck, MN was able to break out. Sure, you are slightly more likely to get caught deep and give up an odd-man rush playing that way, but when you handle the puck most of the time and get twice as many shots, you dramatically reduce their chances. When the Gophs show they are on top of their game, I'd rather risk a couple odd man rushes and trust Wilcox and our solid D to handle those, than to play more conservatively and give the opponent a lot of time in the MN zone. The more chances they get, the more likely there will be a breakdown or a player will panic and make a mistake. And if the opponent comes back, it is not easy to just turn the intensity back on, as it usually affects the players' confidence. When you have an opponent down, don't let up.

[Koho]

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

Not a convincing weekend at all. Have one weak game...where the team gets charged up in the last minute as its facing the foregone conclusion of a loss. The second game...they come out charged up for a period, determined not to lose. And then they go limp and let the other team back in it...and almost drop a second game. No doubt, Walters and UNO are very good...but with this returning lineup playing at home this weekend should have looked quite differently.

Look on the bright side, if the tournament was held today...based on their PWR, the Gophers would probably be the last team to make it in.

While UNO is a good team and played well much of the weekend. I would contend that MN, player for player has more talent, and if they played 6 periods like the first two last night, MN would have swept somewhat convincingly.

[SanTropez]

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

The first 2 periods last night the Gophers were fun to watch, they were all over the place and really dominated, if not for some great saves the score would have been 4 or 5-0. Then they come out in the 3rd and play conservatively, I don't like that call at all and it almost backfired. They should have kept the pedal down in the 3rd as well.

Oh well, they do have 10 wins and are sitting in 2nd in the WCHA, not too shabby for not having put it all together yet.

[mnstate0fhockey]

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

Tommy Vannelli just committed to Gophers:

@Vannelli3: Really excited to announce that I've committed to play hockey at the University of Minnesota! #Gophers

With Brodzinski, Bischoff, Glover, Collins, and Vanelli in the pipeline, and freshmen Reilly and Skjei and sophomore Marshall, that is going to be a pretty stacked defensive corps if everyone sticks around.

Huge because they are all puck moving defensemen and there is going to be a lot of offensive talent to get the puck up to.

[state of hockey]

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

The ladies are now 18-0-0 with 104 GF and 11 GA.

Ridiculous.

[Greyeagle]

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

The ladies are now 18-0-0 with 104 GF and 11 GA.

Ridiculous.

And somewhere there is a fan complaining they've given up 11.

[mnstate0fhockey]

And somewhere there is a fan complaining they've given up 11.

I thought that was the ridiculous part?

[Koho]

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

The ladies are now 18-0-0 with 104 GF and 11 GA.

Ridiculous.

They should have scored another 6 so they could say they are outscoring opponents 10-1. Anyone know the average SOG for and against?

[Koho]

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

I think the men should set a goal of 5 goals per game, and lead of 3 or more. As long as either of these isn't met, there is no letting off on the pressure. It seems like every time they switch to a conservative game once they have a lead, the opponent gets let back in to the game.

And as for Bjugstad going hard to the net more often and producing a couple multi-point games, has anyone else noticed it seem like there are a couple times a game he enters the zone with the puck and peels backs around, rather than going hard to the net? There have been a few times Rau seems to hesitate when going one-on-one against a player, often losing the puck, which I don't remember happening much last year.

And Reilly seems to have stepped up his confidence in carrying the puck, showing he might turn into a hell of a player, he just hasn't quite got the confidence up for finishing. Once that comes, I think we'll start to see points regularly. I sort of have the same feeling on some of his shifts that I remember having when Leopold was a freshman. I realize a lot can happen, so I am not saying he is the next Leopold, but he sure has potential to be something special if he keeps improving.

[5mn_Major]

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

The ladies are now 18-0-0 with 104 GF and 11 GA.

Ridiculous.

Saw em play WI yesterday. It looked like they were on a powerplay for 2/3 of the game.

[Tiggsy]

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

The first 2 periods last night the Gophers were fun to watch, they were all over the place and really dominated, if not for some great saves the score would have been 4 or 5-0. Then they come out in the 3rd and play conservatively, I don't like that call at all and it almost backfired. They should have kept the pedal down in the 3rd as well.

Oh well, they do have 10 wins and are sitting in 2nd in the WCHA, not too shabby for not having put it all together yet.

I agree. I'm not in a panic like many out there are about this team. I'm more just annoyed that they've played flat here and there and have a bunch of losses that didn't have to happen. Coasting to a second place isn't a bad thing. Just hoping at some point they wake up and are able to turn it on and become the team they seemed to be in the Mich St. series.

[5mn_Major]

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

While UNO is a good team and played well much of the weekend. I would contend that MN, player for player has more talent, and if they played 6 periods like the first two last night, MN would have swept somewhat convincingly.

IMO Its not about a single game...but about the season.

The Gophers have as much talent as anyone in the country. They lost Friday and the second half of Saturday. March is a long ways off in terms of time...and for this team, in terms of temperment. Win or lose, I hope the BC game delivers a serious wake up call to get us oriented for the end of the season.

[gopher wes]

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

IMO Its not about a single game...but about the season.

The Gophers have as much talent as anyone in the country. They lost Friday and the second half of Saturday. March is a long ways off in terms of time...and for this team, in terms of temperment. Win or lose, I hope the BC game delivers a serious wake up call to get us oriented for the end of the season.

This is why I hope they can have a good weekend on the road against a decent opponent and pick up some points. It would be nice to have two strong games out in Colorado to get clicking before the break. Come out and play well in tClassic and go from there. If this team starts REALLY clicking(as in 60 minutes instead of 1.5-2 periods a night) about mid January....look out!