Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

[HumRsky]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

As a St. Cloud and UMD hockey fan and fan of other Gopher sports, I was hoping a hole would open up at the X and swallow both Michigan and North Dakota. What resulted instead was satisfactory, however, and I was happy to not have to deal with Sioux fans for another game. (I don't blame anyone for not liking Husky fans, BTW. We don't really even like each other...and while breaking the goose egg was nice, the 2001 WCHA playoff title is our only real accomplishment.) As for this weekend, I also say split.

[MichiganHockey27]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

Thanks for the info guys. I know Guentzel is a good coach, and hopefully that keeps players put. I personally believe these kids need to understand how important a college degree actually is. The road will eventually come to an end for everyone...just ask Chris Chelios ! It's nice to have something to fall back on.

I'll be keeping an eye on this series...should be interesting to see what happens.

[Driftryder]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

Preview from Gophersports

Last Time Out: Minnesota began its 91st season of collegiate hockey with a sweep of Sacred Heart. The Gophers turned back the Pioneers 9-0 on Friday and 6-0 on Saturday. Kent Patterson made 20 saves on both nights to earn the shutouts. On Friday, freshman Kyle Rau scored 56 seconds into the game to give Minnesota an early lead. The Gophers added four more goals in the second and third periods and 15 players recorded at least one point. On Saturday, Minnesota scored twice in each period en route to its second win. Ten Gophers had at least one point on Saturday as Minnesota began the season 2-0-0 for the second straight year. Minnesota won its first two games of the season by shutout for the first time since 1936 and its first two games of the season by shutout on back-to-back days since 1933.

Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth: Few rivalries are more storied or competitive than the one between Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth. The Gophers lead the all-time series with a 129-72-15 record, but the Bulldogs have won six of the last 10 meetings. The teams played four fantastic games last season and split the season series 1-1-2. Kent Patterson played all four games in goal against the Bulldogs and made 37, 41, 40 and 36 saves, which were his four highest save games of the season (also made 36 saves at Wisconsin on Feb. 18).

About the Bulldogs: Minnesota Duluth finished fourth in the WCHA last year, just four points ahead of the Gophers who finished fifth. However, the Bulldogs made the NCAA tournament and then began a remarkable run to their first national championship, which was culminated when Kyle Schmidt scored an overtime goal to beat Michigan at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota Duluth lost some key players from their championship run, but still returns plenty of talent. Two-time All American Jack Connolly is back and is the team captain this year. Connolly led the Bulldogs with 59 points (18g-41a) last year. He has speedy sophomore J.T. Brown (16 goals and 21 assists last season) on his right wing. Connolly already has two assists this year, while Brown has a one goal and two assists. The Bulldogs also return championship goalie Kenny Reiter. The Gophers faced Reiter twice last year and were 1-0-1 against him, earning a win at home and a tie on the road. Minnesota Duluth raised their championship banner last weekend and got off to a solid start as they beat No. 1 Notre Dame 4-3 to begin the season. The Irish won 5-3 on Saturday.

Bring On The Champs: Minnesota heads to defending national champion Minnesota Duluth this weekend to begin WCHA play. Since the Gophers won back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003, they have played 13 games against defending national champions. Minnesota is 9-3-1 in those games. Minnesota went 2-1 against Denver the year after the Pioneers won the 2004 title. The Gophers were 3-1 against Denver after the Pioneers won the 2005 championship. Minnesota was 4-1 against Wisconsin the year after the Badgers won the 2006 title. Minnesota and Michigan State tied 3-3 in their lone meeting the year after the Spartans won the 2007 championship (game was Nov. 23, 2007 and was the last time that Minnesota played a defending national champion).

Keep Counting: Minnesota began the year with a weekend sweep of Sacred Heart. The Gophers won 9-0 on Friday and 6-0 on Saturday to start the year 2-0-0. The 15 goals were the most that the Gophers have scored against the same team in two consecutive games since they tallied 16 goals at Minnesota State on Jan. 16-17, 2004 (Minnesota won 6-0 and 10-3). The 15 goals were the most the Gophers have scored in a home series since they recorded 16 goals on Nov. 1-2, 2002, against Alabama-Huntsville (Minnesota won 12-1 and 4-2).

[gopher wes]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

Ugh, Nice shirt Wally

[ski]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

I was cheering for UMD as well.

My hatred is as follows:

Becky in everything.

North Dakota in Hockey

then all others.


As for Michigan, looking forward to that rivarly heating up again in the years to come.

[JDUBBS1280]

I was cheering for UMD as well.

My hatred is as follows:

Becky in everything.

North Dakota in Hockey

then all others.


As for Michigan, looking forward to that rivarly heating up again in the years to come.

Will miss the UND rivalry, because it's so easy to hate them, but I'm looking forward to the Michigan rivalry renewing too. The Wisconsin rivalry has always seemed force-fed to me, but the Minnesota/Michigan rivalry always seemed like a natural one and will heat up quickly I'm sure

[ski]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

I feel that a little too. It may be because I have some respect for Michigan, not the case with Becky.

[gopher wes]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

Not that everything here is totally on topic, but I'm glad there is some buzz in this thread! GPL and tPB are boooooooring!

[JF_Gophers]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

The 15 goals were the most the Gophers have scored in a home series since they recorded 16 goals on Nov. 1-2, 2002, against Alabama-Huntsville (Minnesota won 12-1 and 4-2).

If memory serves this is the series that Jon Waibel scored a hat trick and hurt his hand in celebration.

ETA: Oh I was right. Box

[ski]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

If memory serves this is the series that Jon Waibel scored a hat trick and hurt his hand in celebration.

ETA: Oh I was right. Box

Yes, we are in serious need of some more hockey games to talk about. Only 29 more hours... Plus, I did find the channel for Saturday night's game way up on the dial...

[SanTropez]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

Not that everything here is totally on topic, but I'm glad there is some buzz in this thread! GPL and tPB are boooooooring!

Yeah I'm surprised, I figured UMD fans would be out in full force in this thread.

[Koho]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

I'm going to be optimistic and say they will make the Final Five and the NCAA's this year. Hopefully they will make some noise while doing it.

What sort of alternate universe have I fallen into and how do I get back to reality?

[Koho]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

That is all fine and good and I don't think you are one of the "droolers". But I have literally had people tell me that this is a Frozen Four caliber team. It's fine to wish that, but to honestly say that after what this program has been through the past 3+ seasons and a few wins against UBC and Sacred Heart is pretty ridiculous IMO.

I tend to agree, but at the same time, I didn't watch Duluth last year and think they were going to win it all either. They looked like a one-line team mid-season, and those teams usually don't win it all. This team has a lot of talent so who knows what they are capable of. Teams this young don't usually win it all either. But who can tell. That is why I rarely predict outcomes. (my prediction, both teams will get 0-4 pts) I'll just say, on paper, even though UMD lost 2/3 of the big line, they are still much older and more experienced early in the season so should be favored. But MN should have more potential to improve as the year goes on and the kids get more experience. As many are saying, time will tell...

[Bakunin]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

The lyrics are cheesy but I love the song.

The UMD - UMTC rivalry is funny because when one team is good, the other is usually bad. IE last few hears and early/mid eighties.

Other than 2004, have they made the NCAA's in the same season within the past 20 years?

[Koho]

Re: Gophers at Bulldogs Oct 14 & 15 - No more well wishes

Other than 2004, have they made the NCAA's in the same season within the past 20 years?

Early 90's, I think. But I'd be willing to bet that UMD has only made it about 4 times in that 20 years and MN has only (It hurts me to say only) failed to make it about 5, so I don't know if I'd completely agree with the assessment that they flip-flop on who is good. In 2004, both had very good teams.