2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

[Handyman]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

Clearly, you are not familiar with the art of sandbagging.

And who the **** is "dryfly"?

A guy on GPL who with two weeks to go and the Gophers odds on favorite to win the MacNaughton was still wetting himself that they might not make the tourny.

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

And I was saying making that comparison in February is ludicrous and the final PWR pretty much bore that out. You guys were looking for any way to show that the Gophers were not as good as their standing was either because you were sandbagging or you were chicken$h!&. The argument made you sound more like SCCC fans than Gopher fans and I will rub it in your face for the rest of the year because you jumped the gun and were proven wrong. Not only was the WCHA better than the EZAC used to be (not now as Spinny Doo tried to change the argument to) but they were way better than the formulas had them at when you chicken littled all over the place about it. 3 teams in the final 8...yeah that is pretty cruddy

The Gophers were one of the 4 best teams in hockey...deal with it

Thank you, Harley.

[5mn_Major]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

Seems we is a supreme undee dog on the Froz4 thread. This game is a pickem in my book with the gophs having the best talent in the country (which does include boston). The team needs to kick butt and get on the board early though.

[Bakunin]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

The argument made you sound more like SCCC fans than Gopher fans and I will rub it in your face for the rest of the year because you jumped the gun and were proven wrong.

It was an argument based on where things stood at the time. The fact the pairwise changed and UND made a run has no bearing on it. Why you can't grasp such a simple concept is beyond me. Clearly you're just out to be a dick toward those who hold opinions contrary to your own - not that I'm at all surprised by that.

Not only was the WCHA better than the EZAC used to be (not now as Spinny Doo tried to change the argument to) but they were way better than the formulas had them at when you chicken littled all over the place about it.

Your characterization of what I was doing is way off base. Scooby is well known for always seeing the negative, but my perspective is far different from his. In this particular case, I saw a pattern that looked familiar in the pairwise, looked back at last year's and confirmed it / commented on it. To Minnesota and North Dakota's credit, both picked up their play after that point. It also helped that some teams above them began flaming out (aka Lowell dropping from 4th to nearly out of the tournament).

3 teams in the final 8...yeah that is pretty cruddy

Without UND's ridiculous and improbable run, that would not have been the case. They could very easily have gone the way of CC.

The Gophers were one of the 4 best teams in hockey...deal with it

They were 8th best by the ratings system used to select and seed the field. Fortunately for them, they played well enough to win both games and advance. Should they do it a couple more times, we'll all be laughing about these mindless arguments in a couple weeks.

[HarleyMC]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

It was an argument based on where things stood at the time.

Just chiming in here...I agree with your statement Bak and your analysis at the time was correct. There's nothing wrong with posting what appears to be a statistical correlation at some juncture in the season and commenting on it. Now Scoobymutt that's a different story.

Thank you, Harley.

You're welcome dog.

[firstpusk]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

A Bears/Mets/Montreal/UNLV/Miami fan talking about lack of recent titles? That's rich. I wanted Lucia gone after the end of last season. I never have tasted better crow in my life after this season (which, btw, isn't even over yet).

I hear crow is excellent with a sour grapes sauce. That is what Whioux fans are eating this week.

[chickod]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

Hasn't really hurt BC at all.

Not exactly the case. They have small FORWARDS, but their defensemen are huge. The thing that BC does better than anyone is transition from defense to offense. If you turn the puck over, you're looking at an odd-man rush the other way. And they are unselfish with the puck. I don't know how many times watching my team (BU) this year on an odd-man rush screaming "PASS THE PUCK" only to see him just shoot it into the goalie's pads. BC won't do that - they'll make two or three extra passes to get the goalie out of position, and then they know how to bury it once they do. They FORCE you to play a more conservative style, because if you take too many chances, you're dead. The best way to play them (which, unfortunately, does not seem to be Minnesota's style) is to slow the game down and wait for a good opportunity, but at all costs, protect your net. No third man high or pinching on the blue line. I know you probably don't like to play that way, but I have yet to see anyone "out BC" BC...tough to win when you are playing THEIR game...

[JF_Gophers]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

A Bears/Mets/Montreal/UNLV/Miami fan talking about lack of recent titles? That's rich.

Miami won a title nearly as recently (2001) and had another title stolen from them by OSU paid refs.

But the rest of them have been crap, and they have also had many coaches as they try to find someone to lead them to a title. So really it shows consistency in my argument. If you don't win, you don't stay.

[HarleyMC]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

Yeah I figured that would get a roughing call.

The refs screwed up...definitely missed a roughing call, but maybe a holding call on Boyd too. It looked like Boyd played the puck with his hand and used the old "hold onto the lumber" tactic on Lamoureux to lock it under his arm to buy time. That's actually a holding the stick penalty. But as soon as you start throwing multiple punches like Lamoureux did that's a roughly call.

[SJHovey]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

Per Goon: "Congrats to the seniors, Ben Blood, Brad Eidsness and Mario Lamoureux I have enjoyed watching you play for four years at UND. All three are character guys and will be successful in whatever they do in life."

I find it absolutely unfathomable that this guy could possibly believe 90% of the stuff he writes. To call Blood and Lammy "character guys" (regardless of how big of a homer you are) is absolutely laughable.

Recognizing it's not always easy for MN fans to view UND fans, players, coaches or media objectively, and vice versa, and further recognizing that Goon can be Goon, I don't think his comments regarding Eidsness, Lammy or Blood were out of line or laughable at all.

Eidsness, who had basically lost his job to Dell, and who had already graduated, nevertheless returned to have a very solid season and provide some much needed relief in net for UND.

And it was Lammy and Blood who refused to let this team quit in November, when it might have been very easy to do so. Following the bad loss at BSU, the lowpoint during the season, Lammy and Blood were interviewed. While the actual article in the Herald is archived, their comments were essentially that it didn't matter they were sitting in 10th or 11th place, that they had lost players to injury, defection to the canadian juniors, or that they were playing a bunch of walk ons. Every player in that locker room believed at the end of the season they would be in the NCAA tournament with a chance to win it all. Candidly, I don't think the UND fans, or even the Herald beat writer necessarily believed them. But it's pretty clear they were right, and I think as the seniors on the team they deserve some of the credit for that.

[5mn_Major]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

BC won't do that - they'll make two or three extra passes to get the goalie out of position, and then they know how to bury it once they do. They FORCE you to play a more conservative style, because if you take too many chances, you're dead. The best way to play them (which, unfortunately, does not seem to be Minnesota's style) is to slow the game down and wait for a good opportunity, but at all costs, protect your net. No third man high or pinching on the blue line. I know you probably don't like to play that way, but I have yet to see anyone "out BC" BC...tough to win when you are playing THEIR game...

I respect it, but I see many posts as overconfidence in BC. Alot of this IMO is knowing only half the equation...many folks seem to just know BC and infer the rest.

It seems many eastern fans see the UMD score and feel that the defending champs are wcha's best or at least equivalent to MN. That's a mistake. For starters, the UMD game was not nearly as close as it might have been. UMD was carrying the better of the play through until the goal happened and then the second. After the previous day, the Connelly line was juiced and an effective BC counter killed them.

But keep in mind UMD had soften since earlier in the year...and went 8-6 in back part of the year. The gophers swept UMD at home (not in Woosta) for the only time the teams played during a time when against everyone else UMD went 17-2. Likewise we could look at BC's 3Ws and 3Ls with BU...and coupled with our 7-3 win...and say no problem. But I have yet to hear that from anyone...nobody puts credence in that perspective.

The net message is MN is very different from UMD and the teams will play on neutral ice. Aspects of the game like passsing the puck have been a staple of MN hockey forever. And regarding BC's ability to move the puck up the ice? MN's top DMan has as many assists as BC's top two combined. So I would neither think that puck control is a special BC domain...nor have I seen a team beat the gophers via puck control this year. Not this team...not that way.

From what I can tell BC has the most solid team. But believe me, MN has the best talent. This game is a pickem.

[mnstate0fhockey]

Not exactly the case. They have small FORWARDS, but their defensemen are huge. The thing that BC does better than anyone is transition from defense to offense. If you turn the puck over, you're looking at an odd-man rush the other way. And they are unselfish with the puck. I don't know how many times watching my team (BU) this year on an odd-man rush screaming "PASS THE PUCK" only to see him just shoot it into the goalie's pads. BC won't do that - they'll make two or three extra passes to get the goalie out of position, and then they know how to bury it once they do. They FORCE you to play a more conservative style, because if you take too many chances, you're dead. The best way to play them (which, unfortunately, does not seem to be Minnesota's style) is to slow the game down and wait for a good opportunity, but at all costs, protect your net. No third man high or pinching on the blue line. I know you probably don't like to play that way, but I have yet to see anyone "out BC" BC...tough to win when you are playing THEIR game...

on so many different levels.

[SanTropez]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

The Terriers will be tough, no doubt.

[wasmania]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

I hear crow is excellent with a sour grapes sauce. That is what Whioux fans are eating this week.

Really. I didnt see much boasting or expectation of winning by Sioux fans, nor did I see much of anything except gracious congratulations to the winning gopher team after the outcome that we expected came to fruition. So please explain. Or perhaps it is just schadenfruede you are engaging in, which is fine.

[firstpusk]

Re: 2011-12 MN Gophers Season Thread Pt II: Still Full Of Pride!

Context is everything wasmania.