Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

end of 2 still 2-2

Still 2-0, rather.

[ne7minder]

Still 2-0, rather.

Thanks. Trying to do 2 things at once. The stupid video feed quit. Poor quality AND service outages . . . who wouldn't want to pay $5 for this? Still not working

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Sophie Skarzynski with a really nice deflection in front of the net to score a goal. Unfortunately, it was into the wrong net, to make it 2-1.

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

The stupid video feed quit. Poor quality AND service outages . . . who wouldn't want to pay $5 for this? Still not working

The ESPN+ stream is less than impressive. I've been having trouble with it all weekend.

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

The Gophers stepped it up over the last ten minutes of the game, and hold on for a 3-1 win, with Zumwinkle picking up a nifty empty net goal in the last minute.

[ARM]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

The ESPN+ stream is less than impressive. I've been having trouble with it all weekend.

It was pretty good for me. Definitely better than the BC @ BU game, which is choppy. Could it be your internet connection?

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

It was pretty good for me. Definitely better than the BC @ BU game, which is choppy. Could it be your internet connection?

I'm on a different network today than I was yesterday, and it was bad on both.

[ne7minder]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

It was pretty good for me. Definitely better than the BC @ BU game, which is choppy. Could it be your internet connection?

It could it be their server. Maybe they are not built to stream more than a couple of people & if 10-20 MN fans show up the server throws up. The quality was awful, it cut in and out and eventually just died & could not be revived. Streamed IIHF and Olympic games & never had such poor stream

[bluffrinkrat]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

It could it be their server. Maybe they are not built to stream more than a couple of people & if 10-20 MN fans show up the server throws up. The quality was awful, it cut in and out and eventually just died & could not be revived. Streamed IIHF and Olympic games & never had such poor stream

We used to have the same problems with some of the streams we watched, so unless it's free we just listen to Dan Hamman's broadcasts. We enjoy the interviews and he does a good job on the play by play of the game, well, except maybe mispronouncing the word "stick" now and then.

[ne7minder]

We used to have the same problems with some of the streams we watched, so unless it's free we just listen to Dan Hamman's broadcasts. We enjoy the interviews and he does a good job on the play by play of the game, well, except maybe mispronouncing the word "stick" now and then.

We sync Dan with the video. Even that was a pain because the video feed kept dying.
Love Dan, he is head and shoulders above many better known pxp guys.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Love Dan, he is head and shoulders above many better known pxp guys.

Ditto...

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Heading into the final series of the first half I thought I'd take a look at the team's stats, and in so doing this evening I found a couple of interesting things.

First, on offense, even though at 4.22 the Gophers are No. 1 in the nation in Goals Per Game, they hold that top spot with only one individual in the Top 10 (Nicole Schammel at 9th) and just two in the Top 25 (Schammel and Grace Zumwinkle, who is tied for 12th). This is a team that "scores by committee", using teamwork and their great depth to score most of their goals. This is obviously a key strength, as opponents cannot key on any one line or "star" individual.

Also on offense, somewhat surprising is the fact that they sit at No. 1 despite having had a very ordinary power play. Their PP% is just 20.83%, which trails 10 other teams. Definitely room for improvement here.

But their greatest opportunity for improvement comes on team defense. They currently are tied for 7th, at 1.72 GAPG (which badly lags No. 1 overall Wisconsin @1.11 GAPG). A contributing factor in the team's D has been the propensity to give up too many goals shorthanded: the 84.09 percent kill rate ranks a disappointing 21st. Clearly our special teams play has not been where it should be.

Going into the second half it'll be interesting to see if the Gophs can become a better defensive team without losing too much (or better yet, none!) of their offensive production. But first and up next is Robert Morris - this weekend would be a great time to start improving on all the numbers. To do that they better keep a close eye on Jaycee Gebhard, a 5'3" junior who with 32 points is currently tied for the scoring lead in the nation. Should be fun to watch!

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Heading into the final series of the first half I thought I'd take a look at the team's stats, and in so doing this evening I found a couple of interesting things.

First, on offense, even though at 4.22 the Gophers are No. 1 in the nation in Goals Per Game, they hold that top spot with only one individual in the Top 10 (Nicole Schammel at 9th) and just two in the Top 25 (Schammel and Grace Zumwinkle, who is tied for 12th). This is a team that "scores by committee", using teamwork and their great depth to score most of their goals. This is obviously a key strength, as opponents cannot key on any one line or "star" individual.

Also on offense, somewhat surprising is the fact that they sit at No. 1 despite having had a very ordinary power play. Their PP% is just 20.83%, which trails 10 other teams. Definitely room for improvement here.

But their greatest opportunity for improvement comes on team defense. They currently are tied for 7th, at 1.72 GAPG (which badly lags No. 1 overall Wisconsin @1.11 GAPG). A contributing factor in the team's D has been the propensity to give up too many goals shorthanded: the 84.09 percent kill rate ranks a disappointing 21st. Clearly our special teams play has not been where it should be.

Going into the second half it'll be interesting to see if the Gophs can become a better defensive team without losing too much (or better yet, none!) of their offensive production. But first and up next is Robert Morris - this weekend would be a great time to start improving on all the numbers. To do that they better keep a close eye on Jaycee Gebhard, a 5'3" junior who with 32 points is currently tied for the scoring lead in the nation. Should be fun to watch!

To add to that what your saying... This team will turn the puck over and have some defensive lapses, but probably not much more than only one team and that team being Wisconsin. When Minnesota does turn it over, especially in their own zone, they do it in spectacular fashion. Darn near gifting goals to teams. Being able to cut down on those mistakes is very doable with this group.

The special teams have been better lately compared to earlier in the year, but as you mentioned there is no question they have the "pieces in place" to be more like 25-30% on the PP and 88-90% on the penalty kill.

I do like the balanced scoring and that they have had different players throughout their lineup play starring roles that are sometimes unexpected, but there is no question that players like Kelly Pannek and the Potomak sisters, for example, are capable of much more scoring than they have produced. To me, Minnesota has left a lot of offense on the table so far this year for reasons like the passing is just a bit off or they have seemingly turned a for sure goal into a miss by just flubbing the shot. If Minnesota's top two lines are producing they way they are capable of, again probably only Wisconsin can match that and 1 through 12, Minnesota just might be the deepest, best shooting forward group in the country.

[ARM]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

... players like Kelly Pannek and the Potomak sisters, for example, are capable of much more scoring than they have produced.

I feel like I kind of have to give Sarah a bit of a pass because she has been dealing with injury for much of the season. When she has played, she has looked like herself and done the right things, but shots just haven't gone in. I thought Kelly played well the two series after 4 Nations, but last weekend she was back to holding the puck too much without moving it. It didn't help that her wings' primary focus looked to be getting her the puck, rather than taking it to the net or moving it to each other.

... they have seemingly turned a for sure goal into a miss by just flubbing the shot. If Minnesota's top two lines are producing they way they are capable of, again probably only Wisconsin can match that and 1 through 12, Minnesota just might be the deepest, best shooting forward group in the country.

I agree with all of this, although we are both effectively saying that the Gophers are a great shooting group who frequently manage to completely flub shots that could have easily resulted in sure goals. So I might modify it to say that many of them do possess good shots, but they don't always get those shots off, be it due to over passing, hesitating, or just not being ready when the opportunity manifested. Or they make decisions like Amy did last weekend when she had a partial break but cut to her backhand to avoid the defense and wound up with a not great scoring opportunity; with her shot, she would have been better served to just fire a forehand and keep it simple.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

with her shot, she would have been better served to just fire a forehand and keep it simple.

Yes, the K.I.S.S. principle would help in a few of these situations.