Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

[sterlippo1]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

Students will be gone but hopefully a good crowd on hand. The sophmores on UM an obvious threat and BC riding a 3 game streak. Calnan and Gilmour adding some offense and Tuch helping out. Santini is out until January. Surprisingly Doherty a defenseman is leading the scoring. I am surprised that UM is not playing BU also on this weekend road trip.

This is the beginning of the annual toys drive for needy kids at BC, so bring a toy or two to the game. Any Gopher fans attending this game?

the place will be PACKED! .......... biggest crowd I've ever seen at Conte was a few years back when Harvard was in for this date and they weren't even that good IIRC. Despite no students, this game after thanksgiving always draws well

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

How can Boston area schools not have some sort of TV deal? Serious question, not trolling.

[Split-N]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

How can Boston area schools not have some sort of TV deal?....

Because Boston is a pro sports town. Period. Nobody cares much about college sports except (some) students, some (not all) alums, and the very occasional guy off the street. And then the already small college pie is sliced into different fan bases that basically despise each other

[walrus655321]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

NESN DOES televise the occasional HE game, but it's not specific to any school. And, as has been pointed out, the Bruins are playing at 7 PM on Friday so that takes precedence anyway.

UMass/UVM was on last night.

[Driftryder]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

Game notes from Gophersports:

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m...112614aaa.html

The No. 3 Gopher Hockey program continues the 2014-15 campaign this weekend with a Thanksgiving trip to Boston for a two-game nonconference schedule against No. 11/12 Boston College on Friday, Nov. 28 at Conte Forum and Northeastern on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Matthews Arena.

Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge
Minnesota’s two games this weekend against Hockey East opponents mark the final two games in this year’s Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge -- a series of 20 games between the two conferences from Oct. 10-Nov. 29. With just two games left in the contest, the Big Ten holds a 22-20 advantage over Hockey East. Teams will earn two points for a win, one point for a tie and a bonus point will be awarded for a road win. The Gophers have already contributed four points to the Big Ten’s totals with the Maroon & Gold’s two-game home sweep over Notre Dame earlier this year.


Hockey East Notes
Already 2-0-0 this season against Hockey East teams, the Gophers’ next three nonconference games will come against schools from Hockey East (Boston College, Northeastern, Merrimack) and a fourth is possible depending on results at the Mariucci Classic (UMass-Lowell). Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the Maroon & Gold are 8-1-1 against Hockey East schools.

Against Boston College/Northeastern
Minnesota is making its first road trip to Boston College since Jan. 2-3, 1999 (16-12-3 all-time against the Eagles, 5-9-2 at Boston College) and its first road trip to Northeastern since Nov. 13, 1987 (8-5-0 all-time against the Huskies, 0-3-0 at Northeastern). Only four active Gophers (Marshall, Warning, Boyd, Ambroz) have played Northeastern -- a 2-3 loss in the Mariucci Classic title game on Dec. 31, 2011. Meanwhile, the senior class has played a total of four games against Boston College while Kyle Rau (2-4--6) and Sam Warning (1-5--6) are the team’s active leading scorers against the Eagles.

Two of the Best Behind the Bench
Friday’s battle between Minnesota and Boston College will feature two of the top coaches in college hockey history in Don Lucia and Jerry York. York holds the all-time college hockey coaching victories record with 970 while Lucia ranks ninth with 658 (only York and Red Berenson with 793 wins rank ahead of Lucia among active Division I coaches).

[sterlippo1]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

Because Boston is a pro sports town. Period. Nobody cares much about college sports except (some) students, some (not all) alums, and the very occasional guy off the street. And then the already small college pie is sliced into different fan bases that basically despise each other

well done

[5mn_Major]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

Man, after the heated games of the last couple of years and strong recent seasons by MN & BC...I would never have guessed the thread for this series would be so subdued.

[BCeagle]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

Well you know each team has their ups and downs over the years and this game is right after Thanksgiving when people are busy, traveling and begin their Christmas shopping and other things. But I'm looking forward to Friday night's game even if things seem subdued in this thread. From 2012 in Tampa to last year, it has been exciting to watch this matchup. I'm just hoping BC can play well and pull this out but the Gophers are always tough to beat.

BC is playing better lately but it was against weak opponents. So this will be another test for them and how well they can manage without some of their better players like Santini and how their young players can step up after the losses from last year's team. They have no star like JG or KH this year and adjusting to life after Johnny Hockey.

[5mn_Major]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

Well you know each team has their ups and downs over the years and this game is right after Thanksgiving when people are busy, traveling and begin their Christmas shopping and other things. But I'm looking forward to Friday night's game even if things seem subdued in this thread. From 2012 in Tampa to last year, it has been exciting to watch this matchup. I'm just hoping BC can play well and pull this out but the Gophers are always tough to beat.

BC is playing better lately but it was against weak opponents. So this will be another test for them and how well they can manage without some of their better players like Santini and how their young players can step up after the losses from last year's team. They have no star like JG or KH this year and adjusting to life after Johnny Hockey.

If both teams play as they should, this should be an awesome game...and a highlight of both teams' seasons. We'll see.

[RossiRules]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

That can be said of the BC game, but not for the NU game, as an NU alum and now 25 year season ticket holder I think you guys are going to kill us so badly, that I contemplated just bagging it this weekend, but have decided to go to see your team, who I have only seen 2x since I was a freshman, once the last time you played NU and once in a frozen 4.

Our squad this year is perhaps the worst I have seen in 30 years. Poor and lacking confidence on offense, marginal and transition and just horrific on D and things look bleak behind the bench too. Also noteworthy there will be hardly any crowd this weekend after Thanksgiving with lots of students home and a historically and generally very apathetic student population who really don't support the program with any great fan numbers given the size of the school. So it should be more like a neutral ice game for sure

Yes, we have the best stream and its free so enjoy it, but only a handful of HE fan and NU alum even know about it. There are just not enough college hockey fans in this town, yet I consider it the best bang for the buck of all sport offerings regionally, thus I see 20+ games a year at schools all over NE even Div 3 where my kids play. However Nick P is correct there isn't much hockey on TV considering there are 4 Div 1 programs within 5 miles of each other and another 5 within 30 miles of the city limit. This is actually the problem, market fragmentation, with over 60 collages and universities so densely packed into one small market its difficult for a huge fan base to prop up any program, that translates into a bad TV profit margins. UNH is about 70 miles North and they have a fair amount of games on local TV with WBIN as the market in just that distance is not very fragmented.

I still go to all the major venues including BU ( they serve beer) and BC ( 4 miles form my house) and for the most part can get tix the day of the game at the box office. Boston is so much a pro sports town. In the beginning of the college season everyone follows the PATS exclusively until the B's and Celtics take the stage. That's just the way it is in NE where Ex. I believe there are only 3 DIV 1 football programs in 6 states. That said its a great sports town but all about pro. Once considered a dig to the region, however in recent years the valid response has been, "In Boston is this we win our championships at the professional level“, which sucks for me on multiple levels as a native New Yorker transplant who just loves college hockey. Anyway, I hope my Huskies at least give you a game because at least I will be watching it with perhaps a few hundred alum and a handful of Gopher grads who now live in Boston. I also love fishing so maybe I should move to Minn.

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

The MN/BC matchup is always entertaining college hockey. Both teams are without natural goal scorers, and will need to rely on a "scoring by committee" strategy. That worked very well for the Gophers last season, but a Minny (mini ) offensive meltdown over the last two NC games resulted in only 1 goal. I wouldn't be surprised to see some new line changes from Lucia to jump start the offense. The top line of Bristedt, Rau and Fasching have only scored a total of 4 Gs in the last 6 games. I'd like to see Warning up there instead of Bristedt, which seemed to click well in the postseason last year.

BC seems to have climbed out of their scoring slump of 6 Gs/3 games two weeks ago; and are now riding the momentum of a three game winning streak albeit against some weaker, unranked teams (MSU, UMass, Maine). So this will be a litmus test game for both teams who are struggling to establish some early season identity.

I anticipate a hard fought, low scoring, speed game with a potential goalie battle between two solid netminders, Wilcox and Demko. A key to resurrecting the Gophers game will be puck possession time in the offensive zone, going to the net, scoring some frickin' goals! and keeping BC shots on the perimeter. For BC on home ice, if they establish the early lead, play a close checking game and plug scoring lanes...it could be a another frustrating night of scoring attrition for the Gophers. Go Gophers!

[sterlippo1]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

Man, after the heated games of the last couple of years and strong recent seasons by MN & BC...I would never have guessed the thread for this series would be so subdued.

it's called mutual respect

[Greyeagle]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

it's called mutual respect

I'm in with that.

[sterlippo1]

Re: Minnesota @ Boston College\Northeastern

I'm in with that.

I've been waiting years to see Minnesota and Michigan (to a lesser extent) and excited that both come to Conte this year. These Eagles not the caliber you are used to seeing so I'm hoping we can stay with you guys.

[Greyeagle]

I've been waiting years to see Minnesota and Michigan (to a lesser extent) and excited that both come to Conte this year. These Eagles not the caliber you are used to seeing so I'm hoping we can stay with you guys.

Sandbagger
MN is in a bad funk right now.