Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

Notre Dame was welcomed into the B1G but decided it would rather play eastern schools and just this year joined the ACC.

Maybe they did, but I don't recall the B1G inviting Notre Dame for hockey, for which they ended up joining Hockey East. And they remain independent for football, so I guess they play in the ACC for all other sports, most prominently basketball?

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

I don't hate them, I just see no need as they are focused on the east and can't get us televised. In hockey in my state, ND's brand is no better than a dozen other schools. Not sure why that's hard to understand...

This type of old school thinking is classic provincialism and has since gone the way of the Twinkie in this age of conference realignment. No other school in NCAA history has sustained their nationally known brand, irrespective of their athletic performance, like Notre Dame. Why is playing them important? From a growth perspective, their recognizable brand resonates with the casual fan, attracts new fans, and helps promote college hockey's long term growth. That's all good for a niche sport like college hockey that typically gets a cameo appearance once a year on Sportscenter. I'd be interested to see your short list of schools "in your state" that have greater iconic brand name recognition than ND.

It's no secret that Notre Dame has traditionally had their own style of the tArrogance, and IMO the B1G or the NCHC was never a good fit for ND's prominent and unique persona, and traditional values. JFYI, ND's preferred conference option was initially the NCHC, but the NCHC (basically UND) didn't want both ND AND their promotional TV package with NBC which had already contractually committed to broadcasting primarily Notre Dame games. So ND went to Hockey East instead.

Eastern schools have a colorful and storied history of involvement with ND athletics and are more compatible with their inherent values, brand name, and tradition as a Catholic university anyway. ND's move to Hockey East was the right one and it makes perfect sense to me. With the rapid success of BTN, Bertagna wanted to expand HE's media footprint. ND's twenty year alliance with NBC and their nationwide fanbase that follows ANYTHING Notre Dame is the feather in Bertagna's cap to fulfill his vision. Hockey East also added UConn, another brand name school for some of the same reasons.

Credit Jeff Jackson, a great coach who has done a fantastic job over the last nine years in elevating the ND hockey program to where it is today as a true contender for a national championship. This is an important road series between two very evenly matched teams that I suspect will prove to be even more of a test for the Gophers than BC.

Does Notre Dame play markedly better at home rather than away?

It won't be easy gettin' a W in their house. They're currently riding a 10 game winning streak at home dating back to Jan. 26th.

[goldy_331]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

This type of old school thinking is classic provincialism and has since gone the way of the Twinkie in this age of conference realignment.

Twinkies are back, so does that mean we should all return to old school thinking?

[mnstate0fhockey]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

I really fail to see how him not wanting to play Notre Dame in hockey because their football team won't come play here is "provincial". As far as not doing them any recruiting favors, that's just common sense. Doubt Don agreed to play Notre Dame to help Jackson cultivate recruiting connections in-state. He agreed to play Notre Dame because they are presently (emphasis on presently) a good hockey program. If someone doesn't want to see our hockey team play Notre Dame because their football program won't visit TCF Bank, you can disagree with the opinion all you want, but calling that opinion "provincial" is nonsense. If every small program in college hockey refused to play the Gophers at Mariucci because we refuse to return the favor, I doubt people on this board would be calling it a "provincial" move.

If anything, call it pride in school.

[Stauber1]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

Twinkies are back, so does that mean we should all return to old school thinking?

Yes.

I have no real interest in seeing the Gophers play Notre Dame. ND are a good team, but there are other good teams around. Meh. I'm looking forward to a good series between 2 good teams, but if I had my druthers there are certainly other teams I would prefer to see.

I also don't really care about the idea of "growing" college hockey. College hockey has been around for a long time and isn't going anywhere. Why "growth" is such a highly important thing is lost on me. In fact, a lot of the changes that I dislike over the past 10-15 year in college hockey can be at least partially attributed to "growth."

I get that I'm a minority with that viewpoint, but I also know I'm not alone.

I'm only 32 but sometimes I feel like such an old codger.

[mnstate0fhockey]

Yes.

I have no real interest in seeing the Gophers play Notre Dame. ND are a good team, but there are other good teams around. Meh. I'm looking forward to a good series between 2 good teams, but if I had my druthers there are certainly other teams I would prefer to see.

I also don't really care about the idea of "growing" college hockey. College hockey has been around for a long time and isn't going anywhere. Why "growth" is such a highly important thing is lost on me. In fact, a lot of the changes that I dislike over the past 10-15 year in college hockey can be at least partially attributed to "growth."

I get that I'm a minority with that viewpoint, but I also know I'm not alone.

I'm only 32 but sometimes I feel like such an old codger.

You're not alone. I'm indifferent about growth as well. I also don't think playing Notre Dame in hockey is doing any favors for our program from an off-ice perspective. I don't think it hurts our program, but I don't think it helps us in any significant way either. They are a good team and currently provide good competition for our squad, but the Big Ten is doing more than anything playing Notre Dame could to improve the visibility of our program.

[Hammy]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

Notre Dame is driven by its national profile (i.e. TV) so I can't say I really blame them for trying to maintain that. That obviously wasn't going to work under the Big Ten umbrella with our network. Even if they have become somewhat irrelevant on a national perspective when it comes to national title picture in football, I think it is understandable to want to maintain that unique image.

[UND92UMNLaw99]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

The Gophers played Notre Dame last year .. I would have preferred some other school in its place in the non-conference schedule. We never play ECAC schools it seems .. I would love to see the Gophers visiting Lynah to take on Cornell, or playing Yale (revenge for last year), Harvard (revenge for '89), or Quinnippiac.

[jerryj]

I actually agree with not really feeling a lot of excitement about the notre dame series for 4 years. Nothing against their program- they have high end recruits and a pretty cool arena. I also think they are a good team to play to prepare for the NCAA tournament being that they are highly skilled but play a pretty tight system and pretty physical. I think what bothers me about it is that- and maybe it was just a cooncidence- but it seemed like Lucia fell in love with scheduling notre dame around the time Mario committed there. Have we made a four year scheduling agreement prior to this one in the Lucia era?

[Jon]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

One poster saying UM shouldn't play ND is a whirpool? I knew our opinions were powerful but dayum.

That's why the rest of us hate/fear you. God save us from the wrath of the Rodentmen!

[Tiggsy]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

This is just yet another rivalry that can develop, which is pretty common right now. I'm sure I will be just as excited watching the game as I usually am during any other game no matter who the opponent. ND is quality competition, so why not schedule them? Wasn't that the idea about getting BC on the schedule? This is no different.

[4four4]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

Yes.

I have no real interest in seeing the Gophers play Notre Dame. ND are a good team, but there are other good teams around. Meh. I'm looking forward to a good series between 2 good teams, but if I had my druthers there are certainly other teams I would prefer to see.

I also don't really care about the idea of "growing" college hockey. College hockey has been around for a long time and isn't going anywhere. Why "growth" is such a highly important thing is lost on me. In fact, a lot of the changes that I dislike over the past 10-15 year in college hockey can be at least partially attributed to "growth."

I get that I'm a minority with that viewpoint, but I also know I'm not alone.

I'm only 32 but sometimes I feel like such an old codger.

LOL.

I am old enough to really hate Michigan and Michigan State when they were in the old WCHA. Many of us flipped out when they left for the CCHA kind of like we are taking our small balls and going home because we can't beat Minnesota and Wisconsin. The growth angle should be more about evolving. College hockey has always changed it might take a while but it's never the same.

[GopherFan89]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

Who do you guys think are more out of their element. Notre Dame on big ice or the Gophers on NHL rinks?

Also will we see a repeat of last year? Obviously the Gophers lost a number of good players. Can a UND fan tell us how their squad has changed from last year's match? Does Lucia finally score a goal against his father's team?

[GopherFan89]

Re: Minnesota at Notre Dame 11/8 & 11/9

STrib noted that everyone is rested and healthy and that Guertler will at the very least be traveling with the team. No decision if he will play (but I'd be VERY surprised).

"He has to earn his way back now."
-tDon

[mnstate0fhockey]

STrib noted that everyone is rested and healthy and that Guertler will at the very least be traveling with the team. No decision if he will play (but I'd be VERY surprised).

"He has to earn his way back now."
-tDon

How can he "earn" his way back if he isn't given a chance to play? From what I've heard, he's kept his nose clean and has busted his butt in practice. What more can he do?

He should play him one night IMO. The kid could have taken the easy out and bolted to the CHL. He didn't. He honored his commitment and stuck around and took his punishment. He's been punished enough IMO. Start working him in (maybe not both nights) and see what he can do. If he earns more time, then give it to him.