Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

[firstpusk]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Woog was a pretty good coach and knows the game, but if you listen to him talk color wise he is one of the worst out there. (and the biggest homer ever)

Basically, they told us once in Mankato that they were not Gopher fans and objectively called the games..I just sort of laughed that one off.

Coach Woog actually did a good job of helping people to understand what was happening on the ice from a tactical point of view. He also was rather complimentary to MSU-M quite a bit during the broadcasts at the time period of the videos. I can't say that I know him well, but I have had more than a few conversations with him. He has always been polite and congenial and even patient with some folks that have been less so to him in public settings. His sense of humor is one of his best qualities as a man. I am sure he would be more than willing to laugh off your foolish statements and treat you with respect.

[Bale]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

How about thoughts on the games THIS weekend? What do the Mavs need to do most against Minnesota to get back on track? Can the Gophers continue to find enough 5x5 scoring to win with such an abysmal power play? What type of pace do you think we'll see in these games? We know the Gophers will try and push the pace. Will Mankato try and slow the game down? Mankato has talent, but it sounds like they just aren't producing. How does Hastings approach this game? Clog up the front of the net, keep the Gophers on the perimeter, and block shots? Or does he try to counter Minnesota's transition game?

This weekend? Why didn't you say that's what you wanted?

They need to play defense and quit being dumb with the puck. Offense will take care of itself.It will be fast paced. MSU will likely try to make it more physical than MN wants. MSU will not slow it down as that's not our game...and preemptively, MSU does not and has never played the trap. I'm not sure exactly, but don't think MSU can try to counter the transition game since our defensemen have been so bad handling the puck. They likely will pressure the puck in the zone, but really focus on keeping it away from the front of the net.

[mnstate0fhockey]

This weekend? Why didn't you say that's what you wanted?

They need to play defense and quit being dumb with the puck. Offense will take care of itself.It will be fast paced. MSU will likely try to make it more physical than MN wants. MSU will not slow it down as that's not our game...and preemptively, MSU does not and has never played the trap. I'm not sure exactly, but don't think MSU can try to counter the transition game since our defensemen have been so bad handling the puck. They likely will pressure the puck in the zone, but really focus on keeping it away from the front of the net.

Good input Bale. Didn't mean to imply that you'll try to fall back on a trap game. Was more or less wondering how much you'll try and pinch your defensemen in the offensive zone to create offense and whether or not you'll leave your third forward high in the offensive zone to try and counter Minnesota's quick transition game?

I have no doubt the offense will come for you guys. The talent is certainly there. One aspect you touched on that I think will be a distinct advantage for MSU is physical play. I would think Mankato will want to get pucks in deep and put their forecheck to work. Make Minnesota's fleet footed, yet undersized, defensive corps really work.

Should be an interesting series. If this turns into a track meet, I think that favors the Gophers. Not taking anything away from Mankato, but I haven't seen a team skate as well as this Gopher team I a long time. If Mankato can take away space and time and get their forecheck going, that will certainly play to their advantage.

[Bale]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Good input Bale. Didn't mean to imply that you'll try to fall back on a trap game. Was more or less wondering how much you'll try and pinch your defensemen in the offensive zone to create offense and whether or not you'll leave your third forward high in the offensive zone to try and counter Minnesota's quick transition game?

I have no doubt the offense will come for you guys. The talent is certainly there. One aspect you touched on that I think will be a distinct advantage for MSU is physical play. I would think Mankato will want to get pucks in deep and put their forecheck to work. Make Minnesota's fleet footed, yet undersized, defensive corps really work.

Should be an interesting series. If this turns into a track meet, I think that favors the Gophers. Not taking anything away from Mankato, but I haven't seen a team skate as well as this Gopher team I a long time. If Mankato can take away space and time and get their forecheck going, that will certainly play to their advantage.

You didn't imply anything. It just never fails, someone assumes MSU plays a trap every time we play. Just wanted to get it in before someone said it. I don't see a lot of defensemen pinching. The quick defensemen that we have are offensive guys and probably have it drilled into their head to stay home more often than not and our defensive defensemen are too slow to catch up when they get beat. MSU's system is about being responsible on defense and not giving up Grade A chances (which they've failed miserably in our losses).

MSU's M.O. in the past has been to get physical with MN. We're generally a pretty good skating team, so slowing it down isn't ideal, but it's likely going to be physical. Jutts build MSU in the same type of mold that UND was. Good skaters that are physical. It's been a clash of styles for the past 5 years for MSU/MN and part of why I think MSU has seen better success.

[MavHockey14]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

The key for MSU is better power play and better transition game. Like bale said, the defenseman have struggled being efficient with the puck. Our neutral zone entry and attacking zone entry have been average at best, sometimes down right atrocious. It's definitely going to be fast hockey.

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Our neutral zone entry and attacking zone entry have been average at best, sometimes down right atrocious. It's definitely going to be fast hockey.

That's been the most disappointing part of the year so far for me. We were much smoother completing passes and getting into the attack zone last year. Any thoughts on whether switching to a smaller, more crowded rink has played a part in this? And if so, will we feel a little more comfortable playing at an international sized rink this weekend? (Yeah, I know. I'm grasping at straws. But let's just say our previous trip this year to play a Top 5 on their ice was not a rousing success.)

[Hammy]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

You can pretty much throw out any talk about how the past battles were. This Gopher team is built differently than we've seen. This may be the quickest and fastest Gopher team of the Lucia era. For them, it is about pressuring the D with their speed, quickly shutting down passing lanes, creating turnovers and transitioning it into offense. Pretty much the BC model of recent years. The Gophs played like this to a degree in the past but didn't really have the personnel to be consistently effective with it because they had some of the bigger guys that didn't quite have that quickness element to their game.

[GopherFan89]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Hoping the Mavs get tossed this weekend. Many of the stupid posts they've made in this thread are indicative of their fan base. Had beer thrown on me before, been cussed out and just been treated with general d-baggery at their civic center (I mean rink). And as much crap as I dish out to SCSU fans on here, I'm a pretty mild-mannered fan when I go to games (i.e. cheering, but not overly obnoxious or drunk). To top it off, most of the people that go to their games know very little about hockey.

As someone above mentioned, this Gopher team is different from last year. There isn't (not yet, at least) a sense of entitlement that last year's team struggled with. I think that they recognize that they need to work hard for their wins. Maybe it's that the young guys still have something to prove or the leadership of their captains, but I hope that they play 6 full periods this weekend.

Gophers sweep!

[MavsFan]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Many of the stupid posts they've made in this thread are indicative of their fan base. Had beer thrown on me before, been cussed out and just been treated with general d-baggery at their civic center (I mean rink).

Yeah, it's only us with d-bag fans. When we had our "home" game against the Gophers at the X several years back, our CHEERLEADERS were tripped, punched, and called foul names. Cheerleaders.

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Yeah, it's only us with d-bag fans. When we had our "home" game against the Gophers at the X several years back, our CHEERLEADERS were tripped, punched, and called foul names. Cheerleaders.

You should really control your fans. Attacking your own cheerleaders? That's embarrassing.

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Don's quote on the series, from Jason's blog in the Strib:

“Most their team returns from an NCAA tournament team a year ago. They have real good speed. Look real good on video. Starting goaltender is back, who had a terrific year [last season]. There’s a reason they were picked to win the WCHA,” Lucia said. “They had a great finish in the WCHA, last year. Veteran team. They’re old. And we’re going to have our hands full. … They’ve been very successful out here at Mariucci the last number of years. All of our games seem to be one-goal games or overtime games.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/231822471.html

[gopher wes]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Yeah, it's only us with d-bag fans. When we had our "home" game against the Gophers at the X several years back, our CHEERLEADERS were tripped, punched, and called foul names. Cheerleaders.

I hate to agree with GopherFan89(no really, it pains me), but I once had what appeared to be an entire bag of popcorn poured over my head when Mankato scored a goal against the Gophers in Mankato. I was doing nothing to anyone, just sitting there silent while Mankato fans cheered for the goal. Thank goodness Carman scored in OT that night.

Had someone spit on me and my buddy's seats one time in Mankato. That was fun...

Also, that home game at the X I was yelled and sworn at by a random MSU fan that I did nothing to. Just wanted to be a d-nozzle because I was a Gopher fan.

This is a pretty bold statement, but I think MSU fans overall(not lumping that fans on here into this) are the second dumbest fanbase I've encountered other than sconnie when it comes to hockey sense/etiquette/knowledge.

[mnstate0fhockey]

I hate to agree with GopherFan89(no really, it pains me), but I once had what appeared to be an entire bag of popcorn poured over my head when Mankato scored a goal against the Gophers in Mankato. I was doing nothing to anyone, just sitting there silent while Mankato fans cheered for the goal. Thank goodness Carman scored in OT that night.

Had someone spit on me and my buddy's seats one time in Mankato. That was fun...

Also, that home game at the X I was yelled and sworn at by a random MSU fan that I did nothing to. Just wanted to be a d-nozzle because I was a Gopher fan.

This is a pretty bold statement, but I think MSU fans overall(not lumping that fans on here into this) are the second dumbest fanbase I've encountered other than sconnie when it comes to hockey sense/etiquette/knowledge.

Wait, Sconnie has hockey fans?

[Bale]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

I hate to agree with GopherFan89(no really, it pains me), but I once had what appeared to be an entire bag of popcorn poured over my head when Mankato scored a goal against the Gophers in Mankato. I was doing nothing to anyone, just sitting there silent while Mankato fans cheered for the goal. Thank goodness Carman scored in OT that night.

Had someone spit on me and my buddy's seats one time in Mankato. That was fun...

Also, that home game at the X I was yelled and sworn at by a random MSU fan that I did nothing to. Just wanted to be a d-nozzle because I was a Gopher fan.

This is a pretty bold statement, but I think MSU fans overall(not lumping that fans on here into this) are the second dumbest fanbase I've encountered other than sconnie when it comes to hockey sense/etiquette/knowledge.

This whole thing, from my perspective, is a bit overblown. What you have to understand, and I don't like to admit this even though it's true, is that people come out of the woodwork when it's the Gophers. The people that show up when the Gophers are in town or at the X are totally different than those that are there on a regular basis. The average attendance goes from about 3800 per game to 5200. I know MN brings a lot of people when they come to Kato, but it's not that many people. There are a lot of ******nozzles that show up because we are playing the U. I've heard a bunch of those stories and I don't doubt them at all. Most of the ones that I've heard are in the typically visitor sections of the arena, which are never full for non-MN or non-UND games. That tells me it's likely those ******nozzles that show up 1 or 2 times a year and are likely coming because it's a cool place to go to drink a bunch of over-priced beer and act like a ******nozzle.

I don't know this for sure, but I think there are 2 things that are different for Kato. First and foremost, take away the alcohol and you wouldn't have nearly the amount of rudeness that you do now and you likely wouldn't have the issues about hockey sense/etiquette/knowledge. For that matter, add it to places like MN, SCSU, UMD, etc and you would probably see the collective IQ of the fan base take a nose dive as well. Secondly, take out the MN factor and take in a random game against Tech. The stupidity level will likely take a nose dive as well because the ******nozzles (can you tell I love typing/saying that word) don't show up. Full disclosure, there was a time that I considered not bringing my kids to MN games because of the assinine behavior of people. I agree with the amount of stupidity that shows up.

[Driftryder]

Re: Minnesota hosts Mankato State of Minnesota : 11/15 & 11/16

Weekend preview from Gophersports

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m...111313aaa.html

The No. 1 University of Minnesota men's hockey program returns to action this weekend with a nonconference home series against in-state rival Minnesota State at Mariucci Arena. The Friday/Saturday series features a pair of 7:10 p.m. CT start times with both games available on FOX Sports North PLUS as well as online streaming at BTN2Go.com. Friday radio's broadcast will be broadcast on 1500 ESPN while Saturday's finale will move to MyTalk 107.1.