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Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

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  • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

    Originally posted by SteveO View Post
    What exactly is this "new style" you speak of? Do you have any examples? So the "older" guys (2-3 years older?) are stubbornly refusing to change/adapt or be coached by Motzko and the younger ones are ok with it? Is that your theory? Does that include Raboin as well? I'm curious to know what the contrasting coaching styles between Lucia and Motzko are that you're assuming "Lucia's guys" find irreconcilable?
    tBob has said it more than a few times throughout the year: there is a "cuteness" that doesn't belong in hockey.

    The Gophers have a deserved reputation of looking good first, scoring second. They want the pretty goals that show up on ESPN's Top Ten and other highlight reels. tBob just wants to win, no matter how ugly it is. Get gritty, get the garbage goals, whatever.
    Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
    Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

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    • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

      Originally posted by Koho View Post
      But doesn't anyone think it is more than a coincidence that coaching ability is being questioned in a similar vein at Wisconsin, UND, BC, BU, UMi? It is unlikely any of these teams, that 15 years ago would all be expected to make it to the NCAA's almost annually, will make the tourney this year unless they pull off a conference tourney win. Do people really think coaching is completely the issue at everyone of these schools (or was the sole issue with MN last year)?
      It very well could be. We're talking about one year of hockey which is an incredibly small sample size to begin with and it's possible that all of them are going through a transition period at the same time. I also think you're arbitrarily selecting those teams and leaving out others like Denver and Duluth.

      With us and Wisconsin you have new coaches at differing years of the rebuild, with Granato it might be as simple as finding a quality goalie and getting a couple Dmen to turn things around a year from now. With Bob it's still early and it's gonna take time. BC likely held onto their coach too long but I'm not terribly familiar with their situation. Michigan and BU made the tournament a year ago and I think 2+ years in a row before this year (both def made it last year, BU's made it a few years in a row I think)? It's not like they've had prolonged struggles. North Dakota basically had a coach win it all fairly recently with the previous guy's recruits and now they've taken a step back, their coaching situation might need to be evaluated if this continues.

      I think the main issue with your theory though is that the draft rules haven't changed since the 2005 lockout, in which case I don't see how the dynamic in terms of recruiting has changed significantly since then. I guess it's possible that different coaches adjusted better than others to how the draft rules changed things but that's about it. During that time you have had teams like North Dakota make the tournament every year up until their coaching change. BC won it however many times during that stretch and up until recently made the tournament nearly every year for a decade. Denver with 3 different coaches hasn't missed the NCAA's once since I was a freshman in college (06-07). Duluth had a rough stretch in the old WCHA but Sandy turned it around and this decade they've only missed twice. So it's not an impossible task to make the tournament more consistently than Lucia did during the latter half of his career.

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      • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

        Well, at least I'll save a bunch of time not watching the college hockey playoffs this year.....
        Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
        Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

        Comment


        • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

          Ski-U-MEH
          National Champions: 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003

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          • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

            Ugh

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            • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

              Originally posted by Rabid Gopher View Post
              Ski-U-MEH
              I'll take that as a compliment to this year's program. If I were to comment, I wouldn't be so complimentary.
              Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
              Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

              Comment


              • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                Originally posted by The Rube View Post
                I'll take that as a compliment to this year's program. If I were to comment, I wouldn't be so complimentary.
                Have to admit, it was a very clever (and accurate) sign held up by the PSU fan this evening.
                Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey

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                • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                  Originally posted by Koho View Post
                  People look for quick, easy answers. I don't know what the situation was with Lucia the last few years, if he lost his fire. Perhaps. But I agree that the dominant dialogue last year was largely 'Lucia can't get his talented players to play to their ability". This year, it is common to hear that the problem isn't the current coach, but the players that Lucia recruited. Let's keep in mind that Lucia took CC from last to first in one year largely with the players that were already at CC. And we all know what happened shortly after coming to MN. He clearly was a hell of a coach at one time (and I am not sure he definitely ceased being one.)

                  But doesn't anyone think it is more than a coincidence that coaching ability is being questioned in a similar vein at Wisconsin, UND, BC, BU, UMi? It is unlikely any of these teams, that 15 years ago would all be expected to make it to the NCAA's almost annually, will make the tourney this year unless they pull off a conference tourney win. Do people really think coaching is completely the issue at everyone of these schools (or was the sole issue with MN last year)?
                  Some good thoughts here Koho. Your comments about Don Lucia are appreciated. His ability to coach is the reason why he's the winningest coach in program history. Another example would be Mel Pearson and what he did last season in his first year at Michigan. He turned a floundering team into a FF team for the first time in 7 seasons. They lost a couple high scoring guys this season in Calderone and Norris with an injury. But I expect them to be tough down the stretch again. Mel Pearson knows how to coach.

                  IMO AD Ally made a huge error in hiring Tony Granato at UW, and fans are paying for that now. York is in the declining years of his coaching career at BC. UND and Berry are not a good fit. Hak was a tough, but superb motivator and a savvy recruiter. Berry lacks that edge. A lot of fans at BU think O'Connell was not a good replacement for Quinn as HC and their decline indicates it. So IMO coaching issues are at the heart of each of the schools you mentioned.

                  IMO the angst of whiny Gophers fans, the UM AD debt crisis due to overspending, a corporate marketing model and declining attendance (largely due to increased ticket prices) added tremendous impetus to Don Lucia's decision to retire. He endured so much criticism from insensitive and spoiled Gopher fans along with complaints from inside that he never played at MN, he had enough. IMO he had at least 3-5 more good seasons in the tank and I think he knew it.

                  IMO AD Coyle, Nanne and others who think the best invention since sliced bread is sliced payments, made a hasty decision and waved a pile of cash in front of Bob Motzko that was more than double what he earned at SCSU, so he bit and dumped his alma mater.

                  Many fans don't realize Bob Motzko has been coaching as an asst. and HC for about 32 years. IMO much like TG at UW, he's in his declining years as a coach. He never won anything at the NCAA level in his prime, in large part because he seemed to struggle to consistently motivate his teams for big games. Based upon his history as a coach and what I've seen this season, I'm not expecting anything different throughout the duration of his 5 year, $2.9M contract.

                  The series this weekend vs Penn St. is an ominous example. Motzko made a colossal error by playing Robson again tonight. Robson has now gone down in infamy as the only goalie in Gopher hockey history to post a GAA of 4.0 over 8 consecutive games (2-6-0). That's more than pathetic, it's wrong. Blaming "Lucia's guys" (of which Robson is one) for this season's demise because they apparently refuse to cooperate is simply the delusion of myopic Gopher fans living in denial, hoping Motzko will win an NC four years into his contract in 2021-22. This Motzko coached Gopher team will also set a record as having the worst W% over the last 20 years (maybe more...we'll see). But this is what Gopher fans and the corporate debt mongers at the U clamored for, so here's your season. Suck it up and tap your toes until 2021-22.
                  Last edited by SteveO; 02-09-2019, 10:54 PM.

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                  • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                    Originally posted by The Rube View Post
                    tBob has said it more than a few times throughout the year: there is a "cuteness" that doesn't belong in hockey.

                    The Gophers have a deserved reputation of looking good first, scoring second. They want the pretty goals that show up on ESPN's Top Ten and other highlight reels. tBob just wants to win, no matter how ugly it is. Get gritty, get the garbage goals, whatever.
                    I recall him mentioning it but not consistently. You stated, "The older guys seem to not have really adapted to the new style, while the younger ones have, at least to a point." I asked you to explain the style difference. Cuteness is a style difference between Motzko and Lucia? I don't think Lucia taught "cuteness" as a positive attribute in ANY of his teams. And the younger guys are playing "cute" as you state, "to a point"? Wow. And you have proof of this?

                    Lucia's teams were built for speed, not necessarily physicality. Motzko promised to change that, but didn't deliver at all this season.

                    I work within an academic culture of Millennials and post-Millennials, and they often require an attitude adjustment. That's a coaching issue that Motzko should be able to handle and he's been far too soft. Good coaches know if guys don't change they don't play. Worked really well for Herbie.
                    Last edited by SteveO; 02-09-2019, 11:46 PM.

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                    • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                      Originally posted by trixR4kids View Post
                      At least for a time you had Walker/Burke/McL all forechecking hard and playing fast. The older players have never really done that including GPS. That’s part of why they get outshot every single night at even strength and never have any sustained offensive possession outside the PP.

                      The biggest change I think is that there playing a slightly more open style of hockey with more of an emphasis on quick transition. It’s a pretty ugly work in progress with the current group to put it nicely.
                      Quick transition has ALWAYS been integral to Lucia coached teams. That's nothing new to D1 either. The buck stops with Motzko, it's his job to find a way motivate and instruct.

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                      • Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

                        Originally posted by SteveO View Post
                        I recall him mentioning it but not consistently. You stated, "The older guys seem to not have really adapted to the new style, while the younger ones have, at least to a point." I asked you to explain the style difference. Cuteness is a style difference between Motzko and Lucia? I don't think Lucia taught "cuteness" as a positive attribute in ANY of his teams. And the younger guys are playing "cute" as you state, "to a point"? Wow. And you have proof of this?

                        I work within an academic culture of Millennials and post-Millennials, and they often require an attitude adjustment. That's a coaching issue that Motzko should be able to handle and he's been far too soft. Good coaches know if guys don't change they don't play. Worked really well for Herbie.
                        It's been consistent. And you misread. The younger guys are adjusting, and getting ugly. Yeah, totally expect a full change within the same calendar year. Keep grinding that axe of whatever you're holding on to. :P Kinda obvious you have an agenda to keep. Chumps to champions doesn't happen overnight.
                        Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
                        Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

                        Comment

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