Minnesota Gopher Women's Hockey 20-21

[robertearle]

It looks like the Gophers have added the Land-Cows as a home and home series to their schedule for Dec 10th and 11th

does this mean they have worked out the 'Big Ten vs non-Big Ten' rules, or does this 'not count' because it is non-conference?

[Timothy A]

does this mean they have worked out the 'Big Ten vs non-Big Ten' rules, or does this 'not count' because it is non-conference?

Excellent question. One would assume they would be non-conference unless they then don't play in the tiny tunnels in the wwcha season part II.

[Still Eeyore]

I cannot find the Big 10's policy regarding non-conference opponents for winter sports anywhere on its site, or in any media. One would figure that, if they wanted us to know what it is, they'd make it available. So, my guess is that they would prefer to make it up as they go along and decided that obscurity was its ally.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

At times like this, I miss Shannon. You know that she'd be claiming that people were getting Covid on purpose, just to gain some imagined competitive advantage. Crowell is far too rational to ever generate any interesting stories.

This season could use the sequin-jacketed one to spice things up a bit...

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

does this mean they have worked out the 'Big Ten vs non-Big Ten' rules, or does this 'not count' because it is non-conference?

I guess....Don't all these games seem like they don't count?

[Timothy A]

I guess....Don't all these games seem like they don't count?

Sadly yes.

[D2D]

It could be a lot worse, as in no games being played. Seems to me they are doing a good job of balancing playing hockey and staying safe, i.e. navigating a reasonable middle ground.

[Still Eeyore]

It could be a lot worse, as in no games being played. Seems to me they are doing a good job of balancing playing hockey and staying safe, i.e. navigating a reasonable middle ground.

I disagree. No one should be playing college sports right now. Especially hockey, which seems to be much more likely to spread the virus than other sports.

[D2D]

I disagree. No one should be playing college sports right now. Especially hockey, which seems to be much more likely to spread the virus than other sports.

What is it about hockey specifically that leads you to conclude that it's "much more likely to spread the virus than other sports"? Gopher football is shut down, at least temporarily, while Gopher hockey (both men's and women's) are so far unaffected. Meanwhile basketball is just getting started....we'll see what happens with that.

[Still Eeyore]

What is it about hockey specifically that leads you to conclude that it's "much more likely to spread the virus than other sports"? Gopher football is shut down, at least temporarily, while Gopher hockey (both men's and women's) are so far unaffected. Meanwhile basketball is just getting started....we'll see what happens with that.

What it is about hockey that leads me to conclude that it's much more likely to spread the virus than other sports is that it has pretty conclusively been much more likely to spread the virus than other sports. Simple empiricism. There have been far more instances of hockey games that have become super spreader events than other sports. No one is entirely sure why, but the suspected culprit is the ventilation systems. Because ice rinks are built to freeze and maintain a sheet of ice, their HVAC systems don't circulate the air as vigorously as those of other buildings. In particular, there seems to be a dead space about 6-9 feet off the ice that gets little circulation. This is exacerbated by the boards, which further restrict air circulation. And the use of shift changes, in which players exert maximum effort while on the ice and then change means that they are probably breathing more heavily.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...ion-outbreaks/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/youth-hock...ry?id=74232730

Sports in general have led to spread, so it's not just hockey, but it is worse. The top professional leagues have the resources to kind of, sort of, make things work, though if they don't keep everyone in a bubble, they've had to make a mockery of the competition to keep it running. No one else does.

[Hockeybuckeye]

Sports in general have led to spread, so it's not just hockey, but it is worse. The top professional leagues have the resources to kind of, sort of, make things work, though if they don't keep everyone in a bubble, they've had to make a mockery of the competition to keep it running. No one else does.

We already have threads about the virus but I'm going to throw my two cents in either because I'm becoming a pessimist or just a grumpy old man, take your pick.
Both the flu and Covid are viral and can transmit in similar fashion but how many decades have we had vaccines for the flu and it's never once been close to being fully contained? Based on the history of viral outbreaks using our experience of the flu as a base model why would anyone think Covid can be contained?

[Still Eeyore]

We already have threads about the virus but I'm going to throw my two cents in either because I'm becoming a pessimist or just a grumpy old man, take your pick.
Both the flu and Covid are viral and can transmit in similar fashion but how many decades have we had vaccines for the flu and it's never once been close to being fully contained? Based on the history of viral outbreaks using our experience of the flu as a base model why would anyone think Covid can be contained?

Because the flu and SARS-CoV-2 are not, despite what look to you like similarities, all that similar. It's not just that the latter is a completely different type of virus than the former. It's also that Covid-19 is caused by a virus, while the flu is caused by a bunch of different viruses. The flu vaccine you get this year isn't the same vaccine as the one you got last year. Every year, it's tailored to the specific strain of influenza that public health officials think will be the dominant one that year. If there was just a single flu virus, it would be a lot easier to contain.

The fact that SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus gives vaccine researchers a way to try to attack it that is not available with influenza strains. Without going into the details of what a mRNA vaccine is, it's an entirely new approach. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines don't resemble anything created before. It's possible that this approach can be adapted for other diseases, but the protein spikes on a coronavirus are an easy target. The Chinese released the DNA sequence of the virus on January 11. On January 13, Moderna completed its vaccine. The 11 months since then have been the testing, and the vaccine that took 48 hours to create appears to be far more effective than any flu vaccine.

All that said, we're never going to reach a point where there is no such thing as Covid-19. It's going to be with us for a very long time. But the data we have on vaccines strongly suggest that it will be "with us" in the same way that measles is, rather than like influenza is.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Minnesota is awful but somehow leads this game 1-0.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Minnesota gets outshot by the Land-Cows, 41-28 but win 5-1. Minnesota decided to compete in the 3rd period. It was nice they decided play for 20 of the 60 minutes.

[D2D]

Minnesota gets outshot by the Land-Cows, 41-28 but win 5-1. Minnesota decided to compete in the 3rd period. It was nice they decided play for 20 of the 60 minutes.

A very frustrating game to watch if you're a Gopher fan. I lost track of the number of odd-man rushes they gave up in Periods 1 and 2. Way too many unforced errors and judgement lapses. I don't know what Frosty said to the team in the locker room before Period 3, but whatever it was, it worked.
I'm looking for a more consistent effort in tomorrow's rematch.