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Minnesota Women's Hockey 2025-26

Ditra said:
Is it surprising to Gopher fans that Vetter doesn't seem to have found a home for next season?
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Certainly is. Maybe the injury was worse than we thought. Or maybe there's nothing out there to her liking and she's just calling it quits. I think when she wasn't on the PWHL draft list that gave me an indication that she was done playing.
 
For anyone familiar with how this works in NCAA programs, what is the role of a college GM? In the pros, the GM has managerial control over the roster and the coaching staff, but delegates many of the day-to-day tasks to underlings. In college, it would seem that this would be a lot of administration and logistics, rather than being the key decision maker. Am I misunderstanding the title/role? If the GM reports to the head coach, then it would be different in the power structure than if the GM answered directly to the AD or an associate AD.
 
ARM said:
For anyone familiar with how this works in NCAA programs, what is the role of a college GM? In the pros, the GM has managerial control over the roster and the coaching staff, but delegates many of the day-to-day tasks to underlings. In college, it would seem that this would be a lot of administration and logistics, rather than being the key decision maker. Am I misunderstanding the title/role? If the GM reports to the head coach, then it would be different in the power structure than if the GM answered directly to the AD or an associate AD.
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My understanding of these college GM's in other sports is they report to the head coach.
 
ARM said:
For anyone familiar with how this works in NCAA programs, what is the role of a college GM? In the pros, the GM has managerial control over the roster and the coaching staff, but delegates many of the day-to-day tasks to underlings. In college, it would seem that this would be a lot of administration and logistics, rather than being the key decision maker. Am I misunderstanding the title/role? If the GM reports to the head coach, then it would be different in the power structure than if the GM answered directly to the AD or an associate AD.
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Feels like the vibes are "recruiting and NIL coordinator".
 
eastcoastgopher said:
That game was at my local rink here in Connecticut. Maybe I should go and check it out this weekend.
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Did you make it to the tourney?

Lovell Academy 16U Major went 4-0 in their Dawg Dayz tourney. Stoughton had 6 points in 4 games with 5 goals and an assist and Lovell had 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games played.

Stoughton also suited up in the 19U division of the tourney for the 19U Lovell Academy Elite for one game against Mid-Fairfield, scoring a goal there.
 
Curious if any of you Minnesotans are familiar with Sue Ring Jarvi? I am currently reading her memoir about 50 years of her involvement in girls hockey in Minnesota. An easy delightful read…. I would recommend it to any who are interested in the history of the game.
 
Lindsay said:
Curious if any of you Minnesotans are familiar with Sue Ring Jarvi? I am currently reading her memoir about 50 years of her involvement in girls hockey in Minnesota. An easy delightful read…. I would recommend it to any who are interested in the history of the game.
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And her mom Jane.
 
Lindsay said:
Curious if any of you Minnesotans are familiar with Sue Ring Jarvi? I am currently reading her memoir about 50 years of her involvement in girls hockey in Minnesota. An easy delightful read…. I would recommend it to any who are interested in the history of the game.
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We met in college when we both answered an ad in the Minnesota Daily for softball players. Her and I were first to the field, and tossed balls around. After the game we went to a pizza place in Stadium Village for beer and pizza. I discovered that she was the daughter of my high school chemistry teacher!
She put a team of women on the ice against the frat clubs. Quite a sight seeing all those players skating in figure skates backwards.
 
ManBehindTheCurtain said:
And her mom Jane.
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Nice! Seems her mom was very impactful too. Sue wrote about her parents putting lots of money into supporting her teams financially over the years. That’s what it takes and some folks are so ahead of their times or simply think and do differently than others. What an impact.
 
Steamboat said:
We met in college when we both answered an ad in the Minnesota Daily for softball players. Her and I were first to the field, and tossed balls around. After the game we went to a pizza place in Stadium Village for beer and pizza. I discovered that she was the daughter of my high school chemistry teacher!
She put a team of women on the ice against the frat clubs. Quite a sight seeing all those players skating in figure skates backwards.
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Ha, I can imagine. She said eventually they were told to get hockey skates if they wanted to schedule against the peewee girls. What a difference real hockey skates would make. Even my own daughter when she graduated from second hand skates to a pair of brand new Bauer’s …like a whole different skater.

Brad Frost got a shout out and is in a picture in the book. The 40th anniversary of the Minnesota club team that Sue started was in 2014 and he help organize a game for alumni and current Gophers. This was before it was cool to acknowledge the existence of the women that played decades ago.

Also enjoyed reading about her teams went and played women’s college teams in the northeast. That makes sense… it always seemed odd that Minnesota wasn’t part of the early days of women’s college hockey. It seems they were, they just didn’t have varsity status but didn’t let that stop them.

impressive and inspiring life she has led.
 
I know they have to prove it, but I don't think this team is a *full step* behind Ohio State. They probably are a full step behind Wisconsin—although hey, I really like the Gopher defense for the first time in quite a while—but if they get swept by them again then the problem is something other than talent.
 
My wife and I have been huge Gopher fans forever for multiple sports. The other day we were talking about how the women's hockey team has changed over the years and why we now feel slightly alienated as fans. A lot of it I believe relates to how bizarre their in state recruiting has been. Scholarships given to a handful of low/mid level D1 talents within the state only to watch the team realize they don't have what it takes once they get here. A few of those misses were kind of obvious head scratchers before occurring, others you cheer for and hope they beat the odds. Meanwhile the top in state talent has been dispersed annually on other rosters, with a small handful of exceptions. WI, TOSU, St Thomas have all did as good or a better job in recruiting MN the last few years which is part of my dismay.

They have did quite well recruiting internationally and outside the state which is awesome and needs to continue, but essentially you have Ava Linsey and Madison Kaiser as the in state difference makers from the last three years of recruiting (not including current incoming players). How can it be limited to two players? There are a few other role players on the team from MN, but I'm talking impact players. You need a combination of both for ultimate success, but we're missing the mark here in our own state. Perhaps you can pay for better international recruiting advice, lol.

The Gophers should be very competitive this year, but it still seems like an overall continuous slow decline over time in performance despite the good record. Always just a little short on required talent to get back to the top.

Will they eventually make a coaching change....no way, so that's probably another reason why I feel like meh. You have a feeling change is probably needed, but the glory days prevent it from happening for at least another 10 years. So lets keep running it out there and hope for the best. Murphy returning is huge, could you imagine the last few years without? Love or hate, over the last two years without would have been scary. Here's for hoping for a spark this season to change momentum!
 
For a while, until the current crop of assistant coaches settled in I felt they were overly reliant on in-state players and were focusing, like the men's team, more on being Minnesotan than actually winning. I haven't felt too often that the Minnesotans who didn't come to this team proved to be huge misses. At least among forwards I haven't. And a number of the best ones played for Cornell, who is not the Gophers' concern most of the time.

(For what it's worth, the transfer Nelson and, depending on whether she can seize the net, the younger Hemp, are impact players on this year's team.)

The floor being transferring out is 100% a concern. But the borders expanding has made me more confident in this team than I would be had everyone from the 22-23 recruiting class and beyond stuck around and no one else came in. I have plenty of concerns with the coaching. I don't think Frost should get an extension. But last year's group of freshmen and this year's are not groups that play into my apathy with the program.

I don't live in Minnesota, but I know how the men's team has operated historically and how some of the fanbase reacts. Is the fact that over half of this team is from out of state and the majority of future recruits are as well a real cause of fan disinterest? I'm asking this because I don't know the answer, while my opinion is that it's a change of philosophy that's been a little bit overdue.
 
eastcoastgopher said:
Is the fact that over half of this team is from out of state and the majority of future recruits are as well a real cause of fan disinterest? I'm asking this because I don't know the answer, while my opinion is that it's a change of philosophy that's been a little bit overdue.
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GWH is still more of a boutique sport. The program has always relied on getting key contributions from outside the state, but part of its charm and the reason it existed in the first place was that it included the same kids who fans had followed in the prep ranks. I'm not sure if the casual fan who goes to a game every season or two cares, but those buying season tickets (or not) do.

When Frost was having his run, it coincided with in-state recruiting classes that included Rachel Ramsey, Rachael Bona, and Meghan Lorence one year, Hannah Brandt, Lee Stecklein, and Milica McMillen the next, and Dani Cameranesi, Kate Schipper, and Megan Wolfe the year after that. The Gophs didn't lose many in-state recruiting battles in those years. Perhaps the talent in MN isn't as strong of late, but it was never deep enough that Frost could afford to let the best players get away and compete at the top.
 
It’s clear the Minnesota fans have significant affection for the team but also significant apathy.

It struck me as odd the college fans shoulder shrugging about losing Coach Darwitz. The PW fans are still mad about it, from the pro world. Maybe the college fans know something the pro fans don’t, but it speaks to what seems like an undefined team identity.

On a different topic I am just super excited for the new season. We are in a new era with no centralization. I believe centralization started in 2002. Players who are trying to make their first usa or Canada Olympic team are doing what no other players have had to do in the NCAA era. Make their final case based on a college season and try to stay healthy while doing it. What does that mean for someone like Edwards? Is she trying to make the Olympics as a defender? Will she play there as a college senior?
 
This isn't the thread for Edwards's team, but she's one of the American college players (along with Harvey, Murphy, and Janecke, plus I guess McNaughton because they seem to have their goalies settled) whose cases for the Olympic team are open and shut. She'll play defense for the national team, and she'll make the team, and she'll play big minutes, regardless of where she is in college. She is, at present, the best RHD in the US pool.

But it is different. If there were centralization, it would be interesting to find out if Murphy (or Harvey, or Eden) would decide to play college into their age-25 season or not.
 
eastcoastgopher said:
This isn't the thread for Edwards's team, but she's one of the American college players (along with Harvey, Murphy, and Janecke, plus I guess McNaughton because they seem to have their goalies settled) whose cases for the Olympic team are open and shut. She'll play defense for the national team, and she'll make the team, and she'll play big minutes, regardless of where she is in college. She is, at present, the best RHD in the US pool.

But it is different. If there were centralization, it would be interesting to find out if Murphy (or Harvey, or Eden) would decide to play college into their age-25 season or not.
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So sorry! I thought this was the wcha thread.
 
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