Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

Video of the game's three goals:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1218705797288550400

Watching FloHockey there was a problem with the video feed later in the first period so I did not see the first two goals. On the OSU goal, WTH is number 13 for the Gophers doing on that play?

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

Watching FloHockey there was a problem with the video feed later in the first period so I did not see the first two goals. On the OSU goal, WTH is number 13 for the Gophers doing on that play?

It's not entirely clear to me that she's the main culprit. Potomak and Heise seem to be drifting around aimlessly. I'd need to see the play develop.

[ARM]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

It's not entirely clear to me that she's the main culprit. Potomak and Heise seem to be drifting around aimlessly. I'd need to see the play develop.

They allowed a 4-on-4 goal on Friday as well, so it might be a good time for the coaches to refresh coverage responsibilities when each team is short a skater.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

It's not entirely clear to me that she's the main culprit. Potomak and Heise seem to be drifting around aimlessly. I'd need to see the play develop.

This probably will be a waste of time on my part but...At the 23 second mark of the FSN highlight video look at where number 6 and number 13 are positioned as the defensive pairing. Not terrible at that point but follow where number 13 goes in the next couple of seconds. Continues to drift left (from the viewing angle) and has put her self so far out of position that number 18 is left all along to do her thing. Could either number 26 or number 9 done a better job of back-checking? Sure, but you don't want both of your defensemen on one side of the ice (the left in this case) as the other team is entering the zone with a 3 person attack.

I'm pretty confident that the coaching staff will review coverage responsibilities (for 4 on 4 and others) as ARM mentions.

[ARM]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

I wish Alex Gulstene the very best in her studies at the "U" and beyond:
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/1...om-hockey.aspx

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

I wish Alex Gulstene the very best in her studies at the "U" and beyond:
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/1...om-hockey.aspx

There is no doubt whatsoever that all GWH fans share your sentiments and expressed well wishes, ARM.

[Timothy A]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

I wish Alex Gulstene the very best in her studies at the "U" and beyond:
https://gophersports.com/news/2020/1...om-hockey.aspx

Best wishes to her, it's a tough one to have a promising college career cut short like that. I'm sure Frosty won't lose her phone number.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

2nd period did them in but for those who are into moral victories they did play well in the 3rd period to tie it up but left #9 alone to bang it in in OT. 5-4 win...Lot-o-goals given up by these two teams.

Cheese and rice this site is all screwed up...

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

We're down to one defensive pairing in which I have any confidence: Brown and Knowles were on the ice for exactly zero Wisconsin goals. Marshall and, especially, Wethington are getting caught up the ice and getting burned in transition constantly, which the latter compounds by trying to move in multiple directions in response (and once falling down completely). Ostertag and Hengler are doing a poor job of coverage in the defensive zone. Against both UW and OSU (and both OSU series), the opposition's forwards have roamed around the net without anyone marking them. Roque and Curl ate them alive tonight.

It's not all the defensemen, though. The second period started with a horrific sequence in which Brown and Knowles were out for the entire first three minutes, unable to change. There were a lot of culprits, but the main one was Sarah Potomak, who got the puck with room to skate out of the zone about 45 seconds in, but then opted for a blind backhanded drop pass into the center of the ice where there was nothing but Badgers.

It's particularly frustrating, because all of Minnesota's problems are things that they were doing much better for the first 40% of the season, save that one game in Columbus. The defense has reverted from making quick, decisive short passes out of their own end back to stopping and looking around, then going back behind the net at the first sign of trouble, which only allows Wisconsin to tighten the noose; again, this isn't all on them, because the forwards aren't doing as good a job of making themselves available for outlets.

The passing has deteriorated badly over the last two weeks, until the third period tonight. Potomak's was only the worst example of focusing so much on what they want to happen with a pass that they aren't reading at all where the other team's players are and how they might foil it.

Wethington looks lost out there much of the time. She's trying to do too much on her own, coughs up the puck, and is out of position. As things have started to go badly, it seems like she just grits her teeth and tries harder, making it all about individual effort rather than working within a team game plan. There's a lot of potential there; I'm just hoping it doesn't take an off-season for her to assimilate the lessons so far.

All of this looked a better in the third period, though not as much as one might think based upon the big comeback. A large part of what happened is that the Badger defense isn't really any better the the Gophers' when the opposing forwards seize control. That was true even in the first two periods, but Wisconsin's forwards did a better job of it than Minnesota's for forty minutes. Given that I thought the same thing was true last week against Ohio State, the defensive corps at the top of the WCHA just aren't what we are used to seeing.

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

We're down to one defensive pairing in which I have any confidence: Brown and Knowles were on the ice for exactly zero Wisconsin goals. Marshall and, especially, Wethington are getting caught up the ice and getting burned in transition constantly, which the latter compounds by trying to move in multiple directions in response (and once falling down completely). Ostertag and Hengler are doing a poor job of coverage in the defensive zone. Against both UW and OSU (and both OSU series), the opposition's forwards have roamed around the net without anyone marking them. Roque and Curl ate them alive tonight.

It's not all the defensemen, though. The second period started with a horrific sequence in which Brown and Knowles were out for the entire first three minutes, unable to change. There were a lot of culprits, but the main one was Sarah Potomak, who got the puck with room to skate out of the zone about 45 seconds in, but then opted for a blind backhanded drop pass into the center of the ice where there was nothing but Badgers.

It's particularly frustrating, because all of Minnesota's problems are things that they were doing much better for the first 40% of the season, save that one game in Columbus. The defense has reverted from making quick, decisive short passes out of their own end back to stopping and looking around, then going back behind the net at the first sign of trouble, which only allows Wisconsin to tighten the noose; again, this isn't all on them, because the forwards aren't doing as good a job of making themselves available for outlets.

The passing has deteriorated badly over the last two weeks, until the third period tonight. Potomak's was only the worst example of focusing so much on what they want to happen with a pass that they aren't reading at all where the other team's players are and how they might foil it.

Wethington looks lost out there much of the time. She's trying to do too much on her own, coughs up the puck, and is out of position. As things have started to go badly, it seems like she just grits her teeth and tries harder, making it all about individual effort rather than working within a team game plan. There's a lot of potential there; I'm just hoping it doesn't take an off-season for her to assimilate the lessons so far.

All of this looked a better in the third period, though not as much as one might think based upon the big comeback. A large part of what happened is that the Badger defense isn't really any better the the Gophers' when the opposing forwards seize control. That was true even in the first two periods, but Wisconsin's forwards did a better job of it than Minnesota's for forty minutes. Given that I thought the same thing was true last week against Ohio State, the defensive corps at the top of the WCHA just aren't what we are used to seeing.

You were doing so well with not being Eeyore this year...

I guess he had to come out and play at some point...

[Still Eeyore]

You were doing so well with not being Eeyore this year...

I guess he had to come out and play at some point...

I'm having trouble getting my meds refilled.

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

Knowles isn't dressed for today's game.

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

The Gophers looked a lot better in The first today. A really good, evenly played period.

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

The Gophers looked a lot better in The first today. A really good, evenly played period.

Unfortunately they couldn't carry their better play into the second. Fluke goal that looked like it went in off of Wethington's skate.

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Minnesota Gophers 2019/2020 Season Thread

Today's game is frustrating in a completely different way than yesterday's. It's been very evenly played, and could as easily be 2-0 the other way. Norby's two goals have cleared the post by an aggregate of about an inch.