2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

[Handyman]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I looked at their second half schedule, I dont see any brutal stretch. At UND is tough but CC at home is after that and that is not scary. Maybe the @SCCC followed by @Denver is tough but beyond that everything looks about as equally tough as the first half. They end the year with 2 against BSU, 2 @ UNO and then Sconnie at home. Not exactly murderers row.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

People on GPL were predicting going into the sconnie series that they could see the Gophers winning out up until the holiday tourney.

I'd be surprised if there were more than two fans that predicted that outcome and the vast majority of series predictions from fans I've read the past few weeks did not include the word, "sweep". That fans are giddy doesn't automatically indicate they're predicting any banners. I appreciate your attempts at being the anti-homer, but you don't have to take it to the opposite extreme.

 

[JDUBBS1280]

I'd be surprised if there were more than two fans that predicted that outcome and the vast majority of series predictions from fans I've read the past few weeks did not include the word, "sweep". That fans are giddy doesn't automatically indicate they're predicting any banners. I appreciate your attempts at being the anti-homer, but you don't have to take it to the opposite extreme.

This.

 

[mariucci]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I looked at their second half schedule, I dont see any brutal stretch. At UND is tough but CC at home is after that and that is not scary. Maybe the @SCCC followed by @Denver is tough but beyond that everything looks about as equally tough as the first half. They end the year with 2 against BSU, 2 @ UNO and then Sconnie at home. Not exactly murderers row.

I agree, and as it often is in Gopher land the schedule can look one way and they surprise (UMD, UND) and come up with a split, when the sweep looks likely(when looking only at SOS) (UNH, UW)...

Prior to the season I was thinking UAA had a crack at the Conference banner, and getting the sweep there was something no one thought would happen.. Im glad the next UW series is at home, but not looking forward to the UND series at the Ralph. Who knows what will happen with UNO and St Cloud?!?!

Lovin it tho, glad the Gophs are back!

 

[Stauber1]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I looked at their second half schedule, I dont see any brutal stretch. At UND is tough but CC at home is after that and that is not scary. Maybe the @SCCC followed by @Denver is tough but beyond that everything looks about as equally tough as the first half. They end the year with 2 against BSU, 2 @ UNO and then Sconnie at home. Not exactly murderers row.

I agree with you, insofar as I don't think the second half looks any tougher than the first half. I think MN is in the middle of one of its toughest stretches with UND, WI, and SCSU all in a row. Simply because all 3 of those teams revel in beating the Gophers, and that can make it tough to play against them.
But I'd argue that nearly any stretch of conference play in the WCHA is pretty tough. Mankato are showing themselves capable of being a thorn in the side of teams; Tech are not the doormats that we are accustomed to; Bemidji seem to always keep things close and give themselves a chance in nearly every game. CC, DU, UNO, UND are all teams that I think have the potential to turn it on as the season wears on and become an upper echelon team.
I've said it before, but the biggest lesson I've learned in watching college hockey for 2+ decades is that how good a team looks at the start of the year is not necessarily an indication of how good they will look at the end of the year.

Right now MN have put themselves in position to be in the hunt for a conference championship. There is a long way to go for that to happen, but the start they have had has given them position to be there at the end of the year. That's all any team can ever ask for. And that's encouraging, especially considering the past few years.

 

[HoosierBBall_GopherHockey]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I agree with you, insofar as I don't think the second half looks any tougher than the first half. I think MN is in the middle of one of its toughest stretches with UND, WI, and SCSU all in a row. Simply because all 3 of those teams revel in beating the Gophers, and that can make it tough to play against them.
But I'd argue that nearly any stretch of conference play in the WCHA is pretty tough. Mankato are showing themselves capable of being a thorn in the side of teams; Tech are not the doormats that we are accustomed to; Bemidji seem to always keep things close and give themselves a chance in nearly every game. CC, DU, UNO, UND are all teams that I think have the potential to turn it on as the season wears on and become an upper echelon team.
I've said it before, but the biggest lesson I've learned in watching college hockey for 2+ decades is that how good a team looks at the start of the year is not necessarily an indication of how good they will look at the end of the year.

Right now MN have put themselves in position to be in the hunt for a conference championship. There is a long way to go for that to happen, but the start they have had has given them position to be there at the end of the year. That's all any team can ever ask for. And that's encouraging, especially considering the past few years.

Reflects my feelings perfectly.

 

[Bakunin]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I looked at their second half schedule, I dont see any brutal stretch. At UND is tough but CC at home is after that and that is not scary. Maybe the @SCCC followed by @Denver is tough but beyond that everything looks about as equally tough as the first half.

I was referring to the sequence of Notre Dame, UND, CC, JBSU, and Denver. That could very easily be a .500 stretch for MN.

 

[gopher wes]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I'd be surprised if there were more than two fans that predicted that outcome and the vast majority of series predictions from fans I've read the past few weeks did not include the word, "sweep". That fans are giddy doesn't automatically indicate they're predicting any banners. I appreciate your attempts at being the anti-homer, but you don't have to take it to the opposite extreme.

I never said that "everyone" was saying that. As it turns out, you are right. It was just a couple fans saying that, but I just pointed out that I take it on a weekend to weekend basis. Does that make me an anti-homer? I'm sorry if you think so. I just don't buy into looking at the possible outcomes of 4 or 5 weeks from now or even in the second half of the season for crying out loud. So many things can change between now and then. The banner comment was exaggerated, but we're are talking about the same kind of people that were predicting a Frozen Four appearance just based on the fact that Guentzel is back with the coaching staff.

None of this means that I'm not excited about this team or looking at the opposite extreme. I just don't buy into looking ahead in the schedule. I go week to week and look to care care of business now before I start looking ahead to the next series. I don't feel like that is as illogical as you guys are trying to make it seem.

 

[JDUBBS1280]

I never said that "everyone" was saying that. As it turns out, you are right. It was just a couple fans saying that, but I just pointed out that I take it on a weekend to weekend basis. Does that make me an anti-homer? I'm sorry if you think so. I just don't buy into looking at the possible outcomes of 4 or 5 weeks from now or even in the second half of the season for crying out loud. So many things can change between now and then. The banner comment was exaggerated, but we're are talking about the same kind of people that were predicting a Frozen Four appearance just based on the fact that Guentzel is back with the coaching staff.

None of this means that I'm not excited about this team or looking at the opposite extreme. I just don't buy into looking ahead in the schedule. I go week to week and look to care care of business now before I start looking ahead to the next series. I don't feel like that is as illogical as you guys are trying to make it seem.

Now THIS makes sense and doesn't sound condescending to your fellow fans. Though, in your defense, it is tough to read tone with only text to go by. I agree with everything in this post.

 

[Handyman]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I was referring to the sequence of Notre Dame, UND, CC, JBSU, and Denver. That could very easily be a .500 stretch for MN.

And I dont find that any more difficult than the season we have played so far minus Vermont. I think you are confusing CC and JBSU for teams from circa 2003

 

[jerryj]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

notre dame, CC and denver will probably all be top 10 teams when we play them. north dakota at the ralph wont be a cake walk.. and st cloud is always a fun one. thats the toughest stretch of the season by far. couple weeks later at UNO.. the 2nd half is going to be full of tough series and hopefully will get the golden gophers prepared for tournament play.

 

[mariucci]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I keep imagining the BIG sched when it comes out..

As I understand it..

There will be a BC/BU road trip annually. Not sure why or the accuracy of that.
UM/UW will play a boat load of games
The Classic will likely include former WCHA rivalries such as UND-UMD-AA-SCSU-MSU-BSU etc

Will the "set rivalries" change? I hope so. I like SOS to be equal and allow the rivalries to form naturally.

 

[Numbers]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

In regard to first half/second half schedules:

First half: UND at home, Wisc on the road, SCSU home/home
Second half: UND road, Wisc home, SCSU home/home.
This part seems a wash.

First half: UMD, UAA road: MTU, MSUM home
Second half: Denver, UNO road; CC, BSU home
Given current play, I would say UMD v DU almost a wash, MTU v CC almost a wash the other way. I would say UNO road and BSU home is slightly harder than UAA road and MSUM home. So, the second half of the league schedule is harder than the first.

First half: Sacred Heart, Vermont home; Mich State road;
Second half: Niagara home, Princeton/Northeastern home; Notre Dame home - all single games.
2 at Munn Arena slightly harder than NoDame at Mariucci. Sacred Heart hardly counts. Vermont about even with the holiday tourney. So, the first half slightly harder.

Order of games:The stretch in January with NoDame at home, then the Ralph, then CC at home seems toughest.

My point: We all keep wondering, "When will we know if this is for real?" And, the answer seems to me to be, "We'll know the Gophers weren't as good as they looked if they play bad 3 weeks in a row at some point." I am not sure we which 3 weeks that might be - maybe any 3 weeks. There doesn't seem to be any stretch of the season where one would say, "This stretch will tell us for sure."

I think this is especially true this year, where so many prior assumptions about many schools don't seem to hold true. Who would have thought Merrimack, LSSU, MTU, WMU, Ferris would all look as good as they have? And, who would have thought that Denver, CC, and all of HEA except BC and Merrimack would struggle? Not many would have guessed those. So, it's kind of an "all bets off" sort of year.

And, I think that is a good thing. If we, the fans, can't really identify which weeks should be hard or easy, and we see that every game takes effort, so much more the players should realize that as well, and give 100% every shift.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[JDUBBS1280]

And, I think that is a good thing. If we, the fans, can't really identify which weeks should be hard or easy, and we see that every game takes effort, so much more the players should realize that as well, and give 100% every shift.

Just a few thoughts.

Great point, and I completely agree!

 

[jerryj]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

I keep imagining the BIG sched when it comes out..

As I understand it..

There will be a BC/BU road trip annually. Not sure why or the accuracy of that.
UM/UW will play a boat load of games
The Classic will likely include former WCHA rivalries such as UND-UMD-AA-SCSU-MSU-BSU etc

Will the "set rivalries" change? I hope so. I like SOS to be equal and allow the rivalries to form naturally.

well I dont know that the BC/BU deal is official. Lucia had just mentioned he was emailing jerry york about it. The MN Classic will be a 4 team tournament around the new year. MN will be in it every year, and 3 teams out of UMD, St Cloud, Bemidji and Mankato will also be in it. whichever team is not in it on a given year will host the gophers in their arena that year for a 2 game series.

 

[Driftryder]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Interview with Erik Haula in today's PP.

After leading the nation in scoring for several weeks, University of Minnesota sophomore Erik Haula has fallen into second place behind Notre Dame's T.J. Tynan. Haula has seven goals and 11 assists for the top-ranked Gophers men's hockey team and trails Tynan by two points. Does Haula care that he's no longer the nation's leading scorer? I thought I'd ask him about that.

BS: Is it a big deal to be leading the nation in scoring?

EH: It's so early. You don't want to really focus on that. It's good to have success early on, but it's only several games into the season. (The Gophers are 10-2.)

BS: You're two points behind the kid from Notre Dame. Were you aware of that?

EH: Yeah. Like I said, it's early in the season. All that matters is that the team is doing well.

BS: I would expect you to say that about the team doing well. But from a personal standpoint, would it be nice to look at the end of the year and see you led the nation in scoring?

EH: Obviously, it would be nice, but I'm not focused on that. All that matters is winning. If we have a weekend where we lose a game, it doesn't matter if I have four points. It's all about winning in this business.

BS: You had 24 points as a freshman (six goals, 18 assists) and already have more goals this season, and you're not far off from exceeding your point total. What has changed since last season?

EH: We've definitely gotten better as a team, and that helps every individual.But also I figured out some things I needed to change and get better at, and I think I've done a good job so far. We just have to hope I keep producing and we keep winning.

BS: What were the things?
EH: Obviously, shooting. I've gotten more goals than last year, which shows I'm more confident and have more of a scoring touch than I did last year. And that's probably the biggest thing.

BS: Did you work on your shot in the offseason?
EH: I did work on shooting. You also have to have a mental (attitude about) shooting, as well as passing. It's a lot about the mentality of how you want to play the game and what you want to do for you to be successful.

BS: Were your coaches telling you to shoot more?
EH: Yeah, definitely.

BS: That's a good thing to hear, right?
EH: It definitely is. And (coach) Don (Lucia) was right. He told me last year, "Don't be afraid to shoot because you have a pretty good shot." He was right. I should shoot more.

BS: A lot of times, freshmen defer to upperclassmen. Is that what happened last season?
EH: That definitely had some effect. I played with two seniors most of the year, and I knew they were both goal scorers. They liked to shoot. So I kind of had that mind-set that I had to be a pass-first guy.

BS: This season, did you start out with a mind-set to score more?
EH: I think it was right from the beginning. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew what I wanted to accomplish this year. I had the mind-set that I wanted to be the one scoring the goals, as well. I didn't want to just be a pass-first guy.

BS: As the season moves along, are you getting confident that this could be a special year for the Gophers and maybe get back to a national championship level?

EH: Definitely, we have a good team, and we're contenders for anything this year. We're playing well so far, and we're getting better every day. We have a lot of young guys, and they're going to get better as the year goes on.

BS: Do you plan to be a four-year player at Minnesota? (The Wild own his rights.)
EH: I do not know the answer.

 

[HoosierBBall_GopherHockey]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Interview with Erik Haula in today's PP.

My God, why the same question three times in a row?

 

[gopher wes]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

My God, why the same question three times in a row?

Yeah, that was one of the more r-tarded interviews I have ever seen. I understand he wanted to get something out of him about his scoring but, come on.....he asked one question about the team as a whole and it was a really broad question that you didn't really need a player or coach to answer. That was lame.

 

[johnnypohlfan]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Yeah, that was one of the more r-tarded interviews I have ever seen. I understand he wanted to get something out of him about his scoring but, come on.....he asked one question about the team as a whole and it was a really broad question that you didn't really need a player or coach to answer. That was lame.

The first three (really, one) questions were awful, then the interviewer follows with this, paraphrased:

EH: I figured out some things I needed to work on in the offseason.
BS: Like what?
EH: Shooting.
BS: Did you work on shooting in the offseason?

Was this interview conducted by a mentally challenged 8 year old?

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Worst interviewer EVER.