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

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

I really hope the Gophers are taking a long look at Gercich for Holy Family Catholic. The kid scored 4 goals and had an assist against Holy Angels yesterday.

I think he'll be in the picture for MNHS scoring leader all season, and the kid is only a freshman.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Spotlight on Shane Gersich:

<A HREF="http://www.kare11.com/news/article/950005/8/Shane-Gersich---Holy-Family">http://www.kare11.com/news/article/950005/8/Shane-Gersich---Holy-Family</A>
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

(Third page? Things clearly are not perfect in Gopherland.)

I was going to write early this week to calm the nervous masses with their discomfort with the team's play as of late, especially on Fridays. I was going to say something about how the most important thing for a team to shoot for each year is building momentum going into the playoffs (assuming that playing well enough to make the playoffs is a given). The teams that do well are the ones that are playing best at the end of the year. Look at how many years UND has gone far, despite a bad stretch early in the season. And when a team is young, like the Gophers this year, it is highly unlikely they can sustain a full effort in every game for a full season. Younger players are typically less consistent than veterans. SO I was going to say that having a lapse in the season for a few weeks is better than fading at the end.

But then I watched last night's game and am depressed. So, never mind.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

It would be very hard to argue with someone who said the Gophers looked like they just didn't care last night.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

It is funny how the "Give Guentzel all the credit and make him head coach" crowd is quiet now that Gopher's D is making some mistakes and looking even worse due to the fact the forwards aren't consistently back-checking aggressively. Don't get me wrong. I think Guentzel appears to be a big improvement over Hill and I am glad he is here. They are a talented team that has the ability to do well, and hopefully this is just a lull in their season. I am only commenting on all those posters who wanted to place almost all the blame on Hill for the past few seasons and declared Guentzel the savior. All I am saying is there are a lot of variables that determine how each season goes that many Hill bashers didn't account for. Coaches are a big part, but there are many factors. The lackadaisical play of the last few Fridays looks a lot like the play of the last few years when people would love to pull the Hill quote out about "encouraging" the players to play harder.

Now that I got that out of my system, for Christmas I would like to see the Gopher's playing up to their ability as playoffs begin, and preferably sooner. Sixty minutes of hard fore- and backchecking tonight would be good for the confidence of us fans.
 
Koho said:
It is funny how the "Give Guentzel all the credit and make him head coach" crowd is quiet now that Gopher's D is making some mistakes and looking even worse due to the fact the forwards aren't consistently back-checking aggressively. Don't get me wrong. I think Guentzel appears to be a big improvement over Hill and I am glad he is here. They are a talented team that has the ability to do well, and hopefully this is just a lull in their season. I am only commenting on all those posters who wanted to place almost all the blame on Hill for the past few seasons and declared Guentzel the savior. All I am saying is there are a lot of variables that determine how each season goes that many Hill bashers didn't account for. Coaches are a big part, but there are many factors. The lackadaisical play of the last few Fridays looks a lot like the play of the last few years when people would love to pull the Hill quote out about "encouraging" the players to play harder.

Now that I got that out of my system, for Christmas I would like to see the Gopher's playing up to their ability as playoffs begin, and preferably sooner. Sixty minutes of hard fore- and backchecking tonight would be good for the confidence of us fans.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Coaching is a big part of the puzzle, and I think Guentzel has affected some positive changes since coming back (power play and penalty kill, while not perfect, are markedly better), but at some point it comes down to the players on the ice putting in the effort and producing. Tonight will be a good benchmark as to what type of on-ice leadership we have. The past few seasons that has been less than stellar IMO.

Win or lose, the speed, hustle, and effort had better be there, or else I am reevaluating my expectations for this season.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

With the season half over I will take the standings position of the Gophers any day. Well done!!! They still have plenty of work to do but I believe this group is up for the challenge.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Other than being a brain dead idiot, just what is Thompsons role on this team?

Am I to believe there are not another dozen or so players in this state that can contribute something other than a flagrant penalty the very moment they step on the ice?

Really?

This moron makes the cut?
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Go4PuckFan2.0 said:
Other than being a brain dead idiot, just what is Thompsons role on this team?

Am I to believe there are not another dozen or so players in this state that can contribute something other than a flagrant penalty the very moment they step on the ice?

Really?

This moron makes the cut?
Click to expand...

He got a second chance last night, and did about as bad as he possibly could with it.
That hit to the head was one of the dumbest majors I have seen in a while. And at a really bad time to boot.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

JDUBBS1280 said:
Couldn't agree more. Coaching is a big part of the puzzle, and I think Guentzel has affected some positive changes since coming back (power play and penalty kill, while not perfect, are markedly better), but at some point it comes down to the players on the ice putting in the effort and producing. Tonight will be a good benchmark as to what type of on-ice leadership we have. The past few seasons that has been less than stellar IMO.

Win or lose, the speed, hustle, and effort had better be there, or else I am reevaluating my expectations for this season.
Click to expand...


since at the beginning of the season, most experts picked the gophers to be at the middle of the WCHA, being tied for first, and ranked in the top ten at the half way point is exceeding expectations. It's not like they have Leddy and Ness playing for the defense, after all.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Stauber1 said:
He got a second chance last night, and did about as bad as he possibly could with it.
That hit to the head was one of the dumbest majors I have seen in a while. And at a really bad time to boot.
Click to expand...

Except not only was it not a hit to the head, but the Tech player slipped right before impact lowering the point of contact.
 
Happy said:
since at the beginning of the season, most experts picked the gophers to be at the middle of the WCHA, being tied for first, and ranked in the top ten at the half way point is exceeding expectations. It's not like they have Leddy and Ness playing for the defense, after all.
Click to expand...

For me, it was all about the effort last night. They mailed Friday night's game in IMO. Tech played extremely well, not to take anything away from that, but the Gophers looked lethargic , sloppy, and borderline disinterested at times.

It was nice to see them come out with some energy last night, which leads me to believe Friday was more of a letdown and not part of a regression.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Slap Shot said:
Except not only was it not a hit to the head, but the Tech player slipped right before impact lowering the point of contact.
Click to expand...

I agree. It was a high hit to the chest. The guy was already taken out, so he should have played the puck. So it was a poor play. But the call was worse.

Not that I think he has shown much yet. Just that to call him out for that is incorrect.
 
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Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Happy said:
since at the beginning of the season, most experts picked the gophers to be at the middle of the WCHA, being tied for first, and ranked in the top ten at the half way point is exceeding expectations. It's not like they have Leddy and Ness playing for the defense, after all.
Click to expand...

Stop talking sense. Once they start winning, I expect a solid effort every single minute of every game and being undefeated the rest of the season.
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

JDUBBS1280 said:
For me, it was all about the effort last night. They mailed Friday night's game in IMO. Tech played extremely well, not to take anything away from that, but the Gophers looked lethargic , sloppy, and borderline disinterested at times.

It was nice to see them come out with some energy last night, which leads me to believe Friday was more of a letdown and not part of a regression.
Click to expand...

Is it too late to have the schedule re-done so they have double-headers every Saturday the rest of the year?
 
Re: 2011-12 Minnesota Season Thread (Pride On Ice Returns!)

Slap Shot said:
Except not only was it not a hit to the head, but the Tech player slipped right before impact lowering the point of contact.
Click to expand...

I didn't have the benefit of seeing it on replay. From where I was sitting, it looked like he hit him in the head. I'll cede to those watching it at home that they saw where it landed more clearly than I did.

Either way, it was really stupid. Thompson had plenty of time to reassess the decision to make the check, and he led with his forearms/hands/elbows on a guy who was already going down.
 
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