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

[Stauber1]

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

As many have mentioned, Haula was invisible on Saturday. I was thoroughly disappointed with his lack of effort literally the entire game.

Now that I am thinking back. I don't remember seeing Hansen on the ice. He did nothing noticeable.

As metioned, Rau was nothing more than a pest. He was the only player I saw hustling consistently against Notre Dame. That strikes me as a little odd considering he was supposed to be tired after returning for the WJC. He was skating circles around the rest of his teammates, getting his butt kicked in the process, and still coming back for more. Doesn't make sense to me. (EDIT: Thinking back, Matson always hustles 100% when he is on the ice but he was not very noticeable to me outside of his goal)

As for Student, he played OK, but nothing more. He pinched once offensively when he shouldn't have and I'm pretty sure that was what created the 2 on 1 when Notre Dame hit the pipe(s). Marshall is the one I am growing tired of very quickly. Everyone talks about the offense which we have seen very little of thus far other than flashes of promise but not much more. I'm not sure sitting him is the answer but I'm sick of the turnovers and him being a defensive liability.

I wasn't displeased with Hansen. He's a hustler, not a prolific goal scorer. I thought his hustle was there, but it's tough when the other anchor on your line is out to lunch all game long.

I'd add Nate Condon to that list of Matson and Rau. That 3rd line has been the most consistent over this .500 stretch. They looked great at the Classic, and I thought they were the most effective line again this past weekend. I'd still like to see Nate Larson moved up to either that 3rd line or the 2nd line. I think Matson/Condon/Larson could be a very tough line to play against.

As far as Marshall...uh oh, do we have the fans' next Aaron Ness?
I think you have to approach Marshall's play with the right attitude. He's not ever going to be great defensively. I think it's kind of like Paul Martin. He wasn't that great off the puck, but he made up for it in other ways. Marshall has the ability to become that kind of player, but as a freshman, it isn't going to be there.
I know, you'd like to see some kind of improvement from game to game, but Notre Dame is a tough team to play against for a guy like Marshall. They're big, fast, and obviously very well coached as to team systems/tactics and positional awareness. That makes it hard for a guy like Marshall to carry the puck and find those passing options or gain zones by carrying the puck.

 

[gopher wes]

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

My post on GPL after the game Saturday night: "Marshall is quickly becoming the new Ness"

 

[GopherBigGuy911]

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

Being a Gopher fan lately is almost as disheartening as watching the MN Wild dither as their season slips away. Another HUGE weekend for the Gophers but I fear they are going to get run over.
Saturday's game was as embarrassing as it can get. Only Rau and Matson seemed to want to work and get dirty.

 

[JDUBBS1280]

Being a Gopher fan lately is almost as disheartening as watching the MN Wild dither as their season slips away. Another HUGE weekend for the Gophers but I fear they are going to get run over.
Saturday's game was as embarrassing as it can get. Only Rau and Matson seemed to want to work and get dirty.

Good news is, I think both of these teams are just on the brink of something special. With the prospects the Wild have in their system and the recruits the Gophers have coming in, both of these teams are going to make some real noise in a few years. I just want to see some growth and improvement.

 

[mariucci]

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

Good news is, I think both of these teams are just on the brink of something special. With the prospects the Wild have in their system and the recruits the Gophers have coming in, both of these teams are going to make some real noise in a few years. I just want to see some growth and improvement.

If tDon can keep them motivated absolutely! When I see them play like they did last Sat against the Irish my concerns plenty.. The roster season after season has plenty of talent only to be squandered, he needs to learn how to get those bys motivated. I dunno, has the new AD been identified

 

[GopherBigGuy911]

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

If tDon can keep them motivated absolutely! When I see them play like they did last Sat against the Irish my concerns plenty.. The roster season after season has plenty of talent only to be squandered, he needs to learn how to get those bys motivated. I dunno, has the new AD been identified

I hope and pray Maturi is history after this year.

 

[gilmore tuttle]

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

Agree with most about Helgeson and Marshall. Way too many times that these too are staring at the puck and not taking the body. Add to that, Marshall is just plain careless with the puck. I think Alt has stepped up and played well lately, and in my opinion Parenteau is our best defensive defenseman. It would be great if Student got some more time and Helgeson, Holl and Marshall were pushed for playing time.

 

[JDUBBS1280]

Agree with most about Helgeson and Marshall. Way too many times that these too are staring at the puck and not taking the body. Add to that, Marshall is just plain careless with the puck. I think Alt has stepped up and played well lately, and in my opinion Parenteau is our best defensive defenseman. It would be great if Student got some more time and Helgeson, Holl and Marshall were pushed for playing time.

Agree wholeheartedly.

 

[mariucci]

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

I hope and pray Maturi is history after this year.

AMEN!! Then hopefully whomever takes his place is someone that will hold tDon accountable, because imo theres plenty of candidates who I think could get alot more out of these teams tDon did..

 

[GopherBigGuy911]

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

AMEN!! Then hopefully whomever takes his place is someone that will hold tDon accountable, because imo theres plenty of candidates who I think could get alot more out of these teams tDon did..

And - On a personal note maybe with him gone and the new President maybe they will finally be open to serving booze to the lowly season ticket holders.....

 

[gopher wes]

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

Good news is, I think both of these teams are just on the brink of something special. With the prospects the Wild have in their system and the recruits the Gophers have coming in, both of these teams are going to make some real noise in a few years. I just want to see some growth and improvement.

I know you boys follow the incoming recruits a lot harder than I do so I am going to hope you are right on that front.

However, I hope this doesn't mean you are letting the team off the hook for this year(not accusing you personally, just commenting on the feeling I get from some fans right now). We have seen this team compete this year and we have also seen them just flat out not show up like they did against Notre Dame on Saturday. I think a lot of people are settling for the success the Gophers had in the first half, like being tied for the WCHA lead, and almost excusing losses like the Notre Dame game because they weren't supposed to be this good yet. I don't expect the Gophers to win out, but I think before the season we all expected them to be on home ice in the first round, make the Final Five, and be a tournament team. If they make the tournament and have something to build on with the next few recruiting classes, I will be "encouraged". Plus, the last two times I bought tickets to the home town regionals(back to back seasons no less) I was greatly disappointed. I just want to watch the darn Gophers this year in their own regional for crying out loud!

 

[JDUBBS1280]

I know you boys follow the incoming recruits a lot harder than I do so I am going to hope you are right on that front.

However, I hope this doesn't mean you are letting the team off the hook for this year(not accusing you personally, just commenting on the feeling I get from some fans right now). We have seen this team compete this year and we have also seen them just flat out not show up like they did against Notre Dame on Saturday. I think a lot of people are settling for the success the Gophers had in the first half, like being tied for the WCHA lead, and almost excusing losses like the Notre Dame game because they weren't supposed to be this good yet. I don't expect the Gophers to win out, but I think before the season we all expected them to be on home ice in the first round, make the Final Five, and be a tournament team. If they make the tournament and have something to build on with the next few recruiting classes, I will be "encouraged". Plus, the last two times I bought tickets to the home town regionals(back to back seasons no less) I was greatly disappointed. I just want to watch the darn Gophers this year in their own regional for crying out loud!

Nope, not letting them off the hook at all. I think their level of play recently has been unacceptable by " M " standards. However, with how young we are defensively, I knew there would be some ups-and-downs. What matters most to me is seeing our guys learn from their mistakes and develop. Some players seem like they are (Rau, Boyd, Alt) and some players don't appear to be (Ambroz and Marshall most notably). This is what frustrates me more than even losing.

 

[SanTropez]

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

I agree that the play as of late has been a little suspect, but with that being said they are still obviously in a better position this year compared to the last few. 6 of 7 losses have been by 1 goal and one was in OT, not making excuses but they have either won or been in most of the games played this year.

I think they will be fine and maybe just lost focus on what got them off to a great start, hustling, backchecking, great goaltending and not trying to be fancy in the defensive zone. It's important to get back to the first thing(hustling) and the others tend to follow.

 

[mariucci]

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

And - On a personal note maybe with him gone and the new President maybe they will finally be open to serving booze to the lowly season ticket holders.....

I'm not a drinker but I do like the idea as well..

 

[mariucci]

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

I agree that the play as of late has been a little suspect, but with that being said they are still obviously in a better position this year compared to the last few. 6 of 7 losses have been by 1 goal and one was in OT, not making excuses but they have either won or been in most of the games played this year.

I think they will be fine and maybe just lost focus on what got them off to a great start, hustling, backchecking, great goaltending and not trying to be fancy in the defensive zone. It's important to get back to the first thing(hustling) and the others tend to follow.

When you say "as of late" are you referring to the last few years

I like Don, seems like a great guy. But he has to get more from his boys, alot more. The team cant win based off individual talent, Im just as excited about the incoming class as the next guy, but he's had alot of talent on the team every year.

His monday night presser was typical Lucia "I'm not sure why, but they came out tired, maybe it was because of the extra day of practice" -Really Don, do you really think maybe you're being to hard on the boys? ***! I can't believe you're even thinking about letting up on them!! "The team played a hard fought game against a great team, thats what Gopher fans want" No way do Gopher fans want that Lucia, we'd much prefer 55 minutes of uninspired hockey followed up with 5 minutes of desperation hockey!!

For as much as I like tDon, the sooner he gets fired, the sooner Blais comes in or Guentzel gets a crack at it (but i'd feel alot better about hiring the next bench boss if Maturi was out of the picture)..

 

[GopherBigGuy911]

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

I'm not a drinker but I do like the idea as well..

Neither am I - on a side note. Where did you go to college at? Where did you do Skills at?

 

[Tiggsy]

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

For as much as I like tDon, the sooner he gets fired, the sooner Blais comes in or Guentzel gets a crack at it (but i'd feel alot better about hiring the next bench boss if Maturi was out of the picture)..

That part I'm not too worried about. We will always attract top notch coaching talent just because of who we are. However there are PLENTY of other reasons to dump Maturi so I am totally behind that one. The new pres wants to make some friends, that's one way to do it.

 

[Driftryder]

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

Q & A with former Gopher Chris Harrington, from Gophersports

St. Cloud-native Chris Harrington started his collegiate career by being one of five players to appear in all 45 games for Minnesota's 2002-03 National Championship team. He went on to rack up 14 goals and 95 assists in his four years, becoming the ninth-highest-scoring defenseman in Gopher Hockey history.

Harrington also sits in 14th in penalty minutes with 266. During his time on the blueline in Maroon and Gold, the team won two Broadmoor Trophies, a MacNaughton Cup, and reached two Frozen Fours, in addition to the 2003 National Championship. Harrington took some time to catch up with GopherSports.com and look back on his time at the University of Minnesota:

GopherSports.com: Being from St. Cloud, how did you end up playing for Minnesota? Did you grow up rooting for the Gophers?

Chris Harrington: Well, I definitely didn't grow up rooting for the Gophers. My father coached at the University of Denver and then SCSU, so the Gophers were always "the bad guys" growing up for me.

I took official visits to a few other schools in the WCHA, but when I visited the U, it was like comparing apples to oranges. The atmosphere around campus and the feeling you get when you look up and see all of the championship banners hanging in the rafters is a feeling that I cannot describe. At that moment I knew that the University of Minnesota was the place I wanted to go to school and play hockey. The best part of the whole story was when I called my father to tell him my decision. He kind of laughed and said, "Chris, that is the best decision you will ever make." He obviously knew something that I did not at the time!

GS: What was your time like at Minnesota and what is your favorite memory from playing at Mariucci Arena?

CH: My four years at the U was undoubtedly the best time of my life. It was an honor to be a student-athlete at Minnesota and I am forever grateful for the opportunity. My favorite memory - that is a difficult question. There are so many: my first home game, Senior Night, the 2003 and 2005 NCAA Regionals, not to mention all of those battles in the WCHA week in and week out. It seemed like every weekend we were in a heavyweight fight!

GS: Where was your favorite place to eat on campus at the University of Minnesota?

CH: We loved going to Bobby Z's--which isn't there anymore--on Wednesday's for 10-cent wings, as well Campus Pizza, The Big 10, and The Library (the old one) - not as much for the food, though!

GS: Minnesota has produced many accomplished defensemen. How does it feel to be one of 12 defenseman in school history with over 100 points?

CH: You are right--the U has produced so many great D-men. I had the opportunity to play with three of the best: Paul Martin, Keith Ballard, and Alex Goligoski. It is a true honor to be one of 12 defenseman with 100 points. I was lucky to have the chance to be on teams that had so many great players. I would not be on this list without them. Being in a category with guys like Bill Baker, Joe Micheletti, Todd Richards, Jordan Leopold, Travis Richards, and my all-time favorite, Mike Crowley, is something that I cannot believe.

GS: What was it like joining a UM team that was the defending national champion as a freshman? Did you expect to pull off a repeat in your first year?

CH: I know a lot of people were not expecting us to win a championship in 2002-2003, especially after losing Jordan (Leopold), Johnny Pohl, and Jeff Taffe. When Grant (Potulny) hurt his leg at the beginning of the year, I think that a lot of people had shoved us to the side in terms of championship contenders, but we had great leadership from our upperclassmen who kept us afloat until Grant returned. After he got back into the lineup, it was like we were shot out of a cannon. Travis Weber and Justin Johnson were great for us in the second half of the season and we felt almost invincible towards the end of the year. It didn't hurt that we had Thomas Vanek on our side, either.

GS: What is your most memorable hockey moment outside of college?

CH: Outside of college, my most memorable moment would be winning the Clark Cup (playoffs) and Gold Cup (national championship) with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. We had an unbelievable team that included my future teammates Keith Ballard, Jake Fleming, and Dan Welch.

GS: What is the one team you looked forward to playing the most? Which visiting arenas had the best atmosphere?

CH: We played so many great teams over my four years, and had so many great rivalries within the WCHA, but the best games were always against Wisconsin and North Dakota. Practices the week of those games were always a little more spirited.

GS: Who was the best player you ever played with and/or against (at any level)?

CH: No question the best player that I have ever played with or against would be Thomas Vanek. He was at another level on the ice. He did things in practice that you would have to see to believe, and some of the goals he scored in games were unbelievable. We called him "Teen Wolf" because he would do things on the ice that an ordinary player couldn't do.

GS: What have you done since you left Minnesota and what are you doing today?

CH: After I graduated from Minnesota, I played for two years with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. After that I left to go play in Dusseldorf, Germany in the DEL for two years, and now I am in my second season playing for the Oji Eagles in Japan.

GS: To what extent do you follow Gopher hockey today? Do you still keep in touch with the players you played with at the U?

CH: I have followed the Gopher hockey program religiously ever since I graduated. There is a sense of pride watching all of the new guys continue the tradition of "Minnesota's Pride On Ice". This year has been great watching the team get back to the championship-level caliber of play. They have a great team this year and hands down the best staff in college hockey. The future of Gopher hockey is in great hands, and will continue to be the premier college hockey program in the country.

I keep in close contact with my former teammates. Many of us are scattered all over the world playing, so it is a little more difficult keeping in contact during the season. But, when summer rolls around, it seems like there is a magnet pulling us all together and we see each other all the time. Thomas Vanek has started an annual street hockey tournament at his house, and we have a blast. My best friends are guys that I played with at the U. We share a common bond that will forever link us together. I am grateful for the chance to play with those guys and to forge lasting friendships with them all.

 

[Koho]

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

Anybody catch what exactly happened to Wheeler today? I just turned on Hockey Night in Canada and they said they hoped to have an update on his condition after taking a puck to the neck (I think is what they said). They never had an update before the show ended though.

 

[Koho]

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

So are people backing away from the edge after last nights game? They seemed to be a lot more focused than they have been in awhile. I especially liked that even when they let up, and UND started to get back into the game, they were able to pick up the pace, rather than just going in a shell and trying to hold on. Let's see if they can carry it into next week.