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2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

I am planning a collection of thick winter socks to send to Grand Forks next week. anybody have any they want to donate?
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

Happy said:
I am planning a collection of thick winter socks to send to Grand Forks next week. anybody have any they want to donate?
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I'd like to donate these to Danny Kristo:

Beersocks.jpg
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

burd said:
Seriously, there is something Alice-in-Wonderlandish about having the gophers scratching for a playoff spot again at this time of year, and that needs to change for things to be right.
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We expect and look forward to the Gophers to not make the playoffs again. But it looks like they moved up from a 7th or 8th place finish, to a 5th or 6th place WCHA finish. Close but not good enough.

Always next season.
 
Happy said:
I am planning a collection of thick winter socks to send to Grand Forks next week. anybody have any they want to donate?
Click to expand...
I have a couple sets of golf clubs you can borrow tell around middle of april, I won't be needing them until then!!
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

Bjustad is welcome in green, black and white next season. You can keep the rest. Congratulations - you found a way to avoid having the Sioux end your season.
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

Congratulations, you're still a d-bag tool of the lowest order. Go fellate socalsiouxfan. You two clowns deserve each other.
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

siouxinminny said:
Bjustad is welcome in green, black and white next season. You can keep the rest. Congratulations - you found a way to avoid having the Sioux end your season.
Click to expand...

what, you don't want to replace your choker of a coach with a proven NC winner. No wonder you guys can't win the big one anymore.
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

For those who are closer to the Gopher pulse, what's the threacon level for your better players on leaving early? Who do you think might, and how likely on each?
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

SCSU Euro said:
For those who are closer to the Gopher pulse...
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Maturi is under the delusion he is close to the Gopher "pulse", does that count? Lucia stays as I expected.

"I expect Don Lucia to be back," Joel Maturi, the University of Minnesota's athletic director, said Sunday, a day after the Gophers were swept out of the WCHA first-round playoffs by Alaska Anchorage.

Lucia has one year left on his current contract. Next season would be his 13th as the Gophers coach.

"We will talk soon and discuss the future of Gopher hockey," Maturi said. "The most unhappy guy today is Don Lucia. Nobody likes to lose."
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Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

Maturi: 'I expect Lucia to be back'

Minnesota's AD said he and coach Don Lucia will discuss the future of Gophers hockey after another early playoff exit.
Disgruntled Gophers men's hockey fans who want a coaching change this offseason are probably going to be disappointed.

"I expect Don Lucia to be back," Joel Maturi, the University of Minnesota's athletic director, said Sunday, a day after the Gophers were swept out of the WCHA first-round playoffs by Alaska Anchorage.

Lucia has one year left on his current contract. Next season would be his 13th as the Gophers coach.

"We will talk soon and discuss the future of Gopher hockey," Maturi said. "The most unhappy guy today is Don Lucia. Nobody likes to lose."

After Saturday night's loss, Lucia would not comment on his future.

Eighth-place Alaska Anchorage defeated the Gophers 4-3 on Friday and 2-0 on Saturday, ending their season.

"This is not the place Gophers hockey belongs," Maturi said. "When you look at our program, we've got to find a way to get to the Xcel for the Final Five and not only get to NCAA tournament but to the NCAA championship game."

Under Lucia, the Gophers won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2002 and 2003 and advanced to another Frozen Four in 2005. But the team has struggled in the national tournament since, going 1-2 in three appearances, including a stunning first-round loss to Holy Cross in 2006.

The Gophers, who finished 16-14-6 and in fifth place in the WCHA this season, will miss the Final Five for the second year in a row, the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year.

UAA's success at Mariucci, in one sense, is not totally surprising. The visiting Seawolves split a series with the Gophers in late January. The Gophers also had a much better record on the road (7-4-2) than at home (9-10-3). The last time they were under .500 at home was in the 1976-77 season.

Slow starts were the main reason for the Gophers' early woes this season at Mariucci. In their first three WCHA home games, they fell behind 4-0 and 3-0 to Nebraska Omaha and 5-0 to St. Cloud State. They rallied each night but lost. Friday's loss to the Seawolves followed that same script. UAA took a 3-0 lead. The Gophers tied the score, but the Seawolves prevailed on a power-play goal.

Alaska Anchorage won Saturday by staying back, clogging lanes and waiting patiently for scoring chances.

In between, those early and late home losses in the conference, the Gophers were up and down. Veteran goalie Alex Kangas was shaky at times the first couple of months as were his defensemen. Junior Kent Patterson was playing better in the nets and took over full-time goalie duties when Kangas was sidelined for the season in mid-December because of a hip injury.

There were notable highs, too. The Gophers upset Michigan, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Denver, all top-10 teams in the PairWise Rankings, which mimic how the NCAA fills out its tournament field. "That's been this group," Lucia said. "At times they can be real good."

As usual, Lucia has a strong group of recruits coming in next fall, and those new players will have to contribute. The Gophers lose their top four scorers and six players who combined for 51 of the team's 113 goals, or 45 percent. Patterson will be back, as will six defensemen, barring early departures.

"The league is pretty darn even," Lucia said. "Bemidji [State] beat UNO [Nebraska Omaha], so they move on. Anchorage has moved on. There are a lot more good teams than there used to be."
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.... and the rest of the WCHA rejoices.
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

I've been waiting for the perfect time for my "shock and awe" version of "I told you so" on where Lucia was taking this team but this program is so far beyond the point of pathetic it would be like beating up Sue fans….sure it's fun for a while but then you realize how unfair it is and then just start to feel bad...I know all my fans were waiting for a triumphant return to the forum but I’m afraid my heart is just not in it. I don’t think it’s possible for me to care any less about this team right now.
 
Re: 2011 Minnesota Offseason Thread

SCSU Euro said:
For those who are closer to the Gopher pulse, what's the threacon level for your better players on leaving early? Who do you think might, and how likely on each?
Click to expand...

I talked to a guy last night who knows the Bjustad family and he said Florida is pushing hard for him to leave. The guys said it wasn't because of Lucia, it was because they wanted him on the smaller ice. It sounds like nick really does like College so it will be a hard decision.
 
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