Gopher Women's Hockey 2023-24

[Still Eeyore]

What is with this program and blowing leads? Has gone on for years. I cannot believe they did it twice in the post season once again this year.

In addition to what ARM said about key goals against this year being extremely fluky, another issue is that Frost doesn't trust his depth. He overuses the first line to a ridiculous extent. Given our scoring distribution this year, that would be defensible if the Gophers were behind, but it's just dumb when trying to protect a lead.

In the WCHA semi against Wisconsin, the Badgers iced the puck with 35 seconds left. Frost called his timeout. I will never understand calling time out when the other team just committed icing. You throw away the advantage of the opponent not being able to change. Abbey Murphy was barely able to skate back to the bench, she was so exhausted. So, of course, Frost sends the first line back out for the faceoff, except for Hemp in place of Bouveng to get a second center.

This was mindboggling. Audrey Wethington, as good defensively as anyone on the first line, was on the bench. Frost was somewhat constrained with Madison Kaiser in the dressing room with a broken collarbone after being driven into the boards, but I would have preferred just sending out one of the other lines, with no timeout, or, if you're going to mix lines, use Hemp/Wethington/Kreisz over a worn out first line.

Then Wisconsin tied it on one of the flukiest goals I've ever seen. O'Brien was behind the net, facing the boards, and used her backhand to try a desperate pass to the front of the net. The puck hit Vetter in the shoulder and went in.

Frost did something similar against Clarkson, including calling time out after the Knights iced the puck. He needs to be willing to use other lines in crucial situations.

 

[KTDC]

Eight years of fluky goals for the other team. It really is a shame. Gophers are the most unlucky team ever!

 

[ARM]

Eight years of fluky goals for the other team.

I didn't say that they were all strange goals. Usually, the Goph's just keep turning the puck over until someone in the shooting gallery hits the net. This year, it gave more of an appearance of being under control, but the light went on anyway.

 

[eastcoastgopher]

The foundation of the Gophers' success has been getting the best players from Minnesota. I doubt they will be the best until that starts to happen again. There have been a number of seasons like last year where if things had broken differently, they might have won. It's different when you're the best team, and no matter what happens, you find a way to win.

Or, they could use the blind squirrel (gopher?) strategy and try to eventually find a nut that way.

For a school like Minnesota, that shouldn't be an excuse. And I know their next couple recruiting classes go outside the state a little bit. But they have to decide if they're committed to winning, or if they want to continue to run the program the way they've been running it.

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

The foundation of the Gophers' success has been getting the best players from Minnesota. I doubt they will be the best until that starts to happen again.

That will be hard to do with Minnesota's legendary Muzzinator holding Ohio State hockey camps in Minnesota to poach the in-state talent. Don't worry, it will balance out, she will be holding those camps in Wisconsin too!

 

[Still Eeyore]

I didn't say that they were all strange goals. Usually, the Goph's just keep turning the puck over until someone in the shooting gallery hits the net. This year, it gave more of an appearance of being under control, but the light went on anyway.

I'll go a step farther than ARM. It wasn't the whole season that the Gophers couldn't get a bounce. It was just the playoffs. Good god, they gave up some fluky goals. The blind backhand pass as time was running out. Clarkson's first goal was Lucy Morgan trying to poke a loose puck in front of the crease out of danger, and it bounced off of another Gopher and in. Their second goal was going wide, hit a Gopher skate, and went in.

 

[ARM]

That will be hard to do with Minnesota's legendary Muzzinator holding Ohio State hockey camps in Minnesota to poach the in-state talent.

This particular issue isn't one caused by tOSU. We just saw the first Minnesota HS product win a Kaz at a program other than UM.

Bally Sports North has several times aired a feature where Audra Martin sits down with Stecklein, Brandt, Pannek, and Cameranesi to talk about their athletic careers, including winning Olympic gold and a couple of national titles together. The Gopher tradition is different for hockey players than it is for other sports, and the key for GWH is to just not screw it up.

 

[Lindsay]

I’ve alluded to this on other threads but I personally believe since the 2017 threatened boycott USA Hockey has been using Wisconsin as an incubator of talent, more than ever. I can’t blame them, Johnson is a hockey coaching legend and never fell off the way the other preferred programs (Harvard and BC) did.

If another Megan Bozek (Illinois) comes along, in the current/recent environment would Minnesota get her or would she be pretty motivated to choose Wisconsin to further her USA Hockey dreams?

The landscape will continue to evolve, the PW and presumably an MJ retirement in the next 5 years will have an impact in my opinion.

So Minnesota should be right back there and getting Chloe Primerano has got to have them in the hunt. But we’ve also said that before.

 

[robertearle]

... and presumably an MJ retirement in the next 5 years will have an impact in my opinion.

Your lips to God's ear! I'm worried about getting through the next five days without "news".

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

Your lips to God's ear! I'm worried about getting through the next five days without "news".

When MJ does retire it will be a point of much discussion on forum on who bails and who stays with the new regime. I think it would mostly impact recruits and not those already in the program.

 

[ARM]

If another Megan Bozek (Illinois) comes along, in the current/recent environment would Minnesota get her or would she be pretty motivated to choose Wisconsin to further her USA Hockey dreams?

Minnesota has historically done okay with kids from Mission, even though geography would favor Wisconsin. I'm sure that having Bozek helped to get Sidney Peters, Cara Piazza, and Sophie Skarzynski. Murphy and Huber were a later wave.

So Minnesota should be right back there and getting Chloe Primerano has got to have them in the hunt. But we’ve also said that before.

The province of BC is the other place where they've made inroads. Muzerall was one of their few impact players from Ontario, along with Clarke, Terry, and Leveille. Others didn't work out for one reason or another. The core has to come from Minnesota, or they won't have the quantity to compete. USA Hockey might want to stash the prospects from around the country at UW or a BC successor, but if you can keep the local blue chips at home, then it works out.

 

[FiveHoleFrenzy]

That will be hard to do with Minnesota's legendary Muzzinator holding Ohio State hockey camps in Minnesota to poach the in-state talent. Don't worry, it will balance out, she will be holding those camps in Wisconsin too!

Please... By all means, host camps in Sconnyville. Lot's of girls youth hockey talent there...(not).

 

[Timothy A]

Please... By all means, host camps in Sconnyville. Lot's of girls youth hockey talent there...(not).

Yeah, sconi is a wasteland of girl's high school hockey. If anyone he has any talent they go
play for the Chicago mission or go to SSM, or perhaps go out east. I would love to see Muzzy load up her roster with Wisconsin born players.

 

[robertearle]

Yeah, sconi is a wasteland of girl's high school hockey. If anyone he has any talent they go
play for the Chicago mission or go to SSM, or perhaps go out east. I would love to see Muzzy load up her roster with Wisconsin born players.

(With the occasional exception, of course. At least three Wisconsin born Patty Kaz winners.)

 

[Timothy A]

. (With the occasional exception, of course. At least three Wisconsin born Patty Kaz winners.)

And having a hockey camp in WI would not have given a coach some mega in with a player of that caliber. When MJ talks, people listen.

 

[ManBehindTheCurtain]

I dunno, why not post it here.

Why would the bookie accept $4.5 million in bets from someone who clearly doesn't have an income that supports him being able to pay off if he loses. That's a sucker bet.

On the other hand, you might well accept large wagers from a guy who just signed a deal to receive $700 million.

Just sayin' the story being passed around on ESPN and MLB doesn't smell very good to me.

 

[Timothy A]

In nosing around your roster, I see ya'll are only losing 4 Grad players and have 3 Sr's one of which has left. You're practically bringing back the whole team plus your shiny new Italian toy arrives. Tosu, who I now refer to as "they", will be less potent next year and WI has a lot of inexperienced players as in Fr or injured players returning, things are looking up for the tunnelers next year.

 

[StPaulSam]

In nosing around your roster, I see ya'll are only losing 4 Grad players and have 3 Sr's one of which has left. You're practically bringing back the whole team plus your shiny new Italian toy arrives. Tosu, who I now refer to as "they", will be less potent next year and WI has a lot of inexperienced players as in Fr or injured players returning, things are looking up for the tunnelers next year.

And it seems more than possible that I'll be moving out of Minnesota in a few months for a job at a different university (that only has club men's hockey). So yeah, as is tradition, it's going to be another perfect season and I'll not get to see any of it.

Still baffled by Jose and Isa leaving. Still haven't gotten an answer as to why they are. Both seemed set-up for great years next year.

 

[Still Eeyore]

Still baffled by Jose and Isa leaving. Still haven't gotten an answer as to why they are. Both seemed set-up for great years next year.

It probably has a lot to do with an overcrowded roster. The Gophers return every forward that dressed last year, and are bringing in two more. They have only three forwards (A. Wethington; P. Hemp; and Huber) that will be out of eligibility after next year. Goettl likely looked around and decided that there wasn't much playing time in her future.

They do lose three defensemen this year, and two more next year, but they have four coming in. So, Josie Hemp's situation wasn't as dire, but she, too, could easily have assumed that she wouldn't see the ice much.

 

[Hockeyhub]

New Leadership Is Necessary! What happened? Just get lackadaisical with your position? You have the cream of the crop to choose from!