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Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

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Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

5mn_Major said:
Ultimately the problem is that right now we could be 13-6-2 or just below WI's record...if we just didn't face Colgate (at home), RPI (at home) and Penn State. Last night, there were no less than 3 quality shots that should have gone in against Wilcox when the score was 1-0, but Penn State just didn't have the finishers.

This team is strong. Yet the good news for message boards is that there's always room for improvement with every team. When fans are saying this team is bad, then it doesn't make sense.
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Of course, if Wisconsin hadn't had Huntsville, Anchorage, CC and PSU all at home (with all four weekends having at least one 1-goal game), they could be a lot worse too.

And completely agreed, the Gophers got lucky on a couple shots that Wilcox managed to stop, but the same thing could be said on the other end, especially on Sunday. That's simply the nature of hockey.

I also agree that calling this team "bad" really doesn't make any sense. They're voted the #1 team in the country in both polls, which doesn't mean much itself of course, but it reflects that they also are #1 in KRACH (those who pay attention) as well as having the nation's best winning percentage and being #1 in RPI and PWR. Yes, you can look at individual games and player performances in those games and question if the Gophers should be #1 or not, but the numbers show that they should be.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

Hammy said:
The #8 toughest strength of schedule right now and only 2 losses. I sometimes wonder if a certain percentage of fans think every game should be a runaway victory. :confused:
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To clarify, I don't think one poster here has been negative about this team...most think its a very talented team. But even great teams can go through soft patches. The #8 SOS came from fall and not Christmas break turning in great splits at ND and strong wins over BC. And inspite of Warnings Monday night, we don't know if the guy's finishing is fully back on track.

Stauber1 said:
We all can sense the lack of scoring by the top-6 forwards, but looking at the stats it is really striking.
In the past 8 games, the top-6 forwards have scored 4 even strength goals; 2 pp goals.
- Rau has 3 goals in the last 8 games
- Kloos has 2 in the last 8 games
- Cammarata has 1 in his past 9
- Fasching has none in his past 8
- Condon has none in the past 13
- Warning has none in the past 15 (his last goal was Oct. 19, the 4th game of the season)
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The way I see it is that some posters see that the team is going through a soft patch right now...relative to earlier in the season...and others don't.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

6-2 or better victories every game or else this team doesn't deserve to be #1, let alone an NCAA bid.

:rolleyes:
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

Dwarves are a hot commodity. We're almost sold out!

Steve_MN said:
Of course, if Wisconsin hadn't had Huntsville, Anchorage, CC and PSU all at home (with all four weekends having at least one 1-goal game), they could be a lot worse too.
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This is true, although I'd point out Rumpel being 10-1, 1.85 ga after missing a month and a half. The 1 coming obviously against you guys on the road, a game in which arguably he deserved a better fate. Badgers giving 5 straight PP's and then the Badger's Mike Mersch with the assist on the GWG with 20 seconds left. Certainly a good chance we'd have lost it in OT anyway, but it was still a tough loss, and his only blemish.

For what it's worth unlike last year where the Goph's seemed to me to be head and shoulders above everyone at this point, I don't see much, if any, difference in the top five or so. And not much more difference in the next five. It may bode well as I don't think you guys got much better in the second half last year, not worse either, just that other teams got comparatively better as the season wore on, IMO. Harder to climb up from the top, I guess. This year's team has plenty of incentive to improve as there's little or no separation. Like I said, maybe that bodes well for you, but I certainly hope not.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

Steve_MN said:
Of course, if Wisconsin hadn't had Huntsville, Anchorage, CC and PSU all at home (with all four weekends having at least one 1-goal game), they could be a lot worse too.

And completely agreed, the Gophers got lucky on a couple shots that Wilcox managed to stop, but the same thing could be said on the other end, especially on Sunday. That's simply the nature of hockey.

I also agree that calling this team "bad" really doesn't make any sense. They're voted the #1 team in the country in both polls, which doesn't mean much itself of course, but it reflects that they also are #1 in KRACH (those who pay attention) as well as having the nation's best winning percentage and being #1 in RPI and PWR. Yes, you can look at individual games and player performances in those games and question if the Gophers should be #1 or not, but the numbers show that they should be.
Click to expand...

It's a good team but do I feel good about the Gophers chances? Not really. I guess I am jaded.
 
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Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

4four4 said:
It's a good team but do I feel good about the Gophers chances? Not really. I guess I am jaded.
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I do. More so than last year. Last year Wilcox was just a freshman and without Haula/Bjugstad carrying the team they weren't going to get far. In fact IIRC Bjugs was on the ice for the OT goal. This year you really have balanced scoring throughout the lineup and Wilcox has gotten even better. There is no shutodown options for other teams. This year the only thing in my mind that ends the Gophers season is themselves.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

ScoobyDoo said:
I do. More so than last year. Last year Wilcox was just a freshman and without Haula/Bjugstad carrying the team they weren't going to get far. In fact IIRC Bjugs was on the ice for the OT goal. This year you really have balanced scoring throughout the lineup and Wilcox has gotten even better. There is no shutodown options for other teams. This year the only thing in my mind that ends the Gophers season is themselves.
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I feel about the same as I felt last year. Bjugs and Haula were both considerably more talented than anyone on this team. But the team was definitely dependent on two lines...which with Boyd, Ambroz, Seratorre is not the case this year. If forwards can reliably get 2-3 goals a game against PWR 20 or so teams, we've got a good chance. With recent games against Penn State and Colgate at home, this was seen to be still in question.
 
Everyone else understood it Harley, next time I'll use crayons for you. And stop being so defensive and excitable, you sound like a teenage girl.

Stauber - it's all good I think we'll age to disagree about my perception of the sky is falling bits.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

After losing all the talented players we had last year and with so many Freshman coming in I actually figured we would struggle a little this year. With only 2 losses and playing some of the teams we have played so far, this group has been much better than I expected.

I agree that last year we were a 2 line team, shut them down and we would lose. This year seems like someone different steps up every week or so (1st line, 3rd line 4th line doesn't matter) and the scoring keeps rotating with no real one true goal scorer, more like a goal scoring by committee thing if that makes sense.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

5mn_Major said:
I feel about the same as I felt last year. Bjugs and Haula were both considerably more talented than anyone on this team. But the team was definitely dependent on two lines...which with Boyd, Ambroz, Seratorre is not the case this year. If forwards can reliably get 2-3 goals a game against PWR 20 or so teams, we've got a good chance. With recent games against Penn State and Colgate at home, this was seen to be still in question.
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Bjugs had all the talent in the world. He didn't assert it at the end of last season though.

I'd much rather have this team this season where nobody is waiting for somebody else to do something.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

ScoobyDoo said:
Bjugs had all the talent in the world. He didn't assert it at the end of last season though.

I'd much rather have this team this season where nobody is waiting for somebody else to do something.
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Completely agreed. Last year's team really relied on a handful of players (primarily Bjugs and Haula) to carry the team, and when Nick especially dropped off production-wise toward the end of the year, it started showing. With the production being spread out much more evenly this year, the team won't be as susceptible to one or two players having an off weekend.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

Driftryder said:
After losing all the talented players we had last year and with so many Freshman coming in I actually figured we would struggle a little this year. With only 2 losses and playing some of the teams we have played so far, this group has been much better than I expected.

I agree that last year we were a 2 line team, shut them down and we would lose. This year seems like someone different steps up every week or so (1st line, 3rd line 4th line doesn't matter) and the scoring keeps rotating with no real one true goal scorer, more like a goal scoring by committee thing if that makes sense.
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I am enjoying the ride this year. When I looked at the 1st half schedule, I expected a few more bumps in the road - especially with all the freshmen I knew the Gophers would have to rely on to win this year.

I could complain about specific players or the performance of certain aspects of the team's performance, but have refrained. We have a very balanced attack and a pretty solid defense. There is room for improvement and they have improved in measurable ways. I am happy and very excited about the games I will get to see in person the next two weeks. I feel lucky to cheer for this team. The sky isn't falling and I see no reason to suck a tailpipe.
 
Re: Gophers 2013-14 B1G Things To Come!

4four4 said:
It's a good team but do I feel good about the Gophers chances? Not really. I guess I am jaded.
Click to expand...
I hate to agree with a Badger fan, but I felt last year's team at this point of the season, was clearly the best, most-talented team in the country. Quinnipiac was only one that might challenge for talent. Gophs seemed to have more skill than anyone, and at this point of the year, outworked everyone too (at least for a couple periods per night). But that work ethic waned as playoffs approached, and it is all about momentum. We were waiting for Bjugs to kick-start the team, but it wasn't a case where if he didn't perform there wasn't enough talent to win. Most of the team didn't step up to gain the momentum into playoffs. But they were so talented, that with a few bounces, they could have done it even without being the hardest working team.

This year, I think there are more teams at around the same level as the Gophs or very close. They are deeper than most teams, so can count on different players stepping up on different nights, but they also don't have that line like last year's first line, that when they are on, every team in the country would struggle to just try to keep them off the scoreboard. Not all Champions have that, but it has been the difference some years.

And maybe it is partly just the fact that each year that goes by where they have a team that seems like The One, but don't win it all, further solidifies the realization that winning it all is so much based on momentum, goaltending and sometimes just puck luck, and that the most talented team often doesn't win. So each year I re-set expectations, especially those that follow a great team that doesn't win. After all, if the most talented won every year, wouldn't MN have about 30 NCAA Championships? (Winning by a Billion in each game?)
 
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