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Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

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Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

5mn_Major said:
That was a terrible effort. There probably have been games where the team is not capable of responding at all. But I don't think I've ever seen a college game with as many turnovers as we committed. It will be interesting to see if we've been exposed or whether we'll respond.
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On the otherside, credit UND for executing an impressive and effective forecheck. They'll win a lot of games if they can do that consistently. They really controlled the offensive zone with some heavy puck possession time...especially in the third holding the Gophers output to 2 SOG for most of it. That was embarrassing.

I think they'll come out strong on Friday at Mariucci, hopefully get a big win against a very good MSUM team and then build off of it. MSUM could be a F4 team this season,so looking ahead we need the PWR pts. too.

I'm concerned about the shot differential, Gophers have a disastrous Corsi ranking of 57, a tad above St. Lawrence, Alaska, and Alabama-Huntsville. We're not getting enough SOG and A-grade chances.

Although the PK wasn't too bad on Sat., the parade to the box killed their momentum and led to the winning goal.

Gotta get this stuff fixed this weekend.
 
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Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

SteveO said:
On the otherside, credit UND for executing an impressive and effective forecheck. They'll win a lot of games if they can do that consistently.
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I get that. There's just no way that that fully explains our inept performance based on how poorly UND has played in every other game this year. The score was not at all reflective of what happened on the ice.

D2D said:
It won't get any easier this coming weekend, in a home-and-home series against a real good Mankato team.
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One that outplayed the same UND team that destroyed us. Having said that, I am quietly optimistic that the guys will respond and make a series out of this.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

5mn_Major said:
...I am quietly optimistic that the guys will respond and make a series out of this.
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If MN State truly deserves their No. 4 ranking the Gophers are definitely the underdogs in this series. And there's no question that if the Gophs play anything like they did against UND you can expect the Mavs to sweep. The larger ice surface at Mariucci should give our talented skaters and playmakers (which were sorely MIA against the Fawks) more room to operate and make things happen. That advantage shifts to Mankato in the rematch at the Verizon Center, with their narrower (90') surface at home, in front of their boisterous crowd. Realistically I am hoping for a split, on the assumption that on Friday at home the Gophers will bring extra motivation to atone for their utter failure on Saturday.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

Curious to see how the Gophers respond after the disappointing effort in Vegas. Hopefully this ends up being like UND's super bowl while the Gophers move on to better things. We shall see. Another good non-conference opponent coming up with PWR implications on the line. Should be a fun weekend.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

gopher wes said:
Curious to see how the Gophers respond after the disappointing effort in Vegas. Hopefully this ends up being like UND's super bowl while the Gophers move on to better things. We shall see. Another good non-conference opponent coming up with PWR implications on the line. Should be a fun weekend.
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Will just be good to watch another game finally. Hoping Saturday I can have a few beers and be ready to sleep in the next day, with a deer already in the garage, while cheering for the Gophs to get a sweep.
 
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Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

Koho said:
Will just be good to watch another game finally. Hoping Saturday I can have a few beers and be ready to sleep in the next day, with a deer already in the garage, while cheering for the Gophs to get a sweep.
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If you get an extra I know someone who might be willing to take it off your hands;)


(No, this isn't a Wisconsin joke. It is a Gopher fan who wouldn't mind a freezer full of venison.:p)
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

D2D said:
If MN State truly deserves their No. 4 ranking the Gophers are definitely the underdogs in this series. And there's no question that if the Gophs play anything like they did against UND you can expect the Mavs to sweep. The larger ice surface at Mariucci should give our talented skaters and playmakers (which were sorely MIA against the Fawks) more room to operate and make things happen. That advantage shifts to Mankato in the rematch at the Verizon Center, with their narrower (90') surface at home, in front of their boisterous crowd. Realistically I am hoping for a split, on the assumption that on Friday at home the Gophers will bring extra motivation to atone for their utter failure on Saturday.
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I'm not sure the rink will be a benefit one way or another. MSU isn't the same team that it was in the old WCHA. Hastings teams are pretty good skating and have a lot more scoring ability than they used to. I've heard a few people thinking they are a big team that likes to check and "play big", but I'm not sure that's accurate. We were not as good of skaters as Boston U, but not a clutch-and-grab team like the late 90s and 2000s.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

Bale said:
I'm not sure the rink will be a benefit one way or another. MSU isn't the same team that it was in the old WCHA. Hastings teams are pretty good skating and have a lot more scoring ability than they used to. I've heard a few people thinking they are a big team that likes to check and "play big", but I'm not sure that's accurate. We were not as good of skaters as Boston U, but not a clutch-and-grab team like the late 90s and 2000s.
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You very well may be right as it pertains to MSU, but I do think the rink size still affects Minnesota, where bigger is better. Against UND last Saturday night on a 200 x 85 surface they were noticeably ineffective in tight spaces and along the boards. I guess we'll see tomorrow evening if they're able to make good use of the increased width at Mariucci.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

D2D said:
You very well may be right as it pertains to MSU, but I do think the rink size still affects Minnesota, where bigger is better. Against UND last Saturday night on a 200 x 85 surface they were noticeably ineffective in tight spaces and along the boards. I guess we'll see tomorrow evening if they're able to make good use of the increased width at Mariucci.
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I can see that. My only thought was that the MSU team is a bit more versatile than the older teams were.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

Bale said:
I can see that. My only thought was that the MSU team is a bit more versatile than the older teams were.
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I believe you totally. You don't get to be ranked No. 4 in the land if you are just "a big team that likes to check and 'play big'." For the Gophers, any bit of overconfidence better not be their mindset, because if it is they will surely be swept.

That said, I love when any Minnesota-based team does well, just not at the expense of our Gophers! So best of luck to you....after this series! ;)
 
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Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

gopher wes said:
If you get an extra I know someone who might be willing to take it off your hands;)


(No, this isn't a Wisconsin joke. It is a Gopher fan who wouldn't mind a freezer full of venison.:p)
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Check with me next year. Can only get one tag this year, but possibly more next. Hunt close to home and there are too many around. Not only issues with garden, but when I was away for about 6 days, they ate 90% of the Honeycrisp apples on my tree. Some need to die.

Will be good to get back into hockey though. Haven't been able to watch many Wild games either, but that should all improve now. And I'll start skating again in a couple weeks.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

How did McGlaughlin look last weekend? I assume he played? Did he and Hain ever have any moments?
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

Koho said:
Check with me next year. Can only get one tag this year, but possibly more next. Hunt close to home and there are too many around. Not only issues with garden, but when I was away for about 6 days, they ate 90% of the Honeycrisp apples on my tree. Some need to die.

Will be good to get back into hockey though. Haven't been able to watch many Wild games either, but that should all improve now. And I'll start skating again in a couple weeks.
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Our UPS driver at work said he might get an extra this year and I'm first on the list if he does. :cool:
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

D2D said:
For the Gophers, any bit of overconfidence better not be their mindset, because if it is they will surely be swept.
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It would be tough to come in overconfident against just about any team after how flat the Gophers looked in Vegas, let alone a top 5 team in the country and an in state rival.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

gopher wes said:
It would be tough to come in overconfident against just about any team after how flat the Gophers looked in Vegas, let alone a top 5 team in the country and an in state rival.
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So true, and why I referred to "any bit" of overconfidence. This is NOT your 'Mankato State' of old, when a Gopher sweep was expected.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

It's a contest to see who can be less optimistic. My god.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

Slap Shot said:
It's a contest to see who can be less optimistic. My god.
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Assuming you are referring to my comments.....how is it pessimistic to say that we hope they don't underestimate an opponent? No one is saying they are going to get steamrolled or that they have no chance of winning. Just pointing out a simple fact.
 
Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2018-19: The Motzko Era Begins!

Slap Shot said:
It's a contest to see who can be less optimistic. My god.
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Well I said I was hoping to have my deer hanging before the saturday game. I would say that was pretty optimistic (Since odds are against it).
 
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