Not sure I agree with that assessment. I think Friday's game was the best effort the Gophs have put forth in a while, maybe for the season. There were a number of times I noticed OSU forechecking hard where it took a number of passes clicking in a row and hustle by every player on the ice just to escape their zone, or the neutral zone. OSU wasn't sitting back. And when OSU possessed the puck, I saw a Gopher team where every player was pressing, often creating a turnover. I didn't see much of the standing around and reaching for pucks or leaving the third guy uncovered in the slot that has plagued this team for stretches of most games this season. They were winning puck battles based on hustle, not on OSU standing around. Nothing was easy that they did.
Saturday wasn't quite the same effort and I think OSU did have more urgency, but for the first half of the game, I still feel like the Gophs pressured well. But they did start to go more into a defensive shell as the game went on and they got the big lead. Don't know how many times I saw a Gopher player in the third gain possession in their end, have time to hit a player with a pass, but instead just lob it out of the zone to get a clear. They started trying not to lose, rather than trying to win. They made their shots count though. That is the way hockey is. I fell like last weekend, while they didn't give the effort to get a win, the games still weren't as lopsided as the scores, but PSU just were hitting the shots those nights and MN wasn't.
So I think more players than Robson deserve credit for these wins. I still think that, while maybe not a top 10 team talent-wise, this team is more skilled than their record indicates and can play with any team in the country if they put forth an effort like they did on Friday night.
