Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

[Slap Shot]

Fully updated roster.

19 Fr./So. and 3 Sr. I realized they were young but seeing it right there....wow.

How does Bob get out of a cycle of having so many new Fr. coming in every 2-3 years? I realize that's a pretty loaded question given how many moving parts there are and the inevitable unknowns that come around every off-season but...

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Fully updated roster.

19 Fr./So. and 3 Sr. I realized they were young but seeing it right there....wow.

How does Bob get out of a cycle of having so many new Fr. coming in every 2-3 years? I realize that's a pretty loaded question given how many moving parts there are and the inevitable unknowns that come around every off-season but...

Good question. I don't recall this being as much of a problem when he was coaching his former team

 

[Happy]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Fully updated roster.

19 Fr./So. and 3 Sr. I realized they were young but seeing it right there....wow.

How does Bob get out of a cycle of having so many new Fr. coming in every 2-3 years? I realize that's a pretty loaded question given how many moving parts there are and the inevitable unknowns that come around every off-season but...

He should recruit over-age Canadians, for start.

 

[woodenskates]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

He should recruit over-age Canadians, for start.

Two of his new goalies are.

 

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Out of the 9 seniors that graduated, 2 were not starting goalies, and three forwards on the checking line (Ramsey, Norman and Romanko) had a combined total of 11 pts. all season. I think this year's team can do better.

Two of his new goalies are.

D1 college hockey Fr are on average older than most other college Fr. In recent years, the avg. age is 20 years (College Hockey, Inc.). The largest Fr age group last season was 20, then 21, 19, 18 and a few 17-year-olds.

Both goalies are 21. LaFontaine (21) comes in as a junior with one year of eligibility left.

 

[gopher wes]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

.

 

[woodenskates]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

That is exactly my point. Two of his new goalies are overage Canadians.

 

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

That is exactly my point. Two of his new goalies are overage Canadians.

Haha...and Happy catches a minnow.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gophers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gophers</a> jersey numbers.<br><br>Three newcomers - Ben Meyers (#39), Jack LaFontaine (#45) and Noah Webber (#51) - will be skating with numbers never worn by a Minnesota player in 99 years. Matt Staudacher's #55 was last worn in 1949. <a href="https://t.co/hWhTYY6kkd">pic.twitter.com/hWhTYY6kkd</a></p>— Nate Wells (@gopherstate) <a href="https://twitter.com/gopherstate/status/1172618467519926273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Time to start studying up on those jersey numbers, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gophers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gophers</a>! <br><br>That means you, <a href="https://twitter.com/jack_lafontaine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jack_lafontaine</a>. <a href="https://t.co/jOpfr0zF7N">pic.twitter.com/jOpfr0zF7N</a></p>— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/GopherHockey/status/1172616442782654471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[4four4]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Two of his new goalies are.

Isn't that his point?

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Good question. I don't recall this being as much of a problem when he was coaching his former team

A) There were a few years where SCSU had large freshmen classes.
B) No, it didn't happen very often. SCSU always required (probably still requires) a different approach to recruiting than the state's largest university with the oldest hockey program.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Subscribed

 

[KaMiGo]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Fully updated roster.

19 Fr./So. and 3 Sr. I realized they were young but seeing it right there....wow.

How does Bob get out of a cycle of having so many new Fr. coming in every 2-3 years? I realize that's a pretty loaded question given how many moving parts there are and the inevitable unknowns that come around every off-season but...

Kind of sounds like the feast/famine recruiting cycle that Wisconsin was in for a while.

 

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Tyler Nanne and Sammy Walker as co-captains are great picks this season. Nanne really improved late last season to become a more confident and committed defenseman and led the team in blocked shots avg. 2 blks/game for 38 games, led in scoring among the D and kept his penalty min down. I like his speed up ice, and 'crashing the net' style as an offensive weapon from the blueline.

The Gophers lost 55% of their scoring, so Sammy as captain leading the offensive charge is a no-brainer. If he improves as more of finisher on net, I think he can hit the 20G season mark. Interested to see what Brodzinski will look like against stronger players. He towered over many in HS with his size.

With a young team, goaltending is key. Look for LaFontaine to make his comeback to the NCAA a success as the eventual starter in net. Seems like there's a lot of excitement for this season among the players.

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Seems like there's a lot of excitement for this season among the players.

Among most of us fans as well! But I am trying to temper my enthusiasm, so as not to be too disappointed if things don't go as well as hoped for. That said, I do look for this team to exceed expectations, which certainly was not the case last season.

 

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Fully updated roster.

19 Fr./So. and 3 Sr. I realized they were young but seeing it right there....wow.

How does Bob get out of a cycle of having so many new Fr. coming in every 2-3 years? I realize that's a pretty loaded question given how many moving parts there are and the inevitable unknowns that come around every off-season but...

Seems like a mixture of 1, 2, 3 and 4 year players will get out of the cycle quickly. Just sort of aligned this way this year with combo of early departures and graduations. But when some of the freshman are coming in at a range of ages, it also tempers the impact, compared to the days of all 18 y.o freshmen.

 

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

That said, I do look for this team to exceed expectations, which certainly was not the case last season.

So your expectation is to exceed what you expect?

I thought there were unknowns going into last year, especially with a suspect D corp, so I wouldn't say I was surprised by the season.

I don't have high expectations this year given how unpredictable freshmen will be adjusting to the NCAA, the unknown goaltender situation and the loss of some top players like Pitlick and Sheehy and Novak whose contributions will be difficult to replace. That isn't to say I would be surprised if they have a better season than last either. Too many years of watching teams that returned the core and looked poised to compete for a championship that under-performed, or teams that looked like they would be outgunned that went further than expected. That is why they play the games, and what makes it so fun (and sometimes agonizing) to watch. Chemistry is difficult to predict (and I think that often the coach has less control on this than many people believe). But with 19 Freshman and sophomores and unproven goaltending, I have trouble EXPECTING any specific outcome.

But I've got my tickets for Duluth. (If you go to buy, the fee from UMD is $5 vs TicketMaster's $15 PER ticket.)

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

So your expectation is to exceed what you expect?

No I meant that I expect this team to exceed the general consensus. I think a very realistic goal would be to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

 

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross has Big Ten teams Penn St., Wisconsin and Ohio State (??) in his "Top 16". A Top 20 poll was just too much for Bucci Mane.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEW 2019 Preseason BucciMane <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CawlidgeHawkey?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CawlidgeHawkey</a> Top 16��������<br>1 UMD (Minnesota-Duluth)<br>2 Denver<br>3 Minnesota St<br>4 Penn State<br>5 Cornell<br>6 BostonCollege<br>7 UMass<br>8 Clarkson<br>9 Wisconsin<br>10 Quinnipiac<br>11 Western Michigan<br>12 Bowling Green<br>13 Providence <br>14 Ohio State<br>15 North Dakota<br>16 AIC <a href="https://t.co/2n9xIxgCtw">pic.twitter.com/2n9xIxgCtw</a></p>— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buccigross/status/1170890916527296517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[SteveO]

Re: Minnesota Golden Gopher Season 2019-2020: Motzko 2.0

Chemistry is difficult to predict (and I think that often the coach has less control on this than many people believe). But with 19 Freshman and sophomores and unproven goaltending, I have trouble EXPECTING any specific outcome.

The only line chemistry that has some predictability is the BMW line. Not sure they can come close to KHL line (MSU) production, but it took a couple seasons for that line to reach the flow state of performance (total pts. 108). Limoges/Barratt/Folkes from Penn St. are back for another offensive attack and were the top scoring line in the NCAA last season (135 pts). Their first season together (62 pts/2017-18) was very similar to the BMW line (61 pts.) last season. The BMW definitely has something to build on and should raise the bar this season. How high remains to be seen, but they will be the top scoring line.