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Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

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Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Fiveholio said:
She has played at the highest levels and done just fine. Everyone thinks because she played High school hockey at class A it will take her a while to adjust. U-18 games vs Canada is pretty good competition as well as all the Spring and Fall Elite League Games. If anything some players may have to adjust to Heise, having the puck land on their stick from out of nowhere right by the net:cool:
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Watching the U18 world championships she stood out there. I think she will be OK at the D-I level.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

ne7minder said:
Watching the U18 world championships she stood out there. I think she will be OK at the D-I level.
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Totally agree, although like almost all freshmen, however talented they may be, there will be an adjustment period as she acclimates to the much faster D-1 pace. But if she is paired with linemates who can develop the kind of offensive chemistry that all Gopher fans hope to see - one that was mostly uncharacteristically missing at times last season - that adjustment period to the D-1 level could prove to be very short.

I will also say that the biggest question for this season's team (IMO) is not so much can they produce offensively, but how well (or not-so-well) can they play a solid "shut down" team defensive game when needed? I don't think there's any question that the Gophers will be able to out-score most teams on their schedule, as they look to have tons of offensive skill on this season's team. But how well will they be able to defend when the puck is trapped in their own zone by teams with similar offensive capabilities? When it gets down to crunch time, I think that's the big question that will determine how far this team can go.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

D2D said:
. . . I will also say that the biggest question for this season's team (IMO) is not so much can they produce offensively, but how well (or not-so-well) can they play a solid "shut down" team defensive game when needed? . . .
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D was a problem last year and while I believe the team will have a lot of firepower this season it is the D that remains a concern. I'll steal a line from a novel I read about a hockey team, "We need defensemen that don't score".
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

ne7minder said:
D was a problem last year and while I believe the team will have a lot of firepower this season it is the D that remains a concern. I'll steal a line from a novel I read about a hockey team, "We need defensemen that don't score".
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There are no good novels about hockey.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Gophers 3, Canada U22 1

Incoming frosh Taylor Heise netted two goals and sophomore Grace Zumwinkle one to lead USA to a 4-1 victory in the opening game of the series. :cool:
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Credit to two GPL posters who show 3 2004 birth-dates committing to Minnesota:

Farmington '04 F Claire Enright commits to Minnesota
Mahtomedi '04 D/F Allie Franco commits to Minnesota
Andover '04 F Madison Kaiser commits to Minnesota

Flipping recruits...The white van strikes again but this time for the men...:D
 
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Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Note of interest to both Gopher & Terrier fans
Nina Rodgers signed with the Connecticut Whale (who the hell picked these team names?) for the coming season.

We met Nina's mom long before we met Nina, mom is a wonderful woman. Nina is a very special kid, total quality & an asset to any team she is on. What kpt her off the top line in MN was a lack of speed, she could shoot & score but didn't get to opportunities because she was not quick enough for the WCHA. A great person & I wish her a lot of success.
 
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Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

D2D said:
Totally agree, although like almost all freshmen, however talented they may be, there will be an adjustment period as she acclimates to the much faster D-1 pace. But if she is paired with linemates who can develop the kind of offensive chemistry that all Gopher fans hope to see - one that was mostly uncharacteristically missing at times last season - that adjustment period to the D-1 level could prove to be very short.

I will also say that the biggest question for this season's team (IMO) is not so much can they produce offensively, but how well (or not-so-well) can they play a solid "shut down" team defensive game when needed? I don't think there's any question that the Gophers will be able to out-score most teams on their schedule, as they look to have tons of offensive skill on this season's team. But how well will they be able to defend when the puck is trapped in their own zone by teams with similar offensive capabilities? When it gets down to crunch time, I think that's the big question that will determine how far this team can go.
Click to expand...

There will be no acclimation period for Heise. She stood out in the U-22 series this past week which is a step above normal D-1 competition. All the younger girls on team USA played much better than expected:)
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

Fiveholio said:
There will be no acclimation period for Heise. She stood out in the U-22 series this past week which is a step above normal D-1 competition. All the younger girls on team USA played much better than expected:)
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Good to hear, and am very much looking forward to seeing her wearing the Maroon and Gold!
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

D2D said:
Good to hear, and am very much looking forward to seeing her wearing the Maroon and Gold!
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They had her with different line combinations in the games and if there was anything to nitpick about how she played in the series it was that she needs to work on winning faceoffs. However, she could be a good option centering a line with Zoom Boom if Pannek is on a line with the Potomak sisters.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

D2D said:
Meet the Newcomers: Catie Skaja

GS: "What is your earliest hockey memory?"

CS: "I think it was 10U; we won this tournament and I was holding up the trophy, and then the whole top of it fell off and fell on my head. I already had my helmet off, and it left a huge lump."

https://gophersports.com/news/2018/...tm_content=headlines&utm_campaign=GopherDaily
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She was able to answer this question better than AB... ;)

"Who's the best hockey player you've ever played against? We played against the Olympians at a camp. It was honestly probably Amanda Kessel, she scrimmaged with us one time."
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers 2018-2019

If team captains have been announced, I missed it. Since the State Fair appearance typically involves the captains, can I assume that some combination of Williamson, Schammel, and Pannek are captains?
 
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