Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

[ShotFromThePoint]

Koho - this program has often done the most when expected to do the least under tDon. Like I said they have the talent and I have a good feeling the chemistry issues won't repeat themselves.

Expect Schierhorn to get the bulk of the work in net by year's end.

I mean let's face it, it goes back to the old quote: "Gentlemen, you're not talented enough to win on talent alone." There was probably a reason why Herb Brooks had that saying...being the coach of the "Pride on Ice" means having to manage the players' egos from time to time.

So when the Gophers (who already have a complex typically) are highly ranked then they EXPECT to win and don't try as hard. And then they lose and it becomes even more toxic depending on how they handle their expectations not matching up with reality.

I'm all for starting at the bottom and establishing a "we get what we earn" mentality.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

Not much lovin for Kloos to be a hypothetical preseason All Big Ten by some, but it looks like he's the only Big Ten player to make the USCHO's top ten forwards to watch. Not sure how that works.

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

Not much lovin for Kloos to be a hypothetical preseason All Big Ten by some, but it looks like he's the only Big Ten player to make the USCHO's top ten forwards to watch. Not sure how that works.

With his talent the kid can be so fun to watch. His success this year will largely be determined by the level of chemistry he develops with his linemates. And as captain he will take on a leadership role that he didn't have before. So there's no doubt that he realizes just how important this season is to his NHL aspirations, so motivation + work ethic should not be an issue.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

It would indeed be real fun to have a team that surprises on the upside by totally exceeding expectations. For those who are expecting this to actually happen, I would love to hear WHY they believe it will happen.

It in a way happened two seasons ago when they lost Bjugstad, Haula, Budish, Schmidt, Alt, and Helgeson and then went to the national championship game the next season.

It all depends on how many guys take big steps and how many freshmen produce right away. People like to look at returning pts and returning scoring, but tend to forget that some of those losses will be replaced by incoming players.

Two years ago the Gophers came into the season returning 57% of their goals and 58% of their points (having lost 4 of their top 5 point scorers), but ended up scoring more goals per game than the previous season 2012-13: 1872 goals for 3.48 goals/gm versus 2013-14: 1872 goals for 3.49 goals/gm).

Gophers also had to replacing their starting goaltender the season before. That is going to be the bigger question IMO. Can we get Adam Wilcox circa 2013-14 level goaltending out of one of this seasons goaltenders? Can we shore up the defensive lapses that plagued us at times last season and play strong defense in front of them?

I'm not that worried about the scoring. We'll put plenty of pucks in the net. The harder thing for freshmen to do is come in and play strong defensively at this level. That includes our freshmen forwards. Gotta take care of the puck.

 

[SanTropez]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

1872 goals... man we were a high scoring team that year.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

1872 goals... man we were a high scoring team that year.

LOL!

Copied fron CHN website without even thinking about it. Clearly not correct. Actual number of goals per year were 2012-13: 139 and 2013-14: 143.

Thanks

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

LOL!

Copied fron CHN website without even thinking about it. Clearly not correct. Actual number of goals per year were 2012-13: 139 and 2013-14: 143.

Thanks

I thought maybe you copied from the U's basketball team's site!

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

I thought maybe you copied from the U's basketball team's site!

Hahaha... That would make more sense. Still laughing that I didn't catch that.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

Media Day with Don Lucia, Justin Kloos and Hudson Fasching. Sounds more and more like the returning players are excited about the FR energy in the lineup and they're expecting them to step up from the opening puck drop on Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Vermont. Go Gophers! Rah!

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

Sounds more and more like the returning players are excited about the FR energy in the lineup and they're expecting them to step up from the opening puck drop on Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Vermont.

I think it goes without saying that the freshmen will absolutely have to step up - in short order - if this team is to be successful.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

I think it goes without saying that the freshmen will absolutely have to step up - in short order - if this team is to be successful.

Should be interesting to see where the scoring will come from among the FR talent with the line chemistry adjustments early in the season. From what Lucia indicated they're expecting a lot from Cammarata, Bristedt and C. Reilly in addition to key guys like Fasching and Kloos. I think we'll see a more aggressive and tenacious look from a renewed Cammarata this season. If Cammy finds his niche he's capable of at least 15 Gs this season. I fully expect Connor Reilly to pick up where he left off with his scoring ability before he was hurt last season...he seems ready to make an immediate impact given his full recovery. I like the hustle and intensity of Vinni Lettieri and if he can improve his positioning in space, he's fully capable of 12-15 Gs this season.

Lots of question marks and not a lot of expectations which is perhaps a better way to start to find your identity as a team. Sometimes its easier to climb the mountain than defend it.

 

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Off Season Thread 2015

Koho - this program has often done the most when expected to do the least under tDon. Like I said they have the talent and I have a good feeling the chemistry issues won't repeat themselves.

Everyone knows this is possible and has happened before. But the more things that have to happen for a team to excel beyond expectations (Freshman contributing significantly, a new goalie coming and and being consistently good and a lot of D with out tons of experience stepping up), the more likely they will fall short in one area. I am not saying they can't, or won't turn into a better than expected team, but by definition, to say a team may 'exceed expectations' means that on paper they aren't expected to be a top five or ten team. Just because it has happened before, doesn't mean it should be expected, otherwise they aren't really 'exceeding expectations' if they always are a good team regardless of what shortfalls they need to overcome. I would leave it as there area lot of unknowns this year, so it is harder than usual to predict where they will finish.