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Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

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Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

HarleyMC said:
As expected, BC 2-1 win vs Merrimack tonight had two interesting effects in tPWR:

It dropped the Gophers from PWR #18 to #19 and fortunately for Michigan, it catapulted them into the tournament field from #17 to #15. If Michigan sweeps Wis. this weekend, they will further solidify their their spot in the field of 16. After a few recalculations, even if Mich. sweeps Wis. the Gophers will still have the edge in COp by .500. That will most likely change as both teams finish their respective schedules by playing common opponents in the B1G. Michigan at 11-2 in their last 13 games, is playing their best hockey of the season right now. With Michigan's remaining weak schedule and barring any huge upsets, it will be very difficult for the Gophers with the stronger schedule down the stretch to catch Mich. for the B1G championship.
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The only thing we have going for us is a slightly easier road ahead...they're still the team to beat at this point.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

5mn_Major said:
The only thing we have going for us is a slightly easier road ahead...they're still the team to beat at this point.
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Other than having the 2 extra road games at Mariucci in three weeks, Michigan has the lighter B1G schedule for the remainder of the season. They play both Wis. (PWR 54) and Michigan State (PWR 42) two more times than the Gophers and both of those teams currently have the lowest PWR in the B1G. The Gophers play both PSU (PWR 22) and Ohio State (PWR 29) two more times than Michigan. Following Mich. (PWR #15) and the Gophers (PWR #19), both of those teams currently have the next highest PWR in the B1G. Michigan has the weaker schedule going forward.

Teams and TUCs to watch this weekend (1/23-24) with PWR implications for the Gophers: Michigan @ Wisconsin, Dartmouth @ Colgate, Mass @ Merrimack, Western Mich @ SCSU and Northern Mich. @ Penn State. Michigan, Colgate, Merrimack and Penn State are favored to sweep their respective series. I expect WM @ SCSU to split. Let's see how it statistically plays out this weekend for the Gophers.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

That could well be true. I reached the conclusion on these two teams last week...when MI's schedule included OSU on the road and MN's included UW at home. We all know how that worked out.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

It will be very interesting to see how the Gophers respond tomorrow after losing such an important game to the No. 1 ranked team this evening. They will have had less time to recuperate and will be facing a team that will be very motivated after getting upset (and blanked) by Bemidji. Putting tonight's game behind them won't be easy, but that's what they need to do if they want to win tomorrow. There was a lot of emotion spent on the ice tonight but hopefully the Gophers still have the needed energy and desire to get a badly needed win.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Maybe the goofers and dulute are better off in the natcho rather than playing in the lowly WCHL?
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

D2D said:
It will be very interesting to see how the Gophers respond tomorrow after losing such an important game to the No. 1 ranked team this evening. They will have had less time to recuperate and will be facing a team that will be very motivated after getting upset (and blanked) by Bemidji. Putting tonight's game behind them won't be easy, but that's what they need to do if they want to win tomorrow. There was a lot of emotion spent on the ice tonight but hopefully the Gophers still have the needed energy and desire to get a badly needed win.
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A lot of energy was left on the ice tonight which adds to the disappointment they're probably feeling right now. Getting up for UMD is going to be tough and I expect UMD to shellack the Gophers. There's still lots of hockey left, but big losses like this can cause a team to lose heart and perhaps a season...
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

HarleyMC said:
A lot of energy was left on the ice tonight which adds to the disappointment they're probably feeling right now. Getting up for UMD is going to be tough and I expect UMD to shellack the Gophers. There's still lots of hockey left, but big losses like this can cause a team to lose heart and perhaps a season...
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MN has no heart right now.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Tomorrow will be my 15th Gopher game of the season. If it goes as I expect it to, I don't think I'll have the energy to get to 20 like I planned.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

HarleyMC said:
Geez...I hate to say it, but I think this team is done. Wilcox even surprised me tonight, he just looked average.
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Either the team itself is lost, or the coach has lost the team. I really hope the former, but fear the latter. It's not good, no matter what.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Brenthoven said:
Either the team itself is lost, or the coach has lost the team. I really hope the former, but fear the latter. It's not good, no matter what.
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Yeah...agreed this does not bode well for Lucia. He had tons of talent to work with and let's face it he gets the best talent in MN every season. Continuing to do less with more is disturbing. IIRC Lucia's extension is through 2014-15. I've always supported him as coach, but I think I'd be open for a change.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

HarleyMC said:
Yeah...agreed this does not bode well for Lucia. He had tons of talent to work with and let's face it he gets the best talent in MN every season. Continuing to do less with more is disturbing. IIRC Lucia's extension is through 2014-15. I've always supported him as coach, but I think I'd be open for a change.
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Really? Ditch Lucia? You are crazy! Crazy I tell you! By all means, get rid of the bum, here's to hoping UW tanks (well, continues to tank) and tDon comes on over to the Red planet.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

A couple of thoughts:

I still think Reilly is near or at the top of the most talented (and valuable) players on the ice every night he plays. Was at the MSUM game last night...and the one time it looked like we were in great shape to take the game (when we scored first), he totally turned around momentum with a couple of stunning plays that charged the whole team. He went off the ice...and MSUM took back momentum and scored within a shift.

The D pairings last night didn't help the cause. Reilly and Skjei were partnered...which is better than Reilly and Brodzinski. Problem was that the staff kept putting them out with the fourth line. So you have Reilly as the team's top scorer...out there with a set of forwards that never score. And our first and second lines...are paired with defense that are less proficient. Another less than optimal decision by the coaching staff.

I think Lucia is fine. I've been among the first to criticize some decisions (taking the U18 game too lightly, odd pairings) as its been among his low points. But I think the bar needs to be put up there fairly high for firing him. This year may end up being the turning point in an otherwise great career...but its far too early to tell IMO.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

5mn_Major said:
A couple of thoughts:

I still think Reilly is near or at the top of the most talented (and valuable) players on the ice every night he plays. Was at the MSUM game last night...and the one time it looked like we were in great shape to take the game (when we scored first), he totally turned around momentum with a couple of stunning plays that charged the whole team. He went off the ice...and MSUM took back momentum and scored within a shift.

The D pairings last night didn't help the cause. Reilly and Skjei were partnered...which is better than Reilly and Brodzinski. Problem was that the staff kept putting them out with the fourth line. So you have Reilly as the team's top scorer...out there with a set of forwards that never score. And our first and second lines...are paired with defense that are less proficient. Another less than optimal decision by the coaching staff.

I think Lucia is fine. I've been among the first to criticize some decisions (taking the U18 game too lightly, odd pairings) as its been among his low points. But I think the bar needs to be put up there fairly high for firing him. This year may end up being the turning point in an otherwise great career...but its far too early to tell IMO.
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I think my comment had a lot of frustration in it. I don't have any right to flame Don Lucia here, that's for others who are part of the solution to decide. I think what I meant was should an option be presented I'd be open to change. But I have the highest respect for Coach Lucia and his credentials are impeccable. However, all coaches for whatever reason can lose that edge to inspire others. Plain and simple this team has not played "inspired" hockey since the Notre Dame series in early Nov. when they were 7-1 and aspirations on this team were very high.

Since then we are 4-10 (inc. u18, and 2 shootout loses), and outside the tournament field. In several of Lucia's comments during the meltdown, I did not feel enough of a sense of urgency from him. And that can be easily reflected in the players performance on the ice. They're making the same mistakes every week, and all too often they seem uninspired as a team to be successful at this level. Last night was huge opportunity in many ways and they looked unprepared and like a team that had never played together before.
 
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

HarleyMC said:
Last night was huge opportunity in many ways and they looked unprepared and like a team that had never played together before.
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To me they looked shell-shocked when the Mavs jumped all over them from the opening faceoff. They almost dug themselves a big hole in the opening minutes, and Wilcox had to come up big for them right away, which he was able to do. It took quite a while for the Gophers to settle down...to be honest I thought they looked nervous for a large portion of the first period. Perhaps given the significance of the game, this was somewhat understandable. Then, almost out of the blue, the Gophers made a play and scored. But instead of taking that lead into the locker room they had another (very characteristic) breakdown and lost all the momentum. While at that point there were two plus periods yet to play, I thought that tying goal was huge, in terms of what should have been the case: the Gophers had played about as poorly as they had all year, but were still leading the nation's No. 1 team after one. They could regroup during the intermission, knowing they could play so much better, and come out in the second with lots of confidence...but instead now they had doubts.

The Gophers are mostly an experienced bunch, so that opening period of nervousness, lack of poise and poor decision-making just shouldn't happen. After they began to settle down some, I thought the overall play was pretty even - the Gophers started to battle in the corners better and were able to generate some decent scoring chances. And in the latter stages of the game, I thought the Gophers were the better team, as they began to play with desperation and probably SHOULD have scored on several goal mouth scrambles. But their inability to convert offensively was again an issue. Scoring just two goals is not going to win you many games.

I thought the game's real turning point was when the Gophers' D allowed that long pass to get through and the Mankato forward went in the breakaway and beat a hapless Wilcox. It was a tremendous play on their part, but it's one that we Gopher fans have unfortunately seen all too often in recent seasons. After the guy scored, you could see that the Gophers were hanging their heads; it was obvious they were dejected. But I give them credit for coming back late and making a real game out of it. It's just too bad they couldn't take advantage of those Mavericks' miscues at the end. After the failed penalty shot they still would have had nearly a minute left on the power play, so we'll never know what might have been...but they did have a chance so maybe that will give them just a wee bit of optimism as they head into today's consolation game. If mentally they're still down then I give them no chance to beat a very good UMD team. If that proves to be the case then it becomes very likely that they'll need to win the B1G tournament in order to make the NCAA tournament.
 
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