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Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
- Thread starter Driftryder
- Start date
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state of hockey
He fixes the cable?
It was fun watching Vanek set up Schroeder. Too bad he couldn't get any of his changes to go.
Driftryder
Gopher Hockey
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
The top 6 will have to be big factors this weekend, I just don't see the bottom 6 doing much scoring. Our "new" 3rd line center was someone who bounced from riding the pine to playing the 4th line the last few years, hopefully the kid can step up.
Key injuries will do that to a team though.
The top 6 will have to be big factors this weekend, I just don't see the bottom 6 doing much scoring. Our "new" 3rd line center was someone who bounced from riding the pine to playing the 4th line the last few years, hopefully the kid can step up.
Key injuries will do that to a team though.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
Liability might not be the right word. But the third last night was in fact our weak point and certainly did not have a neutral scoring line. The first line put on sustained pressure frequently and it was not our 4th line that buckled but our third. Ambroz and Isackson were -2 and the first -2 which were what mattered.
Hopefully it gets fixed and soon.
Liability might not be the right word. But the third last night was in fact our weak point and certainly did not have a neutral scoring line. The first line put on sustained pressure frequently and it was not our 4th line that buckled but our third. Ambroz and Isackson were -2 and the first -2 which were what mattered.
Hopefully it gets fixed and soon.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
When Isackson is your 3rd line center you know you're in trouble. He pretty much sucks, and should be riding the pine or sitting in the stands.
Ambroz is a shell of himself without Boyd, makes that 3rd line pretty worthless. Our 4th line is ok for a 4th line I guess, nothing lost nothing gained. You stop our top 2 lines and you stop the Gophers right now, until we get a healthy Boyd and Lettieri back in the lineup to help strengthen lines 3 and 4 again. Would be nice to have Skjei back there on D as well.
When Isackson is your 3rd line center you know you're in trouble. He pretty much sucks, and should be riding the pine or sitting in the stands.
Ambroz is a shell of himself without Boyd, makes that 3rd line pretty worthless. Our 4th line is ok for a 4th line I guess, nothing lost nothing gained. You stop our top 2 lines and you stop the Gophers right now, until we get a healthy Boyd and Lettieri back in the lineup to help strengthen lines 3 and 4 again. Would be nice to have Skjei back there on D as well.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
True but I got to give credit to the dogs who were playing out of their minds.
True but I got to give credit to the dogs who were playing out of their minds.Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
Agreed in the Dogs. They played a great game last night and were disruptive to the Gophers.
Having said that, I was amazed at the lack of interest, intensity, and energy. There wasn't any crisp passing, or passing for that matter. I can count on less than one hand the number of times 2 passes were complete. Too much dump and chase, without any real reason.
Also, what was the reasoning behind all of the changes in the lineup? I know Lettieri was out, but to have Hoglund and Isaackson in was interesting, not to mention having Johnson on the ice. Lots of curious changes. Perhaps it was just the fact that there wasn't anyone else that could play? While Glover hasn't been stellar this year, Johnson made him look like Cam Neely.
Agreed in the Dogs. They played a great game last night and were disruptive to the Gophers.
Having said that, I was amazed at the lack of interest, intensity, and energy. There wasn't any crisp passing, or passing for that matter. I can count on less than one hand the number of times 2 passes were complete. Too much dump and chase, without any real reason.
Also, what was the reasoning behind all of the changes in the lineup? I know Lettieri was out, but to have Hoglund and Isaackson in was interesting, not to mention having Johnson on the ice. Lots of curious changes. Perhaps it was just the fact that there wasn't anyone else that could play? While Glover hasn't been stellar this year, Johnson made him look like Cam Neely.
Driftryder
Gopher Hockey
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
With Boyd and Lettieri both out we have to play Hoglund Isackson R Reilly Michaelson etc... not much choice.
Though I would throw someone else (Michaelson R Reilly) on the 3rd line besides Isackson, he does nothing for me.
With Boyd and Lettieri both out we have to play Hoglund Isackson R Reilly Michaelson etc... not much choice.
Though I would throw someone else (Michaelson R Reilly) on the 3rd line besides Isackson, he does nothing for me.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
Much better effort tonight so far but they still managed to dig themselves a hole. We have a great opportunity to get one back at the start of the second, but need to get the PP going...it's not looking nearly as sharp as normal.
P.S. Good to see Lettieri back out there.
Much better effort tonight so far but they still managed to dig themselves a hole. We have a great opportunity to get one back at the start of the second, but need to get the PP going...it's not looking nearly as sharp as normal.
P.S. Good to see Lettieri back out there.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
Starting to think this isn't the team we thought they were going to be. Need a Serratore type to step up. They seem to cruise a lot, like they expect to win on skill alone at times. They should be able to overwhelm teams with speed if they could learn to play with intensity. Just don't show it though. They overwhelmed ND, but that was half because ND didn't show up for 4.5 periods. This is getting hard to watch.
Starting to think this isn't the team we thought they were going to be. Need a Serratore type to step up. They seem to cruise a lot, like they expect to win on skill alone at times. They should be able to overwhelm teams with speed if they could learn to play with intensity. Just don't show it though. They overwhelmed ND, but that was half because ND didn't show up for 4.5 periods. This is getting hard to watch.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
Good to see I'm not the only one who was thinking this ^. The most worrisome thing to me is that we're just not generating enough really good scoring opportunities, especially from in close. And when we do get that rare opportunity we're not able to cash in. So it seems while we're too often expecting to win on skill alone at times, at other times the skill is not there when it's needed most. Highly skilled teams don't get shut out in five periods of play.
Good to see I'm not the only one who was thinking this ^. The most worrisome thing to me is that we're just not generating enough really good scoring opportunities, especially from in close. And when we do get that rare opportunity we're not able to cash in. So it seems while we're too often expecting to win on skill alone at times, at other times the skill is not there when it's needed most. Highly skilled teams don't get shut out in five periods of play.
Slap Shot
I got nothing
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
ND didn't show for stretches and clearly UM didn't this weekend. It happens. The season is a marathon not a sprint and they're missing two very key players right now. I will be worried if they're still doing this in February.
ND didn't show for stretches and clearly UM didn't this weekend. It happens. The season is a marathon not a sprint and they're missing two very key players right now. I will be worried if they're still doing this in February.
state of hockey
He fixes the cable?
Bingo.
HarleyMC
Registered User
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
Notre Dame doesn't have nearly the talent level of the Gophers this year so I don't see a strong correlation there. As far as Boyd and Skjei being out, Lucia commented that it shouldn't matter, others have to step up. Championship teams have the ability to overcome adversity and find ways to win at all costs. This Gopher team does not have the chemistry, nor the true goal scorers to come from behind and do that. Kloos has the best scoring potential on the team (with Cammarata feeding the puck). Rau, Warning, Ambroz, Fasching, Boyd have struggled with consistent scoring in the past and I don't see that changing at all this year. The Gophers may have a decent season, but I'm not expecting an NC from this squad.
Notre Dame doesn't have nearly the talent level of the Gophers this year so I don't see a strong correlation there. As far as Boyd and Skjei being out, Lucia commented that it shouldn't matter, others have to step up. Championship teams have the ability to overcome adversity and find ways to win at all costs. This Gopher team does not have the chemistry, nor the true goal scorers to come from behind and do that. Kloos has the best scoring potential on the team (with Cammarata feeding the puck). Rau, Warning, Ambroz, Fasching, Boyd have struggled with consistent scoring in the past and I don't see that changing at all this year. The Gophers may have a decent season, but I'm not expecting an NC from this squad.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
The road to the NC is long for any team, so "expecting" any team to win it all is not very realistic. But despite their mostly poor play this past weekend I would give them about as good of a chance as anyone else.
The road to the NC is long for any team, so "expecting" any team to win it all is not very realistic. But despite their mostly poor play this past weekend I would give them about as good of a chance as anyone else.
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
I am not ready to write off their chance at an NC, but my expectations have diminished. Last year at this time, there were stretches where they completely controlled played, completely out-hustling the opponent, swarming them on defense and making all their passes. It was exciting to see what they could do for stretches and gave hope that if they could learn to string together 60 minutes of that play (like they started to do at times in January), they had a shot at the NC. At those times it seemed like each line fed onto he momentum of the others. I haven't really felt that same feeling this year. Maybe expectations were too high for me. They have all the talent to be the best, I just haven't watched a game where I felt they showed that level of intensity for any length of time. (Felt ND was as much due to them not showing up as Gophs playing well.) Not saying the season is over, but they need to re-learn what got them so far last year. And maybe this last weekend will be a first step.
I am not ready to write off their chance at an NC, but my expectations have diminished. Last year at this time, there were stretches where they completely controlled played, completely out-hustling the opponent, swarming them on defense and making all their passes. It was exciting to see what they could do for stretches and gave hope that if they could learn to string together 60 minutes of that play (like they started to do at times in January), they had a shot at the NC. At those times it seemed like each line fed onto he momentum of the others. I haven't really felt that same feeling this year. Maybe expectations were too high for me. They have all the talent to be the best, I just haven't watched a game where I felt they showed that level of intensity for any length of time. (Felt ND was as much due to them not showing up as Gophs playing well.) Not saying the season is over, but they need to re-learn what got them so far last year. And maybe this last weekend will be a first step.
HarleyMC
Registered User
Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015
Good post Koho. It basically sums up my read on this year's team as well. Consistent scoring, team chemistry and leadership are huge issues with this team. There seemed to be a lot of preseason media buzz and expectation about nearly the same talent laden team returning to the F4 this season for an NC. I didn't buy into that.
I'm not saying they don't have a chance. With the parity in college hockey today, lots of teams have a chance and it often depends on whose playing well in March. But unlike some fans I've seen on social media, I'm not expecting an NC or a F4 for the reasons I mentioned. I agree this is a different team than last season. They've got to find their own mojo.
Good post Koho. It basically sums up my read on this year's team as well. Consistent scoring, team chemistry and leadership are huge issues with this team. There seemed to be a lot of preseason media buzz and expectation about nearly the same talent laden team returning to the F4 this season for an NC. I didn't buy into that.
I'm not saying they don't have a chance. With the parity in college hockey today, lots of teams have a chance and it often depends on whose playing well in March. But unlike some fans I've seen on social media, I'm not expecting an NC or a F4 for the reasons I mentioned. I agree this is a different team than last season. They've got to find their own mojo.
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