Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Time to really start worrying about this Gophers team. I think this second half of the season is going to very rough.

Guess I just didn't realize how good Parenteau, Holl, Condon, Serratore and Shibrowski were.

 

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Time to really start worrying about this Gophers team. I think this second half of the season is going to very rough.

Good to see the one thing that was going well before the break, the Power Play, appears to have cooled over the break....

 

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Looking at the schedule the 2nd half I only see a loss or 2 the rest of the way, so we will be fine.

So you were thinking Merrimack and then possibly one more to .....?

 

[SanTropez]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Guess I just didn't realize how good Parenteau, Holl, Condon, Serratore and Shibrowski were.

To be fair, Skjei, Fasching and Bristedt are missing, Collins too but that's not as big a deal. Not saying it doesn't suck but we are a little short handed at some key positions.

 

[Koho]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

To be fair, Skjei, Fasching and Bristedt are missing, Collins too but that's not as big a deal. Not saying it doesn't suck but we are a little short handed at some key positions.

I realize that, but MN still had more talent on the ice tonight and couldn't get it done. They still only played about 20 minutes of intense hockey, if that, and that will not win many games regardless of who you have on a given night. These guys need to remember what got them so far last year. They can't just expect to turn it on come playoff time.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

This team just loves to play uninspired hockey. So frustrating to watch.

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

They can't just expect to turn it on come playoff time.

The way things are going, making the field of 16 is no longer a sure thing.

 

[Bonin21]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Guess I just didn't realize how good Parenteau, Holl, Condon, Serratore and Shibrowski were.

These guys plus Guertler out. Bristedt + no-impact players in at forward, mistake prone freshmen in at D. It's not that they were great. It's that this year's team has not proven itself any better than last year's team.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

These guys plus Guertler out. Bristedt + no-impact players in at forward, mistake prone freshmen in at D. It's not that they were great. It's that this year's team has not proven itself any better than last year's team.

It's not just the freshmen. Mike Reilly stayed out too long on the first goal against and was coasting into the defensive zone on that partial break. The team as a whole just seems to have far too many mental breakdowns.

The team just doesn't seem to understand they have to work for goals. Much better forecheck this game, but far too much perimeter play in the offensive zone. Clymer mentioned it a few times during the broadcast and I think it speaks volumes to what has gone wrong this season. This team just lacks the "commitment and attention to detail" to be consistent. I can count on one hand (easily) the games this season where we clearly looked like wanted the win more than our opponent.

I'd bag skate the living crap out of this team all week if I were coaching them.

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

It's not that they were great. It's that this year's team has not proven itself any better than last year's team.

They first need to prove they're as good as last year's team.

 

[Chris Clark Fan Club]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

When will they turn the program over to Guentzel?

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Have to disagree with the negative sentiment on the Gophers play tonight. They put 42 SOG and had a ****load of scoring chances. Gotta give Merrimack credit though, they had a clear game plan going into tonight. There's no question Tirronen was spot on tonight, and they executed their game plan well with a strong forecheck and bodies in front at all times to protect the netminder. What I saw tonight was a Gopher team that showed a helluva lot of effort to control play and left everything on the ice against a team that plugged the neutral zone well, and stonewalled the Gophers best effort around the net.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

Have to disagree with the negative sentiment on the Gophers play tonight. They put 42 SOG and had a ****load of scoring chances. Gotta give Merrimack credit though, they had a clear game plan going into tonight. There's no question Tirronen was spot on tonight, and they executed their game plan well with a strong forecheck and bodies in front at all times to protect the netminder. What I saw tonight was a Gopher team that showed a helluva lot of effort to control play and left everything on the ice against a team that plugged the neutral zone well, and stonewalled the Gophers best effort around the net.

Have you seen the shot charts? Majority of the shots were from the perimeter. Possession is great, don't get me wrong. It's an improvement over where they had been this season getting out-possessed at even strength, but this team is not a contending team right now and a big part of that is their commitment level and attention to detail (especially defensively).

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Have you seen the shot charts? Majority of the shots were from the perimeter. Possession is great, don't get me wrong. It's an improvement over where they had been this season getting out-possessed at even strength, but this team is not a contending team right now and a big part of that is their commitment level and attention to detail (especially defensively).

Didn't see the shot chart total, but last time I looked grade A scoring chances were double what Merrimack was able to launch on Wilcox. I'm not ready to write this team off as a non-contender after this game...no way. There's no doubt Merrimack went into tonight respecting the Gophers speed and puck control game and had a clear strategy to shut it down. Merrimack's strong suit has been their D and keeping teams under 2Gs/game. A hot goalie and a swarming D around the net can frustrate the hell out of very good teams from the NHL on down...it happens. With the scoring chances the Gophers had, if Tirronen makes a couple mistakes, this game could easily be a 6-3 win for the Gophers. They just couldn't bury the equalizer tonight.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

Didn't see the shot chart total, but last time I looked grade A scoring chances were double what Merrimack was able to launch on Wilcox. I'm not ready to write this team off as a non-contender after this game...no way. There's no doubt Merrimack went into tonight respecting the Gophers speed and puck control game and had a clear strategy to shut it down. Merrimack's strong suit has been their D and keeping teams under 2Gs/game. A hot goalie and a swarming D around the net can frustrate the hell out of very good teams from the NHL on down...it happens. With the scoring chances the Gophers had, if Tirronen makes a couple mistakes, this game could easily be a 6-3 win for the Gophers. They just couldn't bury the equalizer tonight.

Hope you're right man. I'm just losing confidence in this team more and more every time I see them play. Like I said, the puck control tonight was encouraging, but Merrimack's goaltender wasn't the only reason we only potted 2 goals tonight IMO. Far too much perimeter play.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Hope you're right man. I'm just losing confidence in this team more and more every time I see them play. Like I said, the puck control tonight was encouraging, but Merrimack's goaltender wasn't the only reason we only potted 2 goals tonight IMO. Far too much perimeter play.

My guess is the word in the Gopher locker room was since Merrimack was plugging shooting lanes and camping in front of the net, the Gophers counter strategy was take your blast from the point, and send bodies in front for clean up. The SOG leaders seem to trend in that direction: C.Reilly/6, Marshall/5, Brodzinski/5, M. Reilly/4, Bischoff/4, Glover/2, Johnson/2...that's more than 50% of the teams SOG from the backline. Even with C. Reilly's rocket snipe from the top of the circle, Tirronen barely let it trickle in. The Gophers gave him all he could handle but let's face it, guy was clearly on fire tonight.

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Even though I'm every bit as frustrated as mnstateOfhockey I would add that in addition to being a little off/rusty the Gophers had zero puck luck tonight. Tirronen was very good but was also very lucky at times, when rebounds would come out front, but not to an open Gopher waiting to slam it back into an open net, or when shots would deflect just wide with Tirronen totally screened. Lots of near-misses - including some other excellent chances where the Gopher shooter fanned or half-fanned on the puck - that on a different night might have gone in. So I do see HarleyMC's point that there were some bright spots in the Gophers' game. That said, they need to start finding ways to win more of these games where they clearly have the edge in talent.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Even though I'm every bit as frustrated as mnstateOfhockey I would add that in addition to being a little off/rusty the Gophers had zero puck luck tonight. Tirronen was very good but was also very lucky at times, when rebounds would come out front, but not to an open Gopher waiting to slam it back into an open net, or when shots would deflect just wide with Tirronen totally screened. Lots of near-misses - including some other excellent chances where the Gopher shooter fanned or half-fanned on the puck - that on a different night might have gone in. So I do see HarleyMC's point that there were some bright spots in the Gophers' game. That said, they need to start finding ways to win more of these games where they clearly have the edge in talent.

Excellent point on the "puck luck" factor. IMO with the parity in college hockey today, you don't get to the NCAA Championship game without a generous helping of it. Puck luck was on Merrimack's side tonight like their second goal that went off of Marshall's stick.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

Have to disagree with the negative sentiment on the Gophers play tonight. They put 42 SOG and had a ****load of scoring chances. Gotta give Merrimack credit though, they had a clear game plan going into tonight. There's no question Tirronen was spot on tonight, and they executed their game plan well with a strong forecheck and bodies in front at all times to protect the netminder. What I saw tonight was a Gopher team that showed a helluva lot of effort to control play and left everything on the ice against a team that plugged the neutral zone well, and stonewalled the Gophers best effort around the net.

The problem is the big picture. The team returned pretty much everyone from a near NC team...yet they're 2-5-1 in the last 8 games with losses to Merrimack, Northeastern and the U18 team. At some point, we need to get the ship turned around...its time for Lucia to read the team the riot act.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Minnesota Gophers Season Thread: 2014-2015

The problem is the big picture. The team returned pretty much everyone from a near NC team...yet they're 2-5-1 in the last 8 games with losses to Merrimack, Northeastern and the U18 team. At some point, we need to get the ship turned around...its time for Lucia to read the team the riot act.

I think comparisons to last year's team should have been put to rest weeks ago. This years team has team leadership, line chemistry and individual player performance issues that are much different than last year. I thought the Gophers did a lot of good things last night, but ran into a hot goalie, a shutdown D and didn't get the bounces. That same effort could result in blowing out an opponent on another night, if their goalie makes a couple mistakes and bounces go our way. Not a horrible start to the second half, but unfortunately not the result we needed.