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Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

SteveO said:
Where are the Michigan fans?
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On Spring Break, or, alternately, waiting for next season.

Here's this Michigan fan's take on the upcoming weekend: we're going to lose.
I'll be pleasantly surprised if we take 1 of our next 4 games (all at home, MN and then PSU). I expect Michigan's hockey season to end on Thursday the 16th, but with good fortune they might survive to Friday of the B1G tournament.

Don't expect us to get all enthusiastic about hockey. Also, if you're watching the game on tv tonight (or in person), expect empty stands for the first hour. Our crowds aren't good about getting to Yost by 6:30 on a Friday.
 
Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

SteveO said:
Where are the Michigan fans?
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Kind of like what happened with bucky the last few years. They just have nothing to say and fallen into a hypnotic trance staring at their ugly helmets pining for football season. Maybe they need to bring the jug to the game. That would hype up the fans, right?
 
Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

Can't sleep on another team no matter what. Gophers were in control at 2-0 (not so much just the lead but also the play on the ice) and then they decided to mail it in and/or UMi decided they weren't going to get owned on home ice.

This is just 1 loss so no need to panic as it pertains to how they will handle pressure going forward. If anything maybe it will send a message that if you eff around even for a little bit bad things can happen.
 
Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

Too many penalties in the third, no offense late for the Gophers and a tenacious, scrappy Michigan team with lots of SOG and something to prove...and the Gophers watch the lead, game and everything else slip away...ugh. The loss drops the Gophers out of #1 seed and with Western Michigan beating Duluth with brownie points, WM is firmly in the drivers seat at #4 in the PWR. UW beats Penn St. and is tied with the Gophers for the B1G conference lead. Better bounce back tomorrow.
 
Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

SteveO said:
Too many penalties in the third, no offense late for the Gophers and a tenacious, scrappy Michigan team with lots of SOG and something to prove...and the Gophers watch the lead, game and everything else slip away...ugh. The loss drops the Gophers out of #1 seed and with Western Michigan beating Duluth with brownie points, WM is firmly in the drivers seat at #4 in the PWR. UW beats Penn St. and is tied with the Gophers for the B1G conference lead. Better bounce back tomorrow.
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All true. When the announcers were heaping all that praise on them in the first period I knew trouble was right around the corner. It was almost like the 2-0 lead came too easy and they thought they could relax the rest of the way. NOT! They got way too casual with their passes, and all too often they did not take good care of the puck. Too many careless passes led to too many odd-man rushes going the wrong way. When they got stuck in their zone, too many failed clearing attempts. And as you note, too many penalties in the third, most of which were very avoidable. This team can be so much fun to watch, yet at the same time they can be so frustrating. :mad:
 
Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

Go4PuckFan2.0 said:
Playing down to the level of their competition is a time honored Gopher tradition.

It was as predictable as gravity.
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LOL, such typical goofers. Never give credit to the other team who played much better than they have for most of the season.

Step away from the edge of the building- you guys played well last night. What you played was a totally different Michigan team (other than last week's second OSU game) than what you prepared for. Now that they have seen that, perhaps they will play it differently tonight.

Really- we've not really played like that all season- where we were basically blanketing the opposition man-man all night.

But if you want to blame your team for that, feel free.

Are you sure some of you are not from New England? And are secret fans of Boston sports? You act so much like them.
 
Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

alfablue said:
LOL, such typical goofers. Never give credit to the other team who played much better than they have for most of the season.

Step away from the edge of the building- you guys played well last night. What you played was a totally different Michigan team (other than last week's second OSU game) than what you prepared for. Now that they have seen that, perhaps they will play it differently tonight.

Really- we've not really played like that all season- where we were basically blanketing the opposition man-man all night.

But if you want to blame your team for that, feel free.

Are you sure some of you are not from New England? And are secret fans of Boston sports? You act so much like them.
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I am atypical. Does this make me unique?
 
Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

Coaches typically look at shorter segments of scheduled games in hockey (3-4 games) and improvements in play, not comparisons against an entire season . They're less concerned about what the season's been like, and more concerned with what's happening now. I don't see last night's compete level from Mich. as a fluke. I see a young Mich. team ranked 45th in scoring shutting out the 2nd (OSU) highest scoring team in college hockey and beating the 5th with a will to win in back to back weekends. From a coaching standpoint, that's a pretty encouraging sign going forward.

To put things in perspective, we're 14-5 in our last 19. It's more predictable to consider that trendline will continue. Last night we didn't play well enough in the third while Mich. played with purpose and the game got away from us. But since our W% over the last 19 (more than half the season) is .737, I don't buy into the notion that this loss is a predictable Gopher pattern...at least not this season.

One other huge factor in the loss is we're missing a key player in Szmatula on the third line, which has done very little scoring since he was injured. Szmatula is 4th in points/game, been a major playmaker and he's basically irreplaceable on that third line and the PP. This season's scoring depth has been the Gopher's key weapon in wearing teams down. Since Szmatula's injury, we've lost some of that edge.
 
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Re: Minnesota @ Michigan 3/3 & 3/4

alfablue said:
LOL, such typical goofers.

But if you want to blame your team for that, feel free.

Are you sure some of you are not from New England? And are secret fans of Boston sports? You act so much like them.
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Welcome to the Logic Free Zone of Minnesota Hockey. :eek::D
 
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