Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

[gopher wes]

I usually let other people start these threads but I'm bored so here goes....

St Cloud is coming off a disappointing weekend after being swept in Mankato by the Minnesota St Mavericks. Minnesota played an exhibition game on Friday night disposing of the US Under-18 team by a score of 9-0. Previously the Golden Gophers won a pair of games in Anchorage defeating the UAA Seawolves and the the UAF Nanooks.

Friday's game is an 8pm puck drop at Mariucci Arena and will be airing on Fox Sports North Plus.
Saturday's rematch at the National Hockey Center in St Cloud will be at 7pm and will also air on Fox Sports North Plus.

Go......

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

What kind of attendance can we expect, both at Mariucci and in St. Cloud? Anyone hear anything specific?

 

[Stauber1]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

St. Cloud definitely looks to be down this year from the last couple years.

They struggled to generate much on their own this past weekend. On Friday they got pretty well outplayed through the first 2 periods. They controlled the 3rd period with better play in the neutral and offensive zones (and Mankato sitting on a multi-goal lead) but still couldn't translate that into scoring opportunities.

Saturday they capitalized on some defensive miscues by the Mavericks, but some miscues of their own and shaky goaltending allowed the Mavericks to take the lead back; after that the Huskies again struggled to generate scoring opportunities on their own despite controlling play for stretches.

I'd say if the Gophers limit defensive mistakes they will have a good shot at a sweep this weekend. Goaltending seems to be a weak link for St. Cloud right now, and that staple Motzko PP looks to be a few months away from being as efficient as we are used to seeing it be.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Odd to have a weekend against SCSU where logic says we should probably sweep. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to have a tough series so early in the year.

 

[gopher wes]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

What kind of attendance can we expect, both at Mariucci and in St. Cloud? Anyone hear anything specific?

As of last Friday there were still a fair number of tickets available for the game in St Cloud according to the ticket map on their website, especially the upper corners.

 

[D2D]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

As of last Friday there were still a fair number of tickets available for the game in St Cloud according to the ticket map on their website, especially the upper corners.

Thanks, I'm thinking about making the trip up there. Have only done it once previously for the men. I'll definitely be going to the game here; should be good!

 

[Bonin21]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Ticket sales for Mariucci are pretty ugly relative to what we're used to. This is because of a huge drop in STH.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Mariucci's prices continue to be insane.

For those making the trip to St, Clooud a stop at Val's is a must. Also, if you want to torture your liver, a Hairy Buffalo at the Dugout is also one of the more common things to have.

Personally, I have always been a Red Carpet guy.

Mpls campus eats have changed drastically, with Campus Pizza and Big Ten Subs closing in the past year. Lots of chains now, and it's horrible.

 

[Bonin21]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

For those making the trip to St, Clooud a stop at Val's is a must.

Was in the plan. Double or triple cheeseburger? How big are the patties?

 

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Was in the plan. Double or triple cheeseburger? How big are the patties?

A double is a decent sized burger. The fries are where it's at.

http://www.chowhound.com/post/mns-hilarious-restaurant-vals-rapid-serv-st-cloud-470629

This bit says it all:

I've been studying a bit of French language lately. One tip I learned is regarding food and eating and the nuance of talking about it. How do you know when to say "je mange des frites" instead of "je mange les frites" I wonder? Well, I'm told "des" means you're eating fries, but "les" means you're eating all the fries in the world. I think on Saturday, I manged les frites.

In other words: DON'T order the large fries. The small fries is wayyyyyy more than enough.

 

[Bonin21]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Cool. I just worried that every review seems to be VERY old and that maybe they had gone downhill or portion sizes had come to reality.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Cool. I just worried that every review seems to be VERY old and that maybe they had gone downhill or portion sizes had come to reality.

It's more of a novelty of going there. The food is still good (or as good as a greasy spoon can be), went there last year with a buddy JUST for Val's. Ate, and pretty much turned around and came home. They don't really mess with their tradition or reputation.

 

[Bonin21]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

I can be a bit of a burger snob, but overall St. Cloud just doesn't have many great options...

I'm all for dives, though, if the food is good. Doesn't have to be amazing.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

I can be a bit of a burger snob, but overall St. Cloud just doesn't have many great options...

I'm all for dives, though, if the food is good. Doesn't have to be amazing.

Rest assured, Val's is a dive. All the grease. The bag goes from white to transparent by the time the worker hands you said bag.

 

[gopher wes]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Thanks, I'm thinking about making the trip up there. Have only done it once previously for the men. I'll definitely be going to the game here; should be good!

I haven't been since the last year of the WCHA. Looking forward to going back.


Sorry Brent, I cannot recommend the Hairy Buffalo to anyone. That is truly one of the worst drinks I have ever tasted. I do love MC's Dugout though. Does the Dugout still have a shuttle to the game?

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Cool. I just worried that every review seems to be VERY old and that maybe they had gone downhill or portion sizes had come to reality.

The menu is exceedingly simple. Back in the 90s, they didn't even have an option for a chicken sandwich.

Channel 4 news has their Best in MN series where they look at different food categories; Val's took the top spot for fries this year. When Val's salts their fries, they pretty much use this stuff: popcorn flavoring salt.

Their burgers are basically McDonald's burgers, nothing special. The shakes are the old McDonald's shakes, before all the whipped cream and cherries added on top, and they can be ordered in the 1qt size. You can get about 3/4lb of bacon added to them using the automated ordering system before the lady yells at you, though. (That last bit is someone else's story from the board.)

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

I haven't been since the last year of the WCHA. Looking forward to going back.


Sorry Brent, I cannot recommend the Hairy Buffalo to anyone. That is truly one of the worst drinks I have ever tasted. I do love MC's Dugout though. Does the Dugout still have a shuttle to the game?

There have been a lot updates to the arena. Instead of the main entrance being on the west side of the arena, it's now on the south side, facing the main parking lot. It's also a professional looking ticket office, which is a huge change. The place has been brightened up, so it's white painted concrete with red and black trim rather than bare concrete or brown stone-is looking concrete, like the old look. The rafters were given a shinier paint job, there are fewer seats as they've added seatbacks and done away with a lot of the benches in the non-general admin sections.

 

[Biddco]

I haven't been since the last year of the WCHA. Looking forward to going back.


Sorry Brent, I cannot recommend the Hairy Buffalo to anyone. That is truly one of the worst drinks I have ever tasted. I do love MC's Dugout though. Does the Dugout still have a shuttle to the game?

yes they have the shuttle

 

[The Rube]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

I haven't been since the last year of the WCHA. Looking forward to going back.


Sorry Brent, I cannot recommend the Hairy Buffalo to anyone. That is truly one of the worst drinks I have ever tasted. I do love MC's Dugout though. Does the Dugout still have a shuttle to the game?

Oh, I would never RECOMMEND it, just saying it's a thing. I have been smart enough to never get one. Ever.

 

[gopher wes]

Re: Minnesota vs St Cloud State - Home/Home October 21 & 22

Oh, I would never RECOMMEND it, just saying it's a thing. I have been smart enough to never get one. Ever.

One year my brother and I got out there early and our buddy caught up with us a little later. My brother and I both tried a HB(never had one previously) before our buddy got there and we both almost ralphed. But we decided to trick the latecomer into ordering one knowing that he wouldn't like it. He was not too happy with us lol!