I realize that the 2010-11 schedule is listed on the message board, but i thought it would be a good idea to post it on the Blog as well. This way we can update it with any changes that we hear about and people can come to one place to see those changes. This schedule is not "official" from the 'U' yet, so things still may change. I assume that it will be official some time this summer. We'll keep it as updated as we can.

Sun., Oct. 3 UBC (exhibition)
Fri., Oct. 8 Massachusetts
Sat., Oct. 9 Massachusetts
Fri., Oct. 15 Nebraska Omaha
Sat., Oct. 16 Nebraska Omaha
Fri., Oct. 22 St. Cloud State
Sat., Oct. 23 St. Cloud State <---- (possibly moved to Sun., 10/24 due to Football conflict?)
Fri., Oct. 29 at Colorado College
Sat., Oct. 30 at Colorado College
Fri., Nov. 5 Wisconsin
Sat., Nov. 6 Wisconsin
Fri., Nov. 19 at Michigan Tech
Sat., Nov. 20 at Michigan Tech
Fri., Nov. 26 Michigan...
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The Frozen Four is happening this weekend, and I’m trying not to think about Wisconsin winning a seventh national title--which by the way would tie them with Denver and North Dakota for the second most NCAA hockey titles behind Michigan’s nine. Meanwhile, Minnesota enters another summer stagnated at five titles. If Lucia can pull off another back-to-back run, then the program will be back with the class of the WCHA. Stay positive, right?

We’re nearly a month into the off-season and while Jordan Schroeder discovered his scoring touch again in the AHL, a couple seniors have moved on to pro hockey, we can hopefully assume the flight risks for 2009-10 are settled. UMD radio voice Bruce Ciskie reported that Fairchild is coming back, http://bit.ly/dpkJs5, and looking back to GPL Writer Ryan Cardinal mid-March musings on next year’s roster, read full article

In a way, it's kind of nice to be able to focus on things like the WCHA FInal Five and the NCAA Tournament without having your team, in this case for the the Gophers, in the mix. Don't get me wrong; I realy wish they would have been a part of both this year and every other year. But in trying to put a positive spin on a pretty poor time in the program's recent past, it's fun and somewhat refreshing to not feel the 'fan pressure' and stressing out about how they will do.

The tourney gets underway Friday afternoon and, as always, there is going to be some great hockey over the next few weeks. This upcoming may be the best of the season from a television viewing standpoint since there are games on all the time. Hopefully FSN and some other channels pick up the syndicated games, but with almost every game on ESPNU, there's plenty of hockey to be watched.

I'll make a fool of myself and predict the games:

ALBANY, N.Y. -- EAST REGIONAL
...
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Yesterday, in this blog entry by Roman Augustoviz of the Star Tribune, Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia was asked to talk about the Minnesota Wild's trading of Nick Leddy and, more specifically, the comments made by the organization following the trade.

Wild Assistant General Manager/Player Personnel Tommy Thompson was quoted in a story by Star Tribune Wild beat writer Michael Russo on Feb. 12, the day Leddy -- this Wild's first round pick in last summer's NHL Entry Draft -- was dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks. Russo initially blogged about the trade on Friday, when it took place, and said that the Wild weren't impressed with Leddy's development so far at Minnesota. Then, in the story in Saturday's paper, the main article ran with supporti...
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Minnesota (13-13-2 overall, 8-10-2 WCHA) at Denver (18-6-4 overall, 12-4-4 WCHA)

The Gophers are the more desperate team, as two losses here would assure a first round WCHA playoff roadtrip for them and make it so the only way they make the NCAA Tournament is to win the WCHA Final Five. They had last week off, while Denver played a pair of non-conference games; will the week off help Minnesota or hurt them? Getting Mike Hoeffel back from mono will certainly be a boost, but Don Lucia said that the junior won't be 100 percent. Junior goalie Alex Kangas is going to have to be stout and hang blow-for-blow with DU's Marc Cheverie.

Win and a Tie for Denver

North Dakota (13-10-5 overall, 8-9-3 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (18-8-4 overall, 13-6-3 WCHA)

The main storyline here is will the Sioux seek retribution for SCSU's Aaron Marvin's hit on UND senior defenseman Chay Genoway back in November when these two teams sp...
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Once upon a time, the Golden Gopher hockey team left the borders of the State of Hockey to play non-conference hockey games, though it would appear as though those days are, for the most part, in the rear-view mirror.

Yes, the Gophers play on the road at Michigan and Michigan State every other year due to the College Hockey Showcase, but even the future of that is in question after Wisconsin Head Coach Mike Eaves recently spoke of the tournament format changing or even going away.

Outside of those games though, the Gophers rarely head out East for unique / different non-conference games, unlike many other WCHA schools.

This of course hasn’t always been the case. After winning the national championship in 2002, the Gophers played at New Hampshire early in the 2002-03 season. Then to start the following campaign, they – along with Wisconsin and Maine – played at Nebraska-Omaha in the Maverick Stamp...
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In a curious move, the Gophers have -- according to Chris Heisenberg -- added another forward recruit for next fall in the form of Jared Larson of the Fairbanks Icedogs of the NAHL.

Larson is third on the Icedogs in total points with 41 in 46 games played. The Apple Valley native, who played high school hockey at Eastview, is finishing up his second full season in the NAHL. Last year, with Fairbanks, he had 36 points in 53 games. He's currently 6-3, 180 lbs., and will turn 21-years-old just prior to school starting in the Fall.

The move certainly looks good on paper. Larson has good size, plays center, and should be a solid depth player that will be here four years, which is what many fans have been clamoring for.

However, it would appear as though the Gophers already have a good deal of forwards slated to be on the team when next season rolls around.

Up front, the team will lose three seniors: Mike Carman, Ryan Flynn, and Tony Lucia. Fellow senior Jay Barriball is slated to...
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Minnesota Athletic Director Joel Maturi, the same person that recently extended the contract of University of Minnesota football coach Tim Brewster, recently told Inside College Hockey that Gophers hockey head coach Don Lucia "will be coaching Gopher hockey next year unless he chooses not to."

Maturi also added that “I think we’ve got to just take a deep breath and stay the course. Nobody’s happy that we’re not winning more. I’m concerned and we’re all concerned. But I’m not concerned about the competencies and talents of Don Lucia.”

There are a million things to consider when looking to make a coaching change, and I think most fans will be of the belief that a change should be made if the Gophers miss out on their second consecutive NCAA Tournament birth, w...
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Aside from the on-ice product at Mariucci Arena being sub-par over the past few seasons, another key area for this fan that has dropped in recent years has been the poor (and that’s being kind) quality of replica jerseys available for purchase for Golden Gopher hockey fans.

This photo illustrates the disparity between the on-ice product and what fans have the ability to sport.

Several years ago, Nike made very nice replica jerseys for the Maroon and Gold faithful. The fabric was very high in quality, the ‘M’ on the front (or, later on, the cursive ‘Minnesota’) was accurate and very close to what the on-ice product featured.

However, since then, the replica jerseys have gotten progressively worse. The team switched from Nike to Mission has the jersey supplier heading into the 2002-03 season. Mission, which is now solely focused on roller hockey, made jerseys that were very short in length an...
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In getting prepared for this weekend' Sioux/Gophers showdown at Mariccui, I -- like most fans -- read the preview articles and blog entries on the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press' websites. Like many of the past write-ups of this nature between the two teams, there were quotes from Gopher players about the rivalry.

"These teams hate each other, a lot," Jacob Cepis said. "It is going to be brutal out there. It is going to be a war. Everybody knows that. That is what I hear from the guys."

"It's really exciting to play [the Sioux]," Mike Hoeffel said, "and we are really going to be pumped up."

"We understand how the game's going to be," Don Lucia said about the North Dakota series. "It's going to be competitive. ... We're the type of team where we're not going to rely on one or two guys.

"It was unbelievable," Nick Leddy said of the s...
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Per the Goal Gophers blog at StarTribune.com, the Gophers will have a goalie recruit from outside the State of Hockey in for a visit this weekend, according to Don Lucia's comments at yesterday's Blueline Club Luncheon. Much has been made on GPL over the last few years about where the Gophers get their players from, and if the team should do more to land out-of-state recruits as the program has taken a tumble in recent times. But aside from that, I find it interesting that the team is bringing in a goalie recruit at this point in time, since it would seem that the goalie situation for the foreseeable future is clear.

Currently, the Gophers have three goalies on their roster: junior Alex Kangas, sophomore Kent Patterson, and sophomore Jake Kremer. Kremer's standing with the program will almost certainly be in the role of a practice goalie for his final two-plus years on campus, so in terms of playing time, he's really a non-factor.

So, unless Kangas or Patterson leave the program, ...
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