#1 Gophers vs Notre Dame (Jan. 15 & 16)

[Snowcool08]

I was wondering if this might happen. This is not to sound doom and gloom. This team is really good and I think we'll be just fine. But I did wonder if after a stellar first 8 games in 2020 the rest of the conference might start to catch on, at least a little bit, to what the gophers are doing and even slowly catch up. This is a good conference and there was no way we were going to go undefeated (not that anyone thought we would). This game was a tough one but unlike gopher teams of the past few years I have full confidence in the team's ability to bounce back and get a win tomorrow. We were bound to drop a couple of games and there are probably going to be a couple more down the road. Better to get humbled a little bit and drop a couple now than have it happen in March or April.

I have seen this same thing in other sports that started during the pandemic. Teams that did not have a lot of turnover from the previous year would get off to a good start. With no warm up games or a set time table for when games would start, it was our advantage since we only had a few new players. Other teams would take a while to catch up. Bob talked about how the first half was an extension of the second half last year. Well now we need to raise it another level for the second half this year.

[streakygopher]

When playing Notre Dame you have to be patient. They will lull you to sleep with their zone entry defense. They don't make a ton of mistakes, and wait for the opportunity to score. If a couple of plays were different last night, the Gophers could have won. The late icing call and not winning the face-off cost them 1 goal. On the PP goal, they almost cleared the puck and it stayed on the blue line by a hair. Those 2 sequences and it could have been a different game. That being said, they still lost and did not look sharp. I trust they will play better tonight.

They had no intelligence in their game last night. They were foiled at the ND blue line and did little to change up their game. Into the third period guys were still skating in alone 1-3, turning over the puck rush after rush. They lost a ton of faceoffs, but worse they didn't cover opponents. These are mental lapses.

While the team has depth, they're short on star power. Their three new defensemen are good, but they're young. They got pushed around last night. The team is 1-2 since they returned.

As a "#1" they will face teams who are using them as a measuring stick. When you play an opponent who's less talented, their best chance of winning is to bust up your game and work harder. Give credit to coach Jackson last night. His guys got the message and executed.

I suspect Motzko is fuming because his players stubbornly and selfishly weren't open to coaching last night.

[Bigbeer]

Jackson has always been one of the best coaches in the country and his teams always have a system and a game plan that they work like a machine. They are tough to sweep and a split was prolly the most realistic outcome this weekend.

[maddie]

Notre Dame would prefer to play the entire game along the boards......nothing new, this is how they do things. Zone entries are always pushed outside by ND which allows the back checking forward to double-team the puck carrier. They'll see video from last night and that should change the zone entry tactics.

Gophs need to play patient - precise cross-ice dump & forecheck like crazy game to generate chances. It's not in their DNA but we aren't playing Michigan or PSU either. To score against ND requires a different 5 on 5 game. We don't have gamebreaking forwards but we have a few that create pressure in the offensive zone. We'll see if they can make it work.

[frozen4champs]

No Reedy or Staudacher again. LaFontaine appears to be in net. So was tBob bluffing about Reedy's availability or maybe a setback? Any word on Staudacher?

[magoose]

Gopher hockey > watching Packers. Wish the hockey game would have started at 3:30. Let’s show the Irish why we are #1 today.

[frozen4champs]

Slump buster jersey?

[magoose]

Sometimes it is as easy as a jersey change to refocus. Superstition always weird in sports.

[Vegoe]

Slump buster jersey?

Bob did say yesterday that there are no slump busters in the B10.

[The Rube]

Slump buster jersey?

Bob did say yesterday that there are no slump busters in the B10.

He is obviously unfamiliar with the female fanbase of the BADgers.

[thinkbui]

Bakich 1-0.

[thinkbui]

End of 1, Gophs trail 0-1.

[maddie]

looks like a replay of last night......ND's game is to work the Goph's to death in the O zone by creating neutral zone turnovers ......by far the better team through p1....

[thinkbui]

Ellis 2-0, PPG.

[Rau4SkiUMah]

Probably won't be #1 in the country after this weekend

[thinkbui]

End of 2, Gophs trail 0-2.

[streakygopher]

Probably won't be #1 in the country after this weekend

They've done nothing to retain it.

ND limps in here with a sub 500 record, among the worst power play and PK numbers in college hockey, and a goalie with some pretty sad sack metrics. And nothing Minnesota does seems to matter. The Irish are scoring on the man advantage, they're killing off penalties, and their goal tender is looking like he can't be beat.

It doesn't help that Minnesota has whiffed on its chances, but the bottom line is the Gophers are just getting flat out beat by a better team - and they're being out coached.

[gopheritall]

Probably won't be #1 in the country after this weekend

They've done nothing to retain it.

ND limps in here with a sub 500 record, among the worst power play and PK numbers in college hockey, and a goalie with some pretty sad sack metrics. And nothing Minnesota does seems to matter. The Irish are scoring on the man advantage, they're killing off penalties, and their goal tender is looking like he can't be beat.

It doesn't help that Minnesota has whiffed on its chances, but the bottom line is the Gophers are just getting flat out beat by a better team - and they're being out coached.

Not a lot of positives coming out of this weekend for Gophers.

[Beauner]

Ugly ugly ugly so far.

[Rau4SkiUMah]

Probably won't be #1 in the country after this weekend

They've done nothing to retain it.

ND limps in here with a sub 500 record, among the worst power play and PK numbers in college hockey, and a goalie with some pretty sad sack metrics. And nothing Minnesota does seems to matter. The Irish are scoring on the man advantage, they're killing off penalties, and their goal tender is looking like he can't be beat.

It doesn't help that Minnesota has whiffed on its chances, but the bottom line is the Gophers are just getting flat out beat by a better team - and they're being out coached.

Not a lot of positives coming out of this weekend for Gophers.

Hardly any at all. This weekend has shown us that the Gophers are good, yes, but still have a long way to go. Notre Dame are alright but the weekend was there for the taking for the Gophers and instead it looks like we're about to get swept. The most frustrating part is much of this is us beating ourselves (taking nothing away from ND). We played into their hands last night and changed nothing for game 2. That's basically the definition of insanity. Anyway, go Wild

[thinkbui]

Nelson 1-2, EAG.

[thinkbui]

Game over, ND wins 2-1.

[Slap Shot]

Glad to see they didn't quit, but when it looked like they were getting frustrated for stretches I saw far too many individual efforts in the 2nd and 3rd for my liking. Team is in a flux right now. Good news is there is plenty of season left and I am sure they will figure it out in the next few weeks.

[ScoobyDoo]

Overrated.

[magoose]

Bring on Thursday.

[Rau4SkiUMah]

Glad to see they didn't quit, but when it looked like they were getting frustrated for stretches I saw far too many individual efforts in the 2nd and 3rd for my liking. Team is in a flux right now. Good news is there is plenty of season left and I am sure they will figure it out in the next few weeks.

I hope you're right. Next few weeks will be crucial.

[Greyeagle]

Overrated.

Like clockwork.

[gopherfun83]

Hopefully Reedy will be back soon. Gophers are not nearly as good without him.

[maddie]

With all those MN kids, ND always plays hard in Mariucci......this result is disappointing but not surprising. We are back to the old WCHA days where everyone wants to take down MN......especially rosters full of MN kids.

TBH, Gophs didn't play well v ASU, played okay at WI & couldn't respond v. ND. The road is getting tough for these guys.....self-doubt creeping in for sure....we'll see if they can pull it together.

[streakygopher]

A friend asked me a few weeks ago if he should be getting excited about this team. I told him that they're deep and talented but since they're not playing outside the league, it will be hard to know just how good they are. Well, they just split with Wisconsin and got swept at home against a pretty average - but well coached - Notre Dame team. They're 1-3 since their fantastic freshmen got back from World Juniors.

The second half of the season will be interesting. Some teams need to start a run to get into the playoff picture. Notre Dame did just did that. Minnesota, meanwhile, is regressing to the mean and going the wrong way. They have a good team, but as we've seen these past four games, goal tending won't always save them.

I was going over the roster in my head and decided there are just too many forwards who made almost zero contributions this weekend: 7, 9, 11, 13, 18, 21, 22*, 25*, 39.

* these two were especially terrible this weekend...Perbix is my new Jack Ramsey...Brodzinski can pass and shoot the puck, but he lacks speed and it hurts his game.

[frozen4champs]

The opponents now know how to beat the Gophers after watching the last 2 series. Slow it down, clog the zone and pressure the Gophers and not allow them to wheel and deal. I thought Nelson played well all weekend, and that is the list. I think the depth is starting to show as Nevers should be on the 4th line at best. Time to regroup and come out firing on Thursday.
Also -- FIRE MOTZKO

[Kelor]

You might be right. The last couple of games before this weekend, it was apparent the Gophers have weaknesses. Let's hope they figure it out!!!

[gopheritall]

Glad to see they didn't quit, but when it looked like they were getting frustrated for stretches I saw far too many individual efforts in the 2nd and 3rd for my liking. Team is in a flux right now. Good news is there is plenty of season left and I am sure they will figure it out in the next few weeks.

Yeah, both games turned into players trying to score 1 on 5. One guy trying to skate through the Irish with nobody else even coming in the zone at times.

I hope they can figure this out.

[Composer]

The gophers had about 5 grade-A+ chances today and missed the net (mostly after they were down 2-0). I'm not too down on their response after being down.

[gopherfun83]

I wouldn't mind seeing Moe on the second games of series. Better to have a fresh goalie each night.

[JDUBBS1280]

You might be right. The last couple of games before this weekend, it was apparent the Gophers have weaknesses. Let's hope they figure it out!!!

Better they get exposed and corrected now.

[thinkbui]

One thing you can't say about ND is that there's any discomfort playing their game on an Olympic sheet. Granted Compton is 95' wide, but they adapted to the extra 5 feet well. We head down there in about a month, so we had better pick up where we left off tonight when we do.

It was a little too coincidental that the game ended with a replay of Becoming Wild with Nick Bjugstad. With Reedy out, we could have used someone like him.

Far from panic mode though. All 3 losses have basically been 1 goal games and there's plenty of time to fix things.

[ex_goldy]

ND plays hard against the gophers. Compliment to Minnesota but not if they don’t step up. They were dominated and out hustled. Once they got down and the game wore on without scoring the more they got into panic mode. ND has had the gophers number lately. Might be a good wake up for their next meeting or post season.

[gopherfun83]

Against a team like ND you need to shoot the puck hard and often on Net from the outside. Even if players are in the way after they get hit by hard shots from the outside it takes alot out of them. It starts to open up the middle. Better than just trying to always pass and turn over pucks.

[Cowgirl]

@Jupiter did I miss or are there any post game media for this weekend. (Or not when they lose)

[Jupiter]

There is... but I was busy this weekend and didn’t grab the videos from the U

[trixR4kids]

This team is sorta the opposite of Motzko’s first gopher squad, instead of having high end forward talent that bails out the team with timely power play goals despite getting outplayed most the game, this squad is mostly powered by an above average blue line that makes for a solid squad at 5v5 but they lack elite shooting talent other than maybe Ranta (Meyers...?).

Also I’m glad our team doesn’t play like ND because holy f*** would that be boring to watch every night. Effective but a total slogfest.

[Vegoe]

There is... but I was busy this weekend and didn’t grab the videos from the U

Busy?

[Jupiter]

There is... but I was busy this weekend and didn’t grab the videos from the U

Busy?

[ex_goldy]

This team is sorta the opposite of Motzko’s first gopher squad, instead of having high end forward talent that bails out the team with timely power play goals despite getting outplayed most the game, this squad is mostly powered by an above average blue line that makes for a solid squad at 5v5 but they lack elite shooting talent other than maybe Ranta (Meyers...?).

Also I’m glad our team doesn’t play like ND because holy f*** would that be boring to watch every night. Effective but a total slogfest.

I don’t see weakness up front- Reedy, Sammy, Sambo, even Brodz. I don’t think they will play 90-100% every game, dont think it’s possible. If they let up a few games in the middle of the season, we see some new names on the scoring sheet it’s fine with me. Eye on the prize, focus on then end of season big push.

[streakygopher]

They were never destined to win all their games, but home sweeps against hurt. Fortunately, there were no fans in the stands to witness the blood letting. Maybe fan support would have made a difference - who knows.

On the team, I would say Brodzinski has a wicked good shot and a sneaky release, but I'd like to see him do more away from the puck. He didn't tie up a guy on a faceoff that resulted in a key goal this past weekend, and he's a little soft on the puck when fighting for possession. I think he could be a fine scorer and has the makings of a four-year player, but his skating will limit his ability to improve dramatically. Johnny Pohl used to say that if you're not an elite skater, you better do all the little things right.

[Norm]

They were never destined to win all their games, but home sweeps against hurt. Fortunately, there were no fans in the stands to witness the blood letting. Maybe fan support would have made a difference - who knows.

On the team, I would say Brodzinski has a wicked good shot and a sneaky release, but I'd like to see him do more away from the puck. He didn't tie up a guy on a faceoff that resulted in a key goal this past weekend, and he's a little soft on the puck when fighting for possession. I think he could be a fine scorer and has the makings of a four-year player, but his skating will limit his ability to improve dramatically. Johnny Pohl used to say that if you're not an elite skater, you better do all the little things right.

Speaking of Pohl, he dramatically improved his skating during his 4 years here.

[streakygopher]

They were never destined to win all their games, but home sweeps against hurt. Fortunately, there were no fans in the stands to witness the blood letting. Maybe fan support would have made a difference - who knows.

On the team, I would say Brodzinski has a wicked good shot and a sneaky release, but I'd like to see him do more away from the puck. He didn't tie up a guy on a faceoff that resulted in a key goal this past weekend, and he's a little soft on the puck when fighting for possession. I think he could be a fine scorer and has the makings of a four-year player, but his skating will limit his ability to improve dramatically. Johnny Pohl used to say that if you're not an elite skater, you better do all the little things right.

Speaking of Pohl, he dramatically improved his skating during his 4 years here.

He did, but it was never his best skill.

As the inimitable Glen Sonmor once said [paraphrasing], "People say Johnny Pohl is slow, but I've never seen anybody yet catch him on a breakaway."

[trixR4kids]

This team is sorta the opposite of Motzko’s first gopher squad, instead of having high end forward talent that bails out the team with timely power play goals despite getting outplayed most the game, this squad is mostly powered by an above average blue line that makes for a solid squad at 5v5 but they lack elite shooting talent other than maybe Ranta (Meyers...?).

Also I’m glad our team doesn’t play like ND because holy f*** would that be boring to watch every night. Effective but a total slogfest.

I don’t see weakness up front- Reedy, Sammy, Sambo, even Brodz. I don’t think they will play 90-100% every game, dont think it’s possible. If they let up a few games in the middle of the season, we see some new names on the scoring sheet it’s fine with me. Eye on the prize, focus on then end of season big push.

I feel like some of the names you mention would be pushed down the lineup if we had someone of Haula, Pitlick, Kloos, or Bjugstad’s ability, just to name some recent examples. The players you mention are all good players for different reasons but I don’t think any have the game changing or playmaking ability of the names I mention, not to mention that killer one timer that makes the PP deadly. The team can certainly be successful with this lineup and have been to date but I guess I’m not shocked that we’ve had some recent games where we struggle to generate goals despite putting up a respectable number of shots. Also Laffer is a very good goalie but he’s not gonna put up unreal numbers for the entire season like he did for the first ten games.

Also I will say that if you give up an early lead to a team like ND it’s an entirely different game than if the roles are reversed.

[MNGophers29]

This team is sorta the opposite of Motzko’s first gopher squad, instead of having high end forward talent that bails out the team with timely power play goals despite getting outplayed most the game, this squad is mostly powered by an above average blue line that makes for a solid squad at 5v5 but they lack elite shooting talent other than maybe Ranta (Meyers...?).

Also I’m glad our team doesn’t play like ND because holy f*** would that be boring to watch every night. Effective but a total slogfest.

I don’t see weakness up front- Reedy, Sammy, Sambo, even Brodz. I don’t think they will play 90-100% every game, dont think it’s possible. If they let up a few games in the middle of the season, we see some new names on the scoring sheet it’s fine with me. Eye on the prize, focus on then end of season big push.

I feel like some of the names you mention would be pushed down the lineup if we had someone of Haula, Pitlick, Kloos, or Bjugstad’s ability, just to name some recent examples. The players you mention are all good players for different reasons but I don’t think any have the game changing or playmaking ability of the names I mention, not to mention that killer one timer that makes the PP deadly. The team can certainly be successful with this lineup and have been to date but I guess I’m not shocked that we’ve had some recent games where we struggle to generate goals despite putting up a respectable number of shots. Also Laffer is a very good goalie but he’s not gonna put up unreal numbers for the entire season like he did for the first ten games.

Also I will say that if you give up an early lead to a team like ND it’s an entirely different game than if the roles are reversed.

Boy Trix, I agree with you. I do feel like we have a team of "blue collar" kids (which makes me laugh considering....) but you are right, there isn't a dynamic player, a Vanek, Haula, Bjugstad, etc. That being said, did we know what we had with them back when we had them? That's the tough part.