Gophers flat and terrible in NCAA beatdown to UMD.

Of all the games to come out flat and lazy. For 3/4ths of the game the Gophers could hit a pass, couldn’t get the puck in the offensive zone, didn’t play physical, didn’t hustle and lost ever phase of the game to UMD. UMD got it started on a great pass of a easy goal. Then got a nice tip in to make it 2-0. Then Mike Reilly, which was typical of his D all year in my eyes, scored a own goal to make it 3-0 to end the first. You would think they would come out fired up in the second. NOPE! More sloppy and lazy play. UMD got a PP goal to push it to 4-0. The Gophers finally came to life in the third, getting the puck deep and working hard. They created a PP and had some good chances but didn’t score. Ambroz scored on a rebound with 4:54 left. Lucia pulled Wilcox and they got more chances but didn’t convert and UMD came away with a easy, sound beating of the Gophers.

I have watched college hockey for a lot of years and I would say I am pretty right on in my assessments. But the Gophers made a giant liar out of me this year. On paper and after a runner up finish last year the Gopher looked ready to go for it all again. But they feel flat. The D was a huge problem all year and this year playing in a terrible conference really hurt. Every time the Gophers played tough teams they seemed to not remember how to play that way. I disrespect the NCAA showed toward the Gophers and the Big Ten was right on the money. I actually agreed with it. But it showed true.

So many people underachieved this year. The thing that gets me is Mike Reilly gets so much praise and I think he was the #1 problem for this team. A guy who liked showboating more then doing his job well. He was a non-factor again tonight. I really hope he goes pro even though he needs more time to learn how to play D. Because he can’t play D at all. He was Big Ten D man of the year last year and all American this year. When he was maybe the 3rd best defender on the team. Skjei and Collins are better defenders, as is Marshall and probably Brodzinski and Bischoff. The 2 B’s didn’t seem to get better on D this year either. Skjei was better on D and physically but his O took a step back.

All I can say is I am disappointed. But I am happy for SCSU, UMD and hopefully Mankato tomorrow. as MN will be well represented.

Gopher beat Michigan for Big Ten Tourney Title

Gophers came out ht and dominated the 1st period but got nothing to show for it. They out shot Michigan 20-7 but the couldn’t manage any goals. After the second period started with a Boyd PP goal Michigan score 2 PP goals in a row and had 2 goals on 2 shots to start the second period. But the Gophers kept getting changes. Michigan does not have good D and Rau tied it up off and odd man rush. The period ended 2-2. The third was pretty tense but the Gophers were getting good looks. Kloos got the game winner on the PP and the Boyd added and empty netter to seal the deal 4-2.

That punched the Gophers ticket to NCAA’s and ended Michigan season. The bracket makes thought so little of the Big Ten conference the Gophers are the #3 seed in their region. They have a tough game off the bat with UMD. The Gophers are 1-3 against them this year but played them pretty well. Winning 4-3 and losing 3-0, 2-1 and 2-1. I think the Gophers have been playing pretty well winning their last 4 and the conference tourney. UMD on the other hand has won 1 of their last 6 and didn’t make the final 4 of their conference tourney.

The Gophers still have enough talent to win this whole tourney. But The D is still the big question mark. Wilcox looks to have shaken his funk. So he better be huge if they are to make a run. The Gophers can score with anyone. Can they play enough D to win it all? We will see.

Big Ten Tourney

Ahhhh remember the days of the WCHA tourney? The X would be packed with rivalry game after rivalry game. Downtown St. Paul would be packed with people. Now we have 3 tournaments that nobody watches. The Gophers vs OSU drew 6324. That is BS, I bet there wasn’t 1,000 people there. That must have been the 2 session total of tickets sold for the two games on one ticket. But there was nobody there. MSU Mankato vs Ferris ST drew 6844 which doesn’t seem right based on what I saw on TV. But again I think that was a 2 game total. SCSU vs UND drew 11473 at target center. I don’t these tournaments ever drawing what the WCHA use to draw. When it was a Minnesota centralized league. Sad.

Minnesota has kind of stumbled into the playoffs after splitting with OSU and Mich St and then pounding PSU to win the big ten title. They have been pretty inconsistent but a couple good sings I would like to mention. Hudson Fasching as looked much better the last few weeks an Wilcox looks much better.

Yesterday the Gopher took on OSU for the right to play for the Big Ten title again. It was a defensive battle and Warning scored a sniper goal in the second to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. But the real hero was Wilcox who stood on his head. The Gophers stretched the lead to 3-0 in the third and Wilcox did his best work saving 22 in the third and 39 for the game. Letteri and Boyd scored in the third.

They will face Michigan who pounded Mich st 4-1 and dominated when I was watching. The Gophers and Michigan split the season series 2-2 both sweeping at home. Michigan winning 4-3 in OT and 7-5 at Ann Arbor and Minnesota winning 6-2 and 2-0 at home. We have seem to be able to score a lot of them. But the D needs play better. OSU had a ton of chances and thanks to Wilcox shut them out. They will need a better performance tonight. I imagine more focus will be paid on D. Both teams probably need this win to get into the NCAA tourney, a loss and they both could be watching. Since the Big Ten is a weak conference this year they don’t get a lot of love for the pollsters.

Gophers Spilt at Penn St.

A couple of very good games if you were watching. Friday night PSU came out and were very physical knocking the Gophers all over the ice and getting the first goal. But the Gophers just kept working and they took over the play in the 2nd period and had a number of great chances leading to two goals. The first an amazing tip in goal from Isackson. Bischoff threw a shot toward the net and Isackson tipped it in to top of the net to tie the game up. Later on a Gopher PP Kloos walked into the slot and wristed a laser upper corner to give them the 2-1 lead. The third was all D for both teams. Wilcox had to make a number of nice saves to keep it 2-1 and hold on for the win.

Saturday night the Gopher came out flying but saw themselves get down 2-0 after 1. Those 2 goals were really PSU only really good chances the whole period. The Gophers had tons of chances. Boyd got the Gophs on the board when he walked into the slot just like Kloos the night before and uncorked a laser top shelf. After a 4 on 4 Mike Reilly tried to be fancy and got picked which led to a 2 on 1 where he was make to look like a peewee and left Wilcox out to dry. Boyd closed the gap again to one on the PP on a one time bomb. The third was very defensive but with times of running and gunning. You just felt the Gophers would get the tie goal. Which they did with the goalie pulled. Fasching found Warning for a basically empty net goal to tie it with 39 seconds left. But in OT a innocent shot from the point somehow found it’s way through everyone and into the net for the heartbreaking 4-3 loss.

The Gophers were the better team I felt in both games. But far more superior in the loss. PSU just nailed their chances. PSU is a very solid team and very physical. The small rink really suits them. But the Gophers had a huge skill and speed advantage. Get them on the big rink and I think The Gophers will crush them.

Wilcox looked good. 2 of the goals he had zero chance. The D was good for 98% of both games. The PP looks awesome in both games. PK had a rough weekend. PSU Goalie was very good in both games. This loss hurts, we really can’t afford anymore the rest of the regular season. Still like the way they played almost all weekend.

Sweep!!!! 2-0 over Michigan

This was a very good weekend of hockey. Two very solid games. This time they did it with more D and Wilcox, then with offense like of Friday. Gophers got on the board early when a innocent Ambroz shot found the back of the net. Michigan had a few odd man rushes they didn’t turn into anything. After the Wilcox and the D played tight. In the second Michigan turned it up and notch but Wilcox and the D were up to the challenge. The second half of the period the Gophers took control and carried more of the play. The third was fairly even till late in the period when Michigan started taking chances. With the goalie pulled for Michigan Wilcox made a couple great saves before Rau got and open netter ti ice it 2-0.

Goods: The D and Wilcox looked pretty dang sharp. Michigan has a great offense and they shut them down. Offense was harder to come by the Michigan’s goalie played well. The Gophers were very physical with Warning off all people laying several people out.

Bads: Officials wouldn’t call anything. I think the Gophers should have had several PP’s and Michigan should have had a couple too. Also, Lettieri took a slap shot to the head. He had to be helped off the ice. He had been playing great of late so let’s hope he is ok and back on the ice soon. Otherwise nothing to complain about. Great weekend.

Next week they are at 15-9-4 Penn St. Who is a very good team this year. So on the road it could get tough but I would like the Gophers to take points and really they should focus on sweeping and keeping this roll going.

Gopher crush Michigan 6-2.

Michigan came out the first few minutes and carried the play. But from then on it was all Gophers. The offense was rolling starting on the PP. Which is currently ranked #1 in the nation and for good reason. They have found the right combo of passers and shooters lately. Rau scored on a nice give and go with Cammerata to make it 1-0. They would get 2 more off rebounds, first by Ambroz and then by Lettieri to end the first 3-0.

They just kept rolling expanding the lead to 5-0. First Mike Reilly scored on a nice one time feed from Boyd and the Rau got his second goal shorthanded. After a bad call on Skjei Michigan finally got on the board via the PP to ed the period 5-1. The third Rau got lose again to score his third goal of the night. Michigan got another goal late but the Gophers coasted to and easy 6-2 win.

Goods: Finally the Gophers offense is looking like it should. Just assaulting the goalie from all angles and crashing the net for rebounds. The PP is smoking hot and creating tons of quality chances. The confidence is pretty high and Wilcox seems to be gaining confidence as well. He didn’t give up many rebounds and seemed to move very well.

Bads: The D could have been tighter. Michigan could have made the game closer but passes to open guys in the slot didn’t click. Mostly in the first period. They seemed to be better as the game went on.

They need the hard charging offense tonight and the D needs to be tighter and I think they can beat Michigan just like last night. I hope Wilcox comes back with another good night and they just keep rolling and gaining confidence. I still think they can make a run.

Gopher get sweep over Ohio St 6-2

FINALLY! A nice sound beating. A very good all around game. Gophers continued the domination again from the drop of the puck busting out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Boyd and Fasching 30 seconds apart. They did an even better job on D from Friday night and OSU only goal of the period was a crazy dump in that bounced off the ends boards and off Wilcox butt and in. The second period was more off the same with Boyd scoring 9 seconds in and then getting his first hat trick to extend the lead to 4-1.

The third was more of the same, with Rau scoring on the PP to extend the lead to 5-1 before OSU got a PP goal of their own to make it 5-2. The game fisihed with Brodzinski getting a PP goal to end it 6-2

Goods: D only gave up 41 shots on goal for the weekend. 18 in this game. Really only 3 goals. O was great and the PP was awesome. Scoring another 3 times. Boyd was the best player all weekend and the big guns look to be warming up. Also the physical play was ramped up yesterday. The Gophers took it to OSU in all phases. Solid, sound sweep!

Bads: Not much. Wilcox can still get better. The PK could get a little better.

Next weekend Michigan comes to town. It’s a great chance for the Gophers to show they really do have their crap in order. Michigan has been playing well so I assume it will be a battle. Michigan is 14-3 in their last 17 games.

Gophers beat Ohio State 4-2.

The Gophers dominated OSU from the open of the first second of the game. Loading shots on goal and dominating puck possession which led to PP’s. On the first PP Kloos fed Bristedt for an easy back door goal. That was followed up later by a nice rebound goal by Kloos to end the period 2-0. Gophers out shot OSU 17-6 for the period and dominated ever aspect of the ice, except the physical play.

Second period was more of the same, even though OSU pulled it to 2-1 the domination was still obvious. The Gophers out-shot OSU 20-10 on the period while Boyd and Lettieri both had goals to end the period at 4-1. The third period the Gophers looked content to just play D and called off the O. The 4th line played a ton. OSU scored a goal late to bring it to 4-2 but that was all they had.

Goods: PP was 2 of 4 and had a number of good chances. The passing was good and they held the zone well. PK was perfect. 5 on 5 they dominated. The D overall looked pretty solid. Passing was good. Skating was good.

Bads: OSU was by far more physical and the Gophers really can’t answer the physical play. Tiny Ryan Reilly was or biggest hitter. OSU has a couple really fast guys and for the most part we shut them down. But they need to keep them in eve better check tonight. Wilcox still isn’t right, giving up rebounds and getting beat on shots I think he saved in the past.

I expect the same effort and result tonight. The Gophers should win by 2-4 goals. But I don’t really trust them yet.

Badgers beat Gophers in shootout after wild ending.

I was looking for the Gophers to build on the 7 goal performance from Friday night but the promptly got scored on 9 seconds into the game on Wisconsin’s first shot. Then proceeded to look a bit slow as Wisconsin and the crowd were pumped up. Briscoff evened up when he just threw a puck at the net and it found the upper corner. The second period the Gophers took over, Rumpel the Wisconsin goalie was amazing. Wisconsin player McGuire took a kneeing penalty that looked really bad for Connor Reilly. I didn’t hear an update but I think he has a serious knee injury. On the 5 minute PP Seth Ambroz scored to take the 2-1 lead. But Rumpel stood on his head the rest of the period making tons of great saves helping the Badgers escape the period just down 2-1.

The third period was a wild one, the Gophers keep up the pressure and getting several PP’s that were shut down by Rumpel. Kloos took a tripping minor and Grant Besse scored to tie the game at 2. 30 seconds later Isackson scored his 2nd of the year to give Minnesota the lead 3-2. But less the 2 minutes later Wisconsin evened it up at 3. With 1:13 left in the game Wisconsin scored a PP goal after a Warning hooking penalty. Things were pretty bleak. The Gophers pulled Wilcox and with 3 seconds left and a scum in the front of the net Ambroz got his second goal of the game to send it to OT. Nothing much happened in ot and the Gophers fell after 6 rounds of the shootout.

The Gophers had a pretty dominate performance 5 on 5. But the special teams really let them down. Going 1 of 6 on the PP and giving up 2 goals on 3 Wisconsin PP’s. They outshot the badgers 46-25 and the player of the game was Rumpel for make at least a half a dozen great saves on what should have been goals. The D was ok overall but Wilcox is not the same guy he was the last 2 years. But again Mike Reilly would spend tons of time behind the Badger net and not playing D. He needs to pick his spots to rush better and get back on D. He is always out of position. Also, his passing is off, on the PP he could not hit anyone for a one time shot. They really needed a sweep at Wisconsin. This hurts. But still some good signs, they didn’t give up and kept working. 5 on 5 they dominated and turned that into 6 pp’s.

Next week they have Ohio St at home who is 7-13-2 and coming off 4 straight losses. They need to sweep and start building the wins and their confidence for Big Ten tourney time. Because in my opinion they need to win the tourney to make the NCAA’s.

Gophers beat Badgers 7-5.

I guess if you are not going to play good D you better score a ton. With the Gophers down 3-1 in the second period and me being extremely annoyed the Gophers found some offense and scored 4 goals in 1:40. It was pretty amazing since their offense was not good last week scoring 3 goals in 2 games against Mankato and UMD. But getting the lead didn’t lead to them playing better D. They let Wisconsin close the gap to 5-4. But turned the O up again to pull ahead 7-4 only to see Wisconsin close the gap to 7-5 before the game ended.

It is a road win against Wisconsin, I guess that is good. But Wisconsin has 2 wins on the year and are a bad team right now. Wisconsin looked to be able to score when they wanted which is a terrible sign for the Gophers D. Also Wilcox wasn’t super sharp either. But Wilcox did have a number of nice saves as Wisconsin had 32 shots on goal.

At least they got the offense rolling, I hope they can build confidence off of that and start bringing that to the areas they are lacking. Mike Reilly actually was effective rushing the puck and had a number of nice passes. Fasching, Ambroz and Cammarata all scored goals so hopefully they start heating up. The power play looked good going 2 of 3.

But again the D was terrible, no physicality and too many open shots from the slot. I would like to see a 7-1 game tonight. They still have a lot of things to fix. But scoring is one step in the right direction.