All things Players Coming and Going.

Thanks.

I was just looking at UMD coach Sandelin's record. He's had a couple periods of underperforming but came back. So maybe it's just the ebbs and flows and not out in the cold in the new world.



Some people hate UMD as the worst rivalry. North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan...

To me they are the WCHA and good. I grew up in Duluth and remember the Bulldogs being the hot ticket in town. This is Northern Minnesota.

Gophers need to play those WCHA teams not in the Big Ten.

I also remember in Duluth that the Gophers were a premier game because they were always good and they knew it. Other fans look forward to playing the Gophers even if they kind of hate the Gophers because you know you're playing one of the best.
 

Some people hate UMD as the worst rivalry. North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan...

To me they are the WCHA and good. I grew up in Duluth and remember the Bulldogs being the hot ticket in town. This is Northern Minnesota.

Gophers need to play those WCHA teams not in the Big Ten.

I also remember in Duluth that the Gophers were a premier game because they were always good and they knew it. Other fans look forward to playing the Gophers even if they kind of hate the Gophers because you know you're playing one of the best.
They don't kind of hate the gophers, they despise all things gophers. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I don't think many gopher fans would put UMD in the same rivalry class as UND and Wisconsin - those two are a clear tier above the rest. Michigan a little closer call.
 

"They think they are so good" is a phrase I heard about the Gophers. Also some contentiousness about listing Gophers as Minnesota-Twin Cities.
 




good point, I should have said all things gopher hockey.
I went to UMD and I still root for Gopher Hockey as a close second behind UMD. But am a big Gopher fan in all other sports as are most of my fellow UMD grads. At least the ones I know.
 

Back in the day, Minnesotan Neal Broten was a huge star for the Gophers. He won the first Hobie Baker Award in 1980-81. He won WCHA Rookie of the Year. He was a member of Miracle on Ice. Lou Nanne maneuvered to draft him for the North Stars. Broten later won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey.





3-4 years after Broten, UMD boasted back-to-back Hobie Baker winners in Tom Kurvers and Bill Watson. UMD isn't the top tier but had some glory moments like that. 3 years after that it was Gophers again with Robb Stauber and then a few years later Brian Bonin.


The last Gophers player to win the Hobey was Jordan Leopold in 2001-02 when the Gophers won the national championship. The last time the Gophers won a national championship was 2003.

In 2022-23, the Gophers just missed winning the national championship. Both Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies of the Gophers were Hobey finalists. Defenseman Brock Faber was also a top talent, becoming a Calder Trophy finalist for the Wild, the NHL Rookie of the Year award.

And now looking ahead...
 
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