Gopher Hockey Season Thread 25-26


Gophers Brock Faber Accolades at University of Minnesota:
  • Two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023), making him one of only two players in conference history to achieve this multiple times.

  • Two-time All-Big Ten First Team (2022, 2023)

  • AHCA/CCM Hockey All-American West First Team

  • Team Captain for his junior season (2022-23)

  • Mike Crupi Most Determined Player Award (multiple years)

  • Elwin "Doc" Romnes Leadership & Sportsmanship Award (2023)

  • Helped the Gophers win two Big Ten Regular-Season Championships (2021-22, 2022-23) and reach the NCAA Frozen Four twice.

  • Represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics and won a gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship while a Gopher.

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My rhetorical knife of persuasion has been ready since the epic blunder in overtime of the championship game against Quinnipiac. The championship was Minnesota's destiny but this historically inept coach put Brock Faber and the best line in Gophers history

This coach put on the bench to open overtime: Matthew Knies, Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud and their top defensive pairing, captain Brock Faber and Jackson LaCombe. All on the bench to open overtime.

Brock Faber said "I wish I could have done more" after the heartbreaking loss to Quinnipiac in the 2023 NCAA Championship game. He described the experience as the hardest day and "worst feeling in the world

Fire this coach.

It could have been this:

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Instead it was this:

"I wish I could have done more" --Brock Faber


And then last season the Gophers were upset in the Fargo regional as a #2 (5 overall). That's below what the expectation was, fell short under this coach. Actually, what do you expect from someone who puts Brock Faber on the bench to open OT in the championship game destined for Brock Faber and Minnesota.


Brock Faber with the Minnesota Wild his rookie NHL season:

--47 points in 82 games as a defenseman rookie

--Led all rookies in several defensive metrics

--Finished second in voting for the 2023-24 NHL Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) losing only to Connor Bedard.


But on the bench by this coach.


Enough.
 


They look like they don’t even belong on the same sheet of ice. 😞
In my mind they did not. Looking at all college hockey scores on line last evening I noticed that they put a ranking # before each team. In front of Minnesota was a 35. I never thought that I would see that even in a bad dream, I have been season ticket holder for 45 years and have hardly missed a game through thick and thin and have always stayed loyal but this was hard to believe remembering when we were the #1 or close team. AI says there are 60-64 Devision 1 teams so we are not in the upper half of college hockey. Don’t expect top ten every year but this is tough.
 

In my mind they did not. Looking at all college hockey scores on line last evening I noticed that they put a ranking # before each team. In front of Minnesota was a 35. I never thought that I would see that even in a bad dream, I have been season ticket holder for 45 years and have hardly missed a game through thick and thin and have always stayed loyal but this was hard to believe remembering when we were the #1 or close team. AI says there are 60-64 Devision 1 teams so we are not in the upper half of college hockey. Don’t expect top ten every year but this is tough.
Actually I expect top 5 every year and anything else is an embarrassment.
 










Enough with the AI posts


I'm with you.

I watched every minute of that championship game debacle. I'm using facts for the uninformed to make my argument a nuclear slam.


Right now on Fox 9+, Gophers tied with Michigan, better, yet shots on goal 37 for Michigan and 23 or Gophers. Oops. can't cite data.
 












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