Postseason

Crosby

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Well, the regular season is over. To use a tired cliche, it is now a brand new season. This team, while inconsistent, has shown that it can play with the best of them. It has also shown that it's more than capable of putting up some real clunkers. It has shown tremendous improvement in the last 2 months. If things click, I think we have a decent shot of winning the Big Ten tourney, and getting to the Frozen Four. In my opinion here are the keys to making that happen.

1) Goaltending. Justin needs to play like he can, both physically and mentally. He is a goalie a team can ride through the postseason if he's on.

2) Scoring from 2nd and 3rd lines. This needs to continue. It has been terrific and we need it. Nelson, Huglen, Brodzinski, Lamb, Kurth, etc. Just keep doing what you are doing.

3) Defensive play. As a team, this has been very good lately. Even last night wasn't too bad overall. Just had several lapses. That 4th Michigan goal, with both of our D puck watching, was brutal. But they have been good. Forwards have been good defensively too. Stay solid. Need this in combo with #1 above.

4) Snuggy and the top line. I don't know what has happened here. Snuggy cannot buy a goal. Moore has been really good but his passes have been off. Pitlick has been flying around but has not had the same impact either. There is just not the chemistry from this group you'd like to see. No more waiting... this needs to come around. Now.

5) Power Play. This has been disappointing. People talk about puck movement on the power play. And yeah, that is important. But PRODUCTIVE puck movement only happens when you have people movement. Skate, boys. Get open. Use your speed. Too much just passing it around the perimeter. We have the talent to do this. Let's make it happen.

6) Playing with urgency. There was no urgency last night for two full periods. If I were Bob, I might tell the team to just go play like there are two minutes left in the game and we are down by 1. When this team plays with urgency, it moves its feet, we win puck battles, and things seem to miraculously open up. We are the best in the country when that happens.

Okay - that is a long list. But I really think we have a shot at doing some damage in the postseason. We're healthy, we're talented, and we should be motivated. Let's fricking go.
 





#6 PENN STATE at #3 MINNESOTA

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis, Minn.

Game 1: Friday, March 8 — 7 p.m. ET (FS2)

Game 2: Saturday, March 9 — 4:30 p.m. ET (FS2)

Game 3: Sunday, March 10 (if necessary) — 7 p.m. ET (FS2)



 



#6 PENN STATE at #3 MINNESOTA

3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis, Minn.

Game 1: Friday, March 8 — 7 p.m. ET (FS2)

Game 2: Saturday, March 9 — 4:30 p.m. ET (FS2)

Game 3: Sunday, March 10 (if necessary) — 7 p.m. ET (FS2)





Tickets are just $16 fir the B1G tournament.
 


Treating "Postseason" as a general NCAA thread.

A lot of seasons ended yesterday but I think the Gophers were the first team to end another team's season in the classical sense.

ASU (Hey Powers, no one likes you) ended the season 24-8-6 but won't make the tournament. They join the NCHC next season, and in looking at their roster if they bring back their top guys for their 5th season maybe they'll finish above Miami.

Two MASSIVE series next week:
#13 WMU @ #11 CC
#12 Omaha @ #16 SCSU
 





Treating "Postseason" as a general NCAA thread.

A lot of seasons ended yesterday but I think the Gophers were the first team to end another team's season in the classical sense.

ASU (Hey Powers, no one likes you) ended the season 24-8-6 but won't make the tournament. They join the NCHC next season, and in looking at their roster if they bring back their top guys for their 5th season maybe they'll finish above Miami.

Two MASSIVE series next week:
#13 WMU @ #11 CC
#12 Omaha @ #16 SCSU
excited for both of these. UMass/Providence will also play an elimination game this weekend. Probably why the percentages for CC, Omaha and WMU are still so high, just will be sweating time for whoever loses those series as they hope for chalk in the rest of the conference tournaments to keep the cut line at 14.
 

Just realized the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament are single elimination. That is pathetic! Complete BS for teams getting hot and trying to make it via an auto bid.
 





I haven't really considered the Gophers legit contenders all year.
They've got the talent. Defense looks good and then lost on the same shift. Too many guys left uncovered in front last night. Crazy. They need to shore things up there. Definitely capable of making a run, no question in my mind.
 

They've got the talent. Defense looks good and then lost on the same shift. Too many guys left uncovered in front last night. Crazy. They need to shore things up there. Definitely capable of making a run, no question in my mind.
Definitely agree on the talent. I think this roster has more talent on it than last years NCAA Champs had. Pretty disappointing effort last night. Was driving during the second period, and Wally, Frank, and Pat were very critical of the energy level the whole way.
 

SCSU looking to be the 6th NCHC team into the field. Big Ten was better for the first time last year but flipped back again quickly.
 

Last year's champs were not the Gophers.

Last year's champs had a better coach than Motzko, too.
 

Last year's champs were not the Gophers.

Last year's champs had a better coach than Motzko, too.
Was editing. People vastly underrate the talent on that quinny team. Great college hockey team full of veteran guys who were just as talented as anyone with where they were at in their career (not projection of what they may be)
 

Was editing. People vastly underrate the talent on that quinny team. Great college hockey team full of veteran guys who were just as talented as anyone with where they were at in their career (not projection of what they may be)
They were good sure but this Gopher roster has more raw talent. It's that the coach doesn't get as much out of that like Pecknold.
 

They were good sure but this Gopher roster has more raw talent. It's that the coach doesn't get as much out of that like Pecknold.
That’s the joy of college. Otherwise let’s just let BC win and say the years over. Raw, and emphasis on raw, talent doesn’t get you anything and frankly we have no idea how good some of these guys will be.

Your love fest with bashing Bob like coaches don’t ever lose games is silly. Pecknold also lost a title game to a 4 seed Yale as the 1 seed overall (and a team they had beaten during the season). He lost another one to fellow 1 seed UND as the 1 overall again. Then we’ll come up with old argument of well he doesn’t have the talent access that MN (or insert any blue blood) does and oddly enough the most “talented” team rarely wins and it’s why hockey is the best sport on earth. Sometimes the talent pulls it out and wins but it takes them playing together and buying into a system. Bobs done a pretty damn good job thus far and hopefully he gets one soon so people can chill the fuck out. He’s a good coach
 

That’s the joy of college. Otherwise let’s just let BC win and say the years over. Raw, and emphasis on raw, talent doesn’t get you anything and frankly we have no idea how good some of these guys will be.

Your love fest with bashing Bob like coaches don’t ever lose games is silly. Pecknold also lost a title game to a 4 seed Yale as the 1 seed overall (and a team they had beaten during the season). He lost another one to fellow 1 seed UND as the 1 overall again. Then we’ll come up with old argument of well he doesn’t have the talent access that MN (or insert any blue blood) does and oddly enough the most “talented” team rarely wins and it’s why hockey is the best sport on earth. Sometimes the talent pulls it out and wins but it takes them playing together and buying into a system. Bobs done a pretty damn good job thus far and hopefully he gets one soon so people can chill the fuck out. He’s a good coach
He's a good coach. Pecknold is a better coach. It is what it is. It doesn't take the best coach in the country to lead Minnesota to a title, though.
 

They were good sure but this Gopher roster has more raw talent. It's that the coach doesn't get as much out of that like Pecknold.
Why do you think that is the case? Motzko seemed to be able to get the most out of his Huskies rosters.
 

Why do you think that is the case? Motzko seemed to be able to get the most out of his Huskies rosters.
I mean we're all still bitter about last weekend's game, and last season's title game, but Bob has won multiple conference championships and was minutes away from a national title here, so I don't totally buy into the notion that he isn't getting a lot out of his rosters here. Anything can happen in a one and done, but anyone claiming that Bob's tenure here hasn't been a major success is delusional.
 

I think uw is going to luck out and face Qpac. I don't believe they are very good this year, and I bet that would be a very boring game to watch.
 

I think uw is going to luck out and face Qpac. I don't believe they are very good this year, and I bet that would be a very boring game to watch.
Do I understand correct that we want Q to lose so we get out of the 8 spot and hopefully avoid BC?
 

Do I understand correct that we want Q to lose so we get out of the 8 spot and hopefully avoid BC?
It’s about impossible to know right now but prior to q losing we were probably getting Omaha in Sioux Falls. Now it’s going to open up a lot more options as there are currently now 3 teams on the 3 line we can play and no intra-conference matchups aside from all the B10 teams vs Michigan (including a 7-9 match against Qpac, though would expect that goes to Wisconsin as bonin mentioned). So it's hard to know how they'd place Mich St, WI, and us all on the 2 line as there will be confounders for bracket integrity as well as for travel
 
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Omaha is scary. But still looks like the opponent for the Gophers. UND may have just played themselves into a match-up out east against Michigan. Wow...
 

Omaha is scary. But still looks like the opponent for the Gophers. UND may have just played themselves into a match-up out east against Michigan. Wow...
Excuse my possible ignorance. Isn't UND a host school? If so, thought they get to play at that location. Again, I may be wrong on that.
 





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