Postseason

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bleedsmaroonandgold said:
It's really weird how Don got treated. During that span you are talking about, people on this board were saying things like "national titles are all that matter" and characterized the conference titles, frozen fours, and even the title game appearance as "participation trophies." Then we got rid of Don, and the first time Motzko made the tourney, some of those same people were excited about how he "brought us back to relevance."

The Don is one of only two coaches to win a Natty in our history, so until someone else gets multiple NCAA titles to their name here, he is still number two behind Herb in my book.
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I think 92 and Bleeds both make good points here. I think the Lucia tenure is generally underrated by Gopher fans. He just happened to be the unfortunate guy in charge when we moved to Big Ten Hockey. That move was hated by most of the fan base. People quit coming to the arena. I would argue that the fan base quit on Don and the Gophers. At the same time, Big Ten hockey was not great initially. The teams, in general, were not top tier. So part of the Gopher success was the fact we were actually playing lesser competition than what we would have played in the old WCHA. I think the 'participation trophy' attitude came from that perception that "Big Ten Hockey sucks, nobody cares, and we can only be successful because we play an uninspiring schedule." Then, I admittedly do think that Don got tired of it and lost interest toward the end. Things have now changed. Big Ten hockey is very good... better than when Don was here. Bob has indeed had success against that stronger schedule. And now the people are back. Given a choice between Lucia and Motzko, I think I'd take Motzko.
 



First east coast team goes down. Denver in OT. No love for either but seeing a Boston team win here would be grim.
 




BC and Michigan are far and away the most skilled and fun to watch offensive teams in the country this year.
 

Barring a miracle from UM or DU, the best team of the last 15 years looks like they're on their way to a title and a easily legitimate claim to best team of the 2000s.

It's good to have three top 10 talents + another that probably should have been drafted top 10 in retrospect.
 




bonin21 said:
David Carle is the best coach in college hockey.
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I tend to agree. That DU BU game played out exactly as I thought. DU was going grind and grind and eventually wear them down. Wasn't sure BU was used to that.
 

I can't root for either team. I thought Boston-vs-Boston would have been interesting, Celebrini vs #1 juggernaut.

Denver doesn't need another championship, and my guess is they won't.
 

GopherMarroon said:
I can't root for either team. I thought Boston-vs-Boston would have been interesting, Celebrini vs #1 juggernaut.

Denver doesn't need another championship, and my guess is they won't.
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BC is the least objectionable team in this frozen four but there was never going to be a scenario that made me happy.

Go Eagles, I guess.
 

All of the options were a disaster for the Gophers, likely to now get passed by BC in titles.
 




Two youngest teams in the country tonight, so age and needing to get older is no longer a valid excuse
 

Wow. Denver leads 2-0 late in the 2nd.

At the game, it's cool to see so many fans wearing a variety of team jerseys. Lots of Gophers.
 


Could be a lot more goals in this one so far, but DU absolutely deserves the lead thus far
 

Must be cool for your goalie to have the best games of his life in the tournament rather than three of the worst five or so games of his college career in the three times the team gets eliminated over three years.
 

Congratulations to DU on their 10th title, making them the undisputed best program in college hockey history. Their 5th since 2000, making them the undisputed best program in college hockey this century.

Congratulations to the NCHC on their position as the undisputed best conference in the country since realignment. It will take more than just one title for the Big Ten to start thinking about holding the crown.
 





TNGophfan said:
I don't know. Hunter Shepard had a .79 GAA and a .967 save % with 8 - 0 record over 2 consecutive years.
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Single tournament performance Davis is better than either of the two.
 

Minnesota finishes #7. Actually, they lost a good game to make the Frozen Four.

 

GopherMarroon said:
Minnesota finishes #7. Actually, they lost a good game to make the Frozen Four.

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tough break for cornell. they actually won a game in the postseason and still finish behind UND. actually, it brings their total number of NCAA wins since 2017 to 3, 2 more than UND over the same time period.
 

My predictions:
5/9/2023: "Snuggerud is probably about -15 points expected without Cooley, in my opinion. I'd say he could get 55-60 points with him and 40-45 without. That's with Moore."
Result: -16 points

7/27/23: "BU, BC, and Michigan obviously have better rosters now. The Gophers are now in a group with UND, DU, Harvard, and maybe even MSU and uw this year.

Like I've said, they're a 5-10 team now, which is fine but the outlook has changed in a material way."
Result: The above three made the FF, and DU pulled off a big upset.
 

bonin21 said:
My predictions:
5/9/2023: "Snuggerud is probably about -15 points expected without Cooley, in my opinion. I'd say he could get 55-60 points with him and 40-45 without. That's with Moore."
Result: -16 points

7/27/23: "BU, BC, and Michigan obviously have better rosters now. The Gophers are now in a group with UND, DU, Harvard, and maybe even MSU and uw this year.

Like I've said, they're a 5-10 team now, which is fine but the outlook has changed in a material way."
Result: The above three made the FF, and DU pulled off a big upset.
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nailed that Harvard take ;)
BC and BU rosters were head and and shoulders better than anyone this year and DU when healthy I'd say was in that category as well (pre Rizzo going out). I would've taken the Gophers to win MSUs regional had they been in Michigan's shoes. I'd also say our roster and Michigan's was mildly in Michigan's favor (their offense>ours; our defense>theirs; goaltending mildly in our favor). In the end, we were a couple of horrible Closer mistakes or a Brodz not missing an empty netter away from beating or least going to OT against the #2 team all year. People were pretty spot on that this team had the ability to get back to the FF.

on snuggy, yeah losing 2 nhlers as your linemates makes for a rough go. he heavily regressed the back half of the year. 12 points after the CC series (19 games). some of that is also Moore learning to play, but if one was going to put it on him, you'd expect it the other way around. He simply has to be better next year on both ends of the ice.

again, the ribbing is tongue in cheek. most of my predictions and things end up over on GPL. We'll have to see how the portal finishes up and how the early signings go, but right now looking like MN and MSU in the B10 to me. HE looks like BC then everyone else (this is with expectation Celebrini is gone). NCHC UND and DU as usual. The rest probably doesn't matter but I'd expect Quinny takes a step back. On paper probably will feel a little more open come the end of the year, given most everyone had all but anointed BC (and understandably so with how good they were all year).
 
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