Pride On Ice Blog

Lucia Out, Motzko In as New Era of Gopher Hockey Begins

2018-03-31T12:15:00.001-05:00

Don Lucia is out as head coach of the University of Minnesota hockey team.

Lucia steps down as the program's all-time winningest coach, having amassed 457 wins over his 19-year career as bench boss for the Gophers. Lucia's teams won two national championships, eight regular-season titles (four in the WCHA and four in the Big Ten), and four playoff tournament titles (3 WCHA, 1 B1G). The team made the Frozen Four five times throughout Lucia's tenure, in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2012 and 2014.

Although Lucia's track record is almost unmatched in college hockey history (prior to retirement, he was the second-winningest active coach in NCAA D1 behind BC's Jerry York), his recent resume was marred by underachieving teams and missed opportunities. The Gophers returned nearly all their key players from their 2014 runner up finish, but inconsistent effort resulted in a disappointing seed and first-round exit from the NCAA tourney in 2015. The team missed out on the NCAAs entirely two of the last three seasons, and five of the last ten. This most recent season, the Gophers returned All-American Tyler Sheehy and added all-world freshman Casey Mittelstadt but were unable to make the NCAA tournament after a string of four-straight losses to Penn State to end their season.

Lucia's teams were never bad - only one of his 19 seasons behind the bench (2009-2010) resulted in a losing record - but the Gophers only reached the 30 win plateau twice during his tenure (01-02 and 06-07). In fact, as I mentioned in my previous post, the Gophers have only made it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament twice in the last 11 years, and during that time the team has been a fairly pedestrian 237-152-44 overall (.598) as compared to Lucia's first 8 years at the helm when he accumulated a 220-96-29 (.680) overall record.

University of Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle wasted little time in hiring former Lucia assistant and current St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko as the 15th head coach in Gopher Hockey history.

Motzko was an assistant under Lucia from 2002-2005, when the Gophers won two national championships and advanced to three Frozen Fours.

Motzko's recent resume includes leading St. Cloud State to the NCAA tournament 5 of the last 6 seasons, capturing the regular season title in three of those years (once WCHA / two NCHC), and guiding the Huskies to their first ever Frozen Four appearance in 12-13. Motzko's teams generally play fast and aggressive, with speed and skill and a potent power play. I have no doubt Motzko will be a great coach for this Gopher team and am excited to see him take the reins of the program.

The one disappointment here is the treatment of Mike Guentzel, longtime assistant coach for the Gophers who has been waiting in the wings to take over the top job forever, only to be passed over at the final hour in favor of his former colleague Motzko. Guentzel had been instrumental in Minnesota's turnaround following the 'dark times' of 2008-2011; he resigned his assistant coaching duties at the end of the 07-08 season following a rift between he and Lucia / John Hill but returned to help guide the Gophers to the Frozen Four in 2011-2012.

The man is as passionate about Gopher hockey as anyone alive, and while I am excited about Motzko, I am disappointed that Guentzel will likely now never have his chance to head up the program. Had the Gophers' been a better team this year, or had Lucia resigned on top following the team's runner-up finish in 2014, Guentzel's stock may have been higher and he likely would have gotten the job.

Motzko is still deciding on who his assistant coaches will be, and it's still up in the air as to whether or not Guentzel and first-year Gopher assistant Scott Bell will be offered a chance to return. Motzko is meeting with Guentzel this week (and presumably will be meeting with Bell soon). I, for one, am hopeful that Gunetzel can put aside his disappointment and still be a part of this Gopher coaching team going forward.

Motzko has big shoes to fill, and he has a roster to try and fill, too. Sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren and the aforementioned Mittelstadt both signed NHL contracts, so a roster already short on goal-scoring and blue-line skill got decidedly less so in the last few weeks.

Don Lucia's first year on the job was pedestrian, but he followed it up by winning 200 games over his next seven seasons including two national titles. If Motzko can be anywhere close to that level of performance, history will name him among the all-time great Gopher coaches.

Here's hoping it does.

Don Lucia may have Coached his Last Game as a Gopher, and that's a Shame.

2018-03-18T19:14:00.000-05:00

As the postseason starts without the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers making the NCAA Tournament (the Gophers lost out to UMD by .0001 in the RPI), the hot-button issue on all Minnesota fans' minds is whether head coach Don Lucia will be back next season for the Maroon and Gold.

It seems like a foregone conclusion at this point that Lucia will not be welcomed back behind the Gopher bench in 2018-2019. This Gopher team missed the NCAA Tournament after beginning the season ranked #3 overall, returning first team All-American Tyler Sheehy, two-time Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Eric Schierhorn, and adding all-world freshman Casey Mittelstadt. They sure seemed like they had the pieces to make a run at a national title this season, but they'll be watching from home over the next few weeks as 16 other teams fight for the trophy.

I do think that it's time for a change - the Gophers have missed the tournament twice in the last three years and have only made it out of the first round twice since they lost to North Dakota in OT on the Chris Porter wraparound in 2007 (that's two first round NCAA wins in the last 11 years in case you were playing along at home). Those results simply are not acceptable for Gopher Hockey, and while I don't think it's fair to lay all of that at the feet of Don Lucia, he certainly needs to bear some responsibility for those results.

Coaches also have shelf lives, and I think Lucia's shelf life and his message have just gotten stale, or are falling on players differently than they did 15 years ago.

All that said, it will still be a shame if / when the team takes the ice in October and Don Lucia is not behind the bench. This is a man who has won the most games behind the Gopher bench than anyone else (438), and for a program as storied as the University of Minnesota, one of only two coaches to have ever won the NCAA title. Lucia's teams play an entertaining high-octane style, his kids don't get into trouble, and he has a great record on the academics side as well.

Like I said, I think it's time for a change, but I'll be a little sad to not see Lucia out there coaching the team if indeed someone else takes over at the helm next season.

To Don Lucia, thank you for many wonderful years and amazing moments in Gopher hockey history. If this was your last year, you didn't go out the way you deserved to. Let's hope whomever is the next head coach can get us back to the top of the mountain again.

Go Gophers!

Woeful Gophers Lose Again to Penn State in B1G Tourney Opener

2018-03-02T21:01:00.000-06:00

Two Last-Minute Second Period Goals Too Much for Maroon and Gold

State College, PA - The home team was once again jovial in Happy Valley. For Gopher fans, the last three games have been more like the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Penn State once again outplayed, outmanned and, most importantly, outscored the Gophers, beating them 5-3 on the strength of a pair of goals in the final 71 seconds of the middle period. The win was the Nittany Lions' third straight over Minnesota in just the last 8 days, putting the Gophers on the brink of elimination in the Big Ten conference tournament and inching them ever closer away from the safety of the middle of the PairWise pack and towards the bubble.

Minnesota (19-16-2 Overall, 10-13-2 B1G) got a big performance from Casey Mittelstadt, who scored the game's opening goal (the first of his two on the night) on the powerplay at 11:13 of the first. Penn State (17-13-5, 10-10-5) responded at 15:39 on Cole Hults' PP tally to tie the game at 1-1.

The Gophers' Darian Romanko took a 5-minute major with 1:35 left in the first, putting Penn State on a 5-minute power play that flowed into the second. PSU's Nate Sucese scored toward the tail-end of that man-advantage, putting the Nittany Lions ahead at 2:35 of the second. Scott Reedy tied the game on a nice pass from behind the net from Rem Pitlick at 15:13, but Penn State struck twice with under two minutes left in the middle stanza, once on a soft bad-angle shot by Dennis Smirnov with 1:11 remaining in the second and again on a bad defensive play resulting in a two-on-one by Andrew Sturtz with just fifteen seconds left.

The goals were deflating, but the Gophers made things slightly more interesting before the end. Tyler Sheehy drew a five-minute major at 10:17 of the third for contact to the head (but was somehow also called for embellishment on the play), and Casey Mittelstadt scored his second of the game and 10th of the season with 5 minutes to go to pull Minnesota within one. The Gophers drew another powerplay on a nice Brent Gates rush just 33 seconds after the Mittelstadt goal, but the Minnesota power play, which had already scored twice on the night, regressed to its awful mean, and Penn State scored with Mat Robson pulled for an extra attacker to salt the game away at 5-3.

Robson drew the loss on the night, and for the second straight start against these Nittany Lions has looked human. It's hard to fault Robson for most of the goals tonight, but I'm sure he'd like to have the Smirnov one back. It will be interesting to see if Gopher coach Don Lucia goes with Eric Schierhorn, firmly ensconced in the doghouse but not a loser of three straight against this PSU squad.

Coming into the night, the Gophers were something like 100% to make the tournament by winning at least one game this weekend, and 97% to make it if they were swept again. Lots of other crazy things would need to happen in college hockey for this team to miss the tournament at this point, but it sure would be nice for the Gophers to play like it mattered and win a game against a team they should be better than.

Minnesota has a chance to even the series Saturday. The puck drops at 6PM Central time and can be seen on FSN+, streamed on BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.

Go Gophers!

2018 Big Ten Tournament Playoff Scenarios

2018-02-24T01:27:00.000-06:00

Entering the final day of the regular season, the Gophers still don't know whether they'll be home or away for the first round of the Big Ten tournament. Because the Gophers are 13-5-1 at home and 4-9-1 on the road, it'd probably be good if they could have home ice for the first round.

The scenarios for who the Gophers could play are below:

If Minnesota loses to Penn State Saturday, they play Penn State at Penn State next weekend in the first round of the conference tournament.
If Wisconsin does not win Saturday against Ohio State, they'll lock in sixth place and will play Michigan. Wisconsin can move into fifth place with a win and a PSU regulation loss. In this scenario, Wisconsin would travel to Mariucci to take on the Gophers in the first round.
If Minnesota gets at least one point Saturday, they will play at Mariucci for the first round of the B1G Tourney and could end up playing either Penn State (with any number of points or with a Wisconsin loss/tie), or Wisconsin (UW win + PSU loss).

Nittany Lions Pour On 61 Shots, Blitz Gophers 5-1

2018-02-24T01:24:00.000-06:00

Friday Victory Sets Up 'Win-and-Stay-Home' Saturday Scenario for Penn State

State College, PA - Coming into the weekend, the Minnesota Gophers only needed one point on the road at Penn State to secure home ice positioning for the first round of the Big Ten playoffs.

After Friday's 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Nittany Lions, the Gophers (19-14-2 Overall, 10-11-2 B1G) may be dreading the fact that another PSU win Saturday means that Minnesota would be headed back out to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions (15-13-5, 8-10-5) in the first round.

Penn State likes to shoot from everywhere, and that was certainly on display Friday night. The Nittany Lions had 21 shots in the first period and 26 shots in the second, while laying back with 'only' 14 in the third for a grand total of 61 shots on goal in the game.

The Gophers, on the other hand, only mustered 15 shots for the contest, and it was pretty clear that the shot tally indicated who the better team was on the night. Penn State was fast, relentless, and won all the puck battles, while Minnesota looked slow and on their back foot the entire 60 minutes of play.
PSU opened up a lead at 8:13 of the first period, when a seeing-eye shot from the point beat Gopher goalie Mat Robson. The Gophers responded at 12:22 when a seeing-eye shot of their own was tipped by both Casey Mittelstadt and Leon Bristedt on its way into the Penn State net. Bristedt was ultimately credited with the goal, his 98th career point as a Gopher.

Penn State scored on a 2-on-1 at 10:31 of the second to re-take the lead at 2-1, and they'd never give it up, scoring three more times in the third to win by a 5-1 margin.

The Penn State win sets up a dramatic final day of the Big Ten regular season. Wisconsin's loss to Ohio State Friday locks the Gophers into no worse than 5th place. The scenarios are as follows:

If Minnesota loses Saturday, they play Penn State at Penn State next weekend in the first round of the conference tournament.
If Wisconsin does not win Saturday against Ohio State, they'll lock in sixth place and will play Michigan. Wisconsin can move into fifth place with a win and a PSU regulation loss. In this scenario, Wisconsin would travel to Mariucci to take on the Gophers in the first round.
If Minnesota gets at least one point Saturday, they will play at Mariucci for the first round of the B1G Tourney and could end up playing either Penn State (with any number of points or with a Wisconsin loss/tie), or Wisconsin (UW win + PSU loss).

The Gophers look to right the ship and clinch home ice Saturday night. The game is at 6PM Central time, and can be seen on BTN, streamed on BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.

Go Gophers!

Gophers Fell #6 Buckeyes 2-1

2018-02-16T23:43:00.002-06:00

Gates, Glover score for Gophers, Robson picks up another win in net

Minneapolis, MN - "We've been saying it for a while now: it's playoff hockey."

Jack Glover summed up his team's mindset following a nailbiting Gopher win Friday night at Mariucci Arena. The Gophers (19-13-1 Overall, 10-10-1-1 B1G) beat the Ohio State Buckeyes (19-8-4, 12-8-1) by a 2-1 score in a tight, up-and-down thriller of a game that saw Glover get his first goal of the season, the game-winner at 9:43 of the second period. Minnesota held on late, with defenseman Jack Sadek sweeping the puck off of the goal-line with less than a minute left to preserve the victory.

The Gophers were shot out of a cannon in the first few minutes of the game, dominating the possession and generating good quality scoring chances almost from the drop of the puck. Ohio State drew an early cross-checking penalty when Scott Reedy went to the box at 2:03, but Minnesota deftly diffused the Buckeye chance and went back on the attack.

Junior Gates scored the first goal of the game and 10th of the season at 9:02 of the first for the Gophers. Tyler Sheehy turned the puck over in the neutral zone on a nice backcheck before outletting the puck to Gates along the left wing wall. Gates skated across the line, finding Tommy Novak for a one-timer in the slot. OSU goalie Sean Romeo made the save, but Gates was following the shot, and put away the rebound to give Minnesota the 1-0 lead.

The Gophers increased the lead to 2-0 on Glover's goal near the halfway mark of the second. Glover downplayed his role in the play, citing "great play by our forwards down low, working their D, which is what they're so good at," and a "lucky little deflection," but the senior defenseman should take more credit: Glover stepped around a sprawling Buckeye before picking his spot in the high slot and firing the puck past Romeo for what would eventually be the game-winning goal.

The Buckeyes got on the board on the powerplay late in the second, sending the game into the final frame at 2-1, which is where it would stay, despite 18 attempted shots throughout the period by the Buckeyes. The key play of the third came with the goalie pulled, when Jack Sadek cleared the puck from off of the goal line behind Mat Robson, sealing the game for the Gophers. Said Gates, the last minute was "pretty intense." "Those are the fun ones, when everyone's into it, everyone is up on the bench, there's a lot on the line and we know that. 2-1 game, it's playoff hockey and we know that's how it's going to be come tournament time."

Mat Robson got the win between the pipes for the Gophers, making 21 saves to improve to 7-2-0 on the season. The sophomore netminder has now started six straight games for the Maroon and Gold. Sean Romeo drew the hard-luck loss for the Buckeyes, stopping 26 of 28 shots.

Minnesota has now won three straight after sweeping Wisconsin in Madison last weekend, and has won six of seven overall after being swept at home by Michigan in mid-January. The Gophers have also nearly solidified their positioning in both the top four of the Big Ten standings (the top four teams get home-ice in the first round of the conference tournament), and in the PairWise Rankings, which are used to select the field of 16 teams that make the NCAA tournament.

When asked about what has clicked for the team recently, Gates praised the whole team getting into the right mindset. "I think everyone is elevating their play. Everyone's figuring out their role, and I think we're playing some good hockey right now."

The Gophers square off against Ohio State again Saturday afternoon. The game is at 4PM, and can be seen on ESPNU, streamed on WatchESPN, and heard on AM1130.

Go Gophers!

Sheehy's 3rd Period Brace Beats Badgers

2018-02-09T23:28:00.001-06:00

Madison, WI - It's about as hackneyed a cliche as there is, but Don Lucia always talks about his best players needing to play their best as the season winds down.

For Tyler Sheehy, who's been quiet nearly the entire season after an All-American sophomore campaign in 2016-2017, perhaps Friday night's game against Wisconsin was a much needed wake-up call.

Sheehy scored two go-ahead goals in the third period, including the eventual game-winner with just under five minutes left in the final frame, to drag the Gophers (17-13-1 Overall, 8-10-1-1 B1G) across the finish line with a 4-2 win over the Wisconsin Badgers (14-14-4, 8-10-3-1) Friday night.

The game started much like a typical Gopher-Badger series of old. Minnesota had the better of the possession in the first, but Wisconsin capitalized on one of their few scoring chances midway through the period to take a 1-0 lead.

The script almost completely flipped in the second, when Gopher goalie Mat Robson turned aside all 23 Badger shots in the second (including 12 on Wisconsin's three powerplay chances), and Minnesota got the lone goal of the period on a tipped snapshot from the point. Steve Johnson was credited with the goal, but the replays showed Brannon McManus deflecting the puck past Badger goalie Kyle Hayton to tie the game at just 1:56 of the frame.

The teams entered the third tied at 1-1, but Sheehy broke the tie early, slipping a rebound past Hayton at 0:39 to give the Gophers their first lead of the game at 2-1. Wisconsin was able to tie just 1:35 later, when Jason Ford took advantage of a poor defensive play by Tyler Nanne to steal the puck and feed Matt Ustaski to knot the game at two goals each.

The teams traded chances as the clock wound down in the third, but Tyler Sheehy again broke the tie, leaking out of the right-wing corner and firing a low-angle wrist shot off of a one-time pass from Tommy Novak past Hayton to give the Gophers a 3-2 lead with 4:48 remaining in the 3rd.

Darian Romanko tacked on an empty-netter at 18:23 to complete the scoring for the Gophers and for the game, which finished 4-2 for the good guys.

Quietly effective, goaltender Mat Robson appears to have taken over the reins in net for the Gophers. Robson has started each of the last four games for the Gophers, beating Michigan State 2-1 at Madison Square Garden before splitting against Notre Dame two weekends ago and beating Wisconsin Friday. Robson stopped 38 of 40 shots Friday night to pick up his fifth win as a Gopher. Expect to see junior Eric Schierhorn get back between the pipes eventually, but Don Lucia likes to ride the hot hand, and Robson has been solid in net for Minnesota.

The win pushes the Gophers up to 5th in the Big Ten conference standings with 26 points, behind Wisconsin (4th, 28 points) and Michigan (3rd, 29 points), but with two games in hand on each of them. Minnesota needs to at least get to 4th place to secure a first-round home playoff series in the Big Ten postseason tournament.

Minnesota appears to have held-pat for now at 9th place in the PairWise Rankings. According to Jim Dahl at CollegeHockeyRanked.com, the Gophers have a pretty solid chance to make the NCAA tournament if they win at least three of their remaining six games, and things start to look iffy if they win two or fewer.

The powerplay continues to be a killer for the Gopher offense - Minnesota is now 3 for its last 50 on the man-advantage after going 0-4 Friday against the Badgers, and are 55th out of 60 D1 college hockey teams at 12.6% for the season. For those playing along at home, that's akin to the Gophers playing five full periods of 5-on-4 hockey and scoring only three goals. The penalty kill was a perfect 4-4 against Wisconsin Friday night, but no amount of PK success is enough when you're clicking at 6% over your last 50 opportunities on the PP.

With one win down after Friday night, the Gophers will look to further improve their PWR and league table positioning while going for the road sweep Saturday. The rubber match is at a more normal 7PM time, and can be seen on FSN+, streamed on Fox Sports Go or BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.

Go Gophers!

Mittelstadt's OT Winner Lifts Gophers Over Irish

2018-01-27T02:00:00.003-06:00

Star Freshman Breaks 0-0 Tie with OT Game Winner

Minneapolis, MN - After playing good hockey in South Bend in November with nothing to show for it, the Minnesota Gophers were hungry to flip the script against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

It took more than the standard 60 minutes, but in the end the hometown fans went home happy.

Minnesota and Notre Dame played yet another exciting hockey game Friday night, with the Gophers dominating the game for the final 40 minutes of action but settling for a 0-0 tie heading into overtime. Casey Mittelstadt scored 3:35 into the five-minute extra session to break the stalemate and give the Gophers a well-deserved victory.

One cold Friday night in November, Minnesota (16-12-1 Overall, 7-9-1 B1G) put 44 shots on Notre Dame (19-5-1, 13-2-0) but had to settle for a 1-0 defeat behind the stalwart goaltending effort of Irish goalkeeper Cale Morris. Morris, who leads the nation in Sv% (.952) and is 3rd in GAA (1.62), looked like he was going to stymie the Gophers yet again, turning aside all 31 Gopher shots he faced in regulation.

Gopher goalie Mat Robson matched Morris' 60-minute shutout with one of his own, stopping 21-of-21 Notre Dame shots that came his way throughout regulation play. No saves were bigger for Robson and the Gophers than those he made on the penalty kill in the final minutes of the game. Gopher forward Brannon McManus took a tripping penalty with just 2:49 remaining in the 3rd period of a 0-0 tie game, but Robson and the Gopher penalty kill were able to keep the Notre Dame attackers off the board.

In the overtime session, both teams had good opportunities, and both goalies were solid. The winning play was created by Casey Mittelstadt, who poked a puck through a defender's legs in the neutral zone to create an odd-man rush. Mittelstadt entered the zone, passed the puck to Rem Pitlick in the high slot and continued to the net. Pitlick's shot caught Morris up high, and the rebound fell right to Mittelstadt at the side of the net, who tucked the puck home for the game-winner at 3:35 of overtime.

Notre Dame, who had previously cruised through Big Ten competition, rattling off 13-straight conference wins and taking a death-grip over the Big Ten regular season crown, has entered what appears to be a mini-slump of late. The Irish have now dropped two games in a row after losing their first Big Ten contest 5-0 last Sunday to Wisconsin in the United Center in Chicago before Friday's loss to Minnesota. The Irish's last goal was an empty netter at 19:22 of the previous Friday's win over Wisconsin, which means that they have gone 124:13 without scoring a goal.

Minnesota, on the other hand, may be rounding into form. After dropping a pair of games at home to Michigan, the Gophers have righted the ship, sweeping Michigan State on the road before notching the win over Notre Dame. Minnesota's 23 league points are good for T-4th in conference, just one behind Michigan in third and 5 behind Ohio State in second. The Gophers need to finish 4th or better in conference to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, which will be played on campus sites for the first time this season.

Minnesota and Notre Dame square off again Saturday evening at 7PM. The game can be seen on FSN+, streamed on BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.

Go Gophers!

An Open Letter to Eric Kaler, Mark Coyle, and the University of Minnesota Board of Regents

2018-01-20T17:57:00.000-06:00

Mr. Kaler, Mr. Coyle, Regents of the University of Minnesota, and to anyone else reading this letter:

I love Gopher hockey. Something needs to change.

As an avid Gopher hockey fan almost since birth, I've grown up in and around Mariucci Arena, and I've been present for wonderful and heartbreaking moments. Gopher Hockey is more than an entertainment option to me, and I think it's safe to say that is the case for many, many others. Gopher hockey is a passion, a commitment between the University and the fans, though it feels like the University hasn't been holding up its end of the bargain lately.

Gopher hockey is special to me, and it's discouraging to feel something I love lose its special-ness little by little every time I make my way down to campus.

I know lots of people have complained over the past few years about the Big Ten conference, and I think that certainly plays a part in the decreased passion for some people. But earlier this year when the Gophers hosted Wisconsin the arena was 2/3 full, and that never happened when UW came to town during the WCHA days. Hell, that never even happened when Alaska-Anchorage came to town in the old days. The sickness runs deeper than the conference change, and somebody needs to make some changes or it will continue to fester.

1. The important part about College Hockey is College. Treat it that way.

Over the last few years, Gopher hockey has tried to emulate the Wild in terms of gameday experience. From the in-arena hostess, to the corporate-sponsored ice crew, to the blaring piped-in music and goal horn, the games feel less like a college hockey game and more like the NHL. I assume this is by design, the powers-that-be think that by making the Gopher games feel like the pros they'll be providing a better product to their customers, but that thinking could not be further from the truth. Gopher hockey is never going to compete with the Wild - the NHL has better talent, and a majority of people prefer the NHL's brand of hockey. The Gophers need to embrace what makes college hockey different from the NHL and find their own niche again. Some recommendations:

Make sure there is a band at every single game. A big part of what people pay their ticket price for is the college experience, and the band is the most important part of that experience. I don't care if the football team plays an away game the next day - I've never seen a football game without the band because of what the hockey team is doing.
Let the band play. No more AC/DC blaring over the speakers for the 15 seconds between whistles, let the band play something. Some of my most fond memories are of the band doing something fun at games - bring back that feeling. I don't think that means getting rid of the in-arena music entirely, but the band should get the vast majority of the time.
Don't feed us so many corporate sponsorships throughout the game. It feels so sterile. 3M Arena at Mariucci was bad enough, I don't need to be told 6 times a game that the Splash Ice Crew is coming out to shovel up the ice, or that it's time for another Kwik Trip power play. It's never been more obvious that the fans are a product that the U is selling to the sponsors. The sponsorships that fans actually got engaged in (5 goals for Culvers Ice Cream) are no longer in place. There is a huge disconnect between what the marketing department thinks they're delivering and what is actually happening in the real world.
Get rid of the in-arena hostess girl. She does a fine job, but it feels so far removed from the college hockey experience.

2. The University has been taking its hockey season-ticket holders for granted for far too long.

The hockey team is the only perennially-successful team the U of M has, and hockey revenue has been used to support a struggling football and basketball program for as long as I can remember. Minnesota has the highest ticket prices of any college hockey team in the country, but even though we are a premiere program the fans shouldn't get raked over the coals to pay for another basketball coach's buyout. Other programs have season ticket reps that reach out to season ticket holders on a frequent basis just to check in and keep the relationship going. I think the only time my family has been contacted by the U regarding our 25 year season ticket commitment is when it's time to pay up for another year.

The U needs to start treating its ticket holders with more respect, which means charging them a fair (lower) price for tickets, doing a better job of treating each season ticket holder as a relationship to manage instead of a revenue stream, and providing some basic benefits that other sports teams provide their season ticket holders like secondary ticket markets and access to promotions. I remember when the waiting list for season tickets was years long, and now there is no list and the season ticket holders are dropping like flies. It's pretty easy to understand why - they get virtually no benefits for their commitment and are treated like they only matter when they're forking over money.

3. The prices are too high, especially for the students.

Boston College has been the best college hockey program of the past 15 years. They play in a market saturated with other options for the entertainment dollar, just like we do. Their highest priced ticket last year was $25. I understand that selling 75% of the arena at $40 is better from a revenue perspective than selling out at $25, but it's not very good from an atmosphere perspective, nor from a secondary revenue perspective (parking, concessions). Lower prices so more people can come and enjoy the games, so that families can come with their little kids and more people can grow up loving Gopher hockey like I did. You're losing future fans by pricing them out of the market now.

Also, I'm not sure what season tickets cost now for students, but whatever it costs is too much. Lower the price for students, or make the student tickets free and first come / first served. Nothing will jazz up the atmosphere like a bunch of rowdy college kids, but the student section has been shrinking for a while now. Let 'em in for free and watch people line up a few hours early to make sure they get in for the big games.

4. Stop being the fun police.

I remember growing up when Goldy would fight the Subway Sub mascot, when the students and fans would chant some slightly off-color cheers. That stuff doesn't happen anymore, and it has definitely contributed to the administration-approved atmosphere that checks all the boxes but doesn't equal any fun. Let the kids chant what they want to chant (within reason, of course), let the band play the songs that get people excited, and let the mascot do stupid stuff like mascots are supposed to do.

5. Upgrade the in-arena concessions.

People seem to love talking about how selling beer will be a cure-all for the atmosphere problems at Mariucci. I don't think that's true, but I have no real problem with it either way. I think the bigger deal is the other concessions that Mariucci sells. Take a look at the Twins stadium or any other modern sporting event - the food options are varied and are all interesting. Gopher hockey has a few good options (Jax, Kemps Ice Cream, Maui Wowie, Drew's Popcorn), but most everything else is disappointing. Some fresh new concessions would help.

Those of us that love Gopher hockey care enough about it to want it to get better. The things I've listed above are just a few of my observations, and shouldn't be viewed as a complete list, merely a starting point for a broader conversation about how to improve Gopher hockey.

As I said at the outset, something needs to change. You have the power to start making those changes. Please do something.

Chris Eckes

University of Minnesota, Class of '09

PS: If you're reading this letter and have other ideas, please leave a reply in the comments!

Late Sheehy Goal gets Gophers past Spartans

2018-01-18T21:54:00.000-06:00

East Lansing, MI - Wins away from home have been awfully difficult to come by this season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Usually a tough draw on the road, the Gophers had only won two games away from the friendly confines of Mariucci Arena (a 2-0 win against Union in the Icebreaker, and a 2-1 win over North Dakota in Grand Forks) throughout the 2017-2018 season prior to this weekend's series at Michigan State. Despite a mid-game 4-1 lead, the Gophers had to pull out a nailbiter, prevailing after Tyler Sheehy netted the game-winner with just 2:48 left in the third period to break a 4-4 tie and send Minnesota (14-12-1 Overall, 5-9-1 B1G) home happy with a 5-4 win.

A lot has been made of the lively boards at Munn Ice arena, and those boards were on full display Thursday, factoring into two Spartan goals on the night. Michigan State (9-15-1, 3-11-1) scored the first goal of the game 6:47 into the opening frame when a Tommy Miller shot from the blue line caromed off the end boards and to the front of the net for a waiting Mitchell Lewandowski. The goal was the freshman's 15th of the season.

Bouncing pucks would continue to play a role in this game, and helped the Gophers tie the game at 1-1 with just over six minutes to play in the first. Jack Ramsey lobbed a dump-in from center ice that took one wicked bounce about four feet in front of Spartan goalie John Lethemon and ricocheted into the net.

The biggest turning points of the game came on special teams play early in the second period. Minnesota took the lead on the powerplay at 1:48 of the second when Steve Johnson's shot from the point found the twine to give Minnesota a slim 2-1 lead. Just 20 seconds later, Gopher blueliner Clayton Phillips was given the gate for a checking-from-behind. The five-minute power play could have been a real spark for the Spartans, but Minnesota took advantage, scoring two shorthanded goals (Sheehy from Gates, Novak from Sheehy) on the penalty to break the game open at 4-1.

Just 40 seconds after the Novak goal to put Minnesota up by three, Michigan State's Jerad Rosburg was called for a five-minute major, giving the Gophers an opportunity to drive the final nail into the Spartan coffin. However, Michigan State's Taro Hirose was able to score shorthanded for the home team to pull the Spartans within two at 4-2. Hirose scored five-on-five late in the period to draw MSU back within one at 4-3 heading into the second intermission.

Despite being outshot through two periods by a 29-14 margin, despite being down 4-1 and staring at a 5-minute Gopher powerplay, the Spartans were only down a goal going into the third, and had to believe that they could steal this game.

Neither team wanted to make a mistake in the third, but the lively boards at Munn Ice Arena struck yet again at 11:57 of the third. Butrus Ghafari's dump-in deflected off the corner boards and towards the side of Gopher goalie Eric Schierhorn's net. Schierhorn tried to slide over to cover the post, but the funny bounce rattled off his equipment and somehow managed to drop behind him and into the net, tying the game at 4-4 with just over eight minutes left in the contest.

The road has not been friendly to the Gophers this year, but Tyler Sheehy made sure that Thursday night wouldn't end badly. The junior captain scored his ninth of the year on an unassisted wrister from the mid-slot with just 2:48 left in the third to propel Minnesota to the much-needed victory.

The Gophers are off Friday, traveling to New York City to square off against Michigan State again at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. The game is at 8 Eastern / 7 Central, and can be seen on BTN, streamed on BTN2Go, and heard on AM1130.

Go Gophers!

Bad Team Loses to Worse Team

2018-01-12T22:34:00.000-06:00

Gophers fall 5-3 at home to the 6th place team in the 7-team Big Ten Conference

Minneapolis, MN - Sometimes when you watch Gopher hockey, it's hard to imagine that they're ranked at all, let alone ranked in the top 10.

This paragraph was going to go at the end, but it deserved to be placed at the beginning: Right now, the Gophers are a bad team. They have no powerplay, they have no offensive spark, they seem to have little on-ice leadership. They returned an All-American on offense and have the best freshman in the country, but they sit 41st in total offense behind college-hockey juggernauts like Bentley and Bowling Green. They dearly miss Tommy Novak, who, despite all the other NHL draft picks littering the Gopher lineup, appears to be the only guy on the team that can actually make plays. They should be better.

Consistently inconsistent, the Minnesota Gophers (13-11-1 Overall, 4-8-1 B1G) had another head-scratcher of a night against the ineffective Michigan Wolverines (9-10-2, 4-7-2), giving up a goal 14 seconds into the game and struggling to find their footing throughout the rest of the contest, ultimately falling 5-3 with an empty netter.

Gopher goalie Mat Robson's shutout of then #1 St. Cloud State last Sunday evening earned him the start in Friday's contest, and he was greeted rudely when Dexter Dancs beat Robson and the Gophers just 14 seconds into the game to put the Wolverines up 1-0. Casey Mittelstadt answered back for Minnesota at 2:21 to tie it at 1-1, but Michael Pastujov banked one in off of Tyler Sheehy and Robson to put Michigan back on top 2-1 at 8:13.

The Wolverines scored late in the 3rd to increase the lead to two at 3-1 when Cooper Marody walked right up the slot on a 3-on-2 rush before firing the puck past Robson.

Minnesota coach Don Lucia switched up goalies heading into the second, putting junior Eric Schierhorn in net to try to give his team a spark. Something the coaches did during intermission seemed to work, as the Gophers came out firing in the second, drawing an early penalty.

The power play might seem like an unlikely would-be hero for Minnesota, as it hadn't scored since December 2nd against Wisconsin and was 13-for-102 coming into the game, having gone 0 for its last 27. All streaks are made to be broken, and the Gophers got off the schneid when Scott Reedy put a rebound past Wolverine netminder Hayden Lavigne to get the Gophers back within one at 3-2.

Michigan would score yet another backbreaking goal late in the 2nd when a neutral-zone Gopher turnover led to a chance and a Michigan goal for Brendan Warren at 18:01 of the period. Warren fanned the one-time chance, but the changeup fooled Schierhorn and made it just past the goal line for a goal to give Michigan back their two-goal edge at 4-2.

The second period was ultimately a disappointing one, as the Gophers had more jump and more of the puck in the middle frame but tied 1-1 on the scoreboard.

The third period saw another brutally-ineffective Gopher powerplay with a chance to bring the game within reach near the middle of the period. As the clock wound down, Minnesota didn't seem to have what it took to break down the Michigan defense. Brannon McManus finally dented the twine when scored on a rebound with 3:38 left in the third to bring the Gophers back within one at 4-3.

Minnesota pulled their goalie late and drew a powerplay with just 42 seconds to play. Here was the chance to really do something heroic on the man advantage and tie up the contest.

The ugly powerplay reared its head, though, as right off the draw Steve Johnson mishandled the puck, leading to a Michigan rush and empty net goal, sending an already sparse home crowd heading for the exits. Minnesota finished the night outshooting Michigan 27-19 and going 1-5 on the PP. Michigan was 0-2 on their man advantage opportunities.

The loss drops Minnesota to 4-8-1 in the Big Ten conference and 13-11-1 overall. The Gophers dropped down to #12 in the Pairwise Rankings following the loss, and most of that ranking appears to come on the backs of a tough schedule and good wins against North Dakota, St. Cloud, and Clarkson (who has only lost once outside of its sweep at the hands of the Gophers). Minnesota will need to get their act together and win some games they're supposed to win if they want to be playing late into March (let alone April).

The Gophers have another chance to right the ship Saturday, when they face these same Wolverines. Puck drop is at 7.

Let's GO, Gophers. Let's go.

NCAA Hockey Tournament: Predicting the Games

2015-03-27T12:02:00.002-05:00

The NCAA Tournament is finally here!

Four games Friday, six games Saturday and two games Sunday will determine who moves on to play in the Frozen Four.

Although the tournament was a tough one to pick for the bracketologists (including yours truly), everyone has an opinion and I'll use mine to try and pick the games. This year is especially tough, as I think the top 15 teams have a chance to advance to the Frozen Four. All game times listed are in Central time.

West Regional - Fargo, ND

(2) North Dakota vs (14) Quinnipiac
7PM Friday March 27th, TV ESPNU
I like Quinnipiac, the ECAC regular season champion, but they piled up the non-conference losses this year and could be without leading scorer Sam Anas. In their backyard, I think North Dakota wins this one.

(7) Michigan Tech vs (12) St. Cloud State
3:30PM Friday March 27th, Stream ESPN3
This is a battle between two good teams, and we will really see how good the NCHC was this year. St. Cloud is just one game over .500 on the year, and made the tournament mostly due to their league's overall non-conference success. Michigan Tech was ranked as high as #1 during the season, and a win against Mankato in the WCHA Final Five would have moved them up to a one-seed. I think Tech will win this one, but if St. Cloud wins it could signal that the NCHC is even better this season than we've realized.

Regional Final: (2) UND vs (7) MTU
8PM Saturday March 28th, TV ESPNU
This is another game between two very good teams. In the playoffs, goaltending is in high priority, and UND's Zane McIntyre (formerly Zane Gothberg) is one of the best in the country. Playing in Fargo, I expect North Dakota to punch its ticket to Boston, but I think it will be a great hockey game and could probably go either way.

Northeast Regional - Manchseter, NH

(3) Boston University vs (13) Yale
1PM Friday March 27th, TV ESPNU
While I think Yale is a good team, BU has Jack Eichel and just too much firepower. I really believe BU is one of the best teams in the country this year, and they'll advance to the regional final without much difficulty.

(6) Minnesota-Duluth vs (10) Minnesota
4:30PM Friday March 27th, TV ESPNU
Two teams going opposite directions. UMD's ranking is boosted by playing in the NCHC this season, while Minnesota had to scratch and claw to make it because of how terrible the B1G was. That being said, UMD has lost three in a row and has only won one game in its last seven contests. Minnesota has won four in a row in do-or-die situations to claim the B1G regular season and playoff titles. The preseason #1 Gophers are trending in the right direction at the right time, and I expect Minnesota to dispatch Duluth to advance to the regional final.

Regional Final: (3) BU vs (10) Minnesota
4:30PM Saturday March 28th, TV ESPN2
This is a Gopher hockey fan blog... you didn't expect anything else, did you?! My head says BU in this one, but my heart says the Gophers are peaking at the right time. Definitely will be a barn-burner of a game that can go either way. If Minnesota can limit Jack Eichel like they did Johnny Gaudreau last season, they very well could be the second team advancing to the Frozen Four in Boston come Saturday night.

East Regional - Providence, RI

(4) Miami vs (15) Providence
5:30PM Saturday March 28th, TV ESPNU
It seems like every year now a four seed upsets a one seed, and this game is probably the most likely one for it. The #2 team in the Hockey East regular season table (yes, ahead of BC), Providence is playing in Providence and is facing a Miami squad that, although a very good team, will be missing their two top goal-scorers in Riley Barber (injury) and Blake Coleman (suspension). Again goaltending is crucial in the playoffs, and Providence's Jon Gillies is one of the best in the country. I like the Providence Friars in an upset

(5) Denver vs (11) Boston College
2PM Saturday March 28th, TV ESPN2
BC had a similar season as Minnesota this year, struggling in in the first half of the season before turning it on in the second half. However, BC has cooled off recently, winning just one out of their last four games and being ousted in the first round of the Hockey East tournament. Denver, another NCHC darling, has been better of late and moved all the way up to the #5 overall seed. The two teams split in a Halloween series at Magness Arena in Denver, but in this one-and-done format I like Denver to advance.

Regional Final: (5) DU vs (15) Providence
4PM Sunday March 29th, TV ESPNU
DU is the better of these two teams, but there are a lot of intangibles to factor in here that in in Providence's favor. The game is in the city of Providence, and the Friars have a goalie who can get hot and steal a game at any time. Right now I'm thinking that Providence takes it to advance to the Frozen Four, but strong play by Denver's NCHC counterparts early on in the tournament could change my mind.

Midwest Regional - South Bend, IN

(1) Minnesota State vs (16) RIT
3PM Saturday March 28th, TV ESPNU
I think RIT is the only team in the field that doesn't have much of a chance to win a game. Minnesota State is just too good and has been all season. The Mavericks breeze through.

(8) Nebraska-Omaha vs (9) Harvard
6:30PM Saturday March 28th, Stream ESPN3
Omaha always seems to struggle in March. This year is no exception, as the Mavericks have only won two out of their last 11 games. Harvard, on the other hand, is hot as a pistol, having won seven of their last eight games behind the scoring touch of Jimmy Vesey. The junior forward leads the nation in goals and is second in points scored. I think his firepower gets Harvard through to the final.

Regional Final: (1) Minnesota State vs (9) Harvard
6:30PM Sunday March 29th, TV ESPNU
A matchup between a team that is hot right now in Harvard and a team that's been solid all season in Mankato. Although Jimmy Vesey will do all that he can to get Harvard to Boston for the Frozen Four, I think Minnesota State is just too good. Stephon Williams is another one of those goalies that can steal a game in net for the Mavericks, and combined with all of their firepower up front I think Minnesota State is the team to beat in the Midwest.

Frozen Four - Boston, MA

(2) UND vs (10) Minnesota
4:00/7:30PM Thursday April 9th, TV ESPN2
Another Frozen Four matchup of the game everyone wants to see. When playing at their peak, both teams are among the three or four best in the country. North Dakota has played at their peak more consistently this season, and the rational, unbiased fan would probably have to pick them to advance to the championship game. However, I am not unbiased, and I think Kyle Rau and Adam Wilcox are playing too strong to be beaten right now. Minnesota advances to the title game.

(1) Minnesota State vs (15) Providence
4:00/7:30PM Thursday April 9th, TV ESPN2
Providence's miracle run will end in the penultimate game, as Jon Gillies finally faces a goalie that's as good as he is. Stephon Williams will steal the show and move the Mavericks into the championship game to face their in-state rivals.

National Title Game: (10) Minnesota vs (1) Minnesota State
6:30PM Saturday April 11th, TV ESPN
First of all, this scenario isn't all that likely to happen. Hockey is a funny game, and even the best team can run into a hot goalie or a few bad bounces and lose a game (see: North Dakota in 2010-2011). However, this is my blog and I get to pick whatever I want to! The Gophers avenge their loss to Union last season and Mankato earlier this season to claim their sixth NCAA Title.

Leave me a comment and let me know who your Frozen Four and National Champions are! Go Gophers!

2015 NCAA Tournament Bracketology

2015-03-22T01:00:00.000-05:00

By virtue of their B1G Conference Playoff title, the Minnesota Gophers will be playing in the NCAA Tournament as a #3 seed.

Now that all of the other conference tournament results are in, let's take a stab at predicting the brackets the NCAA Selection Committee will unveil tomorrow afternoon.

The field of 16 breaks down like this:

1 Seeds
Minnesota State (#1 Overall)
North Dakota
Boston University
Miami

2 Seeds
Denver
Minnesota-Duluth
Michigan Tech
Nebraska-Omaha

3 Seeds
Harvard
Minnesota
Boston College
St. Cloud State

4 Seeds
Yale
Quinnipiac
Providence
RIT

The first step of the Bracketology process is to place host teams in their own regionals.

North Dakota is placed in the Fargo regional as the only host team that made the tournament.

Next, starting with the #1 overall seed (Mankato), #1 seeds are placed in the regional closest to them - Mankato is placed in the South Bend regional, Boston University is placed in the Manchester regional, and Miami is placed in Providence (BU is about as close to Manchester as Providence, and this makes things easier down the line).

Now we place the remaining teams in their regionals based on ideal seed bands (1 vs 16 and 8 vs 9, 2 vs 15 and 7 vs 10, 3 vs 14 and 6 vs 11, 4 vs 13 and 5 vs 12):

When we do that, we get the following:

South Bend
Mankato vs RIT
Nebraska-Omaha vs Harvard

Fargo
North Dakota vs Providence
Michigan Tech vs Minnesota

Manchester
BU vs Quinnipiac
Minnesota-Duluth vs BC

Providence
Miami vs Yale
Denver vs St. Cloud State

Now, we're looking to eliminate first-round intra-conference matchups. We have only one in Providence with Denver playing St. Cloud. Because the NCHC has three #2 seeds, the only way to avoid this matchup is to swap Minnesota and St. Cloud State. Now we're left with:

South Bend
Mankato vs RIT
Nebraska-Omaha vs Harvard

Fargo
North Dakota vs Providence
Michigan Tech vs St. Cloud State

Manchester
BU vs Quinnipiac
Minnesota-Duluth vs BC

Providence
Miami vs Yale
Denver vs Minnesota

Now, what can we do to maximize attendance at these sites? One thing we can do is swap Minnesota and Harvard, to bring the Crimson out East and the Gophers back West.

South Bend
Mankato vs RIT
Nebraska-Omaha vs Minnesota

Fargo
North Dakota vs Providence
Michigan Tech vs St. Cloud State

Manchester
BU vs Quinnipiac
Minnesota-Duluth vs BC

Providence
Miami vs Yale
Denver vs Harvard

You'd like to get Providence in Providence, so let's swap Yale, Quinnipiac and Providence to try and preserve bracket integrity as best we can. So now we've got:

South Bend
Mankato vs RIT
Nebraska-Omaha vs Minnesota

Fargo
North Dakota vs Quinnipiac
Michigan Tech vs St. Cloud State

Manchester
BU vs Yale
Minnesota-Duluth vs BC

Providence
Miami vs Providence
Denver vs Harvard

Okay. All four regionals look pretty good from an attendance perspective here. South Bend is probably the weakest of the four, but Minnesota usually travels pretty well and Mankato isn't that far either. We'd love to get Miami to South Bend, and the committee in the past has said that "a flight is a flight" and sent a higher-ranked team farther in favor of a bus ride for a lower team. However, the committee also likes to keep the 1 vs 16 matchup intact, and moving Mankato to Providence would screw up our whole "Providence in Providence" idea.

So, the question is: does the committee care more about preserving the 1/16 match up, or about attendance? If they care about attendance more I could see Mankato going to Providence, but in the past they've been sure to protect that 1/16 matchup so I can't see them changing that now. Here's my final bracket:

South Bend
Mankato vs RIT
Nebraska-Omaha vs Minnesota

Fargo
North Dakota vs Quinnipiac
Michigan Tech vs St. Cloud State

Manchester
BU vs Yale
Minnesota-Duluth vs BC

Providence
Miami vs Providence
Denver vs Harvard

Gopher Hockey PairWise Update - What I Believe: Friday Night Edition

2015-03-20T22:25:00.002-05:00

Here is what I believe when it comes to the Gophers and the NCAA Tournament:

Minnesota can only miss the tournament if the following occurs-

Michigan beats Minnesota in the B1G, AND
Colgate beats Harvard in the ECAC, AND
UMass-Lowell beats BU in HE, AND
Miami beats SCSU in the NCHC, AND
Michigan Tech beats Mankato in the WCHA, AND
North Dakota beats Denver in the NCHC 3rd Place Game

Any other result in any other game and the Gophers are in the NCAA Tournament. If each outcome is a 50/50 probability and we take a Minnesota loss as an assumption, there is a 3.125% chance that this scenario will occur.

A win tomorrow night against Michigan would likely mean a #9 or #10 overall seed, whereas a loss will probably net Minnesota a #13 or #14 seed.

NCAA Tournament What If? Gophers Win Today, Lose Tomorrow

2015-03-20T10:54:00.000-05:00

The Gophers can still make the NCAA Tournament without winning the B1G Conference Playoff this weekend, but it's going to take some help.

According to the scenarios I've run, there are five other things around the country this weekend that can severely harm Minnesota's chances of making the big dance. They are:

Boston University not winning the Hockey East postseason tournament
Quinnipiac not winning the ECAC postseason tournament
St. Cloud State winning at least one game in the NCHC tournament
Bowling Green winning at least one game in the WCHA tournament
Minnesota State or Michigan Tech not winning the WCHA tournament

Assuming Minnesota takes care of business against Ohio State today, they've still got a decent shot of making the tourney even if they lose to Michigan or MSU in Saturday's championship game. Based on the scenario-building I've done, it looks to me like a win tonight will get the Gophers into the NCAA tournament so long as no more than two of the above bad results take place.

As a Gopher fan, these are the only results you need to pay attention to this weekend (other than the Gophers, of course).

We'll go into why each of these results harm the Gophers in more detail below:

Boston University not winning Hockey East

BU is the only team left in the HE tournament that is guaranteed a spot in the NCAAs already based on their performance throughout the year. If any team other than BU wins, that means a spot from the bottom of the bubble disappears.

Quinnipiac not winning the ECAC

Similar to BU's situation, the other teams left in the ECAC tournament will not make the NCAAs unless they win their conference playoff. A win by Harvard, St. Lawrence or Colgate would mean the bubble shrinks yet another spot.

St. Cloud State winning at least one game in the NCHC

This one is a little different. St. Cloud is currently ahead of Minnesota in the PWR due to their high RPI. However, a loss tonight against North Dakota and a loss or tie in the third place game tomorrow would sink the Huskies' RPI below that of Minnesota's, giving the Gophers a boost up the rankings and another team to absorb a bubble hit below them.

Bowling Green winning at least one game in the WCHA

Same here as above. Bowling Green is just ahead of Minnesota in the PWR, but a loss to Michigan Tech today would sink them below the Gophers in the RPI and the PWR.

Minnesota State or Michigan Tech not winning the WCHA

If MSU-M or MTU don't win the WCHA tournament, that means that either A) Bowling Green won a game, or B) Ferris State won the tournament and won the conference's autobid into the NCAA tournament. Either of those results means one less bubble team will make it.

Who to Root For: A Conference Tournament Viewing Guide for Gopher Fans

2015-03-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

The Gophers won the B1G regular season title on Saturday night, but that doesn't mean they're a lock to make the NCAA tournament.

Teams that make the Big Dance are determined by the PairWise Rankings, a mathematical formula that simulates the actions the NCAA Selection Committee takes to decide which teams are in and which teams are out.

16 teams make the NCAA Tournament. Currently, Minnesota ranks 13th in the PWR, but next weekend's results could dramatically shape the Gophers' chances of punching their tickets to the Tourney. The only way they're guaranteed to make the NCAA Tournament is by winning the B1G Conference tourney and securing the conference's auto-bid, but each other conference has an auto-bid as well. Any lower-ranked teams that win their conference tournament effectively take a spot away from the bottom of the bubble, drastically limiting the Gophers' scenarios to make the Tournament if they are not the B1G tournament champion.

After looking at many scenarios and crunching some numbers, here's who you should be rooting for in each conference's championship tournament this upcoming weekend:

Atlantic Hockey - (1) Robert Morris vs. (4) Mercyhurst, (2) Canisius vs. (3) RIT. It honestly doesn't matter who wins this one. The conference is only going to get one team into the tournament, whichever team wins their playoff this weekend. The best team in AH is Robert Morris, a team that made the tourney last year and lost to Minnesota in the first round. I'd like to see them win as they have the best chance out of any team in AH to give a #1 seed a run.

B1G - (3) Michigan vs. (6) Wisconsin, (4) Penn State vs. (5) Ohio State, (1) Minnesota vs. 4/5 Winner, (2) Michigan State vs 3/6 Winner. We want Minnesota to win, obviously. If not, then it doesn't really matter who wins, although the Gophers' chances are better if they lose in the championship game than in the semifinal.

ECAC - (1) Quinnipiac vs. (4) Harvard, (2) St. Lawrence vs. (3) Colgate. For the Gophers to make it, we need as many teams "already in" the tournament to win their conference championships as possible. In the ECAC, the highest ranked team is Quinnipiac at T10th. Harvard and Colgate are still alive at 15th and 16th respectively, as is St. Lawrence at T20th. We'd like to see Quinnipiac win this one. If not Q, then Harvard would be the next best bet, but things start to get tight for Minnesota if more than one or two non-tourney teams win their conferences, since if the Gophers don't have the B1G auto-bid that means that another B1G team is already in the tournament, already pushing the bubble down to 14 (B1G team and AH team taking away #15 and #16 spot).

Hockey East - (1) Boston University vs. (4) New Hampshire, (2) UMass-Lowell vs. (3) Vermont. This is another conference tourney where only one team is guaranteed to make the NCAAs - BU. Lowell currently sits T16th and outside the bubble, while Vermont is 19th right now. We want Boston University to take the tournament here.

NCHC - (1) North Dakota vs. (4) St. Cloud State, (2) Miami vs. (3) Denver. Here's one where we really only have one team to root against, and it's not the team you're thinking. North Dakota, Miami and Denver are safely in the NCAA Tournament already. The NCHC has a third place game in their Frozen Faceoff tournament, which means that the losing teams of the first round game have a chance to win another game to bolster their RPI scores. We want St. Cloud State to lose as many games as possible here. St. Cloud's RPI is a bit higher than the Gophers' RPI is right now, despite the fact that they are only one game over .500 at 18-17-1. Just one St. Cloud win on the weekend would be enough to boost their RPI ahead of Minnesota's and put them safely in the tournament. Two losses would send them below Minnesota and onto the bubble. So, Gopher fans should root for Miami, Denver or (shudder) North Dakota to win the NCHC, but more importantly root against St. Cloud in all of their games.

WCHA - (1) Minnesota State vs. (4) Ferris State, (2) Michigan Tech vs. (3) Bowling Green. This one is easy. There are two teams remaining in the WCHA that are already "in" - Minnesota State and Michigan Tech. Gopher fans should root for Mankato and Michigan Tech to win their games and square off in the Final Five (?) title game.

Gopher Hockey: Two Options to Make the NCAA Tournament

2015-03-08T12:17:00.000-05:00

With the season winding down and the Gophers faltering left and right, the team has played itself into a position where there are only two paths left to making the NCAA Tournament.

1) Sweep Penn State next weekend and win the semifinal game of the B1G Tournament, but lose in the championship game

2) Win the B1G championship

Both options are still attainable, although this hockey team has shown it can lose to anyone.

The Gophers need 3 more wins to remain on the safe side of the NCAA Tournament bubble and really can't afford more than one loss if they want to grab an at-large bid into the tourney. This means the only loss they can stomach is the one in the B1G Championship game.

Assuming they sweep Penn State, the Gophers will be at worst the #2 seed heading into the conference tournament, which would net them a first-round bye. A win in the semifinal game and a loss in the final should be enough to get the Gophers something like the #13 or #14 seed and squeak into the tourney.

Of course, winning the B1G postseason tournament would give Minnesota the conference auto-bid, which is the fail-safe for the team assuming they do not start putting together a run of wins.

It is possible that the team could get into the tournament in another way - splitting next weekend and winning twice in the B1G tournament would put them 3-2 the rest of the way, which just might be enough to eke out one of the last at-large bids to the tournament. This scenario would probably require so many other things to go Minnesota's way that it's not that realistic.

The Gophers face Penn State next weekend for the last series of the regular season. Minnesota sits at 33 points in the conference, tied with Michigan and one point behind Michigan State. The Spartans and Wolverines play a home-and-home series against each other next weekend. These two series (MN/PSU and UM/MSU) will decide the B1G regular season title as well as the seedings for the post-season tournament.

Gopher Hockey NCAA Tournament Magic Number: 5ish

2015-02-26T16:38:00.000-06:00

The Pairwise rankings are a tough nut to crack, but the latest simulations from Jim Dahl over at College Hockey Ranked seem to say that the Gophers are pretty safe to make the NCAA tournament field if they can win five more games before the NCAA field is announced.

Minnesota has six more regular season games remaining, and at least one game in the B1G Conference Tournament.

Mr. Dahl's analysis shows that the Gophers should be somewhere on the right side of the bubble with four more wins in the regular season, but an 0-fer performance in the conference tournament after that could knock Minnesota out of the NCAA tournament field. To be safe, Gopher fans will want to start counting up to five wins, starting this weekend as Minnesota hosts Michigan State for a Thursday-Friday series.

As a reminder, the top two teams after the B1G regular season get a bye in the first round of the conference tournament, before playing in the semifinal game against the winners of the first round contests.

If the Gophers go 4-2 down the stretch and win in the semifinal matchup of the B1G Tourney before falling in the championship game, they likely will still be okay to get into the big dance. Anything less than that, though, and Minnesota fans could be biting their fingernails come Selection Sunday, waiting to see if the team survived or if their bubble burst.

Gophers Wear Down Nittany Lions, Win 2-1 in Happy Valley

2015-02-20T21:13:00.000-06:00

Isackson, Kloos, Wilcox lead Minnesota over Penn State on the road

Happy Valley, PA - For the first time in a long time this season, Minnesota is back on top.

The Gophers (17-9-3 Overall, 8-2-3 B1G) continued their hot streak, winning their fifth game in a row (unbeaten in their last seven) to rise to the top of the B1G conference standings. The 2-1 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions (15-10-4, 7-5-1) was just Minnesota's fourth road win of the season - the Gophers are now 4-5-2 outside the Twin Cities, and 4-7-2 away from Mariucci Arena on the year.

The game started at high intensity, with Penn State zooming around the ice and delivering punishing hits to the Gophers early, taking Minnesota off of its finesse game. The Nittany Lions took an early lead as David Goodwin sniped the near-side corner from the face-off dot at 12:47 of the first period.

Minnesota held off Penn State for the rest of the period, and came out energized in the second. The Gophers got an early tying goal from the fourth line at 2:19 of the middle frame. Jack Glover, a defenseman playing up at forward on the team's checking line, made a nifty move at the defensive blueline to spring a rush up the far side of the ice. Jake Bischoff put a puck into the low slot and Christian Isackson hustled to the front of the net to beat his defender and tip the puck past PSU's netminder P.J. Musico to knot the game at 1-1.

Coach Don Lucia praised the fourth line and Isackson especially after the game. "The play of [Isackson's] line was big," said the Gopher bench boss. "They struggled a bit last weekend but they were good for us tonight."

Minnesota's possession game netted them a powerplay soon after that, and Justin Kloos scored a pretty goal on a great individual effort at 4:57 of the second. Kloos faked the Penn State defenseman a step too close to the wall, before using his trademark speed to cut to the middle of the rink and fire a perfectly placed shot from between the circles that dented the twine.

After that, the Gophers locked down the defensive zone and controlled the play. The Nittany Lions just couldn't touch the boys in Maroon and Gold, try as they might.

Penn State had several quality chances in the third period, including a powerplay on a Kyle Rau tripping minor at 4:05 of the third, but Minnesota's defense held strong. "We got stronger as the game went on," said Lucia. "We didn't give them many second looks tonight."

The first looks were all covered by Adam Wilcox in net. The junior was solid between the pipes, making the key saves as the game wound down. He made a spectacular windmill blocker save with under five minutes to go to keep the Gophers ahead.

Penn State pulled their goalie with just under two minutes remaining, but the Minnesota defense held strong and was able to keep PSU off the scoresheet to preserve the victory. Lucia specifically singled out Travis Boyd in his post-game interview - Boyd was able to tie the puck up in the Penn State defensive zone for quite a while in the final minute of the game, going up against three or four Nittany Lion players but mucking the puck up in the corner and siphoning valuable time off the clock. "Travis's line did a great job in the last minute, eating up about 20 seconds and never really giving them a chance."

Coupled with Michigan's loss at Ohio State tonight, the win puts Minnesota all alone at the top of the B1G standings. While it may have taken longer than anyone would have expected for them to get there, the Gophers are now three points clear of Michigan in the B1G table. Tomorrow night's game is a big one, as another win would help Minnesota keep pace atop the conference. Coach Lucia said after the game that he knows how tough the Saturday series finale will be: "They have not lost twice at home all year, so it'll be a heck of a challenge."

More importantly, the win continues to vault Minnesota up the Pairwise Rankings, the system that mimics the NCAA Committee's method of determining which teams make the NCAA Tournament field. A month or two ago many had left the Gophers for dead, but strong play and a seven-game unbeaten streak later the Gophers are inside the cut-line for the tournament (in 12th as of this writing) and looking to continue to improve their position.

Minnesota finishes off the series tomorrow afternoon against Penn State. The puck drops at 4:00 PM central time, with coverage on ESPNU and the WatchESPN app / streaming service. As always, the game will be on the radio at 1500ESPN.

Notes:

Three Stars of the Game (as announced in the arena): 3) Christian Isackson, 2) David Goodwin, 1) Justin Kloos

No Gophers had multiple point nights.

Final shots on goal: Minnesota 35, Penn State 36

The win was Don Lucia's 389th as head coach of the Gophers. He now just two wins shy of eclipsing Doug Woog's all-time wins record as head coach of the University of Minnesota. Woog currently sits at 390 all-time wins.

Gopher Hockey: A Rant

2015-01-12T00:23:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry the blog hasn't been that active recently. I do most of my writing for GopherPuckLive and the game articles are usually outlet enough for my thoughts on the team.

Recent events have come to a head, though, and my thoughts on this team have become a little more colorful than a postgame article on a respected Gopher hockey website allow.

The Gophers are coming off a sweep at the hands of the unranked Michigan Wolverines, putting them 3-7-1 in their last 11 games. The team now sits at 10-7-1 overall and is only ahead of the historically bad Wisconsin in the B1G conference.

Minnesota has lost to such powerhouses as the US Under 18 Team, Merrimack and Northeastern, rarely looking the part of a national title contender.

The team that lost in the NCAA Championship game last season and returned all of its key players has seen major statistical and performance regressions from nearly all of its stars:

First Team All-American Mike Reilly continues to dazzle with the puck, but this season he's also been inept without it. Reilly may have a foot out the door to the NHL already, because the junior defenseman and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season seems to have forgotten how to play his position, looking lazy and lackadasical in his own defensive zone. More often than not recently, when there's been a goal as a result of a missed assignment or a sloppy backcheck, number five is on the ice.
Second Team All-American (honestly not sure how he wasn't a 1st teamer) and Big Ten Player of the Year last year Adam Wilcox has been human this season, when we've come to expect him to be greater than. Wilcox was finally, blissfully pulled in favor of Nick Lehr in Minnesota's pathetic 7-5 loss Saturday at Michigan after giving up five goals on 16 shots through just 5 minutes of the second period. Of course I don't think all of the goals have been Wilcox's fault by any means (see above bullet point), but this team has come to expect greatness from its goaltender, and he's been just good.
The high-end sophomores have not been good enough. Second-year forwards Justin Kloos, Taylor Cammarata and Hudson Fasching have had flashes of solid play but overall have simply not taken a step forward. Kloos is about on pace with his freshman campaign, but Cammarata and Fasching have mustered a combined six goals in 35 games this season. These guys are counted on to carry the mail offensively for this team, and need to step their games up for this team to succeed. Another sophomore not called on to score as much is Vinni Lettieri - I like his game and what he brings to the table, but he too has only scored three times in 17 games. Granted he's playing a more checking / energy role, but it's another low goal total for a player with flashes of offense to his game.
The senior forwards haven't fared much better on the scoring front, with the exception of Kyle Rau and Travis Boyd. Boyd missed some time with an injury but has been productive this year, netting seven goals in just 11 games, and Rau has scored seven in his 18 games played. Other than them, though, the other senior forwards (Sam Warning, Seth Ambroz and Christian Isackson) have scored seven goals between them despite playing in every game this season. Isackson has never been a reliable scoring option for the Gophers, but Warning and Ambroz each scored 14 goals last season and this team NEEDS scoring depth in order to win.
Credit where it's due, though: Connor Reilly has been a very pleasant surprise. He's now scored 10 goals this season to lead the team, and has been perhaps the only Gopher to "step up" his game this season. As mentioned above Rau and Boyd have been good on both sides of the puck. Defensemen Ben Marshall, Jake Bischoff, Michael Brodzinski and Ryan Collins have had to be good to fill the big void left by the injured Brady Skjei and the have been. Having Skjei back and at full health for the remainder of the season can only bode well for this team that has had to withstand more than its fair share of injuries.

The season isn't over. This team still has the pieces to make a deep run into the postseason, and if everyone plays like they are able to they have a chance to win it all this year. But they need to start playing well first, and that means that the guys they count on to be their big players have to start playing like it. It would be a shame if this team sputtered out before the NCAA Tournament because they were reading their own press clippings all summer long.

We'll see if they turn it around. I'll be watching every time they take the ice, for better or worse.

National Championship Notebook: Gopher Keys to the Game

2014-04-12T17:58:00.000-05:00

A half hour lies between the Gophers and the start of the NCAA Championship Game. Here are some keys to the game for Minnesota:

The best players need to play like it: Don Lucia talks about this all the time. At this time of year, your best players need to step up. That obviously includes Adam Wilcox, but forwards Kyle Rau, Nate Condon and Sam Warning need to be engaged in the game and show up on the scoresheet for the Gophers tonight.
The freshmen need to not play tentatively: In the Robert Morris and North Dakota games, Minnesota's highly-vaunted freshman class played nervous. In the St. Cloud game, they played like upperclassmen. Minnesota has relied on their stellar freshmen Hudson Fasching, Justin Kloos and Taylor Cammarata to provide scoring all season long, and these players will need to play like they're not scared of the grand stage.
The third line needs to win their shifts: The Gophers' third line of Seth Ambroz-Travis Boyd-Tom Serratore is the consummate shut-down checking line that also happens to boast a couple solid goal scorers in Ambroz and Boyd. Because of their defensive prowess, they're often paired up against the opposing team's top line. One big matchup of today's game is the Gopher third line against Union's scoring lines - if the Boyd line can shut down Union's potent offense, it will bode well for Minnesota.
Minnesota's defensemen need to play with poise: One of the strengths of this Gopher team is the solid, steady defensive unit. All six members of Minnesota's D-corps need to play heady, steady hockey and not turn the puck over.
Gophers need to dictate the pace: Minnesota has struggled this year when it sits back and lets the opposing team dictate the pace of play. We saw that in the North Dakota game, when UND had the puck for the majority of the game and forced Minnesota to the outside / to dump and chase, when their strength is carrying the puck into the zone and swarming puck. If the Gophers can take it to Union, expect good things.
Stay out of the box: The Gophers are one of the least penalized teams in the nation. Stay that way. They'll need to play a clean game and use their five on five advantage to win.

Here we go. Half an hour away. Let's Go Gophers! I think this is going to be a very close game that could go either way, but I'm not here to hedge my bets. Prediction: Gophers win 3-2 to claim their sixth national title.

Go get it!

Buzzer Beater!

2014-04-11T01:30:00.000-05:00

Gophers’ Holl Scores with 0.6 Seconds Left to Propel Minnesota to National Championship Game

Philadelphia, PA – Just another classic moment in the Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry.

Whenever you say Minnesota-North Dakota, you know you're in for something special. These two teams have fought numerous battles over the years, with names like Broten and Wheeler etched in Gopher lore for the miracle-goals they’ve scored to beat North Dakota on a grand stage. Tonight, Minnesota fans will add Justin Holl’s name to that storied list, after his shorthanded goal with 0.6 seconds left in the third period broke a 1-1 tie and vaulted the Minnesota Gophers (28-6-6) over North Dakota and into the National Championship Game.

Outside of the rivalry, the game itself was an exciting one, with both teams trading conservative but relentless hockey for the better part of the first two periods. The goaltenders were the stars of the show, with Adam Wilcox stopping chance after chance from a fired up North Dakota squad, and UND’s Zane Gothberg making all the saves he needed to make to keep it knotted at 0-0.

The two teams exchanged chances throughout the first two periods, but neither Minnesota nor North Dakota could break the deadlock through the first fifty minutes. The game’s first goal was scored with only 9:09 remaining in the third period, as Sam Warning scored his 13th of the season from Kyle Rau to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. Rau skated the puck around the net before trying to stuff a wrap-around attempt home. The puck slid off his stick, but Warning was right there to backhand it home.

Minnesota’s lead was short-lived, though, as North Dakota’s Connor Gaarder scored just 32 seconds later on his own rebound, knocked out of the air, off Wilcox’s side and into the net.

From that moment on, the game was an intense fight to the finish. North Dakota had the better of the play late in the third, and were rewarded with a late powerplay (their second of the game and only the third penalty called on either team throughout the contest) when Mike Reilly held a hard-charging Drake Caggiula up the right wing boards with 1:39 left to go in the third.

Minnesota was able to kill off the penalty until the 9 second mark, when there was a faceoff in their own zone. Kyle Rau, who had been stellar in the faceoff circle all game long, won a clutch defensive zone draw, and the rest is history:

Justin Holl, who had played an absolutely stellar game, found the puck and led the rush up the ice. Holl fed Rau, who fired it at the net with time winding down. The puck bounced off a UND defender and right to Holl, who deftly kicked it to his stick and threw a perfectly-placed shot at the net. The puck hit the inside of the far pipe before settling into the back of the net with 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock to give the Gophers the 2-1 victory! The players rushed the ice and piled on Holl, who picked a perfect time to score his first goal of the season.

Minnesota will face a Union team that beat Boston College 5-4 this afternoon to punch their ticket to the title game. Union is an older team that can beat you with defense and stout goaltending or high-powered offense. The Dutchmen bring the #2 ranked offense into the national championship game, along with the #4 ranked defense. Minnesota, on the other hand, is #6 in total offense and #2 in total defense. The teams are similarly ranked on the powerplay and penalty kill, and both squads like to play a clean game – Minnesota was the fifth-least penalized team in the country this year, while Union was T-36th in the country in penalties per game. All in all it should be a great game between two of the country’s best teams from start to finish. The puck drops at 6:30 PM Central Time, and you can find the game on ESPN for TV and 1500ESPN Radio.

Notes:

Final SOG: UND 37, MN 28

Kyle Rau assisted on both of the Gopher goals tonight. The Junior captain now has 25 assists on the year to go along with his 14 goals. Rau also tallied a team-high 5 shots on goal on the evening.

No official three stars were released, but I would select: 3) Kyle Rau, 2) Adam Wilcox, 1) Justin Holl

Minnesota advances to its first NCAA Title Game since 2003, and this is the first NCAA Title Game ever for Union.

The Gophers are 2-1-0 all-time against the Dutchmen. Their last meeting was on 12/31/2010, when Union beat Minnesota 3-2 in OT in the first game of the Mariucci Classic.

Minnesota will be skating for its sixth NCAA Title. The Gophers last appeared in the championship game in 2003, beating New Hampshire to claim the title.

Near Flawless Gophers Advance to Frozen Four, Will Play UND!

2014-03-31T10:02:00.003-05:00

Well, that was fun!

The Gophers dominated the overmatched St. Cloud State Huskies to advance to their second Frozen Four in three years last night.

The final score of the game was 4-0, but what was more impressive than the score was the way in which the Gophers manhandled the Huskies. SCSU played deep into OT the night before so maybe they were running out of gas a little bit, but it seemed like the Gophers were the better team in all facets of the game.

Minnesota got on the board first and never looked back, scoring ugly goals (Kloos 1, Ambroz, Rau) as well as pretty ones (Kloos 2).

If the Gophers can play like they did tonight, no team in the country will beat them. Minnesota dominated the puck, forcing SCSU to the outside. Whenever they got a bad-angle shot off, Adam Wilcox was right on form, eating up every puck and rarely allowing a rebound.

The Gophers are deep this year, boasting zero players with 40+ points but nine players with more than 20 points. Those same nine players (eight of Minnesota's top nine forwards, plus defenseman Mike Reilly) each have nine or more goals on the season. This team comes at you all game, and each line is a threat to score.

The team defense is also astounding - both from the forwards and the defensemen. For a team with D-men that like to get up into the rush as much as the Gophers do, the team ranks #2 in the nation in total defense, which is as much a credit to the outstanding Adam Wilcox as it is to the forwards and defensemen playing great D in front of him, blocking shots, getting sticks in lanes, backchecking hard, playing responsible hockey. The coaches have a system that works, and the players are following it to a T.

Minnesota will face off against who else but the University of North Dakota in the National Semifinal game. UND is a similar team to Minnesota, in that it wins with its depth and relies on good goaltending and mobile defensemen to make good choices. I really like this matchup for Minnesota - UND does what Minnesota does, but I don't think they do it quite as well as the Gophers do.

We've all seen this Minnesota team lose games they shouldn't this year, but I think they beat North Dakota to advance to the National Championship game in two weekends if they play inspired hockey. Against UND, I'm pretty sure they'll come to play!

NCAA Tournament: Sunday Morning Roundup and Sunday Viewing Guide

2014-03-30T11:41:00.000-05:00

Another exciting day of the NCAA tournament came and went yesterday, and two teams have already punched their tickets to the Frozen Four.

North Dakota won an overtime thriller over Ferris State to win the Midwest Regional and advance to Philadelphia, while Union was the first team to advance to the Frozen Four with a 3-1 afternoon win over Providence.

In other action yesterday, Boston College trounced Denver 6-2, Minnesota eventually prevailed over Robert Morris 7-3, UMass-Lowell beat a tough Minnesota state team 2-1, and St. Cloud State scored an overtime goal to cool off sizzling Notre Dame 4-3.

Conference Records through two days:

Atlantic Hockey: 0-1, (RMU loss to Minnesota)
Big Ten: 1-1 (North Dakota over Wisconsin, Minnesota over RMU), one game today (Minnesota vs St. Cloud State)
ECAC: 2-2 (Union over Vermont, Providence over Quinnipiac, Ferris State over Colgate, Union over Providence)
Hockey East: 3-3 (Providence over Quinnipiac, Union over Vermont, Providence loss to Union, BC over Denver, Lowell over Minnesota State, Notre Dame loss to St. Cloud State), one game today (BC vs Lowell)
NCHC: 3-1 (North Dakota over Vermont, North Dakota over Ferris State, Denver loss to BC, St. Cloud State over Notre Dame), one game today (St. Cloud State vs Minnesota)
WCHA: 1-2 (Ferris State over Colgate, Ferris State loss to North Dakota, Minnesota State loss to Lowell)

I did a little better yesterday in my predictions, going 4-2 to push my record to 5-5 so far. Only two games left in the regionals to predict today, and here they are. As usual, all times Central:

4:00 PM - Northeast Regional Final: (2) Boston College vs (7) UMass-Lowell, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - A game of two different styles. Boston College brings the nation's highest scoring offense to bear against All-World goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and UMass-Lowell's nation leading defense. Prior to last night's rout of Denver I might have picked Lowell in a tight one, but I think BC's high-octane offense will just be too much for the RiverHawks to handle. The winner of this one goes on to play Union in the Frozen Four. Prediction: BC wins 4-2

6:30 PM- West Regional Final: (1) Minnesota vs (9) St. Cloud State, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Minnesota certainly didn't play their best in a 7-3 win over Robert Morris, but they did well enough to win. More importantly for a team that struggled scoring goals, they got on the scoresheet - a lot. St. Cloud State prevailed over Notre Dame in overtime, and although SCSU is a good team I think they're a good match-up for the Gophers - SCSU likes to play an uptempo offensive style that Minnesota will be more than willing to follow. When the two teams met earlier this year, the Gophers came away 4-1 victors. The winner of this game will face North Dakota in the National Semifinals. Prediction: Minnesota wins 5-3

NCAA Tournament: Saturday Morning Roundup and Saturday Viewing Guide

2014-03-29T10:59:00.000-05:00

The NCAA Tournament always deals out its fair share of surprises, and the first day of the 2014 Tournament was no different.

Wisconsin, many people's favorite to win the whole thing, is out. They fell to #4 seed North Dakota 4-2 in the first round.

Quinnipiac, the #6 overall seed, lost to #11 Providence by a resounding 4-0 score.

Ferris State scraped by a hard-charging Colgate team 1-0.

Union held on to beat the pesky Vermont Catamounts 5-2.

Conference Records so far:

Atlantic Hockey: 0-0, one game today (RMU vs Minnesota)
Big Ten: 0-1 (North Dakota over Wisconsin), one game today (Minnesota vs RMU)
ECAC: 1-2 (Union over Vermont, Providence over Quinnipiac, Ferris State over Colgate), one game today (Union vs Providence)
Hockey East: 1-1 (Providence over Quinnipiac, Union over Vermont), four games today (Providence vs Union, BC vs Denver, Lowell vs Minnesota State, Notre Dame vs St. Cloud State)
NCHC: 1-0 (North Dakota over Vermont), three games today (North Dakota vs Ferris State, Denver vs BC, St. Cloud State vs Notre Dame)
WCHA: 1-0 (Ferris State over Colgate), two games today (Ferris State vs North Dakota, Minnesota State vs Lowell)

I, of course, only got one game right in my predictions. That goes to show just how unpredictable this tournament is. Or, of course, it could show how bad I am at making predictions. I'll leave that one up to you :)

So, that being said, here's what we're looking forward to watching today. Again, all times Central:

2:00 PM - East Regional Final: (3) Union vs (11) Providence, TV: ESPN2, Stream: WatchESPN - This will be an interesting game. Providence methodically took apart a good Quinnipiac squad yesterday, getting strong play from sophomore goaltender Jon Gillies. Although I am high on Union, I like the way Providence played yesterday, so I'll pick the upset here. Prediction: Providence wins 3-2

3:00 PM- Northeast Regional Semifinal: (2) Boston College vs (15) Denver, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Another game that should be interesting. Denver has been hot lately, and although they had to win their conference tournament to get into the dance they're never a team to sleep on. I think BC has too much for Denver to handle though. If you're watching this game, look for Johnny Gaudreau - he'll more than likely be this year's Hobey Baker winner. Prediction: BC wins 5-2

4:30 PM - West Regional Semifinal: (1) Minnesota vs (16) Robert Morris, TV: ESPN2, Stream: WatchESPN - Here is where we see if the Gophers have grown or not from their disappointing performances in recent playoff history. Minnesota lost to a not-great Yale team in the first round last year (that got hot at the right time and ended up winning it all), and lost just last week to an okay Ohio State squad in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. They'll play a Robert Morris team that is ranked #44 in the PairWise currently, but has only lost five games since the calendar switched over to January. This team went 2-12-2 in their first 14 games, but finished the year 17-5-3 in their last 25. The Gophers, on the other hand, are 13-4-4 over that same time frame. Minnesota plays a much tougher schedule and should have enough talent to win this game handily, but I think Robert Morris might pose a bit more of a challenge than most Gopher fans will expect. Prediction: Minnesota wins 4-2

5:30 PM - Midwest Regional Final: (5) Ferris State vs (13) North Dakota, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Another interesting matchup. North Dakota took out Wisconsin, my favorite to advance to the championship game, 5-2 last night, while Ferris survived a tight 1-0 thriller with Colgate. Does this North Dakota squad have it in them to win three must-win games in a row? They've shown me that they're a better team than I believed they were this season already, but I just don't think they have the gas to beat a good Ferris State team this afternoon. Prediction: Ferris State wins 3-1

6:30 PM - Northeast Regional Semifinal: (7) UMass-Lowell vs (10) Minnesota State, TV: ESPNU (Tape Delayed until 10:30 PM), Stream: ESPN3 - Let me start by saying that I am really high on both of these teams. Minnesota State has been one of the hotter teams in the country in the second half of the season, recovering from a shaky 4-7-0 start to the year by going undefeated in their last 13 games coming into the Tournament (12-0-1 over that stretch). Their last loss was all the way back on January 31st. Lowell, the preseason #1 overall, followed somewhat a similar path, starting out 1-3-0 in their first four games before righting the ship, finishing the season on a 10-3-2 jaunt and winning the Hockey East Tournament. In the end, I think UML will be too much for Minnesota State to handle, and they'll ride a strong performance from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck into the regional final. Prediction: Lowell wins 3-2

8:00 PM - West Regional Semifinal: (8) Notre Dame vs (9) St. Cloud State, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Another very interesting game pitting two good teams against each other. This one will also feature a clash of different styles, as SCSU's up-and-down offense matches up against Notre Dame's defensive system. I think that this game is a toss up; Notre Dame had an average regular season but has heated up recently, beating Boston College in three out of four at the end of the year before falling to Lowell in the semifinal of the Hockey East Tournament. St. Cloud State lost in the first round series of the NCHC tournament to a bad Miami team, but was good throughout the rest of the year, dropping only eight games before entering the playoffs. St. Cloud was in line for a high seed prior to the playoffs, but the losses to Miami dropped them all the way back to a #3 band seed. I think St. Cloud is a better team than Notre Dame so I'm going to pick them winning, but it's awfully close here. One big save or one soft goal could make the difference in this one. Prediction: St. Cloud State wins 4-3