U men’s hockey: Still a hot ticket in trying season
Posted on July 29th, 2008 – 5:25 PMBy Roman Augustoviz
The Gophers men’s hockey team got off to a 0-4 start in WCHA play last season, losing twice to Colorado College one weekend and Denver the next.
In the middle of the season, the ‘U’ had one woeful stretch in which the Gophers scored 10 goals in eight games. And Minnesota finished seventh in the conference standings only because of a strong finish.
Yet, the fans kept coming. All 20 home games were sellouts. Average attendance was 9,942, according to the U of M. That’s the third best average in college hockey, trailing only Wisconsin (14,133) and North Dakota (11,709).
The Gophers drew at least 10,000 fans, counting standing room for 10 games and the largest crowd was 10,231 for a 4-4 tie with Wisconsin on Feb. 23.
Three other WCHA teams also were in the top 10 in attendance: CC was fourth (6,932), Denver eighth (5,933) and St. Cloud State ninth (5,872).
The 1-2-3 finish in attendance for Bucky Badger, the Sioux and the Gophers is hardly shout-it-from-the-rooftops news. This is the seventh consecutive season those teams have finished that way.
72 Responses to "U men’s hockey: Still a hot ticket in trying season"
Probably the three largest arenas that are played in. How about a comparison of percentage of capacity?
I was there for the SCSU game and the place was half empty when the puck dropped. Come to a real atmosphere at the NHC in Cloud…even Goofer fans will tell you its better.
Mariucci is a sellout every night. I’m number 1030 on the waiting list and have not moved once in 5 years.
The Gophers women team play in a better arena than St. Cloud does. The National Hockey Center or whatever its called is a glorified high school hockey rink, bordering on a dump. There is a reason your program is on the downswing and unable to recruit with the UND’s, UM’s, UW’s. With Duluth getting their new arena you better spend your time emailing the athletic director at St. Cloud to get a plan together to replace your arena.
In addition,
St. Cloud State charges $10 bucks less per ticket per game than the U charges. If its such a great atmosphere how on Earth are they still trying to sell season tickets? In such a small arena you should have no problem at that price.
Hey Deej: I was at that game too. It was played on a Friday night and it was snowing outside. Traffic was miserable and was a huge factor in the attendance being less than full at the beginning of the game. Once people made it into the rink it was a full house.
The students also tend to be fashionably late to every game. Nothing new there.
As far as the atmosphere at the National Concrete Center goes you can keep your canned cheesy arena rock music and halloween costumes. If that is your idea of atmosphere worth emulating no thanks. I know of no Gopher fan that prefers that to Mariucci Arena.
Lets see the facts for that “team on a downswing that plays in a crappy arena”: Recruits: Mike Lee, Nick Oliver (Roseau), Drew Leblanc (Hermantown), Jared Festler, Ben Hanowski (Little Falls), Bryce Ravendalen(Warroad), Chris Hepp (Air Force), Jordy Christian (Moorhead)…so who says we can’t recruit with UM and UND…we do have your #1 recruiter as our head coach! Constant presence at the Final Five each year, make NCAA’s on a regular basis (insert joke here…we all know), and we finished ahead of you in the standings last year. So which program is on the downswing? Now, you also may want to read a paper every now and then, cuz the National Hockey Center will be undergoing a $26 million renovation over the next 2-3 years, and will look alot different when completed. I guess that “Plan” to replace that arena just whizzed by your coconut…hello?
Also, I’ve been to the UM/ SCSU game each of the last 3 years at Mariucci and cannot believe that lack of fan interest in the game. I felt like I was the only one cheering where I sat…of course when Garrett Roe scored again. Oh, and we have the #1 Power Play in the WCHA, with 4 of the 5 guys in the main unit back. How’s the UM power play? Last time I checked the UM fans were shaking their heads on that unit also.
Power play Deej??? I’m happy for you. Try winning a tourney game before you talk smack.
Deej: A constant presence at the Final Five? Good one. Last year maybe you mean a constant presence on Thursday night. After getting humiliated by the Gophers on Thursday night I don’t recall seeing any St. Clown fans the rest of the weekend. I do remember the Gophers beating CC in OT Friday night and then losing a one goal game to Denver in the Championship game. Don’t remember much of a St. Clown presence either Friday or Saturday though.
As for the NCAA’s, kid, maybe if your team could actually win one in our lifetime maybe you might have a little bit to crow about. Until then I wouldn’t be too proud of a team that clearly didn’t even get off the bus in their first round NCAA game last season.
As for your power play from last year. Who cares? Nodl is gone and you are left with a couple of skilled midgets. One of whom is as big a diver as Robby Earl.
I’d take Aaron Ness,Jordan Schroeder and the rest of the Minnesota recruits over any of the current batch of St. Clown recruits. Did Minnesota even recruit any of your guys?
Downswing? More like a one season anomaly.
One last thing: I guess that lack of fan interest you sensed when you came to Mariucci Arena was due to apathy on the part of Gopher fans toward St. Clown and their sad sack fans with their painted faces. It sure isn’t like playing a series against Wisconsin or North Dakota or CC or Denver or Duluth or Michigan or Michigan State or Michigan Tech or Anchorage. Well you get the picture. It’s just not that big of a series dude. Sorry.
lol St Cloud? where is that exactly?
So getting beat by one goal with 12 seconds left in your “home” arena is getting humiliated? Check the definition of humiliated, whizz kid.
I’d rather have 2 midgets on my team who can score than a whole team that can’t (see UM). I don’t even need to spend any more time on that topic.
So nobody else was interested in the best goalie in the state in Mike Lee? IF the Goofs weren’t interested then they are sorely lacking intelligance over there at mausoleum central.
Dude, the definition of a “fan” is someone who sticks by their team through up times and down times, so yes I am “proud” of my team. Goofer fans are mostly bandwagon fans who turn out when they do something good like at the Final Five last year, but rip their team during their trashy regular season. Nice fans you are.
Love how you cover up your pathetic season as an “anomaly”….think you’ll be any better this year? NOT!
Good day!
I’ll take Mariucci arena any day, over a basketball facility or a gift from a rich Nazi-lover.
Since I no longer live in Minnesota, I have to go by what I see on TV. I’ll trade a little less noise for knowledgeable fans who don’t throw things on the ice or pelt opposing teams with the crap the their idiotic school gives away as an incentive to attend.
As for St. Clown and recruiting, I would love to see proof that any of those kids you listed were actively recruited by Minnesota. Your coach and our former “#1 recruiter” could not get Nate Schmidt to commit to SCSU even though Schmidt is a hometown boy.
Its going to take a heck of alot more than 26 million to fix the NHC. Sure you’ll get a new locker room, some new boards, maybe a paint job in the concourses, but bring a kid through the NHC then through Mariucci and you know where the kid will want to play.
Actually you could bring the kid through the NHC and then Ridder Arena and the kid would commit to playing for the lady Gophers on the spot.
And please don’t start talking about success on the ice either.
How many MacNaughton Cups has St. Cloud State won? Big fat zero.
Minnesota has won 2 in the past 3 Cups.
How many Broamoor Trophy’s has St. Cloud State won? 1
Gophers have 3 since St. Cloud won their 1 and only.
Deej: Humiliated by the Gophers? You bet St. Clown was. As you so astutely pointed out, St. Clown had a pretty decent power play. Yet they weren’t able to git ‘er done when it counted. In the Final Five and in the NCAA’s. Humiliation personified.
Hilarious that you would characterize Gopher fans as all being “Mostly bandwagon” fans. Evidence please. Considering the fact the average attendance was 9942 this past season I would hardly consider that being an indication of the fans abandoning the team. The waiting list for season tickets is well over 2800 by the way. At $30.00 per ticket would “Bandwagon” fans pay that much? The highest priced ticket in college hockey by the way. That is what is known as free market pricing son. Supply and demand.
The Gopher program has high standards and high expectations, year in and year out. Check the record son. Last season was clearly an anomaly. It is pretty funny that “fans” such as yourself are accustomed to rooting for your team during down times. For you and your skool it only seems like a permanent affliction because it pretty much is.
Chin up dude. Maybe Jan Brady State will attain fourth place all by itself next season, continue your “near constant presence” at the Final Five and then do a swan dive in the NCAA’s (like they ALWAYS do).
The Gophers on the other hand will continue to be one of the premier hockey programs in the country, compete for the league title and be a threat in the NCAA’s. In other words, business as usual.
“the definition of a ‘fan’ is someone who sticks by their team through up times and down times”
Um, when is St. Cloud’s “up” time supposed to take place?
All of what you say about NCAA’s and “success” for SCSU I already know, so I laugh when Goofer fans resort to those worn and tired attacks. Yawn, got anything else?
I love the attendance stats…a MAJOR metro area counts its attendance by season-tickets bought, even though there were times last year that the place was spotted with empty chairs….how many of them showed up? By the way, they were packed selling tickets on the corners of Mariucci last year, an indication that tickets were “readily available”. How is that a sellout when I could walk up to any game and purchase a ticket under face value? Sounds to me like “fans” were dumping tickets. Nice MAJOR metro support…comparing it to a city of about 75,000 that averaged OVER capacity for its average attendance. Hmmmmm….somebody got the maroon and gold blinders on?
GoGophers, have you seen pix of what the updated NHC will be when completed? By your response it sounds like you have no clue. Again, you are commenting on something you have no info. on, which makes you look stupid (as most Goofer fans are).
A threat in the NCAA’s for the Goofs? Let’s see, since you can rip the o-fer NCAA’s for St. Cloud, I suppose that opens the door for me ripping the Goofs for the WORST upset in NCAA history…lets say that again…THE WORST UPSET IN NCAA HISTORY. You know what Nazi arena that happened in. And you were no match for BC last year, so how is that “a threat” in the NCAA’s. By the way, “competing” for the league title means more than finishing in 6th place in the WCHA standings. Yes, you won it the year before (how far did that get ya…HC) but I think SCSU was right on your tails with a second place finish. And we finished 2 spots above you last year. Relying on a bunch of freshman this year is a dangerous thing…they tend to get lit up a bit during their learning curve. Kangas better stand on his head.
God I love Goofer fans!!!
“you can rip the o-fer NCAA’s for St. Cloud”
yes, and in a hundred years’ time we’ll still be able to lol
…and in a hundred years I’ll still be able to rip the Holy Cross drubbing…that will never EVER go away. Congrats!
Well in order to have an upset you actually have to be a team that is overwhelmingly the favorite, something that St. Cloud State never has been. Goes to show how far you have yet to come.
And please show me where St. Cloud is spending $26 million on the NHC? The bonding bill only allocated $6 million towards that project. I read where the project is only $14 million.
Do you know how little $14 million is?
And please direct me to the renderings of the NHC remodel. I am having the hardest time finding them. (because they don’t exist?)
You know why it can be considered the biggest upset ever? Because the Gophers have a hugely successful program and have been that way for a long, long time. When Cloud loses to crap teams like Clarkson nobody even blinks an eye. It’s almost expected. Must be a comforting feeling knowing that the only way a loss by your team can be called an “upset” is if they play a girls high school team.
Take a look at this picture….look at this palace of hockey. Wow.
http://www.stcloudstate.edu/campusMap/bldgimages/NHChead.jpg
Here is a rendering of Bemidji’s new arena….
http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/631*500/arena0505.cover.jpg
St. Cloud you better get ready for some extra competition for your gopher rejects. With Duluth also getting a new arena that would make St. Cloud at the bottom of the barrel for hockey arenas.
http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/631*500/arena0505.cover.jpg
Deej: Credit where credit is due. Holy Cross played a great game against the Gophers. The Holy Cross goalie played the kind of game St. Clown fans are still hoping Bobby(The plagiarizer) Goepfort might one day play.
Holy Cross earned that win, which is one more game than your club has won in the NCAA’s, ever. Funny that in your bringing that game up you are acknowledging that the Gophers had a very good team and insulting the efforts of the Holy Cross team. How ironic coming from a fan of a team that has yet to win an NCAA game in not one but two different centuries.
This is absolutely hilarious, a good analogy would be a fan from, say, Clemson going to a North Carolina basketball board and talking trash. The Tar Heel fans bring up their many national championships, all the great players that have come out of the program, and their national and even international stature…while the Clemson fan brings up the time Carolina lost to Central Florida or something. “Oh,” says the Clemson fan, “did I mention we’re getting a new arena?”
Turbo, nice analogy but wouldn’t that be comparing Clemson University to St. Cloud State University?
While on the SCSU website I noticed you can get season football tickets for $50. Wow. I think the Blaine Bengals charge steeper prices.
lol yeah apologies to any Clemson students or alumni
So you think your the North Carolina of hockey? Excuse me while I laugh hysterically. I guess that makes the Holy Cross upset liking NC losing to someone like Siena or Northwest New Jersey Central in the b-ball tourney…that hasn’t happened yet, but your team sure has had it done. Again, congrats!!!
Why not? UNC is something like 3rd or 4th all-time in number of national championships, like the Gophers. They’ve been upset a million times, and will be again, like the Gophers. And they regularly beat Clemson (which has 0 national championships), just like…lol…
Last time I checked the Gophers have beaten SCSU exactly once in the last eight meetings. Again, the analogy is way off base. Good try.
Deej: For a team that finished three points ahead of the Gophers last season you sure do seem to think that is a pretty big deal. Maybe for you it is. Enjoy it while you can. Good luck in your quest for that first NCAA win.
Oh my…I must say you intrigued me, so I looked on the Gophers entry at Wikipedia…and saw that the all-time record against St. Cloud State or College or whatever it’s called is 42-23-12, for a .623 winning percentage! Wow, talk about a smackdown! In fact I see that the only school - the only school! - against whom the Gophers have a losing record is Boston University. Talk about dominance! (Couldn’t check out the St. Cloud School State or whatever it’s called since they apparently don’t have a page.)
Anyways on a different note, I’ve posted before on this board about how I do indeed think the Gophers are in a bit of trouble, because of their reluctance to recruit out of state. I just think this approach is anachronistic in an age with so much talent from Canada and Europe, especially when you look at how many of the really excellent players at other schools are from other countries. I think U of M - a highly regarded school in a good-sized city with a great hockey history - would be a major draw to kids from all over, if the coaches would just open up a bit.
Finally, question for Roman: can you please institute a policy on this board, to the effect that only people from schools that have actually won national championships can post? It would really cut down on the sadly hilarious but ultimately delusional posts from people from Clemson or wherever. Thanks!
Turbo: You are almost right. Gophers are 10-13 vs Maine and is 0-1 vs. Holy Cross. Beyond that the Gophers have the most wins in NCAA Division 1 with an overall record of 1577-880-155. Add to that 50 wins in NCAA tournament action.
Deej: Little dude that you are, your boys have a long way to go. Take your sniveling, pantywaist p*nis envy somewhere else.
RR:
Resorting to name-calling with people who disagree with you? Right up the Goofer fans alley. Certainly you must be a little more educated than that. Maybe, maybe not. I see GoGophers finally shut the hell up after I proved him wrong about 3 times on this board already with his arena and funding questions.
I love the history lessons with “most wins” etc…what does that have to do with the recent past? NOTHING. It is what Goofer fans always resort to when they have no comeback whatsoever. Stats from far back when you weren’t even alive…good one!
I realize asking for logic from a St. Clown fan, student, or alum tests the bounds of credulity. But here goes.
Recent history gives us these facts to work with. In 2006-2007 season Minnesota wins WCHA regular season, Jan Brady State finishes second. Minnesota wins the WCHA tournament and Jan Brady State does not. In the NCAA tournament Jan Brady State makes its expected exit in the first round. Minnesota loses in OT to UND in the second round.
In 2007-2008 WCHA race Minnesota finishes a disappointing seventh and Jan Brady State finishes a mediocre tied for fourth with MSU-M. This is kind of misleading because only three points separate fourth from seventh. In the WCHA Final Five Minnesota eliminates Jan Brady State and finishes runner-up to eventual champions Denver. In the NCAAs both teams exit in the first round. This again sounds fairly equal for the two schools until take the opponents into account. Jan Brady State loses to Clarkson, a team they had already beaten and on the road no less. While Minnesota loses to Boston College the eventual National Champion.
In 2006-2007 Minnesota clearly dominated everything except head-to-head match-ups. Last season was fairly even after everything is taken into account.
The difference in the two programs besides history, tradition and NCAA Championships is that the St. Clown season rests on how they do against Minnesota. Minnesota season are judged on hanging banners, of the non participation variety.
Johns, at least you make some sense, I’ll give you that. I can’t argue with much of what you said there. Nice job not resorting to the Brian Bonin days and using that as an argument.
Deej:Truth hurts, doesn’t it? Incidently, I was describing your behavior. You were the one that initiated any name calling.
You may also want to bone up on reading comprehension too. The blog post topic was NCAA attendance figures. They are based on people coming into the building. Not as you suggest. Average attendance was 9942 for the 20 home games. 10 of those games were at or above Mariucci Arenas capacity of 10,000. You also fail to comprehend that if a ticket is being sold on the street, it has already been paid for by someone at least once. What you see on the street is known as the free market. Putting buyers and sellers together to consumate a transaction. Is there something wrong with that? Does that ever happen in St. Cloud?
I’m not shutting up, just waiting for you to provide me with any sort of response to my previous posts. And for the life of me I have no idea where you told me any sort of truth 3 times?
Where are these renderings of the NHC and where does it say you are spending $26 million?
No comments on the number of WCHA trophies won? C’mon dude I’ve had better agruments with preschool kids.
Turbo,
You have a point with going after kids from all across the country. I too want the best kids available…but here is where the double edge sword is…What if the U goes after a kid from Ohio instead of a Minnesota kid and the Minnesota kid ends up being a stud. We will never hear the end of it. Especially if he lands at any of the schools close to Minnesota?
I think Lucia has a tough job in balancing the forementioned and in addition trying to keep our roster filled when kids leave early. If you coach at SCSU you don’t have these sort of problems.
As a fan of all Minnesota teams, Deej you need either get alittle educated or just shut it. Quit crying about name calling when you started it.
UM, UMD, SCSU, MSU, Bemidji> Becky & Suzie
We have one WCHA trophy…the Broadmoor Trophy in 2000…Final Five. Just to answer your easy question. But as I’ve said, I’m a fan win, lose, or draw. I’ve seen Goof fans hate their team last year because they weren’t winning all the time…they turned on them…real “fans”.
Deej: What constitutes recent past? You cite that the Gophers have won only one game in the past eight played by St. Cloud and the Gophers. True enough, however in those same eight games St. Cloud only won four. Not seven of eight which is what you appear to by dishonestly implying.
Your selective use of the “recent past” is too clever by half. Go back two more seasons and the record looks a little different. Advantage Gophers by a record of 10-5-3. So given a slightly different period of time your Huskies don’t appear quite as dominant as you might like to think they are. Go back to the 00-01 season and the Gophers are 16-10-6. Which means the Huskies were able to defeat the Gophers 10 out of the last 32 meetings. So much for Husky dominance. Nice try though.
I cited the Gophers overall historical record to point out this as well. Your selective use of a statistically insignificant eight games out of a universe of 2612 total games played by the Gophers to make a specious point about the Huskies compared to the Gophers doesn’t hold water, but if it makes you feel good…whatever.
I didn’y imply anything…the Gophers won 1 out of 8…that’s a fact…I full well know SCSU has a 4-1-3 record against the Goofs in those games.
I guess you Gopher fans reliance on “history of the program” of 20+ years ago to make points today holds really nothing significant, either.
Please help GoGophers find those links I now provided twice since he/she can’t seem to navigate very well. Maybe one of your own fans can actually help straighten out the confused, but probably not. Do I need to post them a third time?
Deej: Because you say something doesn’t make it so. The notion that Gopher fans turned on the Gophers last season is a figment of your imagination. Evidence please. Provide some real examples. You can’t. The attendance figures from last season, the attendance at the Final Five and the waiting list of over 2800 people blow your silly assertion away.
The Gophers in all likelyhood have one of if not the largest and most loyal fanbases in all of college hockey. As much as you might like to think that you “Know” how all of us think or feel about our team you are wrong. By trying to portray youself otherwise, you only reveal yourself to be clueless. As though your brand of fandom is somehow superior.
As a matter of fact I know several St. Cloud fans that really badmouthed your team last year, especially after going belly up against the Gophers and then against Clarkson. So in your little world that must mean that every Husky fan but you turned on their team. I know if I was a Husky fan I’d be sick of them too. Or else sick of little fanboys like you. It’s a toss-up.
RR, you get off on blogs like this….how many times have you logged on to see if I’ve posted anything. Another words, get a life…ripping me for being an SCSU fan shows how clueless you really are about the bigger picture of college hockey. Thank god not everybody is a Goof fan….imagine what a boring world it would be with thousands more “yous” in it. Yuck.
Deej,
I am the one posting websites for you to view, not you. You must be really screwed up in the head.
And thanks for providing your easy answer to my easy question about your trophy count. I believe I already have gave you the answers.
NOW SHOW ME YOUR NHC RENOVATED DUMP PICTURES.
And exactly what is the bigger picture of college hockey? Please enlighten us. I figured the bigger picture of college hockey from a SCSU fan would be whenever you play the Gophers. Otherwise what do you have to look forward to?
Apparently the posts I made of the links in them are “awaiting moderation” since those two posts of mine contain internet links….unfortunately it looks like nobody is moderating this blog, so only I can see what I posted. Typical Goofer blog….can’t even get it right. They are there, one at Aug. 4th at 1:01 PM, and the other at Aug. 1st, at 1:11 pm.
Lets try this:
sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS01/106290017&s=d
A pic of the outside is shown on the right upper side of the article here:
sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080714/NEWS01/107140015/1009
Try adding the “www.” before sctimes and paste it into your browser bar. Maybe that will “fool” this “moderated” site.
Deej: Post count- Deej-12 RR-10 (including this one). It truly is funny what a little whiner you are. Do you really believe you can show up on a blog post that is about attendance figures for Gopher games, pop off and not be challenged?
Every one of your false assertions and half truths have been slapped down, totally refuted or shown to be totally without merit. You attempt to disparage the Gophers, Gopher fans and the auther of the blog post. In each instance you failed miserably.
You were never ripped simply because you are a fan of the Huskies although that may actually be a bonus. You have been ripped because you made stupid statements and couldn’t effectively argue your position or honestly answer a challenge. Instead you resorted to a form of projection. Saying that you had been called names when you were the one to initiate that, whining about being ripped simply because you are a Husky fan while at the same time ripping Gopher fans because they are Gopher fans. Good one.
Deej: I’ve had fun answering your silliness. Apparently you are someone that believes that a rebuttal constitutes an attack. Nope, just trying to set the record straight.
What is this “Bigger picture of college hockey” you speak of? Sounds like more gibberish from you. One difference between you and me is this. I wouldn’t spend one minute checking out a blog regarding your squad. As a Gopher fan there isn’t anything less interesting that checking out what is going on with your team. You on the other hand feel the need to mouth off on a blog post relavant to Gopher fans and then portray yourself as a victim. Boo hoo.
“Every one of your false assertions and half truths have been slapped down, totally refuted or shown to be totally without merit. You attempt to disparage the Gophers, Gopher fans and the auther of the blog post. In each instance you failed miserably.”
Please tell me exactly what these are you speak of, oh wise one.
False assertions? Mr. GoGoofs asserted that there was no more than $14 million for the NHC renovation, asserted that no pix of the place could be found (thus I was lying), and then asserted that I had not published any of this info in this blog trail (twice I did..then I had to “fake out” this dumbly-run blog to get them in here to be viewable by others). So which teams’ fans are making false assertions? Probably the team that is pictured on your tiny T-shirt (xtra small) your wearing. By the way, IT’S A RODENT! Are you proud of that???
Well it was about time you realized your goof Deej. Looks like you are getting an entrance and a team store for 28 million. Congrats on that.
And let’s remember what I asserted…I said I can only find articles where $14 million was the dollar amount and requested your help in finding otherwise(which took you almost a week to do).
Good luck Deej. Now is the time for you to go home.
Deej: Nobody really cares about your rink. Especially in the context of the original blog post. Get real.
Hey Deej, is trying to knock the Gopher mascot the best you got? At least it is a unique mascot. It does have historical significance and when somebody mentions the Gophers there isn’t any question about who they are refering to. Everybody that follows college sports knows who the Gophers are.
But when somebody mentions the Huskies and Division 1 hockey I ALWAYS think of Michigan Tech. You know, those Huskies, a team with lots of NCAA wins and a couple of National Championships. Not the fake Huskies from the Stearns County Clown College.
Will your rink finally be getting chair backs on your bench seats? How modern.
GoGoofs, took me a week?? I posted it exactly three hours after your post requesting the info. It’s just that thise “great” Gopher blog isn’t moderated, and so posts with Internet links are not shown unless approved by said ghost moderator. The posts I had three hours later pn Aug. 1st still are “awaiting moderation” which tells you someone is falling down on the job…like I said typical Goof job.
Oh,, and good job covering up your $14 million assertion…you failed to say that you believed that pix don’t exist, which they do. Nice job skirting that blunder by your educated arse…next time you insinuate something, make sure you have reason to do so. Good luck to you…by the way, who’s gonna score for the Goofs this year? And don’t tell me Ness, he’s not gonna score all the goals from the blue line. You got nothin’.
RR, you obviously haven’t been to NHC in a while…only the student section does not have chair backs…all the rest of the seats do. Another Goof fan misquote…it gets better all the time!!!! Great, you think of that Tech team when you think Huskies…yeah, the one that’s been putrid for 25 years, and last won an NCAA title or an NCAA playoff game before you were born. Again, you live in the past you never saw…GOOD ONE!
Man is this Clemson dude still around? Oh I guess he is, because he said:
“We have one WCHA trophy…the Broadmoor Trophy in 2000…Final Five.”
HILARIOUS! (Don’t we keep that trophy in the basement when we win it?) Hey I hear you guys also won the “thanks for comin’ out” t-shirt and the McDonalds “special participation prize”!
Deej: Actually I’ve been watching the Gophers since Doug Woog played for them. Which is over forty years. And that Michigan Tech team you like to disparage, the Gophers and Tech met three times in the National Championship game in ‘74,75 and 76. Gophers won 74 & 76. Tech ‘75. Michigan Tech has a rich history in college hockey. Three National Champioships so far. How many NCAA GAMES has your squad won? Read up on the MacNaughton Cup sometime. You might actually learn something.
I’ve forgotten about more players than you’ve seen kid. Seen so many good times as a Gopher fan and plenty of disappointments too. That’s why your Holy Cross jab will always fall flat. As far as disappointments in Gopher hockey history that doesn’t approach some of the others such as losing to Wisconsin in ‘81 for the NC, losing to Harvard in ‘89 for the NC or losing to Northern Michigan in the NCAA’s when Aaron Broten shot one through the net and it wasn’t counted ( there and saw it happen),or even to Tech in ‘75 for the NC.
You see Deej, I’ve had the priveledge of seeing lots of college hockey over the years. That’s why its kind of fun to toy with little fanboys such as yourself. You really think you’ve seen a lot, but by comparison, not so much.
Keep waving your pom poms little dude. Your Huskies might just win an NCAA game in your lifetime, they haven’t in mine.
WOW! Talk about a smack-down!
RR, that was priceless. Harvard in ‘89 was the worst for me, and Deej, you can go back to your Huskie blog now. I’m sure there will be lots going on.
So how do you know that you’ve seen more college hockey than I have? That implores that you know how old I am…do you know that or are you making another false assertion on no known facts? Sorry, old man, but I’m not a college-age kid. I’ll give you a hint on a ballpark age: I watched Bowling Green beat UMD in 3 ot’s for the NCAA title. The next time you think you are dealing with “fanboys”, you better dig a little deeper instead of thinking you are the grand poohbah of college hockey. Little dude? That all you got? I wish you could see who I am…I guarantee you wouldn’t say that.
Oh, and it looks like you’ve got some cheerleaders on this board by looking at the posts after yours…how special. Maybe they can wave their pom poms. Now dance!
“Little dude? That all you got? I wish you could see who I am…I guarantee you wouldn’t say that.”
So you’re 300 pounds! Who cares? You still got SMACKED!
Deej: Grand Poohbah of College hockey? Good one. It really was quite easy to ascertain that I have seen more college hockey games based on what you have said. If the 83-84 season is as far back as it goes for you I still have you by 20 years.
You might want to pull out a dictionary some time too. Your use of the word “implores” is a real head scratcher. Do you mean “Implies”?
I’ll watch for you at Mariucci next Oct. 18. Make sure to wear your St. Clown jersey that says “Deej”. I’ll keep my eye out for you. I’ll be one of many looking at you and shaking my head and thinking “Now there’s a clown”.
RR,
Here, I’ll even give you a better hint: I’ll be the one wearing either the away red SCSU jersey, or I’ll don the throwback classic black jersey with Hartigan on the back. I’ll be there watching SCSU again disappoint the Mariucci mausoleum faithful…maybe there won’t be maroon and yellow chairs to be seen this time during the game…probably not.
So, what ugly jersey will you be wearing? Ha!
Hartigan is already considered a throwback? Come on.
Deej, what is your point here? I know you want SCSU to be relevant but you just don’t have enough ammo to do it. UM has it. UND has it. UMD has it. UW has it. Denver has it. Michigan Tech has it. CC has it.
SCSU does not. UM Mankato does not. Bemidji does not. Alaska does not.
First and foremost you need time. You can’t force this. You need to win and compete for conference titles more than 1 time every 10 years or so. You need to win some Final Fives. You then need to get out of the first round of the NCAA’s.
When you can start doing these things consistantly you will get more respect when you come on these boards. Until then you can rip on the UM as much as you want but you will come across as a complete fool.
GoGophers, another correction for you: Hartigan is considered a throwback JERSEY because the jersey he wore at SCSU (mainly black…I think you know) is no longer worn as part of their jerseys. They wear different ones now, thus anything not worn currently is considered a “throwback” jersey….comprende? Capice?
That ugly striped Gopher jersey is also considered a throwback, even though that one wasn’t worn all that long ago either. Comprende?
How many times do I need to correct you? This is getting ridiculous.
I know, I come across as a complete fool to all arrogant Goof fans like yourself who see only the good the Goof program has done and fail to see any of their shortcomings. That’s foolish…
So, I’ll ask again…who is gonna score for your squad this year? Better start naming freshmen cuz nobody showed up in that department last year who returns this year. Stoa may have a chance, but that’s it.
“What ugly jersey will I be wearing”? Sorry I don’t own any St. Clown gear. Wearing jeseys to games has never been my MO.
Hilarious that you ASSUME that Gopher fans would know or care what St. Clown jerseys are now considered throwbacks. That is the kind of St. Cloud fanboy trivia that I sure wouldn’t care about or care to know. Aren’t they more like throw-aways?
RR, for being such a hockey maven as you regard yourself, you kind of come across with your little digs as a college brat….I though someone who saw Tech win titles would have a little more knowledge and ability to reason instead of just throwing barb after barb at me (which doesn’t phase me coming from you). You may be old, but you have no ability to really communicate your points efffectively, thus I just laugh you off.
Now for the third time, some Goof fan with actual KNOWLEDGE please answer me this: Who is gonna light the lamp for your squad this year?
Lasch, Roe, John Swanson, Aaron Marvin, and either freshmen Jared Festler or Jordy Christian will be looked to for scoring for my squad (maybe D-man Garrett Raboin)….how bout you, or do I still here CRICKETS!
Deej: To begin with, lets look at the record for last season. Your squad scored nine more goals than the Gophers scored for the entire season and finished three points ahead of the Gophers in the WCHA. Statistically small differences between the two squads. Head to head they went 1-1-1 and the Gophers beat your Huskies in the most important head to head matchup at the Final Five. Lasch-Nodl-Roe were MIA as was your vaunted power play.
In looking at who returns for the Huskies if I were you I’d be a lot more worried than you think Gopher fans should be. Beyond Lasch and Roe it drops off real fast. Both are very good players but both small. Your recruits at forward also are relatively small. So is Raboin.
As we all know, the Gophers roster had been depleted somewhat prior to and during the season to the pros (EJ, Goligoski, O’Brien,Okposo) and to injury (Stoa) which impacted their scoring. A discussion for another time. Not making excuses but that is the reality. I really liked the way last seasons Gopher team stuck together and battled. They could have rolled over but they didn’t. They may have been a little lacking in the scoring department but those guys accomplished a lot considering the circumstances. Their late season run was truly memorable.
Regardless I’m extremely optimistic about the prospects for the Gophers this season. I did a little research in order to answer your concerns. I found that the Gophers roster contains 17 players rated by Hockeysfuture.com based upon their future pro potential complete with talent analysis. I could only find six of the Huskies listed.
Now that in and of itself doesn’t mean much other than scouts, player rating services, etc have seen all of these players play and rate the pro potential of the Gophers much higher than that of St. Cloud, which can also be seen as rating the NCAA potential higher as well. Advantage Gophers.
As best as I can tell there are thirteen Gopher players drafted to perhaps two for St. Cloud. Advantage Gophers. The Gophers have an excelent mix of experience and new recruits coming in this season. Stoa, Hoeffel, Barriball, White, Flynn, Carman, Lucia, Bostrom are the core of returning forwards. (Schroeder by the way was too young to be drafted this season but is considered to by the Top NCAA prospect for next seasons draft)
Jordan Schroeder, Nico Sacchetti, Jake Hansen, Taylor Matson, Nick Larson, Joey Miller and Mike Dorr look like an excellent group based upon their past accomplishments, junior experience and overall size.
Cade Fairchild and Aaron Ness will add a lot to the ability of the power play to score goals. That was in my opinion the biggest shortcoming for last years team. If that aspect of the game would have been consistent with past seasons it would have made a huge difference. Fairchild reminds me of Goligoski at this stage and Ness is very similar to Mike Crowley. I look for a much improved power play.
Add to that at D are David Fischer, RJ Anderson and Kevin Wehrs as returnees with experience. Gophers look pretty solid on D. Recruits on D have a lot of size and experience too.(Lofquist, Scott)
One other point of interest in comparing the Gophers to your squad. Gophers return nine players that scored in double digits to seven for the Huskies. Huskies were top heavy with Roe and Lasch carrying most of the load where scoring for the Gophers was spread out more evenly among more players. Much more vulnerability in St. Cloud to possible injury or drop off in performance than Gophers. Lose Lasch or Roe and that spells big trouble for the Huskies.
I’d take Kangas over whoever you have in goal. Advantage Gophers.
So to wrap it all up, I really like the Gophers prospects for the upcoming season. They have a big team loaded with guys that have excelled at every level they have played. Don Lucia is one of the three top coaches in the country (Jerry York and Red Berenson the other two) Mike Hastings has been added to the coaching staff and should bring some new perspectives and also some new avenues for future recruiting. I fully expect the Gophers team to develop into another oustanding team as the season progresses.
So here is what next season holds. The Gophers will be the team that all of their opponents will circle on their schedules as a benchmark series and the Huskies and their fans will still be striving for respect and their first NCAA win.
Good luck.
No duh Deej. Thanks for the lesson on throwbacks.
Too bad you didn’t have a comeback for me comparing you to Mankato, Bemidji, and Alaska.
As to who I think will step up for the Gophers this year?
I think Lucia is going to be the heart of this team. I like the way the kid is always working. Carmen and Barribal are also going to have their noses where the puck is going to be as well. I am hoping Stoa can pick up where he left off before his injury. I think our true freshman played EXTREMELY well last year and hope they continue to get better. Our freshman class this year is #1 in the country. Enough said about that.
I hope Kangas can give us just a taste of what he accomplished last season. It was the first year in a very long time we had a goalie that actually won games for us. Weber during our last National Title run was the last time a goalie stepped up huge for us.
So all in all I believe the Gophers are going to be much better this season. I don’t know about a WCHA title but I think they should be in the running. Barring any significant injuries I don’t see why this squad won’t make a dent into the NCAA’s.
GoGophers: I agree with you regarding Tony Lucia. I believe he will have a huge break out season. He is a player that remeinds me of guys like Pat Phippen and Warren Miller, two truly great players from the Herb Brooks ere.
Tony dominated in high school and based on his performance last season he is positioned to take it to the next level. He makes a lot happen on the ice and is in the right place at the right time. Great team player. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit the 30-40 point range.
Nothing but crickets from Deej. Hardly surprising.
Nothing but crickets from Deej. Hardly surprising.
RR,
Quote 1:
“I’d take Kangas over whoever you have in goal. Advantage Gophers”
Goalies last year:
Jase Weslosky - 33 games played
Goals against average: 2.11
Save percentage: .931
Alex Kangas - 31 games played
Goals against average: 1.98
Save percentage: .930
So is there really an “advantage” in goal as you say, or are you again seeing the world through Goof glasses without providing supporting evidence as I just did above? Looks pretty dead-even to me, so your preference in goal is because you are a Goof fan, and that’s it. Advantage: Neither team
Quote 2:
“As best as I can tell there are thirteen Gopher players drafted to perhaps two for St. Cloud. Advantage Gophers”
Ummm, that would be 5 for SCSU…not that it is close to 13, but again your facts are incorrect.
Quote 3:
“Gophers return nine players that scored in double digits to seven for the Huskies.”
Lets break that down. Gopher nine: Barriball: 21 points, Hoeffel: 19, Lucia 18, Flynn: 15, Fairchild: 15, Fischer: 14, RJ Anderson: 12, Carman: 11, White: 10
SCSU seven: Lasch: 53 points, Roe: 45, Swanson: 22, Raboin: 19, Mosey: 16, Marvin: 13, Borgen: 10
So those 9 “double digit” Goof scorers include a total of 3 that barely got past 10 points and 6 total that got 15 or less. All but one of your “double digit” scorers failed to crack the 20-point mark.
SCSU’s 7 include 2 that barely cracked 10 points, 4 total that didn’t crack 20. SCSU, however, does include 1 over 20, 1 over 40, and 1 over 50 points returning. So who’s got the advantage? SCSU. Never disregard high-end scoring talent…you’re just another Mankato if you have a bunch of teen-point getters.
Quote 4:
“The Gophers will be the team that all of their opponents will circle on their schedules as a benchmark series…”
I guess the fact that SCSU’s record against the “benchmark” (laughs hysterically) is 4-1-3 in the last 8 games means we have exceeded that “benchmark” (man that’s funny!). Lokks like we have to find a better “benchmark” team…I guess we’ll look to UND, a regular Frozen Four participant, and they ARE our natural rival (2 series every year) according to the WCHA. Nice try on your team being our benchmark…it is UND.
Oh, and regarding your recruits and “potential” that you so blindly said was in the Goofs favor, the word potential defines itself. You can quote ratings services and all that but it has to translate to the ice. Erik Johnson was a relative bust for your team based on his ratings and so was Wheeler, Okposo went AWOL on your team, and really none of your current returning players have reached any of their prospect potential. Lasch and Roe were not rated highly nor recruited heavily, yet our good recruiter (used to be yours - Motzko) found them and realized their potential. Nodl was an absolute steal. By the way, this is no joke: Nodl knew Thomas Vanek since they were from the same country, and Vanek recommended to Nodl that he sign with SCSU because of Motzko’s style of play (Motz was assistant at UM when Vanek was theer). So a great UM player told another player to sign with SCSU instead of UM…you can’t make it up!
And try telling the “ranking” game to Hedican, Parrish, Andrew Gordon, and Mark Hartigan, all of whom were not highly rated. It seems they had pretty good college careers.
Ahh, and it doesn’t stop there. See, I can spin “advantage SCSU” categories may way also:
Power Play percentage:
Gophers: 13%
SCSU: 22.5%
Advantage:SCSU
Returning point getters:
50+ points:
SCSU: 1
Gophers:0
40-49 points:
SCSU: 1
Gophers: 0
30-39 points:
None for either team
20-29 points:
SCSU: 1
Gophers: 1
10-19 points:
SCSU: 4
Gophers: 8
Total high-end scoring talent returning (30 + points):
SCSU: 2
Gophers 0
Advantage: SCSU
Anything else you want me to debunk of yours or spin some other way, or have you had enough?
