Lucia out?

pdesmond

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i think the hockey needs to go in another direction. this is back to back years of disappointment and not making the ncaa tournament and even when Lucia did make the tourny he hasnt made a decent run since 2003.
 

Okay, let's think about this.

The last few seasons have been disappointing, and it is disturbing that it seems to be getting worse each year for about 5 years now. Moreover, the lack of offense, in particular, is the most frustrating thing about this team.

Is the problem the players? The coaching? The recruiting?

I believe that the problem with this team is the recruiting. Now obviously we usually get the cream of the Minnesota crop, but is that the right thing to do? Pure talent is overrated in college hockey. The gophers desperately need a naturally scrappy team. Last night the sue were roughing us up with cheap shots all over the place. Did we respond? Did we fight back? Not really, not on the scoreboard and not in the trenches. That is what makes a poor hockey team.

Now, the premium on Minnesota players doesn't necessarily need to be abandoned. We do produce the best youth hockey talent in the country, but it is important to keep an open mind about players from outside our borders. Get a couple of the very most talented guys and then fill the rest of the recruiting class with a few tough guys. Not goons, UND can have those idiots, but tough guys.

The gameday coaching itself is not the issue. Time and time again, the gophers play better in the second game of the series. This shows a tactical flexibility and ability to adapt to the gameplans of opposing teams.

Recruits like schroeder, fairchild, and ness, while individually talented, have shown very little grit on the ice. Ness and Fairchild intimidate nobody on defense, and schroeder disappears for long stretches of time. On the other hand, a guy like barriball, who barely made it on the team plays his ass off and it shows. Lucia, a guy who has played with something to prove from day one has been a solid hockey player and a good captain. Cepis, a guy who is truly excited to wear the M, has been a great addition.

St. Cloud, Duluth, and even Mankato pick up these boys who might not have been Edina's best player or Wayzata's most talented guy. But they play hard, and with a chip on their shoulder. These guys are out there, Don has to find them. Now, this is not only Don's team, but the whole athletic department's. The U is by far the most profitable hockey program in the country. Spend more of that money to pay the best talent scouts to scour the state, country, and hell even canada, for guys who would be best suited to play Minnesota hockey. Maturi, that's you.

Don does not need to go, in my opinion. We are not Kentucky basketball. Patience with this will pay off. We aren't that desperate, we are just seeing how spoiled we were and now we are realizing it. I don't think there are many coaches out there who could do a better job than Lucia (although Blais is out there). Lucia is not the problem, unless he is unwilling to change his recruiting gameplan.
 

I have been critical of Maturi, Lucia, the other coaches and the players for the past three years and with good reason. Having said that, I fully expect that Lucia will return to the bench next season.

However, Don and his staff will officially be on notice. This is going to be a classic "win now or else" situation.
 

The team takes on the personality of the coaches. Lucia's team has never been a team that was gritty or out worked the other team. They always seem to coast and try to get by on talent alone. If the gophers played with the intensity of teams like Saint Cloud or ND, they would win most of their games! Lucia has surrounded himself with weak assistant coaches. The team very seldom back checks and constantly gets beat to lose pucks. They have the most talent in the WCHA. Name how many guys that the gophers recruited but are playing for another school? On the other hand, how many gopher players would the other schools in the WCHA loved to have had on their rosters as incoming freshman? Talent is not the problem, it is motivation and coaching. How can Schroeder be the star of the world junior team and then disappear on the gophers? There are several former gopher players that are tearing it up in the NHL, but they didn't do much as gophers. I thought lucia was the best coach in college hockey when he came to the gophers, but his teams have never had the spunk and creativeness that his teams did at CC.
 

Although it might be time for the program to move on, I have a hard time distancing myself from Lucia. He, despite his current rut, has delivered 40% of our natl championships. I do think the gophers need to work harder though. This team does not seem to crash the net at all and I think that is the main reasonwhy they routinely get 35+ SOG and can't put up 3 goals. Crash the net, have a presence on the forecheck and get some gritty goals. Cepis has quickly become the most likable player on the ice.
 


Mr. Gopher, I don't know if you meant to, but I think you just made a pretty darn good case for pointing a finger directly at Lucia. He hires assistants. He recruits. Together, the coaches decide what kind of player they want to go after. You can't seriously believe that a coaching staff at this level of hockey doesn't know who is out there and what they can and cannot do. It's their choice to play offensive minded d-men and finesse forwards rather than mix in a significant amount of muckers. And as far as the ND goons are concerned, well I guess they'll just have to be satisfied with the WCHA Tournament title and the NCAA Tournament. Those are exactly the kind of players we will see plenty of if Blais ever gets behind the bench at Mariucci.
 




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