Rau on winning the national title: "should be the only goal here at this program.”

Rau on winning the national title: "should be the only goal here at this program.”

per the Daily:

To make it to the last game of the year again, the Gophers will have to move past a hard loss — one that Lucia didn’t revisit until last month.

The Gophers said they aren’t backing down, adding that the program always has high expectations.

“I hope we make it to the last game and win it,” Rau said. “That’s about the best goal that there can be, and that should be the only goal here at this program.”

http://www.mndaily.com/sports/mens-...l-title?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!

This is the one tough thing about having a dynasty like ours, there are no "moral victories". Obviously, a season where you are in the Frozen Four or national runner-up is a solid season, but at the end of the day, with our program if you don't get the title, you feel like there is meat left on the bone. Hope the boys get one this year, its been too long, and this roster is stacked.

I hope they enjoy the journey and not focus so much on the destination. Winning the Big Ten regular season, post-season, etc. should be memorable. As well as sweeping Becky! Then we focus on bringing home the natty!

bleedsmaroonandgold said:

This is the one tough thing about having a dynasty like ours, there are no "moral victories". Obviously, a season where you are in the Frozen Four or national runner-up is a solid season, but at the end of the day, with our program if you don't get the title, you feel like there is meat left on the bone. Hope the boys get one this year, its been too long, and this roster is stacked.

Click to expand...

Huh?

It's both a hallmark and a pitfall of being an elite program. The team is always expected at a minimum to compete for conference titles and make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. When expectations are that high, conference titles are welcomed, but not necessarily celebrated. For the Gophers, it's three straight conference titles and counting. At this point, I'm sure upperclassmen have a "been there, done that" feel about it all. What it will ultimately come down to is how the team performs in March and they all seem aware of it. Now, the key is getting over the hump after two Frozen Fours in three years. All the pieces are certainly in place to get it done.