Unreal, Gophers blow 5-2 third period lead and lose 6-5 in OT

BleedGopher

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What the heck happened?? That sure is a frustrating finish.

Go Gophers!!
 

Yeah that was bad. Embarrassing.


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What the heck happened?? That sure is a frustrating finish.

Go Gophers!!
Frustrating! It ****ing stunk! The Gophers stood around the entire 3rd period and OT and watched St. Cloud score 4 straight goals.
What's it going to take to get rid of Lucia ???? Another gutless , heartless Lucia team again.
 

Another sad collapse. Once again, we are bleeping clueless about how to respond to pressure in the defensive zone. With about 14 minutes remaining St. Cloud stepped it up and the Gophers stepped back. Naturally, the OT wasn't really a contest. There was some wonderful hockey early; but the scattered boos at the end of regulation are likely to get louder.
 

Put simply: tonight’s game was brutal. The Gophers took a 5-2 advantage in the third period against rival St. Cloud, but blew the lead and lost it in OT, 6-5. In a game where Minnesota looked in control throughout, the ending was gut-wrenching, to say the least.

What I Saw
The Gophers offense certainly wasn’t the problem. The Maroon and Gold got out to a 2-0 lead and made it look easy. Powerplay goals, even strength goals; pretty snipes and hustle plays, the Gophers were clicking on offense. It was the final 10 minutes that could haunt Minnesota for weeks, and captain Justin Kloos put it well.

“We didn’t finish the game out,” said Kloos. “We just played like [expletive].”

Minnesota extended their lead in the third on a Tommy Novak snipe just 2:34 in to make it 5-2. The Gophers were rolling at that point, and all signs pointed to an easy win. The only problem was Minnesota stopped skating. They looked tentative trying to waste out the clock while the Huskies still had legs. Even when their net was empty, you could feel the Huskies had the momentum and were pushing the action.

“All of a sudden we got on our heels and we couldn’t get the momentum back,” said Don Lucia. “We gave them too much room. We had some breakdowns and it’s going to cost you.”

Looking through the stat sheet, I’m not seeing anything that really sticks out. Minnesota was clearly the better team, but St. Cloud was the squad who played the whole game. And that was difference. If the Gophers played with urgency in the last 10 (even five) minutes, it wouldn’t have been close. You just have to hope a loss like that doesn’t haunt them at the end of the year in their pairwise ranking.


By The Numbers

11 Shot advantage by St. Cloud in the third period. Minnesota was dominating 29-18 through two periods, but the Huskies continued to press and put shots on net. It paid off, obviously.

5 Powerplay goals between the two teams. The Huskies were 3/6 with the man advantage while the Gophers were 2/5.

+3 For sophomore defenseman Jack Sadek. In a game with 11 combined goals, it’s impressive Sadek was a +3 for Minnesota.

What’s Next
The Gophers head to St. Cloud for a rematch at 7pm tomorrow. It’s always a tough place to play, but a Saturday night after a brutal loss will have the Husky crowd in a frenzy. Minnesota is hungry for revenge, but it’s a tough task in that environment. The game can be seen on FSN+ and heard on ESPN1500.
 


Just when I thought we might actually have a team this year they fold like a church table. I think I'll put them back on the shelf (like most Gopher fans have if you see how empty Mariucci is) and see where they are in a month. I suppose I'll watch the Sioux series since a family member is a big Sue fan, but other then that, no interest.
 

More great leadership by the Don! He really has those boys playing. Such a tough team! Both physically and mentally. I'm sure these guys will represent Minnesota hockey very well, as they have the better part of the last 11 years! LMAO. And it was at home? OMG, LMAO even more. Embarrassment is what this program has been to the state of Minnesota the most part of the last decade

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“All of a sudden we got on our heels and we couldn’t get the momentum back,” said Don Lucia. “We gave them too much room. We had some breakdowns and it’s going to cost you.”

Listening to the post-game on the drive home I heard Don drag out a laundry list of third period breakdowns. The list didn't include coaching or what the (expletive) Don did or didn't try to correct with the game on the line.
 



Listening to the post-game on the drive home I heard Don drag out a laundry list of third period breakdowns. The list didn't include coaching or what the (expletive) Don did or didn't try to correct with the game on the line.

That's been his M.O. over the years. Talk about what happened, but never what was done to try and change it. I'm not sure he tries anything. He appears disinterested a lot of the time on the bench, like he's simply there to watch the game rather than coach it. Granted, it's hard to tell from simply looking, but his teams have established a pattern of gagging games away in recent years and obviously, it's continuing.
 

Is there anything that could transpire this season to make Coyle get rid of Lucia? He seems to have way outstayed his welcome.
 

Is there anything that could transpire this season to make Coyle get rid of Lucia? He seems to have way outstayed his welcome.

Yup. Don has run his course. With football and MBB coaches on the high wire, I doubt Lucia gets the axe, but this is the one sport with no excuses.
 

The absolute ineptitude of the other two programs is no reason to keep the wrong guy leading the one program that should be in the national discussion.
 






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