2023-24 Gopher Hockey Season

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vonner said:
I think this is something we can all agree on.
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For sure.

Slightly off that subject... one of the things I liked most about Saturday's game (and in general recent play) has been the improvement of Moore. He looks like an impact player now.
 

Crosby said:
For sure.

Slightly off that subject... one of the things I liked most about Saturday's game (and in general recent play) has been the improvement of Moore. He looks like an impact player now.
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World juniors were good to him. He’s been very noticeable the last couple of weekends.
 

Iceland12 said:
Pretty easy. Because you post when they are behind and then if they win you usually disapper. Same on the Women's Hockey site.

What other conclusion should we take from that?:unsure:;)
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Lucky us he is now Mr. Negativity on the woman’s BB forum as well. All over the losses but crickets when they win…..
 

This is the wrong thread for it but I didn't wanna make a new one and I couldn't find the Gophers in the NHL one but... Chaz Lucius out for the rest of the season for the 4th year in a row and hasn't played full or close to full season since Pre-Covid. I hate to rip on a 21 year old (I'm 22 tho so it's fine) but wow that kid needs to drink some milk. Jet's gotta be looking at that pick as a flush down the toilet. Also don't think anyone on the Gophers team from 2 years ago feels too bad considering none of them publicly congratulated him when he signed with the Jets.
 

Cruz turned out to be the much better college prospect.
 


DinkyTownDawg said:
This is the wrong thread for it but I didn't wanna make a new one and I couldn't find the Gophers in the NHL one but... Chaz Lucius out for the rest of the season for the 4th year in a row and hasn't played full or close to full season since Pre-Covid. I hate to rip on a 21 year old (I'm 22 tho so it's fine) but wow that kid needs to drink some milk. Jet's gotta be looking at that pick as a flush down the toilet. Also don't think anyone on the Gophers team from 2 years ago feels too bad considering none of them publicly congratulated him when he signed with the Jets.
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I'm not going to celebrate Chaz's shortcomings but at the same time I will never have any sympathy for that family.
 

So let's say Gophers finish 5-1 and win the Big 10 tourney... it's a lot to ask for but maybe the boys are gonna go on an absolute heater. If this scenario played out where do you think we'd end in the pairwise? This is open to a lot of speculation since there are so many other factors but think it's fun to think about.
 

They aren't going to move much at this point. I predict them to be a 2/3 seed in Sioux Falls with UND as the 1 seed.
 

DinkyTownDawg said:
So let's say Gophers finish 5-1 and win the Big 10 tourney... it's a lot to ask for but maybe the boys are gonna go on an absolute heater. If this scenario played out where do you think we'd end in the pairwise? This is open to a lot of speculation since there are so many other factors but think it's fun to think about.
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If we go 5-1 and win the Big Ten tourney, we could sneak our way into a #1 seed. We'd need some help from a few others. Most notably... Wisconsin, Maine, Denver need a few losses. That said, I am not optimistic this will happen. I'm thinking it is a success if we can land a #2 seed (doesn't make a ton of difference being a 2 or 3). And I think Bonin is right... we'll go to Sioux Falls with ND getting the #1 there. I really like the upward trend this team is on, and we still haven't consistently put it all together. If we do that, there is a fighting chance we'll be in St. Paul in April.
 



Close in his last 10 games has a .929 save percentage. In his last 5 games it’s .938. He’s getting his groove back at the right time. The emergence of Moore is giving us an elite top line with Snuggy and Pitlick. Top four Dmen of Koster, Chesley, Mittlestadt, and Rinzel is very solid.

This team can absolutely make a run at this thing, I’m convinced of it.
 

beatles said:
Close in his last 10 games has a .929 save percentage. In his last 5 games it’s .938. He’s getting his groove back at the right time. The emergence of Moore is giving us an elite top line with Snuggy and Pitlick. Top four Dmen of Koster, Chesley, Mittlestadt, and Rinzel is very solid.

This team can absolutely make a run at this thing, I’m convinced of it.
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Thomas has been solid on the back end as well. Fish still makes me nervous - I hope with TV timeouts in the postseason his ice time can be knocked down a little. Begley and Rud should not dress unless there's an emergency.
 

Also - I won't get my hopes up but those top 5 guys are all eligible to come back next year. Not sure if Koster wants to spend another year in college, and Chesley has the physical tools to move up, although I think he could use another year at minimum in college. Rinzel has been fantastic but I don't think he's ready to make the jump. If, and it's a big big if, those guys all come back, we could have a great group back there in 24-25.
 

bonin21 said:
They aren't going to move much at this point. I predict them to be a 2/3 seed in Sioux Falls with UND as the 1 seed.
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We’ll see. Omaha has really surged and owns the bid there if they come in as a 4 (obviously small chance given at least 2 bids are auto bids). Unsure what they’ll do if Omaha gets a 3 as could see argument from und standpoint you don’t want to play a “home” game against a host in your regional, especially if they’re in your conference. Even though we all know Sioux Falls will be a home think for und that weekend no matter who they’re there with
 



Needs to be six points this weekend at home if these guys have turned any corner whatsoever.

Point per game increases from last year:
Pitlick - 0.62 to 1.04
Brodzinski - 0.78 to 0.96
Lamb - 0.21 to 0.71
Kurth - 0.29 to 0.61

Decreases:
Snuggerud - 1.25 to 1.04
Nelson - 0.68 to 0.64
Koster - 0.72 to 0.45
Mittelstadt - 0.55 to 0.43
Huglen - 0.45 to 0.42
Nevers - 0.57 to 0.38

Gophers need more from every one of those guys on the second list. The freshmen (Moore, Rinzel, and Clark) have done enough on their end.
 

Anyone else fired up for this weekend? I only get to Mariucci a few times a year and I will be there for both games this weekend. Can't wait. More importantly it's an important series.

I am really hoping the boys can come through with a sweep and a full six points. Maybe it can be the start of an end-of-season push, resulting in a trip to St. Paul. But I get ahead of myself...

Beat PSU!
 

Crosby said:
Anyone else fired up for this weekend? I only get to Mariucci a few times a year and I will be there for both games this weekend. Can't wait. More importantly it's an important series.

I am really hoping the boys can come through with a sweep and a full six points. Maybe it can be the start of an end-of-season push, resulting in a trip to St. Paul. But I get ahead of myself...

Beat PSU!
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one game at a time. was nice to see them play a complete weekend against WI, even if the result (fairly or unfairly) didn't end up with as many points as it should've. They play like that consistently and St Paul can absolutely be a possibility, but this team can't overlook anyone. Doesn't have the firepower to play a B-/C game and still win like last year. That said, all about peaking at the right time.
 

Crosby said:
Anyone else fired up for this weekend? I only get to Mariucci a few times a year and I will be there for both games this weekend. Can't wait. More importantly it's an important series.

I am really hoping the boys can come through with a sweep and a full six points. Maybe it can be the start of an end-of-season push, resulting in a trip to St. Paul. But I get ahead of myself...

Beat PSU!
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Crosby - glad the boys made it worth your trip down tonight. Finish the sweep off tomorrow and bring a couple wins back up North. Wish I could have been there - the crowd sounded electric when we killed off that slew of penalties late in the 2nd!
 

After their bad loss tonight a first round match up against Qpac is definitely possible. And if they win that game they could have potential revenge against an outstanding BC team for the embarrassment at the 2012 FF.
 

Rhett Pitlick scores twice as Gophers men's hockey shuts out Penn State in series opener​

Rhett Pitlick scored 43 seconds after the opening puck drop and again 3:49 into the first period as the Gophers won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Two quick goals by Rhett Pitlick, a penalty kill that included nearly four minutes of five-on-three disadvantages and stout goaltending from Justen Close were the ingredients for victory Friday night as the Gophers defeated Penn State 3-0 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Pitlick scored 43 seconds after the opening puck drop and again 3:49 into the first period as the Gophers won the opener of a Big Ten hockey series. The junior left winger kept pushing for the hat trick but settled for Minnesota's eighth win in its past 10 games. The Gophers (17-7-5, 10-5-4 Big Ten) remain in third place in the conference standings with 32 points.

Close improved to 7-1-1 in his past nine games by making 34 saves. Ten of those game in the final 5:40 of the second period, when the Gophers were forced to kill off the two five-one-three situations. The shutout was his third of the season and 12th of his career...

www.startribune.com

Rhett Pitlick scores twice as Gophers men's hockey shuts out Penn State in series opener

Rhett Pitlick scored 43 seconds after the opening puck drop and again 3:49 into the first period as the Gophers won for the eighth time in 10 games.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

Gophers1992 said:
Crosby - glad the boys made it worth your trip down tonight. Finish the sweep off tomorrow and bring a couple wins back up North. Wish I could have been there - the crowd sounded electric when we killed off that slew of penalties late in the 2nd!
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Thanks 92. It was a great time, great atmosphere! And yeah... that extended penalty kill was awesome. If we get another win tomorrow, I'll really enjoy the Super Bowl party we're going to, and I'll be one happy camper heading up 169 on Monday.
 

I’m hopeful that Friday night meltdown against Sparty has served as somewhat of a wake up call - this team has looked really good since then. If fans can get over the fact that this isn’t the 2022-23 roster, they’ll see that this is a really good hockey team. You might even call them a contender.
 

Gophers men's hockey makes it a clean weekend with another shutout over Penn State​

Justen Close made 30 saves to cap an error-free weekend and reach 13 shutouts for his career, tying the program record.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock Saturday afternoon at 3M Arena at Mariucci, Penn State's Tyler Paquette tried to unleash one last slapshot from center ice in hopes of getting something — anything — past Gophers goalie Justen Close.

Paquette's stick broke, and the right winger promptly snapped it in half and spiked the pieces to the ice — a fitting example of the frustration Close and the Gophers inflicted on the Nittany Lions all weekend.

Close made 30 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Gophers beat Penn State 3-0 in front of 10,560. The shutout, which followed his 36-save blanking on Friday, was the fourth of the season for Close and 13th of his career, moving him into a tie for the school record with Kellen Briggs and Adam Wilcox.

"That's a tough team to shut out," Gophers forward Mason Nevers said of the Nittany Lions, a volume-shooting bunch that entered the series averaging 39.6 shots on goal. "They're really, really good, offensively. They throw a lot of pucks to the net, and it just takes one bounce to get one in."..

www.startribune.com

Gophers men's hockey makes it a clean weekend with another shutout over Penn State

Justen Close made 30 saves to cap an error-free weekend and reach 13 shutouts for his career, tying the program record.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

PP is 4/22 in the last 4 series (the conference games since the break). Needs to be better. Create space for Snuggerud to take a one timer. It's not that hard. Would kill two birds with one stone to get 81 going after seven games without a goal.

PK needs to be better, too, as it's 81.25% in that same timeframe and actually only 81.1% on the year. About 32nd best.

25% and 85% the rest of the way.
 




www.uscho.com

BRACKETOLOGY: This week presents less of a headache in Springfield regional, but UMass as host still requires some effort when bracketing - College Hockey | USCHO.com

If you read last week's Bracketology, you are familiar with the nightmare that was created when you had three Hockey East teams in the No. 1 seed and
www.uscho.com www.uscho.com
SHGopher said:
Feb 14
Probably not much new to this crew, but here you go.
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I am hoping we can play our way to a 6 or 7 overall seed. But careful what we wish for. With these brackets, that would move us out of the SF regional, and put us in Springfield or Providence. Then again, we have all seen the selection committee do some things to maximize attendance. Maybe we'll go to SF no matter what if we are any type of #2 seed. Lots of hockey to be played between now and then. Just keep wining, Gophers. Starting with this weekend...
 

It's no point to look at bracketology until the last week.

UND will likely be a 1 or 2 overall. If the Gophers are any of 7 through 10 they will do everything they can to put them in Sioux Falls.

If the Gophers are 6 (unlikely), they would have a hard time putting 6 overall in the same region as 2 overall and definitely not in 1 overall's region.
 

2 things I hate about this current bracket (and yes bonin is right it means very little right now)

1. Gophers would have to face BC
2. UND has a very favorable path to St. Paul
 

Gophers1992 said:
2 things I hate about this current bracket (and yes bonin is right it means very little right now)

1. Gophers would have to face BC
2. UND has a very favorable path to St. Paul
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They will always have a favorable draw given they play an autobid in the first round and will draw a lower 2 seed. Hoping we can get up to the 6 and draw BU as I like that matchup much better for the Gophers but the Gophs can beat anyone this year and are going to have to put a full weekend of great hockey together to get to St Paul. Going to be the case regardless of how the bracket breaks
 

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