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.