I didn't watch a lot of Sunday's game between Minnesota and Wisconsin, but I did have the opportunity to catch the winning goal. But should it have been a goal? Here's the video:
When I saw this happen in real time, I said, "They've gotta take that back." But refereee Marco Hunt chose to not even review the play.
The 2005 Points of Emphasis memo says "Anytime an opposing player prevents the goalkeeper from preventing a goal, interference must be called."
It's quite obvious that Michael Carman runs into goalie Brian Elliott and prevents him from preventing the goal. The question is whether Carman interfered with Elliott or if he was pushed into Elliott.
My feeling after watching the play if that even if Carman is pushed a little bit, he certainly doesn't try to avoid Elliott, and after he makes contact with Elliott, he turns his shoulders towards Elliott and tries to make a play of the puck. He obviously comes no where near the puck, and instead ends up taking Elliott out of the play. The other thing is that if Carman is pushed, at some point after the Wisconsin defender makes contact with him, Carman should speed up as he gains momentum from the push, and I don't really think that ever happens. Really, if the Wisconsin defender keeps his hands down, it's probably an easy call to make.
I personally probably wouldn't have allowed the goal, but whatever we decide is irrelevant. What's most important here is that it was an extremely close and questionable play at a key moment in the game, and the officials didn't even bother to look at it.
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89 comments:
No, the gopher play interfered with the BADger goalie.
Suprised Minnie was not award a penalty shot on Elliott for embellishment.
I can understand allowing the goal, but they at least have to look at that... Elliott got mauled there.
didnt look clean should have veiwed it upstairs.
view what upstairs? An overhead shot of the crease? Of course that won't show if he was pushed or not. The ref had to make a call and he did. Seems like a silly post to me.
No goal...if Kalinski got called on charging the goalie and got a 5 minute major in Mankato the other weekend...this player should have gotten the same. His play may have been worse than what Kalinski did...that's just my opinion though!
My initial reaction, watching it live, was the same as yours. However, after seeignthe replay last night, I can see why no review took place. While there is contact, Elliott is coming out of the crease in an attempt to catch the puck. Goalie interference does not apply when the goalie is outside of the crease. His glove hand definitely is and this is what initiates the contact. Followed, of course, very shortly by the rest of his body with Carmen's. There was no uproar from WI. If there had been, perhaps they would have reviewed it. Watching Elliott's body language, I do not think that he feels he was interfered with.
Come on Chris, watch the game without being so anti-gophers.
No goal
Should have been reviewed for sure.
Figures the Gopher fans would be in denial.
Is it me, or do the goofers get all the calls at home...especially late. You're always good for a goofer powerplay with under 10 in a tight game.
Whoever said Elliott was out of the crease is nuts. He never left the crease and Carman actually entered the crease crashing into Elliott and spinning him around. Unbelievable that it wasn't even reviewed. If Hunt ends up think Mitchell's push caused the contact after reviewing it, while incorrect for the reasons the post states, I can understand. But to not even review the GWG with 5 min left that happened on such a questionable play is complete and utter BS.
Nothing but sour Grapes from a 3-6-1 bottom-feeder team.
This is the first time this season Minnesota got the Ref to look the other way....
This isn't the first time this season Minnesota got the Ref to look the other way....
what a great HOCKEY game
that was bull...wcha refs blow ass
Wow, yeah, I couldn't believe that was a goal.
It figures that Lucia's son would get his first goal in such a suspect way... but the way the announcers were acting, you'd think he scored a shorthanded goal at the 4:59 mark in a major penalty after being on the ice for the entire kill. Good lord. That wasn't grinding, that was luck.
It's funny that all the neutral fans all agree that it was a crap call and only the Gopher fans stick up for it.
I think it was inexcusable that the play wasn't at least reviewed.
What was even more sickening was listening to the ridiculous announcers on FSN? The two gopher announcers are so biased it's unbelievable. They practically cry whenever a penalty is called on Minnesota and of course no one on the crew even mentioned that the game winning goal might have been interference.
Saigassor was pathetic too, he spends all his time sucking up to the gopher announcers and not sticking up for the badgers. It's almost like he didn't even play for the badgers at one time.
Another pathetic call by the WCHA officials. If you gophers fans looked at Wisconsin's schedule and the injuries they have had this year, you might not call them "a bottom feeder program." Sounds like someones a little jealous actually, what's the national title count, 6-5 Wisco?
It is telling that most neutral fans feel that the goal was BS. Afterall, they are just giving their unbiased opinion of the play which Badger and gopher fans obviouisly can not do. It would be interesting to see how gopher fans would react if the identical play happened against them. I know one thing for sure, there would be a sudden shortage on Kleenex with all the crying and whining. Lol.
It's a shame that YouTube doesn't have a video of Phil Kessel's first collegiate goal. It'd be hilarious to compare the amount of contact on that play, when the MSU player supposedly "intentionally" knocks the net off, to the little tap from Mitchell that sends Carman into the goalie.
I guess this is another blown call for Shep and his ref buddies to laugh about when they go fishing this summer.
After a fair amount of searching, I've yet to see or hear anybody connected to the Badger hockey program complain about this call/non-call.
It appears to be uniquely an intenet phenomenon.
That's because it's free for us to do it. It costs someone connected with the program some cash, and probably some time in the stands if they want to point out that the call was blown.
Also, internet phenomenon or not, the video is right there, and I think it looks pretty clear that Elliott is interfered with.
for gods sake...at least review the play. and of course all of the minnesota fans are talking about it in the opposite way...it WAS worth at least a review.
Bucky, non-calls are what you will get and deserve when how to dive for penalties becomes part of your team's philosphy.
It's also pretty telling that someone is considered neutral by virtue of being against a call that went the Gopher's way. It would be nice if we knew what axe everyone is grinding.
Bruce you're still complaining about a call in Duluth which was correct, but took a long time to make.
Out of 27 comments 6 people are using IDs. Since most of the commentary is against the goal, I guess it isn't only Gopher fans who anonymously lash out. Seems to me there at least as much bias against as there is for the goal.
On the first goal, I'm pretty sure Okposo was in the crease before the puck got there. So that should have been disallowed as well.
On the third goal Wheeler was clearly using an illegal stick so that should not have counted either.
What a bunch of cry-babies. Isn't crashing the net what you want your forwards to do? The puck was never covered and Carman had every right to go hard to the net. He was hit from behind as well.
Elliot didn't complain. I was there and nobody on the Wisconsin bench complained , and the guy sitting next to me from Wisconsin (wearing his red jacket)didn't complain either. He saw the goal for what it was. A great goal in a tight game that was the result of a lot of hard work in the offensive zone.
Just a bunch of sour grapes from internet whiners.
I think what you're looking for was in my first sentence. I admitted the call went the Gophers way. The rest of your proof of not being biased means nothing to me because I follow the Gophers not UMD.
You lashed out on the USCHO forum and said Lucia was the only one in the DECC who didn't think that was a goal. That is sort of my measuring stick for whether you qualify as unbiased where the Gophers are concerned.
so anyone who thinks there shoud not have been a call and that the Gophers didn't get away with one is either a Gopher fan, biased, or both?
it was a hard play at the net that happens all of the time. the Badgers never complained, why is this even an issue?
btw - I am a Gopher fan, I'm anonnymous because I'm sick of needing a username for everything.
The bench and EAVES did complain you idiot, they just didn't show it on tv. Were you even at the game?
I didn't realize being at the game was required to post something. huh, live and learn I guess.
yours truly,
idiot
I've got to get in on this (no surprise eh) ...
Disclaimer: I'm a "gopher hater".
It was a goal and didn't need to be reviewed. Any contact that was made (and it was incidental) after the initial shot while the puck was still in the crease and Carman (if thats who it was ... by the way ... that punk has an attitude that is in desperate need of addressing by some nice opponent) was being checked at the time. It was a goal. If bucky fans were bitching (and I don't see them doing so either) they'd be better served by explaining to Elliott that when he is laying on the ice it's best to "LAY FLAT" instead of with you knees bent. If he'd been laying flat then Lucia wouldn't have scored and none of us would have had to listen to that creepy little orgasm that Woog had on the air.
letsgomavs:
The Kalinskipunk incident you refer to was completely different. That skinny little bitch blew through Lawson like a NoDak wind BEFORE the puck entered the crease with no UAA defender in sight. Not to mention the TWO other times that the squirrelly skating DORK ran Lawson.
Chris your anti gopher slip is showing
So what was wrong with that. It looked like typical Gopher hockey to me, if you can't score fair and square cheat. For those of you that are new to the WCHA they're called the Dirty Gophers for a reason.
Chris - Absolutely love this website, but I didn't realize you were so anti gophers. Your reachin buddy, and everyone who has agreed with you is already a gopher hater before they formed their opinion on the play. And if you think I am wrong, look how many peeps wrote on this subject... Gophers are like the Yankees.
I guess if you can't beat them (Gophers) then just rip them. I can just sit back and enjoy with our 8 freshmen.
Can we just give Minnesota the Nat'l Championship trophy now? I think the Hobey should be cut into 9 pieces and given to all those Minny rookies ...
That Jim O'Brien kid is "the shit". And how about that blue chippah Lucia? Wow ... stud is the only word that comes to mind. Fischer and Shack ... PHENOMS I say!!!
If there is a god then he sure must be a gopher fan. I hear the next Minny arena will have a hole in the roof so god can watch his favorite hockey team. The Dallas Cowboys of D1 hockey!!!
Bruce and Chris are right. That's a textbook no goal. Where was it that Elliott could have possibly made the save on that play? He couldn't because he was bowled over by a Gopher player in the direction OPPOSITE of where the puck was. He couldn't move.
UAA benefitted from the same thing last Friday (it was reviewed and it counted). Unlike the UAA debacle, the one vs. UW cost UW the game. The UAA debacle was just a blown call. It had no affect on the game because UND was pretty much done anyways at that time. Hey Gopher fans, I'm a Sioux fan. So much for the conspiracy, no?
Does Minnesota get all the calls at home? I dunno. I like to think that all these blown calls are not the subject of a conspiracy, but rather the subject of complete incompetance by everyone from the lowest AR up to Greg Shepherd himself.
But in the meantime, all you Gopher fans can continue to point fingers at non-Gopher fans and be as derrogatory as you all like (you will notice that I called Gopher fans "Gopher fans" and not any other ruination of the team name). It only makes you look foolish and immature.
From an objective CCHAers opinion.
Wisconsin, You got screwed..But then again that's your league's problem... (we have our own)
42 responses...congrats A NEW BLOG RECORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes it must be very frustrating to watch the Golden Gophers reload with more talent every year than your teams get in 3. Those so called "shit players" that are on our 4th line would probably be on your 2nd line. And yes God is a Gopher fan. He told me himself. Go Gophers
Man is this entertaining. Most of you are just plain ignorant, which is fine. This would be pretty boring if you had half a brain. And since I'm here, Bruce you are a tool. No reason, really. Just cant stand you.
I stated earlier that Elliot was out of the crease. My apologies. He was still in the top of the crease. I will repeat that Elliot did not react in anyway like he thought he was interfered with. I guarantee that if Briggs was breathed on and a goal went in he would be in the refs ear. Nobody from WI reacted. I have spoken to several people at the game and they were surprised that WI did not argue either.
Should it have been reveiwed? I guess. Dont know if it would have been overturned or not. Quite frankly, i dont care. Goal counted. The evil empire wins again!
I forgot that gopher fans don't understand sarcasm. Gee ... just like Dallas Cowboy fans.
Lucia would be a second line player at UAA? Thats fucking funny. Really. The kid wouldn't be playing in the WCHA if his dad wasn't a coach. He's adequate as a player but nothing else.
And no it isn't frustrating at all to watch kids like Vanek and Kessel create problems in the lockerroom. It wasn't frustrating to watch the Gophers start the season by getting swept by UAF then bookend that with the Holy Cross loss.
And while there's little doubt that getting the kind of talent that goldy has gotten leads to championships there is MUCH to be said for the 99% of other players that work their butts off for 4 years regardless of the success their team has. That's a sweetness goldy fans really will never have an understanding of since the revolving door really isn't conducive to that sort of thing. Amatuer athletics is about competing ... winning championships is a nice little side benefit for ONE team out of FIFTY-NINE. It's the other 58 year in and year out that make the game what it is. Not the drama queens in twinkie town.
But go ahead and pat yourself and your program on the back for all the championships. I'm more than happy to support a program through thick and thin. I'm more than happy to be a fan of my program REGARDLESS (<--- I know that's more letters than m-i-n-n-e-s-o-t-a but I'm hoping you can manage it) of their standing.
Its a long year for a fan like you after getting tossed by HC isn't it?
I forgot that gopher fans don't understand sarcasm. Gee ... just like Dallas Cowboy fans.
Lucia would be a second line player at UAA? Thats fucking funny. Really. The kid wouldn't be playing in the WCHA if his dad wasn't a coach. He's adequate as a player but nothing else.
And no it isn't frustrating at all to watch kids like Vanek and Kessel create problems in the lockerroom. It wasn't frustrating to watch the Gophers start the season by getting swept by UAF then bookend that with the Holy Cross loss.
And while there's little doubt that getting the kind of talent that goldy has gotten leads to championships there is MUCH to be said for the 99% of other players that work their butts off for 4 years regardless of the success their team has. That's a sweetness goldy fans really will never have an understanding of since the revolving door really isn't conducive to that sort of thing. Amatuer athletics is about competing ... winning championships is a nice little side benefit for ONE team out of FIFTY-NINE. It's the other 58 year in and year out that make the game what it is. Not the drama queens in twinkie town.
But go ahead and pat yourself and your program on the back for all the championships. I'm more than happy to support a program through thick and thin. I'm more than happy to be a fan of my program REGARDLESS (<--- I know that's more letters than m-i-n-n-e-s-o-t-a but I'm hoping you can manage it) of their standing.
Its a long year for a fan like you after getting tossed by HC isn't it?
Just dream what it would be like to have 4 solid lines with solid talent coming in every year. Sure we may get upset every once in a while but at least we have a chance to win it every year. Thats something some programs wish they could have once every ten years. Go Gophers
What do we have. 6 1st rounders 5 2nd rounders. Man it's great to be king. Go Gophers Rah!
Some people support a program so they can puff out their chests for some sort of weird vicarious thrill. They should just call the Enzyte people and save the season ticket money. Would that make Mariucci more or less flaccid?
The rest of us support our teams for the reasons I stated (oops ... twice).
Since it's only November, a sweep of Bucky is very, very sweet. But all this whining, bitching, and moaning by the haters is just extra frosting. Then to top it all off the tin-hat brigade comes on spouting conspiracy theories. Thanks for making a great weekend so much better by letting us know how much it bothers you bitter wussies when the Gophers win.
Don't blame Chris. It wouldn't matter who started this type of Blog as everyone who hasn't attended UM hates the Gophers.
Woah Donald! Are those boxing gloves you're wearing? OUCH! A little hot under the collar? :) I can understand your points and passion for your team and program (you and I are in the same boat with our teams) but just because we root for underdogs doesn't mean that we can (or I should say should) be so harsh and close minded on the Gopher program over this goal and ASSUME they always get favored. Sure, I think the top teams (Gophs, UND, Denver..etc) do get some favortism but not always. I think this is more about the crappy REFS we have in the WCHA. Now, before the Gopher fans get excited that I'm sticking up for you...remember that I also said it's a "no goal" and I'm a Gopher fan, secondary to the Mavericks.
Let's chalk it up to the crappy REFS (which every team fan can agree on) as compaired to favortism..because I truly believe that's what this was.
It must be frustrating to watch the gophers reload each year only to get bounced out of the playoffs by Holy Cross and UND. Too funny.
letsgomavs:
I have no idea where you got the idea that I said anything about favortism. First; I said it was a goal. It should have been called a goal. IMO the ref didn't even need to review it. Your interpretation (however you intended it) of my collar tempature is also mistaken. My direct, frank and perhaps bombastic style accounts for the mistake( I imagine) but nonetheless I assure you it isn't emotional.
My others words have been directed at gopher fans that vicariously get an erection because their team has won lots of championships. My point being that I don't support my team to see them win a championship. I support my team because they hit the ice every weekend and give it their all in honor of amateur athetics.
When gopher fans show up to these stupid flamefests they're always all about "must suck to be you" ... and "we've got X championships" ... and the various tripe you can read above. They say those things to puff out their chests as if they themselves had something to do with it. They lamely classify everyone else as either a conspiracy nut or a "hater" because that props up their shallow attitudes about their team in the quckest easier way possible. So whatever you think I said you should probably read again.
And yes goofer fans ... we fans of other teams derive our satisfaction a different way. Puff up your chest all you want because even during a season with a single win I'll be prouder of the team I support than you could ever imagine.
Because the Gophers are in a area rich with hockey talent and get lots of talent, that means that they don't go out and give it their all? Every game the Gophers play is a dog fight. Every team they play gives it their best effort to try to beat the gophers. If the Gophers didn't give it their all every week they would end up just another .500 team. You can't just throw out your stick and expect to win. ex. Holy Cross. I love to watch the Gophers not just for the great talent they have but how hard they play and the passion they have for the sport.
donald said "Lucia would be a second line player at UAA? Thats fucking funny. Really. The kid wouldn't be playing in the WCHA if his dad wasn't a coach. He's adequate as a player but nothing else."
At the beginning of the season you might have had somewhat of a shot in this statement being partially true. Although I'm pretty sure CC and Notre Dame offered Lucia a scholarship.
To believe this on November 21st you either have not watched much Gopher hockey this year or you're dishonest or much more likely you have the hockey knowledge of Dick Vitale and Dick Button combined. Lucia has played well on a team whose freshman class has been terrific. He has gotten better in almost every game. Lucia is the kind of player you profess to love to watch, a hard worker who works every shift. You let your hatred for a team blind you into making ridiculous attacks on a player who you obviously know nothing about. Not that you know much about O'Brien, Fischer, or Schack. O'Brien won't turn 18 until next year. So while he's not having the year Bariball and Okposo are, I'm willing to wait and see if he can become an offensive threat.
Got to love when fans of ANY team blanket label ALL fans of another team. Yep! They're all the same! They all think and act the same way!
Relax. Step away from the web for a moment and breath. Web opinions of fans of any team are not a true sample of anything except the opinons of those who are so involved they have to put those opinions on the web so others can read them.
Donald: Sorry, in reading all of these posts I perhaps got some of your points confused with the others. It's always hard to tell the emotion behind the comments over the internet...so I was just picking on you for being all hot and bothered. I guess it was the "f-bomb" in the Lucia kid rant...
Either way...I'm with ya on why to support the underdog teams and can relate to how you feel about wins.
Play nice people:) Game is over..let's move on...though we must be setting a blogger record for comments...
"At the beginning of the season you might have had somewhat of a shot in this statement being partially true. Although I'm pretty sure CC and Notre Dame offered Lucia a scholarship."
Really? CC and Notre Dame? Other schools the Don coached at? His alma mater? Wow!!!
Hey Runnin Like a Dog. If the boys on your team work as hard as Tony Lucia maybe they might win a game. How many boys on your team got multiple scholarship offers? How many of the boys on your team could play for UND, Wisconsin, Michigan or the Gophers?
New Hampshire was also interested in Tony as well. Minnesota, New Hampshire, Notre Dame and CC. Pretty good programs with top end coaches that have track records of recruiting quality players and having successful teams.
How many of your teams boys were recruited by multiple Top Twenty teams? Stick to what you know.
Anyone have a really good apple pie recipe?
"Really? CC and Notre Dame? Other schools the Don coached at? His alma mater? Wow!!!"
Wow is right. Tony Lucia is offered scholarships at universities where his father coached in the past and that means what. That these programs are doing an ex-coach a favor. To whose benefit? Get out your tin-foil hat and start watching the skies the black helicopters are coming. You and donald need to start a club. I have name suggestion. The He-man-Gopher-haters.
I can guarantee you that CC wouldn't do Donny Lucia any favors. For reasons that can be discussed elsewhere, many in the administration were glad and relieved to see him go.
How can there be such hate and hand wringing over such a cute and huggable golden rodent. Shame on all of you . Go Goldy I'm with you!
Henry,
I sure do know sarcasm!!!
RWD
"hat do we have. 6 1st rounders 5 2nd rounders. Man it's great to be king. Go Gophers Rah! "
Its too bad now seeing those players 7 of those 11 will be NHL busts, with Blake Wheeler being the biggest. Anyone remember the supposedly second coming, Mike Crowley and Dan Trebil? what are they doing now?
I always love these statements "we are the NY Yankees of college hockey"
Well the Yankees historically win in the end and the Gophers well they usually choke. The Yankees have won 26 titles, and the Gophers 5, are you freikin kidding me only 5???? I mean come on now only 5!!!!!!!! Only 5 freikin titles!!!! And you compare yourselves to the Yankees. Just think 5 years ago they only had 3 titles and they STILL compared themselves to the Yankees. Oh my God is this fan base delusional. And having their NY Yankee godly hockey team bumped for their JV basketball team makes it even an more funny of a comparison. You would think they were playing Illinois, North Carolina, or even someone like Marquette, but no it was for Long Island!!!! Do they even have a Div. 1 team!!!! Are you kidding me!!!!
If you want to compare anything to the Yankess it would be the Canadiens.
"we are the NY Yankees of college hockey"
If you going to put words in the mouth of Gopher fans could you at least use the arrogant things we've said. The Yankees quote is directly from the haters and detractors. I've never heard Gopher fans say this.
It is a pathetic tactic to put words in someone's mouth and then criticize them for what you actually said. Nice try though.
At least the Gophers have many players that have the chance to go bust. Many programs would love to have 1 player that would have a chance to go bust. You can't go bust when nobody will even draft you and you're stuck on a bottom feeding team. Jealousy is a beautiful thing.
Anon@6:24:
It was a gopher fan that first called themselves the "Yankmes" ...
"Chris - Absolutely love this website, but I didn't realize you were so anti gophers. Your reachin buddy, and everyone who has agreed with you is already a gopher hater before they formed their opinion on the play. And if you think I am wrong, look how many peeps wrote on this subject... Gophers are like the Yankees."
Well my mistake was searching for the quoted phrase "we are the NY Yankees of college hockey" instead of the word "Yankees." So I was wrong.
I still stand by my original thought which is that it is stupid to compare a college program to a professional team. The Yankees have their history and their massive payroll working hand in hand. All any college can offer is tuition and tradition. I love Minnesota's tradition.
Come on...we all know it's UND that's the "Yankees of college hockey" with all their money to buy games and players...U of M is more like "the Red Sox of college hockey".
I love playoff time even when my team isn't in because it is the time of year when the Gophers and their arrogant fans do their annual disappearing act.
I love it when people rip the Gophers but are too cowardly to even name their pathetic team so we can return the favor.
It couldn't have been a UND fan or he/she would have reminded you how often their team was responsible for your exit.
How many NHL all-stars or award-winners has Uminny produced? Yep, that's what I thought.
bitter bitter, this is getting so boring. Vent your hate some where else. This is only hockey not brain surgery.
It's a goal. The interference wasn't called when it happened (which was before the puck entered the net) so the goalie should have been minding the net. But if you look closely, his legs are in the air, with his knees bent. That's not how you save a puck. The goalie was laying flat on the ground WAY before lucia drove for the puck.
Now, if the first shot had gone in then things would have been different. But this was a rebound that sat in the paint.
Hell I'm a SCSU fan and I think we are the Expos of college hockey. Give us some respect please. I mean SCSU tries to win a post season game.
Hey did any of you college hockey fans notice that SCSU swept this past weekend.
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.....
Reading all these wonderful posts makes me want to sing. All together now: @#$% the Gophers, Clap.Clap..ClapClapClap
Donald,
Man there's a lot of vitriol on this site and many regarding the Gophers, and it often understandable and sometimes deserved.
But yours is truly unparalleled. Man do you come off as a whiny little bitch.
I follow my team because I grew up on my daddy's lap watching Gophers games at the old barn and in our basement watching on TV. I love college hockey, and I watch all sorts of games whenever I get the chance. In a few short hours, I will have the Badgers-Wolverines game on one TV (courtesy the FSN College sports package on my cable box), and the Gophers-MSU game on another, all in the rubed-out comfort of my own living room.
What a moronic statement, saying that it's easy to root for a team just because they are successful, lumping all Gophers fans together as front-runners. What do you want a fucking purple heart because you root for a hopeless program that has never EVEN ONCE made it to the NCAA tournament?!
I don't make that statement to throw the Seawolves failures back in your face, because quite frankly, I was rooting for UAA a couple years ago when they went on their run through the Final Five, and I think it's great they're playing some great hockey up there early this season.
But you sir an ignorant a**hole.
Yeah keep throwing that Holy Cross sh!t around. It sucks and it stung at the time, but watching the current crop of Okposo, EJ, Barriball (who I'm thrilled to have at the expense of Kessel leaving) et al, last March is a distant, remote memory, as if it never happened at all.
Sean from South St. Paul (Woog Country)
The Gophers go about winning in a manner that's different from most other teams in college hockey. Most teams recruit classes that have solid players, with maybe one or two sticking out as great NHL prospects. Minnesota, of course, has the advantage of being close to such a tremendous wealth of talent that they can bring in classes full of top NHL draft picks.
But is this really an advantage? The majority of these stud freshmen are going to leave after one year. Thus the Gophers get top-end talent, but only as a temporary rental. Other teams get to develop their players and get them valuable NCAA experience. A great example of this is Gabe Gauthier and DU's two recent championships. Here's a guy who got a full four years of college hockey experience, and it showed in the playoffs - whereas last year's ultra-talented Gopher team got bounced in their first tournament game by a mid-major, probably due mainly to a lack of experience.
With that, then, it is hard to argue that the Gophers are at an advantage when it comes to winning championships. Sure, they get the top end talent year in and year out, but look at the big picture. Minnesota's two championships in 2002 and 2003 put them at five overall. Denver and North Dakota both have seven, while Wisconsin recently won their sixth. If Minnesota really had such a great advantage, they'd have an awful lot more championships. I think in the long run the trade-off between talent and experience favors teams like the DU's, Maines, UND's that develop a TEAM, rather than a group of young superstars. Minnesota will always have a good hockey team that can compete for a national title, but just like with any other team, a national championship only comes around every once in a long while (especially if you're a CC fan like me).
Woog-Loving Sean:
You have no idea how much of an asshole I can be. But let me first correct your IGNORANCE. Shall we first define what "ignorant" means? It means "uneducated". It means "lacking knowledge". We on the same page now, deary?
Ok then ... UAA has victories in the NCAA's. Not only have they been there. They've won games. So before you call someone ignorant perhaps you ought to actually KNOW something yourself.
Now ... climb back on your Daddy's lap, put that thumb back in your mouth and shut the hell up. And thanks for confirming the generational provincialism that is pervasive in twinkietown. (That means that because great-grand daddy and grand daddy and daddy said so it must be true ...)
Wow Donald, I think you need your rabies shot because you're foaming at the mouth.
As far as "generational provincialism" goes, if you are any indication, Alaska got that market cornered. Nice try at making yourself seem less like a bitter whiner.
anti gopher? check out:
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