yzerman19

The frightening thing is that other teams are doing to us what we are famous for doing to other teams...bottling the puck up in the offensive zone through an aggressive forecheck, working it down low, creating turnovers, then capitalizing. Maybe we could think about changing up the dpairings? I could see pairing Forbert and Mac as the shutdown tandem, then Simpson and Mattson as the uptempo tandem vs other teams' less physical forward lines or paired with our more physical forward lines, then Gleason and Schmaltz as the relief pairing. For the first time in a long time, our defense (other than Mac) are really all offensive dmen.

Being a fan doesn't mean being Pollyanna or cheer leading no matter what or having blind faith and ignoring bad play. Passing has not been even passable (pun intended) and we continue to lose foot races and one on one battles. I am not upset with the outcome, I'm upset with the poor play. A lot of standing around and hoping Rocco or Danny create something. D that fall back, because they aren't quick enough to save the offensive play.

Not impressed with the play thus far this year...lots of "opportunities" to work on. First is skating hard, second is passing and receiving a pass.

We need to get our passing together and figure out how to get through the neutral zone without dumping and chasing.

My feed has been amazing. Much better than last night. HD from two camera angles. I'm in Mpls on an ipad.

I agree that most shots were not high success shots, but our passing has to get better. We transitioned up as well as I've seen all year (which doesn't say much) we just got clogged up in the nz

We are not being very effective at executing the cycle. We are also not transitioning up the ice with numbers and speed. That said, we are getting some decent looks based on great individual talent, and we are converting on a bunch of those looks. Saunders continues his sick play. Not sure whats bugging Rocco, but he'll break out of it. Knighter is just snakebit. Danny is having his best season yet- should be 20 and 30 minimum- that move was ridiculous

He's our number one goalie. He's earned it. Zane has four years ahead of him.

You gotta shorten your passes and you have to hit the tape. Its the only way through clogged ice. You can try and dangle and beat a guy, maybe two, but then you'll cough it up. You gotta make short passes.

the weak call with 3 minutes to go in the game really stunk of home cooking... I felt that we were outplayed for most of the game, however we had equal numbers of good looks. worst case now we split- from PWR perspective, you take splits against BU and ND. The Alaska game still hurts, but we are sitting pretty good.

shows what I know from watching almost every game for the last 30 years...I thought they always shook.

no handshake means that Hak was pi$$ed about something.

...the same man whose 3rd line at best son received plenty of ice time, a scholarship, and even wore a letter his senior year at one of the best hockey programs in the country...cronyism alive and well in the Twin Cities

In a vacuum, UND of course. However, the incremental revenue difference between a Gopher home game between UND and U of MN vs BSU or MSUM and U of MN is tiny in the overall athletic budget. Especially if the books are being managed at the conference level. The John sells out either way. UND will give the fans a better show, but there are loss risks. There is also Minnesota pressure to support the state schools- PR strategy. Bottom line, the money for UND vs U of MN doesn't makea difference in the decision. The business decision is at a higher level.

Football and basketball make all the money in the Big 10. Hockey is an afterthought. Don has to follow his superiors...that is what is going on. Non hockey guys do not understand North Dakota. We are a small state, with small TV markets, who breathe hockey. We are the elite in a sport most big schools don't have, unless they are from the Northeast or great lakes area. This is business, and the Gophers need to hang with "like" institutions- from the non-hockey point of view.

I'd be careful with the stats, as they can always be manipulated- We gave up 1.5 gpg against the powerhouses from Alaska for the first 4 games of the year. (2-1-1 record) Then 3 gpg against BU, SCSU, and UMD, including 3 games where we had 4 or more hung on us in the last 6 games. (3-2-1 record)

Non-conference record is not he same as record against non-conference opponents. I was referring to the latter. If we count non-conference record, the 2010-2011 team was actually 1-2-1 (they also played anchorage- to a tie in a nc game)

This team is 5-3-2 through 10 games with Alaska and a traditional Hockey East Power as non-conference opponents ( we have gone 1-2-0 against non-conference) The 2010-2011 Frozen Four squad was 5-4-1 through 10 games with Alaska and a traditional Hockey East Power as non-conference opponents (we went 1-2-0 against non-conference)

So, here is what I surmise... I think Hak tutors the boys on his system in slow motion to start the season, then gradually turns the tempo up. That would be a possible reason for our slow starts and strong finishes. Almost like learning to dance. You learn the steps slowly so you get them right, while you learn them, you get crushed by other teams who simply play simple, fast hockey. Once you get the system down, however, you are tough to beat. If you try to go full speed too quickly, you miss the little things that make you great. Slow motion reveals faults, which can then be addressed and improved. This might also be a reason why our defensemen appear to look like they've never seen such aggressive forechecks and jumping of passing lanes early in the season.

Yup, a breakout without flow is best

Positives from this weekend: I really think we are getting to some lines- Knight with Kristo and MacMillan is legit, so is Grimaldi with Caggiula and St Clair. I actually think all forward lines showed me something tonight. Negatives from this weekend: Terrible breakout, worse power play, and even worse defensive zone play So, everything that needs work is coached, that means the coaches can do something about it.

Jeez Hammer...I'm sure Forbert cares a lot about being "player of the game"...hammer is a tool...

If the refs don't police the game correctly, the players will take matters into their own hands

toe drag show-off

Make up call for what might've been a penalty coming out of the SIoux zone on that last goal... Junk officiating this weekend. If there is a fight tonight, it is pure and simple because the refs did not do their job