Goon Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 I guess UND is not the only team that loses players. Good luck Jeff. Gopher hockey standout Taffe opts for NHL, will sign with Phoenix today Sid Hartman Star Tribune Published Apr 24, 2002 Junior Jeff Taffe will sign today with the NHL Phoenix Coyotes, according to Gophers coaches. Taffe, 21, led the Gophers hockey team in goals (34) and was second to John Pohl in points (79 for Pohl, 58 for Taffe). The 6-foot-1, 177-pound center was also second to Matt DeMarchi in penalty minutes. Gophers coach Don Lucia was hoping that Taffe would stay for his senior season, as Hobey Baker winner and teammate Jordan Leopold did. Leopold grew immeasurably by serving as a captain, which Taffe likely would do in 2002-03. Taffe starred at Hastings in high school, winning the state's Mr. Hockey honor in 1999. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 Can't say I'm not happy to hear he is going. However, anytime a talented player leaves college hockey it is too bad. I would rather see ALL our players stay, rather than some leaving early. Still the gophers are going to be awfully good and I don't think this hurts their team terribly much next year. The loss of Leopold, Pohl, Hauser and Taffe is a tremendous loss, but at UND we have seen how the rest of the team has stepped up after such losses. This last year we did not but the team was comprised of such a heavy load of freshmen that it was tough. In the past, however, that didn't happen. In fact, I believe we lost an incredible number of strong players in 1999 and we know what happened in 2000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jk Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 Good comparison, dagies. MN loses a lot, but they will be fine. This just means the preseason order at the top should be 1. Denver 2. MN (until Dubie leaves, at which point maybe it flips back). MN has a fine team returning either way. The Sioux need to get good enough to beat them all, anyway, so it doesn't matter too much. It should be noted, though, that Taffe did play great against the Sioux all through his career. After seeing him play against UND as a freshman and sophomore, I couldn't understand why he wasn't putting up more points. So subtract one difference-maker. On that note, Leo single-handedly won the Saturday game in Mariucci with two third-period goals, and Pohl did the same thing on Saturday at REA. So subtract three difference-makers. The question is how well the younger guys will step up. Although the answer won't be known until they do it, I suspect they have the guys set to be able replacements - new guys to hate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 On that note, jk, if Waibel leaves we're set!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 I agree with jk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuhninca Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 MN has a lot of young talent, but then again, so did UND last season. The problem is, if they're too young, they can't get it done. MN loses Pohl, Leopold, Taffe, Hauser. They wouldn't have been a championship team without those guys. However, MN has great momentum as a program. They continue to land top recruits and Lucia has that early coaching buzz going. UND may be the most underrated team coming into next season, though. Parise will be a solid contributer as a freshman, perhaps in the 20-35 pt range. The offense as a whole will be +2, +2, -4 in the categories of seniors, mid-classmen, and freshmen compared to last season. That's a huge difference! Then consider that the only two offensive freshmen expected to play are Genoway & Parise, and you've got a pretty positive looking team. I am no longer afraid of MN. Next season, they will not finish first, IMO. Not with the magnitude of losses they are taking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five-HoleFrenzy Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 As a Gopher fan in the minority who also follows the Fighting Sioux I have to say that this next year is looking more positive for the fighting Sioux compared to the Gophers with Taffe leaving early. In fact, the Gophers next year lose the type of scoring that UND lost after the 2001/2002 season. UND of course lost a better goaltender in Goehring compared to Hauser. I agree with Kuhninca who says that the Sioux will be underrated next year. That is actually a good position for them to be in. The only areas that MAY be a concern are goaltending and an offensive minded defenseman. Good luck next year and here's hoping that the Gophers and Sioux battle it out for the top 2 spots in the WCHA next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 5-hole, I agree that the gophers lose a similar level of scoring, but the team is so much deeper than the Sioux team that lost that scoring. I've seen a few people predict the gophers about 5th or even lower next year and that is absurd. We have seen a great coach (Blais) reload after losing a load of talent (1999) and win the championship the next year because the team had talented, depth ready to step into place. I see the gophers in the same situation. Maybe I am delusional but I still feel the gophers are the cream of the WCHA next year, and I believe their goaltending will prove to be solid. I think the Sioux will be solid next year. How good remains to be seen. They have a tremendous upside, yet significant questions to be answered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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