The Golden Gophers @ UND- 10/17 and 10/18

[brianvf]

3 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

Less than a UND sweep this weekend would be a major disappointment. 

Anything can happen in big rivalry weekends.
Many times in this series, there have been times where the "lesser skilled" team has won.
Just look at the timeout game as reference.

[Big Green]

15 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

I don’t see Minny having better than a .500 season and making the post season. They really aren’t very good. Less than a UND sweep this weekend would be a major disappointment. 

Agree

IMO a split is a good weekend for the road team.  If you are an elite team you sweep at home.  Anything less than that is not a good weekend.

Also I think MN would be happy with a split.  Never want the opponent happy after a weekend playing UND.

 

[brianvf]

Schloss article on the rivalry and how it has changed since the WCHA split.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-hockey/schlossman-north-dakota-minnesota-rivalry-has-changed-but-still-nothing-beats-it?fbclid=IwY2xjawNbordleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHg1QDZVXXYBhc0Lur7lYwYFqrqgGo3ujGjjHSDcujP9lXxMBuOuwTpLmqrIX_aem_XPDB7u6z-qAfpvle87R71A

Quote

The series has truly gone back and forth.

There's been one sweep in the last nine series. There's been one back-to-back sweep in the last 30 years.

Nobody has won more than five in a row in the last two decades. In that span, there's only been a single four-game winning streak.

 

[scpa0305]

I’ll call split 

[atxsioux]

If the team keeps building on how they played last weekend I could definitely see a sweep happening.

 

This team seems to be willing to play closer to a Hak style team (and the last time we swept them at home, Hak was the coach. January of 2009)

[Oxbow6]

1 hour ago, scpa0305 said:

I’ll call split 

Close Minny win Friday...3-2

Blowout UND win Saturday...5-1

[burd]

2 hours ago, ND_Texan said:

Less than a UND sweep this weekend would be a major disappointment. 

That sounds a bit naive

[tnt]

1 hour ago, ND_Texan said:

I don’t see Minny having better than a .500 season and making the post season. They really aren’t very good. Less than a UND sweep this weekend would be a major disappointment. 

So if Minnesota beats us at home, does that mean we will be bad as well?

[scpa0305]

19 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

Close Minny win Friday...3-2

Blowout UND win Saturday...5-1

I could see that exact scenario play out 

[Wilbur]

I think there is a lot on tape from their first four games on how you can expose Minnesota.  IMHO, Airey (Gasp!!!! Canadian) will have to be really good for the gophers this weekend to come away with a win in what hopefully will be the most difficult atmosphere they will play in this year.  

The last time these teams met was at the Ralph, and I dont think the gophers could have played a more perfect game on Friday of that series.  Took the air out of the building in the 2nd period and I just never felt like UND would win that game with how well the gophers played defensively. 

This gopher team is built a bit different than that one, but has enough talent to have some success if UND gets away from what makes them go.  

[tnt]

25 minutes ago, burd said:

That sounds a bit naive

 Early results aren’t a great barometer.  Remember UND fans weren’t feeling great about the Hall of Fame game against Minnesota in Vegas because UND had beaten Manitoba in OT while losing and tying Bemidji State, and splitting with Minnesota State while Minnesota beat and tied Duluth.   
 Young teams can change a bit from week to week, and desperation can always play a part.  Hopefully UND looks at this as a huge opportunity to get ahead of the game in the national picture while giving their rival a big hole to climb out of going forward.
 

[Sweethockey]

7 hours ago, burd said:

Thing I always wonder about gopher fans is why they all have those big, sloping foreheads and those extra long forearms.  That, and all that body hair.   

It goes with their unibrow....don'tcha know?

[ND_Texan]

44 minutes ago, tnt said:

So if Minnesota beats us at home, does that mean we will be bad as well?

It’s a long season. Anything can happen in a single game (major penalties, bad refs, unconscious goalie, etc), but there’s no comparison in the talent level between these two teams. Nonetheless, I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t sweep.

[tnt]

23 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

It’s a long season. Anything can happen in a single game (major penalties, bad refs, unconscious goalie, etc), but there’s no comparison in the talent level between these two teams. Nonetheless, I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t sweep.

No comparison in talent level? Take your green glasses off.  Yes we have a couple guys who have a bigger upside in Reschny and Verhoeff, but it may take a while for them to be dominant.  Minnesota has 8 top four round draft picks, while UND has 6, actually 7 when you consider Verhoeff.  Acting like Minnesota has no talent is just not the case.

[Sioux90]

4-2 and 4-1 Sioux sweep. James makes an impact.

[ND_Texan]

4 minutes ago, tnt said:

No comparison in talent level? Take your green glasses off.  Yes we have a couple guys who have a bigger upside in Reschny and Verhoeff, but it may take a while for them to be dominant.  Minnesota has 8 top four round draft picks, while UND has 6, actually 7 when you consider Verhoeff.  Acting like Minnesota has no talent is just not the case.

Not saying Minnie has no talent I’m just saying UND has far more talent. Let’s talk again after this weekend and compare notes.  I’ve watched three gopher games so far this year and they look like unenthused uninspired duds.

[tnt]

4 minutes ago, ND_Texan said:

Not saying Minnie has no talent I’m just saying UND has far more talent. Let’s talk again after this weekend and compare notes.  I’ve watched three gopher games so far this year and they look like unenthused uninspired duds.

Like UND did the Hall of Fame year.  Would love them to remain unenthused and uninspired, but sometimes the rivalry brings out the best in both teams.

[ND_Texan]

1 minute ago, tnt said:

Like UND did the Hall of Fame year.  Would love them to remain unenthused and uninspired, but sometimes the rivalry brings out the best in both teams.

No disagreement there. 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

Hoping another Gopher tries to go viral and has it backfire a la Pitlick. Both teams are undoubtedly getting history lessons on YouTube this week.

[Siouxperior]

Speaking of history lessons, anyone know where the Thanksgiving game can be found?

[hockeytherapy13]

5 hours ago, ND_Texan said:

I don’t see Minny having better than a .500 season and making the post season. They really aren’t very good. Less than a UND sweep this weekend would be a major disappointment. 

Players like Mooney, Ziemer, and Lamb are not to be taken lightly. Crazy stuff can happen. When we split with them at Mariucci in 2022, it was a borderline miracle with how insanely stacked that gopher team was. Do I think we are the better overall team going into this weekend? Yep.  But would I be surprised with a split or a sweep either direction? Nope. We have zero clue. I badly want a sweep of course, but given the fact that we swept the Tommies, I’d be content with a split. 

[sioux rube]

Let’s Go!!!

 

[Goon]

2 hours ago, Sioux90 said:

4-2 and 4-1 Sioux sweep. James makes an impact.

I guess I need to post this. Anything less than a sweep is unacceptable. (Shrugs) 

Honestly, I was impressed with what I saw this last weekend. 

[Blackheart]

The key to sweeping the Gofers is winning on Friday.  No Sioux team has lost the Friday game and ended up sweeping.

[The Sicatoka]

7 hours ago, Blackheart said:

The key to sweeping the Gofers is winning on Friday.  No Sioux team has lost the Friday game and ended up sweeping.

The math checks.