GOPHS VS BADGERS "MEANINGLESS 3RD PLACE GAME"

[AZSIOUX]

VS

i will go with #5 myself

[Marty]

I hope this game turns out to be a slugfest. However, if that happens the Badgers would probably lose because they would get an extra penalty for kicking the Gophers' ass. Lets go Bucky!

[Bacardio]

Prediction: Gophers by 4 and Earl has cast on leg by Sunday and uses it as an excuse in WI papers

[sagard]

I had to go with the Earl angle. Crow it up today kids and enjoy your WCHA championship tonight. The Golden Gophers are coming to GF.

The last two times the Sioux have won the WCHA, they have gone on to the NCAA title. If they run the gauntlet in this years NCAAs it will be one of the most incredible runs ever in my opinion.

[AZSIOUX]

I had to go with the Earl angle. Crow it up today kids and enjoy your WCHA championship tonight. The Golden Gophers are coming to GF.

The last two times the Sioux have won the WCHA, they have gone on to the NCAA title. If they run the gauntlet in this years NCAAs it will be one of the most incredible runs ever in my opinion.

can the sioux move up a couple or even 1 spot to move the winner of this 3rd place game to green bay and send the other 1 seed out east??

[Siouxman]

Great poll!! You beat me to it. I just sat down to put the same poll together, but you came up with more options that I did.

IMHO, if the Gophers do not wake up and realize that these games count they will again make an early exit from the NCAA's.

[sagard]

can the sioux move up a couple or even 1 spot to move the winner of this 3rd place game to green bay and send the other 1 seed out east??

It would be nice but I think BU and MSU needed to lose for that to happen, and it didn't. The Gophers blew all chance of avoiding GF with their collapse last night.

The Gophers are a dangerous team, but giving up 4 vs. Tech, 4 vs. AA and 8 vs. SCSU is not a good sign. The bright side for me is that they are still capable of dropping six on just about anyone on a good night.

[farce poobah]

According to my pairwise predictor (courtesy USCHO) UW could pass MN with a win today. In that case, it might bring Holy Crap Cross to Grand Forks and send Bemidji to Green Bay.

Other than that, and Pride, there's nothing at stake. But don't underestimate what Pride counts for in a Badger-Gopher game....

[sagard]

IMHO, if the Gophers do not wake up and realize that these games count they will again make an early exit from the NCAA's.

Like last year?

If the Gophers make an early exit it will due to getting beat by UND, not because of their effort vs. UW in 3rd place game.

[AZSIOUX]

It would be nice but I think BU and MSU needed to lose for that to happen, and it didn't. The Gophers blew all chance of avoiding GF with their collapse last night.

The Gophers are a dangerous team, but giving up 4 vs. Tech, 4 vs. AA and 8 vs. SCSU is not a good sign. The bright side for me is that they are still capable of dropping six on just about anyone on a good night.

so are you saying that if there was a gophs sioux match-up tonight and the sioux won the game then that would have moved the sioux up far enough where they would have to send the gophs out elsewhere? interesting...

[sagard]

so are you saying that if there was a gophs sioux match-up tonight and the sioux won the game then that would have moved the sioux up far enough where they would have to send the gophs out elsewhere? interesting...

No. It just would have been a heck of a lot more fun for me tonight. For the Sioux to move way up, I think they needed to win the WCHA and have both MSU and BU to tank.

I'm glad someones with me on the Earl stuff. There is no way they would have the ice ready for tonights game if he is allowed to continually perform his Louganis act.

[Siouxman]

Here is a great quote from the Wisconsin State Journal. http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/sports/index.php?ntid=76775

"As individuals learn at different rates, so do teams," UW coach Mike Eaves said. "Apparently, we have a pretty thick skull right now. We're still trying to learn this lesson."

That is a coach talking about his own team!

[AZSIOUX]

No. It just would have been a heck of a lot more fun for me tonight. For the Sioux to move way up, I think they needed to win the WCHA and have both MSU and BU to tank.

I'm glad someones with me on the Earl stuff. There is no way they would have the ice ready for tonights game if he is allowed to continually perform his Louganis act.

the thing is i think he is a hell of a player but damn that crap gets old over and over. he tried it at least 3 times yesterday when trying to split 2 defenders instead of making a play he simply just dives in between them...halarious

[sprig]

I'm glad someones with me on the Earl stuff. There is no way they would have the ice ready for tonights game if he is allowed to continually perform his Louganis act.

Seems that the WCHA stripes crew is aware of his antics, will no longer give him the calls he trys to get, and even puts him in the box. Nonetheless, he continues to dive right to the end. With his skills, if he put as much energy into playing the game as he does into diving, Wisco would be a better team. Eaves should probably have kicked his arse and straightened him out long ago. Will be interesting to see if the diving continues this afternoon, although I doubt he could change this late in his career.

[Siouxman]

Like last year?

If the Gophers make an early exit it will due to getting beat by UND, not because of their effort vs. UW in 3rd place game.

Sorry, but I think that you missed the point. Teams don't suddenly turn it on and off at their will, or suddenly have the heart and passion that it takes. If the Gophers lose to Wisconsin today with another no-so-great performance, that gets into the team psyche and creates doubt, mistrust of teammates, etc. Other thoughts begin to creep in, and it is only downhill from there. These games do matter.

[Cratter]

Here is a great quote from the Wisconsin State Journal. http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/sports/index.php?ntid=76775

"As individuals learn at different rates, so do teams," UW coach Mike Eaves said. "Apparently, we have a pretty thick skull right now. We're still trying to learn this lesson."

That is a coach talking about his own team!

I liked this quote better...

Earl answered by scoring a power-play goal, his 20th, and nearly tying the game in the final 15 seconds. But he admittedly had a tough day.

"I'll be honest with you, they did a good job trying to get in my head," he said of the Fighting Sioux.

[sagard]

Sorry, but I think that you missed the point. Teams don't suddenly turn it on and off at their will, or suddenly have the heart and passion that it takes. If the Gophers lose to Wisconsin today with another no-so-great performance, that gets into the team psyche and creates doubt, mistrust of teammates, etc. Other thoughts begin to creep in, and it is only downhill from there. These games do matter.

Despite the results the Gophers have not been playing that great for a while now. They have had too many loose games where goaltending and defense have been poor. RP pretty much wasn't going to be denied and they won the Regular Season title.

Now they are playing better teams and might not be able to get away with the sloppiness. The Gophers will try hard today, they tried hard last year vs. UND in the 3rd place game. They just don't always get the results.

I maintain the results vs. UW (win or lose) today will have very little impact on the UND game next weekend. That game will come down specialty teams effectiveness. If UND can either kill penalties or stay out of the box they will advance past the Gophers.

[Smoggy]

I have a hard time believing that whoever loses this game can come through for 4 games in a row in the NCAA's. Should be an interesting game with high offense/not so good defense & goaltending angainst a team with good D and goaltending, but not so great offense.

Heard a bit of "beyond the pond" this morning with everyone's favorite Dubay. He sounded kind of down on his Gophers. Made a very good point about how he doesn't feel either goalie for the Gophers could play good enough for four straight games and how they just need to pray they score more goals.

Also played an interview he did with Lucia. He said he'll be skating the team hard on Monday. He didn't come out and say the games are meaningless, but I got that impression from him. Didn't make one comment about the next game against UW. Only on preparing for the NCAA's.

[Siouxdonyms]

Despite the results the Gophers have not been playing that great for a while now. They have had too many loose games where goaltending and defense have been poor. RP pretty much wasn't going to be denied and they won the Regular Season title.

Now they are playing better teams and might not be able to get away with the sloppiness. The Gophers will try hard today, they tried hard last year vs. UND in the 3rd place game. They just don't always get the results.

I maintain the results vs. UW (win or lose) today will have very little impact on the UND game next weekend. That game will come down specialty teams effectiveness. If UND can either kill penalties or stay out of the box they will advance past the Gophers.

I'd agree with you on that. They had one of the weakest final month's of any team in the league. They were suppose to win those games, and they did, but it wasn't because they played stellar. I'm sure most Gopher fans are somewhat glad they lost last night, as it brings back reality to the team. Today's game is probably more important to them than most people think, as it tells them what kind of team they are, and gives them an idea of whether or not they'll have enough chemistry to win the big show.

[sagard]

I'd agree with you on that. They had one of the weakest final month's of any team in the league. They were suppose to win those games, and they did, but it wasn't because they played stellar. I'm sure most Gopher fans are somewhat glad they lost last night, as it brings back reality to the team. Today's game is probably more important to them than most people think, as it tells them what kind of team they are, and gives them an idea of whether or not they'll have enough chemistry to win the big show.

I'm more upset about last nights loss than any loss in the last couple of years. Had they beaten SCSU they would have been the #1 overall and had a real shot at avoiding the GF regional. In my opinion the Frozen Four would have been a virtual lock. Now even if they beat UW, I'm convinced they will be sent to GF anyways.

Chemistry is overrated. This Gopher team doesn't have the blueline their previous two NCAA title teams had. They give up lots of shots and if Briggs or the offense isn't clicking they will have trouble winning against tourney teams. That said, they are still VERY good offensively and who ever is going to beat them in tourney play will need to be very disciplined and get great goaltending.

[Siouxdonyms]

I'm more upset about last nights loss than any loss in the last couple of years. Had they beaten SCSU they would have been the #1 overall and had a real shot at avoiding the GF regional. In my opinion the Frozen Four would have been a virtual lock. Now even if they beat UW, I'm convinced they will be sent to GF anyways.

Chemistry is overrated. This Gopher team doesn't have the blueline their previous two NCAA title teams had. They give up lots of shots and if Briggs or the offense isn't clicking they will have trouble winning against tourney teams. That said, they are still VERY good offensively and who ever is going to beat them in tourney play will need to be very disciplined and get great goaltending.

I guess I still think, with a win today, they'll still be the #1 seed overall. Wisconsin definitely won't get it. BU has a chance, but has to get by BC. BU is the better team this year, but it's an inner-city rival game in the playoffs, so throw out the records. Of course, they could give it to Miami. They definitely don't deserve the #1 overall, but I guess I wouldn't be surprised to see the idiots who do the seedings, put them as the #1 overall.

[yepdude]

This Earl talk brings up a intersting point. How can you call diving and hooking/tripping penalties on the same play. Since I'm watching Duke wax GW right now my comparison would be calling blocking and charging on the same drive.

I do not get it, please help!

[southpaw]

This Earl talk brings up a intersting point. How can you call diving and hooking/tripping penalties on the same play. Since I'm watching Duke wax GW right now my comparison would be calling blocking and charging on the same drive.

I do not get it, please help!

it's different that your basketball comparison. here's how i've always explained it and i don't find it a bit wierd that both are called:

earl is coming down the middle, finley gets his stick between earl's legs and trips earl. however, while starting to go down, earl completely flops and overexaggerates to get the call. finley tripped earl in the first place, so that call is good, but earl trying to over-dramatize it also should get called. if you do something over the top to try and make the infraction stand out more, some refs would call both.

[7>4]

I'm more upset about last nights loss than any loss in the last couple of years. Had they beaten SCSU they would have been the #1 overall and had a real shot at avoiding the GF regional. In my opinion the Frozen Four would have been a virtual lock. Now even if they beat UW, I'm convinced they will be sent to GF anyways.

Chemistry is overrated. This Gopher team doesn't have the blueline their previous two NCAA title teams had. They give up lots of shots and if Briggs or the offense isn't clicking they will have trouble winning against tourney teams. That said, they are still VERY good offensively and who ever is going to beat them in tourney play will need to be very disciplined and get great goaltending.

I agree. The Gophers are just scary offensively. Briggs is capable of playing well. It will take an off game by Briggs and a hot goalie on the other end to beat UM. They are still the favorite going into the tournament IMO regardless of what happens this afternoon.

[sagard]

I agree. The Gophers are just scary offensively. Briggs is capable of playing well. It will take an off game by Briggs and a hot goalie on the other end to beat UM. They are still the favorite going into the tournament IMO regardless of what happens this afternoon.

UW is the favorite in my opinion. They will cruise to the Frozen Four and have two weeks from there to get there game in order.