Well, the Gophers go another year without winning the big one.  It's a
disappointment because back in October I really thought this could be the
year.  Unfortunately, things just didn't come together.  There was that
stretch where they started winning everything despite not playing as well as
they could; then came January where they really did look like they could beat
anyone.
 
In retrospect, I don't think they were ever as good as they looked in that
stretch.  I don't even mean that in the normal, cliched way that's used.  In
hindsight, the teams they were playing (notably Denver and Duluth) probably
began their slides about the time Minnesota played them.  A lot of us forgot
that scoring production was coming from people who had never shown it before
(Dan Woog with a hat trick?) and that it wouldn't continue.
 
In the end, Minnesota finished with a good weekend of hockey, playing very
well after the first period against Providence.  Michigan was a better team
and just plain beat us, though we made it really close at the end.  (If Turco
had just kicked that puck in behind him, the game was all set for overtime.)
 If the season didn't produce everything I was hoping for, at least Minnesota
went out with their heads up.
 
At first glance, I won't be going into next year with the same kind of
expectations.  We'll only have three defensemen with real experience (and
godbout spent most of this year up front).  More worrying is trying to figure
out who is going to take Bonin's place as the centerpiece of the offense.
 Rasmussen and Berg had good freshmen campaigns, but a couple of the elders
are going to have to step forward with consistent scoring.  Nick Checco and
Ryan Kraft now have to live up to their billing; solid backchecking is no
longer going to be enough.  These are the guys that need to take charge.
 
Oh, well.  I'll be in Cincinnati this week, wearing my michigan jersey and
remembering that at least my #2 team is still alive.
 
J. Michael Jackson
 
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