Shining Path wrote:
>
>The Gophers played some unbelievable hockey this past wknd in the College
>Hockey Showcase.  It is always hard to play away from home and the
>Gophers played Mich. and MSU good both games. Everybody contributed. Jeff
>Moen had an off night but Steve DeBus came in and picked up the win. The
>Gophers have an off wk coming up and the it is time for another rivalry:
>North Dakota @ Minnesota.
 
I don't think the Gophers played all that wonderful. In fact, I thought
Michigan outplayed us except for the sudden re-appearance of our penalty
kill.  For anyone who saw the stats, the fact that the Wolverines had ten
power plays to Minnesota's five was not a reflection of poor refereeing.
The Gophers were often a step behind on defense and consequently took a lot
of hookings and holdings to stop scoring chances.  This is in contrast to
Friday night, where they didn't clutch and grab so much when beaten and
gave up five goals to Michigan State.  Quite frankly, if Jason Botterill
had any idea how to stay in a hockey game, Minnesota would have lost on
Saturday night.
  It is interesting to compare this year's team to last year's.  The
College Hockey Showcase provides the perfect vehicle to do that.  Just like
last year, the Gophers won two one goal games; they were very different
games though.  Last year, they completely dominated the Spartans and only
had to make a late comeback because of a fluke goal and their chronic
inability to actually put the puck in the net.  They outshot State
something like 41-17 and that was very reflective of the play.  Granted,
State is a better team this year, less talented maybe, but far more
disciplined (they're unlikely to put on the kind of Keystone Kops display
of coverage that they did against Wisconsin in the West Regional).
Nevertheless, the defense Minnesota played this Friday was vastly inferior
to the performance last year.  Granted, I've come to accept that Dan Trebil
is going to turn the puck over at the blue on a regular basis, but there
were too many Spartans coming in clean on the net.  A small part of this is
surely due to Doug Woog deciding to try to create more offense, but I think
the team misses Bill Butters coaching the defense.
  The Minnesota-Michigan game last year was one of the most entertaining
games I have ever witnessed.  I was there live, and I have watched a taped
replay and they were two different games.  On tape, Minnesota definitely
had the edge in play.  What the TV couldn't show was the extent to which
the Gophers sucked it up to do so.  Playing a bigger, more physical team
and losing McHugh and Checco early on, they took a real pounding.  By late
in the second period, every stoppage of play saw the Gophers completely
bent over, looking like a completely spent team.  I didn't think there was
a chance that they could come back.  I admit, that I'm picking out their
best game of an entire season, except perhaps a total wipeout of Denver
late; other than the trip to Duluth, though, they haven't come close to
matching that kind of intensity.  This team has more pieces than last
year's but they still need to fit them together.  We, like the Maine fans
and some of the others out there, are fortunate to be rooting for a team
that can have a such good record and still be looking to find its stride on
a consistent basis.
  I do agree though, that DeBus played very well.  I will not be surprised
if, over the next few months, he forces Woog to go away from the strict
rotation he has employed so far.  Moen has played very well; I think that,
as the team gels, DeBus is probably the guy who can carry us the distance.
  Not to leave people with the wrong impression by only carping, Minnesota
did play well.  But they don't show the same effort that last year's team
did.  If they really want to make this the year, they need to combine this
team's talent level with that team's spirit.  I'm sure that we are going to
have a very good season; I'm not so sure that we're going to have a great
one.
 
J. Michael Jackson
 
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