Well, after being an avid fan for many years I can't believe it took
me this long to finally get into the new Mariucci Arena.  With most of the
hunting season now behind me I can get into the Minnesota winter weekend
pattern of watching fishing shows Saturday morning, a game of pick-up down at
the pond at noon, and then a trip over to the U to catch the Gophers
beat somebody else.
 
     A lot of folks on Hockey-L seem to be laughing at the hap-less Gophers
with their all Minnesota team, new arena, and bad start this season.  Well
talk your crap now, the Gophers are just coming into their own.
 
     What do you expect out of a group of Freshmen and Sophomores?  They'll
catch on.  High-school to WCHA is a big step to take without a couple
of big-guns (Hendrickson and Johnson) to watch score goals.  The game I
saw Saturday (I'll admit it, it was my first game of the season) was your
typical UND/UofM tilt.  A bunch of Minnesota boys beating a bunch of
Canadian Juniors who get pissed off and get cheap.  Then, after soundly
beating the Souix for 2 periods, crawl into a shell and barely eke out
a victory.  Then winning the next night for a sweep.  What is all this
about the Gophers being any different than previous years?
 
     About the in-state only recruiting.  When the Wooger intentionally
goes out of state (or worse yet up to Canada) to get players, I, along
with about 9000 others, will turn in our season tickets and ask the
governer to get us another pro team.  Then we can watch the game those
guys play on ice where you clutch and grab and fight.  I think they call
it "professional hockey" down in Dallas.
 
     Now that I got everybody laughing and thinking I am totally clueless,
lets look at the standings.  The Gophs got the Seawolves this weekend.
Good chance for the Gophers to take four points.  UND and MTU have the
weekend off so there is a very good chance that come Monday the
Gophers will move up another spot or two.  If St. Cloud and Denver split,
the Gophers will be alone in 5th place, 4 points out of first, 3 out of
third, and 1 point out of 4th.  A sweep of Wisconsin in their next
WCHA series would make them contenders.
 
     With the Gophers bad start nobody expects them to get in front of
NMU or Wis. but they should overtake Denver soon and end up in 3rd or 4th
place by the end of the season.  Remember you heard it here first.  3rd or
4th place.  Then all you Hockey-Ler's laughing at Minnesota's Pride on Ice can
come up to the Twin Cities for the Final Four and eat Doug Woog's shorts.
 
     We'll see the real Gopher team on January 8th and 9th.  The Cheeseheads
(thats Wisconsin for all you eastern folks) are headed into town then for a
tilt at Mariucci and one at the Target center for the new tradition "the
border battle".  Four points there and you'll be watching the Gophers in
the Civic Center come March.
 
     Not to worry Michigan fans.  The Wooger has a monkey on his back in
the Civic Center.  If he makes it there, remember the Harvard game back in
1989.  Skarda hits the pipe, a Harvard guy picks up the puck, skates down,
and silences a sold out Civic Center with one shot.  As a South St. Paul
High-School Hockey coach, in many trips to the Civic Center, even one trip
with soon to be NHL star Phil Housley, Doug Woog couldn't take home the first
place hardware.
 
     Us Gophers fans love our home grown product.  Without it we would
be just another NCAA pro-feeder team.  I guess I like the way things are
now.
 
     What a state, what a tradition.
 
     Minnesota Hats off to thee, da da da da da da.....
 
--
- Matt Rein
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