Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast (Episode 26)

On episode 26 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we officially pay our respects to Don Lucia Era.

Minnesota's head coach stepped down after a 19-year run in charge of the Gophers. Drew Cove, Nate Wells and producer Tom Schreier discuss the ramifications of the coaching change, the challenges the next coach (this was recorded prior to the news of Bob Motzko's hiring) will face along with the team losing a pair of players to early departures in Ryan Lindgren and Casey Mittelstadt.

Plus: A giant mailbag that answers several questions, including the Frozen Four and what were Drew and Nate's favorite pieces to write this season.

Those reading their favorite Frank Serratore quotes can directly download here.


As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes.

Plugs and stuff:

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. His latest story comes from the West Regional and explores the parallels between the 2011 and 2018 UMD teams, right down to Jack Connolly coming in to speak with the latest Bulldogs team to make an St. Paul Frozen Four.

Bob Motzko leaves St. Cloud State to become new Gopher hockey head coach (The Athletic)

Bob Motzko will be the next head coach of the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team, the school announced Tuesday.

“I am excited and honored for the opportunity to lead Golden Gopher Hockey,” Motzko said in a press release from the school. “The rich history and tradition of this program is honored by so many in our state and around the country. We will work tirelessly to make those people proud.”

Motzko, who celebrated his 57th birthday Tuesday, has spent the past 13 years as head coach at his alma mater St. Cloud State University. He replaces Don Lucia, who stepped down last week after 19 seasons behind the bench.

Motzko served as an assistant coach to Lucia between 2001 and 2005. The Gophers won a pair of national championships during that time.

Click here to read the rest!

Casey Mittelstadt signs with Buffalo + his thoughts on the college experience

Casey Mittelstadt's time at the University of Minnesota has come to an end.

Mittelstadt signed an entry-level contract Monday (March 26, 2018) with the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted the Eden Prairie, MN native eighth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. The Gopher forward will forgo his final three years of college eligibility.

We've signed forward Casey Mittelstadt to a 3-year entry-level contract.

Welcome to Buffalo, @CMittelstadt! pic.twitter.com/kvLie4Bueu

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) March 26, 2018

Mittelstadt finishes his one college season second on the Gophers with 30 points (11G-19A) in 34 games. He missed three games this year to play in the 2018 WJC, leading the U-20 competition in points.

The first freshman to depart Minnesota for a professional contract since Nick Leddy in 2010, Mittelstadt joins WJC teammate Ryan Lindgren in departing the Gophers early after head coach Don Lucia stepped down last Tuesday following his 19th season. Whoever takes over as head coach in 2018-19 will have to replace the team's most dynamic forward and top defenseman.

In his short time in college, the 19 year-old Mittelstadt earned a new appreciation for the fans and students of the college hockey game.

"Definitely," Mittelstadt told The Gopher Hockey Blog before facing Penn State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. "Obviously, it's cool to see people go all out like that and have some fun. I think for me, it's always fun to see that stuff, it makes for some good laughs in the locker room, things like that. I always enjoy it and think it's pretty funny."

Roar Zone student section signs. All the small photos are Casey Mittelstadt at the NHL Draft combine.

1) Wonder if the "Ew" sign was reused from Wisconsin. 2) The Sabres are owned by this rink's namesake. pic.twitter.com/m8CvFUErnY

— Nate Wells (@gopherstate) February 23, 2018

As the second collegian drafted in 2017, Mittelstadt was the focus of every opposing student section. From Ann Arbor to Grand Forks to State College and everywhere in between, students chanted his name and posted pictures of him attempting to do a pull-up.

"It's definitely fun. (Penn State) has a very good fanbase. I didn't expect it to be that good," he said. "Their student section was great and it made for a very fun weekend."

Mittelstadt signing now means he can burn a year of his ELC. He is expected to play for the Sabres later this week.

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Feature: Questions facing the Gopher program...beyond finding a coach (The Athletic)

“Selfishly, we feel like we have the best hockey job in the country.”

University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle was frank during Tuesday’s press conference announcing head coach Don Lucia would be stepping down after 19 years. As questions turned to who would be Lucia’s successor — the third permanent head coach since 1985 — Coyle mentioned he wants someone who understands what the program means to the state.

“We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished and our incredible tradition,” he said. “I look forward to having conversations with the right people and making sure we find the best fit for our student-athletes and our program.”

However, a new head coach is not the only question facing the Gopher program. Whoever gets the job will have some work to do in 2018-19 after a season that ended with a 19-17-2 record, four consecutive road losses to Penn State and the perfect storm of outcomes to knock the team out of the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s a look at some of the other questions facing Minnesota in 2018-19.

Click here to read the rest!

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 25 (with Chris Eckes and Giles Ferrell)

On Episode 25 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, we discuss the greatest upset in college hockey history.

At 6:15 pm Saturday, Minnesota had a 1 in 64 chance to miss out on the NCAA Tournament. Six games needed to go wrong. By 9:52 pm, all six did, leaving the Gophers out of the 2018 NCAA Tournament and ending the team's season. Upsets galore, blowouts, multiple automatic bids won and last minute comebacks put the nearly impossible front and center.

Chris Eckes and Giles Ferrell join Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier for a full season post-mortem. The talk starts with Saturday's night improbable bad beat before turning to what went wrong, what went right and what could have been. All discuss whether Don Lucia had coached his last game with the Gophers (recorded a day before news broke of Lucia stepping down) and end with some NCAA jersey talk.

Those who like the old John Mayasich Minnesota sweaters can directly download here.

As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes.

Plugs and stuff:

-Chris writes at Gopher Puck Live and Pride on Ice blog. His Lucia piece mentioned on the show can be read here. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chriseckes.

-Giles writes at Zone Coverage where he covers the Minnesota Wild and hosts the Giles and the Goalie podcast. He can be followed on Twitter @gilesferrell.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. His latest story is on the questions facing the 2018-19 Gopher hockey team.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 24 (with Dan Kelly)

On episode 24 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, a Wellsy Award winner joins in on the action.

Without a weekend series to discuss, Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier reconvene anyways. The three get off track quickly before coming back and talking about Minnesota's chances of making the NCAA Tournament now that at least one at-large spot has been taken away. The Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey Tournament that Nate covered gets touched upon as well as who Drew and Nate think should make the Hobey Baker top 10.

Then BTN college hockey announcer and voice of the Chicago Fire Dan Kelly joins to discuss his busy weekend juggling the women's Frozen Four and Chicago-Minnesota United opener. In between, Dan opens up about growing up around the NHL (his father Dan was the longtime voice of the St. Louis Blues) and how that shaped his philosophy calling games, preparing for multiple teams in multiple sports, what he liked about the Big Ten this season and whether Minnesota's year was a disappointment.

Those who miss Chicago Stadium can directly download here.


As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes.

Plugs and stuff:

-As mentioned, Dan will be broadcasting the women's Frozen Four from Ridder Arena for BTN and Chicago Fire-Minnesota United for CSN Chicago. He occasionally announces soccer for ESPN as well. Dan can be found on Twitter at @dankelly_21.

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page.

Podcast: That Gopher Hockey Puckcast Episode 23

On episode 23 of That Gopher Hockey Puckcast, it only seems like a repeat.

Once again the Gophers headed out to State College, PA. Once again the Gophers were swept by Penn State, only this time it came in the Big Ten conference tournament quarterfinals.

Nate Wells, Drew Cove and producer Tom Schreier dive into the weekend that turned Minnesota's two-game losing streak into a four-game losing streak. They discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of the series, which saw Minnesota lose 5-3 and 6-5. Nate also shares how the games got on FSN as well as NCAA Tournament discussion given the Gophers are likely in the field of 16 in two weeks (from air date).

Those stuck in the midst of pothole season can directly download here.


As a reminder, if you subscribed to our old podcast, that feed will no longer work. You need to subscribe to the 'Cast In Gold feed wherever you listen to podcasts. Here it is on iTunes.

Plugs and stuff:

-Drew can be found on Twitter @covedrew and covers Minnesota men's hockey, football and softball for the Minnesota Daily.

-Nate can be found here on this website and at The Athletic (as well as every other website if the various links here don't make clear). You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate and like/subscribe to his Facebook page. His latest Gopher hockey feature was on the Gopher women's team winning the WCHA Final Faceoff.