Let's dig in for this week.
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with the massive Gopher football win Saturday (biggest in my lifetime), what is the equivalent Gopher hockey win? or is there not an equivalent given gopher hockey sustained excellence.— Chad Stevermer (@stretch3281) November 13, 2019
Nothing like starting a college hockey mailbag with some football talk, right?
Minnesota's win over Penn State in a battle of 8-0 teams hit a sweet spot as someone following decades of Gopher football. (And I say this as someone surrounded by Nittany Lions fans Saturday. Credit to them for being great sports.) Seeing a maroon and gold crowd rush TCF Bank Stadium was night and day from previous times opposing fans did at the Metrodome. The only similar games in recent history that brought up the same feeling were the last two Axe wins and seeing Minnesota celebrating winning the Little Brown Jug in person in 2014.
None of those games, however, hold the same value for Minnesota from a stakes perspective as Saturday's win. The vast majority of fans rushing the field were not alive during Gopher football's glory days. Throw in the fact that the story has not been completely written and it's tough to come up with a comparable win for Gopher hockey.
Winning the 2002 national championship after 23 years seems too big for the occasion. The 0.6 victory over North Dakota shares more with the Axe and Little Brown Jug games. While Minnesota hockey has its share of big wins, sustained success makes it difficult to reach the highs of Minnesota football. If there is a recent college hockey comparison, it's likely Michigan Tech or Bowling Green returning to the NCAA Tournament in recent years after decades of disappointment.
The closest Gopher hockey victory to Saturday's football win I can come up with would be March 3, 2012 against Wisconsin. Trailing 1-0 in the third period, Minnesota scored a shorthanded goal by Erik Haula and a game-winning-goal by Nate Schmidt that earned one of the loudest roars at Mariucci. Given the Gophers were on a three-season NCAA Tournament drought and won the MacNaughton Cup that night, it's one that sticks out in memory.
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Who do you think are pretenders at this point of the season, who are the contenders for the end of the year?— Derek Gorny (@derekg324) November 11, 2019
Mid-November marks a point where enough time elapsed to gauge each team yet not enough to proclaim anyone ready to be a national champion. A number of top November teams over the years faded down the stretch or even missed the NCAA Tournament.
So far, a key for success seems to experience paying off for several teams. Denver and UMass both took another step following Frozen Four seasons. Minnesota State has been the top returning team expected. Cornell and Notre Dame both brought back its biggest pieces and both are currently undefeated.
Right now, there is a difference. Before the season began, much was made of young teams and phenomenal rookies. Six weeks into 2019-20, the Wisconsins and Boston Colleges and BUs and Minnesotas have shown some positive moments without the consistency expected from a contender. Even Providence, to some extent with its sophomore class, can be thrown into this category.
Maybe that changes down the line as the season continues, but for now it's difficult to know what to make. Other teams who may need more time include Northern Michigan and Omaha, who credit to both have followed its plan to success yet also wondering if it's the opposition or opportunity. (Omaha entering NCHC play this weekend will tell a lot.) Robert Morris is an interesting case in that the Colonials lead Atlantic Hockey yet have been outshot more than any other school.
Finally, both North Dakota and Penn State are outliers in that both are closer to a contender than a pretender. The Fighting Hawks lost 12 games last season while being outshot. Even if the defense swings back towards the middle from the first six weeks where UND has given up 1.67 goals per game, there's reason to think the team can contend. Same with Penn State, who is playing some of the best defense in program history.
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End the debate: Who has the second best ceiling in college hockey?— Dartmouth Men's Hockey (@Dartmouth_MIH) November 12, 2019
If it counts for college hockey, Madison Square Garden. If not MSG, Yale's is literally inside the belly of a whale, or the barn-like arctic ceiling of the school Dartmouth threw tennis balls at last weekend. Basically, turns out the Tri-State Area and Ivy League put efforts in making interesting ceilings.
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Does Ratzlaff end up on Gophers hockey in 2 years or play football?— Wild Dad (@WildDad77) November 12, 2019
Is Chaz Lucius going to ever see the U of M campus?— tjsimplot (@tjsimplot) November 13, 2019
I'm putting both of these questions together because they get to the same point. This week marks the beginning of when next year's rookies can sign National Letters of Intent. It's a time where the next generation has an opportunity to thank everyone who helped them along the way and turn a verbal commitment into something more official.
It's also a time for some - whether it's the player or team - to choose other plans. Decommitments get highlighted.
Right now, college hockey will be finishing up the days of early recruiting as the final few classes sign and get on campus. Honestly, it's been refreshing since May to not need to discuss bantams or the first 2002-born player (Ratzlaff) or 2003-born (Lucius) to verbally commit to Minnesota despite both finding success.
How long has it been since both committed? Ratzlaff and Lucius each committed to a different head coach. In Lucius' case, while he is scoring more than a goal per game for the US U-17 team, he's still closer to when this 2017 story about what a verbal commit from a 14 year-old means was written to being on campus.
That lesson still stands. Although it's always a question whether a commit follows a new head coach who didn't recruit him or her, there's still too much time to worry until they would or would not be on campus.
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Will @MavHockey get their first NCAA tournament victory? Who’s your favorite to win it all?— Mark (@Mark_Michalski) November 11, 2019
Can I link to the answer I gave last mailbag? It still holds true.
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Being on the east coast now, how different do the east and west styles of college hockey compare and contrast so far this season?— Drew Cove (@covedrew) November 12, 2019
Honestly, the days of East and West being completely different seem to be going away as more schools expand recruiting. The styles are breaking down more by conference than geography. It's hard to say whether the Big Ten free-for-all or WCHA land of the 2-1 games better represent the West. One thing, however, is that getting used to the two-game series not being a thing out East has taken some time.
Also: Despite living around New York City and next door to New England, it's far easier to get Big Ten and NCHC games on TV than Hockey East.
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How do you see the @GopherHockey goalie tandem playing out the rest of this season?— Amanda Rodriguez (@ARod3719) November 11, 2019
Historically, Bob Motzko eventually decides upon a goaltender in a platoon and goes with him for the rest of the season. Right now, that's how I expect the platoon to play out as either Jared Moe or Jack LaFontaine take over.
Both have gotten opportunities to run with the goalie position - most notably, Moe starting both games against Notre Dame - and both are above .905%. It's positive to see Moe, as a freshman, stand his net and play well against the defending national champions and a Notre Dame team that currently is undefeated. It wouldn't shock me to see him get more time if that continues.
Still, the goaltending situation is another sign of where the Gophers are in November. For anyone wondering why Minnesota is unranked and not already contending (something I've seen this week), the plan for a young team like the Gophers, replacing a number of key players, was going to take time.
There are some positives to take away yet work to be done. Offensively, the battle to three non-ENG goals has been a rough battle in the early going. Three players have scored on the power play. Once again, Minnesota has been getting outshot. Most importantly, positive steps get mixed with lost opportunities, whether it's the season opener against CC or the Saturday Notre Dame game. If those change by the time a single goalie is in net, that will speak loudly to Bob Motzko's second year.
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Not yet and it would be sad if Alabama Huntsville's on-campus arena, of which plans are there but the money and a construction timeline have not, does not lead to another conference affiliation.
Thank you everyone for questions this week! If you have any more that you would like to get answered or a take on any that were, be sure to comment below or tweet me @gopherstate. This should be happening more regularly, whether it's here or somewhere else.
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