Settling in around 5 last night I intended to watch a hockey game between the Gophers and the Saint Cloud State Huskies. I got something very different.
I have loved Gopher Hockey since I can remember. All the great players came and went through Mariucci Arena are still etched into my brain. The thing I most wanted to see was a national championship which they gave me two of back 02-03. Now I see something very different.
Yes we still get amazing hockey players to come to the U of M. That will always be true. They are some seriously skilled players on the Gophers right now: Jordan Schroeder, Nick Leddy, and Zach Budish for example. All are draft picks to the NHL, no doubt. But they don’t seem like a team anymore. It seems to me it is just a collection of talented players playing together. That doesn’t win games let alone national championships.
Watching last night was torture. Gophers were down 2-0 after the first. Now some credit has to go to Mike Lee, the Huskies goaltender. He was impressive. But we got our chances and couldn’t put the puck in the net. I was getting so angry I almost didn’t want to eat food. By the end of the 2nd we were down 3-0. The forecheck seemed listless at best.
At this juncture, I have to wonder how much heart the Gophers are playing with. They don’t seem to have a uniting guy in the locker room like a Johnny Pohl or Grant Poltuny to keep them in line. I am also wondering how much Don Lucia has left. With his illness last year I am starting to think he is at the tail end of his time with the Gophers. Now let me clear, I think he is an amazing coach and recruiter. But like Urban Meyer, he may have worked himself into his illness. I hope this isn’t true and Lucia is here for years to come, winning tons of and games and a national championship or two. But don’t be surprised if he is gone sooner rather than later.
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