Author Topic: Anybody out there like college hockey?  (Read 2621 times)

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Offline Libertas

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Anybody out there like college hockey?
« on: October 17, 2011, 06:54:51 AM »
Awesome play over the weekend...Minnesota swept defending national champion MN Duluth in a pair of 5-4 games.  MN goalie stopped a hundred shots over both games and MN had 44 shots Friday night and just 16 Saturday night but capitalized on their opportunities.  Lots of back and forth action, good fun to watch!  Like the college game better than the pros!

 ::thumbsup::
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline Predator Don

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Re: Anybody out there like college hockey?
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2011, 07:13:34 PM »
Hockey is my favorite sport. If it's on, I have a TV tuned in.

After two road wins, my Preds struggling now. ::whatgives::
I'm not always engulfed in scandals, but when I am, I make sure I blame others.

Offline Magnum

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Re: Anybody out there like college hockey?
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2011, 08:46:20 PM »
Thank you for the post Libertas. The Minnesota hockey Gopher’s is one of my two favorite teams the other being the #*$#*% Vikings ::bashing:: but I degress.

Being born in Minnesocold hockey was a way of life for many of us. One of the great things about Minnesota is the number of lakes we have even in the cities. One of the lakes I grew up around in St. Paul had numerous hockey rinks on it. And many a day my friends and  I would bring our shovels down to the lake and clear off a rink which we would then play hockey for hours. I grew up dreaming one day I might be able to put on the honored block M sweater and play for the Golden Gophers. I never was good enough but from the day my dad took me to my first Gopher hockey game in 1969 against the hated Michigan Wolverines, I was hooked.

Fast forward 2002 the Gophers had not won a national championship since 1979.  Yes we came close numerous times such as the 1989 National champion game against Harvard which we lost in overtime. I was at the game and I was bummed for weeks afterward…….. I took it just as bad as any of the Vikings 4 superbowl loses.

Anyway we………….. Gopher hockey had a fantastic team in 2002 and I followed them religiously that year as my buddy had season tickets and I must have went to 10 or 11 games. We made it to the National Championship game and it was played here at home at the X.

I could not watch the game I was so nervous. I paced the house  and would not turn on the radio until I thought the game would be over. I was driving my kid’s nuts. Well I finally turned on the radio Matt Koalska a St. Paul boy  scored with less than a minute to go to tie the game and send it into overtime. By this time I was going insane. I shut off the radio and paced the house for another 15 to 20 minutes. When I turned the game on to hear what was going on Grant Potulnty had just scored the winning goal to seal the deal and bring the National championship home. I went nuts and was running around the neighborhood hooting and hollering. My wife and one of my kids were just coming home from a Mother /Child banquet (later she told me she would not come home until the game was over because she knew what a nervous wreck I was). As she was coming down the street she saw me running and hollering and basically scaring my neighbors half to death. She got out of the car took me home hugged, snuggled and tucked me into bed. For one night all was right with the world and I had a wonderful nights sleep with dreams that I had scored the winning goal.

Hopefully the Gophers are out of their funk ever since their stunning loss to Holy Cross in the regionals in 2006. I am hoping  tDon finally again has his boys playing up to the standards of Gopher Hockey.

Here are the highlights form the 2002 National Championship Game

2002 NCAA Hockey Final

« Last Edit: October 20, 2011, 08:57:00 PM by Magnum »
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your GOD will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Offline Libertas

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Re: Anybody out there like college hockey?
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2011, 07:04:21 AM »
Yeah, I was a nervous wreck during many of those games as well!  I used to go to a lot of games, either get tickets with/from a buddy or just go scalp some.  The Old Barn would be rocking!

I remember many a rowdy game, action fast & furious, Goldy up on his perch spinning his head and playing with his toys taunting the opposing goalie, the chants echoing off the old walls.  Saw one of the craziest things in there once, have to believe it happened more than once.  The open end of the rink had "the cave" (so named because of that low down-slanting overhang)...I was in the general admission seats and a player came skating hard into the zone on the left point and let loose a hard slap shot that deflected off a defensemans stick, flew up and hit the overhang, ricocheting off the overhang and hit a guy square in the noggin who just oopened the double door into the arena on our side with food and drink in a cardboard tray...food, dude...all drop to the grouind and security people rush right to him.  Never heard how that guy made out, but it all happened like it was slow motion...I remember the light from the door opening catching my attention in my peripheral vision as I followed the path of the puck.

I remember that damn Harvard game too!  IThat game was i St.Paul and we beat a good Maine team to get into that game, and it had the famous shot-off-the-post-heard-round-the-world and we lost 4-3 in OT.  Grrrrrrr!  I had a cousin who played on that team, I'll keep him safely anonymous.  Anyway, what a bummer, I thought we had that one!

Had a swoon there in the later Woog years, but had some good teams.  I had a buddy who had a set of tickets in the Gold Club at the new Mariaucci arena, up there behind the goal MN shoots at in the 1st & 3rd periods, that mezzanine had seats in the front we'd sit at and the lounge in the back.  You used to be able to get free food up there, then they started charging for that.  But you could have all the beer, wine or pop you wanted.  To get those you not only had to pay the ticket cost, but you also had to pony up money for the Williams Fund.  I had a stretch where I would see about a half dozen games up there.  Used to run into Woog's daughter, Lou Nanne, Glen Sonmor and players like Brian Bonin would roll up there.  I remember congratulating Brian on his Hobey Baker award up there.

Lucia winning in 2002 (beating Maine in OT!) and 2003 (NH) was awesome.  Had some 1st place WCHA teams after that that should have done more in NCAA, but losing players early to the NHL, getting new teams popping up and more competition for in-state talent and tinkering with the mix (big/strong/slow - small/light/fast) seemed to derail things.  We've been kinda wandering the past 4 seasons and I hope we can turn it  around.

Beating the defending Champs in their own building last week was a heck of a good start!  We come into this series against unranked Vermont ranked 8th.  Lets hope they can keep getting better.  I really like this Rau kid, and Patterson in goal is solid.  I think the offense looks good and I hope the special teams stay hot.  If I have one worry it is our defense, they are young and some are smaller.  I think how well our D plays will have a lot to say where we finish.
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline Sectionhand

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Re: Anybody out there like college hockey?
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2011, 05:16:34 AM »
At Ohio University back in the late 60s-early 70s we had a pretty agressive recruiting program and had quite a few Canadian boys ( spoke english as a second language ) there on scholarships . The games were fast , bloody and exciting !

Offline Libertas

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Re: Anybody out there like college hockey?
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2011, 06:53:40 AM »
A lot of them hosers are in the WCHA too, North Dakota was always fond of raiding the junior leagues...nothing like a twenty-something freshman from Cannukistan going up against an 18 year old Minneosta kid fresh out of high school!

 ::)

Other leagues got a lot of hosers too.  There was a game back in the early/mid-80's...between River Falls and...heck, I can't remember the other team, my buddy went to River Falls and knows the story better...but I guess there were a lot of Canadians on each team and a brawl broke out during the skate-around.
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.