As I think I've made clear, both on here and in my personal life, I am no great fan of hockey. It's too cold.
However, the Gophers are kind of a big deal, and what kind of Gopher blog would this be without a Gopher hockey preview?
With that said, here is my first guest post, as my friend The Todd has decided to graciously write a Gopher Hockey preview for me. I read through it and I've heard of like, two of these people, but that's my deal. It's entertaining, and I'm going to assume it's informative. So here we go:
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It's just about time for the Juggernaut of Golden Gopher Men's Hockey to start the 2007-2008 season. Up here in Gopher country, we don't rebuild...we reload. This year should be familiar with the cream rising to the top. The defending two time WCHA champs have been picked to finish second in the league behind UND courtesy of an obviously biased Grand Forks Herald (the coaches poll).
Last year the Maroon and Gold finished atop the conference with an 18-7-3 record. As the ever growing parity of the WCHA increases from year to year, expect things to tighten even more for the race to the McNaughton Cup. North Dakota, Wisconsin, SCSU and Colorado College all have strong campaigns this year making the charge to the top a wild 5 team scramble. Michigan Tech, Denver, Mankato State, UMD and Alaska Anchorage round out the rest of the conference. Expect some noise and upsets from Denver and UMD as I think they will surprise some teams with their young talent and team speed.
The Gophers will be led by surprising sophomore returnee and all WCHA 2nd teamer Kyle Okposo who was a sure top 10 first round NHL draft pick but opted to stay one more year (my guess to bed some more coeds). Second year player Jay Barriball and Junior Blake Wheeler will also add to the offensive fire power looking to improve on stellar 2006-2007 campaigns. Senior Derek Peltier is captaining this ship and will bolster a young defensive core while junior Jeff Frazee will get the start in goal. This will be his first year to silence any critics as he will be the unanimous number one net minder and carry the bulk of the load between the pipes.
Juniors RJ Anderson, Justin Bostrom and Ryan Stoa combining with Sophomores Mike Carman, David Fischer Ryan Flynn, Tony Lucia and Brian Shack will play key roles to finding the identity of this team with defense being the main focus. Expected departures for the NHL cabbage were defensemen Erik Johnson and Alex Goligoski. Defenseman Mike Vanelli and Goalie Kellen Briggs who were two huge cornerstones of the rock solid defensive core of a year ago, were lost to graduation.
An influx of seven homegrown freshman will need to contribute to this year's success led by high flying All-State Forward Patrick White who hails from Grand Rapids, MN.
The Maroon and Gold should have plenty of offensive fire power and weapons to keep them in every single game this year. That should be a given. The one question is how will the D respond with so many new faces defending the goal.
Keep your eye on the weekends of 12/7-12/8 and 2/1-2/2 as these four games against North Dakota could prove pivotal determining the outcome for the McNaughton Cup and who is king of the hill. One thing is certain, it's going to be a dogfight to the very last weekend before a conference winner will be determined.
My homer prediction of course is the Gophers by a landslide over a surprise push from Wisconsin.
The Gophers open the season this weekend at the Xcel Energy Center against RPI and then the winner/loser of Michigan and Boston College.
Put the women and children to bed (and get Woog a drink), it's time to drop the puck!
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Thanks The Todd, and yeah for hockey! I am fired up now!
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15 comments:
Well done The Todd! Go Gophers!
Hartman/Shooter- How can a coaches poll be biased???
Come on WWWWWW, if you are going to have someone write a whca preview or even a gophers preview please have it be someone who follows the sport. "The Re-todd", First of all going out on a limb and calling Okposo a sure fire top 10 pick is ballsy seen as how he was drafted #7 overall in 2006. Secondly, Blake Wheeler had a "stellar 2006-2007"???? You do know that he scored like 4 total goals after the first of the year right??? 3rd, You forgot that 1st round draft pick Jim O'brian also bolted for the pro's and is actually a bigger loss then Johnson and Goligoski because it caught the coaches with their pants down. The coaches expected the other two to leave and had players in the wings to replace them. Brian Shack will play an important roll (wtf)??????? He never played an important roll on his high school team at Brainerd, now he is going to play one for the U.
WWWW, Here is an educated prediction on how the WCHA will finish...
1)UND 2) Gophers 3) Denver 4) CC 5) Wisconsin 6) Mich Tech 7) St. Cloub 8) UMN 9) Mankato 10) AA
Put the women and children to bed (and get Woog and re-todd a drink), it's time to drop the puck!
Mmmm, thanks for the humble pie. Tastes almost as good as your mom.
The biased poll comment was a little something I like to call sarcasm. Sorry that one went over your head buddy.
O'Brien can take his weak 15 point 2006 season straight to the pros. Brian Shack is a cake eater who went to Totino Grace, not Brainerd. And Wheeler's acrobatic, ESPY-esq OT winner against your beloved UND Sioux to win the Final 5 was all he needed to do to have a stellar year.
As always, thanks for the comment!
Also, There is no way that Okposo stayed in school to shag co-ed's. Word spread about his enormous member and the damage it causes to young co-eds quickly spread on campus last fall. There are only a select few women in Mpls (and Jacie) that can take in his entire manhood. He would have been better off bolting for the pro's so he could have his way with real groupies.
First of all, I am adopted and come from a new age family (means I have two dads) so if you like the taste of my mom her/his name is John (he is the woman/catcher in the relationship). If you swing that way I am cool with that. Also, Steve Stiffler just called, he wants his lines from American Pie 1, 2 and 3 back.
If you really think losing O'brien to the pro's is no big deal then you truly are a typical gopher fan. If you guys are now judging your season by how you do against UND in meaningless playoff tournaments the you can add your hockey program to the list of second tier programs at your second tier school. I will take the workman like goal Porter scored 1 week later to beat the gophers in OT that sent "my" team to the frozen four.
You and Black Wheeler enjoy your espy and I will continue to enjoy watching UND play live on ESPN at the Frozen Four.
Typical Gopher Fan! You can take Wheeler's conference tourney goal and shove it up your ass, only a Gopher fan would be so proud of something so meaningless. We win important things; like National Championships: 7 - 5, Conference Championships: 13 -12. So you can lay claim to the Broadmoor Trophy every single year if you want. It must me hard to win, when it is played in your backyard, every single year.
P.S. Your arena is a lifeless shithole!
I'm thinking you're just upset because the bartender just ran out of Windsor and Canadian Club.
I would probably take another WCHA Championship over the NCAAs if it means I get to watch all of you cry on your way out of the X. Priceless.
Andy, What was even more priceless was watching the look on all of your faces when Frazee gave up the 180 foot goal at Mariucci. Now that my friend was priceless!
You and Todd, continue to enjoys those WCHA tournament banners. Us, Denver and Wisconsin will continue looking down on you from our mountain of NCAA trophies.
How does it feel to be the fourth best program in the WCHA?
Commadore guy, you are a bit angry???
Why are you two toolbag Sioux fans perusing a Gopher blog anyway? Seriously, that's a classy move. I'm guessing you've blown all the steers and queers up there and are now bored? Either way, it's been fun. Ya'll come back now yah hear!
Todd- It has already come to the steers and queers routine???? I guess blockbuster must have been out of high school comedies last night so you have no whity one liners for us. You also proved your education runs as deep as your knowledge of gopher hockey.
You are correct, there is nothing but hillbillies, farms and bestiality in North Dakota. So I am going to go smear Peanut butter on my crank and let one of my goats lick it off. I know it sounds pathetic, but at least I can go to sleep tonight knowing that its not as pathetic as the Gopher/WCHA preview you posted for the whole world to read.
I will now leave your blog alone so you can once again write your hockey previews and try and act like you know something about hockey to all your basketball loving friends.
P.S. Don't lump me in with Commodore, I hate red heads.
P.S.S. 7>5
WWWWWWW- I think its sweet that you let your mentally crippled nephew write the gophers hockey preview for you. Was that like through make a wish or something.
Who else would get into a debate about hockey with UND fans? Their team is better, their arena is far superior and they can still smoke cigs in bars. The last part is enough to make WWWW a diehard Sioux Fan.
Another fun fact about UND is that its nowhere near Texas, so your bit about steers,queers and yahl makes absolutely no sense. You are stupid and so is Gopher Hockey.
Congrats, you just knocked Dane Cook off as the Most Un-Funny person in America.
Come on Sioux fans(or at least these guys)! You guys keep posting because it is definitely worth a laugh. Granted it is more of a I feel sorry for you laugh.
You guys would certainly turn off any fringe hockey fan. If I had to deal with you two toolbags I wouldn't like hockey either. I'll see if you I can't stop and say hi at the next UofM, UND matchup. I figure you guys will be easy to find with your helmet and bib.
haha, I am sorry but gopher hockey fans need to wake up and smell the last 3 seasons. I am gonna throw something out there that will make me smile and you cry.....HOLY CROSS!!
You take some of the best(faggy) hockey players from North Dakota(which all started with Grant Potulney not able to cut it for the sioux) and you still cant make the final 4. ha
Winning one game in december a year against us does not give you any kind of bragging rights. And Black Wheelers "joke" of a goal last year is something you douches would try hold on too.
Maybe if you want to watch and support a losing team you should put on some purple and gold and start cheering for Minnesotas second biggest joke of a team! (next to you, of course)
I was going to stay out of this conversation for two reasons, #1 the gopher fans who where trying to defend the team have as much credibility as Jayson Blair and #2 the sioux fans that had been posting where actually very amusing. But it was only a matter of time until a true sioux fan would pipe off and ruin anything that was typed by and intelligent Nodak fan earlier.
A couple quick hitters before we get into the meat of the topic. #1, Your screen name is about as intelligent as your use of the word "faggy". It takes a real thinker to go from post to post and manipulate other peoples screen names. #2, learn to spell. We know they teach you how to fly at UND, but you should also have them work spelling and sentence structure into their curriculum.
Now lets get to some hockey. Holy Cross? Just because your team hasn't won an NCAA title since the turn of the century you need to hang your hats on the achievements of another program??? Also, two years earlier we could bring up Ferris State knocking the Sioux out of the NCAA tournament, but we tend to talk about our team, not bask in the glory of others. Plus, Holy cross has Jesus on their side and how fair is that? Now go spend $85 on a Holy Cross Jersey so you can be as unfunny as the 100 other losers that show up at the finals five and think they are both origonal and funny.
I am smelling the last three seasons and I am wondering what I am sniffing. Could it be the Gophers 3 titles (2 league and 1 playoff) because I know UND has only a playoff title in that time period. What is truly funny about your program is you have become the gophers of the 80's and 90's. You have all of the talent in the world, but a coward for a coach and choke every year when it means the most.
Also, All three North Dakotans played in the frozen four with one of them winner 2 national titles. But don't let the truth get in the way of your post. We also swept two games from North Dakota last time we played in December. I am guessing Sioux fans are not counting one because the refs screwed them. If you also check the records we have a winning record at the Adolf Hitler Memorial Arena, so I am guessing we are doing more then winning 1 game per year against your collection of overrated, no heart in big game twats. (side not we also lead the all-time series 137-120-11)
Now get back to watching your Division II sports and defending your use of a racist logo. I think this is were a true sioux fans says "All Hail Hitler"......bunch of racist!
P.S. Of course Commadore isn't good in the sack, he is from Canada and has a little canadian dink.
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