Without further ado ...
Do the Mavs have to win this series to make the national tournament? I wish I was a little more savvy with my Pairwise knowledge. Just guessing, but I think they might. There are lots of games between now and Selection Sunday, though, so there could be a lot of movement in the rankings. I asked Troy Jutting this question Wednesday and he said, "I don't know if we lose if we're going home, and I don't know if we win if we're getting in. We're going to worry about Friday night first."
Does it appear that this weekend's games against Minnesota will be the highest attended Maverick hockey games ever? At last check, general admission tickets were being sold for the unsold student tickets. Otherwise, there are just standing-room-only tickets left for Friday and Saturday. The Mavericks had their highest-attended game earlier this season when the Gophers were here, along with their best average attendance ever. So, if it's not the highest attended games in program history, it will be close.
Can we expect to see R.J. Linder in action this weekend? Our defense seems so much more sound with him on the ice. Linder is out again with a leg injury. He said today that he hopes it can be ready for the Final Five, if the Mavericks can get there. The Mavericks' defense has been solid this season, and Linder has been a big reason why. Certainly one thing he brings is experience, as both a senior and as a veteran of more than 100 games. Channing Boe, who will take his place, is a freshman, meaning there will be three freshmen defensemen in the lineup. But that was the case last weekend and many other times this season.
This series couldn't of come at a worse time. All the students are on spring break and all the die hard gopher fans are buying up all the tickets. I don't know if the Gopher fans are buying all the tickets or not. They went on sale at noon last Saturday -- before the Mavericks knew who their opponent would be. If Minnesota fans are buying them, well, that's how the free market works. As for students on break, as some of you already responded, that's true at a lot of schools. But I'll be not everybody is going south this week. As of Tuesday, half of the student tickets were sold to students. Those tickets didn't turn over to general admission seating until today.
Do you think Kangas will start on Friday? He's played in 17 consecutive games and has started the last 14, so, yeah, he'll be in goal for the Gophers.
What are the chances Jutting gets coach of the year? I think there is a very good chance that he wins. Jamie Russell, Michigan Tech's coach, told me that he voted for Troy. The Mavericks were picked to finish ninth and finished fourth with a team that lost its best offensive player (Travis Morin) to graduation and its best defenseman (Steve Wagner) to the NHL. They played two or three freshman defensemen and had a load of sophomores in the lineup every night. I think the award comes down to Jutting and Scott Owens of Colorado College.
I have been listening to KFAN and they aren't giving the Mavericks a lot of love to make the final five. In fact I heard (them) say this is the best match up that the Gophers can ask for or get. History shows that it is the best matchup for Minnesota. The Gophers haven't lost to the Mavericks in their last 20 meetings, and the one and only time the Gophers swept a WCHA series this season is when they played MSU. On the flip side, the Mavericks are a much better team than they were in November. They scored big wins at Wisconsin and at Colorado College and swept St. Cloud State and Denver. If the team that won those games shows up, I think the Mavericks play in St. Paul next week. This is going to be a close series. With the exception of the Anchorage-CC series, I think they could all go three games, and that might have been the case no matter how the matchups shook up.
We only have three seniors and Tyree has been scratched for most games this year. How does this compare for other teams in the WCHA as far as how things will stack up next year? If everyone else is back and healthy, the Mavericks should be right back in the mix for an upper-division finish. You know Minnesota and Wisconsin will be hungry to get back there, too, so it will be a battle. The Mavericks' sophomore class took a huge stride this season and should be better next year. The senior class will include Zacharias, who proved he's a top-flight goalie this year; Berge, who has 19 goals; as well as Kalinski, Kilburg, Friesen and Tormey. Andy Sackrison has had a solid freshman season, too, along with the rookie defensemen. Youds could be an all-rookie pick this year, perhaps Davis, too.
Who are the Mavs recruiting either for next year or the following year? Really, I just know the committed guys right now: F-Thompson, D-Cooper, F-Schiller, D-Dieter and F-Mueller for next year; D-Heath and G-Murdock for 2009 and F-Leivermann for '09 or '10. Obviously, they're looking down the line, too, but they don't need a lot (provided there are no unexpected departures) the next two seasons. They only graduate three from this year's team, and Tyree doesn't play much. Perhaps some of the incoming players will spend an extra year in junior hockey. After that, they'll need another goalie, while losing two forwards and two defensemen. Remember, they also have F-Mike Louwerse back next season. He was a medical redshirt this year and just underwent sports hernia surgery. They also have freshmen F-Brett Peterson and D-Peter Lompado on the roster this year.
But that's down the line. Now it's the WCHA playoffs, Gopher week. A trip to the Final Five is on the line, as is a secure spot in the Pairwise. Enjoy the weekend.
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