Playoffs: at Bemidji St. (3/4, 3/5, 3/6 (if nec.))

[mbenecke]

Massive Bemidji flop on a play where we could’ve gotten a PP instead ends with offsetting penalties (of course) so we’re skating 4x4 here.

And naturally, it ends in the back of our net.

It’s 2-1 Bemidji with 9:47 to play in the third.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I hope we practiced our extra attacker special teams play.

[mbenecke]

Bemidji buries an empty netter and that’ll be game.

Guys facedown on the ice in disappointment at the season ending is a far too familiar sight around here. Something must change. We have to fix the trajectory of this program.

Thanks to the seniors. To the off-season we go.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Both Bemidji goals scored on odd man rushes. We miss two breakaways. Season in a nutshell.

Seven freshmen are sophomores next season.

[jpfalcon09]

Well… it’s game day.

Any series predictions out there?

Beavs in 3. Think BG pulls out a tight one tonight, but can't close the deal. Both teams are reeling so hard to really get a gauge on how this is going to end up.

Called it. Despite the down year it's still a disappointment. Next year isn't going to be much easier with the lack of offense we've seen from the underclassmen.

[pdt1081]

Massive Bemidji flop on a play where we could’ve gotten a PP instead ends with offsetting penalties (of course) so we’re skating 4x4 here.

"Checking from behind" when you are in front of every player. That sums up a lot.

[mbenecke]

Well… it’s game day.

Any series predictions out there?

Beavs in 3. Think BG pulls out a tight one tonight, but can't close the deal. Both teams are reeling so hard to really get a gauge on how this is going to end up.

Called it. Despite the down year it's still a disappointment. Next year isn't going to be much easier with the lack of offense we've seen from the underclassmen.

They’re going to have to figure something out despite the roster issues. You can call one year a blip, but if next year is down like this year, it goes from a one-off to who we are as a program, and I suspect people around here won’t take kindly to another mediocre to bad year.

Love Ty. I think he’s a really good representative for our program. Here’s hoping he gets things turned around and has the boys punching above their weight next year.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I’m cautiously pessimistic. With the changes from last year this season went as I expected. My concern is that we didn’t improve over the year. That’s on the coaches whether it’s Xs and Os or the recruiting trail. We don’t know what impact Stavros might have in this regard.

Once again, Potulny has the Cats peaking at the right time.

[jpfalcon09]

I’m cautiously pessimistic. With the changes from last year this season went as I expected. My concern is that we didn’t improve over the year. That’s on the coaches whether it’s Xs and Os or the recruiting trail. We don’t know what impact Stavros might have in this regard.

Once again, Potulny has the Cats peaking at the right time.

Things just never jelled with this group. Felt like after the Ohio State series that things went south. Getting a healthy Rose back will help somewhat, but the program is going to need an infusion of young talent to be competitive in the league.

Really frustrating we're here after the tournament year, and then the loss of the 2020 tournament due to covid. The program was in a position to take the next step and instead it's slipped back into mediocrity at best.

Love this program and never want to see it end up where it was when I was a student. My concerns might be overblown but it won't take much to be back in single digit wins if things don't start improving.

[TommyG]

I don’t think you’ll see single digit win totals because the conference is mediocre, we usually schedule medium difficulty non conference schedules, and they should still be able to get a reasonable amount of talent. Definitely agree that the direction we are heading is toward being a non- factor in a bad conference.

[pdt1081]

Things just never jelled with this group. Felt like after the Ohio State series that things went south. Getting a healthy Rose back will help somewhat, but the program is going to need an infusion of young talent to be competitive in the league.

Really frustrating we're here after the tournament year, and then the loss of the 2020 tournament due to covid. The program was in a position to take the next step and instead it's slipped back into mediocrity at best.

Love this program and never want to see it end up where it was when I was a student. My concerns might be overblown but it won't take much to be back in single digit wins if things don't start improving.

I think they spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year trying to convince themselves the "team" was as strong off the ice as they had been before. The last two years have been anything but normal off the ice. Yes, every other team had to deal with the same thing, but BG was one of the very few that didn't have to postpone games. From an outside, selfish perspective, that's amazing and absolutely congratulations for that. The downside being that also means they did a good job limiting their contact with anybody outside the program. Too much togetherness can be just as much a detriment as a benefit.

I'm one that holds hope the legacy players are coming in at the right time. And not necessarily for the on ice talent.