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Minnesota is the state of hockey. I am aware it is most kids' dreams to get drafted by the gophers. There's lots of talk about good kids going to play for them.<br><br>MN is the state of hockey. If all good players went to play for them, there'd be no competition. Well, MN is the state of hockey, generally most good players go there, where do other good players come from? I know for instance that Hummel and Oshie went elsewhere, but where/whoelse that makes a difference? <p>Nice win for the rivalry!</p><i></i>

Just take a look at the various rosters of the teams in the WCHA as well as around the country. For instance, the top players at UMD are from Canada (as well as Minnesota). The top players at Denver are Matt Carle, Alaska and Gabe Gauthier, California. The top player at CC is Brett Sterling, California... Minnesota's starting goaltender, Kellen Briggs is from Colorado...<br><br>Minnesota is deffinately a model for developing hockey players for the college game as well as Jr A and the NHL but there are other states around the country developing quality players as well...<br> <p></p><i></i>

It has a lot to do with how a player develops after high school. Sure the gophers usually have the one of the elite recruiting classes for players coming INTO college, but how those individuals develop as players in college can really be different. College Players all around the country continue to improve and many pass by the players that were recruited highly ahead of them. Not to mention (and it pains me to say this) it is not every elite players dream to play for the Gophers, Although I think this is a form of mental illness!! <p></p><i></i>

A lot of kids may grow up wanting to play for the Gophers, (I know I did) but when the time comes the fit may not be right, they may not be quite up to that level at that time or they simply prefer to stay closer to home or get further from home. Minnesota has some of the best college hockey teams in the country. Most states are lucky to have one top team, we have five D1 hockey schools. <p></p><i></i>

maybe not the gophers anymore, recruiters might want to play for Holy Cross now <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>

It's a geographical thing. In NW MN kids grow up dreaming of playing for the Sioux for the most part. Look at next years Gophers recruiting class... every single kid is a metro kid. The Gophs are missing the boat not looking outside of the Twin Cities. I'd like to thank them for not showing much interest in Oshie though, it will be fun watching him crush cities boys for the next few years. <p></p><i></i>

The not looking outside the metro, and for that matter Minnesota, was more of a Woog thing. Lucia has landed Vanek, Chucko, Potulny, Irmen, Briggs, Kessel, all from well outside the metro area. They snagged Fairchild from Duluth. True that they get most of the players from the metro area, but there is enough talent in that area to justify it. I'm not sure how hard they went after Oshie, and they would love to have him, but can't do anything about it now. The NW MN kids generally are grabbed by the Sioux, as are kids from Shattuck. It's no coincidence that the most highly heralded recruiting classes are usually the Sioux and the Gophers.<br><br>It's usually a goal that you keep the players close to home first, and to their credit, both the Sioux and Gophers have managed to do that. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p100.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... @mnhs>Blue Breeze</A> at: 3/26/06 3:49 pm<br></i>

The Gophers just disapoint me!<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :( --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/frown.gif ALT=":("><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>

Me too. I felt the same way after Friday's Gopher game as I usually do after a Viking's game. I'm going to have to find myself a new favorite team if they continue to play with so little heart and passion. <p></p><i></i>

You guys think you feel bad. You should have driven the 4-1/2 hours with nothing to look at but vast Wastlands. The rink is beautiful. The only downfall with the whole building is that the sue play there. I would rather watch the glee club than the sue. <p></p><i></i>

You're right, going to the game would have been worse. <br>I would like to see The Ralph though. The guys doing the broadcast kept calling it the Palace on the Prairie. Not to mention referring to the slot as the key and saying Tom Vanelli. <p></p><i></i>

I made the trip there last weekend only to be disappointed it was a little annoying having every Sioux fan cheering for Holy Cross so they wouldn't have to face the Gopher's.<br><br>But as for the Ralph, it was my first time there and I had heard these amazing things about it, and to be honest it is a little over done for college hockey, I much prefer Marriucci or the John Glas Field House for Bemidji Hockey, and the nasty sea of green at the Ralph and lack of Hockey knowledge is gross. <p></p><i></i>

I would agree with ya flynn. The most expensive rink in college hockey is located in Grand Forks, but the best rink and atmosphere is at Marriucci. <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>and the nasty sea of green at the Ralph and lack of Hockey knowledge is gross. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>omg tell me about it, i wanted to kill my self sitting there<br>they cheer for everything and the goalie siv after every goal was very annoying <br> <p>Play another sport if ya dont got what it takes to DangleMcFangle.</p><i></i>

The Gophers arena is crappy. I wish they would have something better. But yeah, it sucks the gophers lost. Who would have though that would happen? I figured they would at least make it to the frozen four. <p></p><i></i>