Lucia is safe

[scsavre]

Well i have been hoping for Lucia's firing from the U of M for a few years now, but it doesnt look like i am going to get my way. This year a few rumors have been flying about getting rid of Lucia and replacing him with Dean Blais.

Looks like the AD supports Lucia and he is staying.

Inch college hockey-Lucia

[PierBridge]

A few years now? LOL!

[rayguy]

You can bet that seeing they kept Brewster that Lucia is a lock.

[jwhjr]

No kidding, if Brewster got an extension there's no way Lucia should be leaving.

[&JAG]

One more bad season he will be gone... Remember our Football team has not been good for a long time, that's the only reason Brewster is still around and some. Lucia's step-up has always been blue chip, there should be No Excuses for there play. One more season...

[scsavre]

Yah, honestly i get annoyed every time i here Brewster. The future the future, this signing class is going to be competitive this year. blah blah. The U is one of the biggest schools in the nation. Brand new stadium, its about time we start getting good again.

Back to Lucia - underachiever.

[cbrooks]

I'm surprise. I thought this was gonna be the year Blais takes over the Gophs.

[KMR85]

With every passing year I dislike Luci more and more. He just seems like a pompus "ash"

[Quackaddict9]

Quote:

Back to Lucia - underachiever.

let's throw away these two national championships in the garbage...

[scsavre]

Hey Quak, honestly look up Lucia's record. Look at his failures in the Post season. He has had the number 1 overall seed 2 times and has won 1 playoff game.

And as far as the 2 titles, you cant take those away from him, however his seniors and one season both seniors and juniors were Woogs players and recruits.

3 frozen 4 appearences in 10 years isnt great for the U. this might be the 3rd time in 11 years he doesnt even make the tourny.

[Quackaddict9]

This is why I cheer for the Beavers or the Sioux! (They haven't been doing great lately)

Gophers haven't had any players like Potulny, Vanek, Ballard, Leopold, Pohl, and Riddle etcetc these guys made Gopher hockey fun to watch!

[PierBridge]

And as far as the 2 titles, you cant take those away from him, however his seniors and one season both seniors and juniors were Woogs players and recruits.

Thats not true.

T-Don will gone when he wants to be gone and not a moment sooner.

If Lucia is to be fired then Berenson, Parker, and other great coaches should be also.

Small problem, that's not how it works..

[scsavre]

Bridge, it is true about the seniors and juniors, look it up. THe top 2 classes were woogs recruits. Also remember when the recruiting starts in highschool. Guenztle was most likely talking to these kids when they were juniors in high school, meaning that the sophmore class was likely Woogs as well. Here are some of Lucia's great picks, McKinnon, Stevens, Pelitier, Kaufman, Wehrs and MIller. And these are just the ones that played with his kid before college.

I dont see Don getting fired. But i would like it.

As far as other coaches, they look to be doing more with less. Gophs get pretty much who we want to play for us, and we look to be getting worse.

Last 11 years

Lucia 8 NCAA appearances, 2 titles one 3rd. (2 titles with upperclassmen, arguably from a different coach.

Berensen (mich), last 11 years

11 NCAA appearances, 4 3rd places.

York (BC) last 11 years

9 NCAA appearances, 2 titles, 4 second place, 2 3rds,(8 froze 4)

Hakstol (ND) in 6 years

6 appearances, 4 frozen 4's

Blais (ND) 10 years

7 NCAA appearances, 2 titles, 3 frozen 4's.

[PierBridge]

If you want to change it to one season where Lucia took four seniors that played for Woog which is meaningless anyway and then Lucia molded/coached them along with 20 other players to a National Title followed by another NATIONAL Title something Woog never did while having the best talent year in and year out for decade thats fine. But you're claim is mis-leading at best and needed to be corrected.

In a nutshell Woog had almost zero to do with Lucia and the Gophers winning back to back National titles. It's just silly frankly. But I have used that angle in the past in desperation defending Wooger while debating Sioux fans..so guilty on my part also....

Other than that and your absurd statement that you wanted Lucia fired two years ago there is a credible case to be made that we may need a new coach.

That being said if you follow college hockey and the parity that we now have across the country It's highly doubtful you'd fire a coach of Lucia's stature, over a few mediocre years.

Frustration yes, panic knee-jerk reactions, no not at this time.

The defending champs "BU" and Michigan have roughly the same records as the Gophs this year may as well fire them along with Don...LOL

That being said I'd throw Lucia out today if we could get Blais in here. Heck that would almost as good as getting Favre from the Packers!..

Welcome and Carry-on you are a much needed breath of fresh air here in the Hockey forum!..

[Bear55]

I have to agree with Peir on this one. [pleasebecomeasponsor] I think you have to ask yourself would MN have won in 02 and 03 if Woog was still coaching? If your answer is no then the recruits don't really matter. Even if they do, sure Pohl, Leo, and Taffe were a huge part of that 02 championship but without many of the Lucia recruits we don't get it done. The only Woog player left on the 03 team was Nick Anthony as I'm pretty sure DeMarchi was a Lucia recruit.

Ever top program goes through down years, heck I think BU might have had a pretty slow decade before last year. Sure I want to get the frozen 4 every year too but I think we have to be realistic. College hockey is much more competitive top to bottom and sometimes you are just one or two players away from being a top team. This year we are missing those top players, hard to say what will happen next year but having Barribal back will help.

[scsavre]

I agree with the fact that it is hard to give up Lucia for anybody out there except Blais. I dont know who else we would want.

I watch the gophs very closely though, i always have. I have been friends with many players(like you likely have too)I had some good friendships with the guys on the 2 title teams. I am telling you these teams now are very different. I am not just talking about skill. Everything just feels different. The way these guys approach the game is so different. These teams dont go into the game thinking they should win by 4 goals. They all look at someone else on the team to score. They dont have the work ethic that wins games down the road.

Here is how I look at the recruiting class, and also I am not woog defender or anything. He needed to go.

99/2000 Lucias first year, meaning his freshman all the way to seniors were Woogs players.

2000/2001 Lucias second year, likely freshman all the way to seniors are woogs players and recruits. HIghschool kids are recruited before and verbally commited in their junior year.

So even if just the first is true. Cause I assure you Lucia's Freshman were recruited by woog.

That means Pohl, Leopold, Taffe, Hauser were all Woogers. In the first title.

I am tired about that part cause it hurts my brain. I just think Lucia has gotten worse as the years have past.

Here is a power-play break down, Power-plays win games, Title teams almost always have great PP. Look at the direction ours has gone. Is powerplay not a direct reflection on coaching?

2000/01 - 25.2%

2001/02 - 26.5% Title

2002/03 - 25% Title

2003/04 - 26%

2004/05 - 20%

2005/06 - 22%

2006/07 - 20%

2007/08 - 13%

2008/09 - 19%

2009/10 - 17%

[scsavre]

One last thing, who the heck thinks Potulny has earned the right to be an assistant coach as the U.

Maybe he is going to be a good coach someday, but come on. He has no coaching experience.

Guentzel coached 8 years before being named an assistant.

I really need to find something else to pass the time. Cant believe i looked that stuff up.

[solbes]

I guess he's safe this year, but it can't last forever. The last three years have not been very stellar for Gopher fans. Still, they haven't seem to have the same quality recruits the last 2 years that they had before. Shroeder being maybe the exception.

The way the best kids leave early has almost handicapped those recruiting powerhouse teams. Lucia has recruited Okposo, Johnson, Kessel, Goligoski, Irmen, Potulny's, and I'm sure there are others that I've missed. You get a kid like Ryan Lasch from SCSU, or Jack Connolly from UMD that aren't running off to the NHL after their freshman or softmore years. I'm almost pleased to see recruiting classes from UMD that don't have a lot of drafted players.

[PierBridge]

Good stuff guys.

Speaking of Guentzel I think his loss has really hurt the program more than we know. Hill from my perspective is just not a players coach or anything close to Guentzel who brought both discipline along with the ability to communicate and command respect from the players.

Go Gophers!

[PierBridge]

I'll add although I'm not happy with where the Gopher program is right now I do enjoy the parity and love the other Minnesota's teams ongoing success's. I hate being the 4th best College team in the state right now but you have to give credit to SCSU, Duluth and Bemidji for dong it the right way with team work and commitment.

[scsavre]

Bemidji has only better things to come with that new rink coming and joining the WCHA, talk about the right time to get good.

Go Gophs first, MN second then WCHA.

This weekend will be a test to see if they have learned anything in the last 2 weeks. Gophs VS Denver.

[solbes]

As to title teams having a great PP, I would rather take a hot goalie into the playoffs every time. If I couldn't have that, a great power play would be choice number 2.

I don't think the Gophers have had a great goalie in a LONG LONG time. I thought Kangas going to be that guy after his freshman year, but I guess they are still looking. Hauser was not an awesome goalie either, but he played well enough in the play-offs with a great team surrounding him.

And I agree Guentzel being forced out was a huge loss to their program. He was their fall guy for some reason and I don't understand why.

[scsavre]

Guentzel is missed. He was the players guy. He was promised the job after Woog, not getting it was probably a heartbreak. I believe he did a lot of recruiting and special team work too.

I hope he gets a head job somewhere soon.

I agree on the goalie being the most important, however that is irrelevant for the gophers, since we havent had one since Stauber, and seem to have guy after guy fall way short of their potential.

[Quackaddict9]

[pleasebecomeasponsor]- These players you and I mentioned on the 2 title teams back in the early 2000s...you have to think that these guys wanted to play for the Gophers and I think it would be no differ if Lucia was recruiting them? Who knows, I could be wrong but many players would love to play for Maroon and Gold.

[scsavre]

Yah, i agree. People just want to skate for the gophs, not necessarily the coach. If anything a coach could deter you from going to a school. Either way, the gophs get whoever they want. I remember woogers last couple of years, he started to loose some top players to other schools. Woog didnt last long after loosing top mn players. Cullen jumps out at me. Toby Peterson etc. Cullen he recruited and failed to attract. I think he was the only Mr hockey to not go to the U back then.

Lucia has either tried to start recruiting some roles players and failed, or has not developed players. What ever happened to haveing a fourth line as good as any other teams 2nd. Remember those 4th lines on the title teams. Weibel, Flem etc.

I am now scared Schroeder will leave. Why come back to a team that doesnt even make the NCAA's. Hopefully his size keeps him hear another year.