So why the local pro hockey team? It may be extremely premature to think a club can win a championship just after two wins, but these aren't just any two wins they notched to begin the NHL season. They took both ends of a home-and-home series against Colorado, the squad they upset in a thrilling seven-game first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series (capped off by that ridiculous Game 7 where they trailed by a goal four times and came back to tie it, then won it in overtime ... and on the road, no less), by scores of 5-0 at Xcel and 3-0 at Pepsi. Back-to-back shutouts against a defending division champion (albeit one whose advanced statistics were so off the charts that many people are banking on a vicious regression to the mean for the Avalanche)? That is some serious ass-kicking there, and I don't remember the last time I've seen that from the Wild. That is why I not only put them in the top spot, but I am going to give them Positive Numbers too.
What looks very promising so far is the offensive firepower. This franchise has had an almost permanent issue with scoring. But the first two lines of (I think) Zach Parise/Jason Pominville/Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu/Thomas Vanek/Charlie Coyle could, if we allow ourselves to dream, match the top six forwards of any contending team, including those of Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. If you can do that, and if you can have a viable top four defensemen ... well, the Minnesota Wild may turn into a contender, even in the severely stacked Central Division in the lopsided Western Conference. Meanwhile, with the somewhat bizarre suspension of the MD-stricken Josh Harding, the reins between the pipes have gone to the person who was once the C-stringer, Darcy Kuemper -- and hey, two clean sheets speak for themselves.
The road does not get any easier, although this year I don't know if there is any easy stretch of road. By virtue of weird scheduling, they have not played since Saturday and will not play until Friday, when they go to rejuvenated Anaheim. Then, on Sunday, they visit the defending Stanley Cup champion L.A. Kings.
#0: Gopher football (Re-Entry!). Professional -- that is the way I would describe the Golden Gophers' 24-17 win over Northwestern. It was nip and tuck, and the rumors that this team is overachieving based on their back-loaded schedule started to become louder. But then Jalen Myrick (lauded as the Big Ten's co-Special Teams Player Of The Week) did this from the goal line:
That was cool. It was also the first kickoff return for a touchdown in the conference. Because of that, the Gophers go to 5-1 -- one win away from bowl eligibility -- and remain undefeated in B1G play. They get an easier cupcake this Saturday afternoon -- Purdue. And that probably was by design since it's Homecoming. Alumni should get a treat: A win and a six-victory team.
#-1: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -2). Look, I don't know if it's too late. All White Kit still doesn't have them anywhere close to the NCAA Tournament in its latest projection. But you can't do anymore to state your case than the footballers did this week -- a 3-1 victory over Nebraska at home, the difference coming from a pair of goals by Taylor Stainbrook, followed by a 2-1 double overtime victory at Illinois, courtesy of Taylor Wodnick in the 101st minute. Yet it was the third Gopher who scored this past week, Josee Stiever, who was named conference Co-Offensive Player Of The Week. Stiever scored the first goal for the U. in both games. That's nice, but I would think that a two-goal performance or a golden goal would be better. Regardless, congratulations to Stiever.
The side has four games left, and the first three are at home. But there's only one match this week: Saturday night vs. Wisconsin, projected by All White Kit as a sure tournament team.
The side has four games left, and the first three are at home. But there's only one match this week: Saturday night vs. Wisconsin, projected by All White Kit as a sure tournament team.
#-2: Gopher men's hockey (Re-Entry!). Congratulations, I guess, goes out to the U. male icers for defending their Ice Breaker Tournament title at Notre Dame to begin their year. They had to dispatch UMD 4-3, then they shut out Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 3-0. Hudson Fasching scored two goals and tallied an assist over the weekend, and was named the Big Ten First Star Of The Week. They also retain their top spot in the rankings. That's awesome, and once again, they are considered to be a prime contender for the NCAA title. But they were also a contender last year, and look what happened: They were upset in the final against fucking Union. Fucking Union!!!
In the first two weeks of the season, they will face a former rival in the WCHA that they might meet once again in late January's North Star College Cup; they host Bemidji St. in two weeks.
In the first two weeks of the season, they will face a former rival in the WCHA that they might meet once again in late January's North Star College Cup; they host Bemidji St. in two weeks.
#-3: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -Infinity). At the Sports Pavilion they hazed the two rookie members of the Big Ten, Maryland and Rutgers, with sweeps over the weekend. That's great, but you're supposed to expect Minnesota to sweep two teams as weak as the Terrapins and Scarlet Knights. What happens, then, when the club faces the first home-and-home series I have ever heard of in a volleyball season, when they first host (today [Wednesday]) then visit (Saturday) 5th-ranked and NCAA runner-up Wisconsin? I still don't think this team will be any good. In fact, I doubt this squad can reach the Sweet Sixteen this year.
#-4: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -1). OK, so now we get to the teams that lost. Well, I believe that the Minnesota women's hockey team lost even though it's not officially seen as such. They suffered their first, well, blemish of the season at UMD with Saturday's 3-3 tie which turned into a shootout loss. For that reason, the Gophers loss their #1 ranking.
I believe that the same number of points (one?) is given to both teams in such a situation. If that's the case, why do you need a shootout? The excitement? (wanking motion) That only means that the team suffered their first real loss. Oh yeah, they beat the Bulldogs 3-0 Friday, by the way.
They have a second consecutive two-game series on the road, and it'll be a doozy. They face the new #1 team in the country, Wisconsin. #1 vs. #2 -- someone put this on ESPN!
#-5: Vikings (Last Week: -3). Oof. Once again, the ViQueens bring up the rear in the Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey. And what is so demoralizing about Sunday's 17-3 defeat to the Detroit Lions was that many of us, uh, "realistic" fans bought into the hype of Teddy Bridgewater, starting after having to sit out the Green Bay ass-kicking, and thought they had a good chance to beat the Lions because they were at home.
Instead, we had what could have been the most desultory offensive performance of recent Vikings vintage. Only a late Blair Walsh field goal prevented the club for being shut out for the first time since 2007. And truth of it is, Bridgewater left the game with his reputation intact. He was awful, but a lot of it was not his fault. The first of his three interceptions was a rookie mistake. The last two came from a deflection from a Wide Receiver and a defensive player. I think many people at TCF Bank Stadium came away from the game very impressed with the Lions' defensive front seven. And, unfortunately, they also noticed that Minnesota's offensive line is downright awful. The most glaring of weaknesses there, I'm afraid, is Matt Kalil, a man who I thought was going to be the stalwart Left Tackle for the team for the next decade. However, he allowed at least one of the eight sacks the squad gave up, and I saw conspicuous mistakes that one would not expect from the third pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The good news, I guess, is that they face another team that may be more moribund than they are, Buffalo. They just got humbled again by New England, they switched Quarterbacks (the Bills will be led by Kyle Orton, arguably the best backup QB in the league), and other than that, there is very little that stands out. However, the Vikings play in Buffalo, so that's another disadvantage to them winning. After that they head to Tampa. And even though the Bills and Buccaneers appear to be two of the worst teams in the NFL, based on Sunday's game, I can't see another win on the schedule.
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