#-1: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -3).
OK, so my fears that this club would get upset at home over RIT proved to be unfounded (although I think I have a right to point out that the two goals they gave up were more than the one or zero goals the other three teams congregating in Minneapolis this week yielded in their quarterfinal match-ups).
So this is it. This is it. This is for all the marbles. We start with two Frozen Four semifinal matchups on Friday that, for some reason, the NCAA Tournament Committee turned into a derby for the two places in the United States women's hockey has a toehold: the Upper Midwest and Massachusetts. Also in their puzzling logic, the Minnesota-Wisconsin game (featuring the first vs. the fourth seed, which is also kind of puzzling) is the early game, puck drop for which is 5, which is usual time people get off of work, even on a Friday. Shouldn't this game come after Boston College-Harvard, which is going to start approximately around 8? It's not a school night, so the game letting out at around 10 in the evening won't be a big deal.
But back to the weekend. Win over the Badgers and the team sets up what appeared all season to be the inevitable showdown with the Golden Eagles. And since this is at Ridder Arena, Minnesota can't ask for a better setup. They'd better win, dammit.
#-2: Gopher softball (Last Week: Positive Numbers). Meanwhile, the Golden Gopher softball team has won their second consecutive tournament, the Fresno St. Classic. Again, there were no world-beaters over the weekend, but they did trounce South Dakota St. to open the tourney 20-3 (in five innings) and close the tourney with a 1-0 win over Cal Poly (in eight) on a game-winning single by Tyler Walker. Add to it an 8-1 victory over Cal yesterday (Wednesday) and that means that the team is on a ten-game winning streak. The clash with Michigan now pits No. 4 (the Wolverines) against No. 15 (Minnesota). Sara Groenewegen was named conference Pitcher Of The Week for the third time this season for going 3-0 for the tournament, including going the distance in the extra-inning thriller against the Mustangs. They start Big Ten play with three in Illinois this weekend.
#-3: Wild (Last Week: -1). They lost to Anaheim at home, but they soundly defeated St. Louis 3-1 and Nashville in Overtime 3-2, both on the road. That defeat technically meant that they can't be the best this week, but there is another reason they're at -3: Despite being the hottest club in the National Hockey League and opening up a four-point lead on ninth place in the Western Conference Playoffs, they are still only Wild Card 1. I'm not totally complaining; I still remember when the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs were intra-division, and that made the league so special. But for all their success they remain a full seven points behind Central Division third-place Chicago. So it looks like they are going to face the first-place team in the Central, whoever it may be.
I can see the bottom of the schedule on the website from here. The first of four games this screening week begins right now, as they host Washington. They also host the Blues before visiting Toronto and, for the final time, the decrepit Nassau Coliseum in a tilt against the very surprising New York Islanders.
#-4: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -4). Turns out the club needed that home sweep of Penn St. last weekend. Not only did the easy sweep (scores of 5-0 and 6-2) give them their second consecutive B1G regular season crown, it improved their PairWise ranking. Not to say that they're in the clear; far from it. According to this blog I've stumbled upon by this college hockey maven named Jim Dahl, they have only a 5% chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament if they lose Friday's matchup against either Michigan or Wisconsin, and only a 35% chance if they win. The Big Ten remains extremely weak; they are the only team that could make the Ice Dance as an at-large, and I don't know if they can count on that.
On the upside it seems as if they have found their early-season form; the club swept the conference's Three Stars for the week, and Mike Reilly has recently been named First Team All-Conference, B1G Defensive Player Of The Year, and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. But like with the Wild, they may have dug themselves such a big hole in the middle of the season that they have no room for error.
The conference started its tournament this (Thursday) evening; the Gophs play the Wolverines or the Badgers tomorrow (Friday).
#-5: Gopher baseball (Last Week: 0). Loss-win-loss-win-loss. Went 1-2 in the PK5 Classic, then split a pair at Richmond; getting a 13-2 shellacking Wednesday after nipping the Spiders 13-12 St. Patrick's Day. They begin conference play at Maryland this weekend.
#-6: Swarm (Re-Entry!). OK, now this is the Smarm I (unfortunately) know and have come to resent. With back-to-back losses at home to New England and in Colorado, they are now on a five-game losing streak. Saturday's loss to The Bastard Philadelphia Wings came with a goal by Kevin Crowley with just about a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Are the Arlottas still running this team on the cheap? This team seems to be in a continual youth movement, and the results seem to bear this out. Maybe they should stop going young if they want to win. Then again, if 8,912 people actually saw this team lose and go to 3-6 on the year, why spend money on a good club?
The loss to the Mammoth began a three-game road trip. They face Buffalo Saturday.
#-7: Timberwolves (Last Week: -5). An 0-4 screening week. A six-game losing streak. The bloom is off the rose of The Return Of Kevin Garnett ... if people remember that he's still on the team with however many games he is sitting out for rest. Hey, the squad has to be glad it's tournament time -- no one is paying attention to them!
Another four-game week. Right now they are playing New York at Madison Square Garden. Then a tough back-to-back of home to Charlotte Sunday and at Utah Monday, then finally a game back at Target Center against The Bastard Minneapolis Lakers Wednesday. Away-home-away-home? Who makes this schedule?
#-8: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: -6). Well, at least the Bracketologists were right. Minnesota did receive an 8-seed upon its return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2009, like the two Bracketologists I followed said they would get. Unfortunately, that means a potential date with the 1-seed in the Round of 32, in this case Notre Dame.
But the draw gave the Gophs another bad wrinkle: Their first round opponent, 9-seed DePaul, has, according to Five Thirty Eight, a 77% chance of beating them. Really? They have Amanda Zahui B., named First-Team All-American -- First-Team Fucking All-American! -- by espnW. And they're going to go one-and-done?! Wow, that sucks. To go from potentially hosting the first two rounds to one-and-done? SMH.
Well, either it's tomorrow (Friday) afternoon or Sunday, it looks like this team's season is over this weekend. But hey, congratulations on getting back to the Big Dance! That's a hell of a lot better than ...
#-Infinity: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -2). OK, so the miracle run in the B1G Tournament ended with a loss against Ohio St. But I swear I thought they were going to make the Not Invited Tournament! Hell, this NIT Bracketologist said they were in! But I guess finishing eleventh in a BcS conference doesn't get you in. Pffft. Hey, at least they have enough dignity to not enter the College Basketball Invitational, which I guess is pay-to-play.
It's interesting: If everything we all assumed came to fruition and the Goofs got into the NIT, we would be all, "Man, weren't they supposed to be in the NCAAs this year? They won the NIT, and now they're back! What the fuck!" But now that they didn't even return to it -- not because they graduated to the Big Dance, but because they weren't even fucking good enough to defend their consolation title!!! -- we're all up in arms, like, "What the fuck is wrong with Richard Pitino?! He had a senior-laden team and they're not fucking playing anywhere?!?!"
Very fair point. The honeymoon is over for Pitino too. In fact, with a bunch of underclassmen and junior college players coming in next year, he is on the hot seat. And he should be.
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