Latest / The PodKaz: USCHO Women's Hockey / Wisconsin doubles up, Frozen Four sets record and the season's final thoughts

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Wisconsin doubles up, Frozen Four sets record and the season's final thoughts · The PodKaz: USCHO Women's Hockey

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Usccho dot com. Hi, and welcome to the podcast which
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: is Pod Molesky along with Nicole Hosey from usho dot
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: com and Nicole, the season is over. We have a
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: national champion for the second straight year. It is Wisconsin
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: with a three two victory over Ohio State on Sunday
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: at Penn State's Pagoula Ice Arena. And I just want
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: to get your real quick thoughts right off the top
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: on just Wisconsin winning a second in a row, a
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: third and four years, a fifth, and seven tournaments. So
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: we know it's a dynasty, but it just kind of
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: keeps adding chapters.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: It does, you know, it's twofold. It was a great weekend.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: It was spectacular hockey. I was glad that the game
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: that was televised, the National Championship Game, was such a
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: good game again for a second year in a row.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Just it highlights, you know, the very best of our sport.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: You know, I don't know that it's great for the
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: sport of women's college hockey for the same team to
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: play in the National Championship game four games in a row,
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: or for Wisconsin to win as much as they have.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: I think, you know, like that there's probably a high
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: level conversation that needs to be had. It's just there's
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: there's a clear break, right, there's a clear sort of
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: top of the mountain and then sort of everybody else.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: And I think it's it just doesn't it's not conducive, right,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: It's it's really frustrating if you're not a fan or
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: a player for one of those you know, handful of teams.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: And yeah, like it's just and I think that gap
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: just keeps growing, right, the more Wisconsin or Ohio State
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: does this, the more they're getting top tier recruits. It's
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: just it's a self fulfilling spiral. And I just, you know,
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: we want it's more fun if everybody is capable of
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: winning a national championship. It's it's not fun for everybody else,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: you know. I'm sure Wisconsin fans are like, what are
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: you talking about? But yeah, I like, what are your
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: thoughts on in terms sort of the big picture status here?
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: I guess I'm interested to see if this is a
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: just a segment in time where we see this being
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Wisconsin and Ohio State for these last four years in
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: the championship game, or if this is the start of
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: what college sports are becoming where you have the the
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: super well funded, and then you have everyone else. And
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: I am not sure if I'm in a school that
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: doesn't have the funding that Wisconsin, Ohiose, you know, the
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: big ten schools have, I'm not sure. I love the
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: way things are going for the sport, and I think
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: that's something that I guess I don't have the answer for,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: and I don't know if anyone does, because you know,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: college sports is going one direction. Some people are kind
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: of trying to hold it on to where it's been,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: but it's going and it's it really is just kind
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: of a consequence of the entire landscape change. I don't
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: know if necessarily the specific you know, Wisconsin Ohowise state
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: is that, but I feel like it's partly that anyway,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: and so it maybe in five years we're talking about
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: two different teams. I don't know, but I just feel
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: like these teams are set up to have this repeat
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: success from a financial standpoint. You know, they have well,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: you know, one of them has great facilities, the other
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: one has some great training facilities, and and and then
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: arena that needs an upgrade desperately. And I think you
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: all know which ones I'm talking about here. Yeah, but
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: you know, Minnesota has great facilities, Penn State is you know,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: I don't think it's lacking for any for much of anything,
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: and so it's it is tough to see where the
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: path is I guess going forward.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, because I think the thing that we haven't as
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: it's happening, haven't sort of reckoned with is that when
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: we talk about you know, Ohio State kind of coming
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: out of nowhere a few years ago with Nadine, and
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: the thing with in Penn State, you know, getting up
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: to three and like, those are all great things, but
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: also those are big ten schools with massive backing, and
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: that just doesn't happen without that. And so I think,
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: you know, in the moment, we've talked about a team
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: sort of really growing organically, but I don't it that's
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: too narrow mind, Like, I just don't think we've thought
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: about it enough from a bigger picture and that it's
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: not all that organic.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Thought.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: It was interesting in one of the press conferences, Nadine Mozall,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: head coach of Ohio State, said something about sort of
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: all the facilities and all the support that they have,
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: and I after, like, but didn't you demand that because
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: like all of those things existed before Nadine was there,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: and the women talking team wasn't getting them, you know,
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: and she had an administrator in the room and had
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: the diplomatic answer. But I just think it's really telling
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: that like this didn't exist at Ohio State before somebody said, hey,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: why isn't this team getting it? Like all of those
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: things were there for other programs and not for women's hockey.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: Women's hockey was really just sort of languishing there. So anyway,
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: that's all I guess a side tangent, but it is
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: just I do think that sometimes I forget in the
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: moment of getting excited about a team, you know, being
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: built and sort of getting attention and funding and all
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: that sort of stuff, the excitement of Ohio State, you know,
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: going from not ever having been in a frozen four
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: till twenty eighteen, I believe it was, and now here
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: we are talking like this eight years later. But it's
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: not for nothing that that's coming from those very big
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: state universities that have the ability to do that sort
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: of thing. It's a very different prospect for some of
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: the other schools. So and pulling those bigger recruits, right
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: because like, yeah, Ohio State's pulling people despite their their
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: rank right because of all the other things that they have,
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: all the other amenities. Thought, Yeah, I just like you said,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: there's probably not a great answer or any answer, but
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: I do think it's a thing that we need to
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: talk about more often and have conversations about and look at.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: And I think there needs to be conversations among a
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: lot of the schools about like how they compete with
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: that and what are the ways to counteract some of that.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, Let's talk a little bit about that championship
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: game though, because it was a really compelling game start
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: to finish. Thounson wins three or two jumps out to
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: a two nothing lead in the first seven and a
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: half minutes on goals by Kelly Grvitenko and Lady Potter
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: protects that lead through the second period, and really Ohio
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: State had had stretches where it just looked like it
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: was going to take off, and I but we were
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: sitting next to each other at the press table there
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: and kind of just kind of I think that the
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Buckans were just a little off, and we've seen them
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: in the past where you know, things connected and they
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: made passes, they got out of their own. They did
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: fine with it. Just a little bit was enough to
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: kind of shake that up for.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: The first couple of periods, I thought, yeah, like but
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: off even just like the some of the off sides
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: and just like the passes not connecting, like it was
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: just it was just not the smooth almost like happens
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: without thinking sort of play that that we can see
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: from them, Like it was just yeah, it was just
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: like the the latch wasn't quite clicking there, just kept
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: like Miching missing the catch and so yeah, I agree,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: it was just it was it was interesting to watch,
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: like you said, just you know, some passes and also
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: sometimes it's interesting to watch the full of a game
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: or think of something looking backwards, where like you know,
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Ohio State was missing those things and Wisconsin was too.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: But like one of their goals came from Lacey Eden
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: pulling in a pass that was behind her just kind
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: of stuck her her stick behind her and wrangled it.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: And like that's the sort of dumb stuff that like
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: you don't necessarily think of in the moment, but like
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: when one team's pulling that sort of thing about the
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: other is you know, just missing on passes, Like that's
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: that's the difference in a game, but that that felt
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: like Ohio State, yeah, just wasn't quite finding their rhythm.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: You know, it was ninety five percent of what Ohio
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: State can do, and not from effort, but just from
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: it just wasn't clicking. And then I feel like, like you
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: said it one time to me, and they immediately went
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: off side, unlike a breakaway, like a player put herself
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: off side, and it's just like, yeah, example, you know
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: whatever of what you were saying that like it just
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: something wasn't there that it just wasn't wasn't exactly what
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: they wanted to be doing in that position.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So then it goes through two periods, Wisconsin takes
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: the two nothing lead into the third period. I'm looking
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: up a stat that at that point that Wisconsin in
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: its twenty seven season history has never lost a game
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: in which it's led by two goals after the second
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: and yeah, four hundred and some games in their their history.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: And all of a sudden, five and a half minutes
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: into the third period, that two goal lead has gone
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: because the Buckeyes we were on fire for a few
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: minutes there. Cassidy Carmichael and just On Amos scored two
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: minutes two seconds apart, a really nice tip on the
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: first one, and then Amos with a rebound, and then
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: it's back even, and it just felt like Ohio State
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: had all the momentum at that point and just wasn't
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: able to get that third goal that may have pushed
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: them to a championship.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: I give Ava Magnott and tons of credit from Wisconsin
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: because she's a huge reason why she came up with
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: a Both goalies did, don't get me wrong, but in
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: that stretch where Ohio State was really pushing and it
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: felt like they were, you know, about to bowl over Wisconsin,
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: McNaughton made a huge difference. Particularly, I just want to
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: go back because I had a hard time describing this
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: in words like when I was trying to write recaps
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: without getting over over worthy. But so Wisconsin was quite
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: bad on face offs. Wisconsin, Ohio State was dominating them
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: on face offs, particularly in the defensive zone. And that
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Emo's goal she came from. She won the face off,
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: played it back, they shot it, she picked up the
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: rebound and tucked it around Like that was a direct
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: impact of like what Ohio State was doing so well,
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: Just sort of like this very clear line from like
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: win a face off, get a shot, put it in,
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: and so when that was clicking, that felt like, oh goodness,
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Wisconsin in trouble here. So you know, kudos to the
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: Badgers were sort of standing up to it. And I
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: also thought, I mean, I kind of thought what we
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: saw in the third period is what we'd see Ohio
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: State come out light in the second. And it's not
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: that they didn't like push them quite hard at the
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: second like even was gone. The coach Mark Johnson was like, yeah,
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: that second period, I'm so glad we got out of
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: that without giving up a goal. But I just there
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: was like that little bit extra in that third period,
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: and like Ohio State was not going down like that
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: and scored immediately those two quick goals, and I just,
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: like you said, all the momentum was was shifted that way.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: It's a little fascinating how that like sort of even
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: out because I wasn't There wasn't any one moment that
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: flipped it. But it just felt like Wisconsin withstood it.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: They did have like twenty two blocks over the course
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: of the game. The defense did a really good job there.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: But yeah, they just they kind of waited it out
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: and waited for their opportunities to go the other direction.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: Was I think probably one of those things that doesn't
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: happen with a less experienced squad.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: And then we get into the last seven minutes of
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: the game, it's still too too and you're looking around,
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: who's going to score a goal. You've got Joy Dunn,
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: You've got josce Onnemos, you got Kirstin Simms, Layla Edwards,
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: Carolyn Harvey, and we'd been talking about depth in the
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: last couple of weeks on both of these teams, and
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: sure enough it's a third liner and claire Enwright that
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: scores a really pretty goal going coming off of the
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: right side and finding her way to that and really
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: had had more room than you would think anyone with
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: six minutes and change left in a tie game for
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: the National Championship would have scorers just inside the left
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: post to give the badges of three to two lead
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: claire En right from Mariann Picard, two players who and
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: we talked to them both after the game, both have
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: gone through severe knee injuries in their career and just
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: both of them were just about ready to give it
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: up at various points.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: Mary and the Card's mom posted she was retired, that's
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: right on social media.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: So yeah, and so it just something something connected there
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: and that just felt like a moment that those two
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: players will will share forever in reality.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, no offense to claire En, right, but like
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: it was a it was a snipe and a like
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: she was pretty much even with the goal line. She
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: picked a really small spot far far post and put
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: it in there. And she is not the player on
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: that roster you would have picked to score that goal,
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: both like being the player to score in the clutch,
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: but also just like that was. It was a heck
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: of a shot. So kudos to her for all the
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: confidence and seeing the space in front of her and
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: just taking it. It just yeah, it was a really
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: from a sort of fairy tale like sports is this
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: is why we love sports moment those two connecting and
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: scoring that goal was really cool and as you said,
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: we so we waited for a while after the press
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: conference world they went and talked to their parents and
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: celebrated and all that stuff, But it was worth it
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: for the effusiveness of those two to talk about each
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: other and really like celebrate that. Picard said she felt
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: like she was having a panic attack because she just
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: jumped on and right went oh my god, Oh my god,
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, oh my god, until she couldn't breathe anymore.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: They Wisconsin brought both of those players in to talk
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: to the media after their championship celebration on Monday at
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: Lamon and I think that could have been the podcast
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: this week for us because just putting the audio of
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: those two together, they they just they should have a
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: podcast of their own, and I hope they do something
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: with that in the future. But the game goes on
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: from there. Ohio State has chances Wisconsin's holding them off
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: then because we can't go a championship game without a
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: last minute challenged for a hand over the puck in
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: the crease. That, of course, is what happened in the
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: final minute. Ohio State made the challenge. Puck was loose
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: for five or so seconds. Around that it was.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: A long like just massive amount of bodies and for
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: the net, nobody can see anything, and you're waiting for
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: the whistle and there's no whistle, like it just kept going.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: All six Wisconsin players on the ice and a few
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: of the Ohio State players were right around the crease
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: trying to do whatever to try Ohio State trying to
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: get the buck in Wisconsin trying to keep it out well.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: And Ohio at this point of how State has pulled
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: their goalie as well, so there was the extra attacker
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: as well.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so it goes review. Uh there referee is find
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: no handcovering the puck. KK Harvey did push the pucket
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: seemed like from outside the crease, but that was not called.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: Yes, according to Nadine Masel, the video they saw looked
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: like or she had she had asked with the ref
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: that if the puck was hit outside the crease but
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: it went into the crease, that would be a penalty.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: One day. We will have to dig into the rules
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: on this because that that feels like a very wide ope.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: I would love to know, like what if I if
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: I hit the puck from my end towards an empty
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: nut and it goes into the crease, does that mean
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: that it's a penalty, Like I have so many questions.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: Right, I think there might be some wording that was.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: Yes, was missing exactly. We need to look into that,
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: and neither one of us has had a chance for that.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: But anyways, so that's what you know. Nadine saw that
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: opportunity and they like her. She said, her hockey ops
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: guy saw something on the video and her her players
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: told her that, you know there was something there, so
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: I you know, definitely don't blame her, particularly after last year.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: It's something an opportunity you want to take. And the
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: biggest problem for them, of course, was then that they
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: had taken their time out when they pulled their goalie
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: about a minute earlier, so losing that coaches challenge then
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: gave them the lay of game penalty, so they still
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: kept their goalie pulled, but they were playing five on
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: five because of the penalty with what was it like
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: forty some fifty seconds.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: Left right for something. And the thing that gave them
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: a chance to pull their goalie in was that Wisconsin
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: ice the puck right away with the power play after
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: the came back out on neutral zone, and so that
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: brought the face off back down to wisconuntings and thirty
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: some forty whatever seconds left.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: And yes, we should say just for a like because
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: I think it's a good learning moment and for people
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: that think like it was KK Harvey that ice the puck,
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: which is basically the one thing nobody wanted to do there,
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: and Mark Johnson called her out after the game and
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: the press or too, But I just I think it's
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: important for like maybe younger players listening and stuff, like
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: nobody's perfect and everybody makes mistakes, and like KK does
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: a million great things, but also like that was absolutely
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: the worst possible thing she could do right there, and
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: as particularly as bad as Wisconsin had been on the
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: faith off, So yeah, totally gave Ohio State another opportunity
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: down in there, and like you said, we able to
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: pull the goalie and stuff. Sorry to interrupt you there,
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: I just thought I think it's important to point so that,
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: like not to rip on KK, but just that like everybody,
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: you know, she's still just a college student and she's
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: she's also all of those other things, but she's still
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: learning to right and there's everybody does stuff like that.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: Yes, And so Wisconsa, did you get to the finish
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: line there for a three two win. We've we've talked
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: about the numbers, we've talked about the the history of
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: it all, and I guess what it means big picture,
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: But in this this season, where Ohio State had been
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: using the last year's championship game all that finished being
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: eighteen point nine, nine seconds away from winning a second
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: straight championship for the Buckeyes last year, to then losing
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: an overtime that had been the fuel. We heard the
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: word vengeance a number of times throughout the season from
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: from Nadine Mazarol, including on Saturday before the before Yes, sorry,
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: vendetta and vengeance, but it for if you're looking at
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: from the Ohio State side, it it gets down to
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: a coin flip game at the end, right, I don't
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: know how much more you can go into it of like, well,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: you know, we could have done this, We could have
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: done that. When it's Wisconsin and Ohio State, it's just
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: a you know, who's which way does the wind blow?
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I compared it to the gold medal game,
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: like I just or US Canada, like at this point,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: they're both incredibly skilled. And it's that I said, you know,
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: to somebody, like I feel like it's gonna be something
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: really dumb. It's going to be a skipped puck or
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: a I mean two of a goal on each side
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: was a tip from a shot from distance that like
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: you know, no goalie can can do anything about. Both
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: teams had several opportunities for more goals. Both goalies played spectacularly. Yeah,
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: I think at coin flip's the best way to say it.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: Like it, on any given day you play that game again,
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: you don't know what's gonna happen, you know, like there's
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: just no differentiating much between the two and you just
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: who who's gonna you know, sort of dig a little deeper,
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: find a little more, get the right bounce, you know,
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: I don't. I don't think you can look at that
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: game and see anything that Ohio State did wrong. They
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: were dominating at start of the game. If you take
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: the if you look at that game without the score
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: on the board, like those are the first fifteen minutes
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: Ohio State wanted to play. They were dominating, They were
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: do they were having Wisconsin in, they were doing their
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: for check. Like those were two sort of lucky opportunities
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: where Wisconsin got down, got out of the zone cleanly
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: and got into the into the offensive zone and was
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: able to do a little bit of stuff. But I
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: think if you like objectively look at that from what
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Ohio State well wanted to do in the start of
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: that game. That's what they wanted to do. Obviously, don't
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: give up the goals, but like the game plan was
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: going how they wanted it to. So I don't think
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: you can look at something they did in that game
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: and be like, oh, no, that's the reason they lost.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Like it's just it should be like that sometimes, you know,
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: like they did. They won, they dominated face offs, they
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: had great goaltending. You know, they killed a bunch of penalties.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: They up to the number one power play in the country.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: Like they did everything on paper you were supposed to do,
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: and it still didn't come out their way. So I'm
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: certain that's incredibly frustrating and difficult to swallow up from
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: their end. But yeah, I think, you know, you play
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: that game again tomorrow and it could have a completely
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: different outcome. So Mark Johnson said he was glad, you know,
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: it's not a best s up series. He's like, I'm
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: glad we're not going back to Colombus to play them.
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: So kudos to both teams. It was a great game.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: The whole weekend was really great, and so I think,
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: you know, it showcased the best of what it is.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: It was amazing to see Ohio State make that comeback.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: You know, going into the game, everybody I knew that.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: I saw in the hallway going into the game. Everyone
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: was like, just not overtime, Like, just not overtime. None
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: of us went over time. I mean with all media people,
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: to be fair, all of us that wanted to like
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: uh but yeah. So then when Ohio State tied it
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: up early in the third, it was like, oh man,
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: we all jinxed the overtime, but you know, it certainly
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: made for much better hockey game, and it was a
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: lot at that point. It was like, Okay, they're restarting.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: There's you said five and a half minutes in, like,
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: there's fourteen minutes left. What That's what the hockey game
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: comes down to. So yeah, I congratulated Wisconsin. You know,
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: I think this is one of those things where you
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: had an incredibly experienced team, not just in college but internationally.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: They'd been in high pressure situations. They played one, Ohio
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: State scored those two. Wisconsin didn't look rattled, they didn't
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: look you know, like oh god, now what I mean?
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: They played a calm game from there, and I think,
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: you know, that is part of what helped them like
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: just be secure and hold against that momentum shift and
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: just not really get too flustered by it all. And
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: I feel like that when you look at that roster,
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: like yep, now you understand where that came from, particularly
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: like me, earlier in the year, they'd not been quite
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: so calm, but to get to this point where the
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: experience they had, the number of seniors, that sort of thing.
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: I think you kind of saw that come to fruition
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: after Ohio State type of game.
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Okay, we're going to take a quick break. When
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: we come back, we're going to talk about the rest
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: of everything that happened in State College last week at
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: the Frozen four. Stay with us on the podcast. Welcome
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: back to the podcast, Hot and Nicole with our season
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: wrap up edition the Cole Let's talk about what we saw.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: I guess Thursday, Friday, Saturday at the Frozen four, and
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: I guess I'll start with Friday night because the crowd
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: set and the tenants record with more than five thousand fans,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: I think it was like nine more than the previous record,
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: So not a huge passing, but it was a certainly
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: a record still. But for atmosphere, I mean, that was
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: that was about as good as I can remember.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: It was spectacular.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So it was Penn State playing Wisconsin in the
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: second semi final, and the if you've never been to
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: or seen Pigole Ice Arena, one end of the arena
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: is goes all the way up with bleachers and that's
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: the student section, and that was pretty much full up
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: other than the two bands being on that side, pretty
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: much full up with it appeared to be Penn State
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: students and they were loud. And they had reason to
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: get loud right out of the gate too, because they
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: scored on a power play what was it, two minutes
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: in the minute half, and so it had had the
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: lead a couple of times in that game, and it
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: I just thought that was a really cool atmosphere to
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: be in and I hope it means good things for
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Penn State in the future. I mean, not every game
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: is going to be a national semi final to try
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: and attract people in for, but hopefully some people have
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: seen the light. I guess, yeah, it was.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: It was definitely a sort of talking point, you know,
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: postgame and around the weekend, particularly with coach Jeff Campbersall
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: and you know, Tessa Janicky having played her last game,
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: she just kept talking about like I hope that you
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: know that gets more people in here, and I guess
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: I just want to preface this by saying, like, I
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: don't think this is like I think Penn State as
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: a whole, like the whole they were a little defensive
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: of like how things had been prior to this. I
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: don't think it's the team's fault that people aren't going
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: to their game. I just want to like make that
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: very clear clearly. People can show up when it, you know,
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: with the right incentive. And there was a point where
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: a student reporter asked Jeff Campersall after the game what
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: else he can do to make sure people come to
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: the games. And I do not blame the students. I
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: don't think he was asking this in this way, but
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: like I seriously almost said aloud, like Jeff can't fix sexism,
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: Like I just like, they have a huge support for
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: their men's get team and they're not getting it for
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: their women's team, and I think that sucks. I think
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: that sucks for them, and I don't think it's the
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: team's fault. And I think that's on people for not
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: giving them a chance and for having their biases. And
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: I get, you know, it is a little hard. Like
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: there were some pointed comments, and I felt like there
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: was comments about like not covering Penn State as much
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: and also, you know, you guys dominated the AHA, and
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: you like, it's it's not fun to watch you destroy
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: you know, say Delaware or linden Wood or whoever like that.
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: I under that people aren't always going to to want
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: to come for that, But yeah, I hope that what
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: that did was open the door for people to see
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: what top tier you know, women's hockey looks like, what
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: it means, and what the support can mean for that
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: team and how it can really push and carry them.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I don't think it is any of the
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: students or the coach's responsibility to I think they've done tons.
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: They go out in the community. They have taken this
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: program from not ranked to third in the country to
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: losing a national semifinal in overtime, Like they have done
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: all of the work. If people aren't showing up, that
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: is you know, a personal failing of the people that
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: aren't seeing how important and great the product is. And
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: that's not on the team or the coaches or anybody else.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: So I like I was indignant for them on that question.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: And I don't think the student reporter was asking it
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: in that way he was, you know, trying to say,
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: like what else can be done to get people here?
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: But I just yeah, it was That was tough for
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: me and frustrating because it was spectacular and there's it's
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: a massive campus. It is not a man Savarina like
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: to have a good regular crowd. There is just like
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: not a huge ask and by any stretch of the imagination,
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: and it was spectacular. Like uh, I will say, you know,
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: like it helps like last year Wisconsin won in Minnesota,
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: so like that overtime crazy ending to that national championship
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: is still probably the best college crowd we've ever been
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: in because it was a massively pro Wisconsin crowd in
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: a very ridiculous situation. But this was a close second
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: for me. Like it was. It was honestly, I like,
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: at one point I texted my husband, I was like,
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: I'm kind of on sensory overload. But there was so
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: much happening and it was so loud and so fun,
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: and I thought it was cool. Like even on Sunday.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: Mark Johnson was still talking about the atmosphere on Friday
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: and Mark has seen you know, what does he got?
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: What do we just just have seven hundred wins, that
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: man has coached more women's college hockey than anybody else.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: And even days later he was still talking about it,
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: and so I just thought, like, know that you even
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: impressed that Mark, who doesn't often get effusive about So yeah,
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: I just I don't know. It's a long way of
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: coming out around to saying it was just a spectacular atmosphere,
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: and I hope they continue to get it. And I
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: also don't think it's it's their fault, the players or
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: the coaching staff, and so yeah, I was. I was
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: frustrated in that way for them, But man, was that fun.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: I was, I guess thinking a little bit, you know,
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: trying trying to come up with ways that things like
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: this can happen more often. And when you have a
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: predetermined site for the Frozen Four, it's it's impossible, you
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: don't know, always going to get there, for sure. I
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: was thinking of, you know, some other tournaments, like you know,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: the Memorial Cup in Canada has three league winners and
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: a host every year, and the host gets it, so
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: it's four teams they play, and so you have an
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: atmosphere because there's a home team there. I don't nothing
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: like that really works in college that I mean, we know,
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: like in Division three most years top seed, yeah it's
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: the top seed. I think they have every other year.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: It's a it's a predetermined site now, right, But yeah,
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: that that odd ear is you know, the top seed
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: hosts it and so you've got a built in you know,
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: big crowd you know, for for smaller arenas in in
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: most situations. But I don't think the Frozen Forward ever
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: go to that kind of model, and I don't think
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: it should because there's so much you know, there's not
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: like insane levels of infrastructure built into it, but there
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: is some there's there's some that needs to be done
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: in terms of you know, getting teams there and making
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: those kind of things work.
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: Having enough locker rooms the student I will see, like
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: the NC priority prioritizes the student athletic experience, and I
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: do appreciate that, like they make sure that there are
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: enough locker rooms and all of the things that like
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: logistically need to happen for those teams to be in
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: the best possible place to get on the ice and
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: play at their best. So that's one of the things
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: that has to happen. And the other is that like
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: I mean if like like say it was you know,
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: Wisconsin got to host or Ohio State got to host,
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: Like neither of the rinks are good enough for that,
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: Like Lebon isn't big enough, right, and nobody wants to
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: go and do that at Ohio State. So like there
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: are a lot of logistical things in terms of just
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: like the size and stuff. So yeah, I agree. I
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: don't know what the answer is, but mea was that
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: fun And it just I hope that it brought it
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: brings some sea change for Penn State, and I hope
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: that like maybe it starts us thinking about what the
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: other things would be done. I mean, it feels like
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: at this point there are only like four places in
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: the country that can host a women's Frozen four right
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: now or that like regularly want to however you want
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: to put that, and so we're just kind of stuck
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: rotating between those and I don't know if or how
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: that will change, and so like it just it puts
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: us in state college, which is really difficult to get
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: to and expensive, and there's always seven things happening on
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: campus at the same time, Like there was a middle
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: school state basketball tournament, boys basketball tournament, so hotels we
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: were all looking were over three hundred dollars a night.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: You know, it's just like it isn't a easible like,
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: oh my team got there and now I get I'm
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: gonna go, like decide at the last moment. And next
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: year we're in Duluth, and Duluth is a great place too,
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: but again not easy to get to, not inexpensive, not
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: a main airport like things like that. So it's just,
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: you know, the year after we'll be in a fairfield Connecticut,
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: which I think most of us will end up flying
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: into New York and taking a commuter trade. And so
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: it's all it's never easy. It's just never easy. Connecticut
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: I imagine will be better and easier for a lot
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: of people. But yeah, we're just in a situation where
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: we're so stuck by the places that are willing to
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: host and also fit the criteria to host.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: I think there's a you're right that it's it's a
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: matter of you know, who can host and who can
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: put up the money to do it, because there's no
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: there is some risk in hosting a frozen four if
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: you're a school or you know a community that if
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: it you know, if the crowd doesn't show up, that's
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: you know, you're on the hook for some money there.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: So yeah, it's it is. We haven't seen Boston in
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: the mix for quite a while now.
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: No, that was the one that was canceled right for
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: the pandemic.
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: Right, it does feel like a Minneapolis bluth, you know,
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: a couple of spots in the East. You know, State
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: College is going to be in there, I would imagine again,
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: especially if you know everything went as well as it
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: seemed like it went from from the outside perspective.
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, if you could take the experience of State College
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: and put in somewhere else, Like the arena is great,
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: the everything about it, you know, like the the nitpicks
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: we I have about like some of the media side
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: of that, things like that. But like it was all
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: there was a fan fest. People showed up, which like
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: kudos to them because we didn't know about the fan
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: fest and it wasn't huge, but there was stuff happening outside.
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: It did have to close down on Friday because of thunderstorms.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: But like in a nuts in a like bubble, it
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: is a great experience. It's the process of getting there,
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: in and out that's the problem. But Google is great,
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: I keep to it saying that wrong, and it seems
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: to be the right size, which is nice. It was
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: loud and full, but not you know, overbearing, and it
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: was it seemed to be the right size for people.
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I don't know, but there's no Again, we'll
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: just keep coming up with problems with no answers. But yeah,
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: it just I appreciate the places that host and I
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: hope more people will more, more schools will consider it.
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: But I think that also goes back to the like
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: who wants to host the same like you know who
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: in you know, Quinnipiac is like, great, we're gonna bring
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: Wisconsin and Ohio State all the way out here again,
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: and you know, only some will travel, and YadA, YadA.
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: So I just picked Quinnipiac is one of the schools
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: that regularly hosts. University of New Hampshire is one that
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: regularly hosts. I'm not I'm not picking on them, but yeah,
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: I don't know. It's it. It would be nice to
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: see what we saw this weekend regularly, but I don't
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: We're not set up for that really.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: Okay. Then on Saturday, the Patty Kasmier Awards ceremony happened
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: at the Union on Penn State's campus. A really nice
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: haul and the winner was Caroline Harvey of Wisconsin. Two
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: straight Petty Kaz Awards for the badges Casey O'Brien won
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: last season. I don't think it was too much of
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: a surprise that she won the award. Tessa Janicky from
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: Benn State and Ed Murphy from Minnesota, where the other
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: two in the top three vote getters. You were a
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: part of the committee. You heard some of, you know,
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: the discussion that went on there, and it it just
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: felt like, you know, everyone has seen what KK has
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: been for four years and especially this season, given all
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: of the the international, you know, exposure that she received
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: in the Olympics, it was gonna be really hard for
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: someone else to to win that award this year.
• 35:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think first of all, she still will
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: be the third defender, which is crazy.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: I mean, even like when we gave it to Sophie Jenks,
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: like it was honestly a year too late. She had
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: a better scenes in the year before that. The thing
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: that I stand on with KK is that I think, well,
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: you know, Mark Johnson said like there might not be
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: another like her, and that is fair, but also I
• 35:38
  Speaker 2: think every coach out there is looking for the next
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: KK or to develop the next KK. I think every
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: defender now that shows sort of any sort of offensive
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: promise is going to or vice versa. Like I just,
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: I think that she set a mold for what the
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: future of a defensive women's hockey player can be or
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: what people would want it to be. And when you're
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: talking about someone at twenty two twenty three absolutely changing
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: the game before they've even left college, I just, I mean,
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: all the numbers are also all there, but yeah, she is.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: She is one of one. There isn't another player like
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: her literally in the world, and I think, like that's
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: it is in some ways, you know, like weird, it's
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: not supposed to be anything but this season, And if
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: you took this season in isolation, I still think she's
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: the winner. But in the grander scheme of things as well,
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: Like I just, she's she was above and beyond. I
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: think both Tessa and Abby are spectacular UH players. I
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: think that they both made huge impact.
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: But I just.
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: People have been asking about the draft, and I do
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: that Pwahl draft, and I do think to some extent
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: the question will be you know, what your needs are.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: But I also think, like your need is KK Harvey,
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: Like I don't understand you find if you get the
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: first pick, that's your need. And the thing that I
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: keep saying is like, if you're gonna rank forward, the
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: difference between say Abby or Tessa and like the next
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: best forward versus the difference between KK and the next
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: best defender, that's a huge gap on defense and no
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: offense to whoever we are saying is that next best defender.
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: But it's just it's She's just a completely different player,
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: you know. It's like, I mean, probably the second best
• 37:21
  Speaker 2: defender in the draft of the Emma pecial and like
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: they're very different players. So it's not a fair comparison.
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: But an Emma will be a very good PWh player.
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: She proved, you know, she's proved that already. She proved
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: it very well this weekend as well. But just just
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: what KK brings, Like, I just if you look at
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: your aster and think, I don't know if there's room
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: for a KK Harvey on it, like, please be fired.
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: Like so, I mean, I understand if you're like, oh
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: I need a power forward or whatever, but I just
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: she brings so much and I just think to me,
• 37:51
  Speaker 2: that's that's the difference, is that like it, She's completely
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: changed the game, and I think we will see the
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: repercussions of the way that KK plays like for several
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: years in terms of what high schoolers are trying to
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: do and what you know, recruits look like cutting into
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: different programs.
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: I mean, it really goes back to how she started
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: at Wisconsin. When she got to Wisconsin a year later
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: than originally planned because she made the Olympic team, right,
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: and she made the Olympic team because she was such
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: a fantastic skater that she was able to, you know,
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: basically cover up a lot of things that other players
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: can't in their own games, in their own faults. You
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: make a mistake in the offensive zone, a lot of
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: defenders are, well, I'm out of that play. But she
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: she never really seemed like she was and so that
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: was such a big factor in her young side at Wisconsin,
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: but then just building so much more strength in her
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: game as she got older and got into her junior
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: and senior years. You could just see where like it
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: felt like she could do whatever she wanted and knew
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: that there were at least a pretty good chance that
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: was gonna work out and just that confidence to do it.
• 39:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah. No, that's a really good point. Like I don't
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: was she you know, the best defender she could be
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: at eighteen and on that Olympic team. No, But like
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: you said, she could cover up for a lot of
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: foibles and mistakes. And I think that's always been the
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: most underrated part is we've always focused on our people
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: always focus on the points and the scoring and the
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: offensive ability. But she can do all that because she's
• 39:28
  Speaker 2: a great defender. And she is a great defender in
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: part because of her stating, but also because of her
• 39:32
  Speaker 2: instincts and the way that she can read a play
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: and the way that I mean, she's not also not
• 39:37
  Speaker 2: the biggest player out there, but she plays much bigger
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: than she is because of the way she skates and
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: the way she's able to angle players outside and pinch
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: and you know, gap control and sort of all the
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: little things that have to happen. And I would say too,
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: is that you know, I asked her right after she
• 39:52
  Speaker 2: won sort of like what what drives her?
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: Whatever?
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: But she she talked about never being complacent. And the
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: thing is, like we've been talking about KK as a
• 39:58
  Speaker 2: world class defender since she eighteen, and all she does
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: is keep improving, like really small parts of her game
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: that have big impacts, Like she's never done learning new
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: things or asking questions or sort of fine tuning some
• 40:12
  Speaker 2: of that stuff like that. This year, she talked to
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: me about learning like better edgework from Kirsten Simms, who
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: is good at edgework, because she's not as good as
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: a skater as KK. And she'll admit that, you know,
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: she's like, I'm not the fastest. And Kirsten played with
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: boys and stuff and had to find a way to
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: like find her niche and still be able to like
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: be a smaller player and do what she did. And
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: so KK was like, okay, teach me that, you know.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: And so to me, that's one of the impressive things too,
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: is that, like we we've been talking about KK as
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: a world class skater or world class player for several
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: years and she keeps getting better. She keeps putting in
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: the work, you know. To assistant coach for the Badgers,
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: talked about how she's always on the rink before everybody else,
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: Like she's just consistently she is committed in a way
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: that lots of players are, but above and beyond. I
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: won't say that like, you know, being a ring prat.
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: There's all the players, all the top elite players are
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: doing all those things. But I'm just impressed with the
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: way that she finds small bits of her game to
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: work on that sort of lead to a much bigger.
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: Impact, you know. Okay, final thoughts on this year's Frozen
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: four You had one, I know on some atmosphere.
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: Well, it was awesome. All four teams had a band there,
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: which is spectacular and I love it. And sometimes we
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: have the higher local band or whatever, but it was
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: literally all four teams traveled with a band, and then
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: we listened to a lot of piped in music because
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: it's the NCAA, And there were just times when all
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: the bands were sitting there and everybody's like kind of
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: half heartedly singing along to whatever piped in music was happening,
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: and I'm like, what are we doing? Like let the
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: band play. That's you know, I probably an ongoing directive
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: and you would hear that from people across lots of
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: different NCAA stuff. But so cool to have four bands there,
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: the mascots, all that sort of stuff. That was the best,
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: you know, sort of atmospheric part in remembering because we
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: don't always have a great like student right, Like this
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: women's hockey isn't necessarily like always feel like a collegiate
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: sport in that way, you know, like the Badger support
• 42:07
  Speaker 2: like there is is their season ticket holders and more
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: than their their student section, you know. And so to
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: have that full student section, all four bands and to
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: like what listen to piped in music was just like, oh,
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: you're killing me. You're killing the NCAA because so much
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: of that day was great and that was one of
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: the things that absolutely could have been better is allowing
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: the bands more more time to play.
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah. All in although I thought it was really well done,
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: I love to hear from fans you know that that
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: were there that you know. I'm just the you know
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: what it was like in the seating bowl, I guess
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: more of you know what that experience is like, and
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: you know, the the getting in and getting out and
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: those kinds of things that you know, we get there
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: leave so late that we don't necessarily see those parts
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: of it. But I do love the fact that they
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: keep making a bigger deal out of the team arrivals
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: and you know, with the bands and and kind of
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: the fan fest and nearby was was kind of cool
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: when it was and raining on Friday anyway, Yeah, and.
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: We got like hail late Sunday. Yeah, it was otherwise
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: they could do anything about that. I should add to
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: the Patti cast ceremony. I believe they said they put
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: out seats for three or four hundred, and they went
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: out and added more seats. Yeah, like as the room
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: kept filling up. So that was really cool. It was
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: a really full, huge event. It continues to be the
• 43:24
  Speaker 2: best possible decision to have changed that. From an early
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: morning Scaturday brunch, it was like, you guys, it was
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: like a seated it was. It was stuffy, and it
• 43:32
  Speaker 2: was always entirely too early. Nobody wanted to be there
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: because it was you know, nine am on the Saturday
• 43:38
  Speaker 2: after the semi finals. And now it's this great, huge,
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: big celebration, and it was like people just kept pouring in.
• 43:46
  Speaker 2: Like I said, they kept adding seats, which was really
• 43:48
  Speaker 2: cool to see. So just that I wanted to shout
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: out that, you know, the people show up for that
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: as well, so that's really cool. Yeah, you know, I
• 43:57
  Speaker 2: wish there was more stuff, just because there's not a
• 43:59
  Speaker 2: ton to do and state it's a small place. It's
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: it's the university town. It's not geared for families to
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: come in and go to the Frozen four. I know
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: we talked a little bit about that, but yeah, I
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: always some little nipeky things we'd like. But even from
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: a media like standpoint, talking about how like things have grown,
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: Like last time we were at Penn State, we didn't
• 44:17
  Speaker 2: get paid parking like I paid for parking the whole time,
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: and there wasn't a media hotel, and both of those
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: things existed this time around. So just like from our side,
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: from the like professionalism of the event being taken seriously
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: is nice. You know, we had full like catering and
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: all the sort of stuff that like we don't necessarily
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: always get. So kudos to both Penn State and the
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: NCAA on that as well.
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and good job with for USA Hockey too. They
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: do a lot of the work on the petticas. And
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: and I hope that last time it was in DLOOTH
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: they had that ceremony in that in that atrium right
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: outside am Soil, and I don't think that's big and
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: it wasn't big enough then it will certainly will not
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: be big enough now, and so I hope they they
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: have a spot over in the deck the convention Center
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: that they can use for that that's a little bit
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: bigger and is able to get more people in because
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: there were people, you know, watching from the upstairs, like
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: the balcony kind of thing.
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like out the like bridge over to pushed out
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: that way.
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, Okay, let's take another quick break. When we
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: come back, we'll have some thoughts on the coaching change
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: at Minnesota and some final thoughts on this season as
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: a whole. Stay with us on the podcast. Welcome back
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: to the podcast, Tod and Nicole with our final segment
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: of the season, Sniff Sniff the Coal. We've got to
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: wrap this up somehow, but I do want to go
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: back because our since we had our last episode last week,
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: some major changes at Minnesota where we had kind of
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: we had talked about this in our last episode what's
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: next for Brad Frost, And the next day we found
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: out that, well, what's next for Brad Frost is that
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: he was out of a job because the Gophers allowed
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: his contract, which was up at the end of the season,
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: to expire and said they were moving on and starting
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: a national search for a new head coach, which went
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: about forty five feet over to the next office I
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: don't know if it's the next office over, but ended
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: up with assistant coach Greg May being named the new
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: head coach. Associate head coach he was since twenty twenty three.
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: I'm interested in your thoughts on all of this. I
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: have some follow ups but on some specifics. But I mean,
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: Brad frost Is is a five and fifty plus win
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: coach over nineteen seasons with four NCAA championships, and you
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: can say, yeah, that none of them have been in
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: the last ten years. But I guess I didn't know
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: it was going to come to this. I thought it
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: was possible, but I guess I didn't think if you
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: made me say yes or no, I would have said no.
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: They didn't make a change, but they did.
• 47:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I think it helps the greater context to know
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: that they also fired their men's coach the next day,
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: and I don't know the details, but it's something like
• 47:39
  Speaker 2: one of their athletic director in charge of hockey somebody
• 47:42
  Speaker 2: an administrator in charge of hockey had also already left,
• 47:45
  Speaker 2: and so I think there was definitely a clean sweep
• 47:51
  Speaker 2: sort of let's just start fresh mentality that definitely came
• 47:54
  Speaker 2: into play here, so that I think just helps in
• 47:57
  Speaker 2: the greater context of it. I mean, the expectations at
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: Minnesota are sky high. They set them themselves, you know,
• 48:05
  Speaker 2: and they haven't been meeting them, and they haven't been
• 48:09
  Speaker 2: better than Wisconsin or Ohio State. And I think that
• 48:12
  Speaker 2: was the benchmark. I think they had to show that
• 48:14
  Speaker 2: this year, and then they didn't and now you and
• 48:17
  Speaker 2: now a new Big Ten team has entered the chat
• 48:20
  Speaker 2: and they weren't better than them either. Uh yeah. I
• 48:24
  Speaker 2: you know, like in a group chat I had with
• 48:27
  Speaker 2: some fans from various you know, the teams from the
• 48:31
  Speaker 2: East and from the w c CHA, they were all like,
• 48:33
  Speaker 2: this is crazy that you would fire a coach that's
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: that's that successful. And I think that's just speaks to
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: sort of what the expectations are for the Gophers. I
• 48:43
  Speaker 2: also like, I mean, I really Brad's a great guy.
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: He's really great coach. I like, I have no problems
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: with Brad. I think, you know, probably nineteen years is
• 48:52
  Speaker 2: a really long like it's a really long time to
• 48:54
  Speaker 2: lead a program, and the game has changed so much
• 48:56
  Speaker 2: in that time. And I don't say that to me
• 48:59
  Speaker 2: that I don't think Brad kept up, because I do
• 49:00
  Speaker 2: think that he did. But at some point I think
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: that idea of like sort of starting fresh and fresh
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: blood and all that sort of stuff is interesting. That
• 49:08
  Speaker 2: being said, they went and hired one of his associate
• 49:10
  Speaker 2: head coach, So like, let's go ahead and negate that
• 49:13
  Speaker 2: argument a little bit as well, right, Like, how how
• 49:16
  Speaker 2: much of a change can it have been? Yeah, I
• 49:19
  Speaker 2: don't know. I know that the players loved Frosty. I
• 49:22
  Speaker 2: know that, you know, like immediately on social there was
• 49:25
  Speaker 2: like an outbooring from all of the players. I don't
• 49:27
  Speaker 2: think that they love the move. Yeah, I don't know.
• 49:31
  Speaker 2: I think, Yeah, it's been ten years since they won
• 49:34
  Speaker 2: a national title. It's been a while since they have
• 49:37
  Speaker 2: been on par with Wisconsin and Ohio State. You know,
• 49:41
  Speaker 2: we're talking about these two teams that have played for
• 49:44
  Speaker 2: the national championship for four street years, and the closest
• 49:47
  Speaker 2: that Minnesota has gotten is losing to one of those
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: two teams, you know, in the Frozen four.
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: And so.
• 49:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm both surprised and not at all surprised. I
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: can see that, Like I think, you know, Boosters, we're
• 50:00
  Speaker 2: chomping at the bit that like this, this isn't the
• 50:02
  Speaker 2: standard we have at this program to come in third, uh,
• 50:06
  Speaker 2: you know to these other two teams that we think
• 50:08
  Speaker 2: are you know, our direct competition and biggest rivals, and
• 50:12
  Speaker 2: so yeah, I think it's I think there probably was
• 50:16
  Speaker 2: a little bit of you needed to do X, Y
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: Z things this year. They didn't do them, and then
• 50:20
  Speaker 2: it was really a rough PLoP of an ending of
• 50:23
  Speaker 2: a season for them in the w c J and
• 50:26
  Speaker 2: then that lost to Northeastern in the NCAAs. And I
• 50:30
  Speaker 2: don't think it was probably any one thing, but I
• 50:32
  Speaker 2: think a number of things. And yeah, the way I
• 50:35
  Speaker 2: understood it from from some folks that talk to me,
• 50:37
  Speaker 2: you know, off the record, is there were some goals
• 50:40
  Speaker 2: that they wanted to have met this year and they
• 50:42
  Speaker 2: didn't meet them, and so that was that was the
• 50:44
  Speaker 2: end of that.
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah. My two follow ups are, one, do you think
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: Brad Frost coaches again in college hockey? And two will
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: it be announced during the chance of game of a
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: frozen four? As well?
• 51:02
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, what are you guys doing? It was?
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: That was basically that was the reaction Nicole had at
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: press row.
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: Somebody somebody messaged us and was like, oh my god,
• 51:16
  Speaker 2: they hired Greg May And I was like, what, like
• 51:21
  Speaker 2: it was it was the middle of the National Championship game.
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: Just absolute bonkers choices to be made here. I I
• 51:29
  Speaker 2: like that was a deliberate choice. I don't know why.
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: I mean, I do. I think you have to fat
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: well no, that that the the transfer portal open Monday,
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: and so you don't want to be.
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: The game didn't start to four pm, well.
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: Early in the day.
• 51:50
  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm not Yeah, I'm not mad about I mean,
• 51:53
  Speaker 2: I think the whole thing of being like we're gonna,
• 51:56
  Speaker 2: you know, we're gonna have a nationwide search. It was
• 51:59
  Speaker 2: so clear that like that wasn't actually happened, gonna happen,
• 52:04
  Speaker 2: Like there there was a short list, they went through it.
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: I you know, what I understood is Greg was definitely
• 52:09
  Speaker 2: on it. I don't think that he was the very
• 52:13
  Speaker 2: top person on it. I think there were conversations with
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: a few other people. I think that it came down
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: to him and another previous assistant, and people liked him more.
• 52:22
  Speaker 2: That's the way that I understand how that went or
• 52:24
  Speaker 2: how it was told to me. So I know, you
• 52:27
  Speaker 2: know he was with you eighteens this year, and I
• 52:31
  Speaker 2: heard nothing but good stuff about him, But I'm not,
• 52:33
  Speaker 2: you know, otherwise super familiar with him. You're question about Brad.
• 52:38
  Speaker 2: I was wondering if we were going to see Brad
• 52:40
  Speaker 2: move into more of a GM type role, whether that's
• 52:43
  Speaker 2: with Ketub or with I mean, the way that athletics
• 52:47
  Speaker 2: have changed, We're seeing gms in college athletics, and I
• 52:51
  Speaker 2: could see him being involved that way. I don't know.
• 52:57
  Speaker 2: I mean, I know he loves to coach. I know
• 52:59
  Speaker 2: lots of pros would love to have him. I feel
• 53:02
  Speaker 2: like it wouldn't be super hard to pick up from
• 53:05
  Speaker 2: scratch somewhere else. That's not even as much as we're
• 53:08
  Speaker 2: sort of like talking about Minnesota in third place, like
• 53:12
  Speaker 2: he had nothing but resources, and like it's Minnesota, Like
• 53:15
  Speaker 2: there is no better place to be a girl or
• 53:18
  Speaker 2: woman plague hockey than the state of Minnesota because of
• 53:22
  Speaker 2: the resources and the fact that there's like a whole
• 53:24
  Speaker 2: like high school and like there's a whole thing there,
• 53:27
  Speaker 2: and there's not really any other university that he can
• 53:29
  Speaker 2: go to that's going to be the same, and he's
• 53:33
  Speaker 2: going to have to start, you know, from scratch in
• 53:35
  Speaker 2: terms of like building a staff and building rapport and
• 53:38
  Speaker 2: like sort of all of that stuff, and probably none
• 53:40
  Speaker 2: of it's going to be as good as he had
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: it in Minnesota. So I from his standpoint, that would
• 53:44
  Speaker 2: be hard, I think. But you know, also maybe he's
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: up for a challenge. But he also, like I think,
• 53:49
  Speaker 2: has kids that are recently had an offer, graduated to college.
• 53:52
  Speaker 2: He might just be ready to be like, nope, but
• 53:54
  Speaker 2: I am done with all of this. Uh So, you know,
• 53:58
  Speaker 2: I think it would be amazing if he got hired
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: by the Frost for the jokes alone. But yeah, I mean,
• 54:07
  Speaker 2: I hope for women's Brad. Brad's a great guy. He's
• 54:10
  Speaker 2: really knowledgeable, he's really tearing, He's he's long been a
• 54:15
  Speaker 2: really important part of the women's hockey landscape, and so
• 54:18
  Speaker 2: for our sake, I hope that he is still involved somehow.
• 54:21
  Speaker 2: I think it would be a loss overall for us
• 54:23
  Speaker 2: to not have him as a part of the greater community.
• 54:27
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I'd be curious. It will be interesting to
• 54:30
  Speaker 2: see what comes next. What are your thoughts in terms
• 54:32
  Speaker 2: of like taking a different program if you were this
• 54:35
  Speaker 2: is the one you had for nineteen years.
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: We were kind of joking around that if if Nadine
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: needs a general manager at Ohio State, wouldn't that be
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: an interesting pairing? Again, Brad Fross Mendin was all on
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: the same same staff. But no, I don't, I really
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: don't know. I I agree with your your sentiment. Brad
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: Frost has been nothing but kind and professional to to
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: deal with over the years that I have and so
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: I do hope that you know that he if if
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: there's an opportunity out there that he wants to go for,
• 55:11
  Speaker 1: he's you know, he finds it, and you know it's
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: it's also I think for people that have been in
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: coaching in college for a long time, getting back to
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: what we were talking about earlier, the sea change is
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: not necessarily sitting well with everyone, and so maybe it's
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: a time to, yeah, not not be in college athletics.
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: And I do worry about that that some of the
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: the best and brightest might see that over over the future.
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: But then you do get you do get into the situation.
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: Like also in the news in last week, Merrimack hired
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: Courtney Kennedy as its coach, and that's a it seems
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: to be a home run higher and it does kind
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: of reinforce that yes, there is a position. There is
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: space in college right now for good up and coming
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: you know, college dedicated coaches.
• 56:11
  Speaker 2: Truly blonkers to me that EU eighteens was her first
• 56:13
  Speaker 2: head coaching job this last y eighteens. I think she's
• 56:17
  Speaker 2: that's a massive higher I don't think that it was it.
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: Courtney is also a Minnesota alum. I think it's very
• 56:25
  Speaker 2: telling that that got announced in the process of this
• 56:28
  Speaker 2: week as well. I believe that was locked down for
• 56:30
  Speaker 2: a very good reason. We should mention to. Nadine Masral
• 56:34
  Speaker 2: signed an extension at Ohio State pretty much as soon
• 56:39
  Speaker 2: as the Brad Frost thing happened. Then Ohio State announced
• 56:42
  Speaker 2: Natine's extension, and Nadine talked about sort of the importance
• 56:45
  Speaker 2: to her of having that and like immediately telling her
• 56:48
  Speaker 2: players and letting them know that like she was, this
• 56:51
  Speaker 2: weekend was for them and she was focused on them.
• 56:53
  Speaker 2: And also she talked about, you know, I preach a
• 56:56
  Speaker 2: lot about commitment, and I can't do that if I'm
• 56:58
  Speaker 2: going to walk away the second somebody some other opens up.
• 57:01
  Speaker 2: So I was really appreciative sort of just of her
• 57:04
  Speaker 2: sentiments on that and talking about how she had you know,
• 57:07
  Speaker 2: informed the team and made sure that the weekend was
• 57:09
  Speaker 2: still about them. Yeah, I not to get two in
• 57:12
  Speaker 2: the weeds, but that was my thought with Brad is
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: like you were at a university where you knew every system,
• 57:16
  Speaker 2: you had several assistants, you know, like like Brad obviously
• 57:20
  Speaker 2: still did things, but like when you are a coach,
• 57:23
  Speaker 2: you know, when you're at his level, at Mark Johnson's level,
• 57:26
  Speaker 2: nadine to some extent, like you're not You're not the
• 57:29
  Speaker 2: person that has to be on the road all the
• 57:30
  Speaker 2: time doing all the recruiting and like there's there's you
• 57:34
  Speaker 2: have that all, you know, like perfectly set up, and
• 57:36
  Speaker 2: he again for nineteen years, had things a certain way
• 57:40
  Speaker 2: and had all the resources. And so if he were
• 57:42
  Speaker 2: to go to a different school in terms of the
• 57:44
  Speaker 2: all the NCAA of it, the nil and the recruiting
• 57:49
  Speaker 2: and all the all the stuff that a head coach
• 57:51
  Speaker 2: has to do, it would be very different for him
• 57:53
  Speaker 2: than how he's had it recently. And like that to
• 57:55
  Speaker 2: me would be like I think hard to pick up
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: sort of starting over from scre Lu's So about the coaching,
• 58:02
  Speaker 2: the coaching is the least of the problems or the
• 58:04
  Speaker 2: things that he would have to to think about. That's
• 58:07
  Speaker 2: the easy that, you know.
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: Turning to Merrimack. Then again, I'm really interested to see
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: if this is a you know, are we in three
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: years talking about them being in you know, the top
• 58:18
  Speaker 1: three of Hockey East with with a higher like amazing?
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 58:25
  Speaker 2: I guess I don't feel like that's kuperbolic, Like I
• 58:27
  Speaker 2: don't think that's like yeah.
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: I don't think. I don't know the resources. I don't
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: know the uh, you know, the financial commitments of it.
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: And I know that you know, they have a rink
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: that they've put a lot of money into in the
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: last few years, and I think that's that's a positive
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: for them, and uh, let's see if this is a
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: a major major change. Yeah, I hope so.
• 58:53
  Speaker 2: I mean, aside from everything, Courtney is just hilarious and
• 58:57
  Speaker 2: great and a wonderful person, but that may it's a
• 59:00
  Speaker 2: really like unique and interesting coach and she I we
• 59:04
  Speaker 2: need more of the women from that sort of first
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: generation of Olympians to be coaching and on down the line,
• 59:12
  Speaker 2: and Courtney is one of those players. I think it's
• 59:14
  Speaker 2: really important for you know, when we're talking to you
• 59:16
  Speaker 2: eighteens and the coach in the room has been where
• 59:19
  Speaker 2: you are not necessarily eight teens, but playing internationally, representing
• 59:23
  Speaker 2: your country, all that sort of stuff. But I just
• 59:24
  Speaker 2: think it's good for the collegiate women as well to
• 59:27
  Speaker 2: like have that touchstone. And Courtney is just she's effusive,
• 59:32
  Speaker 2: and she's funny, and she is relatable and freaking brilliant,
• 59:36
  Speaker 2: and so I just like so excited that she you know,
• 59:39
  Speaker 2: I was. I was sad when she left b C
• 59:42
  Speaker 2: a couple of seasons ago, and I just think this
• 59:44
  Speaker 2: is a massive higher I think that's a huge coup
• 59:46
  Speaker 2: for them in terms of I think a ton of
• 59:50
  Speaker 2: programs would have wanted to pick up Courtney if they
• 59:53
  Speaker 2: knew that was an option. And so yeah, I don't
• 59:55
  Speaker 2: I don't think it is over the top to wonder
• 59:57
  Speaker 2: if this could be a massive like sea change for
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 2: mayor Mac. Yeah, it's a great hire. I was really
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 2: excited to see it.
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Okay, time to give our final thoughts on the
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 1: season here, Nicole, Uh, you know, Wisconsin's national champion again,
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: it was Wisconsin Ohio State, but the season really went
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: beyond that. For me. It went into the Northeastern getting
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: back to where they have been more often than not
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: this season and taking a lot of you know, exception
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: to some of the predictions before the season and showing
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 1: everyone that even though they don't have a rink of
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: their own for the second half of the season and
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: won't for next season, there's still going to be a power.
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 1: It's it's in the you know, the craziness of ECAC
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: that it was bouncing around, it was pinballing so much
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 1: that first play spot it's in in state, getting up
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 1: to the third spot in the country, and getting their
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: first NCAA tournament victory. It's all these little things that
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: are that are kind of like over six months, you
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: forget about some of them as we go along, but
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: it's like that was that was a pretty cool season.
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean we, you know, we even as far
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 2: as the back is like adding Delaware and Delaware getting
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 2: a win and you kind of got their first NCAA
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 2: win tournament when yeah, there's a ton of little things
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 2: I think, you know, it's a yes, yes, I think
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 2: it overall we need to have that discussion of how
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 2: it's not great for two teams to dominate. But there
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 2: was plenty of growth and wonderful things to see this
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 2: year and all of those things have to happen, so
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 2: that the first thing we said doesn't isn't like a
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 2: permanent fixture, right, And so all of that growth, even
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 2: seeing how you know, Franklin Pierce played in their NCAA tournament,
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 2: like they ran out of towards the end of that game,
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 2: but they they put it to Quinnipiac for at least
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 2: you know, half that game, and that is I like,
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 2: I know it sounds really patronizing, and I don't want
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 2: it to be, but like we've seen the new hot
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 2: teams go into the NCAA tournament and be absolutely blown out,
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: and so I thought even that even seeing them come
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 2: in and play that game really well and not have
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 2: it just be a foregone conclusion was a huge, you know,
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 2: important step. And so yeah, I think the fact that
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 2: we spent most of the season going, oh, it's gonna
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 2: happen is a sign that like good things were happening,
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 2: that no, you know, like we were really only Penn
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 2: State was going to dominate. Aha, we know what the
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 2: wh is and but there was a lot of who
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 2: knows what else is happening. And I think it was
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 2: so much fun that the ECS he came down to
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 2: the last day and there were three or four teams
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 2: that could have walked away with it. And then the
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 2: team that you know one regular season isn't the team
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 2: that you know went the furthest and all that sort
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 2: of stuff. Yeah, I there, it's a good thing. There's
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 2: a lot of good things to look at that I don't.
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 2: You know, everybody wants to win the national championship, and
• 1:03:07
  Speaker 2: there's definitely you know, I don't I don't want your
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 2: pity like mini wins. I get that. But I think
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 2: for the overall growth, I think we're looking at great things.
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 2: And uh, you know, of the Wisconsin it all, they're
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 2: graduating a massive senior class. Obviously, they they are the
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 2: type of team that you know gets in another big
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 2: new class and and there are players there that have
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 2: been you know, waiting their turn. For some of these
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 2: players to graduate, and I don't think that there's going
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 2: to be a massive, you know, downturn, but I think
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 2: there will be more opportunities and and seeing you know,
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 2: seeing more of those players or even just having lots
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 2: like you know, a daily chef of Alohova get really
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 2: like even better in the second half of the season
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 2: and really pick up and we'll see some more international
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 2: players next year as well. And so yeah, I I
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 2: don't know, I am I'm not good at profound thoughts,
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 2: but a big, big sweeping. But it was a fun season,
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 2: I thought, with all of the unknowns of the Olympics.
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 2: I don't think that it screwed up anything too bad.
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 2: I think I was really worried, like sort of existentially
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 2: about like it's fundamentally changing our game or our season,
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 2: and I don't think that it did. I think teams
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 2: navigated it. I think it had an impact at times,
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 2: but overall, you know, like I'm a worrier and I'm
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 2: protective of this game, and I was like, I really
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 2: hope that the college game isn't the one that suffers
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 2: for this change, and I don't think that it did.
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 2: So and we and we saw our college players do massive, amazing,
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 2: great things on the world stage, and it's just it's
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 2: been really fun to see, like like Northeastern's Alexia Bachelor
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 2: was on Sarah Spain's podcast and now they talk about
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 2: her a bunch and like some of the you know,
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 2: the Kkan and Layla of it all great, but also
• 1:04:52
  Speaker 2: some of the other players, the other collegiate players I
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 2: went and did great things at the Olympics and seeing
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 2: them get talked about is also really cool. Like I
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 2: think it was a great showcase for for our quarter
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 2: of the sport as well. And you know, I don't
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 2: know that we'll we see another season quite like this
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 2: where you've got that many collegians playing in a gold
• 1:05:11
  Speaker 2: medal game.
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: The so a preview of one of the things we
• 1:05:15
  Speaker 1: will talk a lot about next season here is the
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: changing of schedule for World Championships. So instead of it
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: being an Olympic break for some teams, next to aill
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 1: be a World Championship break where a lot of I
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: don't know how many, but there will be a certain
• 1:05:32
  Speaker 1: number of players who are gone for that length of
• 1:05:36
  Speaker 1: time and.
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 2: We should be shorter than Olympic, but be sure, right,
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 2: but we don't.
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: We don't know. I don't know. Are they gonna want
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 1: them a week out of time? Are they gonna want
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: a mini training camp kind of thing? Are they're gonna
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 1: do something in October before? And it's there's so many
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 1: things again that like last year, at this time we
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: did not know about how the Olympics was gonna go.
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: We do not know those same things about all the
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 1: World Championship is going to go scheduling wise and how
• 1:06:06
  Speaker 1: it connects into the college game.
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 2: The bonus part is it won't be as playoffs starts,
• 1:06:11
  Speaker 2: which was really the big part of the Olympic One
• 1:06:14
  Speaker 2: was the timing of it in terms of the collegiate season.
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 2: But yeah, we're going to keep having to adapt. And
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 2: I think I love how many international players we have,
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 2: but that does change the dynamic. We're not just talking
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 2: about US Canadian players when we talk about these international tournaments.
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 2: There's there's a ton more players that are going to
• 1:06:31
  Speaker 2: be affected. And you know that's going to continue, and
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 2: I think it's good for us to think, you know,
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 2: more globally and outside the North American bubble. And yeah,
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 2: I it was a thing this year where we saw
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 2: teams lose like big portions of the roster and have
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 2: to have people step up. But I feel like we
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 2: could see even bigger impacts next year, right like knowing
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 2: like sort of the turnover of the Wisconsin roster if
• 1:06:57
  Speaker 2: they lose you know, Adela and Ava and a couple
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 2: other players, Like that's it's a lot. There's the jump again,
• 1:07:05
  Speaker 2: you're talking that that depth but you're going to be
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 2: asking a lot from those lower lines.
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: Well, I it will be fun to watch. I mean,
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: we'll be back next year to talk about that and
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 1: everything else that happens. But for now, I want to
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 1: say thank you and Nicole because you do such great
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 1: work and it's always so fun doing this with you.
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 1: And I want to say thank you to everyone that listens,
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 1: watches however you connect with us and interacts with us.
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 1: We got an email today before I recorded, asking where
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 1: where the podcast was because we had some timing issues
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: this week and I'm traveling. We were both traveling back
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: from Penn State. But we do appreciate everyone.
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 2: No, it's it's really cool. It can feel sometimes even
• 1:07:50
  Speaker 2: before the podcast before like that we were writing kind
• 1:07:53
  Speaker 2: of into the abyss. So we love that you listen.
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 2: I thank you Todd, because I could just be talking
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 2: into the blue by myself. Appreciate having someone else to
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 2: discuss this with. And we just really appreciate the listeners
• 1:08:04
  Speaker 2: and love that you guys care enough to ask if
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 2: we're putting out another episode. So we appreciate you very much.
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 2: You know, we all again, you know I said it
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 2: last week, like I hope that people got to enjoy
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 2: this week and really take in the greatness of women's
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 2: college hockey because we saw the very best of it
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 2: this week from the fans on up, and so we
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 2: appreciate you very much. Thank you for listening.
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 1: That is going to wrap it up emergency podcasts this
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 1: summer as necessary. Possibly we don't know yet, but we'll
• 1:08:35
  Speaker 1: leave that as a possibility. But thanks again, we will
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 1: If we don't talk to you sometime this summer, we
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 1: will catch you back in the fall. Thanks for listening
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: and watching to the podcast.