I’ve never been known as a sports writing prophet with a shiny crystal ball resting next to the keyboard. Shama the Seer, the great purveyor of the future? Nope, not me.
I make this confession knowing I put at risk my prediction the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team will win its two games in this week’s Frozen Four in Tampa and come home with the national championship trophy.
My history, though, is that of a dysfunctional prophet. Consider the following.
I could have been the guy who bet his retirement nest egg on the 19.5 point favorite Timberwolves to cover the spread on Sunday. They made national news by losing 107-105 to the Trail Blazers.
I once worried the world would end with Y2 K. A computer bug didn’t spin the world into chaos, but Armageddon remains top of mind. I keep Nostradamus on speed-dial.
Remember Rocky-like punching bag Chuck Wepner? I might have predicted he was going to knock out Muhammad Ali back on my birthday of March 24, 1975. Before you snicker, remember Wepner did go 15 rounds with the heavyweight champ before losing on a technical knockout.
Thomas Dewey? Wouldn’t be surprised if someone in my family wagered cold cash on Dewey winning the 1948 presidential election instead of Harry Truman. Heck, the Chicago Tribune even got it wrong, printing this headline the day after the election: “Dewey Defeats Truman.”
On my mother’s side, we had family who fought in the Revolutionary War. They might have held rifles in one hand while wagering on the British Redcoats.
So more than 200 years of bad family luck predicting outcomes doesn’t deter me from writing with confidence that the No. 1 seeded Gophers will not only win Thursday night against No. 4 Boston University but emerge Saturday evening with the 2023 NCAA Division I championship. I am overdue and so are the Gophers.
Minnesota hasn’t won the national title since 2003. That’s 20 years ago and a good omen.
The Gophers lost in the Frozen Four semi-finals a year ago. Coach Bob Motzko and the players benefit from that experience.
The Gophers, 28-9-1, are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and have been considered the nation’s best team in 2023 boasting a 26-man roster with 14 of those players NHL draft choices.
Minnesota is loaded with talent including goal tending and perhaps the best scoring line in school history with Logan Cooley, Matthew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud. Gopher goalie Justen Close is third in the nation in shutouts with six and has a 2.08 goals against average versus top 10 teams.
Cooley and Knies are two of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award recognizing college hockey’s best player. Cooley’s 37+ rating leads all NCAA players, while Knies is a tight moments specialist and has scored seven game winning goals. Snuggerud is fifth in the country in points per game at 1.32, while the third Hobey Baker finalist, Michigan’s Adam Fantilli, is No. 1 at 1.85.
Knies typifies the Gophers’ play in clutch moments, and this team also excels on the power play and defensively. The Gophers rank fourth nationally in power play percentage at 0.264 and that’s better than any other Frozen Four team. The defensive corps of Jackson LaCombe, Ryan Johnson and Brock Faber is special.
Minnesota won three national championships in the 1970s under the peerless direction of the late Herb Brooks. Later Brooks built the St. Cloud State program where Motzko was on his staff. Good connections, great karma. Gotta believe Herbie is watching over things in Tampa this week.
The hockey gods deem not only that the Gophers win the national title but take revenge against Michigan in Saturday night’s championship game. The No. 3 seed Wolverines, who need to beat No. 2 seed Quinnipiac Thursday to set up the retribution, defeated Minnesota 4-3 in Minneapolis last month to win the Big Ten Tournament title.
It’s always triumphant to beat Michigan in anything—from tiddlywinks to robotics to ice hockey as they call it in Tampa. To do so in the national championship game is this soothsayer’s dream.
And one so richly deserved!
Oh soothsayer Dave, I hope you’re right! I believe in the last 7 games against Michigan, the Wolverines won 5 games!
Michigan is big and physical. Justen Close will need his best effort for the Golden Gophers to win!
Go Gophers!
Jumping Jimmy
Hi David,
I think you are right on! Sure hope so.