EITAN SCHOENBERG: Hey everyone, it’s Eitan Schoenberg. I’m here with Emmett Laurent with Minnesota Daily and you’re listening to the Gold Standard podcast where we talk about all things sports. 

EMMETT LAURENT: Yeah, I’m excited to be here. It’s been a big week for Gopher sports. What do you got?

SCHOENBERG : I mean, I can start off with, uh, women’s hockey. They had their first series, at home, against Boston University. Nice little sweep, they won 1-0 on Friday. That game was kind of stale. Scoring didn’t crack open until very late. 

And then 5-2 on Sunday. That was a way more exciting game. I was at both. Very happy to see that the new players are getting acclimated, things like that, starting the season 4-0-0. And they’re number two in the rankings behind Wisconsin. 

LAURENT: Who would you tell the people listening to look for when watching Gopher hockey? 

SCHOENBERG: So easy to say, but Abbey Murphy. I don’t know if you saw the highlight from her penalty shot goal, but that was ridiculous. 

LAURENT: I did see that. That was sweet. 

SCHOENBERG: That was ridiculous. I mean, it takes a lot of skill to pull off something that looks so simple. For people that like, maybe aren’t super familiar with hockey, kind of just looked like a slower play that wasn’t super, you know, skillful. But when you really understand, you kind of see how that takes a lot of like reading where the goalie is and positioning, things like that, timing the shot. But, yeah, that was pretty cool. It was very cool to see that all over social media, too. 

LAURENT: Some big expectations for the team this year, you would say? 

SCHOENBERG: You know, last year, I, unofficially speaking, but it really felt like a rebuild year. I mean, they lost a bunch of great players after the 22-23 season. Taylor Heise, obviously, headlining that group. And Grace Zumwinkle, those players. It was a good bridge year between, that year, 2022-23, and then now. Last year kind of allowed, you know, the sophomores to move up, and now they’re the juniors now, and they’re kind of taking the reigns of the team.

Josefin Bouveng, Nelli Laitinen, two European players that are really starting to stand out. Josefin Bouveng had a great year last year. Um, she plays with Murphy, she plays with Ella Huber. Huber and Murphy go back, way back. They’ve played together since like 12, 13 years old, so they are a force to be reckoned with.

Last year they accounted for over half the team scoring, so just that line. They’re going to be pretty exciting to watch this year. 

LAURENT: What is the game that everyone needs to go to that’s on the schedule? 

SCHOENBERG: Oh, the Border Battle, 100%. Oct. 18, 19. Border Battle, you gotta be there. Ridder Arena, it is a crazy atmosphere. I’ve been  watching that series since freshman year. It never disappoints. 

LAURENT: Alright. I’ll be there and everyone listening should be there. Alright. Let’s just get right into the thing everyone’s probably thinking about is the football team upsets, number 11, USC 24-17 last Saturday. How are you feeling about that? 

SCHOENBERG: As a student at the U, that was one of the coolest experiences.

LAURENT: I was there, I was second row, so I got on that field fast, and I got trampled fast. And I got hit over by Darius Taylor fast, but it’s all part of the experience, right?  

SCHOENBERG: Yeah, all part of the experience. That’s, I mean, that’s, that’s like, I always heard about the, you know, Penn State game, things like that.

LAURENT: I was at that one. I got a storm. As a little kid, I got a storm to the field, so that was very fun. But this was a better feeling, being at the school and being a student was like, I just, I felt so much, like, happiness jumping on that field. 

SCHOENBERG: Oh yeah, you have a much different appreciation once you’re a student, for sure. I mean, okay, I was working that game, so I was not able to storm the field. However, I still, it was, it was cool to, like, watch from above. Like the top of the student section, and I got to see, you know. Right before the Gophers scored to take the lead, you can see all the fans coming down from the top section to go down to the lower bowl so they can get ready to storm the field.

LAURENT: I was like in the second row and then I, like, look over, I’m like, why are there so many people close to me? And I look back and there’s all these people coming down. I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m about to get pushed really hard. But in the game, I mean, talk about kind of like a range of emotions. I’d say, I mean, they start, they get the game to 10-10 and it honestly still felt like anyone’s game.

And then USC scores 17-10. And I was like, I don’t, I just don’t know how they’re going to be able to stay in this. And then they get the sack interception where he hits his arm and it falls into our guys hands perfectly. We go down, score, get the ball back, score again. But go through that emotion of Max Brosmer not being in and then everyone on the replay booth watching and we’re like, he’s in, like, he’s got to be in.

And then they finally call it back. And I don’t, I don’t even think it felt really like real that they could win until they actually kneeled the ball up. 

SCHOENBERG: It’s honestly a big part of it. Like I said, watching from a distance. The student section was huge. 

LAURENT: It was rocking. 

SCHOENBERG: Yeah, the student section was huge in like, determining like, the overall emotion and like, the vibe of the stadium. Like, play being review, dead silent, things like that. But, oh my god, once that was, the touchdown was called. That was crazy, the eruption there. 

LAURENT: I don’t think I realized how loud it was really until, like, when I got home and I watched, like, the replay on Big Ten Network and,could hear the crowd erupt. I’m like, this sounds like a football, like an NFL game.  I mean, we have a big stadium, but it’s only 54,000. Like, you go down to Michigan, like, that’s 112. We got pretty loud for 54,000 people. 

SCHOENBERG: Yeah, I’m actually glad you bring up Michigan. I was talking about that the last time I was on the podcast, because I was there for the game against the Gophers. In the student section, and that’s like, seeing that game and seeing like, I don’t know, the fight of the team and keeping it close to the team that was pretty highly ranked. Like gave me a lot of hope coming into the USC game. 

LAURENT: It’s almost like a weird feeling because if they, if the Gophers beat Michigan and then come back and beat USC, where does that like put them? And you can play what ifs all day for sure, but like that’s a 4-2 team with two ranked wins. That might be a ranked team. 

So I think it’s encouraging for the Gophers going forward. They still got some uphill battles with Penn State in a couple weeks, but there was a lot of other upsets. I think it was just, something was in the air. There was a week of upsets. So what other upsets did you see? 

SCHOENBERG: When I heard that Vanderbilt was up on Alabama, I’m like, I mean Alabama. I’m like, dude, Alabama’s got time to come back. I’m like, there, there’s no way. And then of course, I mean, like you said, something was in the air that night, man.

LAURENT: Yeah. 

SCHOENBERG: Bunch of top, top 10 ranked teams. 

LAURENT: Vanderbilt, I think they led the whole game. I don’t think they ever lost the lead, but then they like got down to like two minutes left in the game and they score that. Alabama scores that end around touchdown to Ryan Williams. And I was like, Alabama is going to win this game and Vanderbilt held on. 

SCHOENBERG:  Yeah. I mean, these teams have fight. 

LAURENT: Koi Perich, we could talk about him for a long time, but. True freshmen from Esko, Minnesota. He didn’t play the first couple of weeks. Was only on special teams. Now, he’s getting a full role at safety, returning kicks and punts. He just, he looks, he honestly looks fearless. 

I think he returned a kick that like his foot was like on the edge of the out of bounds and I’m like, like, why? But he’s just so fearless and obviously he knows better than I do. And then he gets that interception at that and I think he jumped like 40 feet in the air. Like he was flying. I was like, okay, Michael Jordan, like that was crazy. 

SCHOENBERG: That was, I mean, that’s a moment people are gonna be able to look back on for years and be like, that was ridiculous. 

LAURENT: I just, yeah, I mean, the team kind of came together. A few other standout players, I’d say. I mean, Justin Walley played great. I think at the end of the game, when USC was trying to come back, they kept throwing at him and he kept breaking up every pass. And I was like, they have to throw it somewhere else because he’s just blanketing the receivers.

And our defense are number one in the country. Number one in pass yards allowed, like tied for most interceptions. So they’re doing something on the defense right.  

SCHOENBERG: For sure. And I mean, USC had that drive at the game too. People are getting a little nervous, you know.

LAURENT: They had a long, like, crossing route for like 30 yards. I was like, oh crap, here we go. Yeah, we should move on. But I mean, the Gophers play UCLA this week. So, I don’t know, I haven’t watched too much UCLA, but it’s a game hopefully the Gophers can win before they get a bye week. And then they got Maryland, I think. 

SCHOENBERG: Yeah, Maryland on the 26 at home. 

LAURENT: And then, like I said before, Penn State, and that’ll be another opportunity for the Gopher fans to rush the field. 

SCHOENBERG: Yeah, that’d be incredible. Then they gotta rank him at that point. I mean that same night. Gopher volleyball, falling to USC. I mean, Gopher football, able to get it done with USC, but volleyball, unfortunately, dropped it 3-1. But, what have you seen from volleyball?

LAURENT: Yeah, the volleyball team has experienced a lot of ups and downs this year. I mean going way back, they beat number one Texas at the time, which was an amazing game. They started their season against three straight ranked opponents so they’ve definitely been in the ringer. And coach Keegan Cook has talked a lot about parody in, I mean, specifically in sports in general, but like the, the teams you would consider not as good are really close to the best teams. 

And I think that means if you do have a little bit of an off night, you’re going to go to five sets. And the Gopher volleyball team has gone to five sets a lot. And that’s a pretty tiring thing to be doing every night, back to back nights. I think they’re one of like two teams in the Big Ten to play back to backs like they have been playing.

Like they played UCLA Friday, USC Saturday. That, I mean, that’s just tiring. And I mean they just need to work on a little bit of consistency with what they’re doing. They obviously have the talent with like Melani Shaffmaster, Julia Hanson, Lydia Grote. They know they can do it and I’ve seen a sense of like urgency from a lot of the red shirt seniors because they got a lot of older players on the team that they can do something with the season.

But it’s just consistency I think all around. They have a lot, I mean, they’re gonna have countless opportunities to show what they can do. They’re in the thick of the Big Ten schedule now. Yeah, they got Penn State coming up. Penn State’s just pretty good at every sport.

So the Gophers have a big task in every sport against them. But I think mainly the volleyball team. Everyone should go to a game because the Pav is awesome and the Pav rocks. But if they can just get all their players healthy, I think they’re going to be able to make a run.  

SCHOENBERG: Staying on the topic of Penn State, kind of a not so seamless transition, but new Gophers goaltender, Liam Souliere, former Penn State goalie.

Same night Gophers upset USC in football, men’s hockey, took an exhibition win over St. Cloud State 5-1. Another transfer Matthew Wood from UConn, got his start in the maroon and gold. Good to see him too, pretty excited to see what he can do in the Big Ten. Nathan Airey, that’s another thing, with Justen Close leaving, I’m excited to see how this new goaltending, you know, tandem. Bob Motzko last year talked about how Nathan Airey is kind of like the goalie of the future.

I mean, he’s, there’s a lot of hype surrounding him. A lot of hype surrounding the new freshmen that got to play. I mean, they’re top five in a USCHO ranking. They’re second highest Big Ten ranked team in the country behind Michigan State. 

They’ve got a lot of things looking good for them. They continue their season in Las Vegas, actually, at the Icebreaker Tournament. They got Air Force, they might face Omaha, depending on how that tournament plays out, which would be a nice little rematch from the NCAA Regionals.

That was a pretty good game. Yeah, Jaxon Nelson had a great game, but he, obviously, he’s moved on to pro, but. 

LAURENT: What are you looking for on the team, specifically, for them to, I don’t want to say step up from last year, but just maybe get back to like the championship, you know, and get really back to those winning ways.

SCHOENBERG: I really think, I mean, Matthew Wood is going to be a very, very, very solid scoring asset for them. I mean, he was pretty good with UConn. So the Gophers being able to land him. And I mean, it’s not very often, I mean, at least recently that you see the Gophers, you know, landing transfer portals. And then now, now they got like a potential starting goalie out of the transfer portal. 

And then another like top scorer at the transfer portal. So obviously Snuggerud coming back was massive for them. I mean, sophomores Jimmy Clark, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel. I guess those guys just, it’s kind of similar to the women’s honestly, just like the development of those younger players and them being able to move up and step in a new role is, I think it’ll be a better season for them because of those players, you know, developing.

Brody Lamb, Connor Kurth, again, players that have been in the program long enough that they’ve, I mean, Lamb had a great year last year, Kurth as well, Motzko, beginning of last year, talked about both of them, you know, really breaking through, uh, especially in the Frozen Four run of 2023. 

LAURENT: You kind of hit that one season or two seasons where everyone kind of comes together. So that’ll be good. Alright, I’m going to ask you again. What’s the game everyone’s got to go to?  

SCHOENBERG: Honestly, Michigan State. 

LAURENT: Okay, why? 

SCHOENBERG: They had a pretty close series against Michigan State last year. Yeah, I mean, Michigan State, again, I think it’s fighting for that crown of who’s at the top of the Big Ten, you know, because Michigan State was ranked on top of that Big Ten preseason poll. So, Gophers are number two. And that’s just going to be I think the battle between you know who gets bragging rights for the Big Ten for the time being.

LAURENT: For sure. That’ll be intense. All right before we get out of here. We got to talk about Lynx basketball. 

SCHOENBERG: Oh, yeah. 

LAURENT: WNBA finals the Lynx are bound for that. They just won. What are you feeling?

SCHOENBERG: Hyped. 

LAURENT: One word, yeah explain your thoughts in one word: hype. 

SCHOENBERG: Dude, I love seeing, you know, Minnesota sports succeed. And the Lynx obviously have that history of championships. And them getting back to that championship is, it’s pretty exciting. Like, there’s just a certain feeling like, in the city, when you know that there’s like a sports team. Like, you saw with the Timberwolves when they were on their little run. Like, there’s just that vibe in the city that, you know, that’s brought by a sports team having success. 

LAURENT: I mean, the Lynx are awesome. I mean, I could, we could talk all day about the team. Napheesa Collier, defensive player of the year, MVP runner up. She’s great. I mean, she’s consistently out there at the forward position, just getting boards, getting points. I mean, she, in the first year, she tied the record, the WNBA playoff record with 42 points.

So, I mean, I just can’t speak enough about her and just how the team has been able to seamlessly kind of add new people. Like Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith. And just be able to make this run because I know obviously, yes, they have championship DNA, but they’ve had they had a few down years And I think to get back here, it’s almost like that expectation, which is like something Minnesota sports is not used to, being like that team, like the heavyweight team.

So, they’re going to face the Liberty, who have not won a championship in their history. I think their inaugural season was in 1997, if that’s correct. And the Lynx had the regular season series lead against them three to one including the Commissioners Cup game. So they got a nice little check for that one. I know the players were excited about that. What are you feeling here? What do you think?  

SCHOENBERG: I mean, I was reading that ESPN report. Um, and there’s I mean, it’s a, it’s a close matchup. Obviously the Lynx had the number in the regular season, but as it goes for all sports playoffs are just a different beast. But I definitely think getting that home win against Connecticut was like good motivator moving into the finals. But I was actually going to ask you, what’s the, I mean, how did they get back to this point of being like a championship contending team?

LAURENT: How did they get back to this point? I think it’s the additions. Honestly. I mean, I briefly said it, but Courtney Williams, she’s amazing. She stepped into more of a truer point guard role this year from her past. She’s a little bit older, but she just has really had that quick connection with the players I’d say.

I think from going back to the start of the season, I was at the first few games and she just was able to get in these high pick and roll scenarios where she just feeds the post and then she gets into her midrange and I think anyone who like knows Courtney Williams knows that she loves the midrange. And you also know if you’re a basketball fan that midrange is the worst shot in basketball because if you can step back three feet to get a three pointer and get an extra point, you’re going to do that. 

But she just is able to completely change the game and she slows the game down when she needs to. I think she has a really good control. It’s almost like a Chris Paul type of player. And I think that’s what the Lynx were really missing was that true point guard.

And I mean, I think with Napheesa too, just really, I mean, she’s amazing. She obviously was on like the USA team. And I think it was almost like the same thing of like these players just getting a little bit better and these small additions that you thought maybe wouldn’t work out or maybe not work out as good as you think.

Sometimes you just got to take swings for it, you know, kind of like the Timberwolves are doing now with their big trade. Like you just got to do things and hope they work out. 

SCHOENBERG: And you know what? That’s just the trend of Minnesota sports right now. You know, things are building.

LAURENT: We’re underdogs. I mean, you gotta, you gotta swing, you gotta take chances on old players. Max Brosmer. I mean, it’s just, it feels like a little theme going on here. Sam Darnold. Vikings 5-0. We didn’t, I didn’t even write that down, but the Vikings are 5-0, that’s pretty good. Just beat the Jets, got coach Roberts Saleh fired, not actually, but I think Aaron Rogers is the one who got him fired, but I think it’s a good time to be a Minnesota sports fan. 

SCHOENBERG: For sure. Yeah. I mean, Gopher fans can look ahead to a men’s hockey season getting kicked off. Football with UCLA this weekend, it’s a good time to be a Gopher sports fan.

LAURENT: There’s so many things. If you want the sport to watch, you can almost watch one every night now and then basketball will come soon enough. So there’s some exciting stuff, but I think that’s all we got for you. Unless, Eitan, you got anything else? 

SCHOENBERG: Utah. 

LAURENT: Utah.

SCHOENBERG: Utah hockey. 

LAURENT: Utah hockey. A little bit of a, a little bit of a funky stadium you said? 

SCHOENBERG: Yeah, I mean it’s not built for hockey. The Delta Center was definitely not built for hockey. If you watched the game last night, they had large advertisements behind the first fan, like, fan section. And there’s like a big wall, and it’s a very short section.

Very few rows. It looked like it was less than 10 rows. And then it goes up to the 200 levels. But, I mean, the fans are rocking, even though, I don’t know, I think it’s 12, like, 12,000’s the capacity or something like that?  

LAURENT: Only 12? 

SCHOENBERG: Which is, yeah, compared to other NHL arenas, it’s like, I think it’s probably one of the smallest ones. I mean, obviously bigger than what Arizona had before. 

LAURENT: Right, yeah, of course. And the fans were rocking when they scored that first goal. It got pretty wicked in there. 

SCHOENBERG: Yeah. I mean, it sucks as a Hawks fan. But also really exciting because kind of this revival of like a franchise is really cool to see. It’s really cool experience.

I mean, very recently too, we’ve had, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the hockey, like relocation and new franchise starting up. Obviously you got Vegas in 2017, Seattle in 2021, and then you got Utah.

LAURENT: I mean, they just keep expanding. Other sports should take a page out of their book. I mean, basketball needs to start expanding. Like, what are we doing? I mean, Seattle needs a team. So, Vegas always needs a team. Vegas needs a team in every sport, so. 

SCHOENBERG: I mean, they’re at 32 right now. That’s the golden number. It is the golden number. 32, 16, so half the league makes the playoff, half the league doesn’t make the playoffs. 

LAURENT: That’s what I’m saying. Basketball is 30, so let’s get two more teams in there. NFL already has 32. We don’t need any more there. 32 is the gold number.

SCHOENBERG: Yeah, 32 is the gold number. 

LAURENT: Well, thank you guys so much for listening. This episode was written by Emmett Laurent and Eitan Schoenberg and produced by Kaylie Sirovy (and Ceci Heinen). As always, we appreciate you listening in and feel free to send a message to our email inbox at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or concerns. This has been The Gold Standard podcast. Take care, everyone.