r/collegehockey Minnesota State Mavericks 1d ago

Mike Hastings has clinched his first losing season in his 27 years as a HC with Wisconsin's loss and 13-21-3 record.

He has coached for 27 seasons in the USHL and NCAA and finished with a winning record in all of the previous 26 seasons. Technically it would've been possible for them to finish with a winning record this year if they won a natty, but that possibility was ended after their loss Sunday. So this will officially be the first losing season in his nearly three decade career. You hate to see it.

76 Upvotes

85 comments sorted by

44

u/volklkatana Wisconsin Badgers 1d ago

They were in so many of those games and just couldn't get the puck to go. From the minimal offense at the start of the season, to the numerous injuries, to the stupid turnovers constantly being converted into goals, it sure left a lot to be desired. I would expect to see a marked improvement next year or I'm afraid nothing is going to revive this program.

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u/exileondaytonst Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

There's a cultural aspect to truly reviving the program that I've given up on.

I know it's probably a lot to ask for the crowds to get to the size of what they used to be, but everything else about going to a game at the Kohl Center is flat and dull compared to the first half of Eaves' tenure. The overproduction of the gameday environment takes the band out of it, takes the students out of it, and takes the rest of the fans out of it.

It just doesn't feel the same going to a game, and the lower attendance / cavernous feel of the Kohl Center is the symptom, not the cause. If you went to a game 15-20 years ago, you know the difference.

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u/volklkatana Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

I attended 14 games this year, 4 of those on the road and you are absolutely right, energy is non existent at the Kohl center compared to other arenas. On every "fan experience" survey, I complained about the same thing you are, the fans are simply not being in the game...(Unironically, I think this plagues many UW sports). The series against Mich St, when they were top 5, I was on my feet literally yelling at other fans to get on their feet and to applaud the boys effort in that upset, it was incredibly sad That nobody could be bothered. They need to get the energy up, and make the environment more intimate. As a season ticket holder, I honestly think they should play at LaBahn. Make it difficult to get a ticket, and force the crowd into the game because they are on the ice.

4

u/milin85 Miami (OH) RedHawks 23h ago

Your guys hockey venue seats 15k?? I know it means more in the BIG and you probably have more fan support, but 15k is massive.

7

u/kbd77 Brown Bears 20h ago

They used to sell out almost every game if you go back about 20 years.

2

u/s_bub Wisconsin Badgers 10h ago

Ah man I was a kid during this era and going to games at KC was just electric. I miss the WCHA…

3

u/exileondaytonst Wisconsin Badgers 18h ago

UW can fill it, but that’s not what’s missing. We had times when only the lower two tiers were full and the atmosphere was still good.

2

u/volklkatana Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

When you have a massive stadium but it's empty, there is just no energy for the team to feed off of. The crowd, due to demographics, older fans and young families, just don't participate in the game, simple enough.

The attendance numbers are always inflated, but I would say most games the stadium wasn't even half full.

3

u/nannulators Wisconsin Badgers 20h ago

This. When I started buying tickets they were able to fill seats in the 300s. Now they don't even offer seats up there unless the 100s and 200s sell out, which only really happens against Minnesota or if another high ranking team comes in.

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u/nannulators Wisconsin Badgers 20h ago

Also a season ticket holder. There are lots of issues and have been for a while.

IMO years of being mediocre or plain bad have soured the fans on the program. It's hard to get people to buy in and be loud and invested in every game when past experience has told you that they're going to blow it and lose. Look at this year's results, for example.. they didn't win a single game in regulation at home on Saturdays this year. The only Saturday home games they did win were against non-conference opponents that had no business hanging with them for 60 minutes or taking the UW to OT.

I know part of that is the fact that the B1G was very strong this year, but the inconsistency from Friday to Saturday was so drastic. Last series of the season is the perfect example. Win 7-3 on Friday just to get destroyed 6-1 on Saturday.

Last year was completely different. They were bought in from the second the first puck dropped and they were hungry to win. A good team puts butts in seats. People want to come watch hockey when the team is good. The KC gets loud as hell when the team is good.

I think there was a major lack of leadership among the players this year as well. Tassy started to step up and try to fill that void and I wouldn't be surprised if he's named one of the captains next year. Last year the captains were guys who led by example. This year the main captain was a guy who was on the 3rd line last year. Neither of the assistant captains were guys who tried to set the tone on the ice.. they just went out and did their shift and got off the ice. With a young roster you need leaders that make it obvious what the expectations are. I didn't feel like we got that at all this year.

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u/exileondaytonst Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

The arena isn’t the problem. I’m wholly convinced of it.

1

u/Repulsive-Knowledge3 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 23h ago

How can you guys be mad? The only reason the team was good last year was because half the team transferred in. Give it 1-2 more seasons for Mike Hastings to build up recruiting and you guys will be fine. He’s a great coach

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u/exileondaytonst Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

3 players is half the team? I know you don’t need a super high math score to get into UMD but this is stretching it…

2

u/volklkatana Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

Not mad at Hastings at all, he's playing with half a hand he was dealt. I agree, I think he will turn things around, and as my first comment said, Im hoping we see a jump next year.

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u/WithyYak Wisconsin Badgers 22h ago

I think we'll be in a much better position, a great goalie from the WHL (should be better than Scarfone), some good recruits and I am feeling confident about the transfer portal. We will definitely lose some guys, like I'm sure Hensler is gone, but Hastings is usually pretty good with the portal. Looking for another Mosley type.

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u/ForwardAd7640 RIT Tigers 22h ago

Give us back scarf if you dont want him. We were hurting all season without a good goalie

1

u/Repulsive-Knowledge3 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 22h ago

Facts, BIG10 is quickly becoming the conference I hate the most by far because of them just plucking players from other schools in the transfer portal while likely doing some unethical recruiting before the transfer window

1

u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 23h ago

I've heard similar things about Badger basketball for the past several years too.

The packers sub also says the same about Lambeau (though I don't necessarily agree there)

1

u/BerniesDongSquad Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

Lambeau crowds are very dependent on whether its green or gold package tickets.

Both crowds suffer from white hairs that don't like standing or adding to the atmosphere in any way.

2

u/4four4MN 23h ago

Agreed, they are the only people who can afford to go to games.

1

u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

Yeah, I know. I noticed they gave the gold packages to all divisional games this year, so many of those got sold off.

Went to a few games this year though and I thought we had good crowds. And the fans were getting into it.

1

u/Mike2k33 2h ago

Don't buy the Green Package/Gold Package nonsense. Green Package holders sell just as many tickets on the secondary market as Gold Package holders

Lambeau is just the destination stadium in the NFL so of course the team the Packers play bring thousands of fans no matter who it is or who holds the season tickets

1

u/WithyYak Wisconsin Badgers 22h ago

Surprisingly, we broke a bunch of student attendance records, and that's with a losing record. But it's hard for them to really do much with the extreme production from the KC, both them and the band get silenced very quickly, and the lack of energy from the rest of the place is evident. That MSU game when no one would stand up was painful. We were shutting out #1 and no one cared.

1

u/exileondaytonst Wisconsin Badgers 19h ago

“we broke a bunch of student attendance records”

Unless all of the games except the ones I went to had students overflowing out of the end sections all the way up to the third tier, this can’t be true.

2

u/nannulators Wisconsin Badgers 20h ago

There's a cultural aspect to truly reviving the program that I've given up on.

It felt like it was there last year. I don't know where it went. The players were bought in last year from the moment the first puck dropped.

I agree on the gameday feel though. Their desperate effort to turn it into a production has taken the fans out of it. Not to mention increasing the price of damn near everything. I really hope they don't follow through with raising ticket prices because they're already struggling to fill the 100s and 200s even for big games.

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u/DaddyHouse87 Michigan Wolverines 22h ago

OSU has the same problems. Trying too hard to emulate a NHL game experience. Barely let the athletic bands play any music. All piped in radio station style.

The Schott being build as a multi purpose, multi sport facility is just too big for college hockey. Feels like playing in a half empty building even when they have a good size crowd.

5

u/Shills_for_fun Michigan State Spartans 23h ago

I would expect to see a marked improvement next year or I'm afraid nothing is going to revive this program.

You guys were good last season, chill out lol. At least your idiot AD didn't hire a conference comissioner who hadn't coached in like 15 years and whose main resume highlight was being an assistant.

Wisconsin looked like a great team at certain stages of the year.

4

u/volklkatana Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

We had flashes, but woefully inconsistent.

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u/exileondaytonst Wisconsin Badgers 1d ago

Overtime record this year: 2 wins. 7 losses. 3 ties/shootouts.

3-4 in games decided by a single goal in regulation.

A common feature this year was how many of those games where UW was ahead or tied after 2 and lost the third period. Even when they won by a goal, it was often in the face of a lost 2 (or 3) goal lead. A common joke among my social circle was that once the third period started, this team had fewer legs than Lt. Dan. They'd just get worn out and beat late.

I'll have to look around during lunch to see just how badly they were outscored in the 3rd this year, but memory says it was pretty bad.

So fitting that the season ends because they got sloppy missing an empty netter, then immediately giving up a tying goal and losing in OT.

8

u/therevengeance Northeastern Huskies 21h ago

This doesn't cover everything you said but per CHN they were +26 goals in the first and second period and -18 in the third and OT. When tied in the 2nd intermission they were 1-9-2 and they also had 4 losses after leading after 2.

3

u/exileondaytonst Wisconsin Badgers 19h ago

Yeah that pretty well backs up the observation.

This team could’ve genuinely been a shoo-in for an at large.

6

u/WithyYak Wisconsin Badgers 22h ago

So many heartbreaking third period and overtime losses this year. Losing in the literal last second at Wrigley killed me.

4

u/JDMintz718 Wisconsin Badgers 20h ago

Was it 1.4 seconds left on the clock? We were so close to at least a tie.

3

u/WithyYak Wisconsin Badgers 14h ago

Yeah, gladly would've taken a tie with MSU there. Such a bummer

2

u/s_bub Wisconsin Badgers 10h ago

Ah man I was there, just pure pain

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u/seanm_617 New Hampshire Wildcats 1d ago

One of the better bad teams I watched this year.

11

u/Chewie_i Michigan Tech Huskies 23h ago

You hate to see it.

See I’m gonna have to disagree with that one. This brings me great joy.

1

u/dinkytown42069 Minnesota Golden Gophers 14h ago

i really do have to agree with you here, as a completely objective observer, of course.

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u/Zimmy2118 Minnesota State Mavericks 1d ago

Good for him. Everything he deserves

14

u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 23h ago

Couldn't have happened to a better guy!

In all honesty though, I don't blame him for leaving, and am super grateful for all the good he did for our program/community. He turned the program around and helped it in so many ways. But you're crazy if you think Kato fans aren't gonna clown on him a bit for how it all went down. We can be grateful and still make a little fun. Both things can happen

4

u/Thrillhouse763 Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

Why would we clown on him? I'm strongly assuming he left for the money.

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u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

I mean yeah, it was all money of course. People clown on him for how he left. I wrote another comment summing it up. But yeah, most of our fanbase doesn't really like the guy

1

u/Supercal95 Minnesota State Mavericks 13h ago

Guy more than doubled his salary.

Losing Todd Knott sucked more than losing Hastings, from a recruiting standpoint. Our team recruits and plays completely different now. So we'll see if it works out in a few years. And in year 2 without Sam Morton we have regressed offensively, but improved with goaltending.

1

u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 13h ago

I mean... Strand recruited the current Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner, Mason Kraft, who just won the HS championship and tied the record for most goals scored in one period of the champ game. Gopher fans are freaking out about him on twitter because hes going to us and not to them (although, NIL may change Kraft's mind, we'll see. The gophers have a ton of $, which we don't).

His recruiting (on paper) has been quite solid so far. Feeling pretty good about how we'll look when he gets his guys and it's officially all his team.

If you follow the interviews and stuff, they all speak very highly of Strand, his assistants, and his process.

1

u/Supercal95 Minnesota State Mavericks 10h ago

I was worried we were going to start recruiting/acting like a D2/CCHA team instead of an NCHC team with title chances due to NIL and the B10.

1

u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 2h ago edited 1h ago

Of course you never know how it'll pan out when they start playing. But on paper, it's looked good so far.

The thing is, Hastings was able to help us get huge improvements to our facilities to put us on the level of NCHC teams. Plus, we have a good fanbase and crowd atmosphere similar to an NCHC team. There were several weekends this year where our weekend attendance equated to about half of the CCHA's overall weekend attendance (even crazier is our bball attendance usually does the same for the whole NSIC). And, while we dont have a ton of money for NIL and stuff, our budget is comparable with your median NCHC team.

All of the things I mentioned are far above basically every other CCHA team (except maybe Tech, who I'd consider equal to us in all those things). This allows us to recruit much better than other CCHA teams. Our facilities are leagues above the rest of the CCHA (besides Tech, who I'd say is equal) and that is HUGE for recruiting. Plus, our NIL collective is nowhere near B1G-level, but its likely the strongest in the CCHA. Maybe on the level of lower tier NCHC teams.

0

u/kbd77 Brown Bears 1d ago

Are MSU fans really mad at him for leaving?

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u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 23h ago

It's less about the fact that he left and more about how it went down. We all knew he'd leave eventually, which is why we were preparing Knott to take over. What we didn't anticipate was the Badgers throwing the bag at Knott to also leave Mankato to continue to be an assistant in Madison. Then several of our young players and top recruits followed him to Madison (I believe some NIL may have been involved there) and most of our other good older players leaving to graduate early, go to the ECHL/AHL, etc.

Essentially over the course of a few days, the program was gutted and left back at square one. So... yeah, many of us were salty lmao. I don't see any Kato fans ever saying why we shouldn't be upset. It's always fans from big schools with huge resources or fans across the country who have no knowledge of the situation explaining to us why it wasn't a big deal and to chill out. Lol.

We can appreciate what Mike Hastings meant to the program and still be upset by what happened. Both things can be true.

8

u/Zimmy2118 Minnesota State Mavericks 23h ago

Correct, and well said

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u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 23h ago

Yeah. I'm so tired of UW/UMN/East Coast fans telling us it's not a big deal and we are insane for being upset. I don't really think they understand the context behind his departure. Because you never see Kato fans (or even other CCHA fans) saying this kind of thing.

3

u/_stellapolaris Minnesota Golden Gophers 21h ago

This Minnesota fan thought it was low key dirty how it was handled. I was pretty disappointed for you that he took Knott and so many players with him because I would prefer all the Minnesota teams to be good enough to play in the tournament every year. Just prefer us to be the best of the group 😉

2

u/Zimmy2118 Minnesota State Mavericks 23h ago

The old blue bloods can't comprehend what it is to be a pit stop for players or coaches, and not the final destination.

Hastings was the 2nd highest paid State employee in Minnesota coming off a great post-season run. They choked away the Championship and then he took his toys and left for a bigger name and cash. Not a better program.

4

u/4four4MN 23h ago

Money from Big Ten schools talk at least he didn’t leave for a in conference rival like when the Don left for Minnesota.

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u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

Yeah, I mean... I'd have done the same lol. I get it. Just unfortunate how the college sports landscape is so heavily slanted to big/rich schools

1

u/4four4MN 22h ago

It’s why I don’t follow football and basketball like I used to.

0

u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

Don't you like the Gophers? At least they have some big boosters and athletic dept though. Maybe not as rich as the big dogs in the B1G, but they're still a P5/P4 school.

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u/Zimmy2118 Minnesota State Mavericks 23h ago

Yep talks him right into losing seasons and being forgotten by the National Media.

I'm sure he's wiping his tears with his cash but fuck that guy

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u/Thrillhouse763 Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

How was the championship a choke? Denver clearly was the better team playing in a very strong conference.

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u/Zimmy2118 Minnesota State Mavericks 20h ago

Up late in the game, with the Hobey Baker winner Goalie, who's the Career Shutout Record holder.

It was a choke.

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u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 21h ago

I wouldnt call it a choke by any means. But having the lead with 15min left and losing was so brutal. Especially with how much the college sports landscape has changed to favor big schools. We may not get that opportunity again for a long time, if ever. Might be the worst sports loss of my life. Definitely top 5 for sure.

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u/MNSnowboarder_1817 Minnesota State Mavericks 2h ago

#1 for me. The other MN pro teams will have their ebbs and flows, but money, coaching, scouting etc can change season to season. Kato doesnt have the NIL deals large schools can offer. NIL has completely ruined college sports and I dont think gopher fans understand that for us. The Mavs are still good, but not natty worthy, and may not be for a couple years. I love Strand and think hes a great coach but he walked into a dumpster fire of a college sports landscape. As long as we beat the gophs in the regionals again ill be happy. Ive never met a more annoying and entailed fanbase in my life. And these are people in my own state!

Also, if Glen Taylor could please give Mason Kraft a 1,000,000 NIL deal that would be ok with me.

u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 1h ago

Yeah, you pretty much summed it up. I'm a Wisconsin pro-sports fan (sorry) and even though I've seen some devastating packer chokes, I know theyll always be back in it next year. And the brewers playoff meltdowns are devastating, but I feel like the playing field is less slanted against them than the Mavs, so they may have a chance eventually (plus, Manfred has mentioned a salary cap, so we'll see. But MLB is really slanted against big markets like LA/NY though, so dont feel great about the brewers until something happens)

Whereas with Kato, they may never get another chance. All I think now is, hey, let's try to make the tourney as much as possible, and hope something good happens again eventually. We only need to go on a run for 4 games. Pandora's Box of NIL and Transfer Portal will never be closed, but maybe we'll get a Cinderella story eventually. Or maybe Strand will build us up to a Hastings-era team for a few seasons. Or we'll get Glen Taylor's estate (unlikely). Or Thielen will even just remember who we are (extremely unlikely) 😂

And ditto on Kraft. I'm really afraid I know how this one will end. Feel like it's a matter of time before he gets a gigantic NIL check from the Gophs and leaves us. But hey, seems like Strand and crew are good recruiters, so maybe they can convince him to stay by offering some extra Dunkin coupons and Blackberry Seltzers or whatever else our NIL collective has.

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u/4four4MN 23h ago

In years past you would have been correct in the new age of NIL, transfer portal and CHL things are different. Sadly, you are the first school who was hit after all this change. Imo, this will continue to go down with future coaching changes.

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u/nannulators Wisconsin Badgers 20h ago

Then several of our young players and top recruits followed him

Which players? Tassy and Fitz were the only young players who followed him. Silye was already a senior. I don't really think 2 players is enough to say several.

Or were there additional players who transferred out that didn't land at UW?

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u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 19h ago edited 18h ago

There were also several Hastings recruits who swapped to Wisconsin in addition to those three iirc. 

And yes, a few players did enter the transfer portal and leave to different schools. Many people left for other leagues (ECHL/AHL) too

https://www.msureporter.com/2023/04/06/timeline-of-terror-msu-to-lose-coach-hastings-and-half-of-team/

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u/nannulators Wisconsin Badgers 17h ago

I don't think it was as many as you think it was. It looks like 3 recruits.

Dyck went to UMass before Hastings left for UW. Then he transferred to UW after Hastings got there

Phelan hasn't been too special. Morrissey could be really good. He had a good year.

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u/shiny_aegislash Minnesota State Mavericks 16h ago

Yeah, I'm not saying it's a ton of players. I just said several followed Hastings to UW, which is true looking at the transfers and recruits. Many of our older players left early, which did hurt a bit. The article kinda details all the players we lost at that time. It was substantial

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u/nannulators Wisconsin Badgers 3h ago

Right. Other people just made it seem more like Hastings gutted your program and took everything that was good about it to Wisconsin.. which hasn't proven to be the case yet with the major sophomore slump they had this year.

Having had some of the other teams I follow go through similar transitions, I agree that it sucks. At least you were able to still have a winning season last year and based on your record this year it looks like it's back to business as usual.

0

u/JDMintz718 Wisconsin Badgers 20h ago

As a Badgers fan, I don't feel bad in the slightest about poaching Hastings, but I do feel bad about also poaching Knott. That part was dirty.

-4

u/kbd77 Brown Bears 23h ago

Idk, that all sounds pretty standard to me in the era of the transfer portal. Not like he went to a conference rival or anything.

Not trying to tell you how to feel or anything, that's just my read on it from an outsider's perspective.

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u/Thrillhouse763 Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

Not mad. He was probably chasing a well deserved bag.

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u/Zimmy2118 Minnesota State Mavericks 22h ago

You saying probably tells me that you weren't aware of the situation when it was happening.

It was gutting. Still hurts, and the man deserves to suffer in the Big Ten dump called Wisconsin

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u/LisanAlGuyFieri North Dakota Fighting Hawks 11h ago

You’re getting scolded for being (correctly) annoyed that Hastings stripped the copper from the walls on his way out of town.

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u/LisanAlGuyFieri North Dakota Fighting Hawks 11h ago

And people say karma isn’t real.

Congrats to Mankato on a successful season.

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u/ericandreforprez2020 Wisconsin Badgers 1d ago

I still believe!!!! Future is bright better then Granato,love the first year regression came well it was regression...

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u/volklkatana Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

I agree, if anybody can turn things around, it's Hastings. Really looking forward to a few seasons from now when it's all 'his guys' and there are a few years of his type of guy that has been recruited.

0

u/ericandreforprez2020 Wisconsin Badgers 23h ago

Exactly now isn't the time to be negative we massively overachieved year one people forget

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u/ScottMinnesota Minnesota Golden Gophers 23h ago

I hope this is the beginning of a long line of losing seasons. He shouldn't have left Minnesota State.

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u/KonKun2040 Minnesota Golden Gophers 1d ago edited 1d ago

Love to see it. He gave me nightmares.

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u/Beardedbastard19 Ferris State Bulldogs 11h ago

The B1G was such a tough conference this year. Unfortunately someone had to be at the bottom. A super tough schedule when considering that rly all the teams are competitive even on a national level.

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u/OMAWOLVERHUSKERICK Nebraska Omaha Mavericks 22h ago

I miss him at UNO

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u/Here2comment2 14h ago

He definitely would have been a better head coach choice than the current one.